499-Launching in Latin America is proving not as easy as Netflix Inc. had hoped. At an investor conference Wednesday in New York hosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co., Netflix Chief Financial Officer David Wells said his company is trying various ways to improve its prospects in the 43 Latin American countries where it launched last year. Growth in the region has been slower than the subscription video company expected or that it experienced in its other foreign markets: Canada, Great Britain and Ireland.

404-Have we returned to the '90s? Spongebob is on television, Tupac's back on tour and NetZero's still offering free Web access. The Internet provider whose free dial-up service was once ubiquitous made headlines in March when it introduced two gadgets - a $50 USB stick and $100 MiFi-like device - that create portable 4G hotspots. The allure lies in the cost structure: no contracts and lower price points.

379-By Kate O'Hare    May 13, 2012 9:00 AM ET "Facebook: Justin Bieber," www.facebook.com/JustinBieberPop sensation Justin Bieber is one of many artists and bands whose Facebook pages are taking advantage of the new Listen button, which gives fans an easy way to listen to music through their favorite playback services -- such as Spotify and MOG -- directly from Facebook pages.

494-A Brooklyn jury yesterday convicted a grandmother in the death of her 4-year-old granddaughter - two days after another jury needed just one hour to convict the child's mother of murder.Loretta Brett shared a bedroom with the sickly Marchella as she was starved and strapped with a jump-rope to her tiny SpongeBob bed by her mom, Carlotta Brett-Pierce."Once again, we are satisfied with the verdict," prosecutor Jacqueline Kagan said. "People who stand by and watch have to be held responsible.

454-Snoeptomatenteler Jos van Mil: "Heeft gratis groenten en fruit weggeven wel zin?" Promotie van groenten en fruit vanuit de overheid is een goede zaak. Dat stelt Jos van Mil, teler van de snoeptomaatjes Tommies, in de nieuwe editie van ketenmagazine CHAIN. Hij vraagt zich wel hardop af of gratis weggeven zinvol is. In de nieuwste editie van CHAIN, die vrijdag 11 mei verschijnt, geven vier schakels in de keten hun mening over het nut van kidsmarketing.

451-Promotie van groenten en fruit vanuit de overheid is een goede zaak. Dat stelt Jos van Mil, teler van de snoeptomaatjes Tommies, in de nieuwe editie van ketenmagazine CHAIN. Hij vraagt zich wel hardop af of gratis weggeven zinvol is. In de nieuwste editie van CHAIN, die vrijdag 11 mei verschijnt, geven vier schakels in de keten hun mening over het nut van kidsmarketing. Met Tommies heeft Van Mil daar al enkele jaren gerichte ervaring mee opgedaan.

478-Gregory P. MangoMarchella Brett-Pierce, 4-years-old. Her mother Carlotta Brett-Pierce was convicted today in the little girl's starving death. That didn't take long.A Brooklyn jury needed all of one hour today to convict a mouthy monster mom of beating, starving and drugging her 4-year-old daughter, Marchella, to death.Carlotta Brett-Pierce showed no reaction as she was pronounced guilty, then popped off as a judge ordered her to have no contact with her two surviving kids.

472-Make her pay - for Marchella.A Brooklyn prosecutor today made an impassioned plea for jurors to convict Carlotta Brett-Pierce of murder in the brutal death of her daughter Marchella, saying the alleged monster mom "made it happen.""Marchella was a fighter," Jacqueline Kagan told a jury in her closing argument. "She fought hard to survive, fought hard to live and she lost her fight to her mother."Now, you fight for her."Marchella was four years old and weighed just 18.

304-Fifth-grader Gustavo Reyes mouths words into a classroom computer as his "papi" does the same thing."I'm learning with them," his 53-year-old father says.The elder Gustavo Reyes, who has been in America for 20 years, is making the effort to learn more than basic English to keep up with his two children.

488-Children who watch the most television have worst eating habits, study finds By Randy DotingaHealthDay Reporter MONDAY, May 7 (HealthDay News) -- Kids who spend lots of time in front of the TV have poorer diets overall, a new study of U.S. middle school students finds. The research doesn't prove that TV watching has anything to do with what kids eat, and other factors -- such as parenting style -- could be more important than time spent with "American Idol" or "SpongeBob SquarePants.

390-I'm just about fed up with these children. If you've been paying attention to their latest shenanigans, you ought to be fed up with them, too. Statistics show that not only are legions of them impoverished, malnourished, beset by violence and poorly educated, but we now have it from multiple sources that some of these little monsters are putting their sexy moves on men. Good, decent men.

490-Nickelodeon's ongoing ratings woes were the talk of Viacom's fiscal second-quarter earnings call, as executives faced a litany of pointed questions about the network's under-deliveries. Speaking to analysts in a Q&A session Thursday, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman acknowledged Nickelodeon's difficulties, reiterating his earlier assertion that at least some of the declines can be chalked up to "ratings measurement issues." (Nielsen emphatically denies any inconsistencies in its methodology.

456-NEW YORK-Viacom, the home of such shows as "SpongeBob Squarepants" and "Jersey Shore," is reporting its financial results for the latest quarter.Analysts say they believe the media giant will post higher earnings and revenue, despite shrinking audiences at its key pay TV networks, Nickelodeon and MTV.The report comes before the market opens on Thursday.Analysts have flagged signs of smaller audiences at Viacom networks as measured in Nielsen's ratings.

362-BY JOHN JANNARONE Best known for getting laughs, Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob SquarePants" has become a wet blanket. After 13 years on the air, the cartoon about a talking sponge is losing its hold on children. The average number of viewers aged 2 to 11 watching Spongebob at any given time dropped 29% in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to Nielsen.

413-Netflix (NFLX) viewership for certain television shows is rising at a time when ratings for the cable TV stations that gave birth to those programs are falling. Ironically, this is not news Netflix investors should celebrate. This sort of success is a serious threat to Netflix's livelihood. As YCharts has discussed here before, Netflix lives in an awkward world where competitors control access to its products.