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Between 1976 and 2009, the rate of metastatic breast cancer (cancer that has spread to distant organs such as bones or the brain) among women ages 25 to 39 increased by about 2 percent each year, the study found.?
While this increase is small ? it translates to about 1.4 extra cases per 100,000 people over a 34-year period ? it shows no signs of tapering off, the researchers said.
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Because this is the first time researchers have seen an increase in advanced breast cancer in the U.S., the findings will need to be confirmed by future studies. But if real, the results are particularly alarming because young women with advanced breast cancer have a low survival rate (about 31 percent of them survive five years). What's more, young women are not advised to receive breast cancer screening unless they have a family history of the disease, the researchers said.?
The reason for the increase is also not clear, and will need to be investigated further, ?said study researcher Dr. Rebecca Johnson of Seattle Children's Hospital.
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Breast cancer in young women is less common than it is in older women: about 1 in 227 American women will develop the disease before age 30; 1 in 42 will be diagnosed with it by age 50; and 1 in 28 will develop it by age 60, according to the National Cancer Institute.
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In the new study, Johnson and colleagues analyzed information on breast cancer incidence using databases from the National Cancer Institute.
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The researchers found that the rate of metastatic breast cancer among women ages 25 to 39 increased from 1.53 cases per 100,000 people in 1976 to 2.90 cases per 100,000 people in 2009. The biggest increase was seen during the most recent decade. Among all young women with breast cancer, the proportion diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer increased from 4.4 percent in the 1970s to 5.5 percent in the 1990s and 7.2 percent in the 2000s.
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By contrast, there was no increase in early-stage breast cancer in young women, or breast cancer of any stage in older women, the researchers said.?
A possible reason for the new increase could be that what doctors call metastatic breast cancer is being diagnosed at a different stage now than it used to be. But if that were the case, we would expect to see decreases in the number of women diagnosed with earlier stages of breast cancer, which has not happened, Johnson said.?
The researchers examined existing studies to see if they could find an environmental factor that changed during the same period when the increase occurred, but couldn't find one, Johnson said. The increase in obesity in recent years has been a significant change, but earlier studies actually found a decreased risk of breast cancer in obese young women. If the increase is real, it's likely that more than one factor is responsible, Johnson said.?
A 2007 study in Switzerland also detected an increase in breast cancer among young women. Data supporting an increase in breast cancer in young women may have to come from other countries, as the largest database documenting cancer incidence in the United States only goes back to the 1970s, Johnson said.
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'I drank this water, I loved the way it tasted. It gave me a certain amount of energy,' says Diddy about AQUAhydrate.
By Gil Kaufman, with additional reporting by James Lacsina
Mark Wahlberg and Sean Combs at the Aqua Hydrate Press Conference
Photo: MTV News
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702782/diddy-mark-wahlberg-aquahydrate.jhtml
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Jan. 11, 2013?
?Study participants included 124 tennis players (74 of whom played tennis exclusively). The study has enrolled 891 athletes so far, and has received two grants from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine.The study began as a project in a Loyola program called STAR (Student Training in Approaches to Research.??Among single-sport tennis players, the ones who suffered injuries spent 12.6 hours per week playing organized tennis and only 2.4 hours per week in free play and recreation.
???This article really got me, because I used to play tennis, and I have to stop for my injuries.? I started playing when I was five, I loved it. The classes were active and entertaining and I had a lot of fun, and I had a lot of recreation playing, but when I turned 12 I started taking the competitions very seriously, and started training 4 times a week, that was 8 hours per week. When I turned 14 I got in the tennis camp for the summer and I literally played every day for 45 days 8 hours the day. When I got back home I wanted to be perfect, that created me a lot of frustration and stress, I played the whole day until 9 pm.This article links to my life because, well with so much intensive training, in the middle of a competition I got a horrible pain in my back turned out that I had scoliosis; I had an S shape on my column. I had to go to physiotherapy and swimming classes.?I?m not allowed to play anymore, this studies are true, If I had taken it slowly and actually playing for fun and not to win and be the best, I wouldn?t had get injured and I would still be able to play.?The area of interaction of this article is Health and Social Education because is a reaserch for young player injuries done by Society for Tennis Medicine and Science and United States Tennis Association-Tennis Medicine and Injury.?Source: http://arisscience10.blogspot.com/2013/02/toprevent-injuries-young-athletes-may.html
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One of the worst pieces of advice you can ever listen to is: raise your prices if you want to be more profitable. Why? Because it?s grossly incomplete.
In this blog post, I want to share specific actionable things you can do to raise your prices by 300% or more (also referred to as being a premium provider). Besides the obvious benefit of being more profitable, charging premium prices also enables you to grow faster and, counter intuitively, attract better clients. From a lifestyle perspective, you can also hit six figures or higher with only a handful of clients and with very little staff and infrastructure (goodbye complex sales funnels).
I have applied this approach for myself and my clients in multiple markets including markets that are notoriously price sensitive. It works best if you?re in a position to be able to set your own prices / fees.
Becoming a premium provider requires you to implement 2 key things:
Here are some real-world examples that will show these principles in action.
Marty is a fit 50-year old who was a spokesperson for a weight loss company (he lost 75 pounds under some very challenging circumstances). He was approached constantly after each public appearance on how he did it. Finding that he wanted a more active role, he decided to launch his own business. Because he had no track record, he felt he needed to start at the bottom and coach people for free. As you can imagine, his results was abysmal because these folks never committed to what he was coaching them on. After he became my client, I recommended that he narrowed his target market to male business owners and executives between 45 and 55.
Why this target market? Marty is a male business owner so there?s affinity and people in that age range tend to be more affluent vs. people in the 20s or 30s (a much, much more crowded market and much more commoditized).
To summarize: in less than 45 days of working together, Marty has sold his 1st client at $800 and his highest sale has been $4,000 so far (my goal is to get him up to $10,000 per client). He?s even landed a world-famous heart surgeon in Italy (!) as a client (Marty lives in Chicago). His big promise is he can help his clients quickly get in the best shape on their life mentally and physically, not how to get six-pack abs (that appeals more to a younger audience).
As a second example, Angela helps folks release destructive habits that lead to overstress (this refers to when you?re so stressed that your physical and mental facilities start breaking down). Until now, she has referred to herself as a stress management expert, which immediately caps her financial results. Instead, I have repositioned her as a peak performance specialist.
With that in mind, she is initially targeting female business owners and executives, and she?s also raised her fees by over 1,000% (with her target market, having stress is sometimes worn as a badge of honor hence the repositioning to a peak performance specialist).
Finally, she has connections to very high net worth families. In this case, she has to raise her fees just to be credible to this target market (as I advised her, if they?re paying you the same as their maids, it?s unlikely they will take you seriously).
Prior to working together, she was spending months trying to figure out how to sell a $47 product and implementing a maze to upsell the buyers into a $297 product. Instead, we have set all that aside and focus on attracting premium clients that can pay her thousands of dollars per sale (with the high net worth families, the goal is to charge 5 figures or more per sale).
So here?s the game plan for you to raise your prices / fees by 300% or more almost overnight:
By applying these 2 simple principles, you can pass on marginal buyers and focus on premium buyers instead. You can also save weeks and months of your life from having to come up with a gigantic upsell maze that usually cost a fortune to implement.
Alex Nghiem ? who has written 1 posts on ShoeMoney.com.
Alex Nghiem is an in-demand business strategist that helps his worldwide clients attract premium buyers that pay top dollars. To get access to more hands-on training and detailed case studies, go to http://www.expertriches.com/shoemoney
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Slate's?New York office?is looking for interns for the summer to help with the magazine's culture section, with the?photo and art department, and to contribute to our?news blog, ?The Slatest.?
Candidates for the?culture section?must be available at least four full days per week. They must be highly organized, have a proven interest in the arts, and be very familiar with?Slate. They must also be able to work quickly, efficiently, and without much supervision. For the right candidate, there may be an opportunity for occasional writing. Candidates must be full-time students (in college or graduate school).
To apply, email a cover letter that clearly outlines your availability and cultural interests, a r?sum?, a short critique (no more than 300 words) of any "Culturebox" from the past year, and three clips or writing samples (links are fine, but no PDF files) to slatecultureinternship@gmail.com. Please use the subject line "Slate Culture Internship." The deadline for summer internships in New York is March 15.
Slate's?Washington, D.C., office?is also looking for interns. The description for New York applies, although the internship in D.C. is focused on?politics?rather than culture. Candidates must be full-time students (in college or graduate school).
To apply, email a r?sum?; a 300-word critique of any?Slate?story?from the past year relating to politics, policy, the law, or other Washington-related topics; and three clips or writing samples to?slatedcinterns@gmail.com. Please use the subject line "Slate D.C. Internship." The deadline for receipt of applications is March 15.
Slate?s New York office?is looking for applicants for an internship with the?photo and art department. Interns will gain hands-on experience editing photos, producing slideshows, and selecting art. Applicants?must be matriculated students, available at least two full days a week for 10-12 weeks starting this fall. They should be highly organized visual thinkers who are comfortable working efficiently and without much supervision. This is an editing?not shooting?internship; however, there are ample opportunities for motivated interns to work on special projects and publish their work. This internship is unpaid. To apply, email a cover letter that clearly outlines your availability, a r?sum?, and links to visual works online (no PDF or attachment files please) to?vivian.selbo@slate.com by March 15.
Slate's?New York office?is also seeking highly energetic, self-starting individuals who have a nose for news, along with sharp and quick writing skills, to contribute to our news blog,?The Slatest. Applicants should be tech-savvy and have great editorial judgment. Previous reporting experience is a plus, and the ability to write clean, quick, and clear copy is a must. This position is unpaid, and candidates?must be currently enrolled in college or grad school to apply. This internship is part-time, four full days a week, starting this summer. Applicants must be able to work out of?Slate?s New York office. Please send a r?sum? and very brief statement of interest to?slatestjob@gmail.com. Deadline is March 15.
Slate's Washington, D.C., office is looking for an intern to work on data reporting, data visualizations, and interactives with our interactives editor. Candidates must be full-time students in college or graduate school who are available at least two full days per week. This is a position for journo-geeks with sharp news judgment, keen math and writing skills, and interest in computer science and its applications to journalism. The intern will be responsible for pitching story ideas; hunting down, structuring, and manipulating data; testing and critiquing new productions; writing data stories; and producing his or her own interactives and visualizations. Candidates must know how to use Excel and have a solid grasp of modern HTML. Skills in Javascript, JSON, XML, jQuery, graphic design, statistics, computer science, and FOIA requests are all a plus.
To apply, email a cover letter that clearly outlines your availability; a resume; and links to writing samples, interactives, graphics, etc. to?chris.kirk@slate.com by March 15.
Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=c74301a2593eff24d89568ad8d258494
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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Syria is ready for talks with its armed opponents, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Monday, in the clearest offer yet of negotiations with rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.
But Moualem said at the same time Syria would pursue its fight "against terrorism", alluding to the conflict with rebels in which the United Nations says 70,000 people have been killed.
Assad and his foes are locked in a bloody stalemate after nearly two years of combat, destruction and civilian suffering.
"We are ready for dialogue with everyone who wants it...Even with those who have weapons in their hands. Because we believe that reforms will not come through bloodshed but only through dialogue," Russia's Itar-Tass news agency quoted Moualem as saying.
He was speaking in Moscow at a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Russia is a staunch ally of Assad.
Moaz Alkhatib, head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, said in Cairo he had not had held any contacts about talks with Damascus, but had postponed trips to Russia and the United States "until we see how things develop".
Syria's government and the political opposition have both suggested in recent weeks they are prepared for some contacts - softening their previous outright rejection of talks to resolve a conflict which has driven nearly a million Syrians out of the country and left millions more homeless and hungry.
But the opposition has said any political solution must be based on the removal of Assad, whose family has ruled Syria since 1970. Rebel fighters, who do not answer to Alkhatib, are even more insistent that Assad must go before any talks start.
Brigadier Selim Idris, head of a rebel military command, demanded a complete ceasefire, the president's departure and the trial of his security and military chiefs as preconditions for negotiations. "We will not go (into talks) unless these demands are realized," he told Al Arabiya Television.
Damascus has rejected any preconditions for talks aimed at ending the violence, which started as a peaceful pro-democracy uprising in March 2011 inspired by Arab revolts elsewhere.
"SYRIAN COLLAPSE"
The two sides also differ on the location for any talks, with the opposition saying they should be abroad or in rebel-held parts of Syria. Assad's government says any serious dialogue must be held on Syrian territory under its control.
Adding to the difficulty of any negotiated settlement is the lack of influence that Syria's political opposition - mostly operating outside the country - has over rebels inside.
"We are following the development of events ... with alarm," Lavrov said. "In our evaluation the situation is at a kind of crossroads. There are those who have set a course for further bloodshed and an escalation of conflict. This is fraught with the risk of the collapse of the Syrian state and society.
"But there are also reasonable forces that increasingly acutely understand the need for the swiftest possible start of talks ... In these conditions the need for the Syrian leadership to continue to consistently advocate the start of dialogue, and not allow provocations to prevail, is strongly increasing."
Lavrov's warning that the Syrian state could founder appeared aimed to show that Russia is pressing Assad's government to seek a negotiated solution while continuing to lay much of the blame for the persistent violence on his opponents.
Russia has distanced itself from Assad and has stepped up its calls for dialogue as his prospects of retaining power have decreased, but insists that his exit must not be a precondition.
Itar-Tass did not report any other comments by Syria's Moualem on the chances for talks or on any conditions attached.
"What's happening in Syria is a war against terrorism," the agency quoted him as saying. "We will strongly adhere to a peaceful course and continue to fight against terrorism."
The Syrian National Coalition said on Friday it was willing to negotiate a peace deal, but insisted Assad could not be party to it - a demand that the president looks sure to reject.
U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said Assad had told him he intended to remain president until his term ends in 2014 and would then run for re-election.
The political chasm between the government and rebels and a lack of opposition influence over rebel fighters has allowed fighting to rage on for 23 months in Syria, while international diplomatic deadlock has prevented effective intervention.
Moualem's comments echoed remarks last week by Minister for National Reconciliation Ali Haidar, who said he was ready to meet the armed opposition. But Haidar drew a distinction between what said might be "preparatory talks" and formal negotiations.
Assad, announcing plans last month for a national dialogue to address the crisis, said that there would be no dialogue with people he called traitors or "puppets made by the West".
Moualem made his remarks a day after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry began a nine-nation tour of European and Arab nations in which the Syria conflict will be a main focus.
Kerry plans to meet Lavrov in Berlin on Tuesday and Syrian opposition leaders at a conference in Rome on Thursday, although it is unclear whether all will attend amid internal rows over the value of such international meetings while violence goes on.
(Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh in Cairo; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-government-says-ready-talk-armed-opposition-agency-091612112.html
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In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 22, 2013, Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius appears in court during his bail hearing in Pretoria, South Africa, for the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. A spokeswoman for Oscar Pistorius says he has reported to authorities under the bail terms in the murder case against him in Preoria, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
In this photo taken Friday, Feb. 22, 2013, Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius appears in court during his bail hearing in Pretoria, South Africa, for the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. A spokeswoman for Oscar Pistorius says he has reported to authorities under the bail terms in the murder case against him in Preoria, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Olympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius , in court Friday Feb. 22, 2013 in Pretoria, South Africa, for his bail hearing charged with the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. The defense and prosecution both completed their arguments with the magistrate soon to rule if the double-amputee athlete can be freed before trial or if he must stay behind bars pending trial. (AP Photo)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? Oscar Pistorius on Monday informed South African authorities that he wants to resume athletic training while on bail for the murder case against him, a government official said.
A spokeswoman for the Olympic runner, however, denied that he was making immediate plans to return to the track while awaiting trial for the Feb. 14 shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
"Absolutely not," said spokeswoman Janine Hills. "He is currently in mourning and his focus is not on his sports."
The double-amputee Paralympian discussed bail terms with his probation officer and a correctional official at the Pretoria Magistrate's Court in the capital, Hills said. The guidelines will determine his daily routine until his next court appearance on June 4.
"It's his wish to continue to practice," James Smalberger, chief deputy commissioner of the department of correctional services, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
Smalberger said the issue came up because authorities need to know his movements whenever he leaves the home where he is staying.
The timing of any resumption of training was uncertain.
Pistorius' longtime coach, Ampie Louw, declined to comment on any training plans for the runner, referring questions to a spokeswoman for the athlete's family.
Louw had said when the runner was in detention that he wanted to put him back into training in the event that he was granted bail. But he had also said Pistorius could be "heartbroken" and unwilling to immediately run again.
Pistorius, who was released on bail Friday, is staying at the house of his uncle, Arnold, in the affluent suburb of Waterkloof in Pretoria. He faces life imprisonment if convicted.
Pistorius is charged with premeditated murder in the killing of Steenkamp, in the early hours of Valentine's Day. Prosecutors say the pair had an argument before Steenkamp was killed; Pistorius says he mistook her for an intruder and shot her accidentally.
Smalberger said officials will visit Pistorius at his uncle's home at least four times a month, and that the runner indicated his interest in training again. More planning must occur before the start of any training.
"We want a training program from his coach so that we have backup for his movements," Smalberger said.
"He's not under house arrest, but his movements need to be known to us so that we don't pitch there and he's not there," he said. "We agree on 'free time' normally during the course of the day, and in the evening we expect him to be home."
Pistorius' 2013 season had been geared towards the Aug. 10-18 World Championships in Moscow, where the South African 4x400 relay team will be trying for another medal to add to the silver it won at the 2011 edition.
Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair had set bail at 1 million rand ($113,000). The 26-year-old track star was also ordered to hand over his passports, turn in any guns he owns and keep away from his upscale home in a gated community in Pretoria, the scene of the crime.
He cannot leave the district of Pretoria without his probation officer's permission and is not allowed to consume drugs or alcohol, the magistrate said.
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By Randee Dawn, TODAY contributor
Adele's big win at Sunday night's Oscars means the James Bond folks can end their 50-year wait for an Academy Award in a category other than sound or special effects. Singer Adele and co-writer Paul Epworth's win for "Skyfall" landed them a spot in Oscar and James Bond history, with the first-ever best original song for a Bond film.
Over the years, only three other songs from James Bond films have been nominated:
In addition, many other films have had notable tunes that deserved their own moment in the spotlight. What other Bond tune do you think deserved a win? Let us know in the poll, and on Facebook!
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? Project Runway Elimination: Matthew Talks Country Crash & Burn | Home | The Bachelor Spoilers: Who Turns Down Sean Lowe?s Fantasy Suite Invitation? ?
February 24, 2013 10:00 AM by Donna W. Martin
The Face coach, Karolina Kurkova recently flew all the way from Milan, Italy to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno where she had a lot to say about married life, motherhood, and last but not least, the infamous Naomi feud that sparked when Karolina eliminated one of Naomi?s team members, Aleksandra Dubrovskaya. Keep reading for more details.
According to NBC, Karolina gushed about her husband saying, ?He is amazing.? And even though he?s a former Marine who fought in Desert Storm, she?s more of the Marine around the house. ?He?s not so organized,? she said. ?I?m more the Marine in the family than he is?when you think of Marines, you think of the movies.? She explained, ?I thought I was going to wake up, the bed?s going to be all tucked in and perfect, my shoes will be all polished?No, I?m the Marine and keep the family organized. He?s more last minute,? she said. But any time she needs him or there?s something to do for the family, ?he comes through.? And when it comes to their sex life, she admits she?s the one that takes charge, ?I?m like we?re doing it now. Let?s go! Come on, come on baby,? she quipped.
Karolina also talked about her three-year-old son, Tobin. ?He?s got a lot of personality,? she said. ?He?s not shy and he calls himself a rock star. His favorite thing is the Gangnam Style song ? he plays it all the time, super loud.? But he can?t quite pronounce Gangnam Style so he calls it ?como estas.? She explained, ?He goes around the playground with my iPhone?really loud and he goes to all the kids [jamming out and saying] como estas, como estas.? And while his singing is super cute, Karolina said his Gangnam Style dance is even cuter. Instead of looking like the horse, his dance looks ?like an elephant. It?s so cute. He?s amazing.?
Then Karolina talked about Oxygen?s new show, The Face. And when Leno asked if she thought Naomi was ?high strung? Karolina said, ?We are definitely very passionate coaches. And being a mom to a three-year-old prepared me for a lot of things.?
On the show?s premiere, Team Karolina won the campaign challenge, which meant Naomi and Coco had to choose one of their models to put up for elimination. And when Karolina chose to eliminate Naomi?s model, Aleksandra Dubrovskaya, she didn?t take the news too well. ?I am disappointed in your choice, Karolina,? she said. ?It?s game on from now on!?
What do you think of what Karolina had to say about her feud with Naomi? Do you think she meant to imply that Naomi acts like a three-year-old? And do you think we will see the claws come out even more as the season progresses? Post a comment and let us know.
Want more? Follow our tweets on Twitter and like us on Facebook!. Click here for more information about The Face. For other great reality TV news, please feel free to check out SirLinksAlot: Reality TV.
Photo Credit: NBC
Topics: Oxygen Reality TV Shows, The Face |
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Michael Annett (43), Johanna Long (70), Hal Martin (44), Mike Bliss (19), Jason White (00), Joe Nemechek (87), Jeffrey Earnhardt (79), Matt Kenseth (18), Danny Efland (4) and Kasey Kahne (5) collide and slide as Austin Dillon (3) escapes between Turns 1 and 2 during the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Michael Annett (43), Johanna Long (70), Hal Martin (44), Mike Bliss (19), Jason White (00), Joe Nemechek (87), Jeffrey Earnhardt (79), Matt Kenseth (18), Danny Efland (4) and Kasey Kahne (5) collide and slide as Austin Dillon (3) escapes between Turns 1 and 2 during the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Danica Patrick (10) and Jeff Gordon (24) lead the pack to start the NASCAR Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
Danica Patrick competes during NASCAR Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
Juan Pablo Montoya (42) and Kevin Harvick (29) collide while going into Turn 1 during the NASCAR Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis waves the green to start of the Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski leads the Daytona 500 with 20 laps to go.
He's followed by Jimmie Johnson, Marcus Ambrose, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin and Danica Patrick.
? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963
___
KENSETH OUT: There won't be a repeat winner at the Daytona 500.
Defending champ Matt Kenseth had led more laps than anyone when, suddenly, his car began smoking on lap 149. He headed to pit road and it didn't take long for the crew to push him behind the wall, ruining any hopes of becoming the first back-to-back winner since Sterling Marlin in 1994-95.
Kenseth and his new teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, were actually running 1-2-3 when Kenseth had some sort of engine or transmission problem. Just two laps later, Busch's car also went out, smoking as well, sending the driver of the No. 18 machine storming through the garage, ripping off his racesuit.
"It's really unfortunate," Busch said. "We were running 1-2-3 and it felt like we were dropping like flies. Something inside the motor broke that's not supposed to break. It's a little devastating when you're running 1-2-3 like that. Hopefully the No. 11 (Hamlin) can bring it home."
? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963
___
EDWARDS' TOUGH MONTH: No one will be more eager than Carl Edwards to get out of Daytona.
The No. 99 team had a brutal month leading up to the NASCAR season opener, wrecking four times.
Make it five.
Edwards was caught up in a crash heading into turn one at the Daytona 500, another case of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Trevor Bayne bumped Brad Keselowski from behind, which sent the No. 21 car sliding sideways.
With nowhere to go, Edwards was sent into the outside wall.
? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963
___
SMOKE STEAMS: Tony Stewart has returned to the track at the Daytona 500.
But he's pretty much assured of going 0-for-15 in NASCAR's biggest race.
Stewart was 82 laps behind the leaders when he rolled out of the garage after an early crash. His frustration was never more evident than when he joined in the repair effort, banging on his No. 14 car with a hammer during the long stint in the paddock.
"To hell with the season," Stewart said. "I wanted to win the Daytona 500. We had a car that we could pass with today. We were passing cars by ourselves. I was so happy with our car, was just waiting for it to all get sorted out again. I don't know what started it, but we just got caught up in another wreck."
Stewart's misfortune came a day after he won the lower-division Nationwide race ? his 19th career triumph at Daytona.
None of them have come in the race he really wants.
? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963
___
FAMILIAR SPOT: Matt Kenseth is back in a familiar spot.
Leading the Daytona 500.
Kenseth was running out front at the 100-lap mark, halfway through the biggest NASCAR race of the season.
While there's nothing unusual about Kenseth leading at Daytona, where he's won two of the last three years, it's a bit jarring to see him doing it in the No. 20 car.
Kenseth had spent his entire Cup career driving the No. 17 machine for Roush Fenway Racing, but he switched to Joe Gibbs Racing this season. He's got a new car, a new number, a new sponsor and a new team.
But he still knows how to run strong at Daytona.
? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963
___
DANICAMANIA: Danica Patrick keeps making history.
The first woman to start from the pole at the Daytona 500 has become the first female to lead a lap in a NASCAR Cup race.
Patrick sent the huge crowd into a frenzy when she snatched the lead from Michael Waltrip on lap 90 after a series of pit stops under yellow. She led two laps before Denny Hamlin surged to the front.
But Patrick has shown her qualifying run was no fluke. She's got a strong car and has been in the top 10 all day as the 200-lap race approaches the midway point.
Patrick switched to NASCAR last year after becoming the first woman to lead laps at the Indianapolis 500, as well as being the first to win an IndyCar race.
Now, she's looking for a win in NASCAR's biggest event.
? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963
___
AWKWARD: Rapper 50 Cent wasn't content just chatting up Erin Andrews.
He went in for a kiss.
Rebuffed.
In the strangest part of the buildup to the Daytona 500, Mr. Cent brought back memories of Joe Namath's awkward attempt to plant one on Suzy Kolber when he tried the same move with Andrews on pit road.
She turned her head one way, then the other, only allowing the "Candy Shop" rapper to get a peck on the cheek.
? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963
___
BIG CRASH: We've had the first big wreck of the Daytona 500.
And a bunch of top contenders have seen their chances go up in smoke.
Former 500 winners Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart and Jamie McMurray were caught up in the crash on lap 33. So was defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski.
The melee began coming through the tri-oval when Kasey Kahne's car began to slide across the track after appearing to get bumped from behind by Kyle Busch.
At least two other drivers also got caught up in the mess: Juan Pablo Montoya and Casey Mears. Joey Logano made a great move to dodge the spinning cars.
Pole sitter Danica Patrick made it through unscathed and remains near the front of the pack.
? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963
___
HANG ON TIGHT: From one defending champion to another, Brad Keselowski had a piece of advice for Daytona 500 starter Ray Lewis:
Don't drop the flag.
The retired Baltimore Ravens star served as honorary starter for the Daytona 500. Lewis waved the green flag without incident Sunday to start the "Great American Race."
Lewis, who said he was nervous, got a quick tip from Keselowski.
"Brad texted me on the way in, the one rule is, don't drop the flag," Lewis said before the race. "I'm going to squeeze the flag very hard. I want to watch this and be a part of it. To be here is an awesome experience."
Lewis was one of several stars at Daytona International Speedway. Rappers T.I. and 50 Cent attended NASCAR's season opener, which has Danica Patrick starting on the pole.
Oscar-nominated actor James Franco was the grand marshall and said, "Drivers and Danica, start your engines!" The Zac Brown Band played a pre-race concert in the Daytona International Speedway infield. Band member Clay Cook performed the national anthem.
Retired baseball pitcher Tom Gordon, comedian Drew Carey, and Wes Welker and Steve Spurrier also were in attendance.
Lewis called Keselowski on the eve of the 2012 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and left him an inspirational voice message. Keselowski also often listens to Lewis' motivational speeches before races.
"I caught a glimpse of how he always watched my videos and it really inspired him," Lewis said. "That's when me and him really started having conversations with each other, and from there it just turned into a friendship. I send him motivational things, and heads-up on what I am doing, that's where the relationship has gone."
? Dan Gelston ? http://twitter.com/APgelston
___
DANICA DROPS BACK: Danica Patrick made history by becoming the first woman to start from the pole in a NASCAR Cup race.
But in the beginning of the Daytona 500, she failed to pull off another landmark.
Choosing the outside spot on the front row, Patrick gave up the lead to Jeff Gordon on the very first lap, missing out on an early chance to become the first female to lead a Cup lap.
Over the first 10 laps, she settled in behind Gordon and held on to the second spot in the 43-car field.
Patrick went on the radio before the race to thank her crew for giving her such a strong car. "I'll do the best job I can to do my end of the deal today," she said. "All in all, thank you for everything. You guys are awesome."
Later, Patrick sent the huge crowd into a frenzy when she snatched the lead from Michael Waltrip on lap 90 after a series of pit stops under yellow. She led two laps before Denny Hamlin surged to the front.
? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963
___
FRANCO'S AUDIBLE: "Drivers ... and Danica!!! ... start your engines."
With that unique command, actor James Franco has ordered the 43 cars to fire up for the Daytona 500.
The duty is normally carried out with the most famous words in racing: "Gentlemen, start your engines."
Of course, this year is different. Danica Patrick is the first woman to start from the pole in a Cup race, and Franco hinted beforehand that he was planning an audible. As unpredictable as ever, he passed on a chance to copy the command that was used when Patrick raced in the Indianapolis 500, "Lady and gentlemen, start your engines."
Now, it's time to go racing at Daytona.
? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963
___
A HEARTY BUNCH: NASCAR FANS RETURN TO DANGER ZONE: Say this about NASCAR fans: They don't frighten easily.
One day after a harrowing crash injured dozens of fans in the stands, those same seats are filling up for the Daytona 500.
No one seems too concerned.
"These should be good seats," said Rick Barasso, as he settled into a spot that was right in the danger zone when Kyle Larson's car slammed into the catch fencing on the final lap of a Nationwide Series race Saturday. "I mean, what are the chances of it happening again?"
That seems to be the attitude of the fans heading into the Daytona 500, the season-opening Cup race and biggest event on the NASCAR schedule. Most people say it's worth the risk to sit next to the ear-rattling action ? no more than 20 feet away for those in the first row. They love to hear the engines, smell the exhaust, and feel the wind whipping in their face as 43 cars go by at nearly 200 mph.
Still, there are a few fans fretting about the location of their seats.
Raymond Gober returned to the same location where he was nearly struck by a bolt from Larson's car. He scooped up the debris as a souvenir, though he acknowledged being a little nervous about his seat on the back row of the lower level. He even considered wearing his motorcycle helmet to the 500, but figured "everybody would start laughing at me." Next year, he plans to buy an upper-level seat in the main grandstand.
"My dad called and said, 'You're sitting in the same seats? "' Gober said. "He couldn't believe it."
There are grim reminders of what happened Saturday: a bloody spot that had been washed down (not entirely, though), a tire mark on a seat, another seat that was partially bent from getting struck by that same tire.
? Paul Newberry ? http://www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963
___
EDITOR'S NOTE ? "Daytona 500 Watch" shows you the Daytona 500 and events surrounding the race through the eyes of Associated Press journalists. Follow them on Twitter.
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The Jacksons believe their brother Michael Jackson was persecuted like Jesus. Speaking to The Guardian newspaper, Jermaine said: "God blessed him because he knew what Michael was going to do with his talent. He was a voice for children who were starving, and he brought the world sing like 'We Are The World', 'Heal The World' and 'Man In The Mirror'. Everything he did was for the betterment of mankind. Look what Jesus did when he walked the earth. He did all those miracles and they still found a way to nail him up on that cross."
The four brothers went on to allege Dr. Conrad Murray - who is currently serving jail time for involuntary manslaughter for his part in Michael's death from Propofol intoxication in June 2009 - was a stooge of his record company Sony and they believe the label deliberately orchestrated his downfall by planting allegations of child molestation in the media. The 'Thriller' singer bought a 50 per cent stake in Sony/ATV in 1985 and his siblings have a "conspiracy theory" that the label wanted to diminish his popularity and power to wrestle control of the valuable catalogue of songs back from Michael.
Jermaine accusingly said: "Bottom line? They killed him. The doctor was just a figure in a bigger hand."
He wasn't the Messiah he was a person with a lot of issues who sang pop songs and danced a bit. If he didn't want to be accused of child abuse he shouldn't have slept with children.
Source: http://revjph.blogspot.com/2013/02/sony-killed-jesus.html
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Take Stock in Children of Lake and Sumter Counties has received $5,000 from Insight Credit Union to provide a two-year Florida pre-paid scholarship to an eligible student in the community.
Credit unions were founded on the philosophy of ?people helping people? and for over 75 years, Insight Credit Union has been committed to serving those in need in the communities where we live and work.
Take Stock in Children, a program of the Educational Foundation of Lake County, identifies financially at-risk students in the eighth grade, provides them with a mentor and an advocate and then rewards them at high school graduation with a college tuition scholarship.
Local money raised for scholarships is matched through the Florida Prepaid Foundation, thus doubling the impact on the community.
For information on volunteering, mentoring or becoming a donor for the organization, email weidnerg@lake.k12.fl.us, or log on to www.edfoundationlake.com.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When the Supreme Court last scrutinized the 1965 Voting Rights Act in 2009, Justice Anthony Kennedy peered down from the bench and asked why federal rules were tougher for Alabama and Georgia than for Michigan and Ohio.
Chief Justice John Roberts pointedly added that it seemed lawyers defending the rules, which were created to protect black voters, believed that even in modern times "southerners are more likely to discriminate than northerners."
Now four years later, as the landmark law faces another challenge, the skepticism of Roberts and of Kennedy, often the decisive vote on racial dilemmas, is likely to emerge with even greater force.
In the dispute to be heard on Wednesday, the crucial issue is whether Congress may continue to require certain states, mainly in the South, to show that any proposed election-law change would not discriminate against African-American, Latino or other minority voters.
The screening provision known as Section 5 is one of the pillars of the law passed after the notorious "Bloody Sunday" on March 7, 1965, in Selma, Alabama, when state troopers attacked civil rights marchers with clubs and tear gas. The act broadly prohibited poll taxes, literacy tests and other rules depriving blacks of the franchise. In the 1960s, such measures existed throughout the nation but were especially common in the South with its legacy of slavery.
The modern relevance of the issues was underscored in the 2012 presidential election campaign when courts nationwide heard civil-rights challenges to newly adopted state voting-districts, voter identification laws, and polling-place limits, for example on hours of early voting. The most restrictive laws ended up being blocked before the November elections.
As the 2009 remarks of Kennedy, Roberts and other justices signaled, the conservative Supreme Court majority is skeptical that today's South still needs special oversight. The new case from Shelby County, Ala., is likely to come down to whether Congress documented sufficient evidence in its 2006 renewal of the law to justify treating different locales differently.
The Obama administration is defending the provision, asserting that the South still needs tough supervision. The court's ruling in one of the most closely watched cases this term could affect federal oversight of a swath of states through 2031 as well as the extent of minority participation in elections in crucial jurisdictions.
Nine designated states (and parts of seven others) must obtain federal approval before making any election-law changes, such as for voter-identification rules or in district boundaries. The nine fully covered states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
Conservative advocates and southern officials who have banded together against Section 5 say it is an archaic measure that encroaches on state sovereignty. The U.S. government, backed by civil rights groups, counters that in the case of Shelby County v. Holder that Congress has rightly continued to single out places with the worst bias.
In 2009, the Supreme Court avoided the large question about the scope of Congress's power to remedy discrimination and decided the case from Texas on narrow grounds. But Chief Justice Roberts fired a warning shot about how the court might ultimately rule when he wrote, "Things have changed in the South. Voter turnout and registration rates now approach parity. Blatantly discriminatory evasions of federal decrees are rare. And minority candidates hold office at unprecedented levels."
In his brief for the Obama administration defending Section 5, U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli acknowledged that "there is no question that ?things have changed in the South' since 1965." But Verrilli stressed that Congress found that states covered by Section 5 were still resisting minority voters' "right to participate in the political process."
He pointed to a federal court's decision last year that Texas legislators had redrawn voting districts along racial lines and disadvantaged minority voters. In separate 2012 actions, judges blocked Texas from imposing a tough voter-ID rule and Florida locales from curtailing an early-voting period. Critics of Section 5 note, however, that in 2012 northern states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania tried to impose voting restrictions that were rejected by courts.
PERPETRATORS TO VICTIMS
When Congress first adopted Section 5 in 1965, it wanted to prevent places with a history of bias from continually imposing new rules that would keep blacks from the polls. As the court observed when it upheld the law against its first challenge, in 1966, Congress found case-by-case litigation costly and inadequate to stop abuses. Congress sought "to shift the advantage of time and inertia from the perpetrators of the evil to its victims," the court observed.
As Congress has repeatedly renewed Section 5, it has retained a coverage formula linked to discriminatory practices of the 1960s and early 1970s. But it has allowed jurisdictions that can show a new, clean record to "bail out" and has extended coverage beyond those states originally covered.
In Shelby County's appeal to the Supreme Court, lawyer Bert Rein says Section 5 and its coverage formula achieved their goals and that Congress failed to document in 2006 the kind of systematic obstruction that originally warranted tough scrutiny.
Still, in Alabama, the U.S. Justice Department has repeatedly and recently blocked proposed electoral changes. One 2008 incident occurred in Shelby County when the city of Calera implemented a redistricting plan that caused the one African American on the city council to lose his seat. After the Justice Department forced Calera to redraw the map with fairer lines, he won his election.
NAACP Legal Defense Fund lawyer Debo Adegbile will represent that council member, Ernest Montgomery, and other Shelby County African Americans, on Wednesday.
Adegbile was at the lectern in 2009, on behalf of African Americans in that Texas case, when Chief Justice Roberts said it appeared the message of Section 5's defenders was that "southerners are more likely to discriminate than northerners."
Adegbile said then, and insists today, that it's not that discrimination does not happen outside Section 5's covered states but that repetitive violations are concentrated in those within its scope. "Voting discrimination continues," Adegbile told Reuters in a recent interview, "particularly in Alabama, and indeed Shelby County's own recent record proves that point."
(Editing by Howard Goller and Eric Walsh)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/justices-poised-query-voting-rights-focus-south-070823447.html
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The article makes the point that Chinese loans and investments are typically made in exchange for securing access to natural resources.? Based on its principles of nonintervention and respect for sovereignty, "China gives this money with little or no strings attached."? The author argues that the Chinese model is a legitimate challenger to Western aid.
While the article contains some annoying imprecision as it intermingles investment, loans and aid, it does offer a useful juxtaposition of the so-called Washington and Beijing Consensus models.?
Source: http://davidshinn.blogspot.com/2013/02/chinese-vs-western-development-model-in.html
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The economy is booming in Dickinson, N.D., a community whose population was similar to Marietta's a couple of years ago, but has grown by 30 percent since 2010 and is still increasing, thanks to North Dakota's oil-laden Bakken shale deposits.
McDonald's workers in Dickinson earn $15 to $20 an hour with benefits; truck drivers start out at $34 an hour, and workers in their 20s can make between $100,000 and $150,000 a year in the oil fields, according to Steve Sprague, a former Tunnel resident and Waterford High School ag science instructor.
"This is what's coming to Marietta-and sooner than you think," said Sprague, 62, who moved to the Dickinson area a year ago after learning jobs there were prosperous and plentiful.
Photo by Jim Blecha, courtesy of Six Gun Hotshot
A horizontal hydraulic fracturing operation can be seen in the distance, along with a more conventional water well in the foreground near the town of Dickinson, N.D. Oil and gas companies retrieving oil from North Dakota?s Bakken shale beds have sparked a booming economy in that area that some say could be similar to what?s coming to Washington County.
He's now a supervisor for Six Gun Hotshot, a small trucking company that does a lot of business with a number of oil and gas companies that have established horizontal hydraulic drilling operations in that area.
"My boss is 32 years old and started the business in 2007 with a single truck and a 'hotshot' (a dually pickup towing a trailer)," Sprague said. "Now he has five hotshots, five semi trucks, and a crane-hauling truck. We work in North Dakota but are also pushing into Wyoming, Montana and Canada."
He said the success enjoyed by the company has become typical of businesses in the Dickinson area.
Some of the shale industry's impacts on Dickinson, N.D.:
The city has no bonded indebtedness.
Unemployment was at 1.5 percent in July.
Population increased from 17,787 in 2010 to 23,000 in 2012.
The city budget increased from $21 million in 2010 to $73.4 million in 2012.
Sales tax revenue jumped from $3 million in 2010 to a projected $8.6 million this year.
In 2010 the average 2-bedroom home rented for $600. In 2012 the same facility rented for $2,000.
There were 854 hotel rooms in 2010. In 2012 there were 2,711 rooms built or planned.
Source: City of Dickinson 2012 report, Opportunities in Dickinson.
"Every business is booming," Sprague said. "It's unbelievable. There are signs all along the roadways, advertising for help wanted, and people from all over the country are going to North Dakota to work. There's a lot of work, and not enough people."
But he said the growing prosperity does have some drawbacks.
"Anyone going there should be sure and do their homework on the area first," Sprague said. "It can be difficult to find a place to stay-hotels are filled, and some folks end up living in their cars or small trailers. Some of the oil companies have built 'man camps' near the drilling sites where employees can stay while working 12-hour shifts with two weeks on and two weeks off."
He said housing is probably the biggest concern in the Dickinson area right now, and noted one-bedroom apartments are renting for $750 to $1,200 per month, plus utilities, and homes with three or four bedrooms may rent from $2,750 to $4,500 a month.
Marietta Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Charlotte Keim said the housing impact of the shale industry moving into the Mid-Ohio Valley is already being felt here.
"The president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce was here this week, and we spent some time talking about the shale development," she said. "It's already happening here, and the first sign was an increase in the local bed tax collection."
The bed tax, or city hotel/motel tax, has been growing in the last few years, and is expected to generate more than $960,000 by the end of 2013.
Keim said hotel and motel rooms have been filled throughout the week as oil and gas company representatives began arriving in the area to look at land availability and analyze the mineral potential in local Utica and Marcellus shale beds.
"Two years ago I started receiving phone calls from oil and gas workers in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio who were having problems finding housing," Keim said. "Some of our surrounding counties have no lodging facilities, so they came here."
She said some advance shale workers want to bring their families here and need housing during the one or two years they'll be working in the area.
"Those initial people have the specialty skills needed to get the shale process set up, and after a couple of years they'll go back to their homes or move on to the next job site," Keim said.
But as companies hire more permanent workers, the housing demand will increase.
"We're already seeing that, too," Keim said. "The demand is turning housing from a buyer's to a seller's market. And overall that's good because people will begin upgrading and improving their existing housing for sale."
She said anyone who wants to take advantage of employment opportunities with the oil and gas industry should be obtaining the needed skills now.
"They should start doing some research about the industry and what jobs are needed," Keim said, adding that obtaining a CDL license could be a good start as truck drivers are already in demand by some shale companies in this area.
And training for oil and gas industry jobs is already available at local facilities like Washington State Community College and the Washington County Career Center.
Sprague said work in the "oil patch" is hard and goes on 24/7, but anyone willing to put in the effort stands to make a lot of money in a relatively short period of time.
The economic boom has brought other unexpected issues to the Dickinson area, too.
"You have to make an appointment two weeks ahead of time to have an oil change for your car," Sprague said. "One local tire shop had to add five or six new bays, and they still can't keep up with the demand for tires."
Gasoline prices also tend to be higher in the Dickinson area. He said some locals will drive across the border into Wyoming where they can buy gas 50-cents cheaper than in town.
Sprague said shale oil and gas companies are now setting up shop in the Mid-Ohio Valley, drilling wells into the Appalachian region's mineral-rich Marcellus and Utica shale beds.
"It's happening here, and the best thing you can do is have the infrastructure ready when companies start bringing their equipment in," Sprague said.
Washington County began developing a road use maintenance agreement (RUMA) last year that holds drilling companies responsible for maintaining county and township roadways that may be damaged by heavy equipment and increased truck traffic.
"The infrastructure can take a beating from that traffic," said county engineer Roger Wright.
He noted that state highways are generally pre-designed to handle heavy traffic, but many county and township roads have developed over years from original trails and pathways into gravel and paved roadways.
"We have a road use maintenance agreement with drilling companies," Wright said. "For example, PDC is currently putting stone on roads in Adams Township leading to their drilling sites. The county wants to reach out and work with all of the drillers who plan to operate here."
He said the Ohio County Engineers Association provides a venue where counties can share their experiences about dealing with the shale oil and drilling industry across the state.
"We're still in the infant stage here, so we're trying to learn as much as we can from other counties," Wright added. "But in my opinion taxpayer funds should not have to be used to pay for road repairs that are caused by heavy drilling equipment. Those industries should be responsible. That's why it's important that we obtain road use maintenance agreements with the shale companies."
Marietta city engineer Joe Tucker said the city is already seeing an increase in the number of trucks traveling on city streets.
"We've talked about a road use maintenance agreement for the city to help protect any impact on our streets, and we're currently looking at establishing a wellhead protection plan for our drinking water wells as a precautionary measure," he said.
Tucker noted the city is also continuing to work on major intersection improvements along the Ohio 7 and Pike Street corridor which will help ease traffic congestion that could be generated by additional vehicles on the road due to projected growth from the oil and gas industries.
Source: http://www.mariettatimes.com/page/content.detail/id/550053.html
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