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BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins BlackBerry (BBRY) executives have a history of making condescending comments to analysts, but this time, Thorsten Heins has really broke new ground in haughtiness. At an Ontario conference, Mr. Heins was asked about the low-end smartphone market and he firmly stated that his company is not going to get into $50-60 segment, Bloomberg reported. This, of course, is pure straw man construction. Nobody thinks BlackBerry should or can get into the $50-60 price segment. Mostly because that price segment does not exist. There are no $50 smartphones.

[More from BGR: Leaked photos may finally reveal Samsung s Galaxy S IV]

No one believes that BlackBerry should get into the $100-120 price segment, either. The thing everyone wants to know is when BlackBerry intends to enter the $200-250 price segment. This is a real smartphone price segment that exists in the real world. This is the price segment where models such as the Micromax Canvas 2 and Karbonn S1 Titanium are making huge market share gains in regions like Asia. This is the price segment where Windows Phones like Nokia s (NOK) Lumia 520 are entering right now. This is the price segment where Samsung (005930) and HTC (2498) are triumphing from Brazil to Malaysia.

[More from BGR: Google X Phone specs reportedly revealed: Quad-core CPU, 4.7-inch HD display, 16MP camera]

You see, the biggest problem BlackBerry is now facing is the global subscriber base erosion that started in the November quarter. BlackBerry s subscriber base shrank for the first time in the company s history, by a relatively sharp 2 million subscribers. This happened because subscriber growth in markets like Nigeria, South Africa, the Philippines and Indonesia is no longer strong enough to offset the weakness in markets like North America and Europe. That BlackBerry sub growth slowdown in Africa and Asia is directly linked to the loss of competitiveness of its cheap Curve product range against Samsung, Huawei, ZTE, Spice and Micromax in the sub-$250 price category.

The question of when a competitive, cheap Curve model debuts in emerging markets is thus extremely important. BlackBerry s future may hinge on when it can get a solid, sub-$250 smartphone out in Africa and Asia. So the decision of BlackBerry s CEO to brush off this question by a snide comment about not entering $50-$60 segment is not only completely inane, it is insulting for the company shareholders.

Nobody is expecting BlackBerry to produce a smartphone that is cheaper than any other smartphone in the world. People simply want to know when BlackBerry intends to enter the price segment where smartphone volume growth is now exploding. Mr. Heins s defensiveness and shiftiness on this topic is not encouraging.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) The dead vulture's feathers snap and crack, breaking apart as its frozen wings are spread for one last flight.

It will soon soar gracefully albeit briefly into a tree in this hilly New Jersey suburb, hoisted to a branch where it will hang, upside down, until spring.

Wildlife officials say it's a sure-fire way to get an estimated 100 black and turkey vultures from roosting in the neighborhood, leaving behind foul-smelling and acidic droppings on roofs and lawns, creeping out residents and even their pets.

Before the black vulture's carcass is strung up, nearly a dozen vultures glide over Bridgewater on a cool, gray Monday morning. Some perch in trees. One rests on a chimney-top.

Neighborhood residents watched as wildlife specialist Terri Ombrello launched a weighted fishing line over a branch with a sling shot. She took turns with partner Nicole Rein tying the bird's legs with another line then pulled the bird about 30 feet off the ground.

Vultures may like to eat road kill but it turns out they don't like the sight of their own dead upside down.

"They don't like seeing their own in that unnatural position," Rein said.

Bridgewater, a town of 45,000 about 40 miles west of New York, became at least the seventh New Jersey community this winter to turn to the wildlife services unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for buzzard-beating help. Black and red turkey vultures are protected species and cannot be killed without a permit.

The birds roost from November to April, settling down as it gets dark, when they are most visible.

Jim Van Allen, 69, lives across the street where the carcass was strung up in Bridgewater. He's lived in the neighborhood practically his entire life. He said it isn't unusual to see vultures there in this community but not this many. He said the vultures started arriving in November, just after Superstorm Sandy.

"They just glide all around, all day long, I mean, just looking for something dead," he said.

The vultures, which have sometimes lined up eerily on rooftops, have not just spooked residents. Mark Nathan said his yellow lab Callie is afraid of the vultures, especially when they fly low.

"She freaks out about them," Nathan said. The dog "barks at them and then she runs inside as fast as possible," he said.

Scavenging vultures are key to the ecosystem because they feed off dead animals, acting as flying garbage disposals. Still, in densely populated areas where they can thrive, vultures pose a serious nuisance.

"Their feces runs down the roof. It looks bad," Van Allen said.

Residents can expect to see fewer vultures within one to three days. While some may still perch on the tree, Rein said, they will not do so for long.

While some New Jersey towns regard the influx of vultures as a problem at least one community is hoping it will get its birds back.

Wenonah started holding a vulture festival in 2006 after nearly 200 turkey and black vultures made the town their winter home. But the town canceled its festival this year, according to Vulture Festival website, because they're no longer roosting there at night.

NEW YORK (AP) No need to say goodbye to Elisabeth Hasselbeck. She's staying put as a co-host of "The View" despite reports insisting otherwise.

Series co-creator Barbara Walters called that story "particularly false" on Monday's edition of the ABC daytime talk show. She says that "we have no plans for Elisabeth to leave."

She also denied reports that Hasselbeck has lost favor with "The View" for her conservative political stances, something Walters says "we value and appreciate."

Hasselbeck has been on "The View" for a decade.

Walters also confirmed that Joy Behar will exit the show in August. Behar was among the first co-hosts with Walters when "The View" debuted in 1997. She announced her planned departure last week.

Besides Walters, the remaining panel includes Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd.

In comics, the first issue is where the story starts and the legend begins.

For readers, a print copy of issue one can be hard to find and expensive to buy. But those rules don't apply to tablets, laptops and smartphones both for comics fans and those curious about characters they may have seen in film or on television.

Part of that fascination with superheroes and their growing cachet in popular culture is why Marvel Entertainment, home to the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and the Avengers, among others, is making more than 700 first issues available to digital readers starting Sunday for free through the Marvel app and the company's website. After Tuesday, they'll be sold for $1.99 to $3.99 per issue.

The titles go from the 1960s Silver Age to contemporary issues with characters including Wasp, Mr. Fantastic, Power Man and Iron Fist, said David Gabriel, senior vice president of sales.

"This is aimed at attracting fans from all walks of life those who know our characters from the big screen, those who were readers but fell out of the habit and our long-term fans too," he said. "We believe that if we get those fans in the door, they'll stay and help grow this industry, with purchases both in comic stores and via digital comic outlets."

The publisher went through its catalog of more than 13,000 titles that are already available digitally and plucked out the No. 1 issues with historic ones like "Amazing Spider-Man" by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko or the "Fantastic Four" by Lee and Jack Kirby as well as modern titles like "Civil War," Joss Whedon's "Astonishing X-Men" and characters and teams like the Uncanny Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy, too.

"We never want fans to feel like they need to have read it all. Of course we want them to want to check out those stories, but the beauty of these No. 1 issues is that each is an entry point," he said. "So with a character like Iron Man, you can choose if you want to start with the recent 'Iron Man' series from Kieron Gillen or go back a few years to when Matt Fraction launched 'Invincible Iron Man' or even before that."

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Moore reported from Philadelphia. Follow him at www.twitter.com/mattmooreap.

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Online: http://www.marvel.com

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Marvel Entertainment is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

LOS ANGELES (AP) Kelly Osbourne says she had a seizure and doctors are trying to figure out why.

The 28-year-old TV personality posted a photo on Twitter late Thursday of an IV in her tattooed left arm. She thanked her fans for their "beautiful well wishes."

Osbourne was hospitalized Thursday after collapsing on the set of E! network's "Fashion Police," where she serves as a panelist alongside Joan Rivers, Giuliana Rancic and George Kotsiopoulos.

Osbourne is the daughter of rocker Ozzy Osbourne and "The Talk" co-host Sharon Osbourne. She was profiled with her family on the MTV reality series "The Osbournes" and has appeared as a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars."

Representatives for E! and Kelly Osbourne didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

LONDON (AP) It's been a rough week for Justin Bieber: Getting booed for being late, struggling to breathe mid-performance and fainting backstage, then caught on camera clashing with paparazzi.

But the 19-year-old pop sensation appeared to have recovered Friday for his final concert in London, singing and dancing to thousands of adoring fans at the O2 Arena.

Earlier Friday, the star made headlines when he got into an altercation with insult-hurling paparazzi, lashing out at a photographer with a stream of expletives as he was restrained by minders.

"Ahhhhh! Rough morning. Trying to feel better for this show tonight but let the paps get the best of me," the singer posted on Twitter soon after the altercation with the photographer, which took place as he got into a car earlier Friday. The scuffle was captured on video by Channel 5 News and widely broadcast by Britain's media.

"Sometimes when people r shoving cameras in your face all day and yelling the worst thing possible at u...well I'm human. Rough week," he wrote on the social networking site.

The clash came just hours after Bieber said he was "getting better" following breathing problems he suffered during the previous night's concert. The star took a short break to go backstage, where he was given oxygen, and had to be briefly hospitalized for a check-up.

A spokesman for the O2 Arena said Bieber was treated backstage during Thursday's concert after becoming short of breath, but recovered and finished his set.

"He was treated by our team of medics and after further examination they didn't find anything more serious or worrying."

A spokeswoman for Bieber said he was feeling "a little under the weather." She demanded anonymity to discuss the star's condition.

Bieber later posted a shirtless photo of himself in a hospital bed, saying he was getting better and listening to Janis Joplin. Before that on Twitter he thanked "everyone pulling me thru tonight."

"Best fans in the world," he wrote. "Figuring out what happened. Thanks for the love."

Video footage from the concert shows Bieber appearing to fade during a performance of his up-tempo hit, "Beauty and a Beat." He slows down, puts a hand to his head then bends over, resting his hands on knees before walking slowly to the back of the stage.

The AP spoke to 18-year-old journalism student Prithvi Pandya, who shot the footage, to confirm its authenticity.

"When he started 'Beauty and a Beat' you could see he was struggling," said Pandya, who was near the front of the crowd. "He took lots of drinks of water, that seemed unusual, and he was really sweaty, sweating a helluva lot.

"Toward the end of it, he went backstage. We didn't see him fainting. They brought on dancers to entertain, and I knew something was wrong at that point."

Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, appeared onstage and told the crowd that the singer was feeling "very low of breath" but would come back to finish the show.

Jazz Chappell, a 20-year-old concertgoer who brought her younger sister and her friend to the show, said that In the nearly 30 minutes he was offstage, some fans started to leave. Once his manager announced what had happened, Chappell said many fans in the audience were gasping and crying, while others kept cheering for him to return.

"I thought, 'Give the guy a break. He just fainted. He's not a performing horse. Let him rest a second,'" said Chappell.

Chappell said Bieber, who is in London to perform four concerts at the O2, later returned and performed low-energy renditions of his hits "Boyfriend" and "Baby."

The incident caps a difficult week for Bieber. He was forced to apologize to outraged fans who accused him of taking the stage almost two hours late for his first concert at the O2 on Monday. He insisted he was only 40 minutes late and blamed "technical issues." He took to Twitter to vent his frustrations with the media's portrayal of the incident.

The star's Believe world tour is due to move on to Portugal on Monday, then continue across Europe, the Middle East, South Africa and North America until August.

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AP writers Gregory Katz in London and Derrik J. Lang in Los Angeles and AP Music Writer Mesfin Fekadu contributed to this report.

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Online:

http://www.justinbiebermusic.com/

Gaming can reduce stress, refine motor skills, improve your vision, and more

Your parents may have tried to kick you off your Super Nintendo just about every time you sat down in front of it because they were concerned about how it might affect your long-term health. Plenty of studies have shown that games that don't require a lot of physical movement can have an adverse effect on children as they grow older. But perhaps counter-intuitively, there have also been several studies touting the health benefits of gaming.

1. Video games are therapeutic for children with chronic illnessesThe University of Utah released a study last year that examined the effects of regular gaming on children diagnosed with illnesses like autism, depression, and Parkinson's disease. Kids who played certain games, including one designed just for the study, showed signs of improvement in "resilience, empowerment, and a 'fighting spirit.'" Researchers believe the games' ability to act on "neuronal mechanisms that activate positive emotions and the reward system" helped improve kids' demeanors as they faced the daily challenges of their illnesses.

2. Video games improve preschoolers' motor skillsLetting a 4-year-old sit in front of a TV with a game controller might not seem like the most productive use of her time. But researchers from Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, would disagree. Their study examined the development of 53 preschool-aged children, and found that those who played "interactive games" had better "object control motor skills" than those who didn't. It's not clear, though, whether children with better-than-average motor skills tend to gravitate toward video games in the first place.

3. Video games reduce stress and depression2009's Annual Review of Cybertherapy and Telemedicine included a study that found that gamers who suffered from mental health issues such as stress and depression were able to vent their frustration and aggression by playing video games and showed a noted improvement. The study hypothesized that games gave certain "Type A" personalities time to relax in "a state of relative mindlessness" that allowed them to avoid reaching "a certain level of stressful arousal" as they tried to relax.

4. Video games provide pain reliefVideo games don't just provide relief from emotional pain. They can also help those who are suffering from physical pain. Psychologists at the University of Washington developed a game that helps hospital patients suffering from immense physical pain by using an age-old mental trick: distraction. The virtual reality game "Snow World" put patients in an arctic wonderland in which they throw an endless arsenal of snowballs at a series of targets, such as penguins and snowmen. Military hospitals found the experience helped soldiers recovering from their battlefield wounds. The soldiers who played "Snow World" required less pain medicine during their recuperation.

5. Video games can improve your visionMom may have warned you that sitting in front of the TV wasn't good for your eyes. But one developmental psychologist found it could actually be beneficial to your vision. Dr. Daphen Maurer of the Visual Development Lab of Ontario's McMaster University made a surprising discovery: People suffering from cataracts can improve their vision by playing first-person shooter games like Medal of Honor and Call of Duty. She believes these games are so fast-paced that they require an extreme amount of attention, training the visually impaired to view things more sharply. They can also produce higher levels of dopamine and adrenaline that "potentially may make the brain more plastic," she said.

6. Video games improve your decision-making skillsMost video games require fast reactions and split-second decisions that can mean the difference between virtual life and virtual death. Cognitive neuroscientists at the University of Rochester in New York found these games give players' brains plenty of practice for making decisions in the real world. Researchers suggest that action-oriented games act as a simulator for the decision-making process by giving players several chances to infer information from their surroundings and forcing them to react accordingly.

7. Video games keep you happy in old ageResearchers from North Carolina State University looked closely at our aging population to see if there was a link between playing video games and mental well-being i.e. "happiness." They found that senior citizens who said they played video games even occasionally reported "higher levels of happiness, or well-being," says Rick Nauert at PsychCentral. "Those who did not play video games reported more negative emotions" and were more likely to be depressed. It's unclear what exactly is behind this link or if the relationship is even causal.View this article on TheWeek.com Get 4 Free Issues of The Week

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(Reuters) - The California wildlife sanctuary where an African lion attacked and killed a 24-year-old intern last week will reopen to the public on Sunday, four days after the woman's death.

The Cat Haven preserve, which has been shut since Dianna Hanson's death on Wednesday, will resume regular operations, including offering guided tours to visitors, Cat Haven officials said

Shortly before it opens its gates, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims is scheduled to brief reporters on the latest findings from the investigation.

Hanson, who was on a six-month internship at Cat Haven that began in January and had previously worked in Kenya on a wild feline reserve, will be honored on Sunday with a moment of silence at the sanctuary.

The big cat center, which is located 40 miles east of Fresno, will resume regular operations, including guided tours for visitors, Cat Haven officials said.

"It is important that we attend to (the animals') health and well-being, and we believe returning to a state of normal operations is a part of that process," Cat Haven founder Dale Anderson said in a statement.

Hanson was attacked while cleaning an empty cat enclosure.

A four-year-old male lion named Cous Cous escaped from his feeding pen, apparently by prodding open an improperly secured gate, and pounced on Hanson, fracturing her neck and killing her almost instantly, according to Fresno County Coroner David Hadden.

Sheriff's deputies later shot and killed the lion, which weighed at least 400 pounds (181 kgs), after failed efforts to coax him away from Hanson's body.

Cous Cous and his mate, Pely, were Barbary lions, a species from the region between Morocco and Egypt that is extinct in the wild. He had been handled by humans since he was weeks old.

Cat Haven, a 100-acre (40-hectare) sanctuary run by the group Project Survival and located about 40 miles east of Fresno, is still home to 29 large cats.

State and local agencies are investigating whether Cat Haven violated any safety procedures that could have safeguarded against the attack.

Anderson said the sanctuary was cooperating with the investigation.

Hanson earned a biology degree in 2011 from Western Washington University. Her family says they consider the incident a tragic accident.

"We know that first and foremost, Dianna would want the work that Cat Haven is doing to continue," her mother, Donna Hanson, said in a statement.

The Hanson family has set up a fund in Dianna's honor that will benefit her favorite charitable organizations, including Cat Haven.

(Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Tim Gaynor and David Brunnstrom)

San Francisco (Reuters) - The California wildlife sanctuary where an African lion attacked and killed a 24-year-old worker this week is set to reopen to the public on Sunday.

The Cat Haven preserve, which has been shut since the attack on Wednesday, will resume regular operations, including offering guided tours to visitors, Cat Haven officials said.

"It is important that we attend to (the animals') health and well-being, and we believe returning to a state of normal operations is a part of that process," Cat Haven founder Dale Anderson said in a statement.

Dianna Hanson, a 24-year-old intern who had been working at the park since January, was attacked while cleaning an empty cat enclosure.

A 4-year-old male lion named Cous Cous escaped from his feeding pen, apparently by pushing open an improperly secured gate, and pounced on Hanson, fracturing her neck and killing her instantly, according to Fresno County Coroner David Hadden.

Sheriff's deputies later shot and killed the lion, which weighed at least 400 pounds (181 kgs), after they failed to coax him away from Hanson's body.

Cous Cous and his mate, Pely, were Barbary lions, a species from the region between Morocco and Egypt that is extinct in the wild. He had been handled by humans since he was weeks old.

A necropsy, the animal form of an autopsy, was performed on Thursday to determine whether health issues, such as a neurological disorder or a disease like rabies, could have contributed to the attack.

An initial examination found the lion healthy, but full test results are expected to take weeks, said Janice Mackey, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Cat Haven, a 100-acre (16-hectare) sanctuary in Dunlap, California, run by the group Project Survival and located about 40 miles east of Fresno, is still home to 29 large cats.

State and local agencies are investigating whether Cat Haven violated any safety procedures that could have safeguarded against such an attack.

Anderson said the sanctuary is cooperating with the investigation and cautioned that, until law enforcement releases its findings, "anything reported about the accident is purely speculative."

Hanson earned a biology degree in 2011 from Western Washington University and last year she spent six months in Kenya working on a wild feline reserve.

Her family says they see the incident as a tragic accident.

"We know that first and foremost, Dianna would want the work that Cat Haven is doing to continue," her mother, Donna Hanson, said in a statement.

The Hanson family has set up a fund in Dianna's honor that will benefit her favorite charitable organizations, including Cat Haven.

(Editing by Edith Honan and Vicki Allen)

HELENA, Mont. (AP) A northwestern Montana man shot and killed the host of the Sportsman Channel show "A Rifleman's Journal" in an apparent jealous rage while the TV personality was visiting the shooter's wife, police said Friday.

Wayne Bengston, 41, then beat his wife, took his 2-year-old son to a relative's house and drove to his home about 25 miles away in West Glacier, where he killed himself, Whitefish Police Chief Bill Dial said.

"It's pretty much an open-and-closed case. Homicide and suicide," Dial said.

Police identified the shooting victim as Gregory G. Rodriguez, 43, of Sugar Land, Texas. Bengston's wife told police that Rodriguez was in town on business and visiting her at her mother's house in Whitefish when her husband showed up Thursday at about 10:30 p.m.

Rodriguez and the woman, who works for a firearms manufacturer in the Flathead Valley, met at a trade show and struck up a casual relationship that police do not believe was romantic, Dial said.

She and Rodriguez were sitting at the kitchen table, talking over a glass of wine, when Bengston entered the house and shot Rodriguez, Dial said.

He then beat his wife on the face and head, most likely with the pistol, he said. She was treated at a hospital and released.

"I think it was a jealous husband, but this is all conjecture," Dial said.

After the shooting was reported, Flathead County sheriff's deputies found Bengston's truck parked in his driveway. Efforts by a police SWAT team to contact Bengston inside the house were unsuccessful, and officers found his body with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, police said.

Besides appearing on TV, Rodriguez was the founder and CEO of Global Adventure Outfitters. According to the company's website, he was an editor at Shooting Times Magazine and a contributing editor at Petersen's Hunting, Guns & Ammo and Dangerous Game.

He was a mortgage banker before founding Global Adventure Outfitters and has hunted in 21 countries, the website says.

"A Rifleman's Journal" tracks Rodriguez's hunting travels to exotic locations, according to a Sportsman Channel description.

He has a wife and two children, it says.

A woman who answered the phone at Global Adventure Outfitters confirmed that Rodriguez had been in Montana but said the organization would not be making a statement at the time.

Bengston worked for the U.S. Forest Service, Dial said.