NKorea likely to get cold shoulder at Asia forum

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (AP) ? A regional security summit in this tiny Southeast Asian sultanate is the sort of venue where North Korea has often managed to open up sideline discussions with Seoul and Washington. This time, while there will be plenty of talk about Pyongyang, there is little chance of substantive talk with it.

North Korea has sought negotiations with the U.S. and South Korea but has ignored their demands that it first honor prior commitments to move toward nuclear disarmament. At high-level diplomatic talks beginning this weekend, it can expect the cold shoulder from those countries and others frustrated by Pyongyang's insistence on developing nuclear weapons.

After a December long-range rocket launch, a February nuclear test and weeks of threats to defend itself from aggression with nuclear strikes against South Korea and the United States, North Korea earlier this month made a surprise offer for separate talks with its rivals.

Government delegates from the two Koreas met and agreed to hold senior-level talks on non-nuclear issues, but the plan collapsed over a protocol dispute. The United States responded coolly to Pyongyang's appeal for direct negotiations, which some analysts view as a familiar effort to win aid in return for ratcheting down tensions.

"While it is certainly preferable for North Korea to pursue diplomatic rather than missile or nuclear tests, all of North Korea's neighbors by now are well aware of North Korea's history of diplomatic initiatives as just another tool through which North Korea has sought to consolidate gains following periods in which North Korean brinkmanship has driven political tensions to high levels," Scott Snyder, a Korea specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, wrote in a blog post.

North Korea quit disarmament-for-aid talks with five other nations ? South Korea, the U.S., Japan, Russia and China ? in 2009 to protest international condemnation over a long-range rocket launch.

He added that agreeing to hold talks with the North "and come back to the table as though nothing has changed since the last six-party talks were held in 2008 would imply acceptance" of Pyongyang's rocket launches and nuclear tests.

Whether or not Washington and its allies ignore Pyongyang's diplomats, North Korea's atomic aspirations are on the agenda in talks surrounding the 27-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, which takes place Tuesday in the Bruneian capital of Bandar Seri Begawan.

A draft of the forum chairman's statement provided to The Associated Press said that the meetings would reaffirm the importance of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, and that most participants urged North Korea "to abide by its obligations" under U.N. Security Council resolutions and commitments made in a joint statement following six-party talks in 2005.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his counterparts from South Korea, China and Japan will attend the forum and could hold private meetings that touch on Pyongyang.

On Saturday, North Korea's longtime foreign minister, Pak Ui Chun, departed Pyongyang for Brunei. He was seen off at the airport by Liu Hongcai, China's ambassador to North Korea. Beijing is Pyongyang's biggest ally but has pushed its neighbor on denuclearization.

Because the ASEAN forum gathers diplomats from all six countries involved in the long-stalled disarmament negotiations it has previously provided a chance to use informal, sideline talks to break stalemates over the nuclear issue.

In 2011, top nuclear envoys from the two Koreas met on the sidelines of the forum in Bali, Indonesia, and agreed to work toward a resumption of the six-nation talks, though the negotiations remain stalled. The Koreas' foreign ministers held sideline talks in 2000, 2004, 2005 and 2007, and top diplomats from Pyongyang and Washington also met privately in 2004 and 2008.

North Korea will likely seek similar talks in Brunei, but South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young told reporters Tuesday that officials from Seoul aren't considering meeting the North Korean foreign minister on the sidelines. In Washington, State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said Monday that he knew of no discussions planned between Kerry and Pak in Brunei, and that such talks would be "fairly unusual."

Analysts said North Korea appeared to be repeating its pattern of following aggressive rhetoric with diplomatic efforts to get outside aid and concessions.

Chang Yong Seok, an analyst at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University, said Pyongyang must do something to show it's refraining from continuing nuclear activities, such as announcing some disarmament steps, if it wants to have talks.

Despite its recent bid for diplomacy, North Korea has raised renewed worries about a nuclear program that outsiders estimate to include a handful of crude nuclear bombs. Pyongyang followed up its February nuclear test, its third since 2006, with an announcement that it planned to restore all of its atomic bomb fuel producing facilities. The latest test drew widespread international condemnation and tightened U.N. sanctions, which subsequently led the North to issue a torrent of warlike threats and sharply raise tensions on the divided peninsula.

Recent satellite photos show signs of new tunnel work at North Korea's underground nuclear test site, the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies said in an analysis Tuesday. The analysis said it doesn't appear to indicate another atomic blast is imminent but suggests the country has continued to work on its nuclear weapons program even as tensions eased.

Other issues expected to draw keen media attention in Brunei include South China Sea territorial disputes and relations between the U.S. and China, the world's two biggest economies.

China has territorial disputes with the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia over the South China Sea and its potentially oil- and gas-rich islands. Several claimants want group discussions in order to create a legally binding "code of conduct" to prevent clashes in the sea, but Beijing has not clearly stated when it will sit down with the 10-nation ASEAN bloc to discuss such a nonaggression pact.

China prefers one-on-one negotiations with each rival claimant to resolve the territorial dispute, something that would give it an advantage because of its size and clout.

Southeast Asian countries believe that "having bilateral negotiations with a strong guy would be a losing game," said Bae Geung-chan, a professor at the state-run Korea National Diplomatic Academy in Seoul.

The regional forum chairman's statement said ministers welcome efforts to work toward a code of conduct, and commended ASEAN nations and China for their work to maintain peace and stability.

Analysts say China and the U.S. probably won't have sensitive talks in Brunei that could change their relations. Their leaders recently held an unusually lengthy informal summit in California, during which both countries expressed optimism that the closer personal ties forged between the leaders could stem the mistrust between the world powers.

During the summit, President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, were in broad agreement over the need for North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons, according to U.S. officials.

___

Associated Press writers Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, and Kim Kwang Hyon in Pyongyang, North Korea, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nkorea-likely-cold-shoulder-asia-forum-095914963.html

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Gay marriage opponents ask court to intervene

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Less than 24 hours after California started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, lawyers for the sponsors of the state's gay marriage ban filed an emergency motion Saturday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and stop the weddings.

Attorneys with the Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom claim in the petition that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals acted prematurely and unfairly on Friday when it allowed gay marriage to resume by lifting a hold it had placed on same-sex unions while a lawsuit challenging the ban made its way to and through the Supreme Court.

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Austin Nimocks says a three-judge 9th Circuit panel acted prematurely and unfairly when it lifted a hold on same-sex marriages it had put in place while a legal challenge to the voter-approved ban made its way through the courts.

Nimocks says the Supreme Court's consideration of the case is not done yet because his clients still have 22 days to ask the justices to reconsider their decision holding that Proposition 8's backers did not have legal authority to defend the ban.

The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for gay marriage to return to the nation's most populous state by ruling 5-4 on Wednesday that the sponsors of California's voter-approved ban on same-sex unions lacked authority to defend the measure in court.

Also Wednesday, the Supreme Court overturned the federal law that prevented the government from awarding federal benefits to same sex couples.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gay-marriage-opponents-ask-court-intervene-210730914.html

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 28th, 2013 at 10:43 am and is filed under Knowledge Base. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.ibuyhomedmv.com/blog/smarter-in-minutes-real-estate-investors-college-2/

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Chopped Recap: Climbing and Cooking

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/chopped-recap-climbing-and-cooking/

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Watchdog warns of waste in Afghan aircraft buy

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Pentagon is spending more than three-quarters of a billion dollars to buy Russian-made helicopters and other aircraft for an Afghan aviation unit that lacks the troops and expertise to operate and maintain the equipment, a government watchdog warned.

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said in a report Friday these shortcomings mean the helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft destined for the Afghan Special Mission Wing "could be left sitting on runways in Afghanistan, rather than supporting critical missions, resulting in waste of U.S. funds." The report recommended putting the purchases on hold until the Afghans develop the capacity to support the aircraft.

The findings are sure to reverberate on Capitol Hill, where there is stiff opposition to the purchase of the Mi-17 helicopters from Rosoboronexport, the state-run Russian arms exporter that is a top weapons supplier to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Pentagon announced June 17 that Rosoboronexport had been awarded a $554 million contract for 30 Mi-17s to be used by the Special Mission Wing, a move that came just days after the House approved a 2014 defense policy bill that included a prohibition on contracts with the Russian agency. The Senate Armed Services Committee included a similar ban in its version of the bill.

The defense policy bill for 2013 also barred the Pentagon from using funds from that fiscal year for contracts with Rosoboronexport. But the Pentagon said money from the 2012 fiscal year was being used for the Mi-17 acquisition, so the restriction does not apply.

A Defense Department spokesman said there was an "urgent, near-term need" to buy the wing the Mi-17s, a multimission aircraft designed to operate at high altitudes and uniquely suited for the wing.

"Careful consideration of all the information available to the department confirms that it would be in the public interest to procure the Mi-17s needed for the (wing) from Rosoboronexport," Army Lt. Col. Jim Gregory said in a statement.

In addition to the Mi-17s, the Pentagon is spending $218 million on 18 PC-12 cargo aircraft from the Sierra Nevada Corp. of Sparks, Nev., to allow the Special Mission Wing to perform counterterrorism and counternarcotics missions, the report said.

The special inspector general is recommending the purchase be suspended until the wing's staffing, recruiting and training problems are resolved. Chief among them is finalizing a memorandum of understanding between the Afghan interior and defense ministries that would give the military control of the wing. But the document remains unsigned due largely to the interior ministry's "resistance to surrendering authority" over the wing, according to the report.

Michael Dumont, the deputy assistant defense secretary for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia, said in comments included in the report that delaying the purchase of the aircraft until the agreement was signed "would unacceptably delay our efforts to develop the (wing) into a capable force."

The wing was to have 806 personnel by mid-2015, but as of late January had just 180, according to the report.

Filling out the wing's ranks won't be easy, the report said, due to challenges of finding Afghan recruits who are literate in their own language, competent in English and can pass the strict, 18- to 20-month U.S. vetting process that includes eliminating candidates who have ties to criminal or insurgent activities.

The flow of Afghan trainees from helicopter flight training at Fort Rucker, Ala., to more intense training in the Czech Republic "has been slow and uneven, ranging from a low of two up to eight trainees at a time," according to the special inspector general.

The report blamed a lack of steady funding for the training from the Defense Department, failed background checks for prospective pilots and flight engineers, and the Czech government's requirement that each Afghan trainee have a certificate signed by Afghan authorities.

Compensation, especially for mechanics, is another barrier to recruitment because Afghans with a basic command of English are in high demand and can get higher pay elsewhere, the report said.

Another key shortcoming is the dearth of pilots capable of flying at night, when most counterterrorism missions are conducted. As of late January, only seven of the 47 pilots assigned to the wing were fully mission qualified to fly with night vision goggles, the report said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/watchdog-warns-waste-afghan-aircraft-buy-040249401.html

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Observation for prostate cancer questioned in blacks

By Andrew M. Seaman

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - African American men with very low-risk prostate cancer may not do as well with a wait-and-see treatment approach as white men, suggests a new study.

Researchers found that black men who had their prostates removed soon after being diagnosed with low-risk cancer were more likely to have the severity of their cancer upgraded based on a doctor's second look, compared to their white counterparts.

"It's known that outcomes for African Americans with prostate cancer are less good. That's a known fact," said Dr. Edward Schaeffer, the study's senior author from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

"This study's number one highlight is that because of that observation, we don't think you should just recommend active surveillance," he told Reuters Health.

The American Cancer Society estimates about one in six U.S. men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, and one in 36 will die of the disease.

About 20 percent of cancers are very low-risk and it's recommended that doctors use "active surveillance" among men who are expected to live for less than 20 years, write Schaeffer and his colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

With active surveillance, the prostate cancer is closely monitored but not treated. That allows men to avoid the potential side effects of radiation and surgery, such as incontinence and impotence. It also gives doctors a chance to intervene if the cancer worsens.

But the data used to advise doctors on who the best candidates are for active surveillance are based on studies that included mostly white men. Therefore, the guidelines may not apply to black men, who are known to have worse prostate cancer outcomes, researchers said.

For the new study, Schaeffer and his colleagues analyzed data on 256 black men, 1,473 white men and 72 men of other races who were diagnosed with very low-risk prostate cancer after 1992.

The men all had their prostates surgically removed at Johns Hopkins Hospital soon after they were diagnosed.

The researchers then looked at what doctors actually found when they removed the men's prostates and whether there were any differences in cancer characteristics between black men and white men.

Overall, about 27 percent of black men ended up having worse cancers than doctors originally thought, compared to about 14 percent of white men.

Researchers also found more black men had cancers that were likely to return after they were removed.

What's more, additional research from Schaeffer and his colleagues, published in The Journal of Urology, found that black men tend to have larger tumors located in areas of the prostate that aren't easily accessible for doctors to biopsy.

"If you have an African American man with very low-risk prostate cancer, our recommendation at this time is that they strongly consider a MRI of their prostate (to look for these tumors)," Schaeffer said.

Theresa W. Gillespie, who was not involved with the new research but has studied prostate cancer in black men, said the new study alone won't change existing treatment guidelines.

She added, however, that it sheds light on the fact that medical research needs to include more African Americans to get better population-based guidelines.

"We need to have more African Americans involved in research. All of the studies that were cited? the number of African Americans involved in those studies ? are very small numbers," Gillespie, from the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, told Reuters Health.

Schaeffer said the new findings need to be validated in other groups and that his team is currently working on additional research.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1503i9c Journal of Clinical Oncology, online June 17, 2013 and The Journal of Urology, online June 14, 2013.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/observation-prostate-cancer-questioned-blacks-204834012.html

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Neighbor testifies about Martin-Zimmerman fight

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) ? A neighbor of George Zimmerman who had perhaps the best view of the struggle between the neighborhood watch volunteer and Trayvon Martin testified at Zimmerman's murder trial Friday that it appeared the unarmed teen was straddling Zimmerman during their confrontation.

However, Jonathan Good said he did not see anyone's head being slammed into the concrete sidewalk, which Zimmerman has said Martin did to him. Good initially testified that it appeared "there were strikes being thrown, punches being thrown," but during detailed questioning he said he saw only "downward" arm movements being made.

Zimmerman has claimed that he fatally shot 17-year-old Martin last year in self-defense as the Miami-area teen was banging his head into the concrete sidewalk behind the townhomes in a gated community.

But under prosecution questioning, Jonathan Good said he never saw anyone being attacked that way during the fight between Zimmerman and Martin.

"I couldn't see that," Good said moments later while being cross-examined.

Good, the second person to take the witness stand Friday, said he heard a noise behind his townhome in February 2012, and he saw what looked like a tussle when he stepped out onto his patio to see what was happening.

He said he yelled, "What's going on? Stop it."

Good testified he saw a person in black clothing on top of another person with "white or red" clothing. He said he couldn't see faces but it looked like the person on the bottom had lighter skin. Martin was black and was wearing a dark hoodie. Zimmerman identifies as Hispanic and was wearing a red jacket.

"It looked like there were strikes being thrown, punches being thrown," Good said.

Later, under cross-examination, he said that it looked like the person on top was straddling the person on bottom in a mixed-martial arts move known as "ground and pound." When defense attorney Mark O'Mara asked him if the person on top was Martin, Good said, "Correct, that's what it looked like."

Good also said the person on the bottom yelled for help.

During cross-examination, O'Mara got on his knees to recreate the fighting as he asked Good to walk him through it.

Good was in the middle of dialing 911 inside his townhome when he heard a gunshot, he said.

Zimmerman, 29, could get life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder. Zimmerman followed Martin in his truck and called a police dispatch number before he and the teen got into a fight.

Zimmerman has denied the confrontation had anything to do with race, as Martin's family and their supporters have claimed.

Before Good testified, a worker at a video surveillance company that maintains cameras at the townhome community took the witness stand. A prosecutor played two videos from surveillance cameras; one showed what looks like a person walking past a window at the complex's clubhouse, and another showed what looks like someone with a flashlight by the complex's mailboxes.

Greg McKinney said the digital clock on the video is off by 18 minutes, a point O'Mara hammered home by getting McKinney to concede the timing difference was inexact and could be more than 18 minutes.

Jurors already have been shown some of the state's biggest pieces of evidence, including the 911 call featuring cries for help prosecutors believe came from Martin.

On Thursday, a friend of Martin who had been on the phone with him when he was shot testified about what she heard during his confrontation with Zimmerman.

___

Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KHightower

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/neighbor-testifies-martin-zimmerman-fight-142241374.html

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Aerial mosquito spraying study finds no immediate public health risks

Public release date: 27-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Charles Casey
charles.casey@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
916-734-9048
University of California - Davis Health System

UC Davis researchers say emergency room visits remained stable during the last big Sacramento area-wide sprayings for West Nile virus

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) In what researchers say is the first public health study of the aerial mosquito spraying method to prevent West Nile virus, a UC Davis study analyzed emergency department records from Sacramento area hospitals during and immediately after aerial sprayings in the summer of 2005. Physicians and scientists from the university and from the California Department of Public Health found no increase in specific diagnoses that are considered most likely to be associated with pesticide exposure, including respiratory, gastrointestinal, skin, eye and neurological conditions.

The study evaluated emergency room visits in Sacramento County hospitals on days that pesticides were sprayed as well as the three days following spraying.The study appears in the May-June 2013 issue of Public Health Reports.

This week, mosquito control officials said the region's recent rainstorms and warming temperatures have increased stagnant water and favorable conditions for mosquitoes, which will likely magnify the incidence West Nile virus and the risks of human transmission. The mosquito-borne disease first appeared in the state about 10 years ago. It already has been detected in dead birds and mosquitoes in at least 10 counties in recent weeks, including Sacramento and Yolo. However, the adult mosquito population has yet to increase to levels that require aerial spraying over heavily urbanized areas as was done in the Sacramento region in previous years.

"Unfortunately, West Nile virus is endemic in California and the United States, and the controversy of mosquito management will likely arise every summer," said Estella Geraghty, associate professor of clinical internal medicine at UC Davis and lead author of the study. "Findings from studies such as this one help public health and mosquito control agencies better understand the risks and benefits of their practices."

West Nile virus has become an increasingly serious problem throughout the United States and may become more of a threat as the climate warms. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, West Nile virus is the leading cause of viral encephalitis in the United States. The virus is transmitted to humans and animals through the bite of an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected with the virus when they feed on infected birds.

In California around the time of the study -- 2004 and 2005 -- hundreds of people were sickened by West Nile virus and 48 died. Most people exposed to the disease do not have symptoms, but in about 1-in-150 people it can be fatal or result in permanent neurological effects.

The study evaluated emergency room visits in Sacramento County hospitals on days that pesticides were sprayed as well as the three days following spraying. Spraying was done in north Sacramento over three nights, and in south Sacramento over four nights in August 2005. Data were compared with emergency room visits on other days during the same period as well as from nearby areas that were not exposed to aerial spraying.

Emergency room visits were classified by specific diagnostic categories, including respiratory, gastrointestinal, skin, eye and neurologic diseases. Importantly, they found that exposure to aerial spraying was not associated with increased rates of emergency department visits for any of these conditions.

More than 250,000 emergency room visits were analyzed and stratified by 785 diagnostic codes. According to Geraghty, because there were so many data points, statisticians predicted that by chance alone, two conditions would appear to have occurred too frequently or too infrequently. In fact, a type of abdominal hernia was found to occur more often than the background rate during the time of spraying, and death and disease due to unusual causes was found to occur less frequently. The authors concluded that because these conditions have no known plausible biological connection with aerial spraying, the results related to these conditions are indeed likely to have occurred by chance.

Integrated mosquito management -- a method to control mosquitoes through targeted interventions based on mosquito biology that includes surveillance of mosquito activity, reducing breeding sites such as neglected swimming pools, and the killing of larval and adult mosquitoes -- are all used in California to control the spread of mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus. When local methods prove inadequate, aerial spraying is used to rapidly reduce large, adult mosquito populations.

During the time of the study, ultra-low volume of pyrethrin insecticide was used for spraying; the chemical is derived from an African chrysanthemumand acts by blocking chemical signals at nerve junctions in insects. It is the same pesticide used to treat head lice in children and to kill fleas and ticks in pets.

Exposure to the pesticide has been reported to pose risks to human health, including skin and eye irritation, respiratory and gastrointestinal disturbances, lethargy, fatigue and dizziness. According to the UC Davis researchers, the exposure to pyrethrin during the urban aerial sprayings in 2005 was minimal due to the use of ultra low volume technology. Coverage required only about three-quarters of an ounce or less of the chemical per acre.

Geraghty cautioned that potential long-term effects of aerial spraying were not addressed in the study and would be extremely difficult to investigate on human populations. She said it would be worthwhile to reproduce the study for other pesticides and spraying techniques.

###

The article is titled "Correlation between aerial insecticide spraying to interrupt West Nile virus transmission and emergency department visits in Sacramento County, California." Other authors are Peter Franks and Helene Margolis of the UC Davis Center for Healthcare Policy and Research, Anne Kjemtrup of the California Department of Public Health, William Reisen of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

The study was supported in part by a UC Davis, Clinical and Translational Science Center K12 Career Development Award (grant #UL1 RR024146) from the NationalCenter for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health to the lead author, Geraghty.

The Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District provided the aerial spraying data.

UC Davis Health System is improving lives and transforming health care by providing excellent patient care, conducting groundbreaking research, fostering innovative, interprofessional education, and creating dynamic, productive partnerships with the community. The academic health system includes one of the country's best medical schools, a 619-bed acute-care teaching hospital, a 1000-member physician's practice group and the new Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. It is home to a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, an international neurodevelopmental institute, a stem cell institute and a comprehensive children's hospital. Other nationally prominent centers focus on advancing telemedicine, improving vascular care, eliminating health disparities and translating research findings into new treatments for patients. Together, they make UC Davis a hub of innovation that is transforming health for all. For more information, visit http://healthsystem.ucdavis.edu.

---

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 27-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Charles Casey
charles.casey@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
916-734-9048
University of California - Davis Health System

UC Davis researchers say emergency room visits remained stable during the last big Sacramento area-wide sprayings for West Nile virus

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) In what researchers say is the first public health study of the aerial mosquito spraying method to prevent West Nile virus, a UC Davis study analyzed emergency department records from Sacramento area hospitals during and immediately after aerial sprayings in the summer of 2005. Physicians and scientists from the university and from the California Department of Public Health found no increase in specific diagnoses that are considered most likely to be associated with pesticide exposure, including respiratory, gastrointestinal, skin, eye and neurological conditions.

The study evaluated emergency room visits in Sacramento County hospitals on days that pesticides were sprayed as well as the three days following spraying.The study appears in the May-June 2013 issue of Public Health Reports.

This week, mosquito control officials said the region's recent rainstorms and warming temperatures have increased stagnant water and favorable conditions for mosquitoes, which will likely magnify the incidence West Nile virus and the risks of human transmission. The mosquito-borne disease first appeared in the state about 10 years ago. It already has been detected in dead birds and mosquitoes in at least 10 counties in recent weeks, including Sacramento and Yolo. However, the adult mosquito population has yet to increase to levels that require aerial spraying over heavily urbanized areas as was done in the Sacramento region in previous years.

"Unfortunately, West Nile virus is endemic in California and the United States, and the controversy of mosquito management will likely arise every summer," said Estella Geraghty, associate professor of clinical internal medicine at UC Davis and lead author of the study. "Findings from studies such as this one help public health and mosquito control agencies better understand the risks and benefits of their practices."

West Nile virus has become an increasingly serious problem throughout the United States and may become more of a threat as the climate warms. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, West Nile virus is the leading cause of viral encephalitis in the United States. The virus is transmitted to humans and animals through the bite of an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected with the virus when they feed on infected birds.

In California around the time of the study -- 2004 and 2005 -- hundreds of people were sickened by West Nile virus and 48 died. Most people exposed to the disease do not have symptoms, but in about 1-in-150 people it can be fatal or result in permanent neurological effects.

The study evaluated emergency room visits in Sacramento County hospitals on days that pesticides were sprayed as well as the three days following spraying. Spraying was done in north Sacramento over three nights, and in south Sacramento over four nights in August 2005. Data were compared with emergency room visits on other days during the same period as well as from nearby areas that were not exposed to aerial spraying.

Emergency room visits were classified by specific diagnostic categories, including respiratory, gastrointestinal, skin, eye and neurologic diseases. Importantly, they found that exposure to aerial spraying was not associated with increased rates of emergency department visits for any of these conditions.

More than 250,000 emergency room visits were analyzed and stratified by 785 diagnostic codes. According to Geraghty, because there were so many data points, statisticians predicted that by chance alone, two conditions would appear to have occurred too frequently or too infrequently. In fact, a type of abdominal hernia was found to occur more often than the background rate during the time of spraying, and death and disease due to unusual causes was found to occur less frequently. The authors concluded that because these conditions have no known plausible biological connection with aerial spraying, the results related to these conditions are indeed likely to have occurred by chance.

Integrated mosquito management -- a method to control mosquitoes through targeted interventions based on mosquito biology that includes surveillance of mosquito activity, reducing breeding sites such as neglected swimming pools, and the killing of larval and adult mosquitoes -- are all used in California to control the spread of mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus. When local methods prove inadequate, aerial spraying is used to rapidly reduce large, adult mosquito populations.

During the time of the study, ultra-low volume of pyrethrin insecticide was used for spraying; the chemical is derived from an African chrysanthemumand acts by blocking chemical signals at nerve junctions in insects. It is the same pesticide used to treat head lice in children and to kill fleas and ticks in pets.

Exposure to the pesticide has been reported to pose risks to human health, including skin and eye irritation, respiratory and gastrointestinal disturbances, lethargy, fatigue and dizziness. According to the UC Davis researchers, the exposure to pyrethrin during the urban aerial sprayings in 2005 was minimal due to the use of ultra low volume technology. Coverage required only about three-quarters of an ounce or less of the chemical per acre.

Geraghty cautioned that potential long-term effects of aerial spraying were not addressed in the study and would be extremely difficult to investigate on human populations. She said it would be worthwhile to reproduce the study for other pesticides and spraying techniques.

###

The article is titled "Correlation between aerial insecticide spraying to interrupt West Nile virus transmission and emergency department visits in Sacramento County, California." Other authors are Peter Franks and Helene Margolis of the UC Davis Center for Healthcare Policy and Research, Anne Kjemtrup of the California Department of Public Health, William Reisen of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

The study was supported in part by a UC Davis, Clinical and Translational Science Center K12 Career Development Award (grant #UL1 RR024146) from the NationalCenter for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health to the lead author, Geraghty.

The Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District provided the aerial spraying data.

UC Davis Health System is improving lives and transforming health care by providing excellent patient care, conducting groundbreaking research, fostering innovative, interprofessional education, and creating dynamic, productive partnerships with the community. The academic health system includes one of the country's best medical schools, a 619-bed acute-care teaching hospital, a 1000-member physician's practice group and the new Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. It is home to a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, an international neurodevelopmental institute, a stem cell institute and a comprehensive children's hospital. Other nationally prominent centers focus on advancing telemedicine, improving vascular care, eliminating health disparities and translating research findings into new treatments for patients. Together, they make UC Davis a hub of innovation that is transforming health for all. For more information, visit http://healthsystem.ucdavis.edu.

---

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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoc--ams062713.php

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Hernandez headed back to court day after arrest

ATTLEBORO, Mass. (AP) ? In the final minutes of his life, Odin Lloyd sent a series of texts to his sister.

"Did you see who I was with?" said the first, at 3:07 a.m. June 17. "Who?" she finally replied.

"NFL," he texted back, then added: "Just so you know."

It was 3:23 a.m. Moments later, Lloyd would be dead in what a prosecutor called an execution-style shooting orchestrated by New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez because his friend talked to the wrong people at a nightclub. Hernandez was charged Wednesday with murder and could face life in prison, if convicted.

Hernandez was cut from the NFL team less than two hours after he was arrested and led from his North Attleborough home in handcuffs, and nine days after Lloyd's body was discovered by a jogger in a remote area of an industrial park not far from Hernandez's home. The 2011 Pro Bowl selection had signed a five-year contract last summer with the Patriots worth $40 million.

His attorney, Michael Fee, called the case circumstantial during a Wednesday afternoon court hearing packed with reporters, curiosity seekers and police officers. Fee said there was a "rather hysterical atmosphere" surrounding the case and urged the judge to disregard his client's celebrity status as he asked for Hernandez, 23, to be released on bail.

The judge, though, ordered Hernandez held without bail on the murder charge and five weapons counts.

Hernandez was scheduled to appear at a bail review hearing Thursday afternoon in Fall River court, according to Bernie Sullivan, spokesman for the Bristol County sheriff.

On Wednesday, Hernandez stood impassively with his hands cuffed in front of him as Bristol County Assistant District Attorney Bill McCauley laid out a detailed timeline of the events, cobbled together from sources including witnesses, surveillance video, text messages and data from cellphone towers.

Lloyd, 27, a semi-pro football player with the Boston Bandits, had known Hernandez for about a year and was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee, the mother of Hernandez's 8-month-old baby, McCauley said.

On June 14, Lloyd went with Hernandez to a Boston club, Rumor. McCauley said Hernandez was upset Lloyd had talked to people there with whom Hernandez had trouble. He did not elaborate.

Two days later, McCauley said, on June 16, Hernandez texted two unidentified friends. He asked them to hurry to Massachusetts from Connecticut. At 9:05 p.m., a few minutes after the first message to his friends, Hernandez texted Lloyd to tell him he wanted to get together, McCauley said.

Later, surveillance footage from Hernandez's home showed his friends arrive and go inside. Hernandez, holding a gun, then told someone in the house he was upset and couldn't trust anyone anymore, the prosecutor said.

At 1:12 a.m., the three left in Hernandez's rented silver Nissan Altima, McCauley said. Cell towers tracked their movements to a gas station off the highway. There, he said, Hernandez bought blue Bubblicious gum.

At 2:32 a.m., they arrived outside Lloyd's home in Boston and texted him that they were there. McCauley said Lloyd's sister saw him get into Hernandez's car.

From there, surveillance cameras captured images of what the prosecutor said was Hernandez driving the silver Altima through Boston. As they drove back toward North Attleborough, Hernandez told Lloyd he was upset about what happened at the club and didn't trust him, McCauley said. That was when Lloyd began sending texts to his sister.

Surveillance video showed the car entering the industrial park and at 3:23 a.m. driving down a gravel road near where Lloyd's body was found. Four minutes later, McCauley said, the car emerged. During that period, employees working an overnight shift nearby heard several gunshots, McCauley said.

McCauley said Lloyd was shot multiple times, including twice from above as he was lying on the ground. He said five .45 caliber casings were found at the scene.

Authorities did not say who fired the shots or identify the two others with Hernandez.

At 3:29 a.m., surveillance at Hernandez's house showed him arriving, McCauley said.

"The defendant was walking through the house with a gun in his hand. That's captured on video," he said.

His friend is also seen holding a gun, and neither weapon has been found, McCauley said.

Then, the surveillance system stopped recording, and footage was missing from the six to eight hours after the slaying, he said.

The afternoon of June 17, the prosecutor said, Hernandez returned the rental car, offering the attendant a piece of blue Bubblicious gum when he dropped it off. While cleaning the car, the attendant found a piece of blue Bubblicious gum and a shell casing, which he threw away. Police later searched the trash bin and found the gum and the casing. The prosecutor said it was tested and matched the casings found where Lloyd was killed.

As McCauley outlined the killing, Lloyd's family members cried and held each other. Two were so overcome that they had to leave the courtroom.

The Patriots said in a statement after Hernandez's arrest but before the murder charge was announced that cutting Hernandez was "the right thing to do."

"Words cannot express the disappointment we feel knowing that one of our players was arrested as a result of this investigation," it said.

Hernandez, originally from Bristol, Conn., was drafted by the Patriots in 2010 out of the University of Florida, where he was an All-American.

During the draft, one team said it wouldn't take him under any circumstances, and he was passed over by one club after another before New England picked him in the fourth round. Afterward, Hernandez said he had failed a drug test in college ? reportedly for marijuana ? and was up front with teams about it.

A Florida man filed a lawsuit last week claiming Hernandez shot him in the face after they argued at a strip club in February.

Hernandez became a father on Nov. 6 and said he intended to change his ways: "Now, another one is looking up to me. I can't just be young and reckless Aaron no more. I'm going to try to do the right things."

___

Associated Press writers Bridget Murphy in Boston and Howard Ulman in North Attleborough contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hernandez-headed-back-court-day-arrest-132419602.html

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Seed giant Monsanto's fiscal 3Q profit slips 3 pct

Monsanto's fiscal third quarter earnings slipped 3 percent, as hits to the agricultural product maker's cotton and soybean segments weighed on results.

The St. Louis company also said Wednesday that it tried to plant a seed for future growth by eating some drought-related expenses in the recently completed quarter.

Monsanto said the 2012 drought that parched stretches of the United States forced it to use South American greenhouses more to produce corn seeds. That contributed to a 7 percent increase in cost of goods sold in this year's quarter. Monsanto decided to eat the higher expenses tied to seed production instead of passing them along through price hikes.

CEO Hugh Grant told analysts during a Wednesday morning call the company saw that as "an investment in our customer base," one they hope helps customer sentiment and profitability next year.

The move was more than just a public relations stunt, according to Morningstar analyst Jeff Stafford. He said Monsanto has turned off some farmers in the past by introducing new seeds at very high prices.

"They are acutely aware of driving prices year over year and what that means in their relationship with farmers," he said.

Overall, Monsanto earned $909 million, or $1.68 per share, in the quarter ended May 31, down from $937 million, or $1.74 per share, a year ago.

Earnings totaled $1.66 per share, not counting a tax matter resolution.

Revenue inched up less than 1 percent to $4.25 billion. In contrast, Monsanto's revenue had soared 17 percent in last year's quarter when the mild spring that preceded the drought allowed farmers to sow crops earlier.

Analysts expected earnings of $1.61 per share on $4.41 billion in revenue for this year's quarter, according to FactSet.

Several analysts cited a lower tax rate as the main factor behind the better-than-expected earnings.

Monsanto Co. makes seeds for crops like corn, soybean, cotton and wheat and crop protection chemicals like the herbicide Roundup. The agricultural giant produces genetically engineered seeds used by farmers for their pest resistance and ability to produce bigger crops.

Many U.S. farmers credited genetic modifications in corn with saving last year's crop from all but total devastation as half of the nation endured the worst drought in 60 years. But these crops also have drawn criticism from organic food advocates who say they are harmful to people and the environment. Last month, protesters organized "March Against Monsanto" rallies in several countries over genetically modified food.

Monsanto has maintained that its seeds improve agriculture by helping farmers produce more from their land while conserving resources such as water and energy.

Corn, which is used for food, fuel, animal feed and soda syrup, is by far Monsanto's largest unit, and revenue from that segment climbed 3 percent to $1.56 billion in the quarter.

But revenue from its soybean and cotton segments both fell. The company saw fewer acres of cotton planted.

Stafford said Brazilian farmers helped pressure the soybean segment because they stopped paying royalties on a brand of seeds.

Revenue from the company's agricultural productivity segment, which includes herbicides, climbed 9 percent to $1.19 billion.

Monsanto, which has touted its corn seed and international growth prospects, said late last month that it expects earnings growth of more than 20 percent in fiscal 2013 from its on-going businesses. It forecast annual adjusted earnings, which exclude some one-time items, of $4.50 to $4.55 per share and reaffirmed that prediction on Wednesday.

Analysts expect, on average, earnings of $4.58 per share.

Shares of Monsanto fell 56 cents to close at $100.84 Wednesday. Its shares had peaked for the past year at $109.33 in mid-May. Monsanto shares are up 7 percent so far in 2013.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/seed-giant-monsantos-fiscal-3q-profit-slips-3-184619223.html

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Novelicious Chats To... Isabelle Grey - Novelicious.com | The ...

Isabelle Grey is an?author and screen writer and?her new novel, The Bad Mother, is out now. Here's our review.??Isabelle has answered a few questions for our Novelicious readers.

Can you tell us a little about your average writing day??

I prefer to sit down at my desk and get started before my brain is fully awake. Maybe it?s to do with ?left brain/right brain?, but I find that if I pick up where I left off the day before without very much conscious thought about how or where I ?ought? to be going next, it all flows much better. On the same principle, if I get stuck, I go and do some ironing while listening to the radio, and it?s astonishing how often I hear some snippet that sparks just the idea I need! If I run out of steam then I do all the other stuff on my desk that needs attention, and eventually go and stir and chop in the kitchen.

When you are writing, do you use any celebrities or people you know as inspiration??

No, my characters have to be able to run free! However, I do take notes from newspaper and magazine articles or TV documentaries. And I listen in to the conversations of strangers on public transport. As a screenwriter I like to catch the rhythm and humour in how people speak, especially if I?m writing about a specific area of work, when I try to talk to someone who actually does the job. Work jokes are always revealing, especially in the more macabre professions!

What is your favourite Women?s Fiction book of all time and why?

Oh, impossible to answer! Jane Austen, of course. Pride and Prejudice and Emma are peerless, and I love the poignancy of Persuasion. I also love Edith Wharton, Edna O?Brien?s first novels, Daphne du Maurier, and a special, if rather sad, favourite, The Rector?s Daughter by F.M. Mayor.

What is your writing process? Do you plan first or dive in? How many drafts do you do?

I plan quite carefully, but then feel absolutely free to abandon the plan if it isn?t working or a better route presents itself. I stop and take stock about a third of the way in, re-shape the story if necessary, and then keep going. The third draft is usually pretty much there, and it?s my favourite bit of the process, when I begin to feel like I know what I?m dealing with.

What was your journey to being a published author?

I always wanted to write, and became a freelance journalist soon after leaving university. I also wrote several non-fiction books before starting to write television drama nearly thirty years ago. I?ve come to fiction relatively late.

What do you think is the biggest myth about being a novelist?

That it?s glamorous or exciting or necessarily well paid! Watching a novelist at work must be worse than watching paint dry.

What advice can you give to our readers who want to write a novel of their own?

Keep asking endless questions of your story and characters. Why is she like that? What does she want? Why? How is he going to get out of that? What does that signify? What does she really feel about him? Why? What happens now?

What are you working on at the moment?

A couple of TV projects, and also my third book for Quercus, a crime novel called Good Girls Don?t Die.

Thanks, Isabelle!

Source: http://www.novelicious.com/2013/06/novelicious-chats-to-isabelle-grey.html

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Samsung denies giving up on desktop PC tower business

Yesterday, The Korea Times reported that Samsung was to close its "unprofitable" desktop PC business as "demand for conventional desktop PCs is going down," according to an unnamed spokesperson. The weirdly written article also quoted another Samsung official saying "tablets, all-in-one and hybrid PCs are Samsung's current focus," thus suggesting the company seemed to be singling out desktop PC towers or boxes.

Even though it's been a while since some of us last saw a Samsung desktop PC tower (the latest models we covered date back to 2006, though there have been more recent efforts), something didn't smell right here so we reached out to Samsung directly. The response we got was that this rumor is all "groundless," and the company also specifically said it'll keep an open mind about its PC tower business. Here's the full statement:

"The rumor that Samsung is withdrawing from the PC desktop business is groundless. Samsung will continue to offer diverse products according to market needs, including our recently announced ATIV One 5 Style, a stylish all-in-one PC. We will continue to open all possibilities in PC business including our PC Tower business, to satisfy consumer's diverse lifestyle and needs."

So in a nutshell: nothing to see here, move along. And technically speaking, the Chromebox kinda counts too, right?

Update: Samsung just informed us that it actually launched a couple of desktop PC towers, the 700T3A and 300T3A, in January this year, but only for the Korean B2C market. We got them pictured after the break.

Filed under: Desktops

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/25/samsung-desktop-pc-tower-business/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Travis Scott Sets It Straight: 'I'm Not Hip-Hop'

'I don't like categories. I'm an artist,' Scott tells MTV News
By Nadeska Alexis

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709582/travis-scott-hip-hop.jhtml

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Hell Baby Trailer: Watch Now!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/hell-baby-trailer-watch-now/

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Obama leaves Kenya off itinerary for Africa trip

WASHINGTON (AP) ? When President Barack Obama arrives in Africa this week, there will be one notable omission from his travel itinerary: Kenya, the birthplace of his father and home to many of his relatives.

Concerns about Kenya's political situation have trumped Obama's family ties. Kenya's new president is facing charges of crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court, accused of orchestrating the violence that marred the country's 2007 election.

Ahead of Uhuru Kenyatta's victory earlier this year, a top Obama administration official warned Kenyans that their "choices have consequences" ? a remark that now appears prescient given the president's decision to skip a stop in his ancestral homeland.

"The optics of that, of a presidential trip, are not what he wants to be demonstrating right now," said Jennifer Cooke, Africa director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The president will instead visit Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania, all countries that fit more neatly into the democracy and good governance message he'll tout during his weeklong trip. Obama, along with first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha, is scheduled to depart Washington Wednesday morning.

The White House did consider a visit to Kenya when they contemplated an African swing during the president's first term, before Kenyatta's election. That trip never happened, but Obama pledged that he would, in fact, visit Kenya before leaving office.

"I'm positive that before my service as president is completed I will visit Kenya again," he said in a 2010 interview with Kenya's state broadcaster.

White House officials say they respect the right of Kenyans to choose their own leaders. But deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said the U.S. also has "a commitment to accountability and justice."

"Given the fact that Kenya is in the aftermath of their election and the new government has come into place and is going to be reviewing these issues with the ICC and the international community, it just wasn't the best time for the president to travel to Kenya," Rhodes said.

Kenya's government has been muted in its response to the president's decision to leave the county off his itinerary.

"It's for the Americans to decide where Obama goes," spokesman Muthui Kariuki said. "There are 54 nations on the African continent and he's only visiting three, so I don't see the real big deal about not going to Kenya."

But Sam Ochieng, a political activitist who lives in Kibera, Nairobi's largest slum, said the U.S. president was sending a message about Kenya's political problems by putting democratic values ahead of his personal connections.

"It would be a shame for an American president to come to Kenya and shake dirty hands," Ochieng said.

By now, Obama's ties with Kenya are a well-known part of his unique family history. Barack Obama, Sr. was born in the western Kenyan village of Kogelo, moved to the U.S. to study, and met and married the president's mother in Hawaii. He left the family soon after his son was born.

Obama made his first trip to Kenya in 1988, after his father's death, and wrote extensively about the visit in his memoir "Dreams From My Father."

"My name belonged and so I belonged, drawn into a web of relationships, alliances and grudges that I did not yet understand," he wrote.

The president visited Kenya two more times, most recently in 2006 as a freshman senator. He was greeted by cheering crowds in the capital of Nairobi and in Kogelo, where he spent time with his grandmother and visited his father's grave. He and wife Michelle Obama also publicly took HIV tests, part of their campaign at the time to reduce the stigma surrounding the virus.

But Obama's nationally televised speech criticizing the government for failing to curb corruption or instill trust in its people earned him a cold shoulder from Kenya's leadership. Kenya's presidential spokesman said at the time that Obama was ignorant of Kenyan politics and had yet to form an understanding of foreign policy.

Kenya is an important strategic partner for the U.S. in East Africa. But the recent election has complicated the relationship.

Johnnie Carson, who until April served as head of the State Department's Africa bureau, said in the lead-up to this year's election that "choices have consequences," a comment that was viewed as a warning against electing Kenyatta. His remarks were widely criticized as an inappropriate intrusion into a sovereign nation's elections.

Kenyatta, the son of the country's first president, has been charged by the ICC as an "indirect co-perpetrator" for the crimes of murder, deportation, rape, persecution and inhumane acts allegedly committed by his supporters in the aftermath of the 2007 elections. He insists he is innocent of any wrongdoing.

More than 1,000 people were killed in the ethnic violence that followed the flawed 2007 contest.

The ICC has pushed back the start of Kenyatta's trial until Nov. 12. Kenyan deputy president William Ruto will also face similar charges at the international court in September.

___

Associated Press writer Jason Straziuso in Nairobi contributed to this report.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-06-24-US-Obama-Africa/id-bf7abeaa7ab449d4bbef103b32088091

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Colorado school discriminated against transgender girl: report

By Keith Coffman

DENVER (Reuters) - A Colorado school district discriminated against a 6-year-old transgender girl when it barred her from using the girls' lavatory, according to a report by the state's civil rights division released by the family's attorney on Sunday.

Coy Mathis, who was born male but has identified as a female since an early age, attended Eagleside Elementary School, south of Colorado Springs, as a girl since kindergarten.

She was allowed to use the girls' restroom until late 2012, when the principal informed the parents that Coy would have to use the boys' restroom or a gender-neutral staff lavatory.

Her parents withdrew Coy from the school. In February, they filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division.

The division's report, signed by its director, Steven Chavez, said the Fountain-Fort Carson School District violated a state law that extends protections to transgender people.

"Given the evolving research into the development of transgender persons, compartmentalizing a child as a boy or girl solely based on their visible anatomy is a simplistic approach to a difficult and complex issue," the report said.

The report criticized school officials for forcing Coy to "disregard her identity" when using the bathroom.

"It also deprived her of the social interaction and bonding that commonly occurs in girls' restrooms during these formative years, i.e., talking, sharing and laughter," the report said.

Michael Silverman, executive director of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, which filed the complaint, said, "this ruling sends a loud and clear message that transgender students may not be targeted for discrimination and that they must be treated equally in school."

A lawyer for the school district could not be immediately reached for comment.

In a statement issued at the time the case surfaced, the district said the family was unwilling to meet with school officials to discuss "reasonable proposals" to resolve the dispute.

"The parents consistently indicated ... that they would file a discrimination charge if the district did not completely acquiesce to their demands," the statement said.

The school district can appeal the report's findings, Silverman said, but he said he hoped that school officials would accept the findings.

The Mathis family has moved to the Denver area, but Silverman said the ruling should serve as a model for schools nationwide on how to deal with transgender students.

The girl's mother, Kathryn Mathis, who has home-schooled her daughter since the dispute arose, said Coy is eager to return to school.

"All we ever wanted was for Coy's school to treat her the same as other little girls," she said. "We are extremely happy that she now will be treated equally."

(Reporting by Keith Coffman; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Stacey Joyce)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/colorado-school-discriminated-against-transgender-girl-report-051137070.html

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Miley Cyrus Is A 'Skilled Twerker,' And Ying Yang Twins Co-Sign!

D-Roc and Kaine explain why they consider the 'We Can't Stop' singer 'the twerking mascot.'
By Jocelyn Vena

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709565/miley-cyrus-ying-yang-twins-twerk.jhtml

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Bacon Wedding: Couple Ties The Knot In Pork-Themed Ceremony (PHOTOS)

One San Diego couple tied the knot Sunday, united by their love for each other -- and bacon.

Adrienne Dunvan and Eddie Quinones won a contest to get married during the Big Bite Bacon Fest at the San Diego County Fair in a bacon-themed celebration.

The couple, who bonded over their love of Puerto Rican pork shoulder, walked down a bacon-printed carpet to the altar, where local radio station Star 94.1 DJ Jesse Lozano officiated the ceremony, according to a press release. Dunvan carried a bacon bouquet and Quinones wore a bacon boutonniere. Guests celebrated by tossing bacon bits instead of rice, and enjoyed a bacon-themed wedding cake and a maple-glazed donut covered in bacon bits.

The newlyweds were also gifted with a honeymoon in Baltimore, where they will be the guests of honor at the annual Pigtown Festival.

But they're not the first couple to bring their love of bacon to their wedding -- "Big Brother" contestant Adam Poch's wedding featured a bacon-themed menu and tables decorated with bowls of bacon bits. Another man proposed to his girlfriend using bacon in the shape of a heart.

Click through the slideshow below to see photos of the pork-themed nuptials, courtesy of Star 94.1 and the Big Bite Bacon Fest.

• The Ceremony

  The ceremony was held in the Del Mar Arena at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego.

• The Ceremony

  Adrienne Dunvan and Eddie Quinones's ceremony was officiated by Star 94.1 DJ Jesse Lozano.

• The Ceremony

• The Ceremony

• Bacon Boutonnire

• Bacon Bouquets

• Just Married

  Lozano poses with the newlyweds and their four children, whom they fostered and adopted.

• Wedding Cake

• Wedding Cake

• Groom's Cake

  The groom's cake was a maple-glazed donut covered in bacon.

• Cutting The Cake

Keep in touch! Check out HuffPost Weddings on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/17/bacon-wedding_n_3455933.html

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NC Sen. Hagan facing powerful GOP force in 2014

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (AP) ? Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina rode President Barack Obama's coattails in 2008, winning a seat Republicans had held for nearly four decades.

Now Hagan faces a powerful Republican rebound as she seeks a second term in November 2014. Her saving grace in the race could be a crowded GOP primary that seems to be taking shape, with the potential to leave the eventual GOP nominee battered and broke.

North Carolina's political balance is far different now than it was in 2008 when the state sent Obama to the White House and Hagan to the Senate in a remarkable year for Democrats.

Today, the GOP controls the state's executive and legislative branches simultaneously for the first time since 1870. Republicans also hold nine of the state's 13 House seats, thanks in part to the party's efforts to redraw legislative boundaries to favor its candidates. And North Carolina, still recovering from the recession, voted for Obama in his first race but narrowly voted against him in 2012, instead backing Republican Mitt Romney.

"We've got a good record to build on," said state House Speaker Thom Tillis, who is running for the Republican nomination.

Greg Brannon, a physician with tea party support, also is seeking the nod. No fewer than five other Republicans are considering bids, including state Senate leader Phil Berger, Reps. Renee Ellmers and Virginia Foxx, Southern Baptist leader the Rev. Mark Harris of Charlotte and former Ambassador Jim Cain of Raleigh.

Republicans are emboldened both by their recent electoral fortunes and by controversies in Washington dogging Obama and his Democrats, including questions over the IRS' improper targeting of conservative groups for extra scrutiny and questions about the Obama administration's handling of the terror attack that killed four Americans in Libya last fall.

"The things that are happening at a national level make North Carolina and the North Carolina Senate race that much more of an attraction for conservative candidates," said Berger, a lawyer from small-town Eden who plans to make a decision later this summer about whether to run. He said Hagan "remains vulnerable to a challenge from a strong candidate."

Republicans argue that Hagan should be replaced because she's too closely aligned with Obama and voted for his federal health care overhaul ? a preview of the playbook the eventual Republican nominee is all but certain to use next fall. Republicans are using a similar pitch in the three other states where Democratic senators are up for re-election in 2014 and where Romney won last year. Republicans need to gain six Senate seats to take control, and some of the GOP's best pick-up opportunities are in North Carolina, Arkansas, Alaska and Louisiana.

Hagan's other potential vulnerabilities include her support for legalizing gay marriage after a constitutional amendment banning it in North Carolina passed easily in 2012, as well as her vote for expanding background checks on gun purchases.

She's clearly mindful of Obama's divisiveness in the state, and she wasn't on hand for the president's recent visit to North Carolina. Her office said she was busy on the Senate floor with farm and student loan legislation.

Hagan is downplaying her Democratic alliances in hopes of attracting support from centrists as well as Republicans. She described herself earlier this year as a "commonsense, middle of the road, independent thinker" and has been courting farmers and veterans, two key voting blocs historically likely to vote Republican in North Carolina.

"People in North Carolina are worried about jobs and the economy, and that's what I am focused on," the former banker from Greensboro said after speaking at the recent grand opening of a high-tech greenhouse in the technology-rich Research Triangle Park.

Unemployment in North Carolina is well above the national average. In April, the jobless rate was 7.5 percent nationally and 8.9 percent in the state.

"I am hoping that we can work together as Democrats and Republicans to really help change that," said Hagan, who is fashioning herself as someone on the front lines of ending partisan gridlock in the Senate. She also has promoted her efforts to press the Obama administration to relieve a backlog in processing veterans' medical benefits and to work to reduce crop insurance fraud.

To get a second term, she'll need to win over Democrats like Scott Whitford of Pamlico County, who farms 2,500 acres. "I don't agree with her on every issue, but on most agriculture issues she has been supportive of farmers," he said. A registered Democrat, Whitford said he's voted more for Republicans over the past 15 years than from his own party.

After the farm bill passed the Senate recently, Hagan's office sent out a news release claiming she "secured major victories for North Carolina farmers," particularly tobacco growers.

Hagan raised a respectable $1.6 million during the first fundraising quarter of the year for a race that could cost the victor upwards of $10 million ? not counting millions more from outside groups.

She has visited all 100 counties and held a town hall meeting in each during her first term. It serves as a contrast to Hagan's predecessor, GOP Sen. Elizabeth Dole, who was criticized for her prolonged absence from North Carolina after decades in Washington. Hagan beat Dole in 2008, and conservative icon Jesse Helms held the seat for 30 years before Dole.

Democrats seem to be most worried about Tillis, a suburban Charlotte corporate consultant, prodigious fundraiser and one of the architects of the Republican surge in Raleigh. They're spending most of their time so far criticizing his House record and links to big donors. Democrats and civil rights groups have held a series of protests ? leading to nearly 400 arrests ? over the past month in Raleigh blaming Tillis, Berger and others for what they called extreme conservative policies.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nc-sen-hagan-facing-powerful-gop-force-2014-071158271.html

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Obama chooses lawyer as Guantanamo closure envoy

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama has chosen a high-powered Washington lawyer with extensive experience in all three branches of the government to be the State Department's special envoy for closing down the military-run prison at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba.

Clifford Sloan is the pick to reopen the State Department's Office of Guantanamo Closure, shuttered since January and folded into the department's legal adviser's office when the administration, in the face of congressional obstacles, effectively gave up its attempt to close the prison.

A formal announcement of Sloan's appointment was expected Monday, according to officials briefed on the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the appointment publicly before the formal announcement.

Sloan has served in senior government positions in both Democratic and Republican administrations and is now a partner in the Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP law firm. For the past several years, he has been an informal adviser to Secretary of State John Kerry, who recommended him for the post, the officials said.

"I appreciate his willingness to take on this challenge," Kerry said in a statement. "Cliff and I share the president's conviction that Guantanamo's continued operation isn't in our security interests."

The move fulfills part of Obama's pledge last month to renew efforts to close the military-run detention center at Guantanamo. That was a major promise in his 2008 presidential campaign, but it ran aground due to opposition from congressional Republicans.

In late May, Obama lifted a self-imposed ban on transferring Guantanamo detainees to Yemen, in what was a step toward closing a prison that he said "has become a symbol around the world for an America that flouts the rule of law." He said he would name envoys at both the State Department and Pentagon to try to unblock the closure process. The Pentagon envoy position has yet to be filled.

Word of the Sloan's appointment comes follows the House's overwhelming passage Friday of a $638 billion defense bill that would block Obama from closing the detention facility. The House acted despite a White House veto threat.

The administration cited Guantanamo's prohibitive costs and role as a recruiting tool for extremists. A hunger strike by more than 100 of the 166 prisoners protesting their conditions and indefinite confinement has prompted the fresh calls for closure. Obama is pushing to transfer 86 approved detainees to their home countries. Fifty-six of the 86 are from Yemen.

Officials said Sloan, whose diverse government experience includes clerking for liberal Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and conservative prosecutor Kenneth Starr, would focus primarily on navigating between the administration and Congress to overcome the deep, largely partisan divide over closing Guantanamo.

"It will not be easy, but if anyone can effectively navigate the space between agencies and branches of government, it's Cliff," Kerry said. "He's someone respected by people as ideologically different as Kenneth Starr and Justice Stevens, and that's the kind of bridge-builder we need to finish this job."

Associated Press

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