Tuesday, January 31, 2012

State Dept: Americans take refuge at Cairo embassy

FILE - In this Aug. 14, 1998 file photo, the U.S. embassy in downtown Cairo, Egypt. Three U.S. citizens whom Egyptian authorities have barred from leaving the country have sought refuge in the American Embassy in Cairo, U.S. officials said Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Leila Gorchev, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 14, 1998 file photo, the U.S. embassy in downtown Cairo, Egypt. Three U.S. citizens whom Egyptian authorities have barred from leaving the country have sought refuge in the American Embassy in Cairo, U.S. officials said Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Leila Gorchev, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 23, 2009 handout file photo proved by the Transportation Department, Sam Lahood, left, watches as his father Ray is sworn in as Transportation Secretary, at the Transportation Department in Washington. Three U.S. citizens whom Egyptian authorities have barred from leaving the country have sought refuge in the American Embassy in Cairo, U.S. officials said Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. Those banned include Sam LaHood, son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, but officials would not say whether he is at the embassy. (AP Photo/ Transportation Department, File)

(AP) ? Three American citizens barred from leaving Egypt have sought refuge at the American Embassy in Cairo amid growing tensions between the two allies over an Egyptian investigation into foreign-funded pro-democracy groups.

The White House said Monday it was disappointed with Egypt's handing of the issue, which U.S. officials have warned could stand in the way of more than $1 billion in badly needed U.S. aid.

The growing spat between the two longtime allies reflects the uncertainty as they redefine their relationship nearly one year after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak following an 18-day popular uprising.

Mubarak was a steadfast U.S. ally, scrupulously maintaining Egypt's peace treaty with Israel and while seeking to mediate between Israel and the Palestinians ? a clear American interest.

Now, Egypt's council of ruling generals, who took power when Mubarak stood down last Feb. 11, often accuse "foreign hands" of promoting protests against their rule.

At the same time, members of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, which dominates the new parliament, have suggested that they could seek to re-negotiate parts of the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty, causing alarm in Israel and concern in Washington over the possibility that Egypt will no longer serve as its solid anchor in the Middle East.

Egypt's investigation into foreign-funded organizations burst into view last month when heavily armed security forces raided 17 offices belonging to 10 pro-democracy and human rights groups, some U.S.-based. U.S. and U.N. officials blasted the raids, which Egyptian officials defended as part of a legitimate investigation into the groups' work and finances.

Last week Egypt barred at least six Americans and four Europeans who worked for U.S.-based organizations from leaving the country. They included Sam LaHood, the head of the Egypt office of the Washington-based International Republican Institute and the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the only Republican in President Barack Obama's Cabinet.

On Monday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington that some of the Americans under investigation were in the embassy, although she would not identify them or their affiliations, citing privacy concerns.

"We can confirm that a handful of U.S. citizens have opted to stay on the embassy compound in Cairo while awaiting permission to depart Egypt," she said.

Nuland added that those seeking refuge in the embassy were not "seeking to avoid any kind of judicial process," noting they had been interrogated before.

The U.S. Foreign Affairs Manual states that such request for refuge are generally granted only when the U.S. citizen "would otherwise be in danger of serious harm."

Another U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said three Americans were at the embassy.

It was unclear if LaHood was among them. In a text message, LaHood referred queries to an IRI spokeswoman in Washington, who did not respond to requests for comment. LaHood said last week that he had been told by his lawyer that he was under investigation on suspicion of managing an unregistered NGO and receiving "funds" from an unregistered NGO ? namely, his salary.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the U.S. had been in touch with Egyptian officials about the issue.

"We've made clear our concerns about this issue and our disappointment that these several citizens are not being allowed to depart Egypt," he told reporters in Washington Monday. Last week, Obama discussed the issue by phone with Egyptian military chief Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi.

U.S. officials have warned that restrictions on civil society groups could hinder aid to Egypt, funds the country badly needs given the severe blows continued unrest has dealt its economy over the last year.

The U.S. is due to give $1.3 billion in military assistance and $250 million in economic aid to Egypt in 2012. Washington has given Egypt an average of $2 billion in economic and military aid a year since 1979, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Recent U.S. legislation conditions the continuation of that aid on Egypt's taking certain steps in its transition to democracy. These include abiding by its 1979 peace treaty with Israel, holding free and fair elections and "implementing policies to protect freedom of expression, association and religion and due process of law."

The new strain on the U.S.-Egypt relationship underlines the wider question of where the various groups struggling for power will lead the country. For months, the ruling military council has faced frequent protests over its handling of the transition and calling for it to immediately hand over power to civilians.

Military leaders have blamed unidentified "foreign hands" for these demonstrations, saying they sought to destabilize Egypt.

On Monday, a member of the civilian panel created by the military to advise it said the army was considering ways to speed up the transition.

As a sign, however, that U.S.-Egypt military cooperation will continue, a delegation from Egypt's Defense Ministry arrived in New York Sunday. Egypt's state news agency quoted military attache Gen. Mohammed el-Kishki as saying that the delegation would visit U.S. military bases, meet with members of Congress and discuss bilateral military cooperation.

It remains unclear how many foreigners have been barred from leaving Egypt.

LaHood said last week that three other employees of his organization were on the no-fly list, two Americans and one European.

From the National Democratic Institute, which was also raided in December, three Americans and three Serb employees are on the list, the group's Egypt director, Lisa Hughes, said last week.

Hughes said in a text message Monday that none of NDI's employees are staying at the U.S. Embassy.

A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman did not respond Monday to requests for comment.

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Erica Werner contributed from Washington.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-30-Egypt-US/id-08e5c753a97c49409dd4efdea02b1fd3

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Germans float direct EU control over Greek budget

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, left, and Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos leave Maximos Mansion after a meeting Charles Dallara and Jean Lemiere from the Institute of International Finance in Athens on Saturday Jan. 28 2012. Talks between Greece and private creditors on halving the country's privately held debt load have ended and a deal is very close, according to the creditors' representatives. (AP Photo)

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, left, and Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos leave Maximos Mansion after a meeting Charles Dallara and Jean Lemiere from the Institute of International Finance in Athens on Saturday Jan. 28 2012. Talks between Greece and private creditors on halving the country's privately held debt load have ended and a deal is very close, according to the creditors' representatives. (AP Photo)

(AP) ? Germany is proposing that debt-ridden Greece temporarily cede sovereignty over tax and spending decisions to a powerful eurozone budget commissioner before it can secure further bailouts, an official in Berlin said Saturday.

The idea was quickly rejected by the European Union's executive body and the government in Athens, with the EU Commission in Brussels insisting that "executive tasks must remain the full responsibility of the Greek government, which is accountable before its citizens and its institutions."

But the German official said the initiative is being discussed among the 17-nation currency bloc's finance ministers because Greece has repeatedly failed to fulfill its commitments under its current euro110 billion ($145 billion) lifeline.

The proposal foresees a commissioner holding a veto right against any budgetary measures and having broad surveillance ability to ensure that Greece will take proper steps to repay its debt as scheduled, the official said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential.

Greece's international creditors ? the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the European Central Bank ? already have unprecedented powers over Greek spending after negotiating with Athens stringent austerity measures and economic reforms in return for the first bailout.

The so-called troika of creditors is currently negotiating another euro130 billion rescue package for the heavily indebted country. German news magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday cited an unnamed troika official as saying Greece might actually need a euro145 billion package because of its prolonged recession.

The German proposal, first reported by the Financial Times, is likely to spark controversy in Greece.

Despite the quick rejection from the EU Commission, Germany's demand underlines the frustration of the eurozone with Greece's slack implementation of the promised reforms, spending cuts and privatizations. During every verification mission last year, the troika found huge implementation shortfalls, which in turn increased gaps in Athens' budget and intensified the need for a second bailout.

A powerful budget commissioner would further diminish the political leeway of Greece's government, just as politicians there are gearing up for an election set to take place this spring.

A government official in Athens said a similar proposal had been floated last year but got nowhere. Greece would not accept such a measure, he added. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no formal proposal has been made by the EU or Germany yet.

The unprecedented and sweeping powers for creditors would indeed deal a huge blow to Greece's sovereignty, but they could help mobilize more support for the government in Athens from its European partners.

Several German lawmakers have repeatedly said that giving more money to Greece is unthinkable without stricter enforcement and control of the conditions attached to the rescue packages.

Greece is currently locked in a twin effort, seeking to secure a crucial debt relief deal with private investors while also tackling the pressing demands from its European partners and the IMF for more austerity measures and deeper reforms.

Failure on either front would force the country to default on its debt in less than two months, pouring new fuel on the fires of Europe's debt crisis.

In that case, Greece would likely leave the eurozone, which would bring disaster to the country, destabilize the currency bloc, fuel panic on financial markets and ultimately threaten the fragile world economy.

Despite two weeks of intensive talks, a debt relief agreement with private investors worth some euro100 billion has yet to be reached.

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos met anew with representatives of international banks and other private institutions Saturday, with a final deal being very close, officials in Athens said.

A statement from the creditor representatives said the two sides are "close to the finalization" of the voluntary writedown that would roughly halve Greece's privately held debt. "We expect to conclude next week as discussions on other issues move forward," they said.

The statement also referred to a previous framework agreement which indicated that the creditors have accepted an interest rate below 4 percent for the new bonds to be issued in place of the old ones ? a very favorable rate that will make it easier for the Greek government to service its debt.

With the current troika mission still ongoing and no final deal with the private sector creditors, Greece is unlikely to feature prominently at a summit of the EU's 27 leaders Monday, according to officials in Brussels.

___

Demetris Nellas in Athens and Gabriele Steinhauser in Brussels contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-29-EU-Europe-Financial-Crisis/id-8185cfbe1b944579a65b4669a1c255d5

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Giants' front four set to go after Pats QB Brady (AP)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ? Defense for the New York Giants starts with the front four.

Stopping the run and forcing the opposition into passing situations will let loose possibly the best group of pass rushers in the NFL. It was the formula the Giants used in 2008 in pounding Tom Brady and stunning the previously unbeaten New England Patriots in the Super Bowl ? and the game plan hasn't changed for next weekend's title game rematch in Indianapolis.

The Giants (12-7) want Brady on edge every time he passes. Throw a ball. Expect to be hit. Even the threat of being hit might be enough to influence a play. And that just might be the difference with a ring at stake.

"Look at `07. That was pretty much the reason why we were in the game, because we kept him off-rhythm," defensive end and captain Justin Tuck said. "Obviously he is the main reason why (they) are successful. The way to kill the snake is to take off his head. The way to kill an offense as potent as that one is making sure you take care of Brady. Our defensive front will put a lot of pressure on itself to make sure that we do our best to get after him."

The Giants finished tied for third in the NFL in the regular season with 48 sacks, including 11 in victories over the Jets and Cowboys in winning the NFC East title. They have added nine more in their three playoff wins.

What makes the pass rush so formidable is that it's not only four guys. The Giants' line is eight deep. All Pro Jason Pierre-Paul led the team with 16 1/2 sacks in his second season, while Osi Umenyiora added nine in only nine games. Tuck and backup defensive end Dave Tollefson had five apiece, Chris Canty added four and fellow tackle Linval Joseph had two. There's also linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka, who had 3 1/2 sacks playing as a lineman in passing situations.

Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell says not only does his line get to the quarterback, they get on each other. When the linemen hold their meeting, it's more than a review of the game or practice ? it's trash-talking time.

"We compete amongst each other and if Justin gets a sack, I want two," Pierre-Paul said. "If I want two, then Osi wants three. Basically you can say that we are greedy but in a good way, to help our team out. We try to get there quick enough to help our secondary cover better and try to get to the quarterback as fast as we can."

Kiwanuka said the presence of so many pass rushers pushes everyone.

"We have a number of guys, you look at the roster, Dave Tollefson is a guy who came on and had a strong year and played very well," Kiwanuka said. "From top to bottom, in that room, we have guys who could be starting on other teams. We're just not fighting for sacks. We are fighting for playing time as well. Everybody want to be the guy but at the end of the day, it's about the win and that's what also is important."

Brady knows what to expect. In the Giants' 17-14 Super Bowl win in Arizona, he absorbed five sacks and was hit nine times, although the Giants insist the hit total was a lot higher.

"They can rush the passer. There's no doubt about that," Brady said. "In playing them before, you understand that they can ? they stripped sacked us on our own 10-yard line or something like that when we played them last. They get a lot of turnovers. They put a lot of pressure on you with their front four. They have a big, physical group that plays really well together. You watch them play against the 49ers; they played a great game defensively. They gave up two points against Atlanta which was on a defensive score. They're a great football team, they have a great defense. Every time we play them, it's, you talk about their defense, their pass rush."

One thing that separates the Giants' pass rush from other teams is its speed. In passing situations, New York many times lines up Pierre-Paul, Tuck, Umenyiora and Kiwanuka ? or four defensive ends. They bring a quickness that Patriots guards Logan Mankins and Brian Waters usually don't see.

And that could put the head of the snake in danger.

"Hey, if that's the analogy that they're taking then that's what it is," New England receiver Deion Branch said. "I think our job is to go out and protect our guy, protect the snake so he doesn't get his head cut off. But, hey, that's Justin. He's a great player. Trust me, we truly respect that guy, respect what he's done for the league, what he's doing for his team, but we can't worry about that part. We have to worry about what we're doing and the snake will do his part."

Brady does have something else to worry about. Not only are the Giants getting to the passer, New York's secondary has settled down after a season of miscommunication. Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers and Alex Smith frequently had to go to second and third options in recent weeks because the secondary took away the primary receiver, giving the line more time to get to the quarterback.

And the Giants intend to get to Brady again.

Umenyiora remembers talking to Michael Strahan at breakfast on the morning of Super Bowl XLII.

"Strahan was just talking, being loud, his usual self, whatever, and I'm usually the one who is joking around, but I was dead serious that morning," Umenyiora said. "I was like, `Stray, in order for us to win this game we're going to have to get to the quarterback, we're going to have to really get to him.'

"He was like, `Yeah, yeah, whatever.' I made him put his fork down, and I was like, `I'm dead serious, man, we have to do this.' And he was like, `All right, cool,' and he stopped joking around then and he was all business and we went out there and took care of it."

Umenyiora has that same feeling, even a sense of anger that the Giants are once again the underdogs despite beating the Patriots 24-20 in New England in November.

"Most people picking this game will say they're going to win this game, but we know at the end of the day we're going to have to get to him as often as we can if we're going to win this football game. And that's exactly what we plan on doing," Umenyiora said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_giants_front_four

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Beijing air pollution soars with fireworks smoke (AP)

BEIJING ? Clouds of smoke from Lunar New Year fireworks sent air pollution readings soaring in the more sensitive measurement system Beijing started using a little more than a week ago, reports said Sunday.

Readings of fine particulate matter called PM2.5 reached 1.593 milligrams per cubic meter on the Jan. 22 eve of the holiday, about 100 times worse than the amount considered good for 24-hour exposure, the city's environmental bureau said.

The reading drew wide publicity in the local media on Sunday. The popular Beijing Youth Daily praised the city government for taking a more critical look at air pollution, while urging residents to consider the environmental effects of setting off fireworks.

The readings moderated under relatively clear skies in recent days. By noon Sunday, before the weeklong holiday ends and people return to work, the level stood at a relatively good 0.039.

Beijing is frequently cloaked in yellow haze that obscures buildings a couple of blocks away. On particularly bad days, schools cancel outdoor activities and hospitals treat more people ? particularly the elderly ? for respiratory complaints.

The city began measuring the small particles in the air and releasing the readings on Jan. 21, as concern has grown over Beijing's air pollution from all sources. PM2.5 ? particles less than 2.5 micrometers in size, or about 1/30th the width of an average human hair ? are believed to be the greatest health risk because their smallness means they can lodge deeply in the lungs.

Beijing previously had only given PM10 measurements of coarser particles, which indicated pollution was "light," leading to accusations the true extent of the problem was hidden.

The U.S. Embassy since last year has released PM2.5 readings from a device on its rooftop and some residents have tested the air in their neighborhoods and posted the results online.

The embassy measured more pollution than the city on Sunday, but the sampling stations are 10 miles apart or more.

Beijing says its PM2.5 measuring station is about 4 miles (7 kilometers) west of central Tiananmen Square.

___

Associated Press researcher Henry Hou contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_as/as_china_air_quality

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911 call reveals frantic efforts to help Moore (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? A 911 recording revealed frantic efforts by friends of Demi Moore to get help for the actress who was convulsing as they gathered around her and tried to comfort her.

Moore was "semi-conscious, barely," according to a female caller on the recording released Friday by Los Angeles fire officials.

The woman tells emergency operators that Moore, 49, had smoked something before she was rushed to the hospital on Monday night and that she had been "having issues lately."

"Is she breathing normal?" the operator asks.

"No, not so normal. More kind of shaking, convulsing, burning up," the friend says as she hurries to Moore's side, on the edge of panic.

Another woman is next to Moore as the dispatcher asks if she's responsive.

"Demi, can you hear me?" she asks. "Yes, she's squeezing hands. ... She can't speak."

When the operator asks what Moore ingested or smoked, the friend replies, but the answer was redacted.

Asked if Moore took the substance intentionally or not, the woman says Moore ingested it on purpose but the reaction was accidental.

"Whatever she took, make sure you have it out for the paramedics," the operator says.

The operator asks the friend if this has happened before.

"I don't know," she says. "There's been some stuff recently that we're all just finding out."

Moore's publicist, Carrie Gordon, said previously that the actress sought professional help to treat her exhaustion and improve her health. She would not comment further on the emergency call or provide details about the nature or location of Moore's treatment.

The past few months have been rocky for Moore.

She released a statement in November announcing she had decided to end her marriage to fellow actor Ashton Kutcher, 33, following news of alleged infidelity. The two were known to publicly share their affection for one another via Twitter.

Moore still has a Twitter account under the name mrskutcher but has not posted any messages since Jan. 7.

Meanwhile, Millennium Films announced Friday that Sarah Jessica Parker will replace Moore in the role of feminist Gloria Steinem in its production of "Lovelace," a biopic about the late porn star Linda Lovelace. A statement gave no reason for the change. The production, starring Amanda Seyfried, has been shooting in Los Angeles since Dec. 20.

During the call, the woman caller says the group of friends had turned Moore's head to the side and was holding her down. The dispatcher tells her not to hold her down but to wipe her mouth and nose and watch her closely until paramedics arrive.

"Make sure that we keep an airway open," the dispatcher says. "Even if she passes out completely, that's OK. Stay right with her."

The phone is passed around by four people, including a woman who gives directions to the gate and another who recounts details about what Moore smoked or ingested. Finally, the phone is given to a man named James, so one of the women can hold Moore's head.

There was some confusion at the beginning of the call. The emergency response was delayed by nearly two minutes as Los Angeles and Beverly Hills dispatchers sorted out which city had jurisdiction over the street where Moore lives.

As the call is transferred to Beverly Hills, the frantic woman at Moore's house raises her voice and said, "Why is an ambulance not on its way right now?"

"Ma'am, instead of arguing with me why an ambulance is not on the way, can you spell (the street name) for me?" the Beverly Hills dispatcher says.

Although the estate is located in the 90210 ZIP code above Benedict Canyon, the response was eventually handled by the Los Angeles Fire Department.

By the end of the call, Moore has improved.

"She seems to have calmed down now. She's speaking," the male caller told the operator.

Moore and Kutcher were wed in September 2005.

Kutcher became a stepfather to Moore's three daughters ? Rumer, Scout and Tallulah Belle ? from her 13-year marriage to actor Bruce Willis. Moore and Willis divorced in 2000 but remained friendly.

Moore can be seen on screen in the recent films "Margin Call" and "Another Happy Day." Kutcher replaced Charlie Sheen on TV's "Two and a Half Men" and is part of the ensemble film "New Year's Eve."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_en_mo/us_people_demi_moore

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Scientists reveal how cholera bacterium gains a foothold in the gut

Saturday, January 28, 2012

A team of biologists at the University of York has made an important advance in our understanding of the way cholera attacks the body. The discovery could help scientists target treatments for the globally significant intestinal disease which kills more than 100,000 people every year.

The disease is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, which is able to colonise the intestine usually after consumption of contaminated water or food. Once infection is established, the bacterium secretes a toxin that causes watery diarrhoea and ultimately death if not treated rapidly. Colonisation of the intestine is difficult for incoming bacteria as they have to be highly competitive to gain a foothold among the trillions of other bacteria already in situ.

Scientists at York, led by Dr. Gavin Thomas in the University's Department of Biology, have investigated one of the important routes that V. cholerae uses to gain this foothold. To be able to grow in the intestine the bacterium harvests and then eats a sugar, called sialic acid, that is present on the surface of our gut cells.

Collaborators of the York group at the University of Delaware, USA, led by Professor Fidelma Boyd, had shown previously that eating sialic acid was important for the survival of V. cholerae in animal models, but the mechanism by which the bacteria recognise and take up the sialic was unknown.

The York research, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), demonstrates that the pathogen uses a particular kind of transporter called a TRAP transporter to recognise sialic acid and take it up into the cell. The transporter has particular properties that are suited to scavenging the small amount of available sialic acid. The research also provided some important basic information about how TRAP transporters work in general.

The leader of the research in York, Dr. Gavin Thomas, said: "This work continues our discoveries of how bacteria that grow in our body exploit sialic acid for their survival and help us to take forward our efforts to design chemicals to inhibit these processes in different bacterial pathogens."

The research is published in the latest issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry and was primarily the work of Dr Christopher Mulligan, a postdoctoral fellow in the Dr Thomas's laboratory.

###

University of York: http://www.york.ac.uk

Thanks to University of York for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117153/Scientists_reveal_how_cholera_bacterium_gains_a_foothold_in_the_gut

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Colorectal cancer risk related to gene's expression | Research News ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Colorectal cancer risk related to gene's expression. Individuals who are outside the normal range of expression for the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene have an increased risk of colorectal cancer, according to a study ...

Source: http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2012/01/colorectal-cancer-risk-gene/

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Friday, January 27, 2012

Jesse Jackson adds voice to Grammy protest (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse James on Friday urged Grammy organizers to reinstate 31 ethnic and minority musical categories that have been cut from the music industry's top awards.

In a letter to Recording Academy president Neil Portnow, sent three weeks before the February 12 Grammy Awards show, Jackson said the elimination of awards for Native American and Hawaiian musicians, and cuts in Latin Jazz, R&B and other categories were ill-considered and unfair.

Jackson said some of the categories dropped by the Recording Academy in a major overhaul last year "constitute the very heart of the music that nourishes and inspires minority communities."

Writing on behalf of the Rainbow Push Coalition of U.S. civil rights groups, Jackson called for an urgent meeting with Portnow to try and resolve the conflict that has spurred months of protests and a lawsuit by leading musicians.

Portnow said on Friday he was "receptive to meeting with the Rev. Jackson to explain how our nomination process works and to show the resulting diverse group of nominees it produced" for this year's Grammy Awards.

Paul Simon, Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt and Bobby Sanabria are among dozens of musicians who have protested the decision, announced last April, to slash the number of Grammy categories to 78 from 109 for the 2012 Grammy Awards.

Some categories, such as Hawaiian and Native American albums were dropped completely, while others including Latin music and R&B saw the number of award categories halved.

Portnow said at the time the changes were necessary to maintain "the prestige of the highest and only peer-recognized award in music."

Sanabria and three other Latin Jazz musicians filed a lawsuit in New York in August saying the cuts would harm their careers financially. They have also called for a boycott of the CBS network, which broadcasts the annual Grammy Awards show in Los Angeles.

The 2012 Grammy Awards take place on February12. Rapper Kanye West leads the field of contenders with seven nominations followed by British singer Adele, Bruno Mars and alternative rock band Foo Fighters.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/music_nm/us_grammys_protest

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U.S. Soldiers Face Host of Mental Health Issues (HealthDay)

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. military personnel and veterans are plagued by substance abuse, depression and suicide, three new studies indicate.

In one study, researchers surveyed nearly 600 veterans returning from war zone deployment in Iraq or Afghanistan, and found that they were at increased risk for mental health problems and alcohol and drug abuse.

Nearly 14 percent of the veterans screened positive for probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 39 percent for probable alcohol abuse, and 3 percent for probable drug use. Men reported more alcohol and drug use than women, but there were no gender differences in PTSD or other mental health conditions.

Veterans returning from Iraq reported more depression or functioning problems and more alcohol and drug use than those returning from Afghanistan. Army and Marine veterans reported worse mental and physical health than Air Force or Navy veterans.

The studies were published online Jan. 25 in the American Journal of Public Health and are scheduled to appear in the March supplement print issue of the journal.

In the second study, researchers found that major depression and substance use disorders have increased among active duty combat-exposed veterans. The finding comes from an analysis of data from 678,382 active personnel serving between 2001 and 2006.

Those who were deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan were more likely to be diagnosed with major depression or substance abuse than non-deployed personnel. Army and Marine Corps personnel were more likely to be diagnosed with the conditions than Navy and Air Force personnel.

"Our study provided valuable insight for the mental health readiness of the U.S. armed services and implications for potential, continued support of ongoing operations and their post-deployment health care needs," the researchers wrote in a journal news release.

"Given the continuing U.S. military presence in Afghanistan and other parts of the world, and the increasing trend in major mental health conditions reported in the U.S. military, it would be important for the Department of Defense to assess whether the current system has adequate resources and manpower to handle the increasing number of active duty personnel who need mental health services," they concluded.

The third study found that suicide rates for all U.S. military services increased between 2005 and 2007, particularly for members of the regular Army and National Guard.

The analysis of data from 2,064,183 active duty personnel in 2005 and 1,981,810 active duty personnel in 2007 also showed that mental health diagnoses, mental health visits, prescriptions for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants and sleep medicines, reduction in rank, enlisted rank and separation or divorce were all associated with suicides.

Deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan were associated with an elevated risk of suicide among all services in 2007, and for the Army in 2005.

The increased risk of suicide associated with deployments in 2007 compared with 2005 may be due to the extended duration of war and increasing lengths of deployment for Army and Air Force personnel, the researchers suggested.

"Additional research needs to address the increasing rates of suicide in active duty personnel. This should include careful evaluation of suicide prevention programs and the possible increase in risk associated with SSRIs and other mental health drugs, as well as the possible impact of shorter deployments, age, mental health diagnoses and relationship problems," the researchers concluded.

More information

The American Psychiatric Association has more about military mental health.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120126/hl_hsn/ussoldiersfacehostofmentalhealthissues

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

GOPers on Obama speech: Fail (Politico)

Republican presidential candidates trotted out their favorite lines of attack against President Barack Obama in response to his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Though the GOP rivals don?t agree on much of anything these days, the chorus from the campaign trail could be heard loud and clear following Obama?s address: the president?s agenda won?t work.

Continue Reading

Though he wasn?t specifically named in the speech, Mitt Romney provided the perfect real-life example for the president as he proposed raising taxes on millionaires. Whether or not the timing was accidental, Romney released his tax record on Tuesday morning showing an annual income of $20 million and a tax rate of 15 percent.

But instead of hitting back, Romney outlined his own economic plan in post-speech interview with NBC.

Romney evoked Florida, the next state to vote in the primary season, and citied its 9.9 percent unemployment figure, which is higher than the national average.

?The idea that we?re on the right track is something which is very foreign to the people here,? he said.

Romney suggested that Obama had co-opted some of his own ideas. Earlier in the day, Romney delivered a more extensive ?prebuttal? of the Obama speech.

?A whole series of ideas that I?ve been speaking about, if you want the economy going. Lower corporate tax rates, of course he?s raised them,? Romney said. ?Lower the level of regulation, of course he?s added regulation at three times of his predecessor. Take advantage of all of our energy resources. He?s really held off on coal, on oil, on gas, on nuclear. Crackdown on China, those are things I?ve been saying.

?What he?s been doing is the exact opposite of that and that?s why it?s been so hard on this economy to recover,? Romney said.

Newt Gingrich dinged the president for proposing a tax increase on the wealthy. Gingrich, who frequently refers to Obama as the ?food stamp president,? continued that line of attack.

?Bigger government and higher taxes will instead lead to more people on food stamps, a situation which the President and his party defend as a fair outcome,? Gingrich said in a statement. ?Here we have to confront the truth about President Obama. Economic growth and prosperity is not really at the top of his agenda.?

Gingrich pointed to the Keystone Pipeline as an example of a failed Obama policy.

?Only recently, the president canceled the Keystone XL Pipeline that would have created countless new jobs and helped America on the way to energy independence because he wanted to appease the far left of his party,? he said. ?And yet not a single word on the Keystone XL pipeline tonight.?

Rick Santorum pushed the argument that Obama is engaging in class warfare, calling him the ?Divider-in-Chief? in a statement.

?Tonight Barack Obama transformed the President?s annual State of the Union address into the kick-off of his re-election campaign,? he said in a statement. ?From beginning to end, the American people heard more of the same ? empty promises and grand platitudes that will do nothing to help the millions of Americans who are unemployed or under-employed find a good paying job.?

And Ron Paul decried the fact that Obama didn?t mention the Federal Reserve and its role in denying Americans a ?fair shot,? as well as Paul?s efforts to bring transparency to the financial entity.

And Paul chastised Obama for failing to support his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul?s, recent run-in with the Transportation Security Administration.

?In the area of foreign policy and civil liberties, President Obama?s rhetoric may be different, but the substance of his polices - as shown by his administration?s defense of the TSA?s treatment of my son, Senator Rand Paul, is hardly ?change we can believe in,?? Paul said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories0112_71932_html/44295990/SIG=11mdsoe7m/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71932.html

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Ky. men sue Andy Dick over alleged W.Va. assault (AP)

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. ? Two Kentucky men who say they were sexually assaulted by comedian Andy Dick at a West Virginia nightclub two years ago have filed a lawsuit against the comedian.

The 26-year-old from Ashland and the 35-year-old from Catlettsburg are also involved in a pending criminal case against Dick, their attorney said Tuesday. Dick's trial on two counts of felony first-degree sexual abuse is set for May 1 in Cabell County Circuit Court in Huntington.

Dick pleaded not guilty last summer to charges he grabbed a bouncer's crotch, and groped and kissed a patron while performing a series of shows in Huntington at a comedy club. The alleged acts occurred Jan. 23, 2010, at the Rum Runners nightclub.

Attorney Mike Woelfel said he filed the case earlier this month, seeking unspecified damages, to comply with the statute of limitations, which expired Monday. He said the complaint and the criminal case speak for themselves.

"What I see is a desire by the state and by the victims to assert that there is zero tolerance for sexual misconduct in whatever form it takes," he said.

The complaint says the men were victims of "battery and sexual abuse" and demands compensatory and punitive damages for emotional distress, outrageous conduct, assault and invasion of privacy. The Associated Press does not generally identify the victims of alleged sexual abuse.

The complaint also alleges that Dick, of South Pasadena, Calif., "has a history of sexual misconduct which is serial in nature."

Dick's attorney, Marc Williams, dismissed the accusations.

"This proves what we've known all along," he told the Herald-Dispatch of Huntington (http://bit.ly/nzOvU5). "This was only about getting money from a celebrity."

Williams told The Associated Press in an email Tuesday afternoon that he was too busy to discuss the case further.

Dick has been in trouble with the law several times before.

He's been arrested in California on drug and battery charges, to which he pleaded guilty in 2008, and on charges of being drunk and disorderly in a restaurant last May. A Texas man also sued Dick last year, claiming the comedian exposed his genitals at a Dallas performance.

Dick had a long-running stint in the 1990s on NBC's "NewsRadio." He briefly had his own program, "The Andy Dick Show," on MTV. He also has had roles in several movies, including "Dude, Where's My Car?" and "Old School."

___

Information from: The Herald-Dispatch, http://www.herald-dispatch.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_en_tv/us_andy_dick

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Camera+ 2.4VS (for iPhone)


Camera+ has been a favorite, highly-rated iPhone photo app in the iTunes app store for a few years. The $1.99 app matches the competing Camera Genius in a lot of ways, with many features in common, though this latest version of Camera+ has a slicker interface and more photo enhancements. For its part, Camera Genius ($1.99, 3.5 stars) offers a bit more in shutter options and sharing targets. Camera+ features fall into two main categories, shooting and photo enhancing. How does it compare with the best iPhone camera apps around?

Shooting
If you use Camera+ to replace the iPhone's default Camera app, you'll get several extra shooting options. First, a timer, common to pretty much all standalone digital cameras, lets you set up a shot and walk into the photo yourself. But you don't get all of Camera Genius's ingenious ways to trigger the shutter?using a noise, on focusing, and with a full screen shutter button. These are less of a concern now that you can shoot with the iPhone's Volume button or using its front camera.

The app also, like Camera Genius, offers a "Stabilizer," which, rather than adding actual stabilization as is done optically or digitally on digital camera, simply waits till you're holding the camera steady to snap a picture. This worked equally as well as Camera Genius's equivalent. A burst mode does a better job than Camera Genius's equivalent feature. By lowering the image resolution, I could shoot more rapid photos, though of course, the resulting images couldn't be blown up as much.

Another shooting possibility that Camera+, like Camera Genius, adds to the iPhone is the ability to specify separate focus and exposure points. It takes an interesting, if less intuitive approach than Genius: You touch the screen once on the spot you want the focus, and while holding that finger down touch another spot for exposure. After this you can drag either point around anywhere on screen. This only works with the better camera on the back of the phone; with the front camera I could only set the aperture point. But this was better than Camera Genius's, which showed separate focus and exposure points for the front camera, but in fact they didn't work separately.

A final shooting tool was the ability to set the flash always on?something not available in Camera Genius, but also something that will wear down your iPhone's battery quickly.

Enhancing
After taking your shots, photos appear in a smart-looking "Lightbox"?a photo gallery that looks like a contact sheet of film photos. From here, you can touch an image to get the Edit, Share, Save, and Info buttons. The first offers Scenes, Adjust, Crop, Effects, and Borders, each with their own subchoices. "Scenes" is like the feature offered on many point-and-shoot cameras, including Clarity, Auto, Flash, BackLit, Darken, Cloudy, Shade, Fluorescent, Sunset, Night, Portrait, Beach, Scenery, Concert, Food, and Text?a healthy selection! One drawback?unlike Snapseed ($4.99, 4 stars) and Camera Genius, you can only edit photos taken in the Camera+ app itself, not existing images in the Camera roll.

But you don't get sliders to adjust the lighting the way you do in Snapseed ($4.99, 4 stars) and Camera Genius; Camera+'s Adjust tab only let you rotate and flip the image. The Cropping tool is excellent, with large easy-to-grab handles and plenty of preset aspect ratios. One problem, though, was that I couldn?t rotate a preset from portrait to landscape orientation, as I could in Camera Genius.

The FX tab is one place Camera+ shines: you get four sets of nine effects: Color, Retro, Special, and Analog. Be warned, though, that the last set is an extra-cost item, only available for preview in the base app. The Special effects include HDR, polarize, color dodge, grunge, and cross process. It's just about everything you find in Instagram (Free, 3.0 stars) and Hipstamatic ($1.99, 3.0 stars). And each effect offers an Intensity slider for further adjustment.

Sharing
Once you've got your photo all dolled up the way you want it, your choices are Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter (as well as SMS and email, which you can do in the default Photo app). Camera Genius goes a bit beyond this, with Tumblr and Picasa sharing thrown in. Of course, both are a far cry from Instagram, which encourages deep delving into its own photo-centric social network based around small, usually stylized square images.

A Lot of Plusses
Camera+ 2.4VS is a beautifully designed app that enhances your iPhone camera and photo enjoyment. I actually find its slick interface design one of the best, but Camera Genius offers more shutter and sharing options, more editing control, and lets you work with existing images. Camera+ has a better burst mode and lots of fun effects. But for the ultimate in photo correction and enhancement, look to our Editor's Choice, Snapseed for iPhone.

More iPhone App Reviews:

??? Adobe Photoshop Express 2.0 (for iPhone)
??? CameraBag 1.93 (for iPhone)
??? Camera+ 2.4VS (for iPhone)
??? Camera Genius 4.2 (for iPhone)
??? Lookout for iPhone
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/benNEabU30g/0,2817,2399064,00.asp

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Ice Cream Sandwich gets ready for its closeup, would like to thank Kinect for big screen break (video)

Ice Cream Sandwich gets ready for its closeup, thanks Kinect for big screen break (video)
Using Microsoft hardware to augment Android? Surely, you can't be serious? Well, confounding as this may be, it is indeed true... and don't call us Shirley. All fanboy-ism and Airplane! references aside, this Kinect hack (yes, another one) manages to move Ice Cream Sandwich out of its 4.65-inch confines and onto the big screen wall. The inventive and involved mod, borne from hacker Recursive Penguin's desire to demo in-development apps at business meetings, allows for gestures made on a projected interface to be deciphered by MS' famous add-on, resulting in real-time responses. While this particular pico-friendly bit looks simple (not to mention fun to use), it's actually a bit daunting: AOSP ROMs, TUIO protocol and multi-touch software, anyone? While there are, undoubtedly, some of you that could pull off such techie gee whizzery, we'll just sit and wait for Google to implement this in version 5.0. Check out the brief video after the break.

Continue reading Ice Cream Sandwich gets ready for its closeup, would like to thank Kinect for big screen break (video)

Ice Cream Sandwich gets ready for its closeup, would like to thank Kinect for big screen break (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/4mb7qWmmtxY/

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

MediaFire CEO: Unlike Megaupload, our business model isn't built ...

MediaFireAs the strange case of file-sharing site Megaupload continues to unfold, many wonder if the federal government will begin to clamp down on similar sites that function like Megaupload, with easy sharing and hosting of copyrighted files.

Already, two well-known file-sharing services, Uploaded.to and Filesonic have disabled several features of their sites this weekend because of the Megaupload scandal. Others are sure to follow.

But Derek Labian, CEO of popular cloud-based file-hosting site MediaFire, told VentureBeat in an interview today that he isn?t too concerned about the government going after his company because, unlike Megaupload, MediaFire doesn?t incentivize piracy.

?We don?t have a business built on copyright infringement.? Labain said. ?Like many other cloud-based sharing services like Box.net and Dropbox, we?re a legitimate business targeting professionals.?

When it comes to Megaupload, Labian described Kim Dotcom and his organization as ?shady? and said the $175 million in revenues the company made should give people pause. He noted that Megaupload?s structure gave users monetary rewards for uploading pirated content. Users of the service could upload without a cap but users who want to download a large file (or download it faster) would have to pay for it. Those who uploaded the best files would be given free account upgrades or even cash.

?Megaupload was making a ridiculous amount of money with a ridiculously bad service,? Labian said. ?We frankly don?t see ourselves in the same space.?

A little more background on MediaFire: The privately funded company out of Woodlands, Tex. was founded in 2006 and has steadily offered better ways to host and share large files. Because it offers an incredibly easy to way to share 200MB files for free with other people, the company has attracted employees at 86 percent of the Fortune 500 for sending files that are too large for e-mail. It offers unlimited downloads and file storage, and if you want to upload larger files with long-term storage, you can pay $9 a month for a Pro account or $49 a month for a Business account.

But the company?s free file-sharing solution can also be used easily for sharing copyrighted files, especially music, with friends, relatives or anyone on the web. A Google search for a song name, an artist name and ?MediaFire,? for example, will likely bring you to a copy of that file that can easily be downloaded from a MediaFire page.

When asked about the Googling issue, Labian said that MediaFire is a ?private service? and the only reason Google indexes a MediaFire page is when it has been shared by a user on a third-party site. He said MediaFire isn?t at fault for this and said Google should look into the issue.

?We try to steer clear of things that would attract scrutiny,? Labian said. ?If people are pirating on our service, we don?t want those people to use it.?

Another reason Labian said he wasn?t worried about the government stepping in is because the company maintains a ?good relationship? with various government bodies, including ?Homeland Security, ICE, and the FBI.? Following DMCA protocols, whenever MediaFire is notified of a copyrighted file being shared inappropriately, the company immediately takes it down.

As for the future, MediaFire is optimistic about what?s to come. Labian said the company has been working for a year on its next set of products, which will emphasize collaboration and focus on business users. He teased what was coming by saying that cloud storage providers Box.net and Dropbox significantly disrupted the cloud storage space, but MediaFire would do it next.

?This is a tough market to be in, but we?re constantly looking to innovate,? Labian said. ?Sharing will always be important, but it?s not the only important aspect for our customers.?

Next Story: RIM co-CEOs will step down Monday?what took them so?long?
Previous Story: Ex-con looking to fund over 15,000 inventions designed while incarcerated?(exclusive)

Tags: cybercrime, cybercriminals, file hosting, file sharing, piracy, poptop

Companies: Filesonic, MediaFire, megaupload, Uploaded.to

People: Kim Dotcom

Source: http://venturebeat.com/2012/01/22/mediafire-megaupload-business-model-piracy/

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Marine pleads guilty, ending final Haditha trial (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? The U.S. Marine sergeant accused of leading a massacre of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha pleaded guilty on Monday to dereliction of duty, ending the final prosecution stemming from a 2005 incident that brought international condemnation of U.S. troops.

Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, 31, entered his plea at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base north of San Diego as part of a deal with military prosecutors in which more serious charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault were dismissed.

As part of his guilty plea, Wuterich accepted responsibility for providing negligent verbal instructions to the Marines under his command when he told them to "shoot first and ask questions later," which resulted in the death of innocent civilians.

He faces a maximum sentence of three months of confinement, forfeiture of two-thirds of his pay for three months and a reduction in rank when he is sentenced on Tuesday, a Camp Pendleton spokesman said.

"By pleading guilty to this charge, Staff Sergeant Wuterich has accepted responsibility for his actions," base spokesman Lt. Col. Joseph Kloppel said.

Any discharge process Wuterich may face will be separate from the plea and sentencing, Kloppel added.

Wuterich, 31, was accused of being the ringleader in a series of November 19, 2005, shooting and grenade attacks that left two dozen civilians dead in Haditha, a city west of Baghdad that was then a hotbed of insurgent activity.

The killings were portrayed by Iraqi witnesses as a massacre of unarmed civilians and brought international condemnation of the U.S. military.

Local witnesses claimed angry Marines had killed unarmed men, women, and children after a popular comrade, Lance Corporal Miguel "TJ" Terrazas, was killed by a roadside bomb.

'CAULDRON OF WAR'

Lawyers for the troops involved argued the deaths resulted from a fast-moving situation in which the Marines believed they were under enemy fire.

Wuterich was originally charged with murder in the case.

"No one denies that the consequences of November 19, 2005 were tragic, least of all Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich," his civilian defense attorney, Neal Puckett, said in a statement released shortly after the plea hearing.

"But the fact of the matter is that he has now been totally exonerated of the homicide charges brought against him by the government and the media. For six years he has had his name dragged through the mud. Today, we hope, is the beginning of his redemption," the statement said.

Wuterich pleaded not guilty when the court-martial began in early January.

The proceedings were suspended last Wednesday by the military judge in the case, who ordered prosecutors and defense lawyers to seek a negotiated plea deal.

The trial resumed on Friday for one day, and the plea agreement was announced on Monday morning.

"Many pundits from all walks of life will comment on Wuterich's purported guilt and most of these are people who have never been remotely associated with the challenges of combat action," Colonel Willard Buhl, a U.S. Marine Corps military fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Reuters.

"Marines know that they are the best trained and led military men and women in the world," Buhl said. "But the cauldron of war is the most intense thing humans can experience and this case falls on the extreme end of that spectrum."

Buhl served in the same battalion and regiment as Wuterich, but never met him and was deployed in that unit prior to the events at Haditha that are at the center of the case.

Six out of the eight Marines originally accused in the case had their charges dismissed by military judges, and a seventh was cleared of criminal wrongdoing.

Wuterich enlisted in the Marines after his 1998 graduation from high school, where he was an athletic honor-roll student and played with the marching band.

He was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq when the Haditha incident occurred.

(Editing by Dan Whitcomb, Steve Gorman and Paul Thomasch)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/us_nm/us_marine_haditha

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Rep. Giffords to resign from Congress this week

FILE - This Jan. 8, 2012 file photo shows Rep. Gabrielle Giffords waving at the start of a memorial vigil remembering the victims and survivors one year after the Arizona congresswoman was wounded in a shooting that killed six in Tucson, Ariz. Giffords announced, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012 she will resign from Congress this week. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, file)

FILE - This Jan. 8, 2012 file photo shows Rep. Gabrielle Giffords waving at the start of a memorial vigil remembering the victims and survivors one year after the Arizona congresswoman was wounded in a shooting that killed six in Tucson, Ariz. Giffords announced, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012 she will resign from Congress this week. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, file)

This video image provided by the Office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords shows Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, walking. Giffords announced Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012 she intends to resign from Congress this week to concentrate on recovering from wounds suffered in an assassination attempt a little more than a year ago. (AP Photo/Office of Gabrielle Giffords)

FILE - In this Jan. 2, 2012, file photo Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, left, accompanied by her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, reacts after leading the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of a memorial vigil remembering the victims and survivors one year after the Arizona congresswoman was wounded in a shooting that killed six othersin Tucson, Ariz. Giffords said Sunday Jan, 22, 2012, that she will resign from Congress this week. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

This video image provided by the office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords shows Giffords announcing her plans to resign, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Office of Gabrielle Giffords)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona announced Sunday she intends to resign from Congress this week to concentrate on recovering from wounds suffered in an assassination attempt a little more than a year ago that shook the country.

"I don't remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice," the Democratic lawmaker said on a video posted without prior notice on her Facebook page.

"I'm getting better. Every day my spirit is high," she said. "I have more work to do on my recovery. So to do what's best for Arizona, I will step down this week."

Giffords was shot in the head and grievously wounded last January as she was meeting with constituents outside a supermarket in Tucson, Ariz. Her progress had seemed remarkable, to the point that she was able to walk dramatically into the House chamber last August to cast a vote.

Her shooting prompted an agonizing national debate about super-charged rhetoric in political campaigns, although the man charged in the shooting later turned out to be mentally ill.

In Washington, members of Congress were told to pay more attention to their physical security. Legislation was introduced to ban high-capacity ammunition clips, although it never advanced.

Under state law, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer must call a special election to fill out the remainder of Giffords' term, which ends at the end of 2012.

President Barack Obama on Sunday called Giffords "the very best of what public service should be."

"Gabby's cheerful presence will be missed in Washington," Obama said. "But she will remain an inspiration to all whose lives she touched ? myself included. And I'm confident that we haven't seen the last of this extraordinary American."

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he saluted Giffords "for her service and for the courage and perseverance she has shown in the face of tragedy. She will be missed."

In a statement, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California said that "since the tragic events one year ago, Gabby has been an inspiring symbol of determination and courage to millions of Americans."

Democratic officials had held out hope for months that the congresswoman might recover sufficiently to run for re-election or even become a candidate to replace retiring Republican Sen. Jon Kyl.

The shooting on Jan. 8, 2011, left six people dead, a federal judge and a Giffords aide among them. Twelve others were wounded.

A 23-year-old man, Jared Lee Loughner, has pleaded not guilty to 49 charges in the shooting. He has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and is being forcibly medicated at a Missouri prison facility in an effort by authorities to make him mentally ready for trial.

In the months since she was shot, Giffords, 41, has been treated in Houston as well as Arizona as she re-learned how to walk and speak.

She made a dramatic appearance on the House floor Aug. 2, when she unexpectedly walked in to vote for an increase in the debt limit. Lawmakers from both parties cheered her presence, and she was enveloped in hugs.

More recently, she participated in an observance of the anniversary of the shooting in Arizona.

In "Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope," a book released last year that she wrote with her husband, the astronaut Mark Kelly, she spoke of how much she wanted to get better, regain what she lost and return to Congress.

She delivers the last chapter in her own voice, saying in a single page of short sentences and phrases that everything she does reminds her of that horrible day and that she was grateful to survive.

"I will get stronger. I will return," she wrote.

Giffords was shot in the left side of the brain, the part that controls speech and communication.

Kelly commanded the space shuttle Endeavour on its last mission in May. She watched the launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Kelly, who became a NASA astronaut in 1996 and made four trips into space aboard the space shuttle, retired in October.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-22-US-Giffords-Resign/id-b17fea057a1746ec85412a584c46e915

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Apple starts selling interactive iPad textbooks

Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, discusses iBooks textbooks available from Pearson for iPad, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in New York. IBooks 2 will be able to display books with videos and other interactive features. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, discusses iBooks textbooks available from Pearson for iPad, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in New York. IBooks 2 will be able to display books with videos and other interactive features. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, discusses iBooks 2 for iPad, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in New York. IBooks 2 will be able to display books with videos and other interactive features. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Apple employees demonstrate interactive features of iBooks 2 for iPad, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in New York. IBooks 2 will be able to display books with videos and other interactive features. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

An Apple employee demonstrates an interactive feature of iBooks 2 for iPad, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in New York. IBooks 2 will be able to display books with videos and other interactive features. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

E.O. Wilson, professor emeritus at Harvard, shows his book, "Life on Earth," on an iPad2, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in New York. Apple announced iBooks 2 for iPad, featuring iBooks textbooks, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

(AP) ? Apple Inc. on Thursday launched its attempt to make the iPad a replacement for a satchel full of textbooks by starting to sell electronic versions of a handful of standard high-school books.

The electronic textbooks, which include "Biology" and "Environmental Science" from Pearson and "Algebra 1" and "Chemistry" from McGraw-Hill, contain videos and other interactive elements.

But it's far from clear that even a company with Apple's clout will be able to reform the primary and high-school textbook market. The printed books are bought by schools, not students, and are reused year after year, which isn't possible with the electronic versions. New books are subject to lengthy state approval processes, making the speed and ease with which ebooks can be published less of an advantage.

Major textbook publishers have been making electronic versions of their products for years, but until recently, there hasn't been any hardware suitable to display them. PCs are too expensive and cumbersome to be good e-book machines for students. Dedicated e-book readers like the Kindle have small screens and can't display color. IPads and other tablet computers work well, but iPads cost at least $499. Apple didn't reveal any new program to defray the cost of getting the tablet computers into the hands of students.

All this means textbooks have lagged the general adoption of e-books, even when counting college-level works that students buy themselves. Forrester Research said e-books accounted for only 2.8 percent of the $8 billion U.S. textbook market in 2010.

Pearson PLC of Britain and The McGraw-Hill Cos. of New York are two of the three big companies in the U.S. textbook market. The third, Boston-based Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, also plans to supply books to Apple's store, but none were immediately available.

The new textbooks are legible with a new version of the free iBooks application, which became available Thursday.

The textbooks will cost $15 or less, said Phil Schiller, Apple's head of marketing. He unveiled the books at an event at New York's Guggenheim Museum. Schools will be able to buy the books for its students and issue redemption codes to them, he said.

Albert Greco, a professor of marketing at Fordham University in New York and a former high-school principal, said schools would need to buy iPads for its students if it were to replace printed books.

It wouldn't work to let students who can afford to buy their own iPads use them in class with textbooks they buy themselves, alongside poorer students with printed books.

"The digital divide issue could be very embarrassing. Because if you don't have the iPad, you can't do the quiz, you don't get instant feedback ... that is an invitation for a lawsuit," Greco said. "I would be shocked if any principal or superintendent would let that system go forward."

Greco said hardback high-school textbooks cost an average of about $105, and a freshman might need five of them. However, they last for five years.

That means that even if an iPad were to last for five years in the hands of students, the e-books plus the iPad would cost more than the hardback textbooks.

At the private Xavier High School in New York, student Omar Soria welcomed the idea of getting rid of printed textbooks.

"They get pretty heavy, about maybe one pound per textbook. And depending on all the other books, which is binders and notebooks, it can get pretty heavy," he said.

Apple also released an app for iTunes U, which has been a channel for colleges to release video and audio from lectures, through iTunes. The app will open that channel to K-through-12 schools, and will let teachers present outlines, post notes and communicate with students in other ways.

Greco called the new app "a shot across the bow" of Blackboard Inc., a privately held company that provides similar electronic tools to teachers. It, too, has applications for cellphones and tablets.

Apple also revealed iBook Author, an application for Macs that lets people create electronic textbooks.

According to biographer Walter Isaacson, reforming the textbook market was a pet project of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, even in the last year of his life. At a dinner in early 2011, Jobs told News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch that the paper textbooks could be made obsolete by the iPad. Jobs wanted to circumvent the state certification process for textbook sales by having Apple release textbooks for free on the tablet computer.

Jobs died in October after a long battle with cancer.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-01-21-US-TEC-Apple-Textbooks/id-192466ad6dae48deb7d47d1f4b048cc2

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