New BlackBerry to Be ‘Most Comprehensive in Mobile History’

RIM is finally ready with its answer to Apple’s iPhone and the many Android smartphones. After months of delays, RIM CEO Thorsten Heins, along with others from the company, will take the stage Wednesday in New York to unveil the final version of BlackBerry 10, the next version of RIM’s phone software, and the phones that will run it.

“We expect tomorrow to really be the kickoff for the introduction of Blackberry 10,” RIM’s Chief Marketing Officer Frank Boulben told ABC News in a phone interview. “We have been engaged for quite a period of time with the two main constituents — the carriers and the developers — and we’ve already said we are in the labs of more than 150 carriers around the world.”

Column: BlackBerry Burden: What RIM Must Do to Come Back

With more than 150 wireless carriers around the world planning to offer the latest BlackBerry, Boulben says it will be the most “comprehensive launch,” not only for the company, but in the history of the mobile industry.

“This makes it the most comprehensive launch in mobile history. There has never been a platform launching with that many carriers,” he said. When the iPhone 5 made its debut in September it actually had more — Apple said there would be 240 carriers by December. But Boulben points out that BlackBerry 10 is an entirely new operating system that doesn’t share a single line of code with previous BlackBerry software; the iPhone 5 and iOS 6, by contrast, was essentially an upgrade.

At Wednesday’s event the company will show its new handsets in detail. RIM is expected to release a touch-screen device called the Z10 and another with a physical keyboard. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have said they will carry devices that run the new software. Boulben also said RIM will highlight major differences between BlackBerry 10 and the other leading mobile phone platforms.

“We are highly differentiated in four areas,” Boulben said. The first is with communications — RIM has designed the software around a messaging hub and new multitasking features. The second: the touch keyboard, which predicts words as you are typing them. Lastly, RIM says its BlackBerry Messenger and its BlackBerry Balance feature, which separates work from personal uses on the phone, set it apart.

Boulben would not address specifically how much market share RIM is hoping to gain back in the U.S., having lost the lead it had in the last decade. According to Kantar Worldpane ComTech’s data released in November 2012, the BlackBerry brand only had 1.6 percent of the American smartphone market. The iPhone had 48.1 percent of the market and Android had 46.7.

“It’s a change in smartphone experience — the dominant paradigm, introduced six years ago, was great and revolutionary at the time. But six years is a long time for a technology cycle, with a new user experience with a clear focus we have the opportunity to take market share back,” Boulben said.

RIM CMO: BlackBerry 10 Will Make Others Look Outdated

While RIM is of course bullish about its new products, it faces one big challenge it might not be able to control: apps. While the platform might be innovative, it will trail behind the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in variety of apps. Boulben says the momentum around apps is strong and that Wednesday the BlackBerry World store will launch with 70,000 new apps.

RIM BlackBerry 10 Launch

Apps that worked on previous BlackBerry 7 devices won’t work on the BlackBerry 10 platform, since it is completely new. Analysts say that apps are bound to be the pain point for the platform, but it’s not too late to rule out RIM from taking back at least some of what it has lost.

“Given the speed that the market is moving, it’s hard to be dismissive of RIM given the strength of their brand and continued loyalty of many users,” Michael Gartenberg, Gartner Research Director, told ABC News. “It will be important for RIM to show tomorrow how they’ve evolved the BlackBerry to meet the challenges of other platforms and at the same time show positive differentiation.”

And that seems to be exactly RIM’s plan. “The time was right to switch to a new platform, one that will allow us to continue true to our DNA but also take it to the next level,” Boulben said. “It is a major undertaking for the company. It has been two years in the making, but we are ready.”

RIM’s BlackBerry 10 event begins at 10:00 a.m. ET on Jan. 30, 2013. ABC News will be reporting on the news throughout the day.

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Muse to play anniversary gig for War Child charity

LONDON (Reuters) – British rock band Muse will headline a gig in London next month to mark the 20th anniversary of War Child, a charity that aims to protect young victims of conflicts around the world.

The gig on February 18 at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire will be the fifth time War Child has staged a concert in association with the BRIT Awards, Britain’s top pop honors which take place this year at the O2 Arena on February 20.

War Child is to receive the inaugural Special Recognition Award at the ceremony, while Muse has been nominated for best British group and best British live act.

Muse’s song “Survival” was chosen as the official song for the Olympic Games in London last year.

The BRIT Awards Concerts at the 2,000-capacity Empire have raised more than 600,000 pounds ($ 945,000) for War Child and included performances from Coldplay, The Killers, Blur and Kasabian.

“We are proud to have a continuing association with War Child, who have been doing amazing work over the last 20 years,” said Muse lead singer Matt Bellamy.

“It’s great to see their efforts being recognized at this year’s BRITs and we are really looking forward to playing this special show for them,” he added in a statement.

War Child UK says it has changed and saved the lives of some 800,000 children in war-affected countries including Bosnia, Rwanda, Afghanistan and Iraq.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White)

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Super Bowl — At Media Day, Spotlight on Head Injuries Grows

NEW ORLEANS — It has become a staple of Super Bowl week, as much a part of the pregame to the N.F.L.’s biggest event as the annual media day: a discussion of how football is being affected by head injuries and the mounting evidence that long-term brain damage can be linked to injuries sustained on the field.

Years ago, players rarely spoke about the issue and league officials dismissed suggestions that on-field injuries could lead to life-altering health problems. Now, however, the league is facing lawsuits from thousands of former players, rules are being instituted in an attempt to diminish injuries on the field and even President Obama has said that the way football is played will have to change. This week, Bernard Pollard, a hard-hitting safety for the Baltimore Ravens, created a stir by saying that the N.F.L. would not exist in 30 years because of the rules changes designed with safety in mind, but that he also believed there would be a death on the field at some point.

At media day Tuesday, players reacted to the comments made by Pollard and Obama, with some agreeing with Pollard that recent rules changes would change the sport to such an extent that it would be less entertaining and lead to a loss of popularity. Pollard stood by his comments. He added, however, that while he was comfortable with the physical risk he was taking by playing football, he was not sure he would want future generations, including his 4-year-old son, to follow his example.

“My whole stance right now is that I don’t want him to play football,” Pollard said. “Football has been good to me. It has been my outlet. God has blessed me with a tremendous talent to be able to play this game. But we want our kids to have things better than us.”

He said he did not want his son to go through the aches and pains caused by the physicality of the game.

“You keep playing football, you’re going to have your injuries, no one is exempt from that,” he said. “You’re going to have concussions. You’re going to have broken bones. That’s going to happen. But I think for the most part, we know what we signed up for.”

The sentiment was echoed by Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco. “I play the game and I understand that I’m going to get hit,” Flacco said. “Just because they fine the guys is not going to stop them from hitting me. I find it tough to fine people who are doing their job.”

In a recent interview with The New Republic, Obama expressed concern about on-field injuries, though he added that N.F.L. players were grown men who are “well-compensated for the violence they do to their bodies.”

The president added: “I think that those of us who love the sport are going to have to wrestle with the fact that it will probably change gradually to try to reduce some of the violence. In some cases, that may make it a little bit less exciting, but it will be a whole lot better for the players, and those of us who are fans maybe won’t have to examine our consciences quite as much.”

While many current players seem focused on rules changes and how they will affect the nature of the game, more than 4,000 former N.F.L. players have filed a lawsuit against the league, contending that it knew hits to the head could lead to long-term brain damage but did not share that information with players. The judge in the case said Tuesday that she would hear oral arguments April 9 regarding the league’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. The family of Junior Seau, a former star linebacker who shot and killed himself last year, has also sued the N.F.L., claiming it failed to inform players about the risks of brain injury.

Pollard’s counterparts on the San Francisco 49ers, safeties Dashon Goldson and Donte Whitner, considered one of the hardest-hitting tandems in the N.F.L., thought the key was not removing big hits, but making sure the hits that are delivered are legal.

“You can be vicious and you can hit people hard, but do it the right way,” Whitner said. “For the most part, you know what you can and cannot do. Do you want to go out there and do the right things or do you want to make that big hit to gain a big name? That’s what it comes down to.”

Ravens guard Marshal Yanda said he thought the topic was so personal for Pollard because of the unique nature of being a hard-hitting defensive back, one of the positions most affected by the league’s attempts to increase player safety.

“I think Bernard is frustrated because he plays a tough position where it’s a bang-bang play and he’s getting fined,” Yanda said. “That’s a tough deal as far as him playing football his whole life knowing how to play one way and then all of a sudden you have to change.”

One of the few people to disagree entirely with Pollard’s view that skewing the rules to protect offensive players would harm the league was Warren Sapp, a retired defensive tackle who at one point went by the Twitter handle @QBKilla. He said a desire for points would always result in defenses being limited.

“They like points,” Sapp said. “I like it too. You’re going to have to make some key stops here and there but it’s an offensive game, no doubt about it.”

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Chicago Booth social enterprise program gets $5M gift

Retired CDW Chairman and Chief Executive John Edwardson has donated $5 million to the social enterprise initiative at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.

The gift is the first directed to the social enterprise effort, which launched last March. It will pay for research and larger cash awards to the winners of the school's annual social new venture competition.

Social enterprises try to achieve philanthropic goals, such as pollution and poverty reduction, through business tactics and discipline. They are often for-profit operations that put tackling complex social problems ahead of rewarding shareholder.

"One of the things I've been concerned about, and I think that kids are different today, is that when I was at Booth, we were focused on one thing and that was getting out of Booth and making a lot of money," said Edwardson, who graduated from the school in 1972. "Over the years, one thing that has become important to me is helping students learn to share what they have when they have a little, so that when they have a lot, they would be willing to share a lot."

Social entrepreneurship programs have brought a softer edge to business schools. Examples include a company trying to develop cheap, solar-powered batteries for sub-Saharan Africa, or a home retrofitting company or a restaurant that mostly employs ex-convicts.

The school's competition for social ventures business plans is being renamed the John Edwardson Social New Venture Challenge. Last year, 19 teams of three to five students competed for $55,000 in prize money, split among the top four finishers, said Booth spokesman Allan Friedman.

In comparison, the school's more traditional startup competition had 33 teams vying for $75,000 in prize money, split among the top 10 teams, Friedman said.

"I had agreed to endow a professorship, but it just wasn't exciting me very much," Edwardson said. "And then when I went to the social new venture challenge, and it really excited me. And I thought this is where I want my gift to go, to help do more of this."

From 2001 to 2011, Edwardson was CEO and chairman of Vernon Hills-based CDW, a computer equipment reseller. He stayed on as chairman for one more year to ensure a smooth transition.

He also is the chairman of Booth's alumni advisory board, known as the Council on Chicago Booth, and will be the lead volunteer fundraiser for the school's upcoming capital campaign. Edwardson said no fundraising goal has been set.

mmharris@tribune.com | Twitter @chiconfidential

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Butler's 19 points lead Bulls over Bobcats

To Jimmy Butler, it's simple.

Whether he's averaging 45.2 minutes in the five games he started for Luol Deng or playing 31 minutes, 14 seconds in reserve of Deng and others, as he did during Monday's 93-85 victory over the Bobcats, his role remains the same.

"Rebound, guard and make some open shots," Butler said. "When the opportunity presents itself, you have to take it. Starting gave me a lot more confidence. But I'm still able to do those things (off the bench)."

Deng returned after missing five games with an injured right hamstring and finished with 12 points in 31.02 minutes as the Bulls avenged their New Year's Eve home debacle to the Bobcats. Butler backed up his promise with a career-high 19 points and six rebounds, playing at shooting guard alongside Deng for a long second-quarter stretch and most of the final 5:28.

"Jimmy's a big part of the team," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Lu has been huge for us. We know we have flexibility. You do what's best for the team."

At least against the speedy, perimeter-driven Bobcats, minutes dropped for Marco Belinelli and Richard Hamilton. Thibodeau even used the combination of Kirk Hinrich and Nate Robinson for a brief third-quarter stretch.

"They went real small," Thibodeau said. "I liked (Butler's) quickness out there defensively. I thought we had to match up with their quickness. I wanted quick feet out there. I thought that was the best matchup for this game."

The Bulls pulled away late in the third after the Bobcats tied it at 55-55 with 3:36 remaining. Joakim Noah, huge again with a double-double in 44.52 minutes, scored on a three-point play. Robinson, also large with 15 points off the bench, kick-started a 13-0 run with a 3-pointer as the Bobcats failed to score for 4:24.

With 13 points and 18 rebounds, Noah became the first Bull to grab 15 or more rebounds in four straight games since Dennis Rodman in March 1998.

"Noah's protecting the rim, playing defense, rebounding, blocking shots, making plays, passing," Thibodeau said. "Terrific all-around game for him."

Robinson poured it on in the fourth, scoring eight points as the Bulls pushed their lead to 14. But old friend Ben Gordon found his range in the final period as well, scoring 10 of his 18 points as the Bobcats hung around within six points late.

That's when Carlos Boozer powered home a left-handed dunk over Bismack Biyombo off a feed from Robinson with 1:24 left to jazz the sellout crowd of 21,308.

As for Deng's return, Thibodeau said: "I thought he moved very well for his first game back, trying to get his timing back. First game back, I wanted to see where he was. I didn't want to overextend his minutes. The matchups weren't great for him.

"His length and knowing how to play guys is a huge factor for us. There may not be a better defender in the league right now."

kcjohnson@tribune.com

Twitter @kcjhoop

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His cat, his lunch and a high five: Harper’s day chronicled on Twitter

OTTAWA – One of the cardinal rules of social media: no one cares what you had for lunch. Unless, perhaps, you’re the prime minister.

The people behind Stephen Harper‘s Twitter account are using the first day of Parliament’s winter sitting to provide an intimate look at how the prime minister spends his day.

The posts include a video of Harper’s ride to work, photos of breakfast with his cat Stanley and a lunch that included fruit and a Diet Coke at his desk.

The behind-the-scenes look is the latest move by Harper’s team to bolster his presence on social media platforms.

Digital public affairs analyst Mark Blevis says it’s likely an effort to rebrand Harper in the lead-up to the next election, where he’ll face off against politicians far more adept online.

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Conference suggests ways Broadway can be better

NEW YORK (AP) — A conference on how to make the Broadway experience better for theatergoers has come up with some prescriptions: Be brave in the stories that are told onstage and embrace youth and technology.

“Broadway, I don’t think, has boldly gone where it needs to,” said “Star Trek” actor George Takei, riffing off his old show’s motto. “I have a sense that Broadway hasn’t entered into the 21st century.”

The second TEDxBroadway conference on Monday brought together 16 speakers — producers, marketers, entrepreneurs, academics and artists — to try to answer the question: “What is the best Broadway can be?”

“We use the word ‘best’ because the goal of today is to go right past better all the way to the extent of what is possible, even if it seems a little bit outlandish,” said co-organizer Jim McCarthy, the CEO of Goldstar, a ticket retailer.

TEDx events are independently organized but inspired by the nonprofit group TED — standing for Technology, Entertainment, Design — that started in 1984 as a conference dedicated to “ideas worth spreading.” Video of the Broadway event will be made available to the public.

While the health of Broadway is good, with shows yielding a record $ 1.14 billion in grosses last season, some speakers noted that total attendance — 12.3 million last season — hasn’t kept pace, meaning Broadway isn’t always attracting new customers.

Three speakers — one the sister of Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg — argued that new technology means the stage experience doesn’t need to be confined to the four walls of the theater and so can grow new audiences.

David Sabel, who has helped drive the National Theatre of Great Britain into the digital age, pointed out that broadcasts of his stage shows on movie screens across the world haven’t dampened demand at the box office and have actually have themselves become profitable.

“I think in our business, digital is uniquely not a threat but an opportunity,” he said. “What if we could open it up and invite a much greater audience in to speak with us?”

Randi Zuckerberg said the Broadway community could increase visibility by having auditions for minor parts via YouTube, have live tweeters backstage, offer crowd funding to knit people to productions, give walk-on parts for influential figures or even make the Playbills electronic.

“Why should Broadway be limited by physical space? By ticket prices? By the same shows, over and over?” she asked. “Instead of having just a small sliver of the world come to Broadway, why not bring a small piece of Broadway to the entire world?”

And Internet guru Josh Harris said producers need to open the entire process to the outside world, including video cameras backstage to capture actors getting ready and even having the orchestra pit filled with people interacting with the audience via their electronic devices.

The annual gathering centered on Broadway is the brainchild of three men: McCarthy; Ken Davenport, a writer and producer; and Damian Bazadona, the founder of Situation Interactive. It drew 400 people to the off-Broadway complex New World Stages and into the theater where “Avenue Q” usually plays.

Takei in the past few years has grown 3.3 million Facebook friends and leveraged them into audience members to “Allegiance,” his new musical about Japanese-Americans during World War II,

“If I can do it, Broadway certainly can,” the 65-year-old said. “Broadway is at its best when it embraces all of the technological advancements of the time and starts making a lot of friends on social media. Then, as we say on ‘Star Trek,’ Broadway will live long and prosper.”

Thomas Schumacher, the president of the Disney Theatrical Group, slammed the pretentious way some in the theatrical community look at more mainstream shows and scoffed at their disdain for making the audience experience more fun.

“Populism has its own manifest destiny and we need to embrace that,” said Schumacher, who called for a big tent of theatrical options on Broadway and especially shows for children who will return as adults. “What I ask you to do is embrace this audience and maybe even embrace the sippy cup.”

Terry Teachout, drama critic at The Wall Street Journal, soberly pointed out that 75 percent of all Broadway shows fail and then asked that more producers roll the dice on quality.

“If you can’t count on getting rich, then forget playing it safe. Why not take a shot at being great?” he asked. “If there’s ever a time for you to shoot high, this is it. Don’t start out settling for safe. Gamble on great.”

Kristoffer Diaz, the playwright of the Pulitzer Prize finalist “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity,” urged producers to embrace different voices, as they did with “In the Heights” and “Rent.”

“Women, writers of color, transgender, lesbian, gay and bisexual — we need to keep hearing these stories. We need to hear them on Broadway,” he said. “It becomes a lot harder to dismiss somebody out of hand if you’ve spent a couple of hours investing in their story.”

Two speakers with specialty knowledge outside Broadway urged the community to not just focus on putting on a great show.

Susan Reilly Salgado, who has worked with famed restaurant owner Danny Meyer, said his success is not only about creating tasty dishes. Meyer, she said, makes the whole evening fun.

“To say that, in a restaurant, it’s all about the food discounts everyone else who touches the customer experience,” she said. “The best way to get people to come back to you over and over is to create an all-encompassing experience.”

Erin Hoover, the vice president of design for Westin and Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, said Broadway theaters could take a page out of the innovations brought to hotel lobbies, which are now comfortable, inviting and offer new sources of revenue. “The experience for the show really starts at the door.”

Customer service was also a theme touched on by Zachary A. Schmahl, an actor-turned-baker who created Schmackary’s Cookies in his apartment and has watched it grow into a thriving business.

“Customer service is something that people are missing in New York,” he said. “It’s so important in our single-serving culture to be that business that has a heart and a soul alongside a quality product.”

One returning speaker was Vincent Gassetto, the principal of a high-performing public middle school in a tough area of the Bronx, who urged those in attendance to make sure Broadway was on the radar of his best and brightest students.

“It’s in everybody in this room’s best interest that they have an awareness of this industry or we’re never going to win that talent war,” he said. “We’re all going to be competing for them.”

Though the speakers came from different backgrounds and emphasized different prescriptions, they did seem to agree with Daryl Roth, the Pulitzer Prize-winning producer of seven plays, including “Clybourne Park.” She challenged the crowd to think of Broadway in more than just dollars and cents.

“If we share the deep belief that theater matters, that theater can change us and ultimately change the world, then isn’t that the best Broadway can be?” Roth asked.

___

Online:

http://www.goldstar.com/tedxbroadway

___

Follow Mark Kennedy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

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Personal Health: Keeping Blood Pressure in Check

Since the start of the 21st century, Americans have made great progress in controlling high blood pressure, though it remains a leading cause of heart attacks, strokes, congestive heart failure and kidney disease.

Now 48 percent of the more than 76 million adults with hypertension have it under control, up from 29 percent in 2000.

But that means more than half, including many receiving treatment, have blood pressure that remains too high to be healthy. (A normal blood pressure is lower than 120 over 80.) With a plethora of drugs available to normalize blood pressure, why are so many people still at increased risk of disease, disability and premature death? Hypertension experts offer a few common, and correctable, reasons:

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Jane Brody speaks about hypertension.

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¶ About 20 percent of affected adults don’t know they have high blood pressure, perhaps because they never or rarely see a doctor who checks their pressure.

¶ Of the 80 percent who are aware of their condition, some don’t appreciate how serious it can be and fail to get treated, even when their doctors say they should.

¶ Some who have been treated develop bothersome side effects, causing them to abandon therapy or to use it haphazardly.

¶ Many others do little to change lifestyle factors, like obesity, lack of exercise and a high-salt diet, that can make hypertension harder to control.

Dr. Samuel J. Mann, a hypertension specialist and professor of clinical medicine at Weill-Cornell Medical College, adds another factor that may be the most important. Of the 71 percent of people with hypertension who are currently being treated, too many are taking the wrong drugs or the wrong dosages of the right ones.

Dr. Mann, author of “Hypertension and You: Old Drugs, New Drugs, and the Right Drugs for Your High Blood Pressure,” says that doctors should take into account the underlying causes of each patient’s blood pressure problem and the side effects that may prompt patients to abandon therapy. He has found that when treatment is tailored to the individual, nearly all cases of high blood pressure can be brought and kept under control with available drugs.

Plus, he said in an interview, it can be done with minimal, if any, side effects and at a reasonable cost.

“For most people, no new drugs need to be developed,” Dr. Mann said. “What we need, in terms of medication, is already out there. We just need to use it better.”

But many doctors who are generalists do not understand the “intricacies and nuances” of the dozens of available medications to determine which is appropriate to a certain patient.

“Prescribing the same medication to patient after patient just does not cut it,” Dr. Mann wrote in his book.

The trick to prescribing the best treatment for each patient is to first determine which of three mechanisms, or combination of mechanisms, is responsible for a patient’s hypertension, he said.

¶ Salt-sensitive hypertension, more common in older people and African-Americans, responds well to diuretics and calcium channel blockers.

¶ Hypertension driven by the kidney hormone renin responds best to ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers, as well as direct renin inhibitors and beta-blockers.

¶ Neurogenic hypertension is a product of the sympathetic nervous system and is best treated with beta-blockers, alpha-blockers and drugs like clonidine.

According to Dr. Mann, neurogenic hypertension results from repressed emotions. He has found that many patients with it suffered trauma early in life or abuse. They seem calm and content on the surface but continually suppress their distress, he said.

One of Dr. Mann’s patients had had high blood pressure since her late 20s that remained well-controlled by the three drugs her family doctor prescribed. Then in her 40s, periodic checks showed it was often too high. When taking more of the prescribed medication did not result in lasting control, she sought Dr. Mann’s help.

After a thorough work-up, he said she had a textbook case of neurogenic hypertension, was taking too much medication and needed different drugs. Her condition soon became far better managed, with side effects she could easily tolerate, and she no longer feared she would die young of a heart attack or stroke.

But most patients should not have to consult a specialist. They can be well-treated by an internist or family physician who approaches the condition systematically, Dr. Mann said. Patients should be started on low doses of one or more drugs, including a diuretic; the dosage or number of drugs can be slowly increased as needed to achieve a normal pressure.

Specialists, he said, are most useful for treating the 10 percent to 15 percent of patients with so-called resistant hypertension that remains uncontrolled despite treatment with three drugs, including a diuretic, and for those whose treatment is effective but causing distressing side effects.

Hypertension sometimes fails to respond to routine care, he noted, because it results from an underlying medical problem that needs to be addressed.

“Some patients are on a lot of blood pressure drugs — four or five — who probably don’t need so many, and if they do, the question is why,” Dr. Mann said.

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How to Measure Your Blood Pressure

Mistaken readings, which can occur in doctors’ offices as well as at home, can result in misdiagnosis of hypertension and improper treatment. Dr. Samuel J. Mann, of Weill Cornell Medical College, suggests these guidelines to reduce the risk of errors:

¶ Use an automatic monitor rather than a manual one, and check the accuracy of your home monitor at the doctor’s office.

¶ Use a monitor with an arm cuff, not a wrist or finger cuff, and use a large cuff if you have a large arm.

¶ Sit quietly for a few minutes, without talking, after putting on the cuff and before checking your pressure.

¶ Check your pressure in one arm only, and take three readings (not more) one or two minutes apart.

¶ Measure your blood pressure no more than twice a week unless you have severe hypertension or are changing medications.

¶ Check your pressure at random, ordinary times of the day, not just when you think it is high.

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787 worst-case scenario: $5B writeoff by Boeing

As government regulators investigate Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and company engineers seek solutions, investors and analysts are grappling with the question: How much will the plane's grounding cost?

The answer depends on what probes in the United States and Japan uncover, with scenarios ranging from a quick resolution if a few defective parts have to be swapped out to a drawn-out inquiry that requires a fundamental redesign. The worst case scenario: The Dreamliner's problems run so deep that Chief Executive Jim McNerney has to write off about $5 billion in anticipated revenue, said Howard Rubel, a Jefferies & Co. analyst who puts the odds of that at about 4 percent.

The costs are likely to be much less, in the hundreds of millions of dollars, say investors and analysts, including New York-based Rubel. That would let Boeing, which reports 2012 earnings Jan. 30, reap the rewards of what he estimates was a $25 billion investment in the plane, clearing the way for a profit surge and more money for investors.

"As far as dividend growth, cash flow and share buybacks, I think that's still intact," said Gary Bradshaw, a fund manager at Hodges Capital Management in Dallas, who added to his Boeing stake after a fire broke out on a Dreamliner Jan. 7.

U.S. investigators are still searching for what caused the fire in the lithium-ion batteries on a Japan Airlines Co. 787 in Boston that day and a fault that forced an All Nippon Airways Co. plane to make an emergency landing in Japan Jan. 16. The jet debuted commercially in 2011, and 50 have been delivered so far.

The grounding will most likely cost Boeing $550 million, Rubel wrote in a report with a range of potential expenses, from $125 million to reimburse carriers that lease replacement jets to the $5 billion writeoff. Doug Harned, a Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst in New York, estimated Boeing's expense at less than $350 million.

With probes under way by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, McNerney will face questions on this week's earnings call that he won't be able to answer. Chicago-based Boeing is due to give its 2013 financial forecast and delivery plans.

"We are working this issue tirelessly," Chaz Bickers, a spokesman, said of the 787. "At the same time, we are keeping our other teams keenly focused on their own program performance and customer commitments."

Earnings per share may rise more than 50 percent, to $7.69 by 2015 from $5 in 2012, the average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Analysts project that Boeing garnered $81.7 billion in sales last year, which may grow to $87.9 billion in 2013.

The planemaker has said it plans to double 787 output to 10 a month this year as it pares a backlog of about 800 unfilled orders. That's one piece of the company's 60 percent production boost in the four years through 2014 to meet demand from airlines for more fuel-efficient planes.

"You look out a couple of years and they could be earning $8 a share, and then you really have a cheap stock," said Bradshaw, at Hodges Capital Management.

Bernstein's Harned estimated that Boeing had set a 787 delivery target of 93 jets for 2013. The planemaker gets a big chunk of the price before delivery, so even if 20 jets push into 2014, only about $1 billion in cash flow would be delayed, and that would be quickly made up, Harned said in a Jan. 22 note.

The shares haven't fallen further in part because investors are used to Dreamliner woes after seven delays pushed back its entry into service by more than three years, according to Carter Leake, a BB&T Capital Markets analyst in Richmond, Va.

In a worst-case scenario, the model may be grounded more than three months, which could force a production slowdown, said Leake, a former pilot who also worked for Canadian planemaker Bombardier Inc. While Boeing continues to assemble 787s, the grounding has halted deliveries, because buyers couldn't fly away in their new planes.

"The market is in a period of disbelief that it could be anything other than a quick fix, despite the fact that we're in an open investigation," Leake said.

Boeing felt the weight of investors' 787 dismay before the grounding. Through last week, the shares had slumped 26 percent since the day before the planemaker disclosed the first Dreamliner delay, in October 2007.

Any reworking of the Dreamliner would come alongside the development this year of the 787-9, a stretched version of the plane, and the upgraded 737 Max, which is scheduled to enter airline fleets in 2017. The planemaker is also working to develop a 787-10 variant and a revamp of the 777.

Concurrent projects have proved a risk in the past, with the Dreamliner's struggles spilling onto the 747-8 jumbo jet program. Its 2011 debut came two years late after Boeing shifted engineers to help on the 787.

The Dreamliner has long been pivotal to Boeing's product strategy. With the plane's promise of a 20 percent gain in fuel economy over comparable wide-bodies, Boeing markets the 787 as a way for airlines to fly long-haul routes without larger 777s or 747 jumbo jets. The 787-8, the only model in service, seats as many as 250 people and lists for about $207 million, though buyers typically get a discount.

The Dreamliner's early setbacks echo the "teething" pains common to new jet models, said Gary Flam, a partner at Bel Air Investment Advisors in Los Angeles, whose holdings include Boeing.

"The market in general is telling you there's some caution, but not tremendous concern yet," Flam said. "I've actually been surprised how well the stock has acted given the news."

In the 1990s, Boeing's 777 encountered delays in getting FAA approval for its engines, and some planes were pulled from trans-Atlantic flights because of power-plant issues.

Among additional early glitches was the delay of the 747's first commercial flight, two decades previously, also for engine troubles. Later, the planemaker had to redesign a rudder-control part on the 737 and replace it on all the jets.

"Boeing has a very strong record of being able to surmount these issues," said Peter Jankovskis, who helps manage $3 billion of assets including Boeing stock as chief investment officer for Oakbrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois. "We remain confident in Boeing and their management and technical teams' ability to solve these issues."

Shareholders hoping for clues about the progress of that effort didn't get much when the NTSB gave a briefing last week on its "methodical" inquiry. The agency said yesterday that investigators found no evidence of flaws in the battery charger that would have caused the Boston fire. No problems were found in the auxiliary power unit, which contains the battery, either, the NTSB said.

Investors' support for Boeing and the 787 remains tied to the idea that the faults are in the lithium-ion battery packs, not a fundamental defect in the planemaker's most technologically advanced jet ever, according to Leake, the BB&T analyst.

"If, as this unfolds, it's anything more than a defective battery, then that confidence will start to wane," he said.

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Blackhawks top Wings in OT to remain unbeaten

Blackhawks won 2-1 on overtime to improve their record to 6-0-0.

Nine days, six victories.

The Blackhawks' start to the season hasn't just been supernova hot, it has been historic.

With 12.5 percent of the 48-game NHL campaign now completed, the Hawks remain undefeated following a 2-1 overtime victory over the Red Wings on Sunday night at the United Center. The 6-0-0 start is the best by a Hawks team in franchise history, eclipsing the five-win start by the 1971-72 squad.

Nick Leddy scored the winner and Corey Crawford earned the win in goal while playing his second contest in as many nights. Duncan Keith also scored for the Hawks, who have the most points in the league with 12 as they get set to embark on a six-game road trip.

"That was a solid game, a tight-checking game against these guys," said Crawford, who made 29 saves to improve to 5-0-0 with a 1.78 goals-against average and .933 save percentage. "They're a team that just doesn't quit — they play the same way all game."

Johan Franzen scored for the Wings (2-3-0) while Jimmy Howard was the tough-luck loser despite making 25 saves.

The Hawks' penalty killing continued its stellar play, holding the Wings scoreless in six consecutive opportunities, including 43 seconds of five-on-three play during a second period when the Hawks were short-handed for much of the time. Leading the way were Michael Frolik and Marcus Kruger, who helped limit the Wings to five shots on goal in 11 minutes, 17 seconds of having a man advantage.

"In the second period, almost the whole period we played on the PK," Frolik said. "It was big, especially the five-on-three. That was great play by guys and Crawford making big saves."

In 23 times short-handed this season, the Hawks have yielded one goal.

"Whether it was the forwards, the 'D' blocking shots or the key saves by Crawford, it was a group effort — spectacular kills," coach Joel Quenneville said. "To me it was the key to the game."

Keith got the United Center crowd of 21,607 on its feet early in the opening period when he sent a rocket from the left dot over the shoulder of Howard with the Hawks on a power play of their own. Detroit got the equalizer early in the third when Franzen pounced on rebound and beat Crawford through the goalie's pads.

That set up the game-winner for Leddy, whose shot from the left circle deflected off the stick of Wings forward Damien Brunner and sailed past Howard.

"I joined the rush and it was a three-on-two and (Viktor) Stalberg went wide, cut across the middle and gave the puck to me," Leddy said. "I just tried to put it far side because the goalie was coming over to my side and it found the back of the net."

It all equaled a start to a season never achieved by a Hawks team.

"That's definitely one of a kind," Leddy said.

ckuc@tribune.com

Twitter @ChrisKuc

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