Technology Slice Blog

Security Guard Dies in Freak Accident on NCIS Set - Popular television show 'NCIS' suspended production Wednesday after a freak accident killed a security guard, officials said. Julio Garcia, 52, was tending a stating area around 10 a.m. Wednesday for the CBS crime drama when he was hit by a production vehicle outside a vacant building at 24800 Avenue Rockefeller . According to L.A. County Sheriffs officials, Ralph Blunt, 60, was a driving a passenger van when he suffered some kind of medical condition, losing control of the vehicle and striking Garcia before hitting two parked cars. Garcia, a resident of Reseda, was transported to a local hospital where he was later passed away from injuries sustained in the crash. Blunt was also transported to a local hospital for observation but was later released. CBS Productions released in a statement Wednesday that the production has been suspended until further notice while an investigation is ongoing. Security Guard Dies i...

Representative Chris Lee of New York - A Republican congressman from New York state has resigned amid media reports he had flirted online with a woman to whom he sent a shirtless photograph. Christopher Lee, a married 46-year-old with one son, was elected in 2008. In a statement on his website, he said he regretted harming his family, staff and constituents, adding: "I deeply and sincerely apologise to them all." Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives in the November mid-term elections. "The challenges we face in western New York and across the country are too serious for me to allow this distraction to continue, and so I am announcing that I have resigned my seat in Congress effective immediately," Mr Lee said. Representative Chris Lee of New York

iPad 2 Manufacturing Begins - Apple has started manufacturing the sequel to its popular iPad tablet, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, a development that, though expected by analysts, will add even more ferment to the burgeoning tablet market. Additionally, the report said AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless will carry the new iPad, but that Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA will not. The report, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter, said new iPad will be thinner and lighter and have more memory and a more powerful graphics processor than its predecessor. The report also said the iPad sequel will have at least one camera to enable video conferencing, a feature that was left off the original iPad but has since become standard in many other tablets. Interestingly, the report said that the new iPad will not sport an improved screen resolution, which is due in part to Apple's inability to obtain higher-resolution screens for a device with a screen tha...

Ben Bernanke not Worried about Inflation - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, facing tough questions from Republican lawmakers over inflation and the Fed's policies, on Wednesday defended the central bank's efforts to stimulate the economy by pumping more money into the financial system. At a hearing before the House Budget Committee, Bernanke said he wasn't concerned about the current level or expectations of inflation in the U.S., despite sharply higher oil and food prices that have pinched emerging economies and contributed to the wave of protests in the Middle East. Bernanke denied that the Fed's loose monetary policies were responsible for rising global inflation. And he expressed confidence that the central bank's actions to spur growth in the U.S. — most recently by purchasing billions of dollars of U.S. Treasury bonds — were temporary measures that the Fed had the ability to halt or reverse before inflation spiked. Ben Bernanke not Worried abou...

Activision Pulls Guitar Hero - Activision Blizzard Inc's first-quarter outlook missed Wall Street expectations and it said it would disband the unit that makes Guitar Hero music games, sending its shares down 8 percent. The company forecast revenue of $640 million in the first quarter of 2011 and EPS of 7 cents per share, compared with the $734.70 million analysts were expecting on 10 cents per share for the quarter. "Guidance for 2011 was very disappointing," said MKM Partners analyst Eric Handler. The company's shares fell to $10.81 in after-hours trading compared with a regular-session close of $11.69. Activision Blizzard said it would disband its Guitar Hero business unit and stop development of the Guitar Hero game for 2011 because music-themed video games have been fading in popularity. In December, Viacom Inc sold Harmonix Music Systems, the developer behind the Rock Band franchise, to the investment firm Columbus Nova and gained up to $200 million in ...

Rep Chris Lee Resigns and Dating Scandal - Rep. Chris Lee, R-N.Y., resigned from Congress after a report emerged that he had sent flirtatious e-mails, including one with a bare-chested photo of himself, to a woman he met on Craigslist. Lee is married and has a child. "It has been a tremendous honor to serve the people of Western New York. I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents. I deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. I have made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness," Lee said in a statement Wednesday night. "The challenges we face in Western New York and across the country are too serious for me to allow this distraction to continue, and so I am announcing that I have resigned my seat in Congress effective immediately." Rep Chris Lee Resigns and Dating Scandal

Fantasia Barrino Gains Pounds for Role - Fantasia Barrino's recent weight gain fueled online rumors that the R&B singer was expecting a child, but her manager gave another explanation. "Fantasia's pregnant with prosperity," manager Brian Dickens told CNN on Tuesday. The 2004 "American Idol" winner is gaining weight in preparation for a movie role, Dickens said. Fantasia Barrino Gains Pounds for Role