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Prosecutors said Friday that an autopsy shows Honduran national soccer team player Arnold Peralta suffered 18 gunshot wounds in what they called a "vicious attack." Peralta was killed Thursday when he was attacked at a shopping mall in his hometown. The statement from the chief prosecutors' office says Peralta "was viciously attacked, and he died of multiple gunshot wounds to the skull, face and chest." The killing occurred at the parking lot of the Uniplaza mall in La Ceiba, on the country's Caribbean coast. Police said two men on a motorcycle sprayed Peralta with bullets. Another soccer player who was with him at the time was unharmed. Peralta was on vacation following the conclusion of the Honduran national league season. He earlier played for the Rangers Football Club in Scotland. Police said Friday no suspects were in custody and the motive for the attack was unknown. Officials ruled out robbery as a possible motive, because Peralta still had all his possessions, including his Porsche SUV. In June, suspected gang members killed his cousin, Bayron Josue Peralta, 28, at his home in La Ceiba. The country is plagued by gang violence and has one of the world's highest homicide rates. The player's father, Carlos Peralta, confirmed the death at a news conference. "This is terrible. They killed my exemplary son. I can't say more because of the pain I feel." Osman Madrid, director of Honduras' national soccer federation, said, "This is a tragic death that the national sport mourns." Peralta, a 26-year-old midfielder, joined Club Deportivo Olimpia in the Honduran national soccer league this year. Olimpia was eliminated from the league's semifinal last weekend by its archrival, Motagua. The soccer club expressed its condolences through its official Twitter account. Peralta had been scheduled to play in the national team's friendly match against Cuba next week. He'd also played for Club Deportivo Vida in Honduras. He represented Honduras at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2012 Olympic Games in London and had been captain of Honduras' sub-20 national team.

Betty White, who's been on the A-list for a prodigious seven decades, continued her broadcasting reign when her new sitcom, "Hot in Cleveland," premiered on TV Land Wednesday night. Co-starring with White are: Valerie Bertinelli ("One Day at a Time" star and Jenny Craig spokesperson), Jane Leeves (Daphne from "Frasier") and Wendie Malick (most recently, "Pushing Daisies"). The TV Land original follows three female friends "of a certain age" (Bertineli, Leeves and Malick) who, while en route to Paris from LA, make an emergency crash landing in Cleveland. While detained, the La-La Land transplants take an unexpectedly quick liking to the Midwest's cheaper lifestyle, chili fries-serving dive bars, and average Joes who pass on manscaping (who also "look at" the leading ladies, "not past them"). Following their impulses, they decide to relocate permanently. While the contrived plot is hard to ignore, it's worth noting the show's old school feel. Maybe it's the familiar faces, or maybe it's White's voice telling us that "'Hot in Cleveland' is filmed before a live studio audience" in the cold open. Either way, there's a certain je ne sais quoi that makes the show feel accessible, comfortable. "Hot in Cleveland" makes rather extensive use of the "menopause is sexy" approach, with not-so-occasional jokes about failed relationships, physical appearance and age. "I'm too young to die -- though it's nice to still be too young for something," Malick groans as the plane goes down. But the actors, who are all show biz vets, deliver the material with solid skill and professionalism. And no one is more seasoned than the irreplaceable Betty White, who plays Elka, cheeky caretaker of the property that Bertinelli buys on a whim. Upon meeting Elka, Leeds asks, "Do you smell pot?" White: "Why, are you a cop?" White's comic timing is consummate, and while everybody loves her personality, she is truly one of the best in the business. The rest of the ladies don't disappoint, either ("I Googled 'Cleveland' and 'get hammered,' and this is what came up," Malick says upon entering the local bar). For the cable channel's first stab at an original scripted sitcom, "Hot in Cleveland" is polished enough to appear on a major network. Whether the overdone cougar humor or far-fetched storyline will get a lot of milage remains to be seen, but the accomplished and extremely likable cast make the show a delightful addition to the summer schedule. If you missed last night's pilot, the rerun airs this Saturday at 11 a.m. on TV Land.

Squad. Waka Flocka, Bloody J and Wooh Da Kid bring the whole hood out in the black-and-white visual for the hittas anthem, “Off With His Head.” This track appears on the upcoming Brick Squad Monoply mixtape From Roaches To Rolex . Directed by Major League Films. Welcome back to XXL Mag It appears that you already have an account created within our VIP network of sites on . To keep your personal information safe, we need to verify that it's really you. To activate your account, please confirm your password. When you have confirmed your password, you will be able to log in through Facebook on both sites. Enter your password Forgot your password? YES, Activate My Account Now! Welcome back to XXL Mag It appears that you already have an account on this site associated with . To connect your existing account just click on the account activation button below. You will maintain your existing VIP profile. After you do this, you will be able to always log in to http://www.xxlmag.com using your original account information. YES, Activate My Account Now! We're Almost There! Please fill out the information below to help us provide you a better experience. Zip Continue and Activate

Earlier this week I wrote about a new cross-platform Trojan downloader that detects if you're running Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux, and then downloads the corresponding malware for your platform . At the time, I noted that the Mac payload for that particular attack was a PowerPC binary, meaning it required Rosetta on an Intel-based platform to execute. A second attack has been discovered that includes an Intel x86 payload for Macs. Today's news shows that the first find wasn't an isolated incident. Just like last time, the Trojan downloader checks your operating system so it can pick which malware to download onto your computer. The Web-based social engineering attack relies on a malicious Java applet to install backdoors on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. When you first visit such a compromised site, you are prompted to install the Java applet, which unsurprisingly hasn't been signed with a certificate. If you do so, the applet checks which operating system you have (Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux) and then drops a corresponding Trojan for your platform. F-Secure, which first found the Web exploit, detects the initial malware as Trojan-Downloader:Java/GetShell.A. The respective payloads for Windows, Mac, and Linux are detected as follows: Backdoor:W32/TES.A, Backdoor:OSX/TESrel.A, and Backdoor:Linux/GetShell.A. The Trojan downloader was written using the Social-Engineer Toolkit (SET), an open-source and publicly-available Python tool designed for penetration testing. The security firm says the payloads remain the same, with only their implementations changed. The Windows payload is in the form of a shellcode which is executed using the SET module shellcodeexec.binary, but has the same behavior. Instead of connecting to a remote server to get additional shellcode to execute (which then opens a reverse shell), the OS X binary immediately opens a reverse shell, which attackers can then leverage with ease. The Linux binary remains the same except that it is using a different server. Malware writers love using a cross-platform plugin as an attack vector because it allows them to target more than one operating system, and thus more potential users. It shouldn't surprise you that Java is being used: the platform has loads of security holes, and it runs on all the major operating systems. See also:

Enterprise collaboration company Huddle has unveiled a suite of cloud services which it hopes will persuade workers to give up on saving files to the desktop. Its Connected Desktop, launched on Thursday, includes a number of elements aimed at moving business data off desktops and out of email and into Huddle's cloud service. For example, Huddle for Windows and Huddle for Mac automatically stores all content from desktop applications into Huddle's cloud. If connectivity is lost while files are being edited via desktop applications, the latest file version is uploaded into Huddle as soon as connectivity is restored. Huddle for Outlook aggregates email discussions to make information and files easier to find, the Huddle Viewer allows images and videos to previewed and streamed from the cloud, while its Huddle Dashboard shows users their business activity stream and all the people they are working with in one central place. Huddle CEO Alastair Mitchell said businesses are lagging behind consumers when it comes to adoption of cloud services: "Back in the 1990s the network was the computer, whereas now it's the cloud that is the computer. It is where all the storage is done, all the work is done but that still hasn't happened in the enterprise, when you go into the world of work you go into the office it's still very old school... you store stuff on big clunky laptops. It's a very different experience and it's obvious how this is going to go: as the cloud becomes pervasive it will be the place where all this work is done." Huddle is one of a number of companies trying to combine content management, cloud services with a social media element to make workers more efficient and make company data easier to find and use. Other examples are Yammer (now part of Microsoft ) or Salesforce.com's Chatter tool . "There is going to be a small number of players and they are going to have to play nicely with each other but they're not really competing they all believe the same thing they're just providing a slightly different view on slightly different activity; one is a social view and one is a content. If an enterprise has rolled out Tibbr they're going to want to see Huddle as part of that. Equally if they're rolling out Huddle they're going to want to see a social feed in there," Mitchell added. Further reading

The head of the United Auto Workers union lashed out Friday at Senate Republicans -- Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, in particular -- blaming them for scuttling the $14 billion auto bailout package approved earlier in the week by the House. GOP objections stalled the measure in the Senate Thursday night. Republicans put pressure on the powerful autoworkers union as they tried to squeeze out concessions in exchange for their support. "This was just simply subterfuge on the part of the minority in the Republican Party who wanted to tear down any agreement that we came up with," UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said at a press conference, declaring "the auto industry around the world is in peril." Intense negotiations broke down over the union's refusal to meet GOP demands for wage cuts. Corker, the architect of the Republican counterproposal to the House-approved bill, told FOX News that negotiators were "just three words away from a deal." But Gettelfinger said Republicans were holding the union to a "double standard" and trying to applying an undue burden on their workers. He questioned whether Republicans had an ulterior motive, but said the union was nevertheless willing to negotiate. "Quite frankly, we wondered if we were just being set up," Gettelfinger said. "And I say that because there's no question the UAW has demonstrated leadership throughout this process, and there were some in the Senate who we felt resented that. " He said bankruptcy for the Big Three automakers is not an option. Corker rejected the accusations, telling FOX News the union simply refused to offer a date by which they could be competitive with foreign automakers who have plants in the United States. "I was stunned that they would walk away from a deal to put these companies on an incredible footing, a healthy footing for their employees for years to come," Corker said. The senator complained that the UAW pay scale is "far higher" than at other plants in the United States, particularly those of foreign automakers. In terms of hourly wages, the pay scales are similar. For instance, General Motors says the average UAW laborer makes $29.78, while Toyota says it pays about $30 per hour. The difference is in the benefits, however. GM's hourly labor costs (including pensions and health care) total $69 for active workers. Toyota's total about $48 per hour at older U.S. plants. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The 114th Congress that convenes Tuesday will count more minorities and women than ever, although lawmakers remain overwhelmingly white and male in the Republican-controlled House and Senate. A record 104 women will serve in Congress, and for the first time, African-American members of both genders and representing both parties will be among the ranks on Capitol Hill. The number of female lawmakers is up slightly from 100 at the close of the last Congress, but represents about 20 percent of the total in Congress. It's far less than the nearly 51 percent of the U.S. population. A total of 94 racial minorities will serve in Congress, about 18 percent. There are 100 senators and 435 seats in the House. The House will have 246 Republicans and 188 Democrats. One seat is vacant following the resignation on Monday of Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., who pleaded guilty to a felony tax evasion charge. The Senate will have 54 Republicans and 44 Democrats, plus two independents — Maine's Angus King and Vermont's Bernie Sanders. Both caucus with Democrats. ___ HOUSE A total of 84 women will serve in the House, compared with 80 in the last Congress. The new lawmakers include Elise Stefanik, a 30-year-old New York Republican who is the youngest woman ever elected to the House. Also making history is Mia Love, 38, whose election to a suburban Salt Lake City district made her the first black female Republican to win a seat in Congress. Forty-four African-Americans will serve in the House, including Love and another black Republican freshman, Will Hurd of Texas. Hurd made news last month as he was named chairman of an Information Technology subcommittee on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, an unusual distinction for a freshman. There are 34 Hispanic lawmakers, including 10 Republicans, as well as 10 Asian-Americans and two Native Americans, both Oklahoma Republicans. ___ SENATE The number of women in the Senate remains at 20, following the election of Republicans Joni Ernst of Iowa and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, and the defeats of Democrats Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. (Re-elected were Republican Susan Collins of Maine and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.) Two African-Americans serve as senators — Republican Tim Scott of South Carolina and Democrat Cory Booker of New Jersey. There are three Hispanic senators: Republicans Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas and Democrat Robert Menendez of New Jersey. Democrat Mazie Hirono of Hawaii is the only Asian-American in the Senate. ____ FRESHMEN Fifty-eight House freshmen will be sworn in on Tuesday — 43 Republicans and 15 Democrats. Three other members are new to Congress but are considered veterans of a few weeks. Reps. Dave Brat, R-Va., Donald Norcross, D-N.J., and Alma Adams, D-N.C., took the oath shortly after November's elections to fill the seats of lawmakers who had left Congress. The Senate will welcome 13 new members — 12 Republicans and one Democrat, Gary Peters of Michigan. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram

Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire's chances to enter the Hall of Fame are dwindling. Baseball writers so far overwhelmingly have decided the outsized statistics of the Steroids Era stars are tarnished by their connection to performance-enhancing drugs use. Once again Tuesday, Cooperstown's doors remained shut. "I did it the only way I knew how, and I wanted to do it clean," Pedro Martínez said Tuesday after he was elected along with Randy Johnson, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio. "And the integrity of the way I did is probably the reason of me going to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot." For emphasis during a news conference at Boston's Fenway Park, the Dominican right-hander held open his navy blazer to show off his wiry frame, a stark contrast to the bulked-up bodies that personified the years offense reigned. Clemens, the only seven-time Cy Young Award winner, and Bonds the home run king and only seven-time MVP, failed in their third turns on the ballot. Smoltz voiced approval of drug testing in 2000, two years before players and owners reached a joint drug agreement for the first time since 1985. "This great game and the game that I personally love has found a way to for the time being, to make it sure that it again has back the integrity and the legitimacy that it needs so that fans, the great fans of baseball, do not sit there and wonder what they're watching, is it legitimate or not?" Smoltz said. Clemens received support on 37.5 percent of the ballots and Bonds 36.8 percent. The situations of McGwire and Sosa are more dire. The duo, who electrified the nation with a dizzying home run chase in the summer of 1998, are on the verge of dropping out of contention altogether. Because of a rules change last summer that limits a player's years of eligibility from 15 to 10, McGwire has one more chance at receiving the necessary 75 percent vote from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. This year he received his lowest vote total yet, 10 percent, and he never was named on more than 23.7 percent of the ballots since he's been eligible in 2007. Sosa survived being swept off the ballot by nine votes, receiving recognition by just 36 of 549 voters (6.6 percent) after just three years. A 5 percent threshold is needed to remain on the ballot. Gary Sheffield received little attention in his first year on the ballot, getting 11.7 percent. He hit 509 home runs and says he only accidentally took a PED. Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell, two players who have fallen under suspicion of use but were never caught up in any investigation, fell short, too, though Piazza could gain admittance next year. He received 69.9 percent in his third year, a steady rise. Bagwell is up to 55.7 percent. "I realize the cloud has covered a multitude of so many different people and I realize that the media and people have a hard time distinguishing and determining, and in time maybe it will become clearer for all parties involved," Smoltz said. The future for players who've fallen under suspicion might be a bit brighter, though. The ballot could expand next year to 12 votes for each writer. Ken Griffey Jr. appears to be the only sure thing among a newcomer group that also includes Trevor Hoffman and Billy Wagner. "It's actually sad, to be honest. It's sad," Martínez said. "People I admired are not going in with me." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram

"The Girl Who Cried Racism," a "caterwauling cop-basher," the "wrong poster child for racial profiling"--these are among the milder comments directed at Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney for assaulting a Capitol Hill police officer who prevented her from bypassing a security check point. McKinney is a black woman; the officer is a white man. The incident provides a riveting glimpse into the politics of gender and race. Ironically, the incident itself had nothing to do with gender or race. On March 29, McKinney did not wear the ID pin identifying her as one of the 500-plus representatives and senators who are exempt from the regular screening process. As she skirted security at a Capital building, an officer who did not recognize her repeatedly called out "Ma'am!" McKinney ignored him. He put a restraining hand either on her shoulder or arm; she allegedly struck him in the chest. (Ultimately, the security video of the entrance in question will clear up such vagueness.) Later the same day, a somewhat conciliatory McKinney issued a statement declaring, "I know that Capitol Hill Police are securing our safety, and I appreciate the work that they do." Perhaps because the officer indicated a willingness to press charges, McKinney's tone had changed by the 31st. She held a press conference at which she was flanked by representatives of the National Organization for Women and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. First, she played the gender card. "This whole incident was instigated by the inappropriate touching and stopping of me, a female black congresswoman," McKinney stated. Second, the race card. McKinney's attorney claimed she was "a victim of being in Congress while black" and "a victim of the excessive use of force because of how she looks and the color of her skin." A strong offense may well be the best defense when your position is otherwise untenable. McKinney is a legislator. Barring appeals to gender and race, the only justification she has is that the legislation she passes applies to other people, not to her; she is above the law. It is no wonder she chose the reliable but very, very old strategy of gender and race. What is amazing is how spectacularly they failed. On gender. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has consistently voted with McKinney on 'gender bills'; both Congresswomen have a 100 percent approval rating from NOW. Yet Pelosi appeared before the camera to state, "I find it hard to see any set of facts that would justify striking a police officer." The two women are reportedly no longer on speaking terms. On race. There are 42 black members in the House of Representatives, including fourteen black women. None have publicly defended McKinney. The closest to support black colleagues have offered was when some members beside McKinney on April 6 as she delivered a non-apologetic apology to the House. It was a gesture the Congressional Black Caucus had pressed her to make. There are several reasons why invoking gender and race did not work. It is an over-used tactic to which reaction had become jaded especially when the complaint issues from a person of power and privilege. Conservatives responded with hostility, liberals with embarrassment. Even the accused police officer was probably spurred on and not discouraged by being publicly called a racist. Gender and race are no longer the highest political cards in the deck. They do not trump national defense, for example -- an issue upon which it is essential for Democrats to make political gains. A representative of the House Speaker Dennis Hastert is quoted as saying, "On a day when the Democrats are promoting their national security agenda, it's probably not a good idea for them [McKinney] to allegedly strike police officers." What will the mercurial McKinney do next? Interestingly, her website now features Article 1, Section 6 of the Constitution which states, "The Senators and Representatives in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective houses, and in going to and returning from the same?" McKinney is raising the possibility that screening members of Congress is unconstitutional. She should read another provision of that document. Article I, Section 5 states, "Each House may determine the rules of its procedure, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member." Assaulting a police officer probably qualifies as disorderly behavior. Democrats want the McKinney debacle to go away. It distracts from advancing their agenda and from capitalizing on several Republican scandals that have now been overshadowed. But whether or not criminal charges are pressed, the McKinney saga will continue. Republican Tom DeLay is retiring due to one of the scandals from which attention has been diverted. On April 4, DeLay informed Human Events, "If nobody in this House files an ethics charge [against McKinney with the House Ethics Committee], I am." The upcoming ethics circus may reveal the most compelling reason why 'gender' and 'race' did not work for McKinney. People are beginning to question the motives of those to whom such accusations come easily or too often. Wendy McElroy is the editor of ifeminists.com and a research fellow for The Independent Institute in Oakland, Calif. She is the author and editor of many books and articles, including the new book, "Liberty for Women: Freedom and Feminism in the 21st Century" (Ivan R. Dee/Independent Institute, 2002). She lives with her husband in Canada.

A large asteroid hurtled harmlessly past the Earth early Monday at a distance of about 269,000 miles — slightly farther away than the moon. Residents with telescopes in the United States and Canada had the best view of 2004 XP14, which appeared as a streaking dot in the northern sky. Astronomers tracking the space rock's path since its discovery in 2004 had determined that it would pose no risk to Earth during the encounter nor in the next 100 years. • Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Space Center. • Click here for FOXNews.com' Natural Disaster section. Judging by its brightness, 2004 XP14 was estimated to be a quarter-mile to a half-mile wide. An asteroid that size, if it smashed into Earth, would probably cause regional destruction. Scientists have said it would take a mile-wide or larger asteroid to cause widespread devastation that could threaten civilization. Asteroid encounters are not uncommon. More than three dozen, mostly smaller, asteroids have flown closer to Earth in the last few years. But the latest was unusual because it was thought to be among the largest to have flown by. Scientists believe an asteroid or comet impact probably wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago and gave rise to the age of mammals. But the probability of an asteroid hitting the Earth and causing a global disaster in the near future is extremely low, they say. Asteroids the size of 2004 XP14 collide with Earth about every 84,000 years. Scientists said it's hard to predict what would happen if such an event occurred because it depends on the object's makeup, its angle and speed, and whether it was headed for the ocean or land. An asteroid similar in size to 2004 XP14 would probably punch through the atmosphere and cause destruction on a regional scale, one expert said. If it smashed into the United States, it would probably destroy several states, but not the entire continent, said Don Yeomans, who heads the Near Earth Object Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "It would be quite serious, but not a global catastrophe," he said. If it hit an ocean, it would likely create killer waves like the deadly 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, said Brian Marsden, director of the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass. "Something as large as this clearly does make a bit of a mess," Marsden said. Besides devastation in the immediate impact zone, another concern is the extent to which debris from the collision would spread in the atmosphere, like ash from a volcanic eruption, possibly dimming or blotting out the sun. Astronomers will analyze radar data on 2004 XP14 over the next several days to get a better idea of its shape and future trajectory.

Your investment portfolio might perform better if you put it through training camp. Sports teams do it — football programs now are in the middle of their preseason regimen — and your portfolio is, effectively, a team that must work together to help you reach your goal and win the investment game. Click here to visit FOXBusiness.com's Investing Center. Athletic teams have a scheduled season, with a set period for training and exhibition play. "Mutual fund season," however, runs all year long, every year. The good news is that you don't need a break in the action to determine which investments can contribute to a winning future and which should be cut. Funds can go through rigorous training and evaluation at any time, testing each fund's ability to meet your changing needs and carry you to the ultimate victory. Before you size up the players, review your game plan, because that will determine the positions you need to fill. Sizing up your fund team starts with your current roster of holdings, but should include some free agents — funds that might make your portfolio better in the future. Just as training camp is the time when many big-name athletes get replaced by younger, lesser-known players, it may be the time when you decide that a former star is past its prime. Start your training camp by using a fund evaluation tool such as the "Mutual Fund Compare" feature from investment researcher Morningstar Inc. or the portfolio tracker from fund-data firm Lipper Inc., both of which are free of charge. These tools let you do a side-by-side analysis of your players and prospects while reviewing the portfolio as a whole. Look for the same attributes a football coach values in finding the right mix for a team. Here are qualities you'll want in every fund you own: 1. Physical fitness Practically every new dollar going into funds ends up in recent top performers. The problem is that most above-average funds revert to the mean over time. It can be asset growth — where the fund gets out of shape for the job it's trying to achieve — or management changes or other conditions, but it comes down to a fund that no longer looks quite up to the task. Signs that a fund is fit for the long haul: low expenses; low turnover; stable management and consistent performance. 2. Attitude Each player must share your mindset. You don't just want to fill positions — you want a player who performs to your satisfaction. Some small-cap funds are hyper-aggressive, generating more volatility and risk than a more-conservative peer. Defensive-minded investors prefer to protect assets, sacrificing some potential growth to gain consistency; offensive-minded investors want to run up the biggest returns possible. 3. Foot speed, quickness and stamina Coaches test players to see if they can cover a set distance in a specific time. In funds, this equals performance expectations. You may hold a fund to get representation in a category, like large-cap value, but you want to be sure the fund can keep pace with its average peer or an appropriate benchmark over time. If a fund has been great for the last six months but lousy for the last three years, it may not have enough agility or stamina to meet your goals. This is where you size up potential replacements — those free agents — to see what belongs on the waiver wire. 4. Ability to meet your needs This is a coach's decision. Over time, your needs and desires will change. A fund purchased a decade ago may not be an appropriate pick today, particularly if you've become more conservative with age. More experienced investors may want further diversification rather than relying heavily on the same players. Having a top fund in its class is terrific, but only if that asset category is appropriate for your needs, and only if the size of the holding fits your investment strategy. 5. Past performance There's good reason to trust the issues you have won with in the past. In evaluating past performance, closely examine volatility. You may have put up with an extremely bumpy ride from the bull market through the bear market and back, but that doesn't mean you'll want a repeat of this in the next market cycle. If you nearly gave up on a player when the market was sour, consider whether you'll have the emotional discipline to stay the course the next time you need a clutch performer. Ultimately, if you don't believe your portfolio team will allow you to remain cool and collected in a tight, difficult investment game, it's probably time to find new players that command your confidence. Click here to visit FOXBusiness.com's Investing Center. Copyright (c) 2006 MarketWatch, Inc.

Tila Tequila is taking a shot at love with a dude. The bisexual Internet celebrity selected 25-year-old film student Bobby Banhart as the winner of "A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila," her popular MTV reality dating show, instead of 29-year-old female firefighter Dani Campbell. "I do love Dani, and we've gone through so much together," Tequila said during Tuesday's finale. "But I am in love with Bobby." Tequila — whose real last name is Nguyen — chose Banhart on a platform in the middle of the pool at the mansion where the reality show was filmed. Campbell walked away immediately following Banhart's selection, but Tequila ran after her to hug her and say goodbye. "I thought we had something real. I thought we had a big connection," Campbell said. "I guess I was wrong." "A Shot at Love," which featured 16 men and 16 women competing for the affection of the 26-year-old MySpace pinup, became MTV's second most popular series, just behind "The Hills," according to Nielsen Media Research. Casting notices have circulated online for a second season of "A Shot at Love" and "That's Amore!" — a new dating show starring "Shot at Love" castoff Domenico Nessi. MTV hasn't confirmed that either is in the works, but Tequila told The Associated Press last week that MTV had approached her about taking another "Shot at Love" — although it doesn't look like she needs to. "I came into this hoping to find love," Tequila said, "and I did." A reunion of Tequila and the contestants will air Dec. 23.

This is a rush transcript from "America's Election HQ," April 24, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. MEGYN KELLY, CO-HOST: Brand new tonight: Obama's former pastor gives his first televised interview since his whole sermon flap erupted. And we have the first excerpts from that interview. Reverend Jeremiah Wright refusing to apologize or back away from his anti-American and other controversial remarks in a sit-down with Bill Moyers of PBS. Not only does Reverend Wright not apologize, he blames the media for airing his sound bytes, calling it, quote, "unfair, unjust, untrue," saying, "those who made me the target of hatred were doing it for some very devious reasons." • Video: Watch the interview Just how damage is this new interview for Barack Obama if at all? Reaction now from radio star and FOX News contributor: Laura Ingraham. Hi, Laura. LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, Megyn. KELLY: All right. So now we have it, finally the sit-down comes, we know it would come at some point. He goes into a rather friendly forum and decides not to apologize in any way, shape or form, Laura. What do you make of it? INGRAHAM: Well, first of all, I thought he was going to give you the first interview on "America's Election Headquarters." I'm very upset about that, number one. KELLY: You and me, both. INGRAHAM: Outrageous. Number two, come on, did we really think he was going to be anything but defiant, Megyn? I mean, we follow his past and the comments he's made over the years about America and his vision of America is very dark, and it is a devious place. I mean, he used the word devious to describe the media playing his sound bytes but he describes America as this U.S. of KKK-type land where, you know, race wars are on the verge of happening almost. And to me, the more this stays in the public eye, the worse it is for Barack Obama, because he's still, in the eyes of many people, has not adequately said — this was a mistake to stay in this church, and Reverend Wright has done some good things for people, for sure, but this was a mistake to associate myself with this church at this point in time. And he hasn't done that. I think that's — as we saw in Pennsylvania, I think that ended up hurting him. KELLY: You know, one interesting thing for this interview is we start to see sort of his defense for these comments, if he has one. And let me show you the quote from it. He says — let's see if we have it - "The blowing up a sermons preached 15, seven, six years ago and now becoming a media event, not the full sermon but the snippets from the sermon and sound bite have made me the target of hatred, yes, that is something very new and something very, very unsettling." So, here we have number one he says, "The comments were made years ago." INGRAHAM: Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes. KELLY: Right? And that they were taken in snippets. That's his defense, that out of context and years ago. INGRAHAM: Well, Megyn, what he has to do then is give us the context of U.S. of KKK. Give us the full context of his description of the U.S. government as in part responsible for injecting the AIDS virus into African-American citizens. What is the full context for these remarks? This is a total canard. Reverend Wright got caught, OK? He doesn't like the fact that people know what he thinks about America, despite the fact he may have done some really good things for people in his neighborhood and his community and he's very well liked. I'll grant you that. But this vision of America as the worst problem facing the planet is not something that most Americans like very much. They love their country and they don't love it for what it will be, they love it for what it is now. And I think, again, the anti-Americanism angle of this, Megyn, is something that's much more important. The race angle, I think, has been way overblown. I think it's much more a vision of this country, what is your vision? KELLY: You know, he was asked — I don't have it in the graphic, but he was also asked about Barack Obama's race speech, Laura, and what he thought about the condemnation he got from Obama to the extent he got that in that speech, and he said — the question was: "How did that go down with you when you heard Barack Obama talking about you in that speech?" And he says, "He's a politician. I'm a pastor. We speak to two different audiences. And he says what he has to say as a politician," and goes on from there. Do you think that Reverend Wright is trying to tell us that he doesn't buy Barack Obama's race speech, that he thinks Barack Obama was just saying what he had to say? INGRAHAM: That's very insightful. And I think you're on to something there. The fact that he didn't have any stronger words to say, "Look, you know, come on, he was there, and he was in my church, he knew what I was all about." I mean, it could be a bit of "a wink and a nod" thing here, Megyn. The bottom line is: Barack Obama clearly knew what kind of general views his pastor had. The black liberation theology is very well-known. Obviously, it had its roots in Marxism. People know that. It's not a big secret. So, the idea that, you know, oh, I'm shocked, I'm horrified - you know, it doesn't pass the straight face test and I understand this is politics, but people are pretty smart out there and I think they see through this. But, how many follow-up questions did Bill Moyers have, Megyn? Do you have that in a transcript yet? KELLY: Yes, well, we'll have to wait until tomorrow night to find out. But the interesting thing, too, Laura, is that not only did the Reverend Wright speak to Bill Moyers, but now we fine out he's going to make two more public appearances: one on Sunday night and then on Monday morning, I think, at 9:00 a.m., he's going to speak to the National Press Club. It will be more than just - it will be more than just Bill Moyers there. And what is he doing, Laura? Do you think that Barack Obama's campaign is just getting shivers down their spine if he goes out here on this media blip? INGRAHAM: Operation reputation rescue - that's what this is. I mean, he's going to the press club, goes on with Bill Moyers. Obviously, he knows he's not only hurt himself in the way this thing has been publicized, but it's also hurting his friend. And I think, by the end of all this, Megyn, there's going to be an outcry in the media to say, "Look, this man has explained himself. He's been out there. He's a good man and you guys got to all now leave this behind because he's been out there explaining this. Put it to rest." So, that's what I think is going on. KELLY: Very interesting. It's fascinating just to get that first glimpse into how he sees the coverage of this issue. We're going to have more throughout the hour. Laura Ingraham, thanks so much for being here. INGRAHAM: Take care, Megyn. Content and Programming Copyright 2008 FOX News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Transcription Copyright 2008 Voxant, Inc. (www.voxant.com), which takes sole responsibility for the accuracy of the transcription. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No license is granted to the user of this material except for the user's personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may infringe upon FOX News Network, LLC'S and Voxant, Inc.'s copyrights or other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation.

Two more banks, one in Georgia and another in Texas, closed Friday. Haven Trust Bank was closed by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance and Sanderson State Bank was closed by the Texas Department of Banking. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was named receiver of both. Branch Banking & Trust of Winston-Salem, N.C., will assume Haven Trust's $515 million in deposits for $112,000, according to an agreement with the FDIC. Haven Trust's four branches reopen on Monday as branches of BB&T, and its depositors will automatically become depositors of BB&T. The FDIC says they can access all their money over the weekend by writing checks or using ATMs or debit cards. The Pecos County State Bank will assume all of Sanderson State Bank's deposits, including those that exceeded the deposit insurance limit, according to a company press release. Over the weekend, depositors of Sanderson State Bank will have access to all of their money by writing checks or using ATMs or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

Is this what Obama meant when he said we need a civilian defense corps just as well trained and equipped as the military? Todd Krainin for The New York Times IMPERIAL, Calif. — Ten minutes into arrant mayhem in this town near the Mexican border, and the gunman, a disgruntled Iraq war veteran, has already taken out two people, one slumped in his desk, the other covered in blood on the floor. The responding officers — eight teenage boys and girls, the youngest 14 — face tripwire, a thin cloud of poisonous gas and loud shots — BAM! BAM! — fired from behind a flimsy wall. They move quickly, pellet guns drawn and masks affixed. “United States Border Patrol! Put your hands up!” screams one in a voice cracking with adolescent determination as the suspect is subdued. It is all quite a step up from the square knot. It’s interesting to note that the villain here is a “disgruntled Iraq vet”, but Iraq vets are not the only threat the kiddies are being trained to fight. They include illegal border crossers, terrorists and “active shooters”, however one would assume that they are being trained to take on all those the DHS considers possible threats, like people with Ron Paul bumper stickers, anyone that invokes the Constitution or complains about the Obamessiah. If there are critics of the content or purpose of the law enforcement training, they have not made themselves known to the Explorers’ national organization in Irving, Tex., or to the volunteers here on the ground, national officials and local leaders said. Gosh, apparently this article changed that, because Learning For Life has issued a statement, which is one of the most blatant and whiny non-denials I’ve ever seen. Mock me as paranoid but I think this looks mighty police stateish. Slideshow Article Contacts at Learning for Life William Taylor, Director of Criminal Justice Liaison – Criminal Justice Organizations (972) 580-2241 [email protected] John Anthony, MS National Director (972) 580-2420 [email protected]

In one sense, Republicans and Democrats are nearly the same. While they may have different philosophies that motivate their actions, the results are usually identical: An impenetrable bureaucracy that’s expensive to run and difficult to control. Sadly, it’s a trend that neither side seems interested in changing. Maybe they think we won’t notice. And maybe they’re right. I think it might be time to revise the traditional left/right political spectrum we use to describe American politics. We may need a new way to define the current political landscape, perhaps focusing less on ideology and more on the existing scene we’re now facing. It might even be time to view the nature of government with the same perspective as the American Founders. The framers of the U.S Constitution were well aware of the historic trend of government. They knew that ruling entities that endured over time evolved towards greater power, gradually increasing control over their nation’s citizens. The Constitution was designed in part to remedy this. The Founder’s vision of a limited government was a remarkable innovation for its time that was meant to maintain the rights of the individual citizen, and preserve the power of the individual states. Their concept had little to do with left versus right, or liberal versus conservative. Rather, they were largely motivated by the creation of a republic that would not descend into a state of tyranny—a fate that history seemed to show was in the end, inevitable. I’m proposing a new method of evaluating politics that will measure our government according to the power they have over their citizens. I’m hoping that it will be an effective way to get a simple representation of our politicians and the policies they support. I think it can also serve as a gauge to judge legislative proposals in a way that frames every argument into its basic essentials: size and complexity—the two things that make our government expensive to run and difficult to control. The left end of the spectrum represents 100 percent government—the domain of dictators, despots, and totalitarian regimes. The right end represents a 100 percent stateless society where you find anarchists*, sovereign citizens, and anti-government groups. The midpoint represents a theoretical equilibrium where the state and the citizen are equally balanced. You’ll find that Americans lean towards one end or the other, depending on their views on the role of government in society. * A brief sidebar on “anarchism:” The term is often misused, misapplied and misunderstood by politicians and the media. Nowhere is this more evident than in the labeling of Occupy Wall Street demonstrators, WTO protesters and various anti-globalization groups. Far from being anarchists, these types of activists are simply anti-capitalists who support government intervention to oppose the private sector. Keep in mind that this political gauge is a gradient scale. There’s no exact point on this number line that represents any singular ideology or philosophy. The end points and the zero midpoint are absolute, and in the real world unobtainable. Between those points are a range of generic political tendencies that might indicate how much government one would be willing to support or tolerate. The totalitarian-stateless scale of government is meant to be a measuring device that can be applied without regard to political ideologies, parties or factions. While such factors shouldn’t be necessarily ignored, this spectrum is meant to establish a more basic political inclination: Should government be weighted in favor of the state or towards the citizen? And to what degree? Is there an ideal balance between the two? From here on out, and until further notice, I have only one simple question. And it’s multiple choice, so any politician should be able to handle it: Is the size of the Federal Government: (a) too large; (b) not large enough; (c) pretty much the right size. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the most important discussion we should be having right now. And it’s a question to which we should demand an answer from every politician. When government is allowed to grow unchecked, (sort of like now) it eventually becomes too expensive to support and too complex to run (sort of like now). Never mind the abuse and injustice it brings to its citizens (sort of like now), it’s patently unsustainable. This should be beyond dispute. Our choices are simple: We either rein in the power of Washington, or we go broke and careen out of control. The American Founders would certainly have understood this. On the other hand, our elected officials tend to be slow learners. But I hope they can manage to get up to speed, sooner rather than later.

NEW YORK -- What do you get the man who has everything? According to Andrew Apostola, you give him the unexpected. Apostola is founder of Svbscription, a men’s subscription service curated for people with a high appreciation for luxury objects and unique experiences. The company's twin bases in the Brooklyn neighborhood Dumbo and Melbourne, Australia, send out a surprise parcel every three months, containing four to eight exclusive or rare products and experiences from categories including apparel, technology, beauty and design. “This is a man who feels an absence when it comes to the possessions he owns. We are a way for him to stay connected and at the forefront of culture," Apostola said of Svbscription's intended audience. Since launching in June 2012, subscriber numbers have risen by 50 percent, suggesting the luxury men's market is thriving. Reuters has reported the world's number one and three luxury groups LVMH (LVMH Moët Hennessy) and PPR S.A. (formerly known as Pinault-Printemps-Redoute S.A.) as having higher United States growth rates in 2012, compared with China. More recently the Wall Street Journal announced the U.S. luxury market was bolstering the business for high-end goods purveyors. At the Financial Times, Jim Shi revealed the men's luxury goods market was outperforming women's in all categories. Svbscription, with its annual member fee of USD$1,150 (or USD$330-$589 per quarter), seems well placed to capitalize on the growing appetite of male consumers. According to Apostola, this target market comprises men between the ages of 28 and 40, working at a high level in any number of professional fields, from advertising to design and law. Apostola, also the CEO and cofounder of online video and film channel Portable, said while Svbscription wasn't a new concept (see competitor Bespoke Post and Birchbox for women), theirs is a a unique service that combines retail and editorial with a membership-only service. Each product in Svbscription is carefully researched by a multidisciplinary team, including ex-lifestyle editor Marc Goldenfein, 34, Portable's managing director Simon Goodrich, 33, luxury fashion consultants Dino Siampos, 29, and Sam Wheeler, 34. Apostola said that the point of difference is Svbscription’s ongoing collaboration with its brand partners. For example, Le Labo, a bespoke French fragrance company, worked with Apostola and his team to release their new travel-specific line to Svbscription members. Each bottle came engraved with the initials of the client. "They connected with us and we realized we shared the same values of small is beautiful, of reverence to craft, of just fun over hype," Le Labo's founder Fabrice Penot said."This is very special because their aesthetic matches ours, their audience has an educated eye like ours, so we were able to work together." Since launching a year ago, Svbscription has amassed impressive partnerships, including Todd Selby, Steven Alan, Loden Dager, Malin + Goetz, The White Briefs, Table aux Argentes, Kinfolk, La Portegna, Field, Kathryn Hinton, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Fort Standard and Henson. Close to home, Svbscription’s direct competitor is Manhattan-based Bespoke Post, another male-centric subscription service established in November 2011 by Kellogg graduates Steven Szaronos, 30, and Rishi Prabhu, 31. Like Svbscription, Bespoke's service caters to men aged between 24 to 40, with an average annual salary of USD$60,000. Boxes always cost USD$45 regardless of the contents inside. "We provide brand discovery to a demographic that wants the best, but doesn’t always have the time or knowledge to find it,” Prabhu said. Self-described as a "lifestyle subscription club for men," Bespoke Post has offered everything from gentleman shaving sets and artisan barbecue boxes to travel boxes and more, and has worked with brands such as Sempli, Hook & Albert, Saphir, and Cocktail Kingdom. While comparisons between Svbscription and Bespoke Post have been made, there are notable differences. Bespoke Post focuses only on the U.S. and Canadian markets, while Svbscription has members worldwide such places like the U.S., Australia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Japan. Moreover, Bespoke Post gives their customers the option to look at each month's offer -- if they don't like what they see, they can "skip" the month. In contrast, Svbscription is selling the experience of expectation around receiving the parcel and the process of opening it. "It's buyer beware. If it doesn't suit your taste, then cancel your membership and sell it on eBay or gift it to a friend," Apostola said. Svbscription also limits the availability of parcels (currently capped at 400) and prescribes a waiting period for new members. Bespoke Post, which preferred to keep their subscription numbers confidential, said they had no such restrictions. For Apostola exclusivity is good business. “Svbscription is an experience so we want our customers to feel like they are part of community of smart people ... like people who bought Apple shares 15 years ago," he said. Currently the Svbscription team are in the midst of launching a consulting arm. Leveraging their reputation as luxury tastemakers, they will create custom parcels for businesses, either for marketing purposes or for their staff. "Whether it's for private clients or Svbscription customers, our aim is to curate objects and experiences that are timeless and don’t fall into trends," Apostola said. Photos: Svbscription and Bespoke Post. This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com

By Cathy Locke clocke@sacbee.com Sacramento resident Virginia Fremstad is warning of a telephone scam after learning that she may have been an unwitting victim. Fremstad said she received a phone call Aug. 15 purporting to be from an inmate at Sacramento County's Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center. She was advised to press "1" if she was willing to accept the collect call and set up an account so the inmate could call her. If she didn't wish to accept it, she was told to press "7." Fremstad said she pressed 7, but then noticed that the call came from a Houston, Texas, area code. She had friends in Houston and called them. When she described the phone call, her friend said it sounded like a scam that had plagued the Houston area and pressing "7" could allow the caller to run up charges on her telephone account. Sacramento Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said he hadn't received any reports of the scam. If an inmate calls from jail, the person receiving the call is given the option of accepting or declining the call but is not directed to press a number, Curran said. An Internet search turned up reports of a prison inmate phone scam resembling the call Fremstad described. Typically, an inmate asks the individual to dial a sequence of numbers that begins • 72 to forward the call. This sets up a call-forwarding scam that turns the victim's phone line over to the inmate. Anyone receiving such a call is advised to hang up and to notify their phone company if it appears they have been wrongly billed for long-distance calls or collect calls from jail.

Net-a-Porter has kicked off its campaign for the debut of Karl Lagerfeld's KARL label, which is heavy on replacing Cs with Ks (so novel) and apparently revolves around a fictional plot line that the collection, along with Karl himself, have gone missing. Net-a-Porter's online video about Karl's "disappearance" is scarce on details and punctuated with lots of fake static — so retro! — because they're just being silly, of course, as Karl obviously isn't missing at all. What's more, Net-a-Porter perhaps doesn't want to make too much ballyhoo about the collection's theft, since burglaries of that nature might be a sore subject. In addition to encouraging customers to join "Karl's Kult," a social networking group that provides Net-a-Porter's updates on Karl's "whereabouts," Net-a-Porter is offering a "Karlify" option on their website. This entails uploading a picture of yourself to Net-a-Porter, were it's then treated with a white wig, sunglasses, and a high white collar. This would seem anticlimactic except for the awesome fact that Karl himself will apparently choose his favorite "Karlified" image on January 25, when the collection drops. Earlier: First Looks: More Karl Lagerfeld for Net-a-Porter Photos

After mentioning Fusion-io (NYSE:FIO) as one of my top five investment themes here, there were some misconceptions and skepticism about the company's rich valuation at 160 times earnings. Stock prices are based on future expectations though so let's dig deeper into the forces at play, which will reveal promising prospects for the company and industry moving forward. Fusion-io’s investor relations material states that "Our solutions enable enterprises to increase the utilization, performance and efficiency of their data center resources and extract greater value from their information assets." In a nutshell they provide solid state flash hardware and software solutions that accelerate the performance of enterprise servers. This makes it possible for end-users to access data faster, which is vital in an increasingly data-driven world. Fusion-io benefits from first-mover advantage as it was founded in 2005 and focused on developing cutting-edge products for the enterprise side of the market. One notable name on the executive team is Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) co-Founder Steve Wozniak, who has served as Chief Scientist since 2008. As a tech visionary, Wozniak saw the potential of the company early on and wanted to be a part of it. Overall, the company is believed to have a 1-2 year technological advantage and has an unrivaled tech support infrastructure. Just last week the company announced an industry-first milestone of 1 billion IOPs, which compares with achieving 1 million IOPs just over two years ago. The company went public in June 2011 at $19 a share and closed at $22.50 after its first trading day. The stock proceeded to rally to the $40 level in November before pulling back to $22 on the heels of a secondary offering priced at $33. It currently trades at $28. In August the company announced a key acquisition of virtualization software provider IO Turbine for $95 million, which integrated nicely with its existing products. Competitors in the SSD space include STEC (NASDAQ:STEC), OCZ Technology Group (NASDAQ:OCZ), and Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU). These companies have traditionally catered to the consumer side of the market where competitive pricing has pressured profit margins and “commoditized” the product. The companies are moving into the enterprise market and ramping up in an attempt to reap higher profit margins and erode FIO’s 80% market share (according to Morgan Stanley). The closest competitor in terms of technology is privately held Texas Memory Systems. Commoditization is a concern and something the whole consumer memory market has been suffering through recently. More entrants are attracted to the profits of the enterprise SSD market and will ultimately increase pricing competition. However, Fusion-io currently stands differentiated with better proprietary technology and positioning in the market. Independent research firm Gartner estimates 2012 IT spending will grow 3.7% to $3.8 billion globally. IDC estimates the enterprise flash market itself will grow from $1.5 billion in 2011, to $4.5 billion in 2015. Morgan Stanley is even more aggressive with its forecast of the market tripling in 2012 and growing to $20 billion over time based on the CIO survey. Servers in general have been steady growth drivers the past decade but there is no question about the exciting potential of the enterprise flash market segment as cloud computing applications accelerate. The industry could also be shaken up by consolidation as a server manufacturer like IBM, HP (NYSE:HPQ), DELL, EMC or NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) steps in to purchase a flash provider instead of trying to build on their own. Traditional hard drive makers like Western Digital (NYSE:WDC) and Seagate (NASDAQ:STX) could also be interested in diversifying their offerings to enterprise flash storage. Along these lines, SanDisk (SNDK) made a purchase of Pliant Technology for $327 million in May 2011, LSI-OLD acquired SandForce in October 2011, and Apple scooped up Anobit for about $400 million. These companies recognize building the technology from the ground up can be more costly and time consuming than acquiring the existing intellectual property and marketable product of an existing company. Unlike competitors, Fusion-io has also cultivated favorable relationships with channel partners HP, IBM, Dell, and Supermicro (NASDAQ:SMCI). These outlets sell Fusion-io products as an add-on whenever they make server sales, similar to how consumers are offered accessories when purchasing a build-to-order computer. These relationships are key because they passively drive sales growth and are helping the company gain traction with new customers. Existing strategic relationships with tech giants Apple and Facebook are also important to maintaining a steady revenue stream while serving as clout for winning new business. Eventually as the sales mix diversifies, Fusion-io will be less reliant on its largest customers. At first glance the valuation looks extreme at 160 times trailing earnings but you need to keep in mind the company is just entering a hyper-growth stage. Over the last three quarters EPS has grown 229%, 147%, and 200% year over year. 2012 revenue growth guidance was raised from 40% to 55% during the last earnings release and gross margin is estimated to be 56%. These could prove to be conservative if their channel partners accelerate sales and more big accounts are added. A name like Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) or Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) could be potential suitors. Analysts are mixed on Fusion-io with one buy, six holds and two sells. Last week Morgan Stanley put out a report modeling a $16 bear case, $30 base case, $40 bull case, and $62 extreme bull case while the stock is currently at $28. While it’s hard to quantify exactly how much FIO will earn in the next 2-5 years, the fact remains that it is at the forefront of an incredible industry while trading at just a $2.3 billion valuation. Tech companies are some of the most cash-rich in the world so spending on improving their server infrastructure or even acquiring a company with game-changing technology outright isn’t out of the question. Some of the consumer flash players like STEC also look attractive as their stocks have been hit from the decline of profitability in consumer flash. Looking forward, the next catalysts to move FIO are earnings due out in early February, which will provide color on earnings growth, and the February 15 lockup expiration of 43.1 million shares, which represents about half the 86 million total shares outstanding. The company is well positioned in a rapidly growing market with further upside remaining as it continues to focus on core technologies and growing the business while the enterprise flash industry evolves and plays catch up. Disclosure: I am long FIO, AAPL.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE:RS) Q4 2015 Earnings Call February 18, 2016 11:00 am ET Executives Brenda Sumiye Miyamoto - VP-Corporate Initiatives & Head-Investor Relations Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director James Donald Hoffman - Executive Vice President-Operations William K. Sales - Executive Vice President-Operations Karla R. Lewis - Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP Analysts Timna Beth Tanners - Bank of America Merrill Lynch Philip N. Gibbs - KeyBanc Capital Markets, Inc. Michael F. Gambardella - JPMorgan Securities LLC Aldo Mazzaferro - Macquarie Capital (NYSE:USA), Inc. Chris Olin - Rosenblatt Securities, Inc. Operator Greetings and welcome to the Reliance Steel & Aluminum Company Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2015 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Brenda Miyamoto, with Investor Relations. Thank you. You may now begin. Brenda Sumiye Miyamoto - VP-Corporate Initiatives & Head-Investor Relations Thank you, operator. Good morning and thanks to all of you for joining our conference call to discuss our fourth quarter and full-year 2015 financial results. I'm joined by Gregg Mollins, our President and CEO; Karla Lewis, our Senior Executive Vice President and CFO; and our Executive Vice Presidents of Operations, Jim Hoffman and Bill Sales. David Hannah, our Executive Chairman, will also be available during the question-and-answer portion of this call. A recording of this call will be posted on the Investors section of our website at investor.rsac.com. The press release and the information on this call may contain certain forward-looking statements, which are based on a number of assumptions that are subject to change and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties or other factors, which may not be under the company's control, which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievement of the company to be materially different from the results, performance or other expectations implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, those factors disclosed in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 under the caption Risk Factors and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The press release and the information on this call speak only as of today's date, and the company disclaims any duty to update the information provided therein and herein. I will now turn the call over to Gregg Mollins, President and CEO of Reliance. Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director Thank you, Brenda. Good morning, everyone and thank you for joining us today. We were very pleased with our strong operational execution throughout 2015, despite a very challenging economic environment that continued to pressure metal pricing. We finished the year generating record cash flow from operations of $1 billion, which affords us ample liquidity and financial flexibility to continue to execute on all of our capital allocation priorities. We were successful in reducing inventory, a key area of focus for Reliance in 2015, by an additional $193.3 million during the fourth quarter and $433.1 million for the year. We increased our fourth-quarter FIFO gross profit margins to 26.7%, up 30 basis points from the prior quarter, and up 160 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2014. I am pleased to report that we were able to increase our gross profit margin in each successive quarter for 2015 during a period when metal pricing declined in each successive quarter, an impressive accomplishment made possible by the outstanding quality people that we have throughout Reliance. In addition to our focus on smaller order sizes and next-day delivery, we believe that our increased investments in value-added processing as well as efficiently managing our inventory contributed to our increased gross profit margins. The amount charged for processing services does not fluctuate with metal pricing, so as metal prices fall, the value-added component becomes a larger portion of the total selling price. In addition, we strongly believe that maintaining the right level of inventory to support current sales activity at each of our operations encourages local management to turn away low-margin business and focus on higher-margin orders. If you have too much inventory, it's easy to take a bad order. We prefer higher profit over volume. Mill prices for many of our products ended the year down 30% to 40% compared to the beginning of the year, due to continued high levels of imports flooding the U.S. market resulting from a strong U.S. dollar and a weak global economy. These factors caused U.S. steel producers to file trade cases for most flat-rolled carbon steel products in the second half of 2015. We support these trade actions and it appears the pending actions have reduced imports somewhat, prompting the domestic mills to announce moderate price increases on almost all carbon steel products so far in 2016. During the fourth quarter, both demand and pricing were softer than we had anticipated. We had expected fourth quarter pricing to be down 1% to 2%. However, conditions continued to soften throughout the quarter resulting in our average selling price per ton sold declining 4.5% compared to the prior quarter and 16.6% compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. We had also anticipated slightly stronger demand than normal for the fourth quarter in our guidance of down 4% to 5%. However, due to the normal seasonal slowdown from fewer shipping days as a result of the holidays and holiday-related closures by many of our customers, coupled with the slumping energy market and ongoing concerns over slowed growth in China, our tons sold were down 7.1% from the prior quarter and 6.1% compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. Nevertheless, demand trends for many of the industries we support held up relatively well throughout the year and we once again outperformed the MSCI industry average decline of 10.1% for the fourth quarter. We also outpaced the industry for the full year of 2015 compared to 2014, with the 2.8% decline in our tons sold compared to the MSCI industry average decline of 7.5%. Tons sold by our energy businesses were down 41% in 2015 from 2014 levels. Excluding the impact of the energy downturn, our tons sold for 2015 were down a mere 0.7% from 2014. We've been able to grow our market share in this challenging environment by staying the course with our tried-and-true business model that emphasizes a decentralized structure and places the day-to-day sales decisions in the hands of our managers in the field. Our managers have built strong customer relationships over the years and have the ability to fulfill quick turnaround orders, often in 24 hours or less, for customers looking to place orders for smaller quantities on a more frequent basis, especially when metal prices are declining. In addition, we have made and will continue to make significant investments in the strongest areas of our company, currently being those businesses servicing aerospace customers as well as the automotive industry, mostly through toll processing. Because of the high volume processing performed by our toll processing businesses, they are more capital intensive than other parts of our business, making it important for us to regularly invest in our processing equipment to ensure state-of-the-art capabilities, as well as to capitalize on the recent growth in aluminum processing. We've also invested to expand our footprint in the aerospace market through our August 2014 acquisition of Aluminium Services UK Limited and the opening of additional new facilities around the globe in anticipation of continued strong demand in this important market. Despite the industry-wide challenges, we remained focused on our key initiatives in 2015, which were aimed at reducing inventory, managing our gross profit margin and operating expenses and growth through M&A and organic activities. In 2015, we decreased our FIFO inventory by $433.1 million, including $193.3 million during the fourth quarter. As a result, our inventory turn rate was 5.2 times based on inventory tons on hand at December 31, 2015 and our full-year 2015 shipment levels, which is well ahead of our companywide goal of 4.75 times. By converting inventory to cash, we were able to further reduce our debt balance by $167.5 million during the fourth quarter and repurchased $13.2 million worth of our outstanding shares. Turning to M&A, effective January 1, 2016, we acquired Tubular Steel Inc., a distributor and processor of carbon, alloy, and stainless steel pipe, tubing and barb products based in St. Louis, Missouri. Tubular Steel is a strong company with a well-respected position in the market. Tubular Steel brings additional high-margin specialty products to our mix and fits our growth strategy of investing in higher returning businesses, while expanding our product breadth and end-market diversification. We continue to evaluate various opportunities as part of our overall growth strategy to acquire profitable, well-managed metal service centers and processors with product and end-market exposures that help support our diversification strategy. In summary, despite the challenges we face in our industry at large, I'm very pleased with our full-year 2015 performance, which reflected superior operational execution. We generated record cash flow from operations of $1 billion. We increased our FIFO gross profit margins to 26%. We reduced our inventory by $433.1 million. We paid down $376.6 million of debt and we repurchased $355.5 million of our common stock. I'm very proud of the entire Reliance team and all they have accomplished throughout this otherwise challenging year. Our strong operational execution enabled us to continue growing our market share and gross profit margins as well as generate significant cash to execute on our growth strategy and shareholder return priorities. Our balance sheet remains solid and affords us great flexibility to continue growing our business, while at the same time returning capital to our valued shareholders in the form of quarterly cash dividends and opportunistic share repurchases, as well as being in a position to further deleverage our balance sheet. We're optimistic for the year ahead and look forward to building upon our operational momentum. I will now hand the call over to Jim to comment further on our operations and market conditions. Jim? James Donald Hoffman - Executive Vice President-Operations Thanks, Gregg, and good morning, everyone. Our comments today will focus both on pricing and demand for our carbon steel and alloy products, as well as our outlook on certain key end markets we sell these products into, including automotive, heavy industry, non-residential construction and energy. Bill will then address our aluminum and stainless steel products and related end markets. Demand for automotive, which we service mainly through our toll processing operations in the U.S. and Mexico, was strong throughout the year; a trend we expect to continue in 2016. In light of this, we are expanding two of our existing facilities, as well as constructing a new facility in Mexico and one in Kentucky. The new facility in Mexico will increase our existing toll processing capacity to support the increased automotive activity there and is expected to begin operating in mid-2016. We will also begin construction on a new facility in Kentucky to support our growing aluminum toll processing business. Reliance has been very successful in establishing itself through its Precision Strip, Inc. subsidiary, a toll processor of aluminum used in the U.S. automotive industry, a fast-growing market. We believe that our success in toll processing metal for the automotive end market is due to our high quality, internally engineered processing equipment, allows us to handle both steel and aluminum products that meet the high-quality standard for exposed products. With the sudden and significant decrease in aluminum used in autos, Reliance is one of the few toll processing companies that has the funds available to support this growth. For example, in 2015, we opened a new facility and installed state-of-the-art equipment which is fairly expensive. That allowed us to process two times the volume of aluminum we processed in 2014 at our toll processing operations. At Reliance, we are particularly fond of this business, as we take on no inventory risk, so our toll processing operations are not impacted by metal pricing. We simply process the metal for a fee without taking ownership of it. As we've mentioned in the past, although toll processing represents a small portion of our total sales dollars, it represents a larger percentage of our profitability. Turning to heavy industry, which includes railcar, truck trailer, ship building, barge manufacturing, tank manufacturing, and wind and transmission towers, demand in the fourth quarter remained fairly consistent with prior-quarter levels subject to the normal fourth quarter seasonal slowdown. Our exposure to heavy equipment also includes sales to agricultural equipment OEMs. While demand for large agricultural equipment has been weak, Reliance's exposure is mostly to small- and mid-size agricultural equipment, which has held up better than the heavier items. On a positive note, demand in the road construction equipment market is trending up and is poised to increase in 2016 as a result of the Five-Year Infrastructure Bill that was passed in December of 2015. Demand in our largest end-market, non-residential construction, improved in 2015 from 2014 levels, yet our volume remains well below peak levels. We expect that demand will continue to improve in 2016 and beyond. We saw many different products into the non-residential construction market and rather than scaling back our footprint or closing facilities that service this market due to the 2009 downturn, we have been strategically investing in processing equipment to allow us to do even more for our customers as this end-market improves. As a result, we're very well-positioned in this market with capacity to absorb volumes increases in our existing cost structure. Turning to energy, that being mainly oil and natural gas, both volume and pricing continued to deteriorate in the fourth quarter due to continued declining oil prices and related reduction in drilling activities. As a result, our energy-related volumes were down 41% in 2015 compared to 2014 and down 51% in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. We have been very proactive in reacting to the decline in demand. We began cutting expenses within our energy-related service centers over a year ago and our operating expense run rate for these businesses is now approximately 35% lower than it was at the end of 2014. This has helped mitigate the negative impact to Reliance's overall profitability. Our outlook for energy end market remains weak for the foreseeable future. As such, we made further head count reductions in our businesses servicing the energy market during the fourth quarter, resulting in a reduction of 466 employees or about 36% for the full year of 2015. Turning to pricing, we experienced further decline in carbon steel pricing in the fourth quarter. Although there has been some success in trade cases filed in the U.S., there was little direct impact during the fourth quarter. However, we have begun to see some improvement in carbon steel pricing in the first quarter of 2016. While demand for carbon steel products is holding up, the continued pressure on pricing from high import levels into the marketplace, low raw material prices, a strong U.S. dollar, and a soft global economy including a weak Chinese market, limits the effectiveness of trade cases. That said, we were very pleased we were once again able to increase our FIFO gross profit margins on sales of our carbon steel products in the 2015 fourth quarter. Among carbon steel products, plate represents the largest portion of our product mix at 12% of our total sales, followed by carbon steel structurals, tubing and bars. As such, our results are more heavily impacted by pricing on these products versus carbon flat-rolled products, which represents only 15% of our total sales with hot-rolled at 7%. Flat-rolled pricing was under pressure for the entire 2015 year, with mill prices down over 30% compared to the beginning of 2015. Although plate demand remains fairly healthy, pricing for plate products declined significantly, down more than 40% from the beginning of 2015. Base prices for alloy products, the majority of which are sold into the energy end markets, have held up well considering the significant reduction in demand. Going forward, we expect prices for these products to remain fairly steady with current levels, due in large part to alloy products going into the automotive market. Now I'll hand the call over to Bill to comment further on our non-ferrous markets. Bill? William K. Sales - Executive Vice President-Operations Thanks, Jim. Good morning, everyone. I'll begin with aerospace, which continues to be one of our strongest end markets for us, due to its relatively stable pricing and strong demand trends. Sales to the aerospace market represented approximately 10% of our total sales in 2015. Our same-store tons sold to the aerospace market were up 10.4% for the 2015 year compared to 2014. Demand in this market continues to be strong with healthy build rates in the commercial airline market tied to record aircraft deliveries in 2015 and a robust backlog. Over the past couple of years, we have been purposely increasing our aerospace exposure on a global basis, consistent with our customers' growth patterns. We have been successful in gaining market share through facilities expansion as well as through successful M&A activities. I'm pleased report that earlier this month we were awarded a $100 million contract by BAE Systems to provide aluminum plate to support the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Hawk and Typhoon programs. This five-year contract runs from 2017 through 2021 with the possibility of additional years. This contract is in addition to an award by Lockheed Martin in October of 2015 to provide aluminum products and services for the F-35 program in a five-year contract valued at an estimated $300 million. The majority of the products that we sell to the aerospace market are heat-treated aluminum products, especially plate, as well as specialty stainless steel and titanium products. Given continued strong demand, we expect pricing for aluminum aerospace plate to be stable through the first half of 2016. Lead times from the domestic mills remained extended at 25-plus weeks. Our sales of common alloy aluminum remain consistent from a volume standpoint, with most of our product being sold to sheet metal fabricators that support a variety of end markets. Demand for general engineering aluminum plate remains stable, yet pricing continues to be challenged due to ongoing aggressive import pricing. Demand is expected to remain steady through the first half of 2016. Pricing on common alloy aluminum sheet follows ingot and we expect some modest improvement as the Midwest spot price trends up slightly. Midwest spot ingot has been trading in the $0.77 per pound range to $0.79 per pound range, down from $1.06 per pound in January of 2015, but up from the $0.75 per pound average for December 2015. The Midwest premium is currently in the $0.096 per pound range. Outside of the energy market, demand for stainless steel products has continued to be good, despite a very challenging pricing environment in 2015, primarily related to stainless flat-roll. Pricing for flat-rolled stainless steel products has declined about 35% from the beginning of 2015. Pricing for stainless steel flat-rolled products increased modestly in early 2016 based on a January increase, another increase was just announced for March, and we believe it will have market support. In addition, the recently announced trade case petition for stainless steel sheet and strip against imports from China should lessen the flow of Chinese imports to the U.S. and the negative impact on market pricing. We sell a significant amount of stainless steel flat-rolled products into the kitchen equipment appliance and construction end markets. Pricing for all of these products is heavily impacted by nickel prices, which declined through most of 2015 and have continued to decline so far in 2016. The monthly average nickel price for January was $3.93 per pound. Last week, nickel prices dipped below the $3.50 per pound, a level we haven't seen since 2002. Surcharges for 304 stainless fell from $0.76 per pound in January of 2015 to $0.33 per pound in January of 2016. While we expect prices for stainless steel products to remain under pressure in 2016, we believe we may be at or near the bottom of this cycle. Despite the challenging pricing environment, our managers in the aluminum and stainless steel portions of our business have maintained healthy gross profit margins and have simultaneously managed their expenses well. We applaud them for their efforts. I'll now turn the call over to Karla to review our fourth-quarter financial results. Karla R. Lewis - Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP Thanks, Bill, and good morning, everyone. Our sales in the fourth quarter of 2015 were down $550.5 million or 21.4% from the fourth quarter of 2014 and down $260 million or 11.4% from the third quarter of 2015. For the 2015 year, our sales were down $1.1 billion or 10.5% from 2014, mainly due to lower metals pricing, with our 2015 average selling price per tons sold down 8.6% from 2014. Our same-store average selling price has declined sequentially in each month beginning in September of 2014 until December 2015, when we saw a very slight increase for the first time. However, our December 2015 same-store average selling price was down $314 per ton or 18.1% from our September 2014 average selling price. Based on our 2015 tons sold and a FIFO gross profit margin of 26.0%, this equates to a loss of nearly $1.86 billion of annual sales and $483 million of gross profit, due solely to the impact of metals pricing. We recorded a net LIFO inventory valuation credit or income of $117 million in 2015. Because of the significant declines in metal prices, we used up our beginning of the year LIFO reserve and recorded a lower of cost or market charge of $69.1 million because our LIFO inventory cost on hand at December 31, 2015 was higher than replacement cost, resulting in a year end net reserve of $26.1 million. As a result, our net LIFO adjustment for the 2015 fourth quarter was a credit or income of $42 million or $0.35 per share, which was included in our cost of sales. This is compared to a charge or expense of $24.5 million or $0.19 per share in the 2014 fourth quarter. And in the 2015 third quarter, we had a net LIFO credit or income of $35 million or $0.29 per share. Our 2015 full-year LIFO adjustment was a credit or income of $186.1 million, partially offset by a $69.1 million charge to record LIFO inventory at the lower of cost or market for a net credit or income of $117 million or $0.97 per share compared to a 2014 charge or expense of $54.5 million or $0.43 per share. At this time, we anticipate that 2016 metal prices will be flat to up slightly from 2015 levels. If prices increase, we anticipate a LIFO charge or expense in 2016. At the end of each quarter, we will also update our lower of cost or market reserve. If metal prices increase, we anticipate a decrease in the reserve or income that would be netted against the LIFO charge. Based on this, we currently do not anticipate a LIFO adjustment for 2016. And as in prior years, we will update our expectations quarterly based upon our inventory costs and general metals pricing trends. Our 2015 fourth-quarter gross profit margin of 28.7% increased from 24.2% in the 2014 fourth quarter and 27.9% in the 2015 third quarter. Our increased LIFO income contributed to our higher gross profit margin. On a FIFO basis, our gross profit margin during the quarter increased for the fourth consecutive quarter, exceeding our expectations, especially in light of the declining prices. Our 2015 fourth quarter SG&A expenses decreased $18.3 million from the 2014 fourth quarter and $16.2 million from the 2015 third quarter, primarily due to a non-recurring credit of $8.6 million from proceeds received from the mill antitrust settlement as well as effective cost control throughout the company. As a percent of sales, our SG&A expenses were 20.4% compared to 16.7% in the 2014 fourth quarter and 18.8% in the 2015 third quarter. The increase as a percent of sales was impacted mainly by lower selling prices in the 2015 fourth quarter. If we apply our 2014 average selling price to our 2015 fourth quarter results, our SG&A expense as a percent of sales would have declined to 17.0% of sales. As Jim mentioned, during 2015, we had significant reductions in personnel at our energy businesses due to lower activity levels. However, given overall lower volumes, we reduced our workforce by a total of 1,111 during 2015 across several of our operations, including our energy businesses. This was offset by increased head count of 255 at certain of our businesses that were growing in 2015, mainly in our toll processing and aerospace locations. Companywide, our net head count at December 31 was down 5.8% or 856 employees compared to the beginning of the year on a 2.8% decline in tons sold. Our strong gross profit margins including LIFO income and effective expense control resulted in the 2015 full-year non-GAAP operating income margin of 6.4%, an improvement from 6.1% in 2014. Our effective income tax rate for the 2015 fourth quarter was 27.1% compared to 26.6% in the 2014 fourth quarter and 32.1% in the 2015 third quarter. The variances are mainly due to timing of recording certainly quarterly adjustments. For the full years of both 2015 and 2014, our effective tax rate was 31.1%. We currently expect that our full-year 2016 effective income tax rate will be approximately 31.5%. Our non-GAAP net income attributable to Reliance for the 2015 fourth quarter was $63.3 million or $0.87 per diluted share, compared to $79.1 million or $1.01 per diluted share in the 2014 fourth quarter and $85.8 million or $1.16 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2015. Our earnings release issued earlier today includes a reconciliation of our non-GAAP adjustments. We generated $308.7 million of cash from operations during the 2015 fourth quarter, resulting in a record $1 billion for the full year of 2015. This reflects the strong execution of our team, increasing gross profit margins in a declining price and volume environment, along with our focus on inventory reductions, and demonstrates the countercyclical nature of our working capital needs. On the working capital front, we continue to manage our receivables well with our accounts receivable days outstanding rate at December 31, 2015 of 42.4 days in line with our historical range. Our inventory turn rate at December 31 was 3.9 times based on dollars and 4.5 times or 2.7 months on-hand based on tons, which improved from our 2014 rate of 4.4 times based on tons. We used our strong cash flow from operations to reduce our debt balance, grow our existing businesses and return value to our shareholders. We paid down $167.5 million of debt during the fourth quarter for a total of $376.6 million for the year. At December 31, 2015, our total debt outstanding was $1.9 billion, resulting in an improved net debt to total capital ratio of 31.8% and net debt to EBITDA of 2.25 times. As of December 31, 2015, we had $332 million outstanding on our $1.5 billion revolving credit facility. We funded our purchase of Tubular Steel in early 2016 with borrowings on our credit facility, resulting in a pro forma net debt to total capital ratio of 35.1% and leaving significant liquidity with over $800 million still available for borrowings after funding the acquisition. We spent $172.2 million on capital expenditures during 2015. Looking ahead to 2016, we expect to spend approximately $180 million on capital expenditures, the majority of which will be related to supporting organic growth initiatives, including opening new facilities and increasing our value-added processing capabilities. We also paid quarterly dividends totaling $120.1 million in 2015 and further enhanced our shareholder returns with opportunistic share repurchases. In 2015, we repurchased $355.5 million or 6.2 million shares of our common stock at an average price of $57.39 per share. As a result of these repurchases, we realized an earnings per share benefit of $0.19 per share in 2015. On a pro forma basis, that is, if we would have repurchased all of the 6.2 million shares on January 1st, the impact on earnings-per-share would have been $0.34 for the year. As a reminder, because of our significant share repurchase activity in 2015, our board of directors amended our share repurchase program, increasing by 7.5 million shares, the total authorized number of shares available to be repurchased and extending the plan through December 31, 2018. The 8.4 million remaining shares authorized for repurchase represent approximately 12% of our current shares outstanding. We expect to use our available cash to continue reducing our outstanding debt balance, supporting our various growth initiatives, paying our quarterly dividend and opportunistically repurchasing shares of our common stock. Now turning to our outlook, we are confident in our ability to execute well in the current environment, as we're optimistic that the U.S. economy will continue at slow growth going forward. As a result, we estimate a sequential increase in tons sold of approximately 6% to 8% in the first quarter of 2016 over the fourth quarter of 2015, which includes the normal seasonal increase in shipping volumes compared to the fourth quarter, as well as additional volume from our purchase of Tubular Steel. We believe that metals pricing for most products we sell has stabilized at the current low levels with the potential to improve slightly in the first quarter, as a result of the price increases announced for a number of the products the company sells. Accordingly, we expect our average selling price in the first quarter of 2016 to be flat to up 1.5% from the fourth quarter of 2015. Given this pricing scenario, as I mentioned earlier, we do not anticipate a LIFO adjustment in the first quarter of 2016. As a result, we currently expect non-GAAP earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $0.80 to $0.90 for the quarter ending March 31, 2016 compared to non-GAAP earnings per diluted share of $0.87 in the fourth quarter of 2015, which included net LIFO income of $42 million or $0.35 per share. In closing, we would like to once again thank our managers in the field for their exceptional execution in 2015. We remain confident in our ability to continue to effectively manage the controllable aspects of our business to mitigate the volatile factors that continue to impact our industry. Our record cash flow in 2015 was a direct result of our increased gross profit margins, along with effective working capital management, including our inventory reduction initiatives. Our strong cash generation allows us to continue to fund growth opportunities, while at the same time, providing steady returns to our valued shareholders. That concludes our prepared remarks. Thank you for your attention. And at this time, we would like to open the call up to questions. Operator? Question-and-Answer Session Operator Thank you. At this time, we'll be conducting a question-and-answer session. Thank you. Our first question is from the line of Timna Tanners with Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Please go ahead with your questions. Timna Beth Tanners - Bank of America Merrill Lynch Hello. Good morning. Karla R. Lewis - Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP Good morning. Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director Good morning, Timna. Timna Beth Tanners - Bank of America Merrill Lynch Okay. Wanted to just ask you for a little bit more refinement on the volume guidance, because on the one hand you said Q4 was particularly – a little disappointing on volume. And then we heard that – our channel checks say January is a pretty strong month. So 6% to 8% would compare with your historical 9% and MSCI at 9.6% and as you point out, you tend to beat the MSCI. So just wonder if you could tell us why you think this sequential improvement might be less than it has been in recent years? Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director I'm not sure that it's going to be sequentially different than years past. If we have 9%, I'm not sure we've done that every year over the past five years. Timna Beth Tanners - Bank of America Merrill Lynch Average for the five years, yeah. Karla R. Lewis - Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP Yeah. And, Timna, we look at how we are trending so far into 2016 and look at how January is kind of a light month. So we're using the visibility from what we've seen so far in January, which we think is healthy demand. We've seen it bounce back from where we were. There is still the energy drag on tons, which is only a small portion of our business, but we may be a bit conservative, but we tried to make what we felt was a reasonable estimate. Looking at January and the MSCI data and their comparison to January of last year, we're certainly better with what we've seen in January than that. But we think that 6% to 8% is a good reasonable estimate that shows demand coming back, the way we would expect it to. Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director Really where we see the turning point, Timna, is really in the month of March. January, February is always a little bit soft in the first quarter and March really is kind of indicative of what we were going to see basically in the second quarter. So I think we will always be a little bit conservative on our guidance in the first quarter based on what we're seeing in January and partly through February with the telling point being really in the month of March. Timna Beth Tanners - Bank of America Merrill Lynch Okay. That makes sense, lot of sense. And then separately I wanted to ask about the Tubular Steel acquisition. It looks like if we interpreted this correctly with the revolver that's capped about $370 million was the deal, correct me if I am wrong, and then revenues you said were $200 million. If you could talk about the rationale on that transaction and if you think that $200 million is depressed on a normalized basis? And it wasn't clear if it was – how much of that was related to energy markets and not related to energy markets, so a little more detail if you could. Karla R. Lewis - Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP Yeah. So, Timna, just on the number you came up with would not be the right number. So we haven't disclosed our purchase price amount for the Tubular Steel acquisition. But it was in line with the way we've consistently valued companies over the years on a normalized pre-tax income basis. And Gregg or Jim can talk a little more about Tubular. But with the markets they are in, the $200 million is their 2014 revenue, they do have some energy exposure, so their numbers are down a bit currently from that 2014 amount. Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director Yeah. Their 2014 numbers, Timna, at roughly $200 million in revenue, in 2015, it was less than that. In good times, in the energy business, the percentage of their revenues are about 35% to 40% related to energy. In these times, it's roughly 25% to 30%. They sell quite a bit of their metal into the energy market through service centers as well. So we've included that in those percentages. James Donald Hoffman - Executive Vice President-Operations Timna, this is Jim. It's just a fine company. They do have energy exposure, but they also sell into a lot of other markets that are – we anticipate to do quite well. They're a well-run company, been around for a long time. They have a great name in the marketplace and they fit in very well with us. Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director They have a lot of products, Timna, that are very special to themselves. Their inventory turn is and what our inventory turn is, because of these specialized products, we expect that we can help improve that. But I don't think it will ever be at the levels of which we were at, because of the specialty nature of the products that they have. But we've been admiring them from afar for many, many years now and we're very, very pleased that they're now a part of the family. Karla R. Lewis - Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP And similar to the other Reliance companies with the specialty items where their turns are typically a little lower than the companywide average, they also typically have higher-than-average gross profit margins, which Tubular Steel certainly has. Timna Beth Tanners - Bank of America Merrill Lynch That's it. Thanks for all that. Operator Our next question comes from the line of Phil Gibbs of KeyBanc Capital Markets. Please go ahead with your questions. Philip N. Gibbs - KeyBanc Capital Markets, Inc. Good morning. Thanks very much. Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director Good morning, Phil. Philip N. Gibbs - KeyBanc Capital Markets, Inc. I had a question on what your expectations are for the toll processing business in 2016, 2017. Obviously, a lot of investments you've made, any way to couch how much incremental volume or incremental revenue you expect, anything that could help us frame that up? Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director We have made, Phil, as you know, some pretty sizable investments both last year and this year going forward, primarily to support the exposed aluminum going into the automotive and truck business. To what extent their revenue growth is going to be, you know, when you look at the overall company revenue compared to what we bring in in toll processing, it's a very small portion of our overall revenue. It's a larger portion of our overall profitability. But it's hard, you know, I don't know, Karla, do you have any comments about the revenue increase? Karla R. Lewis - Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP Yeah, I mean, it was about 3% of our revenue in 2015. It's hard to move that a lot because of the nature of their business, where we're just charging processing fees. But as Jim stated in his comments, we basically doubled their aluminum processing in 2015 over 2014 levels. We expect to continue to increase that, because the one facility that did a lot of the new processing of aluminum didn't get started up until really I think about April of 2015. So we'll have a full year with that, and we did make more investments and are continuing to make investments. So we would certainly expect continued aluminum growth – tolling growth there. But could it get to 4% of revenue? Possibly. But it takes a lot to move that percentage. Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director Just by way of volumes though, Phil, okay, as Jim pointed out, we doubled our aluminum pounds out the door starting up with that new facility in April. So really we had an eight-month run. We're adding another piece of equipment there. That should be operational towards the end of the second quarter, okay. So we would expect that our increase in volumes in aluminum would be about 50% higher in 2016 over 2015, okay? But as we pointed out before, there's no metal that we're charging for, so the actual dollars going into revenue are quite misleading. Karla R. Lewis - Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP And also, you know, with our tolling businesses, even though the revenue dollars are light because of that, the volume that they process is significant. Once again in 2015, our toll processing operation processed more metal than the rest of the company sold on a combined basis. So if they were buying and reselling the metal, we think the tolling businesses would be at least an $8 billion-plus revenue. James Donald Hoffman - Executive Vice President-Operations Hey, Phil, this is Jim. As you well know... Philip N. Gibbs - KeyBanc Capital Markets, Inc. Hey, Jim. James Donald Hoffman - Executive Vice President-Operations ...they're not only an aluminum processor. They process a lot of steel that goes into refrigerators, dryers, all that appliance-type business too. And that's a robust business and that continues to do well as we go. Philip N. Gibbs - KeyBanc Capital Markets, Inc. Okay. Thanks for that color. And, Karla, what were your gross margin assumptions for Q1 in terms of how we should be thinking about that FIFO-wise? Karla R. Lewis - Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP Yeah. So, we didn't actually give those. We'd said that we expect to continue to execute well, and we think executing well is – reflects a strong FIFO gross profit margin. So we don't see any direct reason for our gross profit margin to change significantly on a FIFO basis from where we'd been running towards the end of the year. Philip N. Gibbs - KeyBanc Capital Markets, Inc. Okay. And then lastly, I know you had mentioned in your prepared remarks, I think you said a $69.1 million lower of cost or market. How common is that? And can you give us any color as to how that flowed through the year? Because I think right now you said that the reserve went to a debit position. So, just any color that you can provide us on the timing and the flow-through, that would be helpful. Thank you. Karla R. Lewis - Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP Yeah. Phil, so it's not that common to end up in a debit LIFO reserve, but as you guys have all been writing about, prices are at levels not seen for many, many years. And so that caused – with the significant mill price reductions this year, that generated a lot of LIFO income. In the third quarter, we started to look at that. Typically your LIFO reserve is a credit and generally provides some cushion, where you don't necessarily typically record lower of cost or market reserves, because it kind of lowers your inventory cost on hand. When you flip to a debit LIFO reserve position, which we did with the $186 million worth of LIFO income in the year, that actually makes your inventory costs higher by that debit LIFO reserve. So actually in the third quarter, we started booking to a lower of cost or market reserve just because current replacement costs were lower than our inventory costs on hand. So it was about $69 million. We ended up with a net reserve between LIFO and LCM of a $26 million credit. And we think that's a pretty low number, even the $69 million lower of cost or market reserve is not that much when you look at $1.4 billion of inventory on hand. Philip N. Gibbs - KeyBanc Capital Markets, Inc. No, I appreciate that. I just was curious given that I never heard you talk about that before. Karla R. Lewis - Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP Yeah, it's the first time we've had it actually. I think back in 2002, we were close with some of the lower prices then. And you will see it more commonly for companies that are on FIFO instead of LIFO, because when you are in FIFO, they have to measure it more frequently. They don't have that kind of cushion in their LIFO reserve that I mentioned. Philip N. Gibbs - KeyBanc Capital Markets, Inc. Okay. Thanks so much. Operator Our next question is from the line of Michael Gambardella with JPMorgan. Please proceed with your questions. Michael F. Gambardella - JPMorgan Securities LLC Yes. Good morning. Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director Good morning, Michael. James Donald Hoffman - Executive Vice President-Operations Good morning. Karla R. Lewis - Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP Hi, Michael. Michael F. Gambardella - JPMorgan Securities LLC So a question – couple of questions, on aluminum where you're seeing a lot of import pressure, from what country or countries and what products, if you can give us some color on that? William K. Sales - Executive Vice President-Operations Well, most of the pressure, if you are referring to heat treat products and general engineering, a lot of it's coming from Asia, coming out of China. There's several new mills there. But it comes from really all over the world. There will be some coming in from South Africa. So there is – on the general engineering side, there is a lot of import availability. Now, on the aerospace side, many of those mills are not qualified or certified to produce aerospace products, so you don't get that same pressure on the aerospace side. Michael F. Gambardella - JPMorgan Securities LLC And on common alloy. William K. Sales - Executive Vice President-Operations Common alloy, that is – there's a lot of import product. It's a – and that again coming out of Asia, some coming in from Europe. And in that market, where a lot of the domestics have been focused more in the opportunities on the auto side, there is a lot more import coming in and being used for distributor coil. Michael F. Gambardella - JPMorgan Securities LLC And have you taken advantage of the low-priced imports or are you seeing some of your competitors taking advantage of it? William K. Sales - Executive Vice President-Operations We do – on common alloy, it's pretty common I think as the industry, because of the – more focus on the auto from the domestic mills. The common alloy product is – a big part of that is import product, and I think both with us and our competitors. On the general engineering side, so far we're still predominantly on the domestic part of that and we will participate to a smaller extent with import product. Michael F. Gambardella - JPMorgan Securities LLC Okay. And just in terms of the guidance on the volumes up 6% to 8%, just a follow-up question on that. Assuming you back out the seasonality and the acquisition of Tubular's, what would that number be? Karla R. Lewis - Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP Yeah. That's kind of hard to answer, Michael, because we're so used to the seasonality. It's always a fourth quarter to first quarter experience that we see. One of the things that does change at Reliance as we acquire companies is some of the companies traditionally have the second quarter as their strongest volume quarter, but some of the companies typically have first quarter as their strongest. So, that mix is where acquiring companies can shift those seasonal patterns a bit. I will say we're up marginally if you back out seasonality, which is really hard for us to think about, backing out seasonality. Michael F. Gambardella - JPMorgan Securities LLC Right. So, but backing out seasonality in the acquisition, you feel your volumes would still be up a little bit quarter-to-quarter? Karla R. Lewis - Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP Yeah. Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director Yeah. Karla R. Lewis - Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP We think they'd still be up a bit quarter over quarter, yes. Michael F. Gambardella - JPMorgan Securities LLC Okay, great. Thank you. Operator Thank you. Our next question is coming from the line of Aldo Mazzaferro with Macquarie. Please go ahead with your question. Aldo Mazzaferro - Macquarie Capital (USA), Inc. Hi, good morning everyone. Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director Good morning, Aldo. James Donald Hoffman - Executive Vice President-Operations Good morning. Aldo Mazzaferro - Macquarie Capital (USA), Inc. Say, Gregg, on the overall market outlook and when you look at the service centers, I noticed Karla mentioned, we haven't seen an inventory debit or close to it since 2002. If you look at our market today and you say, we're in this market that might be similar to that period of time or maybe the 2000 market, do you see your – you are in a position where you have cash, you have a strong balance sheet, where a lot of other service centers have either little cash or low valuations or both and weak balance sheet. I am wondering if you see the pace of acquisitions picking up in 2016. Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director I think – here's just one opinion, right, there is four of us sitting in the room, so you will probably get four different opinions if you want to know the truth, but the fact of the matter is, 2015 was challenging with the prices going down basically 15 months in a row, starting in September of 2014 in each and every month going forward on basically every product that we stock. When you're going through a period of time like that, companies aren't doing as well financially and they're not as willing to shop their company in the marketplace and sell their company. They think the values are going to be undervalued for the reasons I just explained. So with stability unfortunately at a very low level, okay, but we believe that hopefully we'll get a little bit of upswing going forward in the year. When prices are more stable, profitability is a little bit better and the likelihood of them wanting to go out and maybe shop their company if there's an interest is a lot better than in a declining pricing environment. So that's a long-winded version of me saying, I think, yeah, 2016, there probably will be more activity than 2015. But we'll have to look at the deals on an item-by-item basis and make our own decision on whether or not we're going to go forward. We're very fortunate with the Tubular Steel. It wasn't shopped. So they came to us basically exclusively. And with their specialized products and whatnot, it was a very attractive acquisition for us. But I think there is going to be more activity, I think we are already seeing that. Looking at deals whether or not we'll get them done or we want to get them done, that always remains to be seen. Karla R. Lewis - Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP Yeah, I think also, Aldo, to your point of us having the strong balance sheet, and we will continue, as Gregg said, to look and execute on the right acquisition opportunities. But we also are continuing to invest a lot in our existing company and a lot of our competitors out there don't have the ability to do that. So we expect to continue to pick up market share because of our ability to finance. We have the funds available to capitalize on opportunities that we see out there in the market. And so, you see a strong CapEx budget for us again this year as we've had in the last few years, because we'll continue our growth that way and are fortunate to have the balance sheet that we do, to be able to do that. Aldo Mazzaferro - Macquarie Capital (USA), Inc. Great. And, Karla, if I could follow-up on a separate topic. In terms of your gross margins on a FIFO basis, if you look at the fourth quarter, I'm sure there was some penalty on those margins from the fact that pricing on the sale point was lower than it was on the purchase point. I think you probably felt that kind of pressures throughout the year. Do you see, for example, if the prices were to stabilize in first quarter, stay there for 60 days or longer, do you see some margin pressure being relieved? And maybe you could say like how many basis points you think your penalty was in the quarter? Karla R. Lewis - Chief Financial Officer & Senior Executive VP Yeah. So, Aldo, we do – generally, we do expect that if prices are stable or up slightly, we do expect to be able to expand our gross profit margins in those types of environments. That being said, we are at a good healthy rate the way we ended the year. So, we're not brave enough I don't think to sit here and try to quantify what that number would be. But you are correct that with the really strong execution we had of reducing inventory during the year, while prices were going down, we do think we're in good position now with our inventory costs that we have on hand to support strong gross profit margins going forward. Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director Yeah. Aldo, we're extremely proud of many aspects of our business, but in particular our gross profit management and our inventory reduction were the two highest on the list. Generally speaking, when you have a declining market in prices like we had 15 months in a row, it's very unusual for you to get your margin expansion, especially when you do it four quarters in a row. But we were reducing our inventory substantially throughout those quarters. So in large part, we were able to – when you have too high of inventory, you're able to chase bad orders, okay, because you have to reduce those inventories. Our inventories were in line. I think we got a head start on it. We started looking at our inventories very closely in the fourth quarter of 2014, okay, because that's when the mills started to reduce their prices, with September of 2014. So, we were pleased with that. But now with the prices more in line and more stable than they have been for almost a year-and-a-half, I think we would expect maybe a little bit of improvement on the margin side. Aldo Mazzaferro - Macquarie Capital (USA), Inc. Well, thanks. Congratulations on the excellent performance in a tough market. Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director Thank you, Aldo. Operator Thank you The next question is from the line of Chris Olin with Rosenblatt Securities. Please go ahead with your questions. Chris Olin - Rosenblatt Securities, Inc. Hey, thanks for taking my call. Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director Good morning, Chris. Chris Olin - Rosenblatt Securities, Inc. I just had a quick question on aerospace. It seems like there is a bit of discussion about a potential inventory glut within the channel. Perhaps some of this relates to the recent production cuts at Boeing in some of the wide-body aircraft. And I guess – I was just wondering if you saw this impacting your business right now and is that reflected in the volume guidance as well. William K. Sales - Executive Vice President-Operations Hey, Chris, it's Bill Sales. There has been a lot of discussion and a lot of articles about that. From our point of view, we really look at where mill lead times are, where the build rates will follow that, we look at the backlog. And while there have been some adjustments in the build rate, I think there is – a lot of that is tied to conversions to the next-generation aircraft. I know in one case, it's really tied to the lack of freighter activity. But we really see strong demand. Mill lead times are 25-plus weeks. And we think that demand will continue through this year. And we feel good about the programs that we're on. We feel good about our position with opening some new facilities. So, we really think that 2016 is going to be another very, very strong year for us in aerospace. Chris Olin - Rosenblatt Securities, Inc. Great. Just back to lead time issue, are you having any trouble getting some of the materials? And I've heard some backing up on the titanium side. Is there any problem in terms of the supply? William K. Sales - Executive Vice President-Operations Not for us. I think we've got good relationships there and programs in place, so the supply-side isn't a problem for us. You do have to, you know, have programs to work through some of these long lead times that we are dealing with. And if the question isn't about titanium specifically, I think we're in really good shape there with our mill relations. And that market we're not – from a lead time standpoint, you do need some programs in place to be sure you can get the product when you need it. Chris Olin - Rosenblatt Securities, Inc. Thanks a lot. Operator Thank you. We've reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I will turn the floor back over to Mr. Gregg Mollins for closing remarks. Gregg J. Mollins - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director Well, listen, thanks again for your support and for participating in today's call. And we'd like to remind everyone that in March, we will be in New York City, presenting at Macquarie's What's Next for the Non-Res Conference. So we hope to see many of you there, and have a great day. Thank you. Operator This concludes today's conference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines at this time. Copyright policy: All transcripts on this site are the copyright of Seeking Alpha. 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Social and economic status does not explain the racial gaps in the care and outcomes of kids with type 1 diabetes, according to a new study. The finding suggests researchers look to other factors that may explain the racial gap in type 1 diabetes care, such as the perceptions of doctors and families, write the researchers in the journal Pediatrics February 16. Previous studies done in much smaller populations have had somewhat similar findings, wrote lead author Dr. Steven Willi of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in an email to Reuters Health. More than 29 million Americans have diabetes, 5 percent of who have type 1, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Willi and his coauthors used data from more than 10,000 kids under age 18 in a type 1 diabetes registry, following them for at least a year. The majority of the kids were white, but 11 percent were Hispanic and 7 percent were black. The researchers say children who were black tended to have worse control over their diabetes, compared to white and Hispanic children. Mean hemoglobin A1c should be below 7.5 percent among children younger than 19 years with type 1 diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. That measure was 9.6 percent among black children. That compared to 8.4 percent among white kids and 8.7 percent among Hispanic kids. Black children also had more complications from type 1 diabetes, compared to white and Hispanic children, the researchers found. The racial gap in diabetes management remained even after the researchers adjusted for factors that may influence diabetes management, including the social and economic status of the children’s families. The researchers also found that black children were less likely to have insulin pumps, compared to white and Hispanic children after adjusting for their families’ social and economic status. Willi said other possible explanations for the racial disparity in diabetes care and outcomes include cultural differences in acceptance of insulin pumps, the interaction between black diabetes patients and their primarily white healthcare providers, or in fact that providers have a racial bias in the diabetes care relationship. “I do not feel that diabetes care providers are overtly racist in any way,” Willi stressed. “However, I do have lingering concerns that subliminal racial bias still exists in this country, and the medical community is not immune to this.” There may be another explanation, according to Dr. Stuart Chalew of Children’s Hospital of New Orleans, who wrote an editorial accompanying the results. “What is hemoglobin A1c?” Chalew said. “Doctors will say it’s the mean blood glucose,” but that’s a simplified way to look at it, he said. In previous studies, even when black and white patients have the same blood sugar levels, they can have higher A1c, which may be due to genetic differences, he said. That issue wasn’t really assessed in the new paper, although the results are still valuable since the sample of kids was so large, he told Reuters Health by phone. A1c measurements may be overestimating blood sugar for black patients, leading them to take more insulin and inadvertently push their blood sugar too low, which would explain the higher rate of complications, he said. Closing the racial gap among people with type 1 diabetes will hinge on uncovering the root cause. “Of course, healthcare providers should continue to strive for cultural sensitivity in their practice,” Willi said. “Finally, if this gap is due, in part, to subliminal racial bias, it will be helpful to recognize that this bias exists, and actively work toward its eradication.”

Teens who have tried herbal products are much more likely to try other potentially more dangerous drugs such as cocaine and anabolic steroids, a new study suggests. Researchers found teenagers who had used herbal products, such as dietary supplements, were six times more likely to have tried cocaine and nearly 15 times more likely to have used anabolic steroids than those who have never used an herbal product. "The study points to the need for parents and health care providers to ask if teens are using herbal remedies and from there probe deeper for possible drug use," says researcher Susan Yussman, MD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center. "Children who are open to experimenting with herbal products may be more open to trying illicit drugs." Teen Herb Use Tied to Illicit Drug Use In the study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, researchers surveyed more than 2,000 teenage students in New York State in 1999. The survey defined use of an herbal product as ever using any “herbal or other natural products -- either to make you feel better, or to help you perform better at sports or at school.” Overall, nearly 29 percent of teens said they had used herbal products, from St. John’s wort to natural performance enhancers, such as creatine. Researchers found the heaviest herbal product users were more likely to use illicit drugs. Use of herbal products also increased with age, with over 24 percent of ninth graders reporting use of herbal products compared with nearly 30 percent of 12th graders. In addition, teens who had ever used herbal products were: --More than four times as likely to have ever used inhalants --More than four times as likely to have tried LSD, PCP, ecstasy, mushrooms, and other illegal drugs --Nearly six times as likely to have ever used cocaine --Nearly seven times as likely to have ever used methamphetamines --Eight times as likely to have ever used IV drugs --Nearly nine times as likely to have ever used heroin --Nearly 15 times as likely to have ever used steroids Researchers say more studies are needed to determine which herbal products may be associated with use of which specific illicit drugs. "A teen using a sports-enhancing product probably has a very different substance use pattern than a teen taking echinacea for a cold," says Yussman. Warning Signs for Teen Marijuana Use By Jennifer Warner, reviewed by Louise Chang, MD SOURCES: Yussman, S. Journal of Adolescent Health, March 23, 2006; vol 38: pp 395-400. News release, University of Rochester Medical Center.

NASA engineers are working to settle fuel tank sensor concerns for the space shuttle Atlantis today in order to clear the orbiter and a European lab for a Saturday launch toward the International Space Station (ISS). The failure of two fuel gauge sensors during a standard preflight test inside Atlantis' 15-story external tank prevented a planned Thursday afternoon launch for the orbiter and its seven-astronaut crew here at NASA's seaside Kennedy Space Center. Shuttle commander Stephen Frick and his STS-122 crewmates hope to try again on Saturday, with liftoff currently pegged at 3:43 p.m. EST (2043 GMT) and a 60 percent chance of favorable launch weather, mission managers said late Thursday. The astronauts will haul the European Space Agency's (ESA) Columbus lab to the ISS during their 11-day mission. • Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Space Center. "We're still hoping, and have reason to believe, that we're going to get off in December," said Doug Lyons, NASA's shuttle launch director, after Thursday's launch delay. "And that's what we're shooting for." NASA has until Dec. 13 to launch Atlantis toward the International Space Station (ISS), where the shuttle's seven-astronaut crew will deliver the European Space Agency's (ESA) Columbus laboratory during a planned 11-day mission. If Atlantis cannot launch by the window's close, mission managers have said they would wait until Jan. 2 at the earliest to try again to avoid unfavorable sun angles on the station's solar arrays. On Friday, engineers are expected to decide whether Atlantis can launch with only two of four critical liquid hydrogen engine cut-off sensors operating properly on Saturday. The sensors are used as part of a backup system to shut down a shuttle's three main engines before its liquid hydrogen propellant supply runs dry. NASA fuels its shuttle external tanks with more than 500,000 gallons (1.9 million liters) of super-chilled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant to feed an orbiter's three main engines during the 8.5-minute launch into orbit. Current flight rules require at least three working sensors to support liftoff. While engine cut-off sensors have afflicted shuttle flight preparations in past — most recently causing a day's delay during a September 2006 launch — those glitches included only one failed sensor, not two. Engineers suspect that an open circuit, not the sensors themselves, may be the source of Atlantis' current fuel gauge woes, and will take a close look at the risks involved in launching with only two working units. "The intent would be to have rationale that says, operationally, we can work around this and still drive the crew safety risk down to zero or as close to zero as we can," said LeRoy Cain, head of Atlantis' mission management team, late Thursday. Shuttle officials will meet this afternoon to study Atlantis' launch options and will hold a press briefing no earlier than 5:00 p.m. EST (2200 GMT) tonight discuss their findings. Mission managers don't currently plan to call for a hardware repair inside Atlantis to address the glitch. Replacing the sensors completely, which engineers may be able to perform at the orbiter's Pad 39A launch site, if required, would delay Atlantis' STS-122 mission well into mid-January should engineers believe it is necessary, Lyons said. Frick and his crew plan to stage at least three spacewalks to install Columbus at the ISS during their spaceflight. One STS-122 crewmember, French ESA astronaut Leopold Eyharts, will replace U.S. spaceflyer Dan Tani as space station flight engineer during the shuttle flight. Atlantis' STS-122 mission will mark NASA's fourth shuttle flight of the year when it launches this month. ESA officials said that while they were disappointed with Thursday's launch scrub, the delay is rooted in maximizing crew safety during liftoff, which is more important than an on-time departure for the 13-ton Columbus. "This is perfectly normal," said Alan Thirkettle, the ESA's space station program manager, of the scrub. "We want to launch on time, but we want to launch right." Copyright © 2007 Imaginova Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

An actor shot in the head and partly paralyzed when live ammunition was mistakenly used during a theme park's staged gunfight sued Wild West City, its owner and others on Thursday, charging their negligence and recklessness led to his injuries. "It's reckless misconduct in operation of the theme park in allowing a 17-year-old who had no firearms training to have access to firearms and live ammunition," said Andrew A. Fraser, lawyer for the wounded actor, Scott Harris. "Obviously, Scott will need a lifetime of care, rehabilitation and medical treatment," Fraser said. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages that would be used for those purposes, Fraser said. Harris, 39, of Byram, was shot July 7, 2006. His right arm and leg are paralyzed, he cannot walk and he has difficulty speaking, Fraser said. Harris now lives in a group home in Harding. During a news conference at his lawyer's office in Sparta, Harris was asked about his recovery. He replied, "Long road," the Daily Record of Parsippany reported on its Web site. The lawsuit, filed in state Superior Court for Sussex County in Newton, named park owner Michael Stabile; Nathan McPeak, a park supervisor; and Alberto Morales, an employee who brought real ammunition to the park, Fraser said. Also sued was the 17-year-old who fired the .22-caliber pistol, who was identified in court papers as D.S. since he was a juvenile at the time, Fraser said. Messages left at Wild West City for Stabile and McPeak were not immediately returned. No listing could be found for Morales in the area. Criminal charges were brought in January 2007 against Stabile and McPeak, as well as the juvenile. The adults were charged with violating public safety by allowing a gun with real ammunition in the show. Their cases have not yet come to trial, Fraser said. The juvenile, who said he mistakenly loaded bullets instead of blanks, was charged with assault and was sentenced to probation after pleading guilty in May 2007 to negligently injuring another person with a weapon.

This is a rush transcript from "The Five," February 9, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. DANA PERINO, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Dana Perino along with Kimberly Guilfoyle, Bob Beckel, Eric Bolling and Greg Gutfeld. It's 5 o'clock in New York City and this is "The Five." The Obama administration thinks that America is on the right track to destroy ISIS. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY: I believe we are on the road to, yes, I absolutely do and I think the evidence is not in my saying it but it's in the facts of what is happening. (END VIDEO CLIP) PERINO: But Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, the president's former military intelligence chief, does not see it that way. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MICHAEL FLYNN, FORMER DIRECTOR DEFENSE INTEL AGENCY: Today what you are seeing on a map like that is -- is a doubling of the enemy. And what I have -- CHRIS WALLACE, 'FOX NEWS SUNDAY' ANCHOR: A doubling of the enemy? FLYNN: For -- a doubling or more. The strategy that we have had is not -- is not working, and it's clearly not working. And just -- just look at the kinds of things that we're facing. I mean -- you know, in my -- in my world, what I have grown up to -- have to do is to find the enemy that we are facing. And like I've said, if you -- you can't defeat an enemy that you don't admit exists. We faced the Nazis, we faced the communists, we defeated those ideologist. This is another ideology that we're going to have to have to face. It is staring us in the face right now, and that's his expansion of radical Islam. And it -- they are against our way of life, and we have to make sure that we understand that. (END VIDEO CLIP) PERINO: So if that wasn't confusing enough, President Obama gave an interview to Vox.com where he -- choose described the terror threat as he sees it. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: .my morning -- my morning tea. MATTHEW YGLESIAS, EXECUTIVE EDITOR OF VOX: Do you think the media sometimes overstates the sort of level of alarm people should have about terrorism and this kind of chaos, as opposed to a longer-term problem of climate change and epidemic disease? OBAMA: Absolutely. And -- you know, I don't blame the media for that. What's the famous saying about local newscasts, right? If it bleeds, it leads, right? You show crime stories and you show fires, because that's what folks watch, it's all about ratings. And, the problems of terrorism and dysfunction and chaos, along with plane crashes and a few other things, that's the equivalent when it comes to covering international affairs. (END VIDEO CLIP) PERINO: So that was quite a highly produced interview, Greg. And he want -- he's -- he went on to say that we don't cover stories like climate change because they aren't sexy, but it is more important to cover that than terrorism. GREG GUTFELD, CO-HOST: Well, the reason for embracing the imprecise issue of climate change, it allows the villain to be the United States. And it allows everybody to say, we're all going to be pro-planet rather than pro United States. It's a radical shell game that is meant to further marginalize the United States over the long term by saying we're more about the planet than we are about ourselves. The problem that we have here is really that, if you -- if you accept this metaphor that President Obama still is kind of like a college student. ISIS and Ukraine in Libya and Egypt are basically like term papers that he's constantly putting off. But that's the hard stuff, that's the reason why you're president but, -- you got to return to the priorities. And if you look at his priorities, how can a president go and do public service announcements while the stuff is going on. It's like having Lena Dunham, you know deal with Putin. I mean this is a freaky Friday scenario that is infected the White House. You should be focusing on foreign policy and not on doing PSA's. PERINO: Do you think Kimberly, he was trying to calm Americans and the thinking like -- we don't have ISIS on our shores? We're not at risk of being rounded up and burned alive in a cage? Do you think that's what he was trying to do? KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE, CO-HOST: No. I really don't. I know. PERINO: I'm trying to help him. GUILFOYLE: I know, but there is no helping him. And he doesn't even want to be helped. He thinks we need the help, that we don't get it, that we are quite frankly stupid and that we have just an idea like, oh, if it bleeds it leads, we just run. GUTFELD: Right. GUILFOYLE: After sensational news headlines, oh, airplane crash. Oh, ISIS. Oh, someone burned alive in a cage. He thinks we are just ignorant. And that if we can elevate to a level where he is -- the existential level that perhaps, we could have an awareness and operate on this higher plateau that the president had. It's more global in terms of his understanding and what matters in this world. So he's focused on polar bears and we're focused on beheadings. I mean, there is no comparison. It's such a disconnect. PERINO: What about the contradiction -- Eric, between what John Kerry said which is, that we are on the right track to destroying ISIS and the general who says, I most certainly don't -- do not think that we are. Is it possible that it's just impossible -- it's not impossible to tell because we don't have enough reporting on the ground? ERIC BOLLING, CO-HOST: Well, -- it could be. We also learned today that some -- I really hope this is accurate, 5,000 or so ISIS fighters were killed by the Jordanian airstrikes -- that's fantastic. Things seem to be getting better with thank -- thankful -- thank goodness for King Abdullah of Jordan. But that comment, that President Obama just said that, if it bleeds it leads. It's that nonchalant attitude that's not only danger -- explains why -- how he golf after a beheading or fund a raise after Benghazi. That's just -- he's just too cool for school, everyone just needs to relax and take this away I am, but the problem is it's not getting better. If it's getting better, it's getting better because of the royal Jordanian air force, and now the UAE step up the airstrikes as well -- I can -- those are good things. As for -- it's not that big a thing talk to Kayla Mueller's parents, talk to Peter DeFazio's (ph) parents and talk to James Foley's family. They are grieving and that - - those -that's real grieving. It's not this don't worry about it, if it bleeds it's leads, it's media hype. That's -- that's real. GUTFELD: If it bleeds, he golf's. BOLLING: Right. (LAUGHTER) PERINO: Unfortunately, that doesn't rhyme. GUTFELD: I know. PERINO: But trying. GUTFELD: I was working on it. PERINO: Will come back to you and I get Bob's take on this. From a presidential communication standpoint, so he is -- to lead the nation and try to -- I guess calm the nation, do you think? That's what he is trying to do or is he actually being condescending to the rest of the nation? BOB BECKEL, CO-HOST: Well, I don't -- I don't know if he knows exactly what (inaudible) he's on and some of these things. But let me just say a couple of things, one, it is true that all of the networks including ourselves spent hours and hours and hours on that Malaysia airlines flight. I think after a while probably we ran it to the ground or the sea as it were. I think Kerry's comment about we're defeating ISIS is - - as he know that, expect in the long run we will defeat ISIS. GUILFOYLE: Toughmoric (ph) BECKEL: And I don't think that there is a -- a question in my mind that, Oh, that Obama wants to see ISIS gone. The question is. GUILFOYLE: He does, I think. He wishes they would go away so he can focus on climate change. BECKEL: Well, that's probably right, and I wish he would. But -- and they're here and the president and -- I don't care how much you want to get people focused on climate change, they won't get focused while things like this are going on even things like this weren't going on, I'm not so sure. PERINO: They're actually kind of lucky, that we don't cover climate change as much as we should. Because today, -- yesterday, it was reported that more the temperature readings have been fabricated and it's all -- that's all blowing up in their faces, they're kind of lucky, actually, that we don't cover it. Because the only news is -- GUILFOYLE: Fraud science. PERINO: Yes, I -- I agree. GUTFELD: By the way, you know he did this interview for Vox, which is apparently, I guess a big get for Vox. But essentially, it's like the Justin Bieber fan club, which is run by the Justin Bieber organization. Getting Justin Bieber for an interview, he just basically -- he calls out FNC and he talks about if it bleeds it leads, but he scampers to like a tree house for it, to do an interview with these little buddies. PERINO: Well, let me leave one other -- BOLLING: It's home field advantage. GUTFELD: Yeah. BOLLING: I mean that -- that group is as far left as they come. GUTFELD: Right. PERINO: Frankly to -- the interview took place on January 23rd, they didn't release it until yesterday, but it got a lot of attention, it's getting attention here. I want to point out something else that he said Greg, in the interview. This -- he was referring back -- he was talking about terrorism in general and he was referencing the terror attack in Paris, not only the Charlie Hebdo, but the -- Kosher market. GUTFELD: Yeah, yeah. PERINO: Where there was an attack. And he said, -- I'm sorry I have to read this from my phone, but it said, "Look, the point is this. My first job is protecting the American people, and it's entire -- highly legitimate for the American people to be deeply concerned when you've got a bunch of violent vicious zealots who behead people or" -- and this is the key quote, "randomly shoot a bunch of folks in a deli in Paris." GUUTFELD: Yeah. PERINO: To me, that is absolutely not serious in us. GUTFELD: Yeah, it's -- PERINO: About the entire femantism (ph) the targeting by the Islamic radicals who killed the people in a deli. GUTFELD: If -- if taking those people hostage and killing them in a Jewish deli is random, then the Boston marathon bombing was a sports injury. It's the absurdity of this is beyond belief. I understand, it goes back to what you are saying that he's trying to diminish the horror -- but all he does is he sounds again like a misguided grad student out of his element. He's better talking foreign films than foreign policy. BECKEL: You don't -- PERINO: Let's see if it was better on the other talk, because it's getting from attention today. There was a press conference earlier between the chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel and our president. Let's take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: If in fact diplomacy fails, what I've asked my team to do is look at all options. What other means can we put in place to change Mr. Putin's calculus? And the possibility of lethal defensive weapons is one of those options that's being examined, but I have not made a decision about that yet. (END VIDEO CLIP) PERINO: One of my favorite people to follow on Twitter is Ian Bremmer and he after that -- he's an expert in geopolitical issues. He said, "Basically, what Obama said to Merkel" -- give this question to you Eric, is, "If the next round of Russia talks fail, we will consider providing Ukraine with weapons to lose the fight less quickly." And that's how I took it. Which is re-basically admitting that we're not going to be able to do anything, because we haven't done anything. So therefore, we have to do something -- less quickly. BOLLING: Your tweet was -- was awesome, right after were he said, President Obama basically said, we're definitely kind of sort of maybe we'll send some help for you -- soon. PERINO: Yeah. BOLLING: And you are right. Here's my question. Why didn't Angela Merkel step up and say, well then, we'll take care of this. PERINO: Her position, Bob. Germany's position is -- no arms. And one of the things that she said yesterday -- I think I have that too, I have it somewhere. Basically I'm going to paraphrase it but, just trust me, I'm correct. He said. GUILFOYLE: Oh my, God. (LAUGHTER) PERINO: We -- we are concerned about sending arms, because if more arms are sent, there will be more victims. But -- how do you say to the people who are facing Putin's army that we're not going to help you, because we think you might be more victimized. GUTFELD: That didn't work with the holocaust. I mean, if they were -- if they've had been armed. BECKEL: Well, let me just say, trust me because, I am very good on facts. You know the -- (LAUGHTER) BOLLING: How far this week? GUILFOYLE: Yeah. BECKEL: It's just the beginning of the week and then we have all to (inaudible). GUILFOYLE: Jail bucket. (ph) BECKEL: The -- the fact is the Germans have been reluctant about weapons for a long time and -- PERINO: They didn't even do weapons in Afghanistan. BECKEL: That's right. PERINO: They did police training. BECKEL: That's right. PERINO: they didn't do -- armed. (ph) BECKEL: And also they were forbidden to do that for a long time but, that's not going to excuse for not doing it. You know what I finally figured out about this is I think, is it -- I think Obama grew up along Muslims. I think he was very strong, affected by Muslims. I think in his dream of dreams he hopes these guys aren't really Muslims and he doesn't want to call them Muslims because, he really does like Muslims. BOLLING: Wait, wait. GUILFOYLE: In Muslims, where Bob? Do you see -- PERINO: I think he's talking about the -- (CROSSTALK) BECKEL: But I was saying -- I want to get that point in that -- here's the guy that was very much affected by -- by Muslims in his life. He had friends who are Muslims -- I think he doesn't want to make himself believe they can be a nasty group -- PERINO: I'm not sure if it is only just about that, I think that he would prefer for this big international problems to go away -- Kimberly. And this one, in a particular one, Russia, Ukraine -- if you were the Ukrainians now -- I mean, safely, would you say your diplomacy is failing. I guess you would probably look for somebody else that can help you. And there is really -- there's no one -- GUILFOYLE: But that's the problem. PERINO: In the western world that is stepping up faster now. GUILFOYLE: Now you might really start to feel a sense of the desperation and isolation, because -- essentially, Putin is being able to operate -- you know, wholeheartedly in whatever fashion he wants, to go ahead, this is all about oil and nobody's going to -- PERINO: Remember after Putin, annex (ph) Crimea and then, the line we were fed from the last was, he is much more weakened now. GUTFELD: Yeah. PERINO: And so, he won't be able to do anything more. GUILFOYLE: Like ISIS, yeah. PERINO: And that was about a year ago. GUTFELD: The problem is that no one has to steal President Obama's play book. Because he hands it to you, he tells you, this is not our fight. He doesn't realize that in order to stop somebody from punching you, you have to be willing to throw a punch. BOLLING: Can I just -- GUILFOYLE: But he's not. BOLLING: Very quick. PERINO: That's enough, I got to go. BOLLING: This was the opportunity today, to step up and say, we will -- if you -- Russia, Putin, if you continue to advance or have your so-called rebel -- rebels in favor of Russia advance, we will put sanctions up. They are on their heels right now, with a $52 barrel of oil (ph). They are on their butts. GUILFOYLE: This is the time to lay sweep on them, we didn't do it. BOLLING: Yeah. You lay -- yeah, lay sweep them as Kimberly says in the economy, they're finished, they to back off. PERINO: Is that a wrestling technique? GUILFOYLE: But guess what? I think Putin knew all along that Obama didn't have the step up to him. (CROSSTALK) PERINO: All right you guys, I got to go, because everybody (inaudible) three time. GUTFELD: But where we going to go? Where we headed to? PERINO: We're going -- we're going to -- BOLLING: Going somewhere? I don't know. PERINO: To commercial break. OK. Coming up Brian Williams takes himself off the air at NBC, but only temporarily. Will credibility concern for the network to make his leave permanent. And award crasher, Kanye West does it again. GUTFELD: Loves that. PERINO: Storming the stage at the Grammy's after another artist beats out Beyonce. GUTFELD: Hi brother. (ph) PERINO: The rapper's latest melt down ahead on The Five. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) GUILFOYTLE: President Obama came under fire for saying this at the national prayer breakfast last week. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: Unless we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the crusades and the inquisition people committed terrible things in the name of Christ. (END VIDEO CLIP) GUILFOYLE: I can't imagine. A lot of Christians were offended by the comparison to ISIS terrorists. The remark got a lot of reaction on the Sunday show yesterday. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANDREA MITCHELL, NBC NEWS: The week after a pilot is burned alive, in a video shown, you don't lean over backwards to be philosophical about the sins of the fathers. DAVID BROOKS, THE NEW YORK TIMES: I am totally pro-Obama on this. I think he said the right thing, listen. It was a gospel of humility to why we exercise how -- hard power, we have to take more hazardous action -- can be prone to get caught up on in our own software adjustments. (ph) BILL MAHER, REAL TIME SHOW HOST: The problem with Obama making this statement is that he doesn't make the follow up statement that I always do. We did it then, they're doing it now. This president has a high horse himself. It is his teleprompter. And what was shocking about this speech, this it wasn't ad-lib off the cuff remark, it was scripted. (END VIDEO CLIP) GUILFOYLE: Yeah, this was a great point Bolling, because this is something that they prepared. It's not like the old off the cuff answering a question at a round table, et cetera. It is -- it's troubling. PERINO: Well, actually, they came -- the White House after unexpected -- they were -- didn't expect the criticism, OK? BOLLING: Right. PERINO: Then the next day in the New York Times in the morning, on background, senior administration officials were trying to explain what happened and they said that, that line -- president -- they said he ad- libbed it, OK? So the New York Times who always makes fun of amateur historians -- Ben (ph) is trying to help the White House clean up the mess the president caused for being an amateur historian and ad-libbing something that he should had taking much greater care instantly. (ph) GUILFOYLE: If that is even true. Maybe they realize the fall out and decided it was ill advised. I mean, I don't trust anything they say. I believe this is his core ideology, it's what he belief. He was not (inaudible) he was quite certain and sure put it in his comments. There you go. I think that is the truth. BOLLING: When it happened and there kind of, there was a day or two, we kind of talked about it a little bit. You saw this thing. I -- I saw this clear as day that this was going to end being a huge issue for President Obama whether he ad-libbed it or if it was scripted, he didn't matter. He delivered it, he delivered it at the prayer breakfast, 2.4 billion Christians are offended by that, with the exception of Brooks, maybe perhaps. I'm not sure what his religious backgrounds are. But it took time. They give the gag reflex -- reflex by the left protect everything Obama says. PERINO: Right. BOLLING: Is starting to subside and now they are realizing what he said. He compared 900 years ago, Christian events that happened at the crusades to - - to ISIS and somehow -- it's not only comparison, it's -- somehow explaining why ISIS is doing what they are doing, because it happened in the name of religion 900 years ago. Therefore, it's -- it almost excuses some of the background. GUILFOYLE: The name of religion and defense of law (ph) BOLLING: And -- it's just so egregious, it's in -- will continue. It's like the Brian Williams thing. It took 12 years of whatever he did, but finally his catching up on -- this will stay with President Obama for a long time. GUILFOYLE: 2016. Greg? GUTFELD: Well, OK. You got to understand the singular perspective of a progressive which is it is always about the power versus powerless. And the power -- or the countries with land with armies and the powerless are those the terror -- the freedom fighters, they call them freedom fighters, we call them terrorists. And that informs reluctance within all foreign policy areas. If President Obama essentially the magic eight ball, in which every answer is, it's your fault. He's a left explainer on every issue and every contemporary threat, he educates you from the perspective of the left whether it's terror, whether it's environment, gender, race, it's always going to be your fault. We are on a high horse, he is just high. BOLLING: What is that mean? GUTFELD: What? BOLLING: We need to get on our high horse? (CROSSTALK) GUTFELD: For being self righteous about our religion. By the way, I'm not religious. I was -- I was, I was bothered by this whole thing and I -- I don't even have a horse in this. I don't have a high horse. PERINO: You don't have a horse in this fight? GUTFELD: I don't have a high horse in this fight. I have a tiny horse. (CROSSTALK) PERINO: You have a unicorn. GUTFELD: I have -- yes. PERINO: You have a little pony in this fight? BECKEL: I -- first of all, you say you have an eight ball to hide behind? It's that what you said? PERINO: No, the magic eight ball. GUTFELD: Magic eight ball. You a little bit to shake and it has an answer. GUILFOYLE: Bob, this is your opportunity. BECKEL: I would -- I just said that. (LAUGHTER) BECKEL: You know this looks like to me, to looks like a biblical things, it's an eye for an eye. And promise the eye for an eye happens, usually that means if you got hit by somebody back in during the years of Christ, you hit somebody back. I'm not sure you look back hit and you'll say, well, that some -- Uncle Greg -- They don't believe it based on how it's time to knock them down, doesn't make sense. And back and back for it, these are evangelical Christians, you do not say that kind of thing. GUTFELD: But he was -- he was left explaining. That's what he do it. GUILFOYLEL: Yeah, but this -- PERINO: There was -- one of the professors in the New York Times article. GUILFOYLE: Yeah. PERINO: And he said, sometimes you can be so open minded that your brains fall out. I like that. (CROSSTALK) PERINO: I also bring Andrea, Andrea -- BOLLING: Mitchell. PERINO: I was saying Tantaros. When Andrea Mitchell said you should talk -- focus on the facts of this pilot. When I -- President Obama could have said, look how far we have come. Our alliance is with the Muslim pilot who was fighting against the evil, and he could've said -- last were, we are with them rather than putting all of us against each other. GUTFELD: But -- the prayer breakfast was not a bug in the machine. It's the machine. GUILFOYLE: That's the point. GUTFELD: That's how -- GUILFOYLE: But guess what? Who is this guy? Who his brethren? Jeremiah Ride, chicken coming home to roast. (ph) BECKEL: Oh, no. GUILFOYLE; Ahead, new developments in the Williams war story scandal -- I'm so happy that was my block. And Nightly News anchor takes himself off the air for a few days. The question, should NBC let him return, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) GUTFELD: The establishment media's favorite issues are often most dishonestly reported, because of the advocacy that infects the topic. When given free arrange to indulge their causes, reporters embrace bias stats from groups eager to bolster their agendas. But what if that favorite issue is the reporter himself, Brian Williams really is another example of advocacy journalism and that he advocated himself. Instead of global warming, he chooses to exaggerate his own antics for the same reason people lie about everything. For attention, to be cool, desire for admiration, whether it's Lena Dunham, Mr. Williams or Jayson Blair, attention is a drug and the press amount is never enough. Williams clung to the late night couch as any needy person would. Money can buy second homes. When the cool hold the keys to the kingdom you must betray your ideals to enter that the magical world. He wanted to be cool and knew the stories would get him there. He wanted to be seen as witty, charming and dashing, less anchorman, more aristocrats, which leads me to FNC. A few of us are welcome in those other places, because we reject his deal. We chose this uncool world pushing an inconvenient fairness knowing it would prevent us from ever being invited to tell tall tales on a Letterman couch. But where does that get you anyway? Apparently for Brian, a few days off to catch up on your fictions. (LAUGHTER) GUTFELD: So there. This is -- I just want to play this audio. This is audio from that initial interview with stars and stripes, back at February 4th. Brian Williams admitting that his story wasn't true. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRIAN WILLIAMS, MANAGING EDITOR OF NBC NIGHTLY NEWS: It was my first engagement of the war and remembers I was -- we were all, I think, scared. I don't know what screw up in my mind caused me to conflate one aircraft from the other. The fact is I remember three aircraft going down. I was on one of them. I know it sounds outlandish. I don't -- there nothing else I can -- I can think of. (END VIDEO CLIP) GUTFELD: Eric, maybe you can forgive him on this one. But there's Katrina. There's all these other stories coming out. BOLLING: And we're just finding out, right. I'd like to point out, Katrina and there's a couple others that are being investigated right now. Look, I listened to that just about nine minutes of audio, the "Stars and Stripes." Here is a guy really going out of his way to explain what he did wrong. And for me, like I said on Friday, I can excuse the -- you know, the lying and fabricating and blustering. I can't excuse what they've done at NBC News. And for that I say, look, if he's willing to lie there, maybe he's willing to lie elsewhere. So when you listen to that, I have a whole new opinion right now. He really should step aside. Because to believe it and to -- to go through this story about, "Yes, I'm not a professional. I think the real guys who are in it and took it and understood it the right way. I wasn't a pro so I didn't really understand it the right way." If he just said, "Look, guys, I screwed up," I would have, boom, Brian Williams get back on air and take some time off. He's literally still digging. GUTFELD: Speaking of the hiatus, Kimberly, he claims that it's a self-imposed hiatus, which means he can't even tell the truth when he's taking time off. Is there such a thing, like, you know, "I'm going to take time off." No, somebody calls you up and says, "You better get out of here for a few days." GUILFOYLE: Well, they always do that and try and, you know, spin it. But he's definitely guilty of, like, talking past the sale. Right? He was in Iraq. He did an amazing job of doing excellent reporting, great journalism. Why did he have to, you know, put like marshmallows and whipped cream and cherry on top? And like do it up like that? There was no need for that. No need. GUTFELD: So... GUILFOYLE: And I love Lester Holt. GUTFELD: Yes, OK. You keep that. It's private. GUILFOYLE: Sorry. GUTFELD: So last week we were talking about how he was going to go on talk shows and try to mock his mistakes; and that would make it all go away. Well, he had to cancel his appearance on Letterman this week. PERINO: It must be bad. GUTFELD: Yes. That was part of the return strategy. It's got to be eating him alive not to do -- get on that couch and make fun of himself. PERINO: Because that's the way that -- if you're a liberal, the safe place for you to go -- if you're -- I'm sorry, if you're a liberal that is in the middle of a crisis, the safe place for you to go is someplace where there's comedy. One of the talk shows or "Saturday Night Live" or something, where you just fess up to it, it's self-deprecating. And it's, "Oh, he's so cute. It's all forgiven." And yes, when you go to cocktail parties, people might whisper about it. But you know that you're going to keep your job. In this case, the brand is so damaged; and if we do have additional conflicts, as we -- continued conflicts around the world, NBC would be probably reluctant to have Brian Williams go. And if you think about that in the long run, I think that's probably entered into there. GUILFOYLE: The end is near. PERINO: The other thing is you have presidential debate and decisions about which anchors... GUTFELD: Yes. PERINO: ... media personalities might be at the table to be able to ask the presidents questions -- the candidates questions on the debate. And I would say NBC has probably crossed themselves off the list. BECKEL: You know, it occurs to me that a nightly newscaster is less and less relevant. He gets about 9 million viewers a night on that show. It used to be with big three networks, you know, Walter Cronkite had 15 to 20 million people on. And Walter Cronkite was heroic. Remember, he went to Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, and real bullets were flying around him. And he said that the United States was losing the war. And it sort of set the tone for America. I think Brian Williams is trying to become relevant, but he's not going to be relevant. Because the networks aren't going to be relevant. And if I were them, I would just say... GUILFOYLE: That seat still matters, Bob. That seat still matters. BECKEL: Well, that seat matters, but not with that guy in it. But it will matter less and less as time goes on. GUTFELD: Now that you compared him to Walter Cronkite, Brian Williams doesn't look so bad. BECKEL: No, no, think about it. Walter Cronkite did... GUTFELD: He also said we were losing the war. That didn't help. PERINO: No, but also think about Richard Engel. At NBC News, foreign correspondent. GUTFELD: Yes. PERINO: He -- every time the White House or the administration like John Kerry at the top of the show says we are winning against ISIS, Richard Engel from the field says, "I don't think so. That's not what I'm hearing. I don't believe so." So maybe that's a lesson. GUTFELD: All right. We've learned a lot of lessons here. GUILFOYLE: I like you acting that out. GUTFELD: We've got to go. GUILFOYLE: OK. GUTFELD: Another artist gets Kanyed. This time at the Grammys. Mr. West's new award show spectacle ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) BOLLING: Welcome back. Time for... (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (MUSIC) GRAPHIC: Fastest 7 (END VIDEO CLIP) BOLLING: ... the "Fastest Seven" minutes on television, Grammy edition. Three celebrity stories, seven cursory minutes, one coltish host. First up, somebody please strap Kanye West to his seat during awards show. Once again Ye, as he fans like to call him, stormed the stage as Beck won the Album of the Year. You may recall Kanye storming the 2009 VMA stage, grabbing Taylor Swift's mic and delivering the now infamous, "I'm going to let you finish" line before telling the world Beyonce deserved the award. But here's how Kanye later explained his latest spotlight-grabbing ego-feeding moment. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KANYE WEST, RAPPER: I just know at the Grammys, if they want real artists to keep coming back, they need to stop playing with us. Beck needs to respect artistry, and he should have given his award to Beyonce. And at this point we're tired of it, because what happens is when you keep on diminishing art and not respecting the craft, and smacking people in the face after they deliver monumental feats in music, you're disrespectful to inspiration. (END VIDEO CLIP) GUTFELD: Clearly, he hates white people. Let's just come out and say he hates white people. This point would be well taken if there was some huge, old monolithic band that had won. But it was Beck, who is an unsung genius, who's an influence on many, many people, who put out a great record. It's a great story. He's every bit the artist, if not more than Kanye. And also, if Brian Johnson of AC/DC had won the award or a metal band like Mastodon had won the award or Metallica was up there, do you think this little twerp, Kanye West, would have gone up there? He only goes after people that are smaller than him. He feels entitled to (ph). BOLLING: Yes, but tell us what it's all about (ph). GUTFELD: Yes. BOLLING: And Beck plays 12 instruments. GUTFELD: Yes. He's a genius. He is a genius. GUILFOYLE: I think that Kim needs to exercise more control over her man in the bedroom and elsewhere. BOLLING: Bob, you have an opinion on it? BECKEL: I think somebody ought to slap the crap out of him, No. 1. No. 2, I mean -- shut up. And first you might think this is a P.R. stunt, but this guy is a loud mouth. What is he? Kenyan North from wherever he's from. Let the guy get out of this. Slap him down. Get him in an alley. Get him off the red carpet. GUILFOYLE: All right. BOLLING: OK. All right. I better stop this before it gets too bad. Dana. PERINO: I mean, he's one of the reasons that I just don't watch. I don't tune into the Grammys. I don't look forward to it. I don't watch it. BOLLING: It is a joke they let him prance around the stage like that. We've got to move on. Next up, the Grammys weren't just about the music. Politics made its way into the big night. President Obama delivered a message highlighting the problem of domestic violence. And last year's Ferguson, Missouri, events also played out in music. Pharrell began his upbeat "Happy" song with a noticeable slower, darker tone with people dressed head to toe in black, raising their hands. Beyonce made the "hands up, don't shoot" gesture during her finale. And Prince got political, too. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PRINCE, MUSICIAN: Like books and black lives, albums still matter. Tonight and always. (END VIDEO CLIP) BOLLING: OK, K.G. GUILFOYLE: Yes. BOLLING: Your thoughts on bringing politics to the Grammys. GUILFOYLE: Prince looked pretty good after all these years. Haven't seen him in a while. Look, this is sort of expected, right? Nobody was so inspirational or original that they did something like this. I mean, Pharrell put it in. OK, we got the package. We got it. BOLLING: Frankly, I want to hear the music and not the politics. BECKEL: Well, I'll tell you what. I'll swap you the politics for Keenan East. BOLLING: No. Still on that? We've moved on. BECKEL: OK. Sorry. PERINO: It's strange that it doesn't seem to matter to anybody, very intelligent, smart people, that the "hands up, don't shoot" didn't -- didn't happen. There is no evidence that it happened. And it's become a symbol that I think that they could have moved on from. GUILFOYLE: How about all lives matter? PERINO: I hear that. GUTFELD: Here's the thing. Symbolism always beats fact. And here's what's amazing. The Grammys tackle two issues: black lives matter and domestic violence. The arrogance of all of this is that it's directed at America when it should be directed at the Grammys. I mean, where do you start? You've got Chris Brown in the audience. You've got Suge Knight in jail. You ever read Eminem's lyrics about his wife? The entertainment industry is a spoiled child that projects all its faults on the public. They're every bit as guilty, if not more guilty. BOLLING: Absolutely. Absolutely. AC/DC opened the night with "Highway to Hell." It was awesome. Other notables: Ed Sheeran; Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga was very, very cool. But it was Imagine Dragons that stole the show for me. It looked like they were going to commercial break when the Dragons went live from Las Vegas. They played an awesome "Shots" from their newest album. Here's I'm a piece. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (MUSIC: IMAGINE DRAGONS, "SHOTS") (END VIDEO CLIP) BOLLING: Great new song. But here's the kicker. That performance turned out to be an ad for Target, the first live ad ever. And get this: Target dropped a cool 8 bucks. PERINO: I think that was probably money well spent in your overall advertising budget that was unique. And I like the song, and it was fun. BOLLING: It was awesome. Never seen anything like that. GUTFELD: Why is it -- why is it Target and not Wal-Mart? What's the difference? Why do people hate Wal-Mart but they love Target? By the way, Imagine Dragons, worst name in music. I think it's an anagram for something. I'm not quite sure what it is. GUILFOYLE: Unclear. I thought it was a creative approach, fresh approach in advertising. Was pretty good. It was sort of like Fourth of July. BOLLING: Bob, eight million bucks for a four-minute ad. They took the whole commercial block. BECKEL: I don't know, they probably figured it was worth doing. But I'll say one thing, it's the first song I've heard since Elvis Presley that I like. BOLLING: You liked that song? PERINO: All right. Bob likes Imagine Dragons. BECKEL: Imagine Dragons. Not the Magic Dragons. The Magic Dragons. PERINO: I didn't say that. BOLLING: Bob likes that, though. GUILFOYLE: Puff the magic dragon is who Bob likes. BECKEL: I do. BOLLING: There isn't much this administration won't do for MSNBC. But we just found out where the line gets drawn. What Eric Holder refused to do on air after being asked by one of its hosts if -- the thing that's worth sticking around for. Stay tuned. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) (MUSIC) BECKEL: That's another good song. Where did that come from? All right. Can someone with no military experience be the one to keep America safe from cyberattacks? The Defense Department thinks so. It put former video game developer Dan Copton (ph) in charge of the division dedicated to making the Internet more secure. Listen to what he said on "60 Minutes." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE Can the Internet be fixed, or do we just have to throw this one out and build a whole new Internet from scratch with security built in? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think the Internet is broken. I think the things we put on the Internet are broken. What we're doing is we're putting a lot of devices on it that are unsecure. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like what? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty much everything. The number of attacks is dramatically increasing. So my job is not to wait for something catastrophic to happen and saying, "We should do something." My job is to say, "I see this trend line going. I want to be way ahead of this line." (END VIDEO CLIP) BECKEL: Looks like they had the same hair dresser. What do you think about that? BOLLING: I think -- I don't know this guy. I truly hope he and his team keep us safe. But I'm thrilled that they reached into the private sector and looked for successful people who are getting it done there and bringing them into the administration. Cyber war is the war of the future, and we need... GUILFOYLE: The war of now. BOLLING: Right. Here going forward. And we need the best people, and the best people are in the private sector. I'm surprised the guy wanted to do it. It's a huge, huge risk for him to be doing something like that. If he's attacked under his watch, it goes straight to him. But thank God he did. BECKEL: Well, we're getting hacked right now. PERINO: Right. And his job is to think about the threats to come. He's not doing the NSA work. In fact, they asked him about that last night. He said that's not what he's doing; he's thinking big picture. And he's a successful genius patriot, and we should be really happy that there are people like that that are willing to call up (ph). He originally wanted to work for the FBI. And when he called him, they said, "Oh, you're too old." But he was able to go over to Defense Department. BECKEL: Greg, you're (UNINTELLIGIBLE) GUTFELD: I am. I'm a dark (ph) expert. The thing that drives me crazy about this is no one ever defines what hacking is. It's like, you know, we're being hacked. Oftentimes hack is more a reflection of your own stupidity in terms of choosing passwords that are easy to solve or releasing personal info into various social networks so people can know more about you. So hacking often is educating people on how not to be stupid. GUILFOYLE: Well, I'll tell you, no one can fully secure the Internet. Right? Because everything has got to be user friendly. Otherwise people wouldn't use it. They wouldn't buy all these different products and ask (ph), et cetera. You make it so secure it becomes too difficult to use for the everyday user, I mean, let's be honest, Bob, therefore, it's a problem. I wish this guy all the best. I think it's an innovative approach. I like that he's doing this, and I'm happy for anybody who wants to help the country, because God knows that is a tough job. BECKEL: Let me say that our biggest military industrial complex companies have been hacked. The best part have been hacked. Why do I see a particular big country in Asia surrounding this? There you go again, China. And by the way, (UNINTELLIGIBLE). "One More Thing" is up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) PERINO: It's time now for "One More Thing." In the A-block, we talked about the Russia-Ukraine situation and the lack of response from the United States and Germany. I want to bring your attention to one woman. Just keep her in mind and say a prayer for her. Her name is Nadiya Savchenko. She was a former military pilot with the Ukrainian army. She was the only woman to have saved -- served with her country's peace-keeping forces in Iraq. She was fighting as a member of the Ukrainian militia group. She was captured by pro-Russia separatists. They have arrested her. She has been on a hunger strike for the last eight weeks, and she said this. "A person who is born free and not a slave in captivity cannot live in prison, especially if he or she is innocent. I have given my word until the day I return to Ukraine or until the last day of my life in Russia, and I will not back down." And that's one of the reasons I think we should be helping them. OK, Eric, you're next. BOLLING: Absolutely. So I do a Saturday show. It's doing very well. And I can't figure out what's going on with some of the competition. Melissa Harris Perry's numbers are diving. And so I'm thinking what's going on, and this came up today. Maybe this has something to do with it. Watch this interview. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MELISSA HARRIS PERRY, MSNBC: Be like the duck. We say you have a very even way of presenting, but you are just working for justice underneath. Would you quack for us? ERIC HOLDER, OUTGOING ATTORNEY GENERAL: I'm not sure I'm going to do that. But I like the analogy. (END VIDEO CLIP) BOLLING: Now I don't know about you, but if you have a few minutes with the attorney general or anyone from the administration, one of the questions won't be "Can you quack like a duck for us?" PERINO: But can you? I'm kidding. Bob, you're next. BECKEL: All right. This is a story about James Robertson, who walked 21 miles to his job, 10 miles, 10 and a half miles each way, for ten years since his car broke down. Well, he got a lot of attention, and a little boy decided to start a fund to help him get a car without his knowledge. Well, a local Ford dealership stopped him one day and said, "Why don't you come in here and test drive a car?" Guess what? The car was given to him. It was his brand-new car. The little kid who started this thing, they started -- it's called Go Fund Me, and it's raised $351,000. Good for you, young man. And good for you, Mr. Robertson. This is what he had to say in appreciation. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you like it? JAMES ROBERTSON, RECEIVED NEW CAR: I love it. I'd like to thank all of the people who've made all of the contributions. You guys really -- you guys are the real heroes, as far as I'm concerned. (END VIDEO CLIP) PERINO: Very nice. OK, Greg. GUTFELD: I haven't banned anything in a while, so let's ban this: "the reality is." Whenever anybody begins a sentence with "the reality is," chances are it will be followed up with nothing that has anything to do with reality and will be an opinion. And it will most likely -- in all cases, actually -- be the wrong opinion. The reality is. PERINO: And that is the reality. GUTFELD: Yes. The fact of the matter is, the reality is stupid. PERINO: I like it. GUTFELD: Thank you. PERINO: I will never use it again. GUTFELD: Please don't. PERINO: Kimberly, you're next. GUILFOYLE: Thank you, Dana. So this is a cause that is very near and dear to my heart. I lost my mother at the age of 10 to leukemia. And a good friend of FOX news, an avid FOX News watcher, an incredible husband and father by the name of John Highland successfully beat leukemia cancer five years ago, but sadly, it has returned. And he is in need of a bone marrow transplant and a donor. I'd ask if you could take a few minutes of your time and go to my Facebook page to check it out to see if you can help this family make a difference. He is an incredible person. He has raised a tremendous amount of money for leukemia and cancer research. And I sure hope that somebody out there can help him and his family. John Highland is his name. Get to know him and his story. It's transformative, and I think it will be worth your time. BECKEL: How long did he have before -- how long did he stay free of it before it came back? GUILFOYLE: Five years. It came back but in a different form of chronic myelocytic leukemia. So now that's what he needs is a bone marrow transplant. He's very good friends with Jenna Lee (ph) and Lake (ph), as well. So I hope you can help him. PERINO: All right. We have some time, because I run a very efficient... GUTFELD: You do. PERINO: Do you have any last words? It's "One More Thing" squared? GUTFELD: I like eggs. PERINO: OK. You're going to have one. GUTFELD: I've got my dinner. BOLLING: You have to show that? GUTFELD: Yes. This is my dinner. I bought it at Starbucks. I'm on a diet now. BECKEL: Can you hold that up again? GUTFELD: Four dollars. Thank you. BOLLING: Gold fish. Gold fish. PERINO: OK. Well, gold fish. We're going to find out what Eric meant by that. Set your DVR so you never miss an episode of "The Five." That's it for us. "Special Report" is next. GUTFELD: Cage-free eggs. Content and Programming Copyright 2015 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2015 Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

An Ohio man was charged after he allegedly dumped a suitcase full of puppies and their mother in an alley, but forgot to take the luggage tags with his contact information off the suitcase, FOX Toledo reports. Toledo police say a passer-by found the canvas suitcase with six 4-week-old puppies and their mother inside. The suitcase still had a luggage tag on it with the contact information for 53-year-old Howard Davis. The mother dog was also found to be registered to Davis. "He gave us a story about the dog," said John Dinon of the Toledo Area Humane Society. "He had given the dog away to some friends in Michigan, and that the suitcase had been stolen." Police didn't believe Davis' story, and charged him with two counts of animal abandonment. The mother dog and her puppies, which are mixed-breed English Bulldogs, are now in the care of the Humane Society. "It was really a lucky break because they were sealed up pretty tight in that suitcase," Dinon said. "Imagine if it would have gone on for any length of time, they might have suffocated." Click here for more on this story from FOXToledo.com.

Not much to report here, just another results show on "American Idol," meaning another guy has been sent home from the big stage. Four-in-a-row with no sign of letting up. Of course, there is that one slight sign: Lazaro somehow sneaking into the top three. Is this backlash against a show so obviously rigged from the start for a girl to win? Is Vote for the Worst's final season really having an impact and could they finally reach their ultimate goal? Do people actually like Lazaro? Nah, after he nearly went home last week, it seems like more of an aberration after the first performance of his in weeks the judges didn't lambaste. Look for him to hit leadoff next week for a quick and easy exit and the 'Idol' producers can have their all-female final five and say, "See, we're not just a show where a white guy with a guitar wins every season." Yes, they had to stack the deck and make it the theme of the season to accomplish that, but at least they're going to get done what they wanted. And with that, here are some quick power rankings: 1 (Rank Last Week: 1) - Angie Miller Still the presumptive winner and the judges' clear favorite. She's never been in any danger and actually comes closes to cute guy with guitar of anyone this season. 2 (2) - Janelle Arthur Showed some inconsistency this week, but she still seems like the country girl best bet this year. 3 (4) - Kree Harrison Another top three for Kree and a clean sweep of the judges' ballots. Somehow she's catching on, but she's gotta wear thin at some point. 4 (3) - Candice Glover It's been shown dozens of times: The best pure singer never wins. That's Candice this year. 5 (5) - Amber Holcomb Or maybe it's Amber, either way...

The next edition of the HP Discover Performance Podcast Series highlights how retailer Guess has used HP Vertica to both speed up and better distribute its big data analytics capabilities. We'll see how Guess can increasingly predict how to satisfy its shopping customers, and we'll specifically look at how Guess' IT organization came to grips with adopting and implementing a big data platform to bring more of a democratization of data and better access to its employees. To learn more about how Guess has slashed the latency between data gathering and actionable insights, join Bruce Yen, director of Business Intelligence at Guess. The discussion, which took place at the recent HP Discover 2013 Conference in Las Vegas, is moderated by Dana Gardner, principal analyst at Interarbor Solutions. Below are some excerpts. Tell me why just plain, old relational databases and legacy IT weren't doing the job for you. About three years ago, we began searching for a new database platform. We were hitting a lot of performance bottlenecks on our data loads and performance. We also saw the competitive landscape out there, with lot of our competitors embracing alternative solutions to their traditional database platforms. What sort of requirements did you have to get to where you wanted to be? The first thing was performance. We needed to improve the query performance. A lot of our users were asking us to do a lot of queries with very low-level detail inventory, and it was very costly from a performance standpoint to be able to serve those queries up. Some queries wouldn't even come back. Secondly, from a performance standpoint, we wanted to make sure that a lot of our East Coast stores would be able to receive the reports early in the morning, and we were having problems just serving those up on a daily basis on time. New solution The last part was to support any kind of innovative analytics, any kind of cutting-edge analytics. We knew that that platform really wasn't going to help us do any of that. So we needed to find a new solution. Image: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=2846216&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=82uw&locale=en_US&srchid=2156023941374604678073&srchindex=1&srchtotal=9&trk=vsrp_people_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A2156023941374604678073%2CVSRPtargetId%3A2846216%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary">LinkedIn</a> We know one of your popular and well-known products is your jeans, Guess Jeans, but there is more to it than that. Tell us a bit about the organization. Guess has been around for more than 30 years now, and we've grown from primarily a US retailer into more of an international retailer. If you look at the '80s, a lot of people from the States remember us for the triangle on the jeans. We were primarily a wholesaler in the beginning. Now, we have over 1,600 stores worldwide, and about half of those are run by licensees. We sell a wide variety of lifestyle products, targeting primarily younger women in their late teens to early 30s. So it's critical to understand that market, and this is a dynamic market. People's tastes change, and tastes are also, of course, different from area to area around the world. What have you got as a result of using Vertica? Can you give me some of the key performance indicators that now demonstrate what you can do when you've got the right platform and the right data? I like to look at it this way. First of all, it's foundational, the foundations for just baseline performance. Have we met those goals? With Vertica, we have. We've been able to meet all of our service-level agreements (SLAs) and serve up the reports on time. Not only that, but now we're able to serve up the queries that we weren't able to do at all. When you move aside from the foundational, the next steps are analytics, being able to apply analytics and go through our data to figure out how we can apply best practices to see how we can gain a competitive advantage. We've been able to take our transactional data and look at ways of taking the stored data and applying that into our e-commerce site to get better product recommendations for our e-com customers. That's something that we couldn't have done with our existing system. We have our customer relationship management (CRM) system. We have our loyalty segmentation, for which we use Vertica to do all of the analytics, and we feed that data back into our CRM system. With the data volume that we have, we could not have done that with our old system. So it's opened up new doors, but not only from a foundational standpoint. We've been able to meet our daily needs, but we've been able to set ourselves up to be competitive in this area. Different data And has being able to gain the speed and handle the complexity prompted you to then seek out additional data to put into your analytics, so in a sense of not feeling limited as to where you can go and what information you could bring to bear? Definitely. We've been looking at different things lately. We've been looking at different types of data — loyalty data and customer data — that we get from our customers. In being able to give our users a holistic 360-degree view of what's happening from that customer standpoint, Vertica has been very critical in keeping pace and enabling us to do that. Of course, it's important to get more data, manage it, and perform what you need to do with it. It's also important to deliver it in a way that people can use, and to get to what we mentioned earlier about that democratization. Tell me how you've been able to deliver this out to more people and in an interface and device fashion that they really want. That's a great point. Everyone talks about big data these days, but big data, if you can't serve it up to people, if they can't use it, and if there's not a pervasive use of the data, is really useless. We're pretty innovative in what we do from a mobile standpoint. For the last two years, we've had an iPad app that's powered by the Vertica back end. We have this iPad app that over 100 merchants in North America and Europe use. It's been able to take a lot of the data, a lot of the stores' data, a lot of the selling information. It's allowed them to travel to the stores, be in meetings, or at home on the weekends, and they can look at the best-seller information. They can look at the sales and do it in a way that is actually fun. It's not just a bunch of dashboards or reports that you open up and look at, but we've made it very interactive and we've created workflows in there. So that really draws the user into wanting to use that information and wanting to ask different questions. And for this combination of the power of the platform, the quality of the data, and this distribution capability, can you give us some metrics of business success? Where this has helped you? Do you have any concrete things you can point at and say, 'it's really working and here is how'? We've looked at that in different ways. One of the initial points that we're analyzing in terms of return on investment (ROI), the easiest one is the amount of paper that's being saved. You can count up the reams, how much they cost, and multiply that, and there is some significant saving there. But that doesn't really excite anyone. It's great that we've been able to save paper, but the argument is, well, you also had to buy new equipment. These iPads aren't free, and the mobile device management software and everything else that's associated to it is a new ecosystem. So there is a lot of new cost there. The exciting thing is being able to see our users look at the data and make the decisions. Before, they would have to stop at a meeting and go back to their desks. That decision that takes an instant now used to drag on for two or three days, maybe even a week, and I've seen that in action. It's done a good job I can't give you an actual dollar figure, but I've seen them make decisions to change the allocation of certain items as they are looking at that information. As I was training some of our executives or power users, I would see them pick up the phone and actually make decisions to impact the business. So I know that it definitely has done a good job there. The exciting thing is it's kind of democratized this information and this data and demystified it to a point where everyone can access it and everyone wants to access it. I've never seen users get so excited about a platform or an app. We've got emails saying, "Can I please have this app? I saw one of my co-workers using it. Could I please?" Before, we were never asked that way. It was always, "Can I get a copy of that report? No big deal if I get it now or later." But here, people really, really want to use it, and we could tell that we hit something. Initially, we had to deal with just our internal IT folks being very skeptical. A lot of the claims, "30 to 300 to 400 times faster in performance", "you're only going to need a quarter of a DBA", were the first two items where a lot of us were a little skeptical — myself included — but the performance has really proved itself. Aside from that, we have to look at it more realistically. How do we implement a system like this? A lot of it has to do with changing the data loads, and that, in and of itself, takes a lot of time. That's one of the things that's always going to take a lot longer than we thought, and it would be a lot more challenging than we had initially anticipated. The one thing that I'm proud of is that our team was able to conquer all of these hurdles, and also we had a great partner in Vertica. They were there with us in the trenches, even though we were the first retailer and we had a different use case than all of the other previous clients and customers that they had. We took a chance with them, they took a chance with us, and it worked out. We were able to prove that their software works on a multitude of different use cases. As a retailer, we have a lot of updates with our data. This was three years ago. Their clients then, a lot of the telcos and banks were just loading data, not really doing a lot of updates with it. They were doing a lot of queries with it, and it was coming back fast, but not really transforming the data all that much. So we had a lot more use cases like that, and they were able to come through for us. Exciting times What about the future? Do you have a sense of taking this powerful capability and pointing it in new directions, perhaps into supply chain, the ecosystem of partners, perhaps even into internal operations? What's the next step? It's actually exciting times, because Vertica has proved itself so well. It's also very cost effective. One of the projects that we're working on right now is that we have a relational database for our MRP system. It's more of an ODS reporting system. We're actively converting the ODS system, which is actually a replicated database of the relational database, into a Vertica database. We're able to kind of replicate, mimic the native database replication scheme on the relational side, and use Vertica for it. It's a use case that we were a little skeptical about in the beginning. Could this be done in Vertica? We thought the payoff would be great if we could do this on Vertica, the speed for performance, the storage footprint, would be amazing. So far, it's turned out very well for us. We're still in the middle of it, but all things point to success there. Listen to the podcast. Find it on iTunes. Read a full transcript or download a copy. Sponsor: HP. Disclosure: HP is a sponsor of BriefingsDirect podcasts. Related stories:

Now that the price of DNA testing keeps dropping , it seems another critical piece of the genome puzzle has emerged thanks to a sophisticated computational tool. Researchers at the University of Utah and informatics company Omicia, Inc., are using a software program to find the root cause of a disease caused by a rare genetic disorder. After sequencing two families, the scientists used a program called the Variant Annotation, Analysis & Search Tool (VAAST), to identify a previously unknown syndrome in an individual. “The big challenge in genomic medicine today is how to sift through the millions of variants in a personal genome sequence to identify the disease-relevant variations,” Omicia's Martin Reese said in a statement. Currently, DNA testing has a data problem. It has too much data. But it doesn't have to be that way. VAAST solves many of the problems because it's a better tool than what's currently available - and it is statistically powerful. It allows researchers to use fewer people in their study and allows them to hunt down mutations much faster. The researchers spent the better part of a year examining a rare X-linked genetic disorder, which only affects males. The researchers looked at a lethal mutation in two unrelated families. After the researchers compared family members' genome with sequences from two hundred people, it only took them 10 minutes to run the software program to find the root cause, reports Nature News. Blame the condition on a gene called NAA10. The gene normally encodes a protein, but it fails to do so when it mutates. When a mutation occurs, the protein has an altered structure and the state of the cells suffers. "We believe that VAAST will likely accelerate the discovery of disease-causing mutations in both common, complex disorders such as ADHD and autism, and in rare Mendelian disorders," researcher Gholson J. Lyon of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia said in a statement. The more people who get their genome sequenced, the more data there will be. People who have gotten their genome sequenced will likely have their data interpreted by companies like 23andMe. The approach of using a lot of people in genetic studies was touted as a great way to find links to diseases, but genome-wide association studies haven't exactly lived up to all the hype. "The real story is in the rare alleles. One in ten percent of us are very affected by these, and the sequencing tests reveal them as long as we are looking for them," Harvard geneticist George Church previously told me . "Almost all common diseases have a rare allele component to it. What happened before is that we went through a fad. Scientists were looking where the light was in the common variants and they mostly ignored rare alleles." So instead of comparing an individual to a bunch of people in the database, you can learn a lot about individual cases by applying DNA sequencing to a select group of individuals. Sometimes less is more. I wouldn't be surprised to see this new software being used to uncover the genetic mysteries of some of the more common diseases. via Nature News Source: University of Utah Health Care Related on SmartPlanet: This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com