Nor did the shots reduce the amount of the AIDS virus in the blood when people who'd been vaccinated later became infected, the National Institutes of Health said.

"It's disappointing," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. But, "there was important information gained from this" study that will help determine what to try next.

The study had enrolled 2,504 volunteers, mostly gay men, in 19 cities since 2009. Half received dummy shots, and half received a two-part experimental vaccine developed by the NIH. All were provided free condoms and given extensive counseling about the risks for HIV.

It's a strategy known as "prime-boost." A DNA-based vaccine made with genetically engineered HIV material is given to prime the immune system to attack the AIDS virus. Then a different vaccine, encasing the same material inside a shell made of a disabled cold virus, acts as a booster shot to strengthen that response. Neither vaccine could cause HIV.

The idea: Train immune cells known as T cells to spot and attack the very earliest HIV-infected cells in someone's body. The hope was that the vaccine could either prevent HIV infection, or help those infected anyway to fight it.

A safety review this week found that slightly more study participants who had received the vaccine later became infected with HIV. It's not clear why. But the difference wasn't statistically significant, meaning it may be due to chance. Overall, there were 41 HIV infections in the vaccinated group and 30 among placebo recipients. When researchers examined only participants diagnosed after being in the study for at least 28 weeks long enough for the shots to have done their job there were 27 HIV infections among the vaccinated and 21 among the placebo recipients.

The NIH said Thursday that it is stopping vaccinations in the study, known as HVTN 505, but that researchers will continue to study the volunteers' health.

Josh Robbins, 30, of Nashville, Tenn., is among the participants who became infected. He said he's glad he was in the study, because its close monitoring meant he was diagnosed and treated much sooner than most people and he's feeling great and because the findings help science.

"We've got to keep moving forward," Robbins said. The study "certainly can lead us down a new direction to hopefully find something that might work."

Multiple attempts at creating an AIDS vaccine have failed over the years. A 2009 study in Thailand is the only one ever to show a modest success, using a somewhat different prime-boost approach. Newer research suggests another approach to try creating powerful antibodies that could work a step earlier than the T-cell attack, before HIV gets inside the first cell.

Both approaches need continued research funding, said Mitchell Warren of the international AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition.

"Clearly an AIDS vaccine remains critical," he said.

___

Online:

NIH Q&A: http://www.niaid.nih.gov/news/QA/Pages/HVTN505qa2013.aspx

It was their first ever win over a New Zealand side a week after they were thrashed 72-10 at home by the Waratahs.

That dismal performance lacked passion and brutally exposed their inexperience in their maiden year of Super Rugby.

But Saturday's victory - set up by outstanding loose-forward play from Luke Watson, Wimpie van der Walt and Cornell du Preez - was a complete turnaround. They were more physical, better organised and showed greater precision with their set-pieces.

Two tries from Watson and further scores by Du Preez and Shaun Venter gave the hosts a try-scoring bonus point, while the Highlanders came away with two points after they also ran in four tries via Colin Slade (two), Brad Thorn and Hosea Gear.

"We got absolutely pumped last week but it was still almost a full house tonight so a lot of credit must go to the crowd," said Kings captain Watson.

"We showed a lot of character and courage. We haven't got much to lose. We had to take some risks and it paid off,"

After taking a 6-3 lead through the boot of flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis, the Kings got the opening try after Watson burrowed over.

GREAT TRY

The Highlanders hit back with a great individual try of their own, flyhalf Slade chipped the ball in behind the Kings defence and collected it himself before diving over under the posts.

The momentum was with the visitors at that point and when Thorn barged over to score the Highlanders had the lead.

But they could not hold it into the break, with Watson scoring his second try from a driving maul to give the Kings a 20-17 advantage at halftime.

The home side took control of the game in the first 15 minutes of the second period with two more tries.

Good footwork from Catrakilis allowed Du Preez to go over in the corner, with Tamati Ellison sin-binned for repeated infringements in the lead-up to the try.

The bonus-point was won after a great piece of individual skill from Kings hooker Bandise Maku, who broke free into the Highlanders 22 and flicked the ball back as he was tackled into the path of Venter.

That score put the home side 17 points ahead, but there were some late jitters when Slade scored his second try and Hosea Gear got a bonus-point for the visitors to close the gap to seven.

The Highlanders had all the possession for the final five minutes of the game, but could not complete the comeback.

"We played into their strengths by giving them penalties. It is pretty frustrating but we have seven days to regroup before we play the Bulls," Highlanders captain Andrew Hore said. (Reporting by Nick Said in Cape Town; Editing by Ken Ferris)

Three-times major winner Singh was initially found by the PGA Tour to have breached the sport's doping rules after using a spray, which contains a banned substance, to treat an injury but he was later cleared of any wrongdoing after winning an appeal.

He filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the State of New York on Wednesday, and issued a statement saying the PGA Tour had damaged his reputation.

"I am proud of my achievement, my work ethic and the way I live my life," Singh said in the statement.

"The PGA Tour not only treated me unfairly, but displayed a lack of professionalism that should concern every professional golfer and fan of the game."

Although he never failed a drugs test, Singh was deemed to have breached golf's rules on doping when he told Sports Illustrated earlier this year he had used deer antler spray to address knee and back problems.

The spray was found to have contained small extracts of IGF-1, a growth hormone on the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) list of prohibited substances.

The PGA Tour notified Singh on February 19 that he would be banned for 90 days following his admission but the Fijian appealed, saying he was unaware the spray contained any banned substances.

He was cleared last week when WADA informed the PGA Tour the use of deer antler spray was not prohibited unless a positive test resulted.

Singh, a 34-times winner on the PGA Tour, is in the field for this week's Players Championship which starts on Thursday.

DUTY OF CARE

Singh's lawyers said on Wednesday the PGA Tour violated its duty of care by suspending the golfer without properly investigating the case.

"The PGA Tour could have known by conducting some basic testing and research, the product that Singh sprayed contained no active biological ingredient and could not possibly have provided any performance enhancement," Singh's attorney, Peter R. Ginsberg, said in a statement.

"The PGA Tour has now finally admitted that the use of deer antler spray is not prohibited.

"Rather than performing its duties to golfers first, and then determining whether there had been any violation of the anti-doping program, the PGA Tour rushed to judgment and accused one of the world's hardest working and most dedicated golfers of violating the rules of the game."

The lawsuit said that Singh was seeking damages "for the PGA Tour's reckless administration and implementation of its anti-doping program" after exposing the Fijian "to public humiliation and ridicule for months."

Ty Votaw, the PGA Tour's executive vice president of communications and international affairs, told Reuters by e-mail: "We have not seen the lawsuit, just the statement. We have no comment."

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, speaking to reporters on Tuesday ahead of this week's Players Championship at the TPC Sawgrass, said: "Any doping case you learn something.

"There are several things here that we're focused on, most of them procedurally. We think we have a pretty good system in place right now. We have a pretty good comfort level."

With regard to the Singh case, Finchem said: "The fact is that WADA changed the ballgame. The game is over, pure and simple. Players understood that, end of story, really."

Singh, 50, was ranked number one in the world on three separate occasions between 2004 and 2005. He also won three majors: the 2000 Masters and the 1998 and 2004 PGA Championship.

Renowned for his workaholic approach to the game, the Fijian has battled assorted health problems in recent years, especially with his back.

The PGA Tour launched its anti-doping program in 2008 and the variety of sanctions could include disqualification, a one-year suspension for a first violation, up to five years for a second violation and a lifetime ban for multiple violations, plus fines up to $500,000.

Since the program was launched, American journeyman Doug Barron is the only player who has been suspended for a violation. Barron, then 40, was banned for one year in November 2009 for taking a performance-enhancing drug.

(Reporting by Julian Linden in New York and Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank Pingue)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The California Supreme Court dealt a blow to the state's faltering medical-marijuana industry on Monday by ruling that local governments may outlaw dispensaries that sell the federally banned drug.

The unanimous opinion, which comes as elected officials across the nation grapple with regulating a growing medical pot industry, upheld a ban the southern California city of Riverside enacted on pot shops in 2010.

California's highest court concluded that nothing in California law preempts the authority of the state's cities and counties from using their authority to "allow, restrict, limit, or entirely exclude facilities that distribute medical marijuana."

The case pitted Riverside against the Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center, a medical-pot dispensary it has sought to shut down. The decision allows the city to use its power to shutter all marijuana stores.

California became the first state in the nation to approve medical marijuana 17 years ago, but some residents have complained that pot stores blight their neighborhoods. Court papers show more than 180 California cities and counties have imposed bans on marijuana dispensaries.

The seven justices agreed with Jeffrey Dunn, the city of Riverside's attorney, who argued in oral arguments on the case in February that California legislation on medical pot in no way diluted local governments' ability to regulate land use.

The dispensary's attorney, J. David Nick, had argued that a 2003 law setting out rules governing medicinal pot, as well as subsequent amendments, directed municipalities to regulate, not prohibit, dispensaries.

In Monday's decision, the justices described state laws as "incremental steps toward freer access to medical marijuana." But they said the law did not "mandate that local jurisdictions permit such activities."

The District of Columbia and 18 states currently allow pot as medicine. Washington state and Colorado legalized it for recreational use in November, though federal law continues to classify cannabis as an illegal narcotic.

The conflicting state and federal laws have set up confrontations in some states that allow medical marijuana. U.S. prosecutors in California began using civil-forfeiture laws last year to threaten to seize properties in which dispensaries operate, forcing scores of evictions and dispensary shutdowns.

After the federal government cracked down on the world's largest dispensary, the city of Oakland sued the government in an effort to allow Harborside Health Center to continue selling marijuana to its 100,000 patients.

Steve DeAngelo, director of Harborside, bemoaned Monday's ruling. "The court's decision will force patients to obtain cannabis from gangs and cartels instead of from licensed dispensaries, needlessly exposing those patients, and the communities they live in, to potential harm," he said.

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Richard Chang)

Marc Gasol scored 24 points and Zach Randolph added 15 as the visiting Grizzlies out-scored the Thunder 30-19 in the fourth quarter. Game Three is in Memphis on Saturday.

Kevin Durant had 36 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in another big performance for Oklahoma City. Derek Fisher tallied 19 points and went 4-for-5 from three-point range, but the Thunder were hurt by 21 turnovers.

The Grizzlies took a 92-90 lead when Conley drained a three-pointer with 1:58 to play and he followed that up by knocking down an 18-footer with 1:04 left and a free throw with 29.4 seconds remaining to make it a five-point game.

Randolph hit two free throws and Tony Allen slammed home a dunk to cap a 10-0 run and give Memphis a 99-90 advantage.

Gasol had 17 first-half points as Memphis took a 54-51 lead into the break. Durant scored 13 points in the third quarter as Oklahoma City held the Grizzlies to 15 points and led 74-69 entering the final stanza.

(Editing by John O'Brien)

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite indexunofficially closed up 58.35 points, or 0.47 percent, at 12,379.64.

(Reporting by John Tilak; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Home Automation Hound is thrilled to have Lutron join in its efforts of providing consumers with relevant, educational, comparative information about the home automation industry. George Borghi, CEO of Home Automation Hound, shared, “Everyone wins! Lutron has another platform to connect to consumers, their dealers gain a powerful marketing tool, and consumers get smarter about controlling their environments and saving energy. We love that Lutron has partnered with us in telling their story.”

Lutron is equally excited about its involvement with Home Automation Hound. John Hewson, Residential Marketing Manager at Lutron, said, “Home Automation Hound not only enables homeowners to educate themselves on the full suite of solutions that Lutron provides for any size home, any level of integration, and any stage of construction, it also provides a way to connect them to the best integrators that will exceed their expectations."

Lutron now has a dedicatedat HAH complete with an engaging educational content and product information as well as tools to find Lutron professionals and answers to more technical inquiries.

About Home Automation Hound

Home Automation Hound is the first comprehensive and impartial website for learning about home automation, comparing products, and searching for trained and certified integration professionals. The site includes a rich selection of videos, system comparison data, customer reviews, articles and search tools to help homeowners find the best home automation systems and service providers in their area. Having become the #1 search result for “Home Automation Los Angeles,” Home Automation Hound continues to expand its services nationally. For more information visit .

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Founded in 1961, Lutron Electronics is headquartered in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, in the heart of the Lehigh Valley. From dimmers for the home, to lighting management systems for entire buildings, the company offers more than 17,000 energy-saving products, sold in more than 100 countries around the world. In the US alone, Lutron products save an estimated 10 billion kWh of electricity, or approximately $1 billion in utility costs per year. The company’s early inventions— including the first solid-state dimmer invented by Lutron’s founder, Joel Spira—are now at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. For more information visit .

Lily BorghiHome Automation Hound646-429-0888

Armstrong was banned for life and stripped of his seven Tour de France titles by the International Cycling Union (UCI) in October after USADA found that he had taken performance enhancing drugs throughout his career.

The USADA report into Armstrong's doping also alleged that the UCI had not done everything in their power to catch the former rider, who later admitted to cheating.

The UCI pledged to look into the past and set up an independent commission to investigate the allegations, only to disband it weeks later in favor of a broader "truth and reconciliation process" that has yet to start.

Speaking before a French Senate committee investigating doping on Thursday, Tygart, the man behind Armstrong's fall, repeated the accusations and said that the UCI was trying to "play a stall game".

In reply to Tygart, the UCI said on Friday that USADA and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) were also to blame for the dismantling of the independent commission.

"It's all very well Mr Tygart talking about cooperation, but let's not forget that the Independent Commission was only disbanded because of USADA's and WADA's point-blank refusal to cooperate with it," the UCI said in a statement.

"Simply, the UCI was left with no choice but to close it down; it made no sense to go forward without the participation of these two bodies."

The Swiss-based body also suggested others had been to blame for the failure to catch Armstrong sooner.

"One can only assume that their refusal to cooperate with the Independent Commission was due to their fear that their own shortcomings would be exposed," the statement said.

"After all, USADA and WADA also tested Armstrong over many years and also failed to catch him. It was only with the benefit of the US Federal Investigation that USADA was finally able to gain evidence of Armstrong's doping."

(Writing by Gregory Blachier; Editing by Patrick Johnston)

The "Little House on the Prairie" star married the former "Thirtysomething" star on Wednesday in Santa Barbara,reported.

According to Melissa's rep, the "Dancing with the Stars" alum, 48, and Timothy, 55, wed "in a private ceremony at San Ysidro Ranch."

This marks the third marriage for both actors.

Melissa is a mom of two and Timothy, who now also directs, has three kids.

Copyright 2013 by . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

One out later, Matt Holliday singled. Carlos Beltran walked. Yadier Molina delivered a two-run single. And then a throwing error on Daniel Descalso's grounder padded the score.

Just like that, 23 pitches in, the Cardinals built a three-run lead against Strasburg's Washington Nationals. And that, pretty much, was enough. On the strength of that half-inning, the Cardinals beat the Nationals 4-2 Wednesday to complete a sweep and give Washington's All-Star ace the only four-start losing streak of his young career.

"It was good to get on Strasburg early," Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma said. "That's what we were trying to do from the get-go."

Jaime Garcia (2-1) allowed a run on Harper's sixth-inning groundout, but otherwise added to the offensive struggles of the Nationals, who have lost six consecutive home games and nine of their last 12 overall to fall to 10-11.

With his team averaging 2.9 runs over its past dozen games, Washington manager Davey Johnson said he would insert bench player Steve Lombardozzi in the lineup Thursday against Cincinnati and make other changes to the batting order.

"We're just not doing the things we're capable of doing right now," Johnson said. "It'll change, but I'm going to have to jumble things up a little bit. Try to light a fire."

The Nationals produced only four runs in this three-game set, a rematch of the 2012 NL division series won by St. Louis.

"We feel pretty comfortable against them," Kozma said.

Needing to be nearly perfect given Washington's lack of offense, Strasburg (1-4) improved considerably after that 12-minute first inning. Getting ahead in the count, he threw 110 pitches over seven innings, giving up no other runs and a total of five hits, along with seven strikeouts.

"I was trying to throw the perfect pitch. I tell myself going into the game, 'Don't do that.' And I go out there and I do it," said Strasburg, who hasn't won since opening day against Miami. "So I was really happy I was able to make the adjustment, get the feeling back. My velocity came back up, I was throwing a lot more strikes, and they weren't taking as good swings."

That initial inning, though, was precisely the sort of "scratch and claw" offense that Cardinals manager Mike Matheny spoke about before the game.

"People hate our 'small ball' theory," Matheny said, "but when we're not banging balls into the stands every single night, we've got to do other things, whether people like it or not."

His club used that style to add an insurance run in the eighth off Drew Storen who blew a ninth-inning lead against St. Louis in Game 5 in October on Holliday's chopped single that didn't leave the infield.

"The thing that the Cardinals did is, they've got their boppers in the middle, but then they've got guys like Descalso and (Shane) Robinson and Kozma," Strasburg said. "They grind you out. They're not going to give in. They're not just going to strike out."

The Nationals, meanwhile, went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position. Trying to generate something for Washington's slumbering offense, Ian Desmond bunted for a base hit with one out in the second, then stole second and advanced to third on a flyout to the warning track. But rookie third baseman Anthony Rendon struck out to end the inning.

Strasburg actually was the one who got Washington going at the plate, grounding a single up the middle to lead off the sixth. Denard Span followed with a single, and Jayson Werth's groundout moved the runners up for Harper. He grounded out to second, but at least that got Strasburg home to make it 3-1.

A walk to Tyler Moore ended Garcia's day after one run and four hits in 5 2-3 innings. Righty Joe Kelly entered to face Desmond, who struck out swinging, then flung his bat and helmet.

In the seventh, a pair of singles put runners at the corners with one out, but Kelly got out of that jam when pinch-hitter Lombardozzi struck out and Jhonatan Solano, taking off from first on a hit-and-run, was thrown out at second by catcher Molina.

Werth's fourth homer, off Trevor Rosenthal in the eighth, gave Washington its second run. But that was too little to stop the Nationals from dropping below .500 for the first time since finishing the 2011 season 80-81.

"Somebody said last night it feels like we're 0-20. But it's not that bad. We're only one game under .500, and it's April. We'll be all right," Werth said. "What we're going through: It's the first time this team has dealt with expectations, and there's something to be said about that. But we'll adjust."

NOTES: Cardinals RHP Edward Mujica threw a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save of the series and fourth of the season. ... Cardinals CF Jon Jay was out of the starting lineup for a second consecutive game, but singled as a pinch hitter in the eighth and stayed in to play center. ... The Cardinals are off Thursday, before opening a three-game series at home against the Pirates. On Friday, Cardinals RHP Lance Lynn (3-0, 3.68 ERA) starts against LHP Jonathan Sanchez (0-2, 11.12).

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Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich