US to send $60M in aid direct to Syria rebels

Secretary of State John Kerry held a news conference in Rome where he announced a major policy shift, saying the United States "will be providing an additional $60 million immediately in non-lethal assistance to support the coalition in its operational needs."

By Catherine Chomiak, Producer, NBC News

ROME ??In a policy shift, the United States on Thursday announced plans to send military rations and medical supplies directly to Syrian opposition fighters, but fell short of providing weapons and?ammunition?that the rebels had been asking for.

"The simple fact is (Syrian President Bashar) Assad cannot shoot his way out of this,"?Secretary of State John Kerry said after his first meeting with Syrian opposition leaders?in Rome.?"For more than a year the U.S. and our partners who have gathered here in Rome have called on Assad to heed the voice of the Syrian people and halt his war machine. Instead what we have seen is his brutality increase."

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For the first time, the U.S. will supply the Free Syrian Army with food for fighters on the ground and medical supplies for the wounded.

Kerry also announced $60 million in new aid to help the Syrian Opposition Coalition deliver basic goods and services, including security, sanitation, and education, to?communities that the rebels control.??The aid is intended to help counteract the influence of radical fighters.

The U.S. will also send "technical advisers" to support opposition staff in Egypt in implementing the assistance and ensure that it gets to the right people. The U.S. plan, forged with European allies, will not include weapons despite the calls of a growing number of American senators and members of the Syrian opposition.

When he was still a senator, John Kerry recommended looking into potentially arming the opposition and setting up safe zones inside the country. His predecessor, Secretary Hillary Clinton and then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also both urged last year that vetted units of the rebel force be armed and trained.?

/

A look back at the conflict that has overtaken the country.

Disappointed opposition?
The announcement is sure to also disappoint opponents of the Syrian regime who have been asking for weapons. ?Frustration with the West's stance had?prompted the opposition coalition to say last week that it would boycott the Rome talks. It changed its mind under U.S. pressure.

An unnamed European diplomat who spoke to Reuters held out the prospect of possible Western military support, saying the coalition and its Western and Arab backers would meet in Istanbul next week to discuss military and humanitarian support to the rebels. ?

Kerry, who is in Europe on his first foreign trip in his new position, has said that Washington is looking for new ways to help rebels fighting Assad's government and speed up political transition in the country.?

"We are working and will continue to work closely with the Syrian Opposition Coalition and our international partners in order to make sure that the assistance we give reaches who need it and that we want to have receive it, even those who are trapped in some of the hard to reach areas," Kerry said.

Secretary of State John Kerry met with Syrian opposition leaders today and has announced the U.S. will supply Syrian rebels with non-lethal aid. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

The West and Syria's neighbors have been looking for a solution to the two-year-old civil war in Syria that has claimed approximately 70,000 lives, forced at least 2.5 million people from their homes, and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing into neighboring countries. ?The conflict also threatens to destabilize the region, in particular neighboring Lebanon.

U.S. policymakers also are trying to make sure the aid does not fall into the hands of al-Qaida sympathizers fighting with the rebels.

A senior State Department official told NBC News on Thursday:

"We are concerned that we have extremists operating in and among the opposition who don't share the goals of a future Syria that is democratic, that's united, that is just, and that respects the human rights of all Syrians citizens and provides for all of them. So those members of the opposition that support our shared values need to be able to demonstrate that they can deliver a better day and need to set an example of a Syria where daily life is governed neither by the brutality of the Assad regime nor by the agenda of al-Qaida affiliated extremists."

Hardline groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamist Ahrar al-Sham have already waged some of the deadliest attacks in Syria, including car bombings in Damascus, Aleppo and elsewhere. Their ranks have been swollen by jihadi fighters from around the Muslim world.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related:

US, allies planning direct aid to Syrian rebels

Huge blast rocks central Damascus as Assad hints at talks

In initial coup for Kerry, Syria's opposition to attend Rome meeting

This story was originally published on Thu Feb 28, 2013 6:51 AM EST

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/28/17129047-us-to-send-rations-medical-supplies-to-syrian-rebels-but-not-weapons?lite

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Authorities raid The Scooter Store's Texas offices

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas (AP) ? Dozens of law enforcement officers have raided the Texas headquarters a power wheelchair and scooter company as part of an investigation into alleged fraud.

Authorities on Wednesday carried out a search warrant at the New Braunfels offices of The Scooter Store. Company officials didn?t immediately return messages for comment Thursday.

Timothy Menke with the Office of the Inspector General says the investigation involves his agency, plus the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Texas attorney general?s Medicaid fraud unit. An FBI spokesman declined comment.

The Scooter Store earlier this month cut 150 jobs and blamed pending government changes in claims processing and reimbursement. The company in September laid off about 220 workers, citing a drop in Medicare reimbursements.

Source: http://feeds.boston.com/c/35022/f/646898/s/28d0dda6/l/0L0Sboston0N0Cbusiness0Cnews0C20A130C0A20C210Cauthorities0Eraid0Ethe0Escooter0Estore0Etexas0Eoffices0CCaRCpSLSm0ADNOlc12VSyWN0Cstory0Bhtml/story01.htm

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Watch wild bobcats filmed in standoff on a Texas front lawn

Two wild bobcats are captured on camera in a standoff following a cat fight, and it all takes place steps away from someone's front door in a suburban Texas neighborhood.

Source: http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_22644358/wild-bobcats-standoff-texas-carrollton-highlands?source=rss

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Fed officials point to fiscal benefits of bond buying

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two top Federal Reserve officials offered a fresh defense of the U.S. central bank's asset-buying program on Friday, arguing that it helps the nation's fiscal health by boosting the economy.

The comments from Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren and Fed Governor Jerome Powell amounted to an effort to inoculate the central bank against political pressures that might mount if it faces losses on its massive bond portfolio when interest rates finally rise.

Both officials pointed to increased economic output and the related rise in tax revenues as two benefits of the central bank's policy of buying $85 billion in bonds per month.

"We do well to ... consider these benefits, and the costs of inaction, when evaluating policy," Rosengren, who is considered one of the more dovish Fed officials, said at a conference hosted by the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.

The Fed has said it would keep purchasing assets until the outlook for the labor market improved substantially, although minutes from the central bank's January policy meeting released on Wednesday showed some officials thought they might have to stop short of that goal due to risks the policy presents.

Most officials have focused on the possibility of asset price bubbles and future inflation, or the potential for roiling markets when the time comes to shrink the Fed's balance sheet, which has tripled since 2008 to around $3 trillion.

Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources, reported on Friday that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke had played down concerns that monetary policy was fueling asset bubbles at a private meeting with U.S. bankers earlier this month.

But the prospect of political blowback if the Fed loses money on its bonds also troubles officials, particularly since any losses would likely come when the central bank is raising the interest rate it pays commercial banks to park their excess reserves at the Fed.

The central bank plans to jack up that rate when it comes time to withdraw money from the economy to make sure it does not overheat.

"We're going to pay interest on reserves to large banks in the U.S., and to foreign banks, to the tune of tens of billions of dollars, at a time when we're not going to pay anything back to the U.S. Treasury," St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said from the audience at the conference.

"That sounds like a recipe for political problems."

PAYING THE PRICE

The central bank returns portfolio profits to the Treasury each year and it has never missed a payment before. Last year, remittances hit a record $89 billion thanks to its bloated balance sheet.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates it will contribute some $95 billion a year to federal coffers through 2016. But remittances are expected to hit zero from 2018 through 2020, before resuming in 2021.

"We are in a period where the attacks on the Federal Reserve are the worst I have seen," former Fed Governor Frederic Mishkin said during a panel at the conference. "This issue is going to come up big time in Congress."

Powell, in his first public remarks since joining the central bank's board last May, acknowledged the Fed could come under public and political criticism, but said any losses needed to be put in a broader context.

"Any temporary losses should be weighed against the expected social benefits of the increased economic growth generated by the (bond buying), which would include higher tax revenue from increased output," he said.

In his remarks Rosengren, who along with Bullard and Powell backed the Fed's bond buying plan in a vote last month, said the program helps the nation lower its debt-to-GDP ratio by reducing the interest rate the government pays bond holders.

It also reduces government spending in areas such as unemployment insurance because it reduces joblessness, he said.

Bullard, considered an inflation hawk, has expressed caution about expanding the central bank's balance sheet too far.

On Friday, he acknowledged more voices within the Fed are pressing to scale back bond buying. "The idea of tapering the program at some point in the future may be gaining some steam on the committee," he said on CNBC television.

But he added: "Fed policy is very easy and it's going to stay easy for a long time."

(Additional reporting by Jason Lange in Washington and Richard Leong in New York; Editing by James Dalgleish, Tim Ahmann and Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fed-officials-point-fiscal-benefits-bond-buying-165933027--business.html

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Man arrested after 110 mph chase in New Mexico

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/50896442/ns/local_news-albuquerque_nm/

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Senator puts drone toll at 4,700

A Predator B unmanned aircraft taxis at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Eric Gay/AP)Just how many people have America?s drones killed? Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has put the death toll at 4,700?the first time an American official has publicly put a figure on the impact of strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles. The South Carolina lawmaker's office said he was citing an estimate already discussed on cable television.

Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, disclosed the figure during a question and answer session on Tuesday with the Rotary Club of Easley in his home state of South Carolina. His remarks were first reported by the Easley Patch.

?We've killed 4,700,? the lawmaker said. ?Sometimes you hit innocent people, and I hate that, but we're at war, and we've taken out some very senior members of al-Qaida.?

Drone strikes, President Barack Obama?s signature tactic for killing suspected al-Qaida and other extremist fighters, have been ?very effective,? said Graham. ?It's a weapon that needs to be used.?

Amid a controversy sparked by Obama?s targeted assassination of American citizens overseas suspected of consorting with terrorists, Graham came down sharply against any judicial oversight of the drone war, calling the idea ?crazy.?

?I can't imagine, in World War [II] for Roosevelt to have gone to a bunch of judges and said, 'I need your permission before we can attack the enemy,'? Graham said.

Drone war expert Micah Zenko of the Council on Foreign Relations noted on his blog that Graham?s figure lined up with the high-end estimate by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

?Either Graham is a big fan of TBIJ?s work, or perhaps he inadvertently revealed the U.S. government?s body count for nonbattlefield targeted killings,? Zenko said.

Asked about the disclosure, Graham's office forwarded a clip from MSNBC in which the anchor cites the figure of 4,700 killed. Asked whether the Obama Administration harbored any concerns about Graham's comments, National Security Council Spokesman Tommy Vietor sent along a blog post including the same clip.

Graham did not specify whether he was discussing CIA drone strikes or military drone strikes.

Obama's expanded drone war has broad popular support in the U.S., according to a poll released earlier this month by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. That survey found 56 percent support such strikes and 26 percent oppose them. At the same time, 53 percent worry about potential civilian casualties. But overseas it faces majority opposition, Pew found last year.

(Hat tip: Agence France-Presse via the London Telegraph)

US defense contractor selling unarmed Predator drones to UAE

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/drones-killed-4-700-u-senator-says-141143752--politics.html

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Armstrong won't interview with USADA

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? Lance Armstrong won't do a tell-all interview under oath with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to reveal everything he knows about the use of performance-enhancing drugs in cycling.

USADA officials had told Armstrong he must speak with them if he wanted to reduce his lifetime ban from sports. Under their offer, Wednesday was the deadline for him to agree to the interview.

Armstrong attorney Tim Herman said that, after two months of negotiations, the cyclist refused participate in a process designed "only to demonize selected individuals."

Armstrong said previously he is willing to participate in an international effort to clean up a sport that is based mostly in Europe.

USADA chief executive Travis Tygart said the agency had expected Armstrong would agree to talk and would be "moving on" without him.

"Over the last few weeks he has led us to believe that he wanted to come in and assist USADA, but was worried of potential criminal and civil liability if he did so," Tygart said. "Today we learned from the media that Mr. Armstrong is choosing not to come in and be truthful and that he will not take the opportunity to work toward righting his wrongs in sport."

For more than a decade, Armstrong denied using performance-enhancing drugs. But last year, USADA released a report that detailed extensive doping on his seven Tour de France-winning teams and stripped him of those titles. Armstrong then admitted last month in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he doped to win those races.

He still faces several legal challenges.

Armstrong was the subject of a two-year federal grand jury investigation that was dropped a year ago without an indictment, but the Department of Justice is still considering whether to join a federal whistle-blower lawsuit filed by former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis.

Armstrong also has been sued by a Dallas-based SCA Promotions to recover more than $12 million in bonuses. And he has been sued by The Sunday Times in London to recover a libel judgment that Armstrong won against the paper.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/armstrong-wont-interview-usada-184224698--spt.html

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Elsevier wins 6 PROSE Awards

Public release date: 20-Feb-2013
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Contact: Christopher Capot
c.capot@elsevier.com
212-633-3164
Elsevier

Acclaim from the American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence

Philadelphia, PA, February 20, 2013 Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced that it received six 2012 PROSE Awards and three Honorable Mentions.

The 37th annual PROSE Awards the American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence were presented at the Association of American Publishers' Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division Annual Conference in Washington. PROSE honors the best in professional and scholarly publishing, as judged by peer publishers, librarians, academics and medical professionals. This year's competition attracted 518 entries of books, reference works, journals and electronic products in more than 40 categories; these represented the fifth consecutive year of a record-breaking entries count.

"The recent PROSE Awards show Elsevier's continuing dedication to publishing top-notch content in science and technology," stated Suzanne BeDell, managing director, Elsevier Science & Technology Books. "We congratulate all of the Elsevier authors that won these most prestigious awards."

The Elsevier 2012 PROSE Award winners, print as well as digital, are as follows, by category:

Chemistry & Physics, Honorable Mention

Chemical Analysis of Food: Techniques and Applications
By Yolanda Pico

Computing & Information Sciences

Practical Text Mining and Statistical Analysis for Non-Structured Text Data Applications
By Gary Miner, John Elder, Andrew Fast, Thomas Hill, Robert Nisbet, Dursun Delen, Andrew Fast

eProduct / Biological & Life Sciences

SimChart, by Elsevier

eProduct / Social Sciences

Policing in America: Exam Cram
By Larry Gaines, Victor Kappeler, an iTunes App

Multivolume Reference / Science

Comprehensive Renewable Energy
Edited by Ali Sayigh

Multivolume Reference / Science, Honorable Mention

The Geologic Time Scale 2012 2-Volume Set
By F M Gradstein, J G Ogg, Mark Schmitz, Gabi Ogg

Nursing & Allied Sciences

Know the Body: Muscle, Bone and Palpation Essentials
By Joseph E. Muscolino

Nursing & Allied Health Sciences, Honorable Mention

Local Anesthesia for the Dental Hygienist
By Demetra Daskalos Logothetis, RDH, MS

Single Volume Reference / Science

The Laboratory Rabbit, Guinea Pig, Hamster, and Other Rodents
By Mark Suckow, Karla Stevens, Ronald Wilson

###

For more information or to purchase these titles, please visit www.store.elsevier.com.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, Reaxys, ClinicalKey and Mosby's Nursing Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading provider of professional information solutions in the Science, Medical, Legal and Risk and Business sectors, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

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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: 20-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Christopher Capot
c.capot@elsevier.com
212-633-3164
Elsevier

Acclaim from the American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence

Philadelphia, PA, February 20, 2013 Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced that it received six 2012 PROSE Awards and three Honorable Mentions.

The 37th annual PROSE Awards the American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence were presented at the Association of American Publishers' Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division Annual Conference in Washington. PROSE honors the best in professional and scholarly publishing, as judged by peer publishers, librarians, academics and medical professionals. This year's competition attracted 518 entries of books, reference works, journals and electronic products in more than 40 categories; these represented the fifth consecutive year of a record-breaking entries count.

"The recent PROSE Awards show Elsevier's continuing dedication to publishing top-notch content in science and technology," stated Suzanne BeDell, managing director, Elsevier Science & Technology Books. "We congratulate all of the Elsevier authors that won these most prestigious awards."

The Elsevier 2012 PROSE Award winners, print as well as digital, are as follows, by category:

Chemistry & Physics, Honorable Mention

Chemical Analysis of Food: Techniques and Applications
By Yolanda Pico

Computing & Information Sciences

Practical Text Mining and Statistical Analysis for Non-Structured Text Data Applications
By Gary Miner, John Elder, Andrew Fast, Thomas Hill, Robert Nisbet, Dursun Delen, Andrew Fast

eProduct / Biological & Life Sciences

SimChart, by Elsevier

eProduct / Social Sciences

Policing in America: Exam Cram
By Larry Gaines, Victor Kappeler, an iTunes App

Multivolume Reference / Science

Comprehensive Renewable Energy
Edited by Ali Sayigh

Multivolume Reference / Science, Honorable Mention

The Geologic Time Scale 2012 2-Volume Set
By F M Gradstein, J G Ogg, Mark Schmitz, Gabi Ogg

Nursing & Allied Sciences

Know the Body: Muscle, Bone and Palpation Essentials
By Joseph E. Muscolino

Nursing & Allied Health Sciences, Honorable Mention

Local Anesthesia for the Dental Hygienist
By Demetra Daskalos Logothetis, RDH, MS

Single Volume Reference / Science

The Laboratory Rabbit, Guinea Pig, Hamster, and Other Rodents
By Mark Suckow, Karla Stevens, Ronald Wilson

###

For more information or to purchase these titles, please visit www.store.elsevier.com.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, Reaxys, ClinicalKey and Mosby's Nursing Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading provider of professional information solutions in the Science, Medical, Legal and Risk and Business sectors, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

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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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/e-ews022013.php

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Engineer's research employs semiconductors to better store, use solar energy

Public release date: 20-Feb-2013
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Contact: Herb Booth
hbooth@uta.edu
817-272-7075
University of Texas at Arlington

UT Arlington engineer lands NSF Early Career Development grant

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $400,000 Early Career Development grant to Fuqiang Liu, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering, to improve the way solar energy is captured, stored and transmitted for use.

Liu's process uses semiconductors in an artificial photosynthesis process to capture solar energy. Current methods use hydrogen and oxygen to harness power from the sun.

Liu said his team places advanced semiconductors in contact with vanadium or cerium ions. Vanadium and cerium are two elements. Then, under sunlight, the electrons and holes created by the semiconductors react photoelectrochemically with the vanadium or cerium ions.

As a result, Liu said the vanadium or cerium ions either gain or lose electrons similar to the way a rechargeable battery works. The process stores the solar energy. Liu's team then uses a discharge process to generate electricity.

"Compared to the current approach, we can potentially increase the yield of solar energy by 10 times and improve efficiency at least four times," Liu said.

Jean-Pierre Bardet, dean of the College of Engineering, said Liu's work holds great promise for the field of sustainable energy.

"When we determine better ways to use energy that is readily available, we are helping everyone," Bardet said. "We appreciate the NSF's support for Dr. Liu's work."

Liu noted that the world's energy consumption doubles every 14 years.

"At our current rate, there are only about 100 years of fossil fuels left," Liu said. "Solar energy is a great source because it is plentiful. The challenges with solar energy always have been storage and transmission. My research helps meet some of those challenges."

Liu's work is an example of research excellence at The University of Texas at Arlington, an institution of more than 33,800 students and more than 2,200 faculty members in the heart of North Texas. Visit www.uta.edu to learn more.

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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: 20-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Herb Booth
hbooth@uta.edu
817-272-7075
University of Texas at Arlington

UT Arlington engineer lands NSF Early Career Development grant

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $400,000 Early Career Development grant to Fuqiang Liu, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering, to improve the way solar energy is captured, stored and transmitted for use.

Liu's process uses semiconductors in an artificial photosynthesis process to capture solar energy. Current methods use hydrogen and oxygen to harness power from the sun.

Liu said his team places advanced semiconductors in contact with vanadium or cerium ions. Vanadium and cerium are two elements. Then, under sunlight, the electrons and holes created by the semiconductors react photoelectrochemically with the vanadium or cerium ions.

As a result, Liu said the vanadium or cerium ions either gain or lose electrons similar to the way a rechargeable battery works. The process stores the solar energy. Liu's team then uses a discharge process to generate electricity.

"Compared to the current approach, we can potentially increase the yield of solar energy by 10 times and improve efficiency at least four times," Liu said.

Jean-Pierre Bardet, dean of the College of Engineering, said Liu's work holds great promise for the field of sustainable energy.

"When we determine better ways to use energy that is readily available, we are helping everyone," Bardet said. "We appreciate the NSF's support for Dr. Liu's work."

Liu noted that the world's energy consumption doubles every 14 years.

"At our current rate, there are only about 100 years of fossil fuels left," Liu said. "Solar energy is a great source because it is plentiful. The challenges with solar energy always have been storage and transmission. My research helps meet some of those challenges."

Liu's work is an example of research excellence at The University of Texas at Arlington, an institution of more than 33,800 students and more than 2,200 faculty members in the heart of North Texas. Visit www.uta.edu to learn more.

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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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/uota-ere022013.php

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BBC Sport application finally makes appearance on Android

British sports fans rejoice, the BBC Sport application for Android is finally here. Following on from a pretty decent mobile website that streamed live video such as the Olympic Games, and the release of an iOS app, Android users can now enjoy the best the BBC Sport team has to offer. Anyone who uses the BBC Sport website will know the depth of sports available, and the coverage for the UK's Football teams in particular. 

A couple of the headline features include a live football scores section, and the ability to play on-demand and live video. As such, availability is likely restricted to the UK, and we've already tried to find it in the U.S. to no avail. Spending a short time with the application leaves a mixed bag of opinions. The app itself is well designed, pretty slick to use, and the full BBC Sport content is there. Video quality in our early testing wasn't great, and hopefully is something the BBC will work on improving in coming weeks and months. If, like me, you've been waiting on this one, grab a copy at the Play Store link above

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/yHfc0ttW-HI/story01.htm

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Obama stands firm on gun control despite long odds

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- President Barack Obama declared Monday on his first trip outside Washington to promote gun control that a consensus is emerging for universal background checks for purchasers, though he conceded a tough road lay ahead to pass an assault weapons ban over formidable opposition in Congress.

"We should restore the ban on military-style assault weapons and a 10-round limit for magazines," Obama said in a brief speech, standing firm on his full package on gun-control measures despite long odds. Such a ban "deserves a vote in Congress because weapons of war have no place on our streets or in our schools or threatening our law enforcement officers."

The president spoke from a special police operations center in a city once known to some as "Murderapolis" but where gun violence has dropped amid a push to address it from city leaders. Officers stood behind him, dressed in crisp uniforms of blue, white and brown.

The site conveyed Obama's message that a reduction in violence can be achieved nationally, even if Americans have sharp disagreements over gun control. That includes among members of his own party in Washington.

Suggesting he won't get all he's proposing, he said, "We don't have to agree on everything to agree it's time to do something."

The president unveiled his gun-control plans last month after the shootings at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. But many of the proposals face tough opposition from some in Congress and from the National Rifle Association.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he wants to give the bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines a vote. But he will not say whether he will support either, and advocates and opponents alike predict they are unlikely to pass.

Putting the controversial measures up for a vote could put some Democratic senators in a tough spot. That includes some from conservative-leaning states who are up for re-election next year and face the prospect of voting against either fervent gun-rights supporters or Obama and gun-control supporters in the party's base.

Reid himself came in for criticism for declining to stand with the president by Minneapolis' Democratic mayor, R.T. Rybak, who accompanied Obama while he was in town. "He's dancing around this issue and people are dying in this country," Rybak said of Reid on MSNBC.

Democratic lawmakers and aides, as well as lobbyists, say an assault weapons ban has the least chance of being approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee that is working up the legislation. They say a ban on high-capacity magazines is viewed as the next least likely proposal to survive, though some compromise version of it might, allowing more than the 10-round maximum that Obama favors.

Likeliest to be included are universal background checks and prohibitions against gun trafficking, they say. One lobbyist said other possible terms include steps to improve record keeping on resales of guns and perhaps provisions that would make it harder for mentally ill people from obtaining firearms.

Asked last week what was likely to be in his committee's bill, committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said he didn't yet know but "I don't know how anybody can be opposed to universal background checks." He added, "I think gun trafficking, you've got to be able to close that. I don't know how anybody, anybody can object to that."

Obama also was more upbeat on the prospects of universal background checks, including for purchases at gun shows.

"The good news is that we're starting to see a consensus emerge about the action Congress needs to take," he said. "The vast majority of Americans, including a majority of gun owners, support requiring criminal background checks for anyone trying to buy a gun. There's no reason why we can't get that done."

He urged Americans to call their members of Congress to push for his entire package of stronger gun controls. "Tell them now is the time for action."

"Changing the status quo is never easy," Obama said. "This will be no exception. The only way we can reduce gun violence in this country is if the American people decide it's important, if you decide it's important, if parents and teachers, police officers and pastors, hunters and sportsmen, Americans of every background stand up and say, this time, it's got to be different. We've suffered too much pain to stand by and do nothing."

The White House says Obama is not writing off any part of his package despite the long odds for the assault weapons ban in particular before votes are scheduled or he takes his arguments on the road. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who has been helping push the gun control package, said he and Obama spoke on the matter Sunday and agreed that Washington in a vacuum is unlikely to move quickly.

"If this is Washington trying to drive this by itself, it doesn't go very far," Duncan said at a meeting with college presidents who have signed on to help lobby Congress to take action to protect students.

The White House said Obama made his maiden trip on the gun control package to Minneapolis because the city has taken steps to tackle gun violence, including a push for stricter background checks. The city launched a program in 2008 aimed at providing more resources for at-risk youth and helping rehabilitate young people who have already committed crimes.

In January, Minneapolis also hosted a regional summit on gun violence for elected officials from around the Midwest. The county's sheriff, Richard Stanek, is a Republican who has been working with the White House to develop a palatable set of gun regulations, with a particular focus on strengthening background checks.

Ahead of Monday's trip, the White House released a photo of the president skeet shooting at Camp David, the presidential retreat, which prompted more question about the president's experience with guns. White House press secretary Jay Carney said he was not aware of Obama personally owning any firearms. He said Obama has shot a gun elsewhere, although he didn't know when or if he had done so- before becoming president. "He never intended to suggest he had grown up as a hunter," Carney said.

Asked whether the president shoots skeet or trap, Carney told reporters, "I'm not an expert, and I don't think he would claim to be either." But he said of the president's shooting skill, "I think he has gotten better."

On Tuesday, four House members ? two Republicans and two Democrats ? planned to announce bipartisan legislation making gun trafficking a federal crime and strengthening penalties against people who legally buy firearms but give them to others who are barred from purchasing them, such as felons.

House GOP leaders have sent no signals that they intend to move imminently on gun legislation.

"The committees of jurisdiction will look at the issues surrounding violence in our society. And when the Senate produces a bill, we'll take a look at it," said Michael Steel, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

___

Associated Press writers Alan Fram and Philip Elliott contributed to this report.

___

Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nedrapickler and Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-stands-firm-gun-control-134512511.html

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Food Nearby: Super Smoker's Veterans Open Vernon's BBQ Near ...

Vernon's BBQ is a causal place. You first order at the counter, eat off paper trays with plastic forks and serve yourself from the soda machine and sauce bar.

But the food is not simple. It's pure BBQ goodness, smoked right on the parking lot and served up with special dry rub spices. The sauce is served at a communal bar because each unique sauce, from sweet and tangy 'Lou style to XXX hot sauce, is served warm.

Why warm? Staff at Vernon's say the sauce is just better that way. Why spoil your hot plate of ribs with cold crusty sauce that's been sitting on the table?

According to the Riverfront Times, co-owners Matt Stiffelman and Tim Zolman came up with the recipes by combines flavors from around the nation.

The recipes come from different flavors of food I've had, places I've traveled and things I want but can't get here," says Stiffelman. The ribs, for example, are marinated in pur?ed jalapenos and pineapple to achieve a Hawaiian flavor. The partners offer five different sauces, from sweet to tangy to smoky to spicy, all of them, like everything else at Vernon's, house-made.

Stiffelman and Zolman both worked at Super Smoker's early in their careers. More recently, Stiffelman?a University City native?worked for Ben and Jerry's and opened the location on the Loop.

Vernon's BBQ serves pulled pork, beef brisket and ribs, turkey, ham, chicken and even smoked tofu. The sauces are all vegetarian. They have traditional sides like creamy cole slaw, corn and potato salad. They offer two kinds of baked beans, one vegetarian and one with generous helpings of burnt ends. The green beans are "Tequila Lime" flavored and there's a seasonal smoked fruit.

Prices for meats start at $5 or $6 for a half order and $7 or $8 for a full order. Ribs are more expensive at $12 for a half and $22 for a full order.

Sides are priced at $1.29 for a single serving. You can also order them by the pint ($4) or the quart ($7.50).

Vernon's is open from Tuesday to Sunday. They're open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. most nights, and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. They are closed on Mondays.

Source: http://ladue-frontenac.patch.com/articles/food-near-by-super-smokers-veterans-open-vernons-bbq-near-the-loop

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Proving Negligence Against a Nursing Home - Eldercare Resource ...

Editor's Note:

Recently we published an article regarding helping the elderly to receive compensation for care costs accrued after a fall or injury.? This article resulted in a flood of questions; many of which were focused on injuries sustained by the elderly in nursing homes.? We've asked Jonathan Rosenfeld, an attorney specializing in nursing home injury cases, to shed some light on what is required to build a case against a nursing home.? Follows is his response.

Unfortunately there are many loved ones that are injured or die due to negligence or improper care while in a nursing home. It is a cold, hard truth but one that is not easily proven. When a resident is harmed while in the care of a nursing home, it becomes the responsibility of the family of the resident to prove that the nursing home is to blame, even when the evidence seems obvious.

A case against a nursing home for negligence or wrongful death is usually considered a medical malpractice claim. It is not a simple case to prove; the attorney representing the patient or patient?s family must be able to prove that the injury or death was due to negligence on the part of the nursing home. This means the case must be substantiated by evidence that the nursing home did not provide what is considered standard care to the point that it caused injury or death. These types of cases are extremely complicated to prove due to the fact that most patients in nursing homes are already in poor health. The family must be able to prove, with the help of an experienced nursing home injury attorney, that the main cause of the injury was due to negligent care. Though certainly possible, it can be a long, difficult battle that families and the patient must endure, although worth the effort to stop the nursing home from harming others in their care. Some aspects that will need to be proven are:

• The nursing home deviated from standard care of a patient to the point that there was injury or death
• That the negligence was the primary reason for the injury or death
• The patient did not receive treatment that would be normally expected and this lack of care lead to the injury or wrongful death

For any family member that has had a loved one who was injured while in the care of a nursing home, the first step after making sure the loved one is safe and in the hands of caring medical personnel should be to consult a nursing home injury attorney. There is certain documentation and testimony that may be needed to start a case and the sooner the evidence can be obtained, the better chance the attorney will have to be able to make a good case. No one wants to think that those who have been trusted to care for their loved one have harmed them. However, it does happen and when it is done in a nursing home setting, there is legal recourse. Although both the state and Federal governments regulate these institutions, it generally comes down to the families of the patients to ensure that justice is served on the behalf of their loved ones. It is a painstakingly complex process, but with the help of an experienced nursing home attorney, families and their loved ones can make sure the negligent facility is held responsible. ?

Source: http://eldercareresource.blogspot.com/2013/02/proving-negligence-against-nursing-home.html

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Syrian opposition chief under fire for talks with Assad allies

MUNICH (Reuters) - Syria's opposition leader flew back to his Cairo headquarters from Germany on Sunday to explain to skeptical allies his decision to talk with President Bashar al-Assad's main backers Russia and Iran.

The Russian and Iranian foreign ministers, and U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, portrayed Syrian National Coalition leader Moaz Alkhatib's new willingness to talk with the Assad regime as a major step towards resolving the two-year-old war.

"If we want to stop the bloodshed we cannot continue putting the blame on one side or the other," Iran's Ali Akbar Salehi said on Sunday, welcoming Alkhatib's overtures and adding that he was ready to keep talking to the opposition. Iran is Assad's main military backer together with Russia.

"This is a very important step. Especially because the coalition was created on the basis of categorical rejection of any talks with the regime," Lavrov was quoted as saying on Sunday by Russia's Itar Tass news agency.

Russia has blocked three U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed at pushing Assad out or pressuring him to end a civil war in which more than 60,000 people have died. But Moscow has also tried to distance itself from Assad by saying it is not trying to prop him up and will not offer him asylum.

Syrian state media said Assad received a senior Iranian official and told him Syria could withstand "threats ... and aggression" like an air attack on a military base last week, which Damascus has blamed on Israel.

"USELESS" TALKING TO IRAN

Politicians from the United States, Europe and the Middle East at the Munich Security Conference praised Alkhatib's "courage". But the moderate Islamist preacher was likely to face sharp criticism from the exiled leadership back in Cairo.

Alkhatib has put his leadership on the line by saying he would be willing to talk to representatives of the Assad regime on condition they release 150,000 prisoners and issue passports to the tens of thousands of displaced people who have fled to neighboring countries but do not have documents.

Walid al-Bunni, a member of the Coalition's 12-member politburo, described Alkhatib's meeting with Iran's foreign minister as a failure.

"It was unsuccessful. The Iranians are unprepared to do anything that could help the causes of the Syrian Revolution," Bunni, a former political prisoner, told Reuters from Budapest.

Bunni said the 70-member Coalition is preparing to convene in full in Cairo, to be briefed by Alkhatib on his latest diplomatic moves and meetings in Munich.

Alkhatib, whose family are custodians of the Umayyad Mosque in the historic center of Damascus, is seen as a bulwark against Salafist forces who are a main player in the armed opposition.

He was chosen as the head of the Coalition in Qatar last year, with crucial backing from the Muslim Brotherhood.

One of Alkhatib's colleagues on the Coalition politburo, speaking on condition of anonymity, pointed to comments by Salehi and Lavrov on Sunday, a day after their meetings with Alkhatib, as evidence that they still backed Assad.

Salehi told the Munich conference where the round of talks took place that the solution was to hold elections in Syria - making no mention of Assad having to leave the country.

FIZZLE OUT?

Firm opposition backers like Qatar's Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani and U.S. Republican Senator John McCain voiced frustration in Munich at the international community's reluctance to intervene in the Syrian conflict.

"We consider the U.N. Security Council directly responsible for the continuing tragedy of the Syrian people, the thousands of lives that were lost, the blood that was spilled and is still flowing at the hands of the regime's forces," said al-Thani.

Moscow played down the significance of the discussions in Munich, with one diplomatic source calling the talks between Lavrov and Alkhatib "simply routine meetings".

"We have presented our views when Minister Lavrov meet Alkhatib, we have noted his comments that there is still a chance for dialogue with Syrian government. That is something we have called for," said the Russian source.

"To what extent is that realistic, that's a different matter and there are doubts about that," said the source.

One source in Khatib's delegation said the offer of dialogue would find an echo among Syrians opposed to Assad who have not taken up arms "and want to get rid of him with the minimum bloodshed".

Fawaz Tello, a veteran Syrian opposition campaigner based in Berlin, said Alkhatib had made "a calculated political maneuver to embarrass Assad".

"But it is an incomplete initiative and it will probably fizzle out," Tello told Reuters. "The Assad regime cannot implement any item in the series of initiatives we have seen lately because it would simply fall."

Russia and Iran were already beginning to use Alkhatib's initiative negatively, he said, while "the regime and its allies will only treat Alkhatib's meetings as an additional opportunity to smash the rebellion or weaken it".

Asked about the risk of his strategy being seen as a sign of weakness in the opposition or frustration at the Free Syrian Army's gains, Alkhatib told Reuters in Munich: "The fighters have high morale and they are making daily advances."

(Additional reporting by Alexandra Hudson in Munich and Gabriela Baczynska in Moscow; Writing by Stephen Brown; Editing by Andrew Roche)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-opposition-chief-under-fire-talks-assad-allies-125537504.html

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Prescription overdose rate reaches epidemic levels in NYC

Feb. 3, 2013 ? The rate of drug overdose from prescription opioids increased seven-fold in New York City over a 16-year period and was concentrated especially among white residents of the city, according to latest research at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The study is one of the earliest and most comprehensive analyses of how the opioid epidemic has affected an urban area.

The findings are published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

There are two classes of prescription opioids: analgesics, or painkillers like Oxycontin (oxycodone), and methadone, which is used to treat heroin addiction but which carries a risk of overdose. Using data from the city's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the period 1990-2006, the researchers examined the factors associated with death from prescription opioids versus heroin, which historically has been the most common type of opioid fatality in urban areas.

They found that the increase in the rate of drug overdose was driven entirely by analgesic overdoses, which were 2.7 per 100,000 persons in 2006 or seven times higher than in 1990. Meanwhile, methadone overdoses remained stable, and heroin overdoses declined.

Whites were much more likely to overdose on analgesics than blacks or Hispanics. By 2006, the fatality rate among white males was almost two times higher than the rate among Latinos and three times higher than the rate among blacks.

Deaths were mostly concentrated in neighborhoods with high-income inequality but lower-than-average rates of poverty.

"A possible reason for the concentration of fatalities among whites is that this group is more likely to have access to a doctor who can write prescriptions," says Magdalena Cerd?, DrPH, assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health and the lead author on the study. "However, more often than not, those who get addicted have begun using the drug through illicit channels rather than through a prescription."

Price may also play a role, since heroin costs less than analgesics. Additionally, users of prescription opioids may perceive they are safer than other drugs.

Although methadone overdose rates did not increase overall, fatalities among whites increased almost nine-fold while among blacks decreased by 2%. This shift may reflect a change in the nature of methadone use, from a treatment for heroin addiction to a treatment for chronic non-cancer pain.

The study suggests that the profile of a recreational prescription opioid user is very different from the heroin consumer, with less involvement in street-based forms of drug-trafficking and use of other drugs such as cocaine. Because of the different demographics between heroin and prescription opioid users, a different public health approach is needed to target the latter group, say the authors. "It's a different type of drug with a different profile, and we need a different type of response to it," said Dr. Cerd?.

Over the last 20 years, prescription drug overdoses have risen dramatically in the U. S. By 2006, overdose fatalities exceeded the number of suicides, and by 2009, they exceeded the number of motor vehicle deaths.

Most studies on recreational opioid use have focused on rural areas, which have been hit the hardest by the epidemic, but this study suggests that urban areas are contending with a growing health burden from opioid use.

The authors recommend regulating the aggressive marketing of potent drugs like Oxycontin, controlling over-prescribing of analgesics, and taking stricter measures to regulate sales. They also say there should be more law enforcement measures to identify illicit networks of distribution of these drugs and education outreach for physicians and patients.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/f8WWY1oXyXA/130203085130.htm

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