Justin Timberlake releases new song 'Suit and Tie'

NEW YORK (AP) — Mr. "SexyBack" is back.

Justin Timberlake released his new single, "Suit and Tie," late Sunday night. It features rapper Jay-Z.

The upbeat jam is the 31-year-old's first musical offering since 2006's critically acclaimed "FutureSex/LoveSounds." His third solo album, "The 20/20 Experience," will be out later this year.

In a letter posted on his website, Timberlake said he began recording music in June. He wrote that the "inspiration for this really came out of the blue."

Timberlake co-wrote and co-produced "Suit and Tie" with Timbaland, who produced much of the Grammy-winning "FutureSex/LoveSounds."

The buzz around the pop star's return to music kicked off Friday when he posted a video on his website that showed him walking into a studio, putting on headphones and saying: "I'm ready."

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Online:

http://www.justintimberlake.com

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Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Psychologist Who Studied Depression in Women, Dies at 53

Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, a psychologist and writer whose work helped explain why women are twice as prone to depression as men and why such low moods can be so hard to shake, died on Jan. 2 in New Haven. She was 53.

Andrew Sacks

Susan Nolen-Hoeksema at the University of Michigan in 2003. Dr. Nolen-Hoeksema's research showed that women were more prone to ruminate, or dwell on the sources of problems rather than solutions, more than men.

Her death followed heart surgery to correct a congenitally weak valve, said her husband, Richard Nolen-Hoeksema.

Dr. Nolen-Hoeksema, a professor at Yale University, began studying depression in the 1980s, a time of great excitement in psychiatry and psychology. New drugs like Prozac were entering the market; novel talking therapies were proving effective, too, particularly cognitive behavior therapy, in which people learn to defuse upsetting thoughts by questioning their basis.

Her studies, first in children and later in adults, exposed one of the most deceptively upsetting of these patterns: rumination, the natural instinct to dwell on the sources of problems rather than their possible solutions. Women were more prone to ruminate than men, the studies found, and in a landmark 1987 paper she argued that this difference accounted for the two-to-one ratio of depressed women to depressed men.

She later linked rumination to a variety of mood and behavior problems, including anxiety, eating disorders and substance abuse.

“The way I think she’d put it is that, when bad things happen, women brood — they’re cerebral, which can feed into the depression,” said Martin Seligman, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, who oversaw her doctoral work. “Men are more inclined to act, to do something, plan, beat someone up, play basketball.”

Dr. Seligman added, “She was the leading figure in sex differences in depression of her generation.”

Dr. Nolen-Hoeksema wrote several books about her research for general readers, including “Women Who Think Too Much: How to Break Free of Overthinking and Reclaim Your Life.” These books described why rumination could be so corrosive — it is deeply distracting; it tends to highlight negative memories — and how such thoughts could be alleviated.

Susan Kay Nolen was born on May 22, 1959, in Springfield, Ill., to John and Catherine Nolen. Her father ran a construction business, where her mother was the office manager; Susan was the eldest of three children.

She entered Illinois State University before transferring to Yale. She graduated summa cum laude in 1982 with a degree in psychology.

After earning a Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, she joined the faculty at Stanford. She later moved to the University of Michigan, before returning to Yale in 2004.

Along the way she published scores of studies and a popular textbook. In 2003 she became the editor of the Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, an influential journal.

Dr. Nolen-Hoeksema moved smoothly between academic work and articles and books for the general reader.

“I think part of what allowed her to move so easily between those two worlds was that she was an extremely clear thinker, and an extremely clear writer,” said Marcia K. Johnson, a psychology professor and colleague at Yale.

Dr. Nolen-Hoeksema lived in Bethany, Conn. In addition to her husband, a science writer, she is survived by a son, Michael; her brothers, Jeff and Steve; and her father, John.

“Over the past four decades women have experienced unprecedented growth in independence and opportunities,” Dr. Nolen-Hoeksema wrote in 2003, adding, “We have many reasons to be happy and confident.”

“Yet when there is any pause in our daily activities,” she continued, “many of us are flooded with worries, thoughts and emotions that swirl out of control, sucking our emotions and energy down, down, down. We are suffering from an epidemic of overthinking.”

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U.S. firms are expected to boost business travel spending in 2013

American companies are ready to write bigger checks for business travel this year.

The Global Business Travel Assn. is expecting companies to spend $266.7 billion in 2013. That would be a 4.6% increase over last year, when the "fiscal cliff" and Superstorm Sandy put a crimp in travel.

Still, the group predicted that companies will trim trips 1.1%.

A rise in spending and a drop in trips means that more travelers will stay longer, perhaps scheduling more meetings per outing, said Rebecca Carriero, a spokeswoman for the trade group representing business travel managers.

"Business travelers will try to be more productive to maximize their time," she said.

In 2012, business travel spending grew a modest 1.6%, reflecting caution by companies about splurging in the face of a presidential election, debate over the fiscal cliff and the storm that shut down much of the East Coast for several days.

"You did see companies wanting to see the results of the election and the fiscal cliff debate," Carriero said. "Companies were sort of holding their breath."

FCC to boost high-speed Wi-Fi availability

Getting delayed at an airport may be less of a headache in the future if you are traveling with a smartphone, laptop or tablet computer.

The Federal Communications Commission said it is increasing by 35% the availability of high-speed wireless Internet at airports, convention centers and conference hubs.

Internet users would be able to access higher Wi-Fi speeds, and that means more portable devices could stream high-definition movies and television.

The effort was announced by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski during the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. He said the FCC will take the first steps in February to release up to 195 megahertz of spectrum in the 5 gigahertz band. He called it the largest block of unlicensed spectrum to be released for Wi-Fi use since 2003.

"As this spectrum comes on line, we expect it to relieve congested Wi-Fi networks at major hubs like convention centers and airports," he said.

The one possible glitch is that the 5 gigahertz band is already in use, predominantly by federal agencies, and must be reallocated for the public. But Genachowski said the FCC plans to act on the effort quickly.

FAA warns of exploding coffee pouches on planes

Flight attendants, forced to work long hours with little rest and battle unruly passengers with oversized carry-on bags, could also face another midair hazard: exploding coffee filters.

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a safety alert to all airlines warning that packages of coffee grounds enclosed in filters have burst while coffee was being brewed in commercial planes.

The FAA has recorded about a dozen coffee explosions in the last 10 years, causing first and second-degree burns to flight attendants and passengers.

Just before the coffee pouch bursts, flight attendants might see water overflowing from the brewer and hear a hissing sound, the FAA warned. When flight attendants lift the coffee pot handle, the hot grounds can splatter on the face, neck, hands and arms of anyone nearby, the agency said.

FAA officials say accidents can be avoided if flight attendants keep the coffee maker clean and refrain from doubling or folding the coffee pouches.

The Assn. of Flight Attendants is collecting information to warn its 60,000 members to take precautions, association spokeswoman Corey Caldwell said.

"We are reaching out to our safety committees at each carrier to assess the situation," she said.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

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Henry's Tacos stands down

Janis Hood got her start at Henry's Tacos when she was 10.

Her mother allowed her to fasten caps on the hot sauce and serve RC Cola to customers.

Through 51 years, the family business served ground beef tacos and burritos to customers. But on Saturday, the Studio City neighborhood treasure — a favorite of actor Elijah Wood and comedian George Lopez — closed its doors.

The shutting of Henry's Tacos, named for Hood's grandfather, Henry Comstock, came after a yearlong saga with the landlord that Hood said began when she applied for a historic designation. She said the application sparked conflict, and the landlord refused to renew her lease.

"It's a very emotional day for me," Hood said Saturday.

In recent weeks, news of the closure prompted thousands of fans to sign an online petition to save the restaurant and inspired a Twitter hashtag (#SaveHenrysTacos).

At one point, a financial consultant and a TV writer were in talks to purchase the restaurant to keep it open. "It all just took us back to our childhood," said Matt Pyken, a Studio City TV writer who grew up eating at the stand, explaining why he sought to buy it with his former middle-school buddy. "We wanted it to be the same place."

But in the end, Hood decided to work with longtime employee Omar Vega, who wants to relocate the shop but keep the name. Hood said she plans to eventually sell the business to Vega. A preservation group has offered to store the stand's signage, she said.

On Saturday, customers formed a line down the sidewalk for a last meal, and Hood said the stand would keep serving them until the food ran out. Cathy McCroskey, a longtime customer, posed for a picture in front of the stand and pantomimed wiping away a tear. "This is a neighborhood icon," she said.

McCroskey and her husband, Steve, both 55, have lived in the Tujunga Village area since the late 1980s and came to pay one last visit to the stand they'd enjoyed for years. They took photos and, of course, ordered a bean and cheese burrito. They said the stand's Googie-style architectural design and history made it a neighborhood gem.

Near them, a large sheet of paper had been taped to a wall of the stand for people to jot their goodbyes.

"Sacred ground. We have been coming for four generations. It was the first food I ate and my kids ate. It saved my sister ... it was all she would eat when she was sick. Please prevail," wrote Kathryn Vanderveen.

"Henry, please keep the sign and stay in Studio City, we love you," another message said.

Vega, a 21-year veteran of the stand, said he hopes to do just that. He would like to retain the old location's ambience by using the old sign and menu and even hopes to replicate the colorful lettering on the stand's outside wall that spells "Henry's Tacos."

"I hope everything goes well," Vega said.

For Hood, the closure is the end of an era. She said the restaurant is where she grew up and recalled going to elementary school blocks away. After school, she'd walk to the stand to see her mother and linger there.

"A lot of the customers took me under their wing and were helpful to me," she said.

After Hood's mother, LeVonne Eloff, died in 2009 at 82, longtime customers shared stories with Hood, some of which she said she had never known. They told her, for example, that her mother and stepfather had sometimes used the honor system with customers.

Now, Hood said she's acting in the same vein, "paying it forward" by helping Vega get his start running the business, a move she sees as continuing her family's legacy.

nicole.santacruz@latimes.com

ruben.vives@latimes.com

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Brooklyn resident wins Miss America crown

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A 23-year-old blonde from Brooklyn, N.Y., won the Miss America crown Saturday night after deftly dealing with a question about armed guards in schools and raising the issue of child sexual abuse in her contestant platform.

En route to her victory in the Las Vegas pageant, Mallory Hagan also tap danced to James Brown's "Get Up Off of That Thing," strutted down the runway in an asymmetrical white gown, and donned a revealing black string bikini.

She defeated Miss South Carolina Ali Rogers, who took second, and Miss Oklahoma Alicia Clifton, who finished third.

Hagan wins a $50,000 college scholarship and a year as an instant celebrity and role model to many girls. Her platform, the issue she will promote during her reign, is fighting child sexual abuse.

She told The Associated Press in an interview after her win that it was her mother who encouraged her to tackle the issue. She said that sexual abuse had "rippled through" her family, touching her mother, aunt, grandmother and cousins. Her mother had trouble at first convincing others of the trauma she had faced.

"That kind of sent her into a whirlwind of anxiety and depression. So as a teen I lost my mom kind of for a couple years," she said. "She was dealing with her own issues, and that's something that now as an adult I understand, but then I certainly did not."

During an interview backstage, Hagan's mother Mandy Moore wiped tears away as she spoke.

"It's very overwhelming," she said. "It's all hitting me so fast."

Hagan said she will work to make child abuse education mandatory in all 50 states.

"It's something I can hopefully change for the next generation," she said.

Hagan left her native Alabama for New York at 18 with less than $1,000 in her pocket. She began competing in pageants when she was 13 and tried for Miss New York in 2010 and 2011 before winning last year.

She studied communications at the Fashion Institute of Technology and has been living in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Hagan, who aspires to be a global cosmetic company executive, ends a long dry spell for New York in the competition. The previous winner from that state was actress Vanessa Williams, who became the first black winner when she took the crown in 1984. Hagan is the first Brooklyn-dweller to claim the title.

She was good enough during preliminary contests for the 92nd annual Miss America pageant to be chosen as one of 16 semifinalists who moved on to compete in the main show. Her bid lasted through swimsuit, evening wear, and talent competitions that saw cuts after each round.

In the final moments of the show, "Good Morning America" weatherman Sam Champion asked her if schools should hire armed guards in the wake of the Newtown, Conn. shooting.

"I don't think the proper was to fight violence is with violence," she replied. "I think the proper way is to educate people on guns and the ways we can use them properly. We can lock them up, we can have gun safety classes, we can have a longer waiting period."

Hagan defeated titleholders from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Several of her competitors had grabbed headlines this year because of their backstories.

Miss District of Columbia plans to undergo a preventive double mastectomy to reduce her risk of breast cancer, which killed her mother and grandmother.

Miss Montana was the pageant's first autistic contestant. Miss Iowa has Tourette's syndrome. And Miss Maine lost more than 50 pounds before winning her state crown.

During the opening number at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, when all the queens gave short quips about their states, Hagan referenced last year's superstorm, saying, "Sandy may have been swept away our shores but never our spirit."

The pageant, which started as little more than an Atlantic City bathing suit revue, broke viewership records in its heyday and bills itself as one of the world's largest scholarships programs for women.

But like other pageants, the show has struggled to stay relevant as national attitudes regarding women's rights have changed. More recently, the rise of reality television has provided a superabundance of options for Americans interested in seeing attractive young people in competitive pursuits.

Hagan's boyfriend Charmel Maynard said he knows that pageants are dismissed by some, but he hopes Hagan's willingness to take on the sexual abuse issue will lend legitimacy to her new role.

"I don't think it's taken seriously, but I think she's going to be a great ambassador and it could change," he said.

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Hannah Dreier can be reached at http://twitter.com/hannahdreier

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City Room: Cuomo Declares Public Health Emergency Over Flu Outbreak

With the nation in the grip of a severe influenza outbreak that has seen deaths reach epidemic levels, New York State declared a public health emergency on Saturday, making access to vaccines more easily available.

There have been nearly 20,000 cases of flu reported across the state so far this season, officials said. Last season, 4,400 positive laboratory tests were reported.

“We are experiencing the worst flu season since at least 2009, and influenza activity in New York State is widespread, with cases reported in all 57 counties and all five boroughs of New York City,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement.

Under the order, pharmacists will be allowed to administer flu vaccinations to patients between 6 months and 18 years old, temporarily suspending a state law that prohibits pharmacists from administering immunizations to children.

While children and older people tend to be the most likely to become seriously ill from the flu, Mr. Cuomo urged all New Yorkers to get vaccinated.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said that deaths from the flu had reached epidemic levels, with at least 20 children having died nationwide. Officials cautioned that deaths from pneumonia and the flu typically reach epidemic levels for a week or two every year. The severity of the outbreak will be determined by how long the death toll remains high or if it climbs higher.

There was some evidence that caseloads may be peaking, federal officials said on Friday.

In New York City, public health officials announced on Thursday that flu-related illnesses had reached epidemic levels, and they joined the chorus of authorities urging people to get vaccinated.

“It’s a bad year,” the city’s health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley, told reporters on Thursday. “We’ve got lots of flu, it’s mainly type AH3N2, which tends to be a little more severe. So we’re seeing plenty of cases of flu and plenty of people sick with flu. Our message for any people who are listening to this is it’s still not too late to get your flu shot.”

There has been a spike in the number of people going to emergency rooms over the past two weeks with flulike symptoms – including fever, fatigue and coughing – Dr. Farley said.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Mr. Cuomo made a public display of getting shots this past week.

In a briefing with reporters on Friday, officials from the C.D.C. said that this year’s vaccine was effective in 62 percent of cases.

As officials have stepped up their efforts encouraging vaccinations, there have been scattered reports of shortages. But officials said plenty of the vaccine was available.

According to the C.D.C., makers of the flu vaccine produced about 135 million doses for this year. As of early this month, 128 million doses had been distributed. While that would not be enough for every American, only 37 percent of the population get a flu shot each year.

Federal health officials said they would be happy if that number rose to 50 percent, which would mean that there would be more than enough vaccine for anyone who wanted to be immunized.

Two other diseases – norovirus and whooping cough – are also widespread this winter and are contributing to the number of people getting sick.

The flu can resemble a cold, though the symptoms come on more rapidly and are more severe.

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How to keep up on product recalls

(AP / September 14, 2011)

By Scott J. Wilson, Los Angeles Times

January 13, 2013

Each year manufacturers announce more than 1,000 recalls of dangerous products, including toys, cars, medicine and food. But because there's no definitive way to inform consumers, many people remain unaware of these recalls and may continue to use an unsafe product. Here are some steps to take to keep yourself informed:

After buying a product, mail in the product registration card or, if it's an option, register online or by phone. Note that although some manufacturers take advantage of the registration process by asking for such things as your income, age or buying habits, you only have to give your contact information and the brand and model number of the product.

Sign up for email alerts with the Consumer Product Safety Commission at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. You can choose to receive all alerts or use the category options to be notified only for recalls of children's, household, outdoor or sports products.

For recalls related to cars, motorcycles, tires and vehicle child restraints, sign up for email notification from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/subscriptions. You can select what products you want to monitor, including specific car models.

For food safety recalls, sign up for email alerts at http://www.foodsafety.gov/recalls/alerts, a website offered by the Department of Health and Human Services. The site also offers an app for smartphones and will feed recall notices to your Internet news reader.

For recalls of medical drugs and devices, go to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website at http://www.fda.gov and select FDA Recall Email Alert. At the next page, you have several choices to be alerted to different kinds of recalls.

scott.wilson@latimes.com

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S.F. mourns a twin with a passion for fashion

SAN FRANCISCO — They were known simply as the San Francisco Twins.

At 5-foot-1 and about 100 pounds apiece, the fashion enthusiasts were an integral part of the city fabric for four decades. With matching furs, hats and high-end purses, they completed each other's sentences, posed for countless tourist snapshots and modeled for the likes of Reebok, Joe Boxer and IBM.

Now one is gone.

Vivian Brown, 85, who had Alzheimer's, died in her sleep Wednesday, leaving behind Marian, who was eight minutes younger. The illness, and news of the twins' financial distress, brought an outpouring of support from city residents in recent months.

Donations managed by Jewish Family and Children Services helped Vivian move into an elegant assisted living facility in Lower Pacific Heights and provided for a car service so Marian could visit "as much as she wanted to," Development Director Barbara Farber said. "The community really responded.…It's been a beautiful thing."

At a benefit concert for the twins in August, the Go-Go's Jane Wiedlin and other musicians honored Marian. Cash flowed in to cover her meals at Uncle Vito's Pizza on Nob Hill, long one of the ladies' regular haunts.

On Friday, fans offered collective condolences as they swallowed some bitter medicine: The sightings that brought joy to many — of the twins in leopard-print cowboy hats parading up and down Powell Street and window shopping at Union Square — are forever a thing of the past.

In saying goodbye to Vivian, the city has ushered out an era of style.

"All of that has gone, and that's true of all cities," said Ann Moller Caen, the widow of Pulitzer Prize-winning San Francisco columnist Herb Caen, who wrote often about the twins. "They've lost the elegant few."

Mayor Ed Lee echoed residents' grief in online postings throughout the day, saying that "San Francisco is heartbroken" over Vivian's passing and was "fortunate to have called her a true friend."

The twins, who were born in Kalamazoo, Mich., and held degrees in business administration, moved to San Francisco in 1973, prompted by Vivian's chronic bronchial condition. Once on the West Coast, Vivian became a legal secretary and Marian worked at a bank.

But fashion was their passion, and they cut a striking double image.

There were the fitted white suit jackets with pleated skirts, veiled hats and white fur coats; the red wool Ellen Tracy suits with black felt hats and black gloves.

"When you first came to the city and saw them, you might think it was a little joke. But it really wasn't," Caen said Friday. "They were very warm and very pleasant to everyone, and they just loved Herb. And he loved them."

Evelyn Adler recalled that her father, who sold shoes at the Emporium on San Francisco's Market Street in the 1970s, had regularly waited on "the girls," as he called them.

"They were always at the very height of sometimes ridiculous fashion," said Adler, 82. Her father, she said, had talked of how years of wearing pointy shoes left the twins with overlapping toes. (They later embraced lower heels that were "much more suited to their feet," Adler said.)

As a volunteer for Jewish Family Services, Adler recently shopped for a new wardrobe for Vivian — and was taken aback by the sight of the twins in separate outfits. About a quarter-century ago, the twins admitted to an interviewer that after a six-month attempt to dress differently in their 20s, they had abandoned the project forever. Even their lingerie matched.

They had their regular haunts, which Marian now frequents solo.

David Dubiner, owner of Uncle Vito's Pizza, said the sisters began coming in nearly two decades ago. They always sat at the table by the window, chatting with tourists for so long that their food had to be reheated.

Vivian often did more talking, Dubiner said, but Marian now holds court for two.

On Thursday evening, Marian arrived alone at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel on Union Square to "have a glass of champagne and toast her sister goodbye," said Tom Sweeney, chief doorman at the hotel who for the last 37 years watched the twins descend the four blocks from their Nob Hill apartment.

"They're quite the personalities of San Francisco," Sweeney said. "We'll definitely miss Vivian."

lee.romney@latimes.com

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The Raspberry Pi mini-computer has sold more than 1 million units

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Obama won't support building 'Death Star'

WASHINGTON (AP) — A "Death Star" won't be a part of the U.S. military's arsenal any time soon.

More than 34,000 people have signed an online petition calling on the Obama administration to build the "Star Wars" inspired super-weapon to spur job growth and bolster national defense.

But in a posting Friday on the White House website, Paul Shawcross, an administration adviser on science and space, says a Death Star would cost too much to build — an estimated $850 quadrillion — at a time the White House is working to reduce the federal budget.

Besides, Shawcross says, the Obama administration "does not support blowing up planets."

The U.S., Shawcross points out, is already involved in several out-of-this-world projects, including the International Space Station, which is currently orbiting Earth with a half-dozen astronauts.

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Online:

White House response to petition: http://tinyurl.com/asd565g

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