Bloomberg Video: Blizzard aftermath ― Where do slushy sidewalk puddles come from?

Bloomberg Video: Blizzard aftermath ― Where do slushy sidewalk puddles come from?
Heroin dealer speaks about selling on Silk Road in case against website’s alleged operator
Lindsay Lohan’s community service challenged in court
US doctors report possible outbreak of rare respiratory virus
At Singapore location, Shi Mieda lives up to its reputation
Singapore Hotels offer romantic staycations in support of ‘SG50 baby’ initiative

Posted: 28 Jan 2015 04:59 PM PST

Duration: 01:17, Published 29 Jan 2015

The snow has stopped falling in New York City and that means it's time to prepare for the notorious puddles of slush. But just where do they come from and why are they so deceptively deep? Bloomberg's Brendan Greeley explains the origin of slush. ― Bloomberg

Heroin dealer speaks about selling on Silk Road in case against website’s alleged operator

Posted: 28 Jan 2015 04:59 PM PST

On Silk Road, drugs and other illicit goods could be secretly bought with bitcoins. — file picNEW YORK, Jan 29 — A New York computer consultant testified yesterday about how a heroin addiction led him to become a prolific drug dealer on Silk Road, as prosecutors moved closer to finishing their case against the underground website's alleged operator.

The testimony in Manhattan federal court by Michael Duch, 40, marked the first time jurors weighing the fate of suspected Silk Road mastermind Ross Ulbricht heard from a vendor on the website, where drugs and other illicit goods could be secretly bought with bitcoins.

Duch, who has been incarcerated since pleading guilty and came dressed in jail garb, told jurors a heroin habit that cost him up to US$3,500 (RM12,250) a week led him to deal the drug on Silk Road, where he previously bought pain killers.

"I saw the ease that came with it," Duch said. "There was a perceived level of safety as well as anonymity."

Duch, who in 2012 earned US$75,000 through computer consulting, said he earned US$60,000 to US$70,000 a month selling ultimately 3.18 kilogrammes of heroin on Silk Road under the alias "deezletime" from April 2013 until his arrest in October 2013.

The testimony came in the third week of trial of Ulbricht, 30, who has pleaded not guilty to charges, including conspiracy to commit narcotics trafficking. Prosecutors expect to rest their case by Monday.

Prosecutors say Ulbricht operated Silk Road under the alias "Dread Pirate Roberts" in a scheme that generated US$200 million in drug sales until authorities shut it down.

Duch, 40, was arrested in Warwick, New York, the same day as Ulbricht, although court records suggest the investigations were initially not related.

Duch pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to sell drugs, including heroin. While he faces 40 years maximum, he testified that he hopes to avoid a five-year mandatory minimum by cooperating with prosecutors.

Duch, who said he did not know the identity of Dread Pirate Roberts, was the second cooperating witness to testify against Ulbricht.

Richard Bates, a college friend of Ulbricht's, previously testified under a non-prosecution agreement that Ulbricht told him he created and ran Silk Road.

Prosecutors said on Monday they decided not to call a third cooperator, Andrew Michael Jones, one of three alleged Silk Road staff members indicted in 2013.

Jones had been in plea talks as of September, although court records give no indication of any change of plea since. His lawyer declined comment.

The case is US v. Ulbricht, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 13-06919. — Reuters

Lindsay Lohan’s community service challenged in court

Posted: 28 Jan 2015 04:55 PM PST

Lindsay Lohan was ordered to complete 30 days of community service in addition to rehabilitation and therapy as part of a 2013 plea deal. — File picLOS ANGELES, Jan 29 — A Los Angeles judge yesterday gave a prosecutor more time to investigate whether actress Lindsay Lohan failed to complete her community service requirements in a reckless driving case.

Santa Monica city prosecutor Terry White will present his findings in court on February 18 after disputing Lohan's claim that she completed her sentence while living in London, Lohan's attorney, Shawn Holley, said.

The 28-year-old "Mean Girls" star was ordered to complete 30 days of community service in addition to rehabilitation and therapy as part of a 2013 plea deal after she crashed her Porsche into dump truck near Los Angeles en route to the set of TV movie "Liz & Dick" and later lied to police.

The former child star known more for her legal troubles than big-screen roles has been living in London where Holley says she has completed her community service.

White alleges Lohan, who was not at the hearing, received credit for a "meet-and-greet" with fans as well as letting two young people shadow her while at work, according to City News Service.

Lohan has been arrested in the past for drunk driving and theft before the 2012 car crash. She has been on probation since 2007 and gone to rehab six times. — Reuters

US doctors report possible outbreak of rare respiratory virus

Posted: 28 Jan 2015 04:49 PM PST

EV-D68 caused localised outbreaks of respiratory illness in Asia, Europe and the United States from 2008 to 2010. — AFP picPARIS, Jan 29 — US doctors today reported 12 cases of muscle weakness or paralysis among children in Colorado that may be linked to a nationwide outbreak of an usually rare respiratory virus.

Called EV-D68, the virus is a so-called non-polio enterovirus. Some viruses in this group have been found—in a small number of people—to cause meningitis, encephalitis or paralysis, as well as infection of the heart muscle or the sac surrounding it.

EV-D68 caused localised outbreaks of respiratory illness in Asia, Europe and the United States from 2008 to 2010.

It returned last August in a US-wide outbreak, which as of January 15 had caused 1,153 mild to severe respiratory illness cases, according to the latest figures on the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website.

Reporting online in UK medical journal The Lancet, physicians at the Children's Hospital Colorado examined 12 cases of sick youngsters who had been admitted over a three-month period.

Roughly a week after falling ill with a fever and breathing difficulties, the 12 had varying degrees of muscle weakness in the arms and legs as well as facial paralysis or problems swallowing.

Eight of the 12 tested positive for enteroviruses or rhinoviruses, of which five were identified as EV-D68. Scans showed that 10 children had spinal cord lesions and brainstem lesions were seen in nine.

Despite treatment, all 10 with limb weakness still have problems.

"Over the past four years, our hospital has seen a maximum of four similar cases in any three-month period where children lose the use of one or both arms or legs. These 12 cases are three times that," said Samuel Dominguez, a microbial epidemiologist.

"The extent to which this new distinctive neurological disease has spread is unknown, but it does not appear to be isolated to Colorado or the USA," Dominguez said in a statement distributed by The Lancet.

"Since the reporting of this cluster, 107 similar cases have been reported across the USA and one in France."

Further work is needed to explore the apparent association between the virus and nerve dysfunction.

If the link is confirmed, Dominguez said, EV-D68 "will be added to the list of non-poliovirus enteroviruses capable of causing severe, potentially irreversible neurologic damage, and finding effective antiviral therapies and vaccines will be a priority."

EV-D68 is found in faeces, saliva and nasal mucus, according to the CDC.

Exposure comes from close contact with an infected person, through sneezes, coughing and shaking hands with them or touching surfaces that have the virus on it. There is currently no vaccine or targeted treatment. — AFP

At Singapore location, Shi Mieda lives up to its reputation

Posted: 28 Jan 2015 04:42 PM PST

Sushi Mieda's lunch omakase comprises a starter of house-made sesame tofu, tender octopus and silky monkfish liver (left). The chawanmushi boasts surprisingly complex flavours (right). — TODAY picSINGAPORE, Jan 29 — Last November, one-Michelin-starred chef Nobumasa Mieda opened his first kaiseki restaurant outside of Japan within the revolving Tong Le Private Dining restaurant at the top of OUE Tower. With just eight seats around its counter, reservations have to be made well in advance in order to experience what some regard as the best Shi and kaiseki in town. The kitchen is helmed by chef Kenji Okumura, who is also the executive chef of Takumi Kacyo at Keppel Bay. Prices start from about S$80 (RM215) for a seven-piece Shi set; while the for the omakase (chef's choice) dinner, featuring ingredients flown in daily from all across Japan, can run your bill up to S$400.

In the non-Shi portion of our S$250 omakase lunch, there was a blush-hued nugget of octopus boiled to melting tenderness, a lump of earthy, creamy monkfish liver and a smooth, viscous morsel of delicately flavoured house-made sesame tofu topped with crabmeat to waken the palate.

A plate of deep-fried fugu or puffer fish, with its firm, meaty texture, could have been mistaken for some superb fried chicken — wrapped in a thin, crisp batter and kissed with subtle notes of curry powder.

Even the ubiquitous chawanmushi (savoury egg custard) was a cupful of complex, nuanced flavours backed by a subtly salty base of dashi and lifted by the sweetness of crabmeat, the brininess of ikura (salmon roe), and a miniscule dollop of wasabi to add vibrancy to it all.

There was also tasty broth flecked with the meat and roe of snow crabs, harbouring a chunk each of sharks fin and abalone, and delicately redolent of shellfish.

What felt like course after course of dainty Shi followed, each rooted by a lump of gently sweetened rice and crowned by slivers of raw fish brought to just the right temperature so that their natural oils released their optimum flavours. Think chutoro and otoro (from the upper section and the oily belly of Bluefin tuna), sea eel, amberjack and yellowtail, and some exquisitely crunchy-creamy yellow-shell clams.

With a meal like this, timing is everything. Which is why, although diners can order from the Shi Mieda menu when seated in the Tong Le dining room, the chefs highly recommend that the meal be taken at the Shi counter itself. In that way, the Shi is served and eaten as soon as it leaves the chef's hands, at exactly the right temperature.

To end a meal of such exacting simplicity was an apt wedge of Japanese honey dew that was pitch perfect in its sweetness and succulence. Indeed, sometimes, it is the most uncomplicated things that are worth forking out for.

Shi Mieda is at Tong Le Private Dining, 60 Collyer Quay, Level 10 OUE Tower.

Telephone: 8425 7835.

Opening hours: Noon to 3pm, 6pm to 10.30pm, Mondays to Saturdays; closed on Sunday. — TODAY

Singapore Hotels offer romantic staycations in support of ‘SG50 baby’ initiative

Posted: 28 Jan 2015 04:42 PM PST

Naumi Hotel presents a scented Oasis Room to lay the stage for action.—Today picSINGAPORE, Jan 29 — Reminder: Valentine's Day is less than three weeks away. If it's too late or if you're too busy to do that romantic getaway, book a room here instead. After all even family website Maybe Baby has introduced an I Love Children staycation special in partnership with 12 hotels, including intimate properties like The Scarlet, Klapsons and the Equarius Hotel. This is "in support of the SG50 Baby Community Initiative" so the staycation special is only valid for stays till April.

The 12 hotels are throwing in a few additions to spice things up: For example, The Quincy is organising a Saturday movie by the pool as well as couple activities such as art jamming; while over at the Oasia Hotel Singapore, you get a rose petal bath upon request.

Of the lot though, Naumi Hotel probably has the most elaborate seduction routine: For S$550++ (RM 1473++), the hotel presents a scented Oasis Room to lay the stage for action. In addition to that, you get a bouquet of flowers, a rose petal bath, a romantic set dinner for two including a bottle of sparkling wine, and complimentary free flow wines and beer from 4.30pm to 6.30pm to get suitably uninhibited. Poom Monterde, director of sales at Naumi Hospitality said: "A stay at Naumi should be an exciting and memorable one. The team brainstormed and put together a list of items that we felt would enhance a staycation at our flagship property on Seah Street. Highlights of our package would include the 'naughty pack' that will be given upon check-in while a copy of the Karma Sutra awaits in the room. (It's) all part of the simulating experience we hope to achieve with this package." For more fireworks, the Andy Warhol and Coco Chanel-inspired suites are available from S$650++.

However, for those who only feel more amorous on Valentine's Day itself, there are a few stellar offerings from different hotels during that time (Feb 13 to 15). ParkRoyal on Pickering's In The Mood For Love package definitely puts you in the right mood — right from the black luxury car pick-up. There is a bottle of champagne and strawberries delivered to your suite and spa treatments for two. It starts from S$688++ for the junior suite. Ritzier types might want to check into the Ritz-Carlton Millenia. The hotel is ensuring you never have to leave its rooms with its Be My Valentine Package (priced at S$999++ for the premier suite); which includes flowers, in-room dinner for two, the signature Second Honeymoon butler drawn bath — complete with a bottle of Louis Roederer bubbly to share — and breakfast between the sheets.

Fullerton Hotel's Suite Dream package sounds even sweeter. For S$1,188++ a night, you can hole up in the luxurious duplex Loft Suite which has double-storey French doors that opens up to a balcony facing the Marina Bay waterfront where a champagne toast is almost mandatory thanks to the complimentary bottle thrown in. The package also rolls out a four-course in room dinner for two and access to The Straits Club for a champagne breakfast. There are only eight Loft Suites so you might want to book early to sweep your partner off his or her feet.

But Valentine's Day doesn't always have to burn a hole in your pocket. At Hotel Fort Canning, the Love Blossoms Valentine's Day weekend room starts from S$385++ a night and comes with the works: A bottle of prosecco, a bubble bath or petals on the bed, breakfast and complimentary evening drinks plus a pair of cuddly bears as souvenirs. Carlton City Hotel at Tanjong Pagar's A Perfect Valentine Staycation is also affordably priced from S$268++ for a Deluxe Room which includes breakfast, a bottle of red wine and a Molton Brown London Gift Set.

Lloyd's Inn, the winner of TripAdvisor's Best Bargain Hotel 2015 is a budget romantic's dream come true with room rates starting from US$192++ a night. The chic minimalist hotel which reopened last year after a makeover is deliriously popular with couples, especially its Big Sky Room which are booked up two months in advance. It's no surprise its suites and some of its rooms such as The Sky Room are already out for the V-Day weekend. But the Standard Room, Business Room and Big Garden Room are still available (for now).

Another newcomer to consider is Raintr33 Hotel in Changi Village. Spread out over two colonial buildings, the former commando camp is now a 50-room property. For its first Valentine's Day promotion priced at S$299++ a night, you can check into its Maple room with a private balcony. Settle down with a bottle of wine, breakfast for two and a 15 per cent off your bill at its Cedro bar and bistro. The hotel is a little remote but isn't the whole point to feel like it's only the two of you in the world? — TODAY