Simon & Schuster launches self-publishing division

(Reuters) - Simon & Schuster launched a self-publishing division for writers on Tuesday, tapping into the growing market that has produced a handful of best-sellers outside of traditional publishing.

Simon & Schuster's new Archway Publishing division will let writers self-publish printed books and e-books for a fee. In return, the publisher will arrange for distribution and marketing and give the author a portion of sales.

"Self-publishing has become a viable and popular route to publication for many authors, and increasingly a source of content for traditional publishers," Carolyn Reidy, president and CEO of Simon & Schuster, said in a statement.

The number of titles self-published increased by 60 percent in 2011 to 211,269 books, according to publishing research and management company Bowker.

Electronic book readers like Amazon's Kindle and the online retailer's publishing service has spurred the self-publishing industry. John Locke, author of "Saving Rachel," was the first to sell more than one million self-published e-books through Amazon.

Simon & Schuster, a unit of CBS Corporation, is partnering with self-publisher Author Solutions Inc on the venture.

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Book Talk: Do you really know who lives next door?

TOKYO (Reuters) - Andrew, in a daring leap to freedom from an overbearing mother, moves in with a friend whose ramshackle house is the one blight on a gorgeous neighborhood - and promptly is attracted to his next door neighbor, the friendly Harlow.

Welcomed by a plate of homemade cookies and admiring of the picture-perfect home where she lives with her husband, Red, it is a while before Andrew starts to suspect there is something a little off about this woman, who seems just too good to be true.

"The Neighbors," Ania Ahlborn's second novel, was inspired by a battered house and a fallen-over mailbox she passed every day, making her think of a perfect house on a perfect street that in fact is "where all the darkness is."

Ahlborn, whose first book was self-published but became such a success she then picked up a conventional publishing contract, spoke with Reuters about neighbors, horror and her book.

Q: What inspired the book?

A: "I've always been pretty fascinated with serial killers, but not in the sense that I read about them and I'm like, let's see how they kill all their victims. I'm more interested in the fact that someone could be living right next door to you, and they might be the nicest person that you had ever met, but they're really not. There's something about that that really intrigues me. Of course it terrifies me, it freaks me out, but just that concept was what spurred my writing 'The Neighbors.' That, and I do have a little bit of a love affair with the atomic age and the perfect sort of Americana thing that was going on. That to me is also a little creepy. It's so perfect that it's almost plastic, it's Stepford Wives. Every time something is super cool and happy and nice, I always find something really creepy going on with it. If you meet the one person who's always happy, always smiling and always laughing, I'm going to be the person who's sitting back thinking, what's this person hiding?"

Q: How did you bring this idea to life?

A: "I knew that I wanted to have an everyman character that readers could relate to, so I put that into Andrew. He's just a regular guy. He has a lot of issues that he's dealing with, and he really is looking for that whole grass is greener on the other side concept. Then he steps into a life that he thinks is going to be great, oh look how nice these new neighbors are - they're going to give him a job, they're really sweet, they invite him to dinner. And he couldn't be happier, only it's 'oh my God, what have I gotten myself into.'

"As far as Red and Harlow go, I had to rewrite this thing three times. The concept was there, but there was something off about it. I actually started writing Harlow as a really nice old lady, kind of like your grandma, and there was something about it that just wasn't working for me. So I let her go and said, 'Do whatever you want.' I let her run with it, and figured I'd just see what happened in the next couple pages. And she turned into this really retro, cougary vixen. I thought 'whoa, we'll run with that.' I had to rewrite the whole thing. I just loved that - it just feels so wrong. A really sweet woman who ends up being almost like a dominatrix, in a way."

Q: You sound like that surprised you. Do you have that kind of experience a lot when you write?

A: "Yes. When it comes to writing, I think there's two different ways that you can approach it. You can either plot it out and do it by an outline and make the characters do what you want them to do, or you can basically let the characters carry the story and see where it goes. I like to do both techniques. Of course I want to have a beginning, middle and end where I don't feel I'm just writing and writing and writing and it's not going anywhere, because that's horribly frustrating.

"On the other hand, you always want it to be kind of organic, so it doesn't feel forced. When you allow those characters to step up to the plate and say 'here's what I would do.' You learn a lot about yourself that way. You don't know that you've got these ideas in your head, and they come out by way of these fictional characters. It can get a little bit weird, especially when you're writing horror and thrillers. You're like, 'oh my God, what's wrong with me?'"

Q: What is the function of scary stories?

A: I think that scary stories are the most truthful. I think that the honesty behind a lot of stuff that you read in horror is really what's scary. In 'The Neighbors,' one of the things that I tried to do was make Harlow as likable as possible even after I revealed the fact that she is this monster. The reason why I did that is because if your neighbor is some crazy psychopath but you don't know that, you might like that person. That in itself is terrifying because you don't know, they're so good at hiding what they are.

"I think that there's bits of humanity that come out in horror and thrillers that are really uncomfortable for us to otherwise think about. Could I relate to the monster next door? Could I care about them? Could I be the monster next door?

"That's the way that I think that horror became so popular - it really reflects who we are and who we hide. It also reflects our worst fears. We want to explore those fears and it's a safe way to explore those fears... But forget it, when I have to be alone by myself in a locked house at night, I sleep with all the lights on and the dogs in my room, where otherwise I wouldn't care if my husband was home... It's just funny how those tiny little differences make us interpret things in a totally different way. If he's here I'm fine, but if he's not a serial killer is definitely going to knock on my door and this is the last night of my life. That's just the way that our minds work. I think that horror makes us reflect on our fears, and on who we say we are - but are afraid to say we are."

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Co-author of "Three Cups of Tea" commits suicide in Oregon

PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - Journalist David Oliver Relin, co-author of the controversial best-selling book "Three Cups of Tea," took his own life last month in the Columbia River town of Corbett, Oregon, east of Portland, authorities disclosed on Monday.

The cause of Relin's death on November 15 was listed as suicide by blunt force head injury, said Tom Chappelle, Multnomah County deputy medical examiner, but he declined to give further details. Relin, who lived in Portland, was 49.

Relin, a freelance journalist who wrote for several magazines, became best known for his work with Greg Mortenson on the wildly successful memoir "Three Cups of Tea," which was first published in 2006 and spent four years on the New York Times bestseller lists.

The book, which sold over 4 million copies, chronicled Mortenson's failed attempt to climb the mountain K2 in South Asia and his encounter with impoverished Pakistani villagers whom he credited with inspiring him to build schools for young girls and other humanitarian projects in the region.

However, the credibility of the book came under fire in 2011 when the CBS television news program "60 Minutes" aired an expose accusing Mortenson of fabricating or embellishing key details of his story, and using his charitable institute to promote sales of the memoir.

CBS News, for example, disputed Mortenson's account of being kidnapped in Pakistan's Waziristan region in 1996.

Mortenson later acknowledged in an interview posted on his institute's website that the book contains "discrepancies" that resulted from "omissions and compressions" done for the sake of literary expediency. But he insisted the abduction story was "pretty much" true and defended the book overall, saying, "I'm not a journalist. I don't take a lot of notes."

Relin said in a 2008 interview with a University of Oregon professor that in addition to interviewing Mortenson extensively, he conducted more than 200 interviews with people tied to Mortenson's story and traveled three times to northern Pakistan. Relin said he objected to Mortenson getting a co-author credit on the book.

Relin later wrote "Second Suns: Two Doctors and Their Amazing Quest to Restore Sight and Save Lives," which is scheduled to be released by Random House in June.

A graduate of Vassar College and the Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa, Relin focused for two decades on reporting about social issues and their effect on children, according to an Iowa Writers biography.

In 1992, he received a University of Iowa fellowship to take a bicycle trip across the length of Vietnam and report on that country's economic reforms. The biography said he also won more than 40 national awards for work as an editor and writer, and that his stories about child soldiers were including in Amnesty International reports on the subject.

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Book Talk: At base camp on the climb to conquer corruption

LONDON (Reuters) - Frank Vogl, who co-founded the anti-corruption group Transparency International (TI) in 1993, believes campaigners have reached base camp in their fight to end the abuse of public office for private gain.

TI has offices in more than 100 countries and its annual rankings of clean government are widely used by investment analysts to help gauge political risk.

But the almost daily disclosures of rigged elections and corporate bribery across the globe shows why Vogl, a former journalist and senior World Bank official who lives in Washington, is quick to admit there is an Everest yet to climb.

Vogl spoke to Reuters about his new book "Waging War on Corruption" during a visit to London.

Q: Are you winning the fight against corruption?

A: "I don't say we're winning, but we've come a long way in 20 years. Polls around the world show that many people view corruption as their single-biggest concern. The Arab Spring showed an enormous level of frustration by ordinary people with the humiliation they suffer every day as a result of corruption and extortion, and a willingness to go out on the streets and do something about it."

Q: Is corruption a price worth paying to ensure political stability in friendly countries?

A: "In an earlier era, you could have perhaps made that case. Today, thanks to the Internet and social media ordinary citizens everywhere are far better informed than ever before. You don't secure peace and stability in a country if the broad public has no confidence in the leadership and institutions of government. Whether it's in China or Russia - or more unstable countries like Afghanistan or Iraq or Pakistan - public awareness of corruption is something governments have to address. If they run totally fraudulent elections or continue to put in place gangsters to run institutions, then over time you will have far greater instability."

Q: What lessons are to be learned from Egypt?

A: "What is difficult for Western powers, especially the United States, is to find partners in highly unstable countries. Or they stick with them for too long. President (Hosni) Mubarak is a very good example. For a long time he was important for peace and security in the Middle East. But he lost so much credibility at home that the U.S. was seen almost as a co-conspirator against the people of Egypt, which today makes it very hard for the U.S. to restore a strategic relationship with Egypt."

Q: Is corruption in business on the rise?

A: "There is no way of knowing. It's far easier to move money round the world swiftly and illicitly. But there are now more laws in place that criminalize foreign bribe-paying by corporations than ever before. There are more prosecutions and investigations. The fines being paid are higher. And the number of companies that have developed training and compliance programs to try to adhere to ant-bribery laws is greater than ever before. There is also far more media attention on the issue. And from 2014 oil and gas and mining companies in the United States will have to publicly list all their royalty payments to host governments. A similar law will come into effect in Europe. So through greater transparency you are going to start to reduce the level of illicit payments."

Q: What about the wealth amassed by officials in some African oil-producing countries?

A: "As I said, we have a long way to go. Transparency International France and another NGO asked the French courts to order the state to investigate the illicit investments that the leaders of three west African countries had in France. The French government contested this, but the investigations have gone forward. But it's incredibly difficult because the French, the British and others have very strong security interests in wanting to maintain supplies of minerals and oil and gas."

Q: So governments are saying in effect that corruption is a price worth paying?

A: "It's very short-sighted. If we can bribe people to guarantee our security of supply, others can too. If we are going to turn a blind eye to the illicit trade in diamonds, for example, it isn't going to help the stability and security of southern Africa. The fundamental debate about this in the UK is over. People ‘get it' and see where the longer-term interest lies. But a lot of defense and oil contracts are still a very murky area. And there is a lot of money being laundered that the authorities, for one reason or another, have decided not to clamp down on."

Q: Which countries stand out as winning and losing the fight against corruption?

A: "Take a country like Georgia. The fact that they recently had a contested election, which the opposition won, is a good indicator of a significant effort at reform. There are very close correlations between the levels of perceived corruption, human rights abuse, press freedom and the strength of democratic institutions. But we also see backsliding. We all rejoiced at the intentions of a new government in Kenya after President (Daniel arap) Moi. But today there's probably greater corruption in Kenya than before."

Q: The chief of staff of former Brazilian president Lula was recently jailed for corruption. How significant is that?

A: "The investment community should be paying close attention to what is happening in Brazil. You have got very important changes in public procurement and freedom-of-information laws that are making it harder to use bribes to get government contracts; you've had the prosecution and sentencing of top politicians that, five years ago, would never have happened. Why? Part of the reason is that after two decades of economic policy reform and the modernization of the economy you have an increasingly influential entrepreneurial middle class that understands that their business success is best achieved in clean markets."

Q: Has TI come under attack for its campaigning?

A: "Whether it be in Zimbabwe or Sri Lanka or Venezuela, people leading anti-corruption movements - and not just Transparency International - are facing continuous threats by the police. Our office in Sri Lanka has been bombed, the head of the office was kidnapped and there have been repeated death threats against members of staff. The level of threats has increased in many countries, including in Russia, and that is a direct result of the increasing success of these groups. If they were not successful or effective, the governments wouldn't care. We have citizens' help lines to report corruption in 55 countries. Thousands of people are lodging complaints, and that is testing many governments. Even lower-level officials are suddenly being challenged. So we're entering a much more dangerous period for the leaders of civil society."

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Living at high altitude tied to developmental delay

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - South American babies and toddlers living at high altitude were more likely to score poorly on early tests of brain development, in a new study.

Of all kids age three months to two years, one in five was at high risk of developmental delays, according to tests done at their pediatricians' offices. That rose to between one in three and one in four for those who lived above 2,600 meters, or 8,530 feet.

Because there is less oxygen at higher elevations, researchers said blood flow in the uterus may also be decreased at altitude - which could impact the brain of a developing fetus.

"The findings emphasize the need for health care providers and policy-makers to recognize that altitude may increase developmental risks not just for physical growth, as has been reported, but for neurologic and cognitive development," wrote George Wehby from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, who conducted the research.

His study involved over 2,000 young kids evaluated at offices in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador in 2005 and 2006.

The babies and toddlers were all given a series of problem-solving and motor tasks to complete, which their doctors used to measure which ones might be at risk for delayed development.

Wehby found that on average, for every 100-meter (328-feet) increase in elevation, kids were 2 percent more likely to be judged at high risk of future developmental problems.

Compared to kids living below 800 meters (2,625 feet), those above 8,530 feet were twice as likely to be at high risk, according to their pediatricians' evaluations.

The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

All of the babies in Bolivia lived above the 8,530-foot cut-off, and all the kids in Argentina, Brazil and Chile lived below it. Ecuador was the only country in the study that included kids from both high- and low-altitude regions.

Of the largest cities in the United States, Albuquerque has a high point of 6,120 feet and Denver of 5,470 feet. Many Western states - including California, Colorado, Nevada and Utah - have regions above 10,000 feet.

However, it's hard to know whether the results apply to other communities at high elevation, according to Alexis Handal, an epidemiologist from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, who does her research in Ecuador.

"We're starting to realize there's such a complicated social context within which these populations live that it's very hard to look at one area and try to generalize to other areas," Handal, who wasn't involved in the new study, told Reuters Health.

For example, she said, parents' work hours, whether families have access to nutritious food and what environmental toxins communities might be exposed to can all interact with factors like altitude to influence maternal and child health.

"Perhaps what we also have to focus on is… how can we also develop programs that promote infant development, that help families?" she added.

Wehby said in the study that babies born at higher elevations may be helped by earlier health screening to make sure they're developing normally.

But he also pointed to the need for more research on why altitude may affect development - and whether similar patterns apply to kids in other high-altitude regions.

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Nurses Who Saved NICU Babies Remember Harrowing Hurricane Night

Nurses at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at New York University's Langone Medical Center  have challenging jobs, even in the best of times. Their patients are babies, some weighing as little as 2 pounds, who require constant and careful care as they struggle to stay alive.

On Monday night, as superstorm Sandy bore down on Manhattan, the nurses' jobs took on a whole new sense of urgency as failing power forced the hospital's patients, including the NICU nurses' tiny charges, to evacuate.

"20/20" recently reunited seven of those nurses: Claudia Roman, Nicola Zanzotta-Tagle, Margot Condon, Sandra Kyong Bradbury, Beth Largey, Annie Irace and Menchu Sanchez. They described how they managed to do their jobs – and save the most vulnerable of lives – under near-impossible circumstances.

On Monday night, as Sandy's wind and rain buffeted the hospital's windows, the nurses were preparing for a shift change and the day nurses had begun to brief the night shift nurses. Suddenly, the hospital was plunged into darkness. The respirators and monitors keeping the infants alive all went silent.

For one brief moment, everyone froze. Then the alarms began to ring as backup batteries kicked in. But the coast wasn't clear – the nurses were soon horrified to learn that the hospital's generator had failed, and that the East River had risen to start flooding the hospital.

"Everybody ran to a patient to make sure that the babies were fine," Nicola Zanzotto-Tagle recalled. "If you had your phone with a flashlight on the phone, you held it right over the baby."

For now, the four most critical patients – infants that couldn't breathe on their own – were being supplied oxygen by battery-powered respirators, but the clock was ticking. They had, at most, just four hours before the machines were at risk of failing.

Watch the full story on "20/20: Heroes Among Us" online.

Annie Irache tended to the most critical baby -- he had had abdominal surgery just the day before – as an evacuation of 20 NICU babies began.

"[He] was on medications to keep up his blood pressure," Irache said, "and he also had a cardiac defect, so he was our first baby to go."

One by one, each tiny infant, swaddled in blankets and a heating pad, cradled by one nurse and surrounded by at least five others, was carried down nine flights of stairs. Security guards and secretaries pitched in, lighting the way with flashlights and cell phones.

The procession moved slowly. As nurses took their careful steps, they carefully squeezed bags of oxygen into the babies' lungs.

"We literally synchronized our steps going down nine flights," Zanzotto-Tagle said. "I would say 'Step, step, step."

With their adrenaline pumping, the nurses said, it was imperative that they stay focused.

"We're not usually bagging a baby down a stairwell ... n the dark," said Claudia Roman. "I was most worried about, 'Let me not trip on this staircase as I'm carrying someone's precious child, because that would be unforgivable."

When the medical staff and the 20 babies emerged, a line of ambulances was waiting. A video of Margot Condon cradling a tiny baby as she rode a gurney struck a chord worldwide. But Condon said she had a singular goal.

"I was making sure the tube was in place, that the baby was pink," she said. "I was not taking my eyes off that baby or that tube."

Like other nurses, she did not feel panic. Her precious patient helped keep her calm.

"[Babies] love to be held, so every time I would look down at the baby, the baby had his little hand on my chest, like 'And this is good!'"

Langone patients were evacuated to various New York hospitals, including Mount Sinai Medical Center, where mother Luz Martinez wrapped nurse Beth Largey in an embrace. Largey had carried her 2-pound baby boy to safety.

In Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, another mom tearfully expressed her gratitude to Sandra Kyong Bradbury, who ensured the safe evacuation of a baby named Jackson.

"I'm just so thankful," she said.

The nurses would later receive praise from President Obama, who said they represented the "brightest in America."

Many others call them heroes.

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Modest results in program to reduce kids' screen time

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A program aimed at reducing the number of hours young children spent in front of a screen didn't accomplish that goal, but it did cut back on the meals they ate in front of a television, a new study found.

That's good news according to the lead author, because people tend to eat more and eat unhealthy food while watching television.

"The relationship between screen time and obesity is linked to eating in front of a screen," said Dr. Catherine S. Birken, a pediatrician at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

In addition to its association with obesity, the study's researchers say screen time - whether it is in front of a television, computer or video game console - has been linked to children having problems with language development and behavior, and their likelihood of cigarette smoking.

"These are really important health outcomes in young children," said Birken. "So we need to understand what works and what doesn't."

So far, studies scrutinizing various methods of cutting back on kids' screen time have found little success.

However, Birken told Reuters Health that a couple of past studies did find promising results in preschool children, which is why her team decided to test a practical approach in that age group.

For their study, published in the journal Pediatrics on Monday, Birken and her colleagues recruited three-year-old children from a network of clinics around the Toronto area during their annual checkups. The children and their parents were randomly assigned into one of two groups.

In an intervention group of 64 children, the parents were told about the health impact of screen time on kids and how to reduce their children's hours.

Some of the techniques included removing televisions from the kids' bedrooms and not allowing them to eat with the television on.

Those families, along with a control group of 68 similar children and their parents, were also educated about safe media use, such as rating systems, Internet safety and violent programming.

The researchers then looked to see if the children's viewing or eating habits changed when they returned for a checkup a year later.

"TAKING IT SERIOUSLY"

Overall, the amount of time the children spent in front of a screen did not significantly differ between the two groups.

At the end of the study, the children in both groups spent between 60 and 65 minutes in front of a screen on weekdays. On the weekends, they spent between 80 and 90 minutes in front of a screen.

There also wasn't a difference in the children's BMI scores - a measure of weight in relation to height - between the start and end of the study. However, Birken said (for statistical reasons) she would only expect to see that in a larger group of children.

But, there was a statistically significant difference in the number of meals the children in the intervention group ate in front of the television.

At the start of the study, each group of kids ate about two meals with the television on daily. A year later, that number remained the same for the control group, but fell to about 1.6 for the intervention group.

That, the researchers note, works out to be at least two fewer meals per week in front of the television.

"I don't think there is much harm in turning the TV off during meals. I think that is a good message either way," said Birken.

But, she added that her team would have liked to see the kids spending less time in front of a television. She said it could be that the program needs to be spread out across society, including the children's doctors and teachers.

Dayna M. Maniccia, an assistant professor at the University of Albany who has researched screen time interventions, said even if the study didn't show a reduction in screen time, it makes people think about it.

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Iron, omega-3s tied to different effects on kids' brains

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For children with low stores of two brain-power nutrients, supplements may have different, and complex, effects, a new clinical trial suggests.

Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide, affecting about 2 billion people, according to the World Health Organization.

Poor children in developing countries are at particular risk for shortfalls in iron, as well as other nutrients, including the omega-3 fats found largely in oily fish.

So the new study looked at the effects of giving 321 schoolchildren in South Africa either supplements containing iron, omega-3s or both. All of the kids had low levels of both nutrients, which are vital for children's growth and healthy brain development.

After about eight months, researchers found varied changes in the kids' memory and learning abilities.

In general, children given iron showed improvements on tests of memory and learning. That was especially true if they had outright anemia - a disorder wherein the blood's oxygen-carrying capacity is reduced, causing problems like fatigue and difficulty with concentration and memory.

For example, on a memory test, anemic kids given iron were able to recall an extra two words out of 12.

In contrast, there was no overall benefit linked to omega-3 supplements. And when the researchers zeroed in on kids with anemia, those who used omega-3s did worse than before on one test of memory.

Then there were the children with clear iron deficiency, but not anemia. Of those kids, girls who got omega-3s fared worse, while boys improved their test scores.

What it all means for kids with nutritional deficiencies is unclear, according to lead researcher Jeannine Baumgartner, of North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa.

One limitation of the study, she said in an email, is that the number of children in each group her team analyzed was small. There were 67 kids with anemia, for example.

Thus, "the results need to be interpreted cautiously," Baumgartner told Reuters Health in an email.

There are still a lot of questions, according to Baumgartner, whose group's findings are published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The children in this study were 6 to 11 years old. But, Baumgartner said, animal research suggests brain deficits that take shape early in life might not be reversible.

"The question arises whether supplementation during school age might be too late to achieve beneficial effects on cognitive performance," she said.

Still, the omega-3 findings are consistent with some recent animal research. Baumgartner said her team found that in rats deficient in both iron and omega-3s, giving either supplement alone seemed to worsen the animals' memory performance. The picture was better, though, when the rats were given both iron and omega-3s.

In children, things are more complicated. Other nutritional deficiencies, as well as exposure to toxins like lead and the general effects of poverty could all dampen kids' brain development, Baumgartner pointed out.

"We believe that more research is needed to investigate the biological and functional links between nutrients essential for brain development and cognitive functioning," she said.

Since this study focused on impoverished children with low iron, and possibly other nutritional deficiencies, the results cannot be extended to children in general, according to Baumgartner.

In the U.S., recommendations call for babies to get an iron test during the first year of life to check for deficiencies. For healthy kids older than six months, the recommended iron intake varies from 7 to 15 mg of iron per day, depending on their age and sex.

There is a risk from getting too much iron and experts tell parents to ask their doctor before giving children iron supplements.

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Foreign hackers targeted former military chief Mullen: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Foreign hackers targeted the computers of Mike Mullen, ex-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, calling it the latest in a pattern of attacks on computers of former high-ranking U.S. officials.

The FBI is pursuing the hackers, the Journal reported. The agency was not immediately available for comment.

Mullen's office confirmed that the retired admiral was cooperating with a cyber investigation.

"Admiral Mullen, now a private citizen, has responded to very specific requests and is cooperating with an ongoing cyber investigation he has been informed is focused overseas," it said in a statement.

The hackers targeted personal computers Mullen used while working on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, after his retirement in 2011, the report said, citing officials and others familiar with the probe.

One official said the evidence pointed to China as the origin of the hacking and that it appeared the hackers were able to access a personal email account.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington told the Journal he was not aware of the investigation and that his government prohibits cyber attacks.

China is often cited as a suspect in various hacking attacks in the United States and other nations. Beijing dismisses allegations it is involved.

The Journal report said current and former U.S. cyber security officials say the Mullen case is the most recent example of a series of undisclosed hacker attacks on the computer files of former senior U.S. officials.

Hackers view their computers as an easier way to get access to sensitive information, said these people, who declined to name the targeted former officials.

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Sports fans can pursue U.S. antitrust case over programs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday allowed sports fans to pursue a lawsuit accusing Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and various networks of antitrust violations in how they package games for broadcast on television or the Internet.

U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin in Manhattan said the subscribers could pursue claims that the packaging has reduced competition, raised prices, and kept them from watching their favorite teams located outside their home markets.

"Plaintiffs in this case - the consumers - have plausibly alleged that they are the direct victims of this harm," she wrote.

The defendants include Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, several teams in both sports, cable TV company Comcast Corp, satellite TV provider DirecTV, Madison Square Garden Co and some regional sports networks.

DirecTV declined to comment, saying it had not reviewed the decision. Comcast and the NHL had no immediate comment. Other defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ned Diver, a lawyer for the subscribers, said in a phone interview: "We're very pleased with the decision. It's a total victory on the substance of the plaintiffs' claims."

Media companies, leagues and teams can often justify higher costs to watch their products by citing the higher costs of doing business, and that individual teams have rabid followings among viewers willing to pay more to watch events live.

"BLACKOUT" AGREEMENTS

The case arose from what the subscribers said were anticompetitive "blackout" agreements between service providers such as Comcast and DirecTV, sports networks and the leagues.

These subscribers contended that if they wanted to watch games from outside their home markets, they were required to buy packages that included all out-of-market games, even if they were interested only in one or a few nonlocal teams.

For example, a New York Yankees fan living in Colorado could not pay simply for access to that team's games, but had to buy a product such as the MLB Extra Innings television package.

The subscribers sought damages and a halt to arrangements that they said resulted in "reduced output, diminished product quality, diminished choice and suppressed price competition."

Other packages at issue are NHL Center Ice for television, and MLB.tv and NHL GameCenter LIVE for the Internet.

The defendants argued that the subscribers' alleged injuries were only indirectly related to the alleged wrongful conduct, and that Major League Baseball and NHL games did not qualify as "distinct products" subject to antitrust scrutiny.

Comcast, DirecTV and the sports networks also contended that their conduct was "presumptively legal."

PRESSURE TO SETTLE

Scheindlin nonetheless let much of the case go forward.

"Making all games available as part of a package, while it may increase output overall, does not, as a matter of law, eliminate the harm to competition wrought by preventing the individual teams from competing to sell their games outside their home territories in the first place," she wrote.

The judge did dismiss claims that Comcast, DirecTV and the sports networks conspired to monopolize markets, while allowing similar claims against Major League Baseball and the NHL to proceed. She also dismissed some individual plaintiffs from the case, saying they lacked standing to sue.

"There will be pressure on the defendants to settle before this gets to trial," which could cost "real money," said Geoffrey Rapp, a University of Toledo law professor in Ohio.

"The defendants are in some ways similar to record companies that had to adapt as a la carte options became available online, where people could buy one song rather than a whole album," he said. "Five or 10 years from now, these package-deal arrangements may no longer exist."

Among the dozens of defendants were the Yankees and its YES network; the Chicago White Sox baseball and Chicago Blackhawks hockey teams; the New York Rangers hockey team; and various Comcast SportsNet and Root Sports networks.

Last month, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp said it would buy a 49 percent stake in the YES network.

Baseball itself has had an antitrust exemption since 1922, but has long faced periodic calls from Congress and elsewhere that it be repealed.

The cases are Laumann et al v. National Hockey League et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-01817; and Garber et al v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball et al in the same court, No. 12-03074.

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