Tabitha Berg

MIAMI, Fla. -- The "deathbed" portrait of Fidel Castro that outraged Cuban exiles everywhere in part for a scheduled display in Miami this weekend has been replaced with "Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston." The renowned nude of Britney Spears giving birth atop a bearskin rug appears at Fountain Miami, courtesy of Capla Kesting Fine Art, from December 7th to 11th in Wynwood Gallery district during Art Basel Miami.

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Ascentia Biomedical Corporation ("Ascentia") (OTC Pink Sheets: ASCE) today announced that, effective November 28, 2006, it has completed the acquisition of all the outstanding common stock of Fortress Technology Systems, Inc. ("Fortress"), pursuant to a share exchange agreement. Ascentia acquired all of the outstanding shares of Fortress common and preferred stock in exchange for 254,531,004 shares of Ascentia common stock and 8,000,000 shares of Ascentia Series A Preferred Stock.

READING, Pa. -- Millions of Americans report feeling stress and depression during the Holidays. Greg Schweitzer, founder of Stress Reduction Resources, says the biggest sources of stress over the holidays revolve around the "Big Five:" Finances, health, family, time, and gift-giving. Many people let unrealistic expectations rob them of a joyous Christmas.

SANDPOINT, Idaho -- A new book from Logical Expressions, Inc. aims to demystify the often-confusing world of ecommerce. In "Web Business Success: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Web Sites That Work" (ISBN: 978-0-9749245-0-2; LCCN-2006909228) authors James Byrd and Susan Daffron share practical tips and strategies to help business owners make good choices when they put a Web site online.

SEDONA, Ariz. -- On the 10th Anniversary of Native Voices Foundation, the board held an election and celebrated some "phenomenal" progress for Indian youth. As newly elected Co-Chairman, Gary Lake (Shasta Vice Chair) said, "A single tribe cannot get their youth to the Olympics, but together we can." "Thanks to key leaders of Indian Country uniting behind the Indian Olympic Bid, these dreams for their youth are within their grasp," according to re-elected Co-Chair, Suzy Chaffee, an Olympic skier.

DENVER, Colo. -- Denver-based IDEAVIZ, a subsidiary of Artist Rendering, Inc., is making an impact for a diverse range of businesses by using innovative 3D visualization and animation technology to bring new ideas to fruition. Since 2002, Artist Rendering, Inc. has worked with real-estate developers and architects in visualizing their future projects through high-impact 3D renderings and animations.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Gen-9, Inc. announced today that, as a result of a recent Microsoft announcement restricting the use of the 2007 Microsoft Office User Interface to non-competing products, Gen-9 will be no longer be implementing the 2007 Microsoft Office User Interface in NOAH. Gen-9 was one of the first companies to implement the new interface in one of its products. The 2007 Microsoft Office compliant components utilized in NOAH were supplied by one of Gen-9's licensed component vendors.

RESTON, Va. -- nPulse Networks LLC, a leading integrator of hardware acceleration tools for open-source network monitoring and security applications, and Napatech Inc, the world's leading vendor of high-performance, programmable Ethernet network adapters, today announced they are entering into an OEM agreement enabling nPulse Networks to use Napatech adapters in delivering their advanced network appliances to the market.

ATLANTA, Ga. -- M2SYS Technology announced today it has formed a relationship with Kodak's Dental Systems Group to integrate M2SYS' patent-pending fingerprint software into the KODAK ORTHOTRAC Practice Management Software. As a result, Kodak's customers will be able to secure sensitive patient information and comply with HIPAA requirements, while improving productivity and user experience by eliminating the time, hassle, and headache associated with password management.

WHIPPANY, N.J. -- For the first time, health care professionals and consumers can benefit from the comfort and convenience of silicone heel cups and wedges, as well as a complete selection of insoles, constructed with anti-microbial top covers. Together with its newest line of silicone foot orthotics, foot care innovator GEL SMART is introducing Fabric Smart(TM) anti-microbial top covers, which eliminate the odor problems of conventional textiles used in foot inserts.