Convicted AT&T website hacker Andrew “Weev” Auernheimer has been placed in “administrative segregation,” also known as solitary confinement, after he was caught tweeting to a personal account from prison.

While Auernheimer did not have direct access to a computer he relayed messages to a third party who then transmitted those messages via Twitter by way of Auernheimer’s personal Twitter account.

The solitary confinement appears to be working as Weev’s account has been silent since April 8, 2013.

The team at the Daily Dot acquired a hand written letter from the hacker which reads:

Auernheimer is serving 41 months in prison after he scraped AT&T user data from an unencrypted AT&T website. Weev shared his findings with the website Gawker.

Since the lockdown Weev’s attorney Tor Ekeland has had no contact with his client.

Do you think the hacker deserves to be in solitary based on his attempts to tweet from behind bars?

Andrew ‘Weev’ Auernheimer Placed In ‘Solitary’ After Tweeting From Prison is a post from: The Inquisitr

Nothing says “I Love You Mom” like a “World’s Okayest Mom” coffee mug.

Tell Your Mom You Sorta Love Her With This Coffee Mug is a post from: The Inquisitr

Arnold Schwarzenegger has entered talks for Toxic Avenger, a remake of the classic 1984 Troma superhero film, according to a Monday report from The Hollywood Reporter.

Schwarzenegger’s role is uncertain, but THR speculated that the actor could be playing the film’s villain, the supervisor of the plant that creates the title character, or Citizen Toxie himself (transformed, of course).

The original plot focused on a boy, who falls into a vat of toxic waste and emerges as a superhero.

In the new version, the human form of Toxie will be a teenager, who joins an environmental club to impress the girl of his dreams. While investigating a waste plant, he falls in to the vat and the rest you can pretty much figure out on your own.

Steve Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine) co-wrote the script with Daniel C. Mitchell. Pink will also direct.

As for Arnold Schwarzenegger, the 65-year-old actor has stayed busy since leaving the California governor’s office.

Later this year, he has Escape Plan, a starring turn with Sylvester Stallone and Vincent D’Onofrio. That film will center on a structural security authority, who becomes incarcerated in a prison of his own design.

After that, he has Ten in 2014 — another action-thriller — followed by Captive, Terminator 5, Triplets (the Twins sequel), The Legend of Conan, and Unknown Soldier.

Should he accept a role in the Toxic Avenger remake, we’re sure you can just throw it into the mix sometime before the end of 2015.

Whatever he decides, here’s hoping for Schwarzenegger’s own sake that his film choices turn out better than his long-awaited comeback, The Last Stand.

According to Box Office Mojo, the film was a financial failure, grossing just north of $37 million worldwide while shooting on a budget of $45 million.

While its $8 million loss doesn’t represent a lot of money in Hollywood terms, the fact that Schwarzenegger went from being one of Hollywood’s biggest stars pre-gubernatorial run to a box office failure at the end of it, couldn’t have been good on the old ego.

Of course, film audiences may have been taking it out on their once favorite action star because of this:

Do you think it’s over for Arnold Schwarzenegger? Would you like to see him in a Toxic Avenger remake?

[Image via Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com]

Arnold Schwarzenegger Eyes ‘Toxic Avenger’ Remake is a post from: The Inquisitr

An Indiana farmer lost his court battle against Monsanto when the Supreme Court ruled in the company’s favor on Monday. The court ruled unanimously that farmers cannot use Monsanto’s patented genetically altered soybeans to create new seeds unless they pay the company a fee.

But despite the ruling against the Indiana farmer, Justice Elena Kagan, writing on behalf of the court, added that the decision was narrow. She explained:

“Our holding today is limited — addressing the situation before us, rather than every one involving a self-replicating product … in another case, the article’s self-replication might occur outside the purchaser’s control.”

Farmers who purchase Monsanto’s patented seeds are required to sign a contract that promises they won’t save seeds from the crop they get. That means they have to purchase new seeds every year. The seeds are valuable to the company, as well as farmers, because they are resistant to Roundup, an herbicide also produced by Monsanto.

The Indiana farmer who lost his battle with Monsanto purchased soybean seeds from the agriculture giant. However, he decided to look for something less expensive for a more risky, late-season soybean planting. Therefore, the farmer, Vernon Hugh Bowman, purchased seeds from a grain elevator that typically sells the soybeans for feed, milling, and other uses.

He reasoned that the majority of the soybeans would also be resistant to weed killers, since they came from herbicide-resistant seeds as well. And he was right. He used the second generation soybeans for eight years. But Monsanto sued him in 2007 and won an $84,456 judgement in the case.

Bowman maintained he shouldn’t be liable, partially because soybeans sprout naturally when they are planted. He also maintained that a doctrine called patent exhaustion allowed him to do what he wanted with products he purchased legally. But the Supreme Court disagreed. Justice Kagan explained the doctrine doesn’t apply to how Bowman used the seeds.

How do you feel about the Supreme Court’s ruling in the battle between an Indiana farmer and Monsanto?

[Image via ShutterStock]

Farmer Loses Battle Against Monsanto In Supreme Court is a post from: The Inquisitr

Christina Aguilera will return to The Voice, replacing Shakira after just one season, according to a report from Deadline.

The website only named “sources,” but according to a past quote from producer Mark Burnett, this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.

“Everybody can’t coach for life because when you have people with current recording in the game, this is not their job. Their job is their fans and making music and being live, and so we knew from the beginning that this would happen, and we’ve had six coaches. They all have another life and their schedules,” Burnett said.

When Christina Aguilera left to promote her new album Lotus, she was not the only original judge for The Voice to do so. Cee Lo Green took a break to work on his music as well, leaving Maroon 5′s Adam Levine and Blake Shelton to guide the show into its fourth season.

Shakira and Usher stepped in to help, but The Wrap has noted that Usher, too, could be on the way out. Green is in “advanced negotiations” to return, the website stated, citing “an NBC executive with knowledge of the situation.”

And why wouldn’t Mr. “F*** You!” return? The Wrap pointed out that his former co-host is getting anywhere from $12.5 million to $17 million to return for the fifth season, two unnamed sources told the website.

American Idol, once the darling of reality singing competition programming, had to watch last year as The Voice overtook it in the nominee category of Outstanding Reality Competition at the Emmy Awards.

Since Aguilera and Green left, the ratings haven’t missed a beat as they continue to do well in the coveted 18 to 49 demographic.

Ratings for American Idol, in contrast, have been largely disappointing, losing out in a big way to cable phenom Duck Dynasty. Rumors began circulating a few days ago that Fox would fire all four judges. Randy Jackson announced his impending departure before the network could make it official.

With Jackson gone, none of the original American Idol judges will remain.

How do you feel about Christina Aguilera taking over for Shakira on the next season of The Voice — improvement or disappointment?

[Image via Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com]

Christina Aguilera Back To ‘The Voice,’ Shakira Out is a post from: The Inquisitr

How I Met Your Mother has finally gotten to the point, eight seasons later.

In the Season 8 finale, the show finally revealed the identity of the “Girl With The Yellow Umbrella,” who Ted Mosby has been hinting at for so many years. Fans have come up with countless theories about who will play the “mother” and scrutinized episodes when Ted was in the same place as the mother, but in the end the mother was a surprise to everyone.

(Spoilers ahead)

The woman who will be Ted Mosby’s wife, and the mother to his children, is played by actress Cristin Miloti, a newcomer to the show. Television fans might be familiar with her from a 2011 appearance on 30 Rock, where she played a nemesis to Liz Lemon in the episode “TGS Hates Women.” Miloti also appeared in The Sopranos and had a Tony-nominated part on the stage production of Once.

So while the How I Met Your Mother audience got to catch a glimpse of Ted’s wife, the character played by Josh Radnor didn’t actually spend any screen time with her. Instead we saw the “mother” as the episode was winding down and a montage showed the main characters en route to the wedding of Barney and Robin.

Series creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays had already announced that Ted would not actually meet the mother until Season 9. Because of this, they said the final season of How I Met Your Mother could have a different narrative than in previous seasons.

The revelation likely shifted until the ninth season after successful negotiations with Jason Segel to return for a ninth and final year. Cast members had already hinted at a new actress to play the mystery woman. In comments to Entertainment Weekly, Radnor voiced his preference for a fresh face.

“I don’t think it should be any sort of stunt casting … I think it would be more interesting to have this fresh, exciting face that Ted has never seen before and neither have people who watch the show,” Radnor said, adding that Thomas and Bays even kept him in the dark about who they would cast.

Here is the reveal of the mother, Ted’s future wife, from the Season 8 finale of How I Met Your Mother:

‘How I Met Your Mother’ Season Finale: Do We Finally Meet Her? Sort Of is a post from: The Inquisitr

An Australian man dead for 40 minutes after going into cardiac arrest was brought back to life thanks to a new breakthrough resuscitation method.

The miracle comeback happened at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne, which has been testing a method using both mechanical CPR machine that performs chest compressions and a portable heart-lung machine to keep oxygen and blood flowing within the body. This keeps the body from suffering permanent disabilities while doctors work to restore heart function.

The result was a man dead for 40 minutes coming back to life.

Colin Fiedler, 39, went into cardiac arrest last June, and for 40 minutes he was clinically dead before finally being revived.

“I’m so grateful, more than I could ever say,” he told the Herald Sun.

It was be chance that he happened to be in the right place. While in the ambulance paramedics asked him which hospital he wanted to go to, and he picked the right one.

“For some reason, I said The Alfred, which is pretty lucky, because they are the only one that has it,” he said.

The life-saving method could soon spread. Physician Professor Stephen Bernard said two years of trials have proven how effective the method can be, and he now hopes it will spread beyond Melbourne.

The company that makes the chest compression machine has already offered to make more of them.

“We are looking to where to best implement these machines around Melbourne,” he said.

Fiedler said his life has changed since being brought back from the edge of death. He has quit smoking and said he no longer stresses over the unimportant things in life.

The man who was dead for 40 minutes hasn’t been the only lucky one. There have been a total of seven cardiac arrest patients revived at The Alfred using the two-step combination of chest compressions and oxygenation. Two others were also dead for between 40 and 60 minutes.

Man Clinically Dead For 40 Minutes Brought Back To Life is a post from: The Inquisitr

Angelina Jolie revealed that she had a preventative double mastectomy after finding out that she carries a gene greatly increasing her risk for breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

Jolie revealed the procedure in an op-ed for the New York Times titled “My Medical Choice.” In the essay Jolie talks about her mother, who battled cancer for a decade before dying at age 56.

When Angelina Jolie learned she had the same “faulty” gene that could lead to her getting cancer, she opted for a double mastectomy.

“My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman,” Jolie wrote.

Faced with the harsh reality, Jolie said she decided to be proactive and minimize her risk as much as she could. Because her risk of getting breast cancer was higher and because the surgery for ovarian cancer is more complex, Angelina Jolie opted for the preventative double mastectomy.

“On April 27, I finished the three months of medical procedures that the mastectomies involved,” Jolie wrote. “During that time I have been able to keep this private and to carry on with my work.

“But I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience. Cancer is still a word that strikes fear into people’s hearts, producing a deep sense of powerlessness. But today it is possible to find out through a blood test whether you are highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer, and then take action.”

Jolie said her medical ordeal started with a procedure known as a “nipple delay,” ruling out the disease in the breast ducts behind the nipple. Two weeks later, in mid-February, she had a major surgery to remove breast tissue and have temporary fillers put in place.

Angelina Jolie had a final surgery nine weeks after the preventative double mastectomy to reconstruct her breasts with an implant.

The actress is sharing her story because she wants others to know they have options for preventing breast cancer, and that they need not live “in the shadow of cancer.” She said she is happy with her decision, even if the procedure was not easy.

And for Angelina Jolie, the double mastectomy was well worth it. Her risk of developing breast cancer dropped from 87 percent to less than 5 percent.

Angelina Jolie Had Preventative Double Mastectomy After Learning Of High Cancer Risk is a post from: The Inquisitr

Olivia Wilde and Mark Duplass have signed on for the horror-thriller Reawakening, according to a Monday report from The Hollywood Reporter.

According to the website, David Gelb (Jiro Dreams of Sushi) will direct from a Luke Dawson and Jeremy Slater script.

The plot will focus on a research team that stumbles upon a way to resurrect the dead. After the death of the lead doctor’s daughter, the serum gets its first test subject with a terrifying outcome.

It’s still too early to tell which characters the pair will be playing as Monday was the first public acknowledgement of the project.

As far as the writing credits go, a quick look at IMDb turns up only one credit for Jeremy Slater, and that is an un-produced Fantastic Four script that won’t become a reality until 2015.

However, Variety observed that the plot plays out like a fresh take on the Frankenstein novel.

If that’s what Lionsgate is going for, they’re in good company.

I, Frankenstein has a release date in sight, and Fox has also announced plans for a Frankenstein-themed project. Earlier this year, there was even the first found footage horror film for Mary Shelley’s most famous creation (Frankenstein Theory).

Of course, considering the 3D printer and other gigantic technological leaps and bounds that have cropped up in the last 10 to 20 years, it’s no wonder our fascination with a story that pushes the boundaries of mankind’s abilities continues to fascinate.

As for Olivia Wilde and Mark Duplass, both actors have decided to make 2013 a busy year. Wilde has a total of eight projects set for a 2013 release date. The first of those has already come in The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (yes, we know, 0 for 1).

Duplass has work on The Mindy Project and Maron for television and the feature films Parkland and Peachfuzz. He will also star with Melissa McCarthy in next year’s Tammy.

[Image via CarlaVanWagoner / Shutterstock.com]

Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass Set For ‘Reawakening’ Horror From Lionsgate is a post from: The Inquisitr

Jessica Buchanan was kidnapped by pirates while serving as a humanitarian worker in post-war Somalia. Going into the job, Buchanan knew there was some risk involved, but she came face-to-face with it on October 25, 2011.

Jessica recalled being “completely surrounded” by the Somali pirates. She added that they were “yelling, screaming, hitting windshields with AK-47s.”

They shoved guns in her face and took her away into the desert to a location unbeknownst to the young woman. Jessica Buchanan spent the next 93 days in captivity, enduring conditions so deplorable they threatened her health.

The former grade-school detailed her kidnapping and rescue in the book Impossible Odds, which she co-authored with husband Erik Landemalm. Jessica was stationed in northern Somalia for a long time, before the non-governmental organization (NGO) called her to the less stable southern region.

Buchanan was on her way to the region when a large SUV Land Cruiser blocked the car she was riding in. The next thing she knew, the pirates were surrounding the car. The Somali pirates forced Jessica to sleep outside. They also fed her tuna “maybe once a day. We would get a small can of tuna fish and a piece of bread.”

Jessica Buchanan was kidnapped along with Danish aid worker Poul Hagen Thisted. The Somali pirates sought $45 million for their release — an impossible amount for their families and friends. The pair remained captive being “treated like animals,” until January 2012 when Navy SEALs killed nine Somali pirates to save them.

The operation was ordered by President Obama and carried out secretly by SEAL Team 6. The rescue came as a surprise to Buchanan, who recalled:

“Just complete shock and awe that these men risked their lives to come in and save mine and give me a second chance. They said my name, and they said, ‘We’re here to take you home.’ ”

Since then, Jessica Buchanan and her husband have returned from Africa to live in the United States. They now have a child together.

Jessica Buchanan Talks Kidnapping, Rescue From Somali Pirates In ‘Impossible Odds’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Minnesota’s state Senate passed a bill on Monday to allow same sex couples to get married. The bill, which passed 37-30 in the House, is expected by be signed by the governor.

The bill would make Minnesota the 12th US state to allow gay marriage and just the second in the Midwest. The bill was passed by the Democratic-controlled Senate, putting Minnesota on the verge of becoming the third state to approve same-sex marriage in May.

The Minnesota House approved the bill last week and Democratic Governor Mark Dayton has already pledged to sign it. Once that happens, the law is expected to take effect on August 1.

Once the bill is signed, Minnesota will join Iowa as the only Midwestern states to permit gay marriage. It will be the first to do so through legislation. Iowa has allowed same-sex nuptials since a state Supreme Court order in 2009.

Of the two legislative bodies, the Minnesota House was expected to be the biggest hurdle to passing the bill. However, representatives carried out a 75-59 vote on Thursday, including some support from Republicans.

Thursday’s vote was a drastic change from two years ago, when Republicans controlled both legislative bodies. They bypassed the governor and put forward a ballot measure that would have banned gay marriage in the state’s constitution.

But Minnesota voters rejected the measure in November, while voting in Democratic majorities to both the House and the Senate. The change helped the legislature on the path to Monday’s historic vote.

Minnesota’s vote to approve gay marriage on Monday was the latest in a series of victories for gay marriage proponents, which started in November when Maine, Maryland, and Washington state approved same-sex marriage. The three states were the first to do so at the ballot box. Same-sex marriage is also legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and most recently in Rhode Island and Delaware. The District of Columbia also legalized gay marriage.

Governor Dayton is expected to sign Minnesota’s gay marriage bill on Tuesday.

[Image via ShutterStock]

Minnesota Senate Passes Gay Marriage Bill, Governor Will Sign Tuesday is a post from: The Inquisitr

New Orleans authorities have identified a possible suspect in the mass shooting that occurred during a Mother’s Day parade Sunday afternoon.

Investigators believe 19-year-old Akein Scott may be responsible for the shots that rang out just after 2 pm, injuring 19 people out of the near 400 who attended. The victims were marching in a second line parade, those who traditionally follow the band.

Casualties included two 10-year-old children, a boy and a girl, 10 adult men, and seven adult women. Although serious wounds resulted from the gunfire, no deaths have been reported.

It’s too early to say if he was the only shooter involved, but evidence reflects at least two firearms were used in the assault.

The grainy surveillance footage, released alongside a possible reward of $10,000 for information leading to a suspect, was recorded on North Villere Street in the 7th Ward neighborhood and shows a young man police consider the potential suspect appearing to open fire on a cluster of people gathered for the Mother’s Day parade.

An adult black male, believed to be Scott, donned in dark pants and a white shirt, can be seen charging the crowd with raised hands, sending parade-goers scrambling in all directions of the surveillance camera’s frame.

Witnesses were able to positively ID Scott as one of the shooters involved.

Warrants were executed at three locations Monday evening, yet the teenager remains at large. New Orleans Superintendent Ronal Serpas reinforced during a press conference, “We will be looking for Akein Scott for the rest of the night and tomorrow until we find him, and I would strongly recommend that Akein turn himself in.”

The young man has a previous record of arrests. Offenses include resisting arrest, illegally carrying weapons, possession of a stolen firearm, and heroin possession. He was indicted on April 22 for the carrying a weapon charge from 2012 and is due back in court on Thursday.

[Image Akein Scott NOPD Photo]

Suspect Named In New Orleans Parade Shooting is a post from: The Inquisitr

An overnight supermarket feast has landed a Kentucky man behind bars.

Police arrested Trevor Runyon after the store manager discovered him inside a supermarket outside of Louisville. The man reportedly spent all night inside the location eating a wide variety of items he found on shelves.

The ValuMarket manager said he discovered 57 cans of Redi-Whip inside a garbage can when he opened the store on Monday morning. He later discovered Runyon hiding out in the ceiling of the store. Authorities soon arrived at the scene to place the suspect under arrest.

In addition to working his way through dozens of Redi-Whip cans, he consumed an entire birthday cake, some shrimp, and six steaks. He also smoked several cigarettes and drank quite a few beers during his overnight supermarket feast.

However, Runyon didn’t stop at food. After he accidentally used the bathroom on himself, the suspect snagged some clean clothes from the store to replace the ones he had soiled. Once the party had come to an end, the man climbed into the ceiling and fell asleep.

Officer Michael Huffman told WAVE-TV that surveillance footage from the store shows Runyon sneaking inside the building just before it closed for business on Sunday. The store manager believes that the suspect managed to hid from employees while they were shutting down for the evening.

As strange as it may sound, this isn’t the first time someone from Kentucky has been discovered inside the ceiling of an area retailer. The manager of Roses department store in Lexington discovered someone inside the ceiling. The suspect fell through the ceiling and into the store. Although he was injured, he still tried to get away from officers.

“This is very uncommon for something like this to occur at one o’clock in the afternoon. This is primarily the type of crime we would see usually in the early morning hours,” police explained.

What do you think about the man who enjoyed an overnight supermarket feast in Kentukcy?

[Image via Shutterstock]

Overnight Supermarket Feast Lands Kentucky Man In Jail is a post from: The Inquisitr

Dwyane Wade channeled his inner Rafeal Nadal with a pair of capri style pants he wore to the United Center in Chicago on Monday.

Wade has made a name for himself in the NBA for his odd fashion choices, which include big-frame glasses, floral-print jackets, and bright colored suits with matching bow ties.

But Dwyane Wade’s attire for Game 4 against the Chicago Bulls was odd, even for him. The Miami Heat guard wore capri style pants that left much of his ankle showing.

The outfit got the attention of the internet, as many sports bloggers poked fun at Dwyane Wade for the goofy get-up, which looked suspiciously like the kind of high-water pants your grandfather would wear.

The Yahoo! Sports minute noted:

“The apparel was definitely more South Beach than South Side for the Windy City native, who also had an assistant alongside him carrying his bag. As you can see from the TNT clip above, the look elicited more than a few ‘C’mon man!’s out of Charles Barkley, his one-time fellow T-Mobile spokesman.”

Wade took plenty of heat for his fashion choice. Frank Isola of the tweeted about the outfit, comparing Wade to the shortest player in the Heat-Bulls series. Isola wrote: “Nate Robinson hasn’t been the same since Dwyane Wade stole his pants”

Other people on Twitter questioned whether Dwyane Wade borrowed the pants from his girlfriend, actress Gabrielle Union. Whether the pants had anything to do with it or not, Wade had his worst offensive game of the postseason in Game 4, shooting 3 of 10 for just 6 points.

Dwyane Wade Wears Capri Pants To Chicago Bulls Game is a post from: The Inquisitr

Tesla Motors Co. saw a stock surge by 57 percent this week following the company’s first-quarter earnings report. Since April 1, the electric car company’s shares have skyrocketed up 138 percent.

The stock surge is largely in part a glowing review from Consumer Reports on the company’s Model S sedan. The all-electric car received a 99 out of 100 from the magazine — tying a former Lexus model for top honors.

Investors are also liking Tesla’s earning report. The company posted an $22 million first-quarter profit — a number that completely shattered the assumption that no automaker could make money selling a small number of all-electric cars.

Tesla also posted a 17 percent gross profit margin, using American workers. For the industry, 10 percent is considered outstanding. Theodore O’Neill, founder of Connecticut-based Litchfield Hills Research, commented:

“There’s a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for this car and this company in California, which we don’t see here on the other side of the continent. How far can Tesla go? As far as they want to go.”

The news comes after some have used Tesla and other electric car makers as “a political punching bag,” to quote Tesla Motors’ serial entrepreneur CEO Elon Musk. Most recently, Sarah Palin labeled Tesla’s Model S a “loser” when she criticized the Obama administration for backing Fisker Automotice, another electric car maker that could soon file for bankruptcy protection.

Tesla was also lumped in with green energy “losers” like Solyndra by former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. But Tesla Motors has appeared to defy the odds. The 10-year-old company reported its first-ever quarterly profit. The company noted that it sold 4,900 Model S sedans in the first quarter.

It expects to sell about 21,000 of the cars this year. That amounts to about four times the combined US sales for luxury cars from Maserati, Lamborghini, and Ferrari. Tesla’s first quarter also outsold Chevrolet’s Volt plug-in hybrid and Nissan’s Leaf. But it couldn’t surpass Toyota, which sold almost 56,000 Prius models. It aims to sell 250,000 of the hybrids this year.

Do you think Tesla Motors Co. will continue to survive?

[Image via Steve Jurvetson]

Tesla Motors Stock Surges, Company’s Future Bright After First-Quarter Earnings Report is a post from: The Inquisitr

Wii U is still struggling for sales, and the pending price cut may not be enough to help.

Nintendo’s sales of its latest console are not doing well at all. In spite of all of Nintendo’s efforts, Wii U continues to undershoot expected sales. April’s sales report showed no improvement, according to Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter.

In April, Wii U sold 55,000 units, which is 19 percent lower than the sales from March.

Shigeru Miyamoto has told us to just give the Wii U time to gain momentum in sales, but unfortunately you can’t pay the bills and your staff with hopes and dreams. 3DS is still everyone’s game system of choice, and you can’t argue with sales numbers. If the projections are off, it’s time to either lower them or change tactics. A price drop may not be enough if you can’t convince gamers there is anything worth playing on it.

Nintendo has attributed the platform’s slow adoption rate to a lack of major titles and marketing failing to communicate the novelty of the system, indicating that perhaps it’s time to either start releasing more major titles or just cut your losses like Sega did with the Dreamcast. Thus far it looks like most of the better games have been released for the 3DS, and Wii U is getting stuck with the hand-me-downs.

It’s not the system that sells units in the end, it’s the games, and Nintendo would do well to keep that in mind. Sony is doing well with the PlayStation Vita, so obviously they’re doing something Nintendo isn’t.

It does look like Wii U is getting some major games by the end of 2013, indicating that Nintendo is aware of the drought that keeps gamers from moving forward from the Wii and 3DS. Pikmin 3 is being planned alongside a few other big names, and some third party developers are starting to jump on board with big names like Need for Speed, Resident Evil, and Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate.

There may yet be hope for Nintendo’s failing console, but will it be in time?

What do you think about the future of the Wii U? Could the pending price cut be enough, or is it too little, too late?

Wii U Continues To Struggle, Price Cut May Not Help is a post from: The Inquisitr

Barcelona star Lionel Messi is likely to miss the remainder of the Spanish Liga season due to a lingering hamstring injury.

Tests confirmed that the Argentine international will be sidelined for up to three weeks after he aggravated the knock that has been plaguing him for the last month.

Messi picked up the hamstring injury in the first leg of Barca’s Champions League quarterfinal against Paris Saint-Germain in early April and has been in and out of the line-up ever since.

The 25 year old did play in the first leg against Bayern Munich but he was clearly unfit in the 4-0 setback and had to watch from the bench as his side crashed out of Europe’s most prestigious club competition after the 3-0 loss at Camp Nou in the return fixture.

Messi did feature in the 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid on Sunday but limped off after re-aggravating the injury just before the 70-minute mark.

Barcelona released a statement on its official website regarding the results of the tests today.

“Tests on Tuesday morning showed that Lionel Messi has an elongation in the femoral biceps in his right leg. The expected absence is two to three weeks.

“How the injury evolves will determine the player’s availability for future games.”

Barca has already clinched the Spanish Liga title on the weekend and have no trophies left to play for as it has been eliminated from the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

However, Messi will miss out on the chance to break the Spanish league scoring record that he set last year with 50 goals.

Lionel Messi currently has 46 strikes to his name but will not be able to add to his tally as he is set to sit out Barcelona’s last three games of the season against Real Valladolid, Espanyol and Malaga repectively.

Lionel Messi Could Miss Rest Of Season With Hamstring Injury is a post from: The Inquisitr

A new salt study released today from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) called into question the whole concept of trying to get your sodium consumption down to below 2,300 milligrams per day — much less below the almost impossible limit of 1,500 mg a day suggested by many doctors for certain patients.

According to the IOM, the average American is still consuming about 1-1/2 teaspoons of salt a day, about 3,500 mg.

Under current guidelines, all Americans over 50, African-Americans, and people with common diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease have been told to eat less than 1,500 mg of salt a day.

The IOM said that this advice is too strict and could even cause harm in some patients.

The American Heart Association (AHA) has already fired back. “We disagree with key components” of the new salt study, CEO Nancy Brown said in a statement. They said that they will continue to recommend that “all Americans eat no more than 1,500 mg a day of sodium.”

They come close to politely calling the IOM study bogus, saying that it focused on people who were already sick. The AHA statement argued that very low-salt diets help prevent high blood pressure and strokes.

A 2011 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine also questioned the idea that reducing salt helps prevent heart disease. Medical leaders like the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) said this earlier study was wrong because it collected data on too few people before reaching a conclusion.

“Take this study with a huge grain of salt, and then dispose of it properly,” Dr. Walter Willett, the chairman of the nutrition department at HSPH, said at the time.

In the new salt study, the IOM seemed to be advising moderation. IOM committee chairman Brian Strom told USA Today: “This is a two-sided message: We endorse public health efforts to lower excessive salt intake, but we raise questions about harm from too little salt.”

He also noted that it’s very difficult to cut salt intake below 1,500 mg a day.  Most salt is hidden on food, not sprinkled on it out of the shaker.

The most common source of hidden salt?  Often, it’s bread.

And another new salt study, released yesterday by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), said that the levels of sodium in processed foods are still too high to make it easy for people to cut way back on salt. The sodium levels have declined by only around 3.5 percent between 2005 and 2011 — so little that it could be just a random sampling error.

According to the CSPI new salt study, 90 percent of Americans get too much salt.

[salty chip photo by Silar via Wikimedia Commons]

New Salt Study Says Cutting Salt May Not Be Worth The Hassle is a post from: The Inquisitr

Toulon, IL — An umpire gave a new definition to being “out” when he allegedly passed out in the infield during the first inning of a high school game and then resisted arrest when police arrived.

The umpire was officiating a varsity game between United High School and Stark County High School on Friday in the Peoria, Ill., area.

As USA Today noted, “Normally umpires are the ones doing the ejecting,” but not in this instance.

Sheriff’s deputies reportedly had to deploy a taser to take him into custody on the field because he was being belligerent. “According to witnesses, Jacobson passed out on the field and when he was being assisted, he attacked the first responders that tried to help.  He was then tased two times while being arrested.” Witnesses added that he was “visibly under the influence” at the time.

The ump, identified as Daryl Jacobson, 49, was charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery and two misdemeanor counts of resisting a peace officer.

In a subsequent court hearing on Sunday, Jacobson said “I’m sorry for the inconvenience I gave everyone on Friday. That definitely was not normal of me.” The judge found probable cause on all four charges, however.

As of yesterday, the ump was in Stark County Jail on a $5,000 bond. The judge also ordered Jacobson to stay away from alcohol or any place that sells alcohol.

The Stark County School Superintendent said of this incident that “at no time was the safety of the players or coaches in jeopardy.”

The ump is due back in court on May 24 for an arraignment.

[Top image via Shutterstock]

Baseball fans sometimes accuse umpires of being blind in the way they call a game. That being said, have you ever heard of an instance from another venue or league unrelated to this incident in which blind drunk would apply?

Alleged Drunk Umpire Passes Out On Baseball Field, Then Resists Arrest is a post from: The Inquisitr

Donovan McNabb is set to retire as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles to end his career after stints with the Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings over his last two years in the league. McNabb never won a Super Bowl in his 13 seasons in the NFL as he lost in his only appearance in 2004 with the Eagles.

Philadelphia lost to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl that year and McNabb threw three crucial interceptions in the game. Nevertheless, he will go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks in Eagles’ history after 11 years with the team.

Last year, McNabb worked as an analyst for the NFL Network during the season and never returned to field though his name came up in free agents talks on a weekly basis. Any type of return is now out the question as Donovan McNabb is set to retire.

The 36-year-old announced his decision to retire as an Eagle on the NBC Sports Radio Show Monday night. McNabb believes the official retirement will happen in September though the Philadelphia Eagles have yet to make an announcement.

During his career, McNabb threw for 37,276 yards and 234 touchdowns. He is currently the Eagles’ franchise leader in passing completions (2,801), passing yards (32,873), and touchdowns (216) while he practically wrote the record book at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Eagles’ stadium was opened in 2003, during McNabb’s fifth year in the NFL, and he posted his best season there in 2004. The University of Syracuse product threw 31 touchdowns and finished with a 64 percent completion rating in 2004, both of which are the highest of his career.

McNabb’s started more games behind center than anyone as the Eagles’ quarterback and he is now calling it quits and hanging up the jersey for good. He last started six games in 2011 for the Vikings in which he threw for 948 yards and eight touchdowns.

With Donovan McNabb ready to retire, do you believe he is one of the greatest quarterbacks in the Philadelphia Eagles’ history?

[Image via Wikimedia Commons]

Donovan McNabb To Retire As An Eagle After 13 Seasons In The NFL is a post from: The Inquisitr