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Experts: No link between Asperger's, violence

Label: Health

NEW YORK (AP) — While an official has said that the 20-year-old gunman in the Connecticut school shooting had Asperger's syndrome, experts say there is no connection between the disorder and violence.

Asperger's is a mild form of autism often characterized by social awkwardness.

"There really is no clear association between Asperger's and violent behavior," said psychologist Elizabeth Laugeson, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Little is known about Adam Lanza, identified by police as the shooter in the Friday massacre at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. He fatally shot his mother before going to the school and killing 20 young children, six adults and himself, authorities said.

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the unfolding investigation, said Lanza had been diagnosed with Asperger's.

High school classmates and others have described him as bright but painfully shy, anxious and a loner. Those kinds of symptoms are consistent with Asperger's, said psychologist Eric Butter of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, who treats autism, including Asperger's, but has no knowledge of Lanza's case.

Research suggests people with autism do have a higher rate of aggressive behavior — outbursts, shoving or pushing or angry shouting — than the general population, he said.

"But we are not talking about the kind of planned and intentional type of violence we have seen at Newtown," he said in an email.

"These types of tragedies have occurred at the hands of individuals with many different types of personalities and psychological profiles," he added.

Autism is a developmental disorder that can range from mild to severe. Asperger's generally is thought of as a mild form. Both autism and Asperger's can be characterized by poor social skills, repetitive behavior or interests and problems communicating. Unlike classic autism, Asperger's does not typically involve delays in mental development or speech.

Experts say those with autism and related disorders are sometimes diagnosed with other mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"I think it's far more likely that what happened may have more to do with some other kind of mental health condition like depression or anxiety rather than Asperger's," Laugeson said.

She said those with Asperger's tend to focus on rules and be very law-abiding.

"There's something more to this," she said. "We just don't know what that is yet."

After much debate, the term Asperger's is being dropped from the diagnostic manual used by the nation's psychiatrists. In changes approved earlier this month, Asperger's will be incorporated under the umbrella term "autism spectrum disorder" for all the ranges of autism.

AP Writer Matt Apuzzo contributed to this report.

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Online:

Asperger's information: http://1.usa.gov/3tGSp5

Wall Street rallies on "fiscal cliff" optimism

Label: Business

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks climbed on Tuesday, putting the S&P 500 on track for its best two-day run in a month, as investors gained confidence that "fiscal cliff" talks were progressing, even as significant differences separate Democrats and Republicans in Washington.

The gains followed a rally on Monday that lifted the S&P 500 to its highest point in nearly two months. Investors remain confident that Washington will come to an agreement to avoid a series of spending cuts and tax hikes before the end of the year that could hurt economic growth.

President Barack Obama's most recent offer makes concessions to the Republicans in taxes and entitlement spending, but House Speaker John Boehner said the offer is "not there yet," though he remains hopeful about an agreement. Senate Democrats, however, have expressed concern about entitlement cuts, particularly to Social Security.

"As you get more and more clarity and dialogue that there will be a compromise to avoid a fiscal cliff, I think the markets are going to rally," said Weston Boone, vice president of listed trading at Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets, in Baltimore.

"What's holding this market back - the S&P 500 - from continuing to reach higher highs is the macro headwinds, and a lot of that emanates from (Washington) D.C."

For a second day, banks led the rally. Goldman Sachs Group shares shot up 3.1 percent to $127.30 and Morgan Stanley gained 3.2 percent to $19.13 after Jefferies Group reported a higher-than-expected adjusted quarterly profit.

Jefferies rose 2.9 percent to $18.77. The S&P 500 Financial Index <.gspf> climbed 1.2 percent.

"I think it's an expectation that if the fiscal cliff is resolved, it's going to be a better environment in 2013 for the financial names," said Michael James, senior trader at Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles.

Shares of firearm makers sank on Tuesday as investors sold after the school shooting in Newtown, CT on Friday that killed 20 children and six adults.

Smith and Wesson fell 9.8 percent to $7.81, as the stock stayed on track for its busiest day in history. Sturm Ruger and Co slid 8.3 percent to $40.35.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> jumped 104.46 points, or 0.79 percent, to 13,339.85. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> rose 13.77 points, or 0.96 percent, to 1,444.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> gained 39.29 points, or 1.31 percent, to 3,049.89.

Tech shares rose, and gains in large-cap technology shares lifted the Nasdaq. Seagate Tech rose 4.9 percent to $29.41 while F5 Networks Inc gained 4.7 percent to $96.93. The S&P Information Technology Index <.gspt> rose 1.5 percent.

The S&P Energy Index <.gspe> also climbed 1.5 percent.

Baker Hughes Inc said third-quarter margins and revenue would be below its expectations because of lower land drilling activity and price erosion. Shares rose 4.3 percent to $42.3417, reversing a decline in the premarket session.

Arbitron Inc surged 23.6 percent to $47 after Nielsen Holdings NV agreed to buy the media and marketing research firm in a deal worth $1.26 billion. Nielsen rose 3.5 percent to $30.66.

(Editing by Jan Paschal)

Syrian vice president says neither side can win war

Label: World

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa said that neither the forces of President Bashar al-Assad nor rebels seeking to overthrow him can win the war which is now being fought on the outskirts of Assad's powerbase in Damascus.

Sharaa, a Sunni Muslim in a power structure dominated by Assad's Alawite minority, has rarely been seen since the Syrian revolt erupted in March 2011 and is not part of the president's inner circle directing the fight against Sunni rebels.

But he is the most prominent figure to say in public that Assad will not win. He was speaking to Lebanon's al-Akhbar paper in an interview from Damascus, which is now hemmed in by rebel fighters to the south.

Assad's forces have used jets and artillery to try to dislodge the fighters from around Damascus but the violence has crept into the heart of the capital and activists said rebels overran three army stations in a new offensive in the central province of Hama on Monday.

Sharaa said the situation in Syria, where more than 40,000 people have been killed, was deteriorating and a "historic settlement" was needed to end the conflict, involving regional powers and the U.N. Security Council and the formation of a national unity government "with broad powers".

"With every passing day the political and military solutions are becoming more distant. We should be in a position defending the existence of Syria. We are not in a battle for an individual or a regime," Sharaa was quoted as saying.

"The opposition cannot decisively settle the battle and what the security forces and army units are doing will not achieve a decisive settlement," he told the paper, adding that the insurgents fighting to topple Syria's leadership could plunge it into "anarchy and an unending spiral of violence".

Sources close to the Syrian government say Sharaa had pushed for dialogue with the opposition and objected to the military response to an uprising that began peacefully.

In Damascus, clashes raged between Palestinian factions loyal to and opposed to Assad in the Yarmouk district a day after Syrian fighter jets bombed a mosque there, killing at least 25 people.

Activists said troops and tanks were gathered outside the camp on Monday and hundreds of Palestinians refugees living in Syria flooded into Lebanon.

Syria hosts half a million Palestinian refugees, most living in Yarmouk and descendants of those admitted after the creation of Israel in 1948, and has always cast itself as a champion of the Palestinian struggle, sponsoring several guerrilla factions.

Both Assad's government and the mainly Sunni Muslim Syrian rebels have enlisted and armed divided Palestinian factions as the uprising has developed into a civil war.

In a veiled criticism of the crackdown, Sharaa said there was a difference between the state's duty to provide security to its citizens, and "pursuing a security solution to the crisis".

He said even Assad could not be certain where events in Syria were leading, but that anyone who met him would hear that "this is a long struggle...and he does not hide his desire to settle matters militarily to reach a final solution."

CHANGE INEVITABLE

"We realize today that change is inevitable," Sharaa said, but "none of the peaceful or armed opposition groups with their known foreign links can call themselves the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people".

"Likewise the current leadership...cannot achieve change alone after two years of crisis without new partners who contribute to preserving (Syria's) national fabric, territorial unity and regional sovereignty".

Rebels have now brought the war to the capital, without yet delivering a fatal blow to the government. But nor has Assad found the military muscle to oust his opponents from the city.

In Hama province, rebels and the army clashed in a new campaign launched on Sunday by rebels to block off the country's north, activists said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked violence monitor, said fighting raged through the provincial towns of Karnaz, Kafar Weeta, Halfayeh and Mahardeh.

"There is not fighting in these areas often," said Rami Abdelrahman, head of the Observatory, adding that rebels units from Idlib joined the offensive and three army stations had been destroyed.

He said there were no clashes reported in Hama city, which lies on the main north-south highway connecting the capital with Aleppo, Syria's second city.

Qassem Saadeddine, a member of the newly established rebel military command, told Reuters on Sunday fighters had been ordered to surround and attack army positions across the province. He said forces loyal to Assad had been given 48 hours to surrender or be killed.

"When we liberate the countryside of Hama province ... then we will have the area between Aleppo and Hama liberated and open for us," he said.

In 1982 Hafez al-Assad, father of the current ruler, crushed an uprising in Hama city, killing up to 30,000 civilians.

Qatiba al-Naasan, a rebel from Hama, said the offensive would bring retaliatory air strikes from the government but that the situation is "already getting miserable".

"For sure there will be slaughter - if the army wants to shell us many people will die. There are many populated areas and many refugees have fled here."

"(But) we felt it was always inevitable Hama would be shelled and we at least want to be fighting to liberate it," he said from Hama through Skype.

He said rebels would attack areas of strategic significance but not maintain a presence in other areas to allow civilians a safe place to flee.

(Additional reporting by Oliver Holmes and Erika Solomon in Beirut, Noah Browning and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah, and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Massachusetts fines Morgan Stanley over Facebook research

Label: Technology

BOSTON (Reuters) – Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter for Facebook Inc’s initial public offering, will pay a $ 5 million fine to Massachusetts to settle charges that its bankers improperly influenced its research analysts when the Internet company went public.

Massachusetts’ top securities regulator, William Galvin, charged that Morgan Stanley improperly helped Facebook disclose sensitive financial information selectively, perpetuating what he calls “an unlevel playing field” between Wall Street and Main Street.

Morgan Stanley has been under criticism since the social media company went public in May for having revealed revised earnings and revenue forecasts to select clients on conference calls before the media company’s $ 16 billion initial public offering. A Morgan Stanley spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Galvin, who has been aggressive in policing how research is distributed on Wall Street ever since investment banks reached a global settlement in 2003, said the bank violated that settlement. He fined Citigroup $ 2 million over similar charges in late October.

Massachusetts says that a senior Morgan Stanley banker helped a Facebook executive release new information and then guided the executive on how to speak with Wall Street analysts about it. The banker, Galvin’s office said, rehearsed with Facebook’s Treasurer and wrote the bulk of the script Facebook’s Treasurer used when calling the research analysts.

The banker “was not allowed to call research analysts himself, so he did everything he could to ensure research analysts received new revenue numbers which they then provided to institutional investors,” Galvin said in a statement.

Retail investors were not given any similar information, Galvin said, saying this case illustrates how institutional investors often have an edge over retail investors.

(Reporting By Svea Herbst-Bayliss with additional reporting by Suzanne Barlyn in New York; Editing by Theodore d’Afflisio)

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Stephen Fishbach Blogs: How Denise Stapley Won Survivor

Label: Lifestyle

TV Watch

Survivor

By Stephen Fishbach

12/17/2012 at 02:30 PM EST

Stephen Fishbach and Denise Stapley

Rob Kim/Landov; Startraks

Stephen Fishbach was the runner-up on Survivor: Tocantins and has been blogging about Survivor strategy for PEOPLE.com since 2009. Follow him on Twitter @stephenfishbach.

"You need willpower, strength, integrity, intelligence and a little bit of luck."
– Ethan Zohn, winner, Survivor: Africa

"Everyone loves an underdog story," Malcolm said earlier this season. On Sunday night, Survivor: Philippines came down to one big question: Who was the underdog that was telling the story?

Two sets of underdogs were dog-fighting for dominance. Mike Skupin and Lisa Whelchel were tails among lions: outcast at the bottom of Tandang, the dominant tribe. Malcolm Freberg and Denise Stapley were heads among sheep: leaders of Matsing, a tribe that every week went to the slaughter.

Through great play and good luck, Denise emerged as the alpha – winning the title of Sole Survivor, the $1 million prize and the Final Fishy.

Denise Wins Survivor
How did she do it? Straight out of the gate, Denise used her empathy and curiosity to build bonds with everybody, from a day-one friendship with Zane to a season-long alliance with Malcolm.

"I listened and I observed," she said at final tribal. "Being a therapist is what I do. And some of that is appeasing ... I couldn't not bring it into the game."

Like some Marvel comic action hero (The Spectacular Honey Badger?), Denise also had disproportionate speed and strength. Matsing was by far the weakest tribe, and Denise often found herself competing head-to-head against 20-something male jocks. If she didn't anchor her tribe, she certainly held her own.

That combination of social skills, physical prowess and a dogged work ethic made people love and respect Denise. Early on, Russell Swan predicted that if Denise made it to the final tribal, the jury would stand up and applaud. The full force of her charisma never really translated through the screen. But you still got the sense that she was really nice.

The other big thing Denise had going for her was Malcolm. If Denise had a weakness, it was that she preferred to slip through the cracks of the game and not build her own structures. Her ally Malcolm, however, wanted to guide. Denise often found herself swimming comfortably in his wake.

That worked out particularly well at the final four. On any other season, the beloved challenge-beast mom would be the big target. (See: Holly on Nicaragua). But with even-more-beloved Malcolm around, Denise got a pass.

Did Malcolm blow it when he didn't commit to Denise at the final four? If they'd made a pact, would Denise have forced a stand-off against Lisa and Skupin? We can never know for sure. Personally, I suspect Denise would have voted out Malcolm anyway, the same way she voted out Carter instead of Abi. Loyalty in Survivor's a nice ideal – but not worth a million dollars.

The entire season came down to that last immunity challenge. Had Malcolm won, the underdog story would have been his. But he didn't.

Final Tribal
Nowhere was the issue of storytelling more important than at final tribal, where the three finalists laid out their narratives. Denise talked about how she survived every elimination. Lisa, usually so focused at tribal, had a meandering opening in which she discussed her growth as a gamer. Skupin argued that he was an early target and had to fight harder than the others.

A series of weak questions concluded with a bombastic performance from Penner, who was clearly delighted to have the cameras on him for another moment, where he exposed Lisa's TV backstory. To her credit, Lisa never flinched.

In the end, the jury felt that Lisa and Skupin didn't really do anything. Denise's epic journey of surviving every tribal was unmatchable. The vote came 6-1-1, and the Spectacular Honey-Badger saved the day.