Monster Jam Tickets Rev Up Massive Sales Traffic on BuyAnySeat.com

Tickets to Monster Jam 2013 events are driving massive online search and sales traffic for seats, said Felina Martinez at ticket marketplace BuyAnySeat.com. The shows start up on Friday night, January 4, 2013 in nine U.S. cities from Trenton, New Jersey to Tacoma, Washington.

Denver, CO (PRWEB) January 02, 2013
Monster Jam is set to kick into high gear again this year. The 2013 shows rev up Friday night, January 4, 2013 in nine cities, including: Trenton, New Jersey; Des Moines, Iowa; Nashville, Tennessee; Manchester, New Hampshire; Birmingham, Alabama; Columbus, Ohio; Rochester, New York; Tacoma, Washington; and Council Bluffs, Iowa.
The tour begins in the late winter each year and visits virtually all major cities in the U.S., Canada and Europe. The shows culminate with the Monster Jam World Finals in Las Vegas every year, with this season’s finals event scheduled for March 23, 2013.
The series is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association (USHRA) and takes place primarily in the United States. Although individual event formats can vary greatly based on the “intermission” entertainment, the main attraction is always the racing and freestyle competitions by monster trucks.
“Online traffic for Monster Jam tickets has been absolutely massive,” said Felina Martinez at online ticket marketplace BuyAnySeat.com. “Not only are tickets beginning to sell out for some of the dozens of upcoming shows, the show’s popularity grows each year as new competitors join the tour.
“Since fans of all ages attend these events, many times with close friends and family, we’re proud to be able to offer them a complete selection of Monster Jam tickets, with a worry-free guarantee to protect their purchase,” said Martinez.
“To access the continuously updated selection of discount Monster Jam tickets we have available, fans can go to BuyAnySeat.com and search for Monster Jam – then select their tickets,” said Martinez.
Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour and TV series currently operated by Feld Entertainment and sponsored by Advance Auto Parts. Scheduled concurrently at different venues around the country, monster trucks face off in two different forms of competition – racing and freestyle.
In the smaller shows, there is a wheelie competition or a donut contest, and sometimes both. The goal in the wheelie competition is to hit a ramp and get big air while remaining perpendicular to the ground. In the donut competition, drivers try to spin their trucks until they get dizzy, the truck can't go any more, or they think they have a good enough score to win.
Side-by-side racing is traditional heads-up tournament racing, where the first truck to cross the finish line moves onto the next round until it is eliminated or wins the Championship race.
The freestyle competition gives drivers 90 seconds, plus a 30 second bonus period, on an open floor to show off their skills as they drive their huge trucks over cars. Drivers perform stunts and tricks that make these massive high-horsepower vehicles appear to dance gracefully across the track. The freestyle competition winner is determined by three judges who each give the driver a score out of a possible 10.
If the same driver who wins racing that night also wins freestyle, they receive the Double Down trophy, named after the Double Down activities in the Las Vegas Monster Jam World Finals. (Source: Wikipedia.com)
To shop for cheap Monster Jam tickets, visit BuyAnySeat.com.
About BuyAnySeat.com: An online ticket marketplace, BuyAnySeat.com connects sports, theater and other live entertainment fans to an extensive worldwide network of ticket sellers. The site’s simplified listings and navigational tools enable fans to easily locate, compare and purchase inexpensive, discounted or lower-priced tickets to virtually all advertised sports and entertainment events around the globe. The site, which is PCI-compliant and Norton Secured, also provides customers with a complete Worry-Free Guarantee on all ticket purchases. Based in Denver, Colorado, BuyAnySeat.com is a subsidiary of Denver Media Holdings. For more information, please visit http://buyanyseat.com.

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Jane Yuan and Creative Retail Packaging Pair Up to Develop Branding, Packaging & Web Design for Simple & Crisp

Seattle based Simple & Crisp, an organic dried fruit crisp company, launches branding, custom packaging and website produced by Creative Retail Packaging.

Seattle, WA (PRWEB) January 02, 2013
Simple & Crisp, an organic, gluten-free dried fruit crisp, has hit the marketplace in full swing with branding, custom packaging and a website created by Creative Retail Packaging. Chief Pairing Purveyor Jane Yuan, chief editor of the lifestyle news site Seattleite.com, created Simple & Crisp with the desire to offer healthier options to entertain guests, as well as satisfy different dietary needs. Her vision of introducing fruit crisps as a gourmet serving vessel and cracker alternative was brought to life with CRP, a design and custom packaging company located in Seattle.
“When I first visited CRP, I knew I had a product with potential.” recounts Yuan. “After meeting with them, I realized that potential was even greater than I imagined, and I felt excited to move forward with my brand.”
CRP Creative Director Cole Johnston was equally motivated by Yuan’s ideas and felt inspired to work alongside her to jumpstart her brand. “Jane had a very unique and compelling vision for Simple & Crisp. Our job was to take her passion and turn it into a tangible brand experience,” explains Johnston. “After our initial meeting, we all left inspired with a clear direction for the brand.”
Yuan spoke with a representative at Whole Foods, attended the Natural Products Expo, and traveled to New York to gain inspiration. She shared her fruit crisps with friends, local restaurant owners, sometimes even complete strangers, gathering feedback about the crisps themselves and whether or not consumers would be interested in her product.
“I knew my close friends enjoyed them, but I wasn’t sure if they were simply being gracious,” says Yuan. “I needed unbiased feedback from people I didn’t know who would challenge my vision. This process played an integral role in confirming that I was on the right path.”
Yuan sought to promote Simple & Crisp as the “perfect pairing” for the social, yet health-conscious entertainer. The crisps are “the perfect pairing” for items such as cheese, chocolate, champagne, and countless other foods and beverages – an ideal culinary companion for healthy entertaining. One of the biggest sources of inspiration for Yuan was the unique and eye-catching retail experience in New York’s Dean & Deluca. “For me, design aesthetic and presentation are very important qualities. I wanted Simple & Crisp to be something that people are proud to buy and serve – so much so, that they would feel comfortable putting the package on their table as they entertained,” explains Yuan.
“With a background in public relations and a true passion for her product, Jane was the perfect spokesperson for her brand. This ended up playing an important role in the overall branding and packaging design for Simple & Crisp,” says Johnston.
The main considerations that Yuan communicated to CRP were that the packaging had to be airtight and structurally sound, while also showcasing the product in a unique and visually appealing manner.
Yuan chose a hexagonal prism not only for its structural integrity but for its ownable geometric shelf presence. To highlight the natural beauty and integrity of the fruit, Yuan added die-cut windows to showcase the fruit crisps from multiple vantage points.
“The process of taking the dielines CRP had drawn and making prototypes out of them played a vital role in solving the packaging challenges I faced. The crisps look beautiful in the packaging, and I am very pleased with the end result,” says Yuan.
Yuan and CRP also worked together to design the Simple & Crisp website. The site’s main purpose is to provide interactive information about the product and its “perfect pairings” as well as to serve as a point of purchase for consumers. Similar to the packaging, the design features a clean white background with colorful product photography, showcasing the fruit crisps as the main attraction.
For Yuan, the functionality of the site was as important as the design. “The revealing effect of the navigation panel encourages customers to uncover sources for culinary inspiration and creativity,” explains Yuan. “As Chief Pairing Purveyor, I am constantly on the lookout for new ways to pair our crisps with unique foods and beverages. Our site is meant to act as a motivational tool for people looking to entertain in exciting, unconventional settings.”
Simple & Crisp products are available at Whole Foods stores in Washington and Oregon, nationally at Dean & Deluca and Opensky.com or online at the company’s website http://simpleandcrisp.com. The company utilizes organic ingredients. Owner and Chief Pairing Purveyor Jane Yuan sources the fruit at the peak of perfection and oversees the manufacturing and distribution from her Seattle facility.
Creative Retail Packaging is a Houston-based company with over 30 years of experience in the design and sourcing of custom retail packaging. The company’s Design division specializes in brand development, graphic and web design. CRP has offices in Seattle, Houston, and Chicago, and operates three regional warehouses across the United States.

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NewsWatch Features ProCamera HD on it's National Television Show as Part of AppWatch

NewsWatch, a nationwide television show, recently aired a news segment about “ProCamera HD”, a new camera app. The segment aired as part of “AppWatch”, a weekly review of the top apps in the marketplace.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) January 03, 2013
NewsWatch, a nationwide television show, recently aired a news segment about “ProCamera HD”, a new camera app. The segment aired as part of AppWatch, a weekly review of the top apps in the marketplace.
ProCamera is a full-featured 5-in-1 app that has still camera and video, photo editing tools, social networking support, and camera related utilities. ProCamera sets the standard as the most professional camera app with its high-end features and has gotten numerous awards. ProCamera HD for iPad was released recently as the first full-featured iPad camera replacement app and has been a big success worldwide.
Included in the new app, users have access to: ProCamera Lightbox to save, export and delete photos within the app; QuickFlick for going immediately to albums and settings; 100% stability and blazing fast performance; adjustable capture format, including 16:9, 4:3, 3:2, 1:1,; and Anti-Shake Image Stabilizer for photo and video.
ProCamera HD also comes with professional editing capabilities. Using the Pro Lab Studio users can make real-time tonal curve correction; as well as adjust brightness, contrast, gamma, saturation, color temperature, and shadows.
For more information or to download the “ProCamera HD” app, head to their iTunes Page.
About Cocologics

Cocologics is a professional startup and has become the technological leader for mobile photography software on iOS. Committed to sustainability, Cocologics develops cutting-edge software solutions, which meet the highest demands in quality, aesthetics and simplicity.
NewsWatch is a weekly 30-minute consumer oriented television show that airs on the ION Network Thursday mornings at 5:30am across the nation. NewsWatch regularly features top travel destinations, health tips, technology products, medical breakthroughs and entertainment news on the show. A recent addition to NewsWatch, AppWatch is a weekly segment that provides viewers app reviews and game reviews of the latest and hottest apps and games out on the market for iOS and Android devices. The show airs in 180 markets nationwide as well as all of the top 20 broadcast markets in the country, and is the preferred choice for Satellite Media Tour and Video News Release Distribution.
For more information, head to http://www.newswatchtv.com. To watch more NewsWatch segments, visit the YouTube Channel, http://www.Youtube.com/TVConsumerWatch.

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GM recalls more than 69,000 vehicles that could roll away

(Reuters) - General Motors Co is recalling more than 69,000 full-size trucks and vans globally that could roll away after being parked due to a potential steering column defect, the automaker said on Friday.
The vehicles may have been built with a fractured park lock cable or a malformed steering column lock actuator gear, and could roll away after the driver has exited the vehicle, according to documents filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
GM said most of the affected vehicles are believed to be still on dealer lots or in transit to dealers. It said it was not aware of any crashes or injuries related to the defect.
Only about one in 1,000 of the recalled vehicles are expected to have the defect, it said.
About 55,000 of the vehicles in the recall are in the United States, 6,310 are in Canada and 7,084 are exports, GM said. Another 670 are in Mexico.
Affected vehicles include certain 2013-model Cadillac Escalade, Escalade EXT and Escalade ESV SUVs; Chevrolet Express vans, Silverado and Avalanche pickup trucks, and Tahoe and Suburban SUVs; and GMC Savanna vans, Sierra pickup trucks, and Yukon and Yukon XL SUVs, GM said.
If the steering column defect is present, a driver could shift from "park" while the key is removed from the ignition or the key is in the "off" position, GM said. The transmission also could be shifted out of "park" with application of the brake pedal while the key is in the "off" position, or the key may be rotated to the "off" position and removed while the shifter is not in "park."
GM said the steering column will be replaced if necessary at no cost to the vehicle owner. Letters are expected to be mailed to vehicle owners alerting them to the recall beginning January 22.

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Canada jobless rate at 4-year low even as growth slows

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's economy created far more jobs than expected in December and the jobless rate slid to a four-year low, bolstering the likelihood of a central bank interest rate rise later this year.
The economy added 39,800 jobs in December from November, Statistics Canada said on Friday, well above market expectations for 5,000 jobs and surpassing even the most bullish forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts.
In a report that appeared at odds with other figures pointing to sluggish growth, Statscan said the unemployment rate dipped to 7.1 percent from 7.2 percent in November.
It was the third surprisingly strong jobs report over the past four months and contrasted with the situation in the United States, where non-farm payrolls rose a disappointing 155,000 last month.
Analysts expected little Canadian hiring in December, ahead of a recent deal by U.S. lawmakers and the White House to avert potentially crippling austerity measures due to take effect early this year.
"My initial response is not only are they defying expectations, they are defying gravity," Doug Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, said of the Canadian jobs numbers.
Canada has recovered all the jobs lost during the 2008-09 recession, although hiring has been unsteady as businesses fret about headwinds from the United States and Europe.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said those headwinds could mean more "bumps in the road" for the Canadian economy and people should not get too excited by a single month's data.
However, he noted that employment has been growing steadily for several years.
"We have more Canadians working today than ever before and we are one of the very few advanced industrial economies that can say that," Harper told reporters.
The Bank of Canada does not formally target employment and inflation has been below its 2 percent target. But the strength of the jobs market suggests the economy entered 2013 in a stronger position than other economic indicators have suggested.
"I don't think the bank will be in any rush to do anything. But it likely means they'll keep a mild hawkish bias in place," said Porter.
The Bank of Canada has held rates at 1 percent since September 2010, but has insisted for the past several months that the next move will be up, not down.
Most primary securities dealers surveyed by Reuters expect a move in the fourth quarter of this year.
Overnight index swaps, which trade based on expectations for the central bank's key policy rate, showed that traders increased bets on a rate increase in late 2013 after the employment report.
The Canadian dollar rallied after the data and at 1:20 p.m. (1820 GMT) was at $0.9866 to the U.S. dollar, or $1.0137, compared with C$0.9880, or $1.0121, at Thursday's North American close.
Another Statscan report on Friday showed producer prices fell 0.3 percent in November from October as gasoline and other fuel prices fell. Raw materials prices slid 1.9 percent. Both indices were down from a year earlier.
TOO GOOD TO LAST
Taking their cue from the U.S. jobs data, analysts forecast the latest trend of Canadian job creation would not continue.
According to Statscan, the economy churned out 59,300 jobs in November, the equivalent of 534,000 in the United States, and outsized gains in September and August. October saw a lull.
"There is still a sense that the levitation act on jobs can't continue for much longer," said Mark Chandler, head of fixed income and currency strategy at Royal Bank of Canada.
"There's still some doubt cast around these numbers even though they look solid in all the details."
Statscan's household survey tends to be volatile from month to month, so analysts prefer to look at the six-month trend, which showed average job gains of about 26,000.
In 2012 as a whole, employment grew by roughly the same amount as in 2010, 1.8 percent, or 312,000 jobs. That was up from 1.1 percent in 2011, but weaker than the pace of growth in the pre-recession years of 2006 and 2007.
Most of the details in the December report were positive. All the gains were in full-time jobs and most were in the private sector.
Employment gains were spread across goods-producing and services sectors, with the strongest hiring in transportation and warehousing, construction and health care and social assistance.
"It is very tough to reconcile this with a lot of the other indicators we are seeing on the economy, but we have to accept the numbers as presented. Almost every aspect of this report was strong," said Porter.
(Additional reporting by Alex Paterson in Ottawa and Cameron French, Andrea Hopkins, Julie Gordon and Alastair Sharp in Toronto; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Janet Guttsman and Andre

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Canada meets key aboriginal demand amid blockades

 Canada's prime minister will meet with native leaders next week to discuss social and economic issues, an olive branch to an angry aboriginal movement that has blockaded rail lines and threatened to close Canada's borders with the United States.
Stephen Harper made no mention of the aboriginal protests in a statement on Friday announcing the January 11 meeting.
But the meeting is a key demand from native Chief Theresa Spence, who has been on a hunger strike for 25 days on an island within sight of the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa.
Spence's spokesman Danny Metatawabin told reporters, on the snowy ground outside her traditional teepee, that she would continue her hunger strike until she was satisfied with the outcome of next week's meeting.
Spence's hunger strike has been one of the most visible signs of a protest movement called Idle No More, which had announced plans for blockades on Saturday all along the U.S.-Canadian border.
It was not clear if these blockades would now be called off, or if there would be any disruptions at the border crossings between the two big trading partners.
The movement is not centrally organized, and Metatawabin said he would not tell others what to do. Several hours after Harper's announcement, the Idle No More website still had a call up for blockades on Saturday.
Demonstrators blocked a Canadian National Railway Co line in Sarnia, Ontario, for about two weeks until Wednesday, and there were shorter blockades elsewhere in the country, including one that delayed passenger trains between Montreal and Toronto for several hours on Sunday.
Harper said next Friday's meeting would address economic development, aboriginal rights and the treaty relationship between the government and native groups. He described it as a follow-up to a meeting with aboriginal leaders last January as well as talks in November with Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo.
"While some progress has been made, there is more that must be done to improve outcomes for First Nations communities across Canada," Harper said in a statement.
DISMAL CONDITIONS
Many of Canada's 1.2 million aboriginals live on reserves where conditions are often dismal, with high rates of poverty, addiction and suicide.
Treaties with Ottawa signed a century ago finance their health and education in a way that many experts say is now dysfunctional.
Speaking to reporters in Oakville, Ontario, Harper sidestepped a question on whether he had agreed to the meeting because of Spence's hunger strike and fear the protests could snowball like last year's Occupy Movement.
Asked about the demonstrations, he said: "People have the right in our country to demonstrate and express their points of view peacefully as long as they obey the law, but I think the Canadian population expects everyone will obey the law in holding such protests."
Idle No More was sparked by legislation that activists say Harper rushed through Parliament without proper consultation with native groups and which affects their land and treaty rights. But it has broadened into a complaint about conditions in general for native Canadians.
In her meeting with reporters after Harper's announcement, Spence said she planned to attend the meeting in person along with three of her supporters and she wanted the governor general - Queen Elizabeth's representative - and the Ontario premier to attend as well.
She stood flanked by her daughter and several supporters, some of them holding up feathers. There were several minutes of drumming and singing before she and her spokesman began talking.
When asked what she needed to hear from the prime minister in order to start eating again, she said, "a positive result because there's a lot of issues we need to discuss" and that they should discuss the issues as equal partners.

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Report says Armstrong may confess to doping, though move could have cons and benefits

AUSTIN, Texas - Lance Armstrong is reportedly considering a change in course, dropping his years of denials and admitting that he used performance-enhancing drugs.
The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported late Friday that Armstrong has told associates he is thinking about the move.
However, Armstrong attorney Tim Herman says that the cyclist hasn't reached out to USADA chief executive Travis Tygart and David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
USADA stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles last year and issued a report portraying the cyclist as the leader of a sophisticated doping operation on his winning teams.
A USADA spokeswoman declined comment on Saturday while Howman was quoted by the Sunday Star-Times in New Zealand, where he is vacationing, saying Armstrong has not approached his group.

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Lance Armstrong may admit he used banned drugs: NY Times

 Lance Armstrong, the American cyclist at the center of the biggest doping scandal in the sport's history, may admit he used performance-enhancing drugs during his career, the New York Times reported in Saturday's editions, citing unidentified sources.
Such an admission would be a stunning reversal for Armstrong, who has vehemently denied doping for years.
The Times reported that Armstrong, 41, has told associates and anti-doping officials he may make the admission in hopes of persuading anti-doping officials to allow him to resume competition in athletic events that adhere to the World Anti-Doping Code, under which Armstrong is currently subject to a lifetime ban.
Asked if Armstrong might admit to doping, Armstrong's lawyer Tim Herman told the Times: "Lance has to speak for himself on that."
The newspaper, citing an unidentified person briefed on the situation, said Armstrong has been in discussions with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and met with Travis Tygart, the agency's chief executive.
The paper, citing the same source, said Armstrong is also seeking to meet with David Howman, the director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Armstrong's lawyer denied his client had talked with Tygart, according to the Times.
Howman said in a statement the agency had read "with interest" media accounts of Armstrong's possible intention to confess.
"To date, WADA has had no official approach from Mr. Armstrong or his legal representatives, but - as with anyone involved in anti-doping violations - it would welcome any discussion that helps in the fight against doping in sport," Howman said.
A spokeswoman for the USADA declined to comment.
An October 10 report from the USADA citied Armstrong's involvement in what it characterized as the "most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen," involving anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, blood transfusions and other doping.
Less than two weeks later, Armstrong's seven Tour de France victories were nullified and he was banned from cycling for life after the International Cycling Union ratified the USADA's sanctions against him.
Wealthy supporters of Livestrong, the charity Armstrong helped found, have been seeking to convince Armstrong to come forward to clear his conscience and spare the organization from further damage, the Times reported, citing a person with knowledge of the situation.
But an official with Livestrong said the group was unaware of any pressure on Armstrong by organization donors to admit anything, and declined to comment further.
Calls to Armstrong's attorney and Capital Sports & Entertainment, which represents Armstrong, were not returned on Saturday.
Austin, Texas-based Livestrong was launched in 2003 by the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which the cyclist founded in 1997, a year after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. In October, he stepped down from his post as chairman of the board, saying he did not want the doping controversy to affect the organization. A few weeks later, he quit the board outright.
World Anti-Doping rules permit under certain circumstances penalties for admitted dopers to be reduced.

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Confess? Armstrong may not have much to gain

Lance Armstrong may be considering a change in course, dropping his years of denials and admitting that he used performance-enhancing drugs — though whether such a move would help him is uncertain.
The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported late Friday that Armstrong has told associates he is thinking about the move.
However, Armstrong attorney Tim Herman says that the cyclist hasn’t reached out to USADA chief executive Travis Tygart and David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
A USADA spokeswoman declined comment on Saturday, while Howman was quoted by the Sunday Star-Times in New Zealand, where he is vacationing, saying Armstrong has not approached his group.
USADA stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles last year and issued a report portraying the cyclist as the leader of a sophisticated doping operation on his winning teams.
Public confessions and apologies have been the route of redemption for several athletes who have gotten in trouble.
For example, Tiger Woods said he was sorry for cheating on his wife in televised speech, and baseball slugger Mark McGwire eventually admitted to steroid use. Yet Armstrong faces serious legal entanglements those megastars didn’t, and a confession to doping could end up complicating matters for Armstrong — not making them easier.
The U.S. Department of Justice is considering whether to join a federal whistle-blower lawsuit filed by former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis alleging fraud against the U.S. Postal Service during the years the agency sponsored Armstrong’s teams.
A Dallas-based promotions company has also said it wants to recover several million dollars paid to Armstrong in bonuses for winning the Tour de France. And the British newspaper The Sunday Times is suing to recover about $500,000 paid to Armstrong to settle a libel lawsuit.
Armstrong has testified under oath that he never used performance-enhancing drugs, which could theoretically lead to charges if he confessed. Former U.S. track star Marion Jones spent several months in federal prison for lying to investigators about her drug use.
And after so many years of vehement denials and sworn statements that he never doped, at this point, what would Armstrong gain from a confession? There would be no guarantee that his personal sponsors would return or that the public would accept it.
Is the public even interested in an Amrstrong confession?
Gene Grabowski, executive vice president of Levick, a Washington, D.C.-based crisis and issues management firm, said “it may be too little, too late because he’s been denying it for so long.”
A confession would only work to salvage Armstrong’s reputation if he accepted full responsibility and blamed no one else, Grabowski said. And it would have to include some public act of atonement.
“If he does all three, he has a shot,” Grabowski said. “You have to show people you are willing to pay a price.”
The New York Times reported the 41-year-old Armstrong may be considering a confession in an attempt to reduce his lifetime ban from cycling and Olympic sport so he can return to competing in triathlons and elite running events.
Armstrong lost most of his personal sponsorship worth tens of millions of dollars after USADA issued its report and he left the board of the Livestrong cancer-fighting charity he founded in 1997. He is still worth about a reported $100 million.
Livestrong might be one reason to issue an apology. The charity supports cancer patients and still faces an image problem because of its association with its famous founder.
And if Armstrong did confess, the corporate sponsors who abandoned him might support him again, Grabowski said.
“They’ll do what the public does,” Grabowski said.
Betsy Andreu, the wife of former Armstrong teammate Frankie Andreu, was one of the first to publicly accuse Armstrong of using performance-enhancing drugs.
She dismissed a potential confession from Armstrong as self-serving and too late.
“Sorry, your chance is over. You’re banned for life. It’s not with an asterisk, that because you are Lance Armstrong you get to come back,” Andreu said. “He does not belong in sport.

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FDA proposes sweeping new food safety rules

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Friday proposed the most sweeping food safety rules in decades, requiring farmers and food companies to be more vigilant in the wake of deadly outbreaks in peanuts, cantaloupe and leafy greens.
The long-overdue regulations could cost businesses close to half a billion dollars a year to implement, but are expected to reduce the estimated 3,000 deaths a year from foodborne illness. Just since last summer, outbreaks of listeria in cheese and salmonella in peanut butter, mangoes and cantaloupe have been linked to more than 400 illnesses and as many as seven deaths, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The actual number of those sickened is likely much higher.
The FDA's proposed rules would require farmers to take new precautions against contamination, to include making sure workers' hands are washed, irrigation water is clean, and that animals stay out of fields. Food manufacturers will have to submit food safety plans to the government to show they are keeping their operations clean.
Many responsible food companies and farmers are already following the steps that the FDA would now require them to take. But officials say the requirements could have saved lives and prevented illnesses in several of the large-scale outbreaks that have hit the country in recent years.
In a 2011 outbreak of listeria in cantaloupe that claimed 33 lives, for example, FDA inspectors found pools of dirty water on the floor and old, dirty processing equipment at Jensen Farms in Colorado where the cantaloupes were grown. In a peanut butter outbreak this year linked to 42 salmonella illnesses, inspectors found samples of salmonella throughout Sunland Inc.'s peanut processing plant in New Mexico and multiple obvious safety problems, such as birds flying over uncovered trailers of peanuts and employees not washing their hands.
Under the new rules, companies would have to lay out plans for preventing those sorts of problems, monitor their own progress and explain to the FDA how they would correct them.
"The rules go very directly to preventing the types of outbreaks we have seen," said Michael Taylor, FDA's deputy commissioner for foods.
The FDA estimates the new rules could prevent almost 2 million illnesses annually, but it could be several years before the rules are actually preventing outbreaks. Taylor said it could take the agency another year to craft the rules after a four-month comment period, and farms would have at least two years to comply — meaning the farm rules are at least three years away from taking effect. Smaller farms would have even longer to comply.
The new rules, which come exactly two years to the day President Barack Obama's signed food safety legislation passed by Congress, were already delayed. The 2011 law required the agency to propose a first installment of the rules a year ago, but the Obama administration held them until after the election. Food safety advocates sued the administration to win their release.
The produce rule would mark the first time the FDA has had real authority to regulate food on farms. In an effort to stave off protests from farmers, the farm rules are tailored to apply only to certain fruits and vegetables that pose the greatest risk, like berries, melons, leafy greens and other foods that are usually eaten raw. A farm that produces green beans that will be canned and cooked, for example, would not be regulated.
Such flexibility, along with the growing realization that outbreaks are bad for business, has brought the produce industry and much of the rest of the food industry on board as Congress and FDA has worked to make food safer.
In a statement Friday, Pamela Bailey, president of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents the country's biggest food companies, said the food safety law "can serve as a role model for what can be achieved when the private and public sectors work together to achieve a common goal."
The new rules could cost large farms $30,000 a year, according to the FDA. The agency did not break down the costs for individual processing plants, but said the rules could cost manufacturers up to $475 million annually.
FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said the success of the rules will also depend on how much money Congress gives the chronically underfunded agency to put them in place. "Resources remain an ongoing concern," she said.
The farm and manufacturing rules are only one part of the food safety law. The bill also authorized more surprise inspections by the FDA and gave the agency additional powers to shut down food facilities. In addition, the law required stricter standards on imported foods. The agency said it will soon propose other overdue rules to ensure that importers verify overseas food is safe and to improve food safety audits overseas.
Food safety advocates frustrated over the last year as the rules stalled praised the proposed action.
"The new law should transform the FDA from an agency that tracks down outbreaks after the fact, to an agency focused on preventing food contamination in the first place," said Caroline Smith DeWaal of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

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