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After witnessing some opposing players disregarding new league rules against unnecessary contact on game nights, the NBA is moving team security into the midcourt area to dissuade violations that include hugging and handshakes, according to a league memo obtained by ESPN on Wednesday. As coronavirus infections increased amid a darkening pandemic, the NBA recently tightened regulations on players and staffs, including several meant to lessen the possibility of on-court transmissions.

The NAB TV package showing Ex-President Reagan being hit by the glass shards when he is attacked at the podium.

Broadcasters are threatening to stand in the way of next year's highly anticipated airwave auction, putting one the Obama administration’s top priorities at risk. Officials in the broadcast and wireless industry are hopeful that a new lawsuit from the National Association of Broadcasters will put pressure on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reach a reach a compromise to save the auction — expected to net billions of dollars — from would could be a months-long delay. “This lawsuit puts a cloud over the auction,” said one Republican FCC aide. “It would make sense for the Commission to work something...

President Barack Obama and members of his administration are holding a day-long mental health conference Monday at the White House--and they have asked Hollywood to help lend some star power. Actors Bradley Cooper and Glenn Close are among those invited to participate in the meeting, which features a panel on negative attitudes toward mental illness moderated by Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius, a panel on mental health outreach moderated by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and opening remarks from the president and closing remarks from Vice President Joe Biden, Cooper and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. Close in 2009 co-founded...

A senior News Corp. executive is threatening to pull the company’s flagship Fox network from the public airwaves if it loses its legal battle against Barry Diller’s Aereo. Speaking at the annual gathering of the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas, Chase Carey, News Corp’s president and chief operating officer, said Fox could become a pay-TV channel. His remarks come one week after a federal appeals court rejected a plea by the broadcast industry to shut down New York-based Aereo, which uses an array of tiny antennas to pick up free broadcast signals and transmit them to subscribers over...

Former NAB General Counsel Erwin Krasnow says that it is time for the FCC to renounce the "discredited concept" that the public owns the airwaves, which he says is the "the main reason for broadcasting's second-class status under the First Amendment." Krasnow argues that the airwaves are no more owned by the public than is the sunlight used to grow grain or the wind used to turn a windmill.

We have discussed before some concerns about the New American Bible (NAB) and how it vaguely translates the Greek word πορνείᾳ (porneia) which specifically refers to sexual immorality, but which the NAB translates only as “immorality.” Of course immorality could mean just about anything. You can read more of this rather serious problem here: NAB and PorneiaIn this post I’d like to explore another problem with the NAB that was also called to my attention by one of you. There are problematic footnotes which do not always reflect Catholic teaching. One I’d like to look at is a flawed footnote...

Should stations pay artists to play their tunes? Get ready for one of the year's biggest battles. One of the biggest lobbying fights in the nation's capital this year could involve a traditionally non-Washington subject: rock and roll. At issue: whether AM and FM radio stations should pay royalties to performers on recorded music played over the airwaves, and if so, what those rates should be. Right now only composers and their affiliated publishers reap these payments. In one corner is the MusicFIRST Coalition, which includes the Recording Industry Association of America, several artist groups and SoundExchange, the folks who...

Mark Lloyd, newly appointed Chief Diversity Officer of the Federal Communications Commission, has called for making private broadcasting companies pay licensing fees equal to their total operating costs to allow public broadcasting outlets to spend the same on their operations as the private companies do. Lloyd presented the idea in his 2006 book, Prologue to a Farce: Communications and Democracy in America, published by the University of Illinois Press. Lloyd’s hope is to dramatically upgrade and revamp the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through new funding drawn from private broadcasters. The CPB is a non-profit entity that was created by Congress...

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary _____________________________________________________ For Immediate Release May 13, 2009 TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 12, 2009 Dear Madam Speaker: Last month, I asked the Congress to consider changes to the level of borrowing authority for the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Today, I formally transmit this request in the accompanying supplemental budget request. I urge that the Congress expand the resources available to the IMF through its New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) and approve...

The US Capitol in Washington. President Barack Obama Monday asked Congress ... G-20 Leaders Agree to Dole Out $1 Trillion to IMF & World Bank President Barack Obama Monday asked Congress to back an expansion of an IMF emergency fund by 500 billion dollars in a move designed to expand its reach to big emerging market nations. Obama also asked lawmakers to approve a US contribution to the fund to 100 billion dollars, as part of the plan to swell International Monetary Fund reserves agreed at this month's Group of 20 summit in London. The president made the request in...

Discovery hints at the possibility of broad-spectrum vaccines.Researchers have identified a group of antibodies that neutralize a wide range of influenza viruses, including the H5N1 avian influenza, the 1918 Spanish flu and some seasonal strains. These molecules may one day be used therapeutically to protect patients against a broad array of strains. The antibodies also give researchers clues about how to develop new vaccines. "This opens up the avenue of thinking about universal influenza vaccines, which has not been realistic before", says Peter Palese, an influenza expert at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York who was not involved...

** ACCEPTANCE VIDEO AT LINK ** Bulletin from 630 WMAL: 630 WMAL has won the National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Radio Award as Major Market Station of the Year! This is the big one, across all formats, announced Thursday night at the NAB Convention in Austin. We were the only AM station nominated. The other nominees were KBWF-FM San Francisco; KIIS-FM Los Angeles; KOIT-FM San Francisco and WBLS-FM New York. The Grandy and Andy Morning Show did not win in the Major Market Personality of the Year category, for which they were also nominated last year, but they certainly are...

Normally I am saddened to witness a fellow human sink into the abyss of madness. But for Tim Robbins I’ll crack open a fresh bottle of Jack Daniels and and bid his brain a joyous bon voyage. ... Leveraging his marginal fame, which in turn is based on his marginal acting abilities, Tim thrust himself into the political arena with the confidence that only complete idiots posses. ... “Just when we were close to a national news media providing a general consensus on what the truth is …“ First is the rather psychotic notion that the media has ever come...

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2007 – American forces in Iraq have captured terrorists and weapons caches during a series of raids over the past two days, officials reported today. Three suspected terrorists were detained by U.S. forces during a pre-dawn raid in Aamel today. The aim of the raid was to capture or kill Jaysh al-Mahdi rogue terrorists, known as “special groups.” These extremists are suspected of facilitating the flow of explosively formed projectiles and other ordnance into Iraq from Iran. U.S. troops confiscated pistols, military equipment, fake identification and other documents, officials said. “Coalition troops continue to target the terrorists...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2006 -- Iraqi security forces searched the Fallujah general hospital yesterday as part of their continuous operations to maintain the security and safety of the citizens of Fallujah. Elsewhere, Iraqi and coalition forces have captured dozens of insurgents in recent days. The hospital was searched after intelligence indicated it was being used as a potential safe haven for insurgents. The Iraqi troops with support from coalition forces entered the hospital to ensure that the facility continues to be a safe place for the people of Fallujah to receive medical treatment, U.S. officials said. No insurgent activity...

GRAND RAPIDS — Federal immigration officials have completed a five-day sweep of western Michigan in which they apprehended 54 fugitive illegal immigrants who had disappeared after receiving deportation orders. They also captured an illegal immigrant with an extensive criminal history who had illegally re-entered the United States after being removed, officials at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Thursday. The initiative, dubbed "Operation Return to Sender," started Sept. 8 and ended Wednesday. The agency focused its efforts within the triangle formed by Lansing, Grand Rapids and Battle Creek.The sweep was part of an "interior immigration enforcement strategy" that is a...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2006 – The Afghan government is implementing a new national security system designed to strengthen the country’s security apparatus, U.S. officials reported. The entire National Security Coordination System is to be fully operational by the end of 2008, officials said. The system will improve coordination among Afghan military and law enforcement agencies and enhance regional stability. The system will consist of a National Coordination Center, five Joint Regional Coordination Centers and 34 Joint Provincial Coordination Centers. The centers will provide Afghan army and police leaders with operational information they can use to better-allocate security forces. Current and...

WASHINGTON, Sep. 3, 2006 – An Iraqi Army unit caught a mid-level leader of an illegal militia group during an early-morning Aug. 31 raid in southeastern Baghdad, according to Multinational Corps Iraq officials. The Iraqi soldiers, accompanied by coalition advisers, were specifically looking for the militia’s chieftain, officials said, noting that he is believed to be responsible for inciting sectarian violence, fear and instability through acts of intimidation and murder. He also was wanted for authorizing the acquisition and use of heavy weapons and improvised explosive devices employed in attacks on Iraqi citizens and coalition troops. No civilians or Iraqi...

WASHINGTON, July 25, 2006 – Iraqi security forces conducted early-morning raids in two areas today, netting eight insurgent fighters. Iraq forces captured two targeted insurgents, one of whom was a local insurgent cell leader, in a raid in a rural area northeast of Fallujah. Coalition force advisers looked on as Iraqi forces raided a targeted house and captured both insurgents. The cell leader allegedly coordinated and directed makeshift bomb attacks against coalition convoys, mortar attacks against coalition bases, and ran an insurgent training camp near Samarra. His accomplice, a member of his cell, is believed to have conducted bomb and...