New strain of norovirus spreads around the world

LONDON (Reuters) - A new strain of the winter vomiting disease norovirus has spread to France, New Zealand and Japan from Australia and is overtaking all others to become the dominant strain in Britain, health officials said on Wednesday.

The norovirus variant, known as Sydney 2012, was identified in a scientific paper last week and Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) said genetic testing showed it was now causing more cases in England and Wales than other strains.

Sydney 2012 does not carry worse symptoms than others but, like other norovirus strains, it can cause violent and projectile vomiting, diarrhea and sometimes fevers, headaches and stomach cramps.

Norovirus cases have risen earlier than expected this winter in Britain, across Europe, Japan and other parts of the world.

Although norovirus mostly causes just a few days of sickness, it is responsible for millions of infections every year and is notorious for its ability to evade control.

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say norovirus causes 21 million illnesses a year, with 70,000 cases requiring hospitalization and around 800 ending in death.

Ian Goodfellow, a scientist who has studied norovirus for 10 years, describes it as "the Ferrari of the virus world" and "one of the most infectious viruses of man".

Latest HPA data showed a dip in reported norovirus cases over the Christmas period - something scientists had predicted - but with 4,140 cases so far in England and Wales, infections are still 63 percent higher than at this time last year.

For every laboratory-confirmed case, scientists estimate there are 288 unreported cases, since the vast majority of people affected don't go to a doctor. This means the number affected so far in Britain is more than 1.2 million.

"The emergence of a new strain does not mean that it causes more serious illness, and managing outbreaks and those with the illness remains the same," said David Brown, director of the virology reference department at the HPA.

"Noroviruses mutate rapidly and new strains are constantly emerging. At the start of the season it is normal for outbreaks to be caused by a range of different strains. However, as the season progresses, particular strains are more successful and become dominant."

There is no specific treatment for norovirus infection other than to let the illness take its course and try to stay hydrated by drinking regularly. Symptoms usually last around two days.

8 surprising things to buy in bulk

Warehouse-club staples, such as vats of mayonnaise and crates of toilet paper, aren’t the only products for which buying in bulk can translate into serious bargains. We’ve discovered eight unexpected buy-in-bulk values. For people who need these items in mass quantities, the savings can be significant. Just remember: This strategy requires commitment. To snag the lower per-unit prices (all listed prices here exclude taxes and fees) and capture the full value of your purchase, you have to be willing to pay the larger upfront costs and use all of your supplies.
Happy bargain hunting!

AIRLINE TICKETS

Sky-bound commuters and serial vacationers can save hundreds by buying plane-ticket packages.
JetBlue famously offered the "All You Can Jet" pass in 2009 and 2010, which allowed travelers to fly on as many trips as they could in a month for $599. This year, the discount airline targeted business travelers with Go Packs, ranging from $699 to $2,499, that included ten nonstop, one-way flights between certain airports from September 13 through December 19. JetBlue would not say for sure whether Go Packs will be offered again, but the ticket packages have proved popular with its customers.

Other airlines have been hopping on the bulk bandwagon: Virgin America recently offered a three-flight package via flash-sale site Gilt City, and Cathay Pacific has offered an unlimited travel deal between Hong Kong and all its other Asian destinations. Recently, regional airline Cape Air offers books of ten one-way tickets on selected commuter routes for savings of up to 30% off. Some of the routes include New York City to Provincetown, Mass. (for $3,749); Hyannis to Nantucket ($609); Marion, Ill., to St. Louis ($457.50); Key West to Fort Myers ($1,199); and St. Thomas to San Juan ($949).
To keep an eye out for other plane-ticket packages, enlist some help from AirfareWatchdog.com. Sign up for alerts based on your selected departure city, and the Watchdog will let you know via e-mail when it finds a cheap flight or package of flights, even aboard smaller airlines that might not show up on bigger search engines, such as Kayak.com and Bing Travel.

(See more: January's best shopping deals)

MOBILE MINUTES

A chatty Cathy need not hold her tongue for savings. Avoid hefty overage charges by embracing your loquaciousness with an unlimited, low-cost, prepaid plan. Same goes for texting addicts and data suckers.
For example, Boost Mobile, one of Sprint's prepaid brands, offers unlimited minutes, texts and data for Android phones starting at $55 a month. (With its "shrinking payments" incentive, Boost lowers that monthly payment gradually as you make on-time payments -- to as little $40 for punctual Android users after 18 months.) For other unlimited options, check out our picks for the Best Smart Phone Plans for You.

GYM MEMBERSHIPS

You need a spotter anyway, so why not get a deal for multiple memberships while you're at it? Many gyms, including Bally Total Fitness and Washington Sports Club, periodically offer friends-and-family discounts if you sign up together or if current members recruit newbies.
For example, 24 Hour Fitness recently offered a deal for current members to add family to their membership for $30 a month per person with no initiation fee. Regular rates can range from $40 to $75 per month per person, depending on your location.
If your gym isn't currently advertising this kind of deal, ask about a discount anyway; membership costs may be negotiable. (See Master the Modern Art of Haggling for tips on talking your way to a better bargain.)

SEASON TICKETS

No surprise here, sports fans. If you're really invested in a team, buying tickets for the whole season all at once instead of game by game can be a big financial win.
And if the season heads into extra innings, you'll get first dibs on playoff tickets. For example, when the Washington Nationals extended their 2012 season (the first time since 1933 that D.C. sent a baseball team to the playoffs), season-ticket holders paid $50 each for postseason tickets that were going for triple that amount online, reports Liz Farmer, of the Washington Examiner.
Season-ticket deals can be found outside the sports arena, too. Many theaters, museums, aquariums, amusement parks and other venues offer discounted passes for frequent visitors.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Get your fill of veggies every month straight from your local harvest at a healthy discount. You can find a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program in your area at LocalHarvest.org.
Subscribe for periodic packages of locally grown fruits, vegetables and other products with one upfront payment. For example, Seabreeze Organic Farm, in San Diego, Cal., offers four weekly or biweekly deliveries starting at $173 (plus the CSA membership fee). The regular-size package weighs about 12 to 17 pounds and includes four to five different fruits, eight to eleven different vegetables and a bouquet of flowers.
Andrea Muse, author of Buying in Bulk and founder of FrugallySustainable.com, estimates that you can save up to 50% off your grocery bill if you buy in bulk correctly. She recommends starting small so that you can work the quantities into your cooking routine and storage space. And she suggests finding other people to invest in a share with you to split the costs and the bounty.

PRESCRIPTIONS

If you're coping with a chronic condition, you shouldn't have to suffer the high costs of medications, too. You might already know that you can save by ordering a 90-day supply from a mail-order pharmacy instead of getting a 30-day refill. But you may not realize that your neighborhood pharmacy can probably bag you the same bargain -- and with face-to-face interaction with your local pharmacist. Walmart pharmacies, for example, offer the already good deal of $4 for 30-day supplies of eligible generic drugs. But they do even better with 90-day supplies for just $10. (You can also get your orders delivered to you free.)
You'll see clear savings by ordering your contact lenses in bulk, too. At www.1800contacts.com, for example, a 30-pack of one-day Acuvue Moist lenses goes for $30, which would add up to $720 for the year if purchased singly. But the site recently offered a $60 discount if you order an annual supply of 24 boxes in one fell swoop. And if you'd rather see this deal at your own eye doctor's office, try asking him or her to match the mail-order price. Many optometrists are open to negotiation.
 

GIFT CARDS

For a great bulk deal on gift cards, you will have to head to a warehouse store, where you can buy multiple restaurant gift cards for less than face value. At Costco, you could pay just $80 for two $50 cards for eateries such as California Pizza Kitchen and McCormick & Schmick's.
You can also get discounted packs of movie tickets at warehouse stores. At BJ's, you can get four tickets to AMC, plus a small popcorn voucher, for $35. That movie-going experience for four adults in D.C. would cost about $53.

 

COLLEGE DEGREES

Hope kid sis doesn't mind a hand-me-down sorority sweater. If you can persuade your close-in-age kids to attend the same college, you might be able to cut back on some tuition costs. Many schools offer discounts for siblings in attendance at the same time.
If you have two children attend the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., for example, the younger sibling may apply for a GW Family Grant and pay half-tuition -- a huge discount considering GW's $45,735 price tag for 2012-2013. (Unfortunately, this sibling deal cannot be combined with any other scholarships or financial aid.) At Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., the family discount gets a second sibling 10% off tuition. And if a third sibling attends, that student would get 20% off (and our kudos to the parents).
Having multiple kids in college can also get you a break with college aid. With the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), if you qualify for need-based assistance, your family's expected contribution to college expenses would stay the same regardless of how many students you're covering. So, if your expected contribution is $60,000 total, and you have two children in college, then you'd be expected to pay $30,000 for each (with aid filling in the gaps); if you have three scholars enrolled, you'd pay $20,000 each. "It's kind of like you get two for the price of one," says Jodi Okun, financial aid specialist and founder of College Financial Aid Advisors.

Beware These 5 Terrible Tax Surprises

You've always followed the sage advice of the late singer-songwriter Jim Croce: You don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, and you don't try to pull a fast one on the Internal Revenue Service.
OK, maybe that last one wasn't one of Jim's lyrics, but the sentiment -- know the consequences before you act -- still applies.
Unfortunately, that's not always easy to do when it comes to Uncle Sam's tax collectors.
The tax law is complex and difficult for even experts to negotiate. Just when you think you've followed all the rules and researched all the angles, a tax regulation blindsides you.
Here are five terrible tax surprises that you might encounter during tax season and how to deal with the consequences.
1. Unemployment benefits
Yes, it's true. Under tax law, unemployment is considered wage income, and the IRS wants a cut of it.
Now that you're over the shock and anger, what can you do? When you apply for unemployment benefits, consider having federal income taxes withheld. This process is similar to regular payroll withholding. In this case, the form you fill out is the federal W-4V, Voluntary Withholding Request, or a similar IRS-acceptable document that the paying agency has created. This way, taxes will be withheld at the rate of 10 percent of each unemployment payment.
If you feel like you just can't surrender a chunk of each unemployment check to withholding, you should look into paying estimated taxes. This will help you avoid owing a large lump-sum tax bill when you file.
2. Alimony received
You survived the divorce. Now you have the IRS to deal with if you're getting alimony.
Ending a marriage is never a happy event. But at least you got a good settlement, and those regular checks from your (insert your own description here) ex-spouse are completely warranted. They also are completely taxable.
Alimony, separate maintenance payments and similar recompense from your former spouse are taxable to you in the year you receive them. Child support money, however, is not taxable. If your divorce decree calls for alimony and child support and specifies amounts for each, you only owe the IRS for the alimony payments. To avoid a big bill in April, make your IRS payments on alimony and other untaxed income via estimated tax filings.
The one good tax surprise here is for the ex who's paying spousal support. Those check amounts are tax deductible.
3. Forgiven debt
"Forgive but collect" is the IRS motto when it comes to canceled debt.
Getting your credit card bill cut from $8,000 to $4,000 certainly helped your personal bottom line. But it also could be a boon to the U.S. Treasury. Why? The tax law generally considers the amount you get any creditor to write off as earned, and therefore taxable, income to you. Expect the accommodating debtholder to send you (and the IRS) a Form 1099-C or similar statement detailing your discharge of indebtedness as miscellaneous income.
Not every debt settlement, however, has to pad Uncle Sam's pocket. Under the Mortgage Debt Relief Act that became law in 2007, some homeowners who are granted forgiveness of mortgage debt won't have to pay taxes on that amount.
There are some restrictions. The forgiven debt amount is limited to up to $2 million, or $1 million for a married person filing a separate tax return. The tax relief only applies to mortgage debt discharged by a lender between 2007 and 2012. And the forgiven loan must have been taken out to buy or build a primary residence, not a second or vacation home.
4. Prize winnings
Think you're pretty lucky because you won $1,000 in a radio contest? Uncle Sam is even luckier. He's due part of your winnings.
Prize winnings are included in the long list of "other" income that tax law says is taxable. And it's not just limited to cash awards. You have to pay taxes on the fair market value of any property you win.
Be careful when reporting the amount of a noncash prize. In most cases, companies and groups that award prizes, cash and property, will send you a 1099 form declaring the value of what you won. If your tax return reports substantially less than what the giver claims, your underreporting could mean a long, hard look from an IRS auditor.
And don't forget about gambling proceeds. They're taxable, too, but at least you get the chance to reduce the tax bite here by subtracting any betting losses from your winnings.
5. Some Social Security benefits
You spent the last 40 years fattening the U.S. Treasury thanks to those dang Social Security taxes that came out of every paycheck. Now you're retiring, and it's time to get your tax money back, free and clear, right?
Well, maybe. Maybe not.
Generally, if Social Security benefits are your only income, your benefits are not taxable. But if you collect Social Security plus other income, as much as 85 percent of those government checks could be subject to tax. To figure out just how much in taxes your Social Security might cost you, you'll have to do some calculating using the work sheet found in your tax Form 1040 or 1040a.
If you discover that you will owe taxes on some of your Social Security benefits, there are two ways to deal with them. You can make estimated tax payments on the government check amounts. Or you can have federal income tax withheld from your benefits by completing Form W-4V, Voluntary Withholding Request, and filing it with the Social Security Administration.

Dog shaved to look like lion prompts 911 call

A dog shaved to look like a lion prompted someone to call police in Norfolk, Va., earlier this week. On Tuesday morning, a 911 caller reported seeing a baby lion "walking down Colley Avenue, possibly looking for food," according to the Virginian-Pilot. Police then called the Virginia Zoo, which reported both of its lions (Mramba and Zola) were accounted for. Police officials say it's not the first time Charles, a 3-year-old labradoodle, has been mistaken for a baby lion. The dog's owner, Daniel Painter, said Charles was groomed to look like the mascot for Norfolk's Old Dominion University. Charles is known to neighbors, who often see the friendly pooch at University Pizza. He even has a Facebook page.

Nonetheless:

Painter said police have told him several times that his dog has been mistaken for a lion. He said he's taken his dog from his Riverview home to Lafayette Park near the zoo and seen people run to their cars in shock.

"I tell people he's a Lab-a-lion," Painter told the paper. "And half the people believe that."

Truly enormous and New Jumbo phone debuts at CESCES Day 1: Bigger phones, tablets, and TVs dominate

The theme during the first day of this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) seemed to be bigger, faster, and stronger.

Bigger television sets are always fun and cool, but people expect those. What really caught the attention of attendees Tuesday were two smartphones that had nearly twice the screen size of the average iPhone or Android device.

China's Huawei debuted Ascend Mate, a 6.1-inch smartphone with strong battery life and HD display. (Apple's iPhone 5 has a 4-inch screen.)

"Smartphone and tablets are kind of converging," Huawei's Craig Jaycox told Yahoo! News. "From consumers to the carrier companies themselves, everyone seems to be asking for larger screens."

Of course, there were giant tablets on display as well, including Panasonic's 4K 20-inch tablet. While it's portable and powerful, it isn't much smaller than some home television screens.

The TVs are getting even bigger too. Samsung, for example, wowed attendees with its 85-inch 4K Ultra HD LCD TV.

The 7-ounce Ascend Mate also comes with a built-in 8-megapixel camera, Dolby Surround Sound speakers, and a water-resistant screen that held up even when an entire glass of water was poured onto its surface during a demonstration.

Another Chinese manufacturer, ZTE, displayed its own mega-smartphone, the Grand S. It comes with an even more powerful camera than the Ascend Mate's and shoots images at 13 megapixels. Huawei does offer a smaller phone with a 13-megapixel camera, and it has other functions the Ascend Mate and Grand S do not.

There are some obvious advantages to larger smartphone screens: They are more user-friendly for gamers and for those who use Skype or other video-chat apps.

But the screen isn't the only big thing on the Ascend Mate. It has an incredibly powerful 4,040-milliamps battery that reportedly can function for up to six days in standby mode. Huawei was reluctant to say exactly how long the battery life is when streaming video or running other power-draining programs. But the company did say the battery represents a 20 percent to 30 percent improvement in efficiency over earlier models.

Jaycox said Huawei has not yet set up carrier deals with U.S. providers, but if the response at the first day of CES is any indication, you can expect to see the smartphones stateside in the near future.

And what exactly is the motivation behind making larger smartphones instead of smaller ones? Jaycox said the tablet and smartphone markets are going through a test phase as consumers search for the sweet spot, looking for a portable device that meets all their computing needs.

"What's that device size where people truly feel like they have an all-in-one?" he said.