construction technology: April 2013

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Syrian prime minister survives Damascus bombing, six die

By Dominic Evans

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's prime minister survived a bomb attack on his convoy in Damascus on Monday, as rebels struck in the heart of President Bashar al-Assad's capital.

Six people were killed in the blast, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Previous rebel attacks on government targets included a December bombing which wounded Assad's interior minister.

As prime minister, Wael al-Halki wields little power but the attack highlighted the rebels' growing ability to target symbols of Assad's authority in a civil war that, according to the United Nations, has cost more than 70,000 lives.

Assad picked Halki in August to replace Riyadh Hijab, who defected and escaped to neighboring Jordan just weeks after a bombing killed four of the president's top security advisers.

Monday's blast shook the Mezze district soon after 9 a.m. (2:00 a.m. EDT), sending thick black smoke into the sky. The Observatory said one man accompanying Halki was killed as well as five passers-by.

State television showed firemen hosing down the charred and mangled remains of a car. Close by was a large white bus, its windows blown out and its seats gutted by fire. Glass and debris were scattered across several lanes of a main road.

"The terrorist explosion in Mezze was an attempt to target the convoy of the prime minister. Dr Wael al-Halki is well and not hurt at all," state television said.

It later broadcast footage of Halki, who appeared composed and unruffled, chairing what it said was an economic committee.

In comments released by the state news agency SANA but not shown on television, Halki was quoted as condemning the attack as a sign of "bankruptcy and failure of the terrorist groups", a reference to the rebels battling to overthrow Assad.

Mezze is part of a shrinking "Square of Security" in central Damascus, where many government and military institutions are based and where senior officials live.

Sheltered for nearly two years from the destruction ravaging much of the rest of Syria, it has been sucked into violence as rebel forces based to the east of the capital launch mortar attacks and carry out bombings in the center.

CHEMICAL WEAPONS

Assad has lost control of large areas of northern and eastern Syria, faces a growing challenge in the southern province of Deraa, and is battling rebels in many cities.

But his forces have been waging powerful ground offensives, backed by artillery and air strikes, against rebel-held territory around the capital and near the central city of Homs which links Damascus to the heartland of Assad's minority Alawite sect in the mountains overlooking the Mediterranean.

As part of that counter-offensive, Assad's forces probably used chemical weapons, the United States and Britain have said.

However the trans-Atlantic allies, whose 2003 invasion of Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein was based in part on flawed intelligence about an Iraqi program of weapons of mass destruction, have been cautious in their accusations.

Despite congressional pressure on Barack Obama to do more to help the rebels, the U.S. president has made clear he is in no rush to intervene on the basis of evidence he said was preliminary.

Britain, which says there is limited but growing evidence of chemical weapons use, said it wanted a United Nations investigation to see "whether or not there is verified use of chemical weapons".

"We've been very clear that, should that be the case, then the repercussions would be serious," British Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said during a visit to Beirut.

"That is why it is so important to have this independently verified and for the U.N. to do their investigation".

A U.N. team of experts has been waiting to travel to Syria to gather field evidence, but has yet to win agreement from Syrian authorities who want it to investigate only government accusations of chemical weapon use by rebels in Aleppo province.

Russia, which has criticized Western and Gulf Arab support for the anti-Assad fighters, said that attempts by Western countries to expand the U.N. inquiry to cover rebel accusations of Syrian government use of chemicals in Homs and Damascus mounted to a pretext to intervene in the civil war.

"There is not always a basis for the allegations (of the use of chemical weapons)," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference.

"There are probably governments and a number of external players who believe that it is fine to use any means to overthrow the Syrian regime. But the theme of the use of weapons of mass destruction is too serious and we shouldn't joke about it. To take advantage of it (to advance) geopolitical goals is not acceptable."

The United Nations said in February that around 70,000 people had been killed in Syria's conflict. Since then activists have reported daily death tolls of between 100 and 200.

Five million people have fled their homes, including 1.4 million refugees in nearby countries, and financial losses are estimated at many tens of billions of dollars.

The Beirut-based U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia estimates that 400,000 houses have been completely destroyed, 300,000 partially destroyed and a further half million have suffered some kind of structural damage.

(Additional reporting by Thomas Grove in Moscow; Editing by Alistair Lyon and Robin Pomeroy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-prime-minister-survives-bomb-attack-tv-072735283.html

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Brazil's community radio stations struggle to survive | Index on ...

brazil-radio-mast-square Local broadcasters, the lifeblood of many Brazilian communities, face tough times. Rafael Spuldar reports

Community radio stations are one of Brazil?s most widespread ways to democratise information and develop citizenship within the poorer urban areas and the countryside. However, many people from the community media environment feel the law does not allow these broadcasters to function at full capacity.

Community radio broadcasting was effectively regulated in Brazil in 1998 through a bill that laid out criteria and rules. Stations are required to operate in low-powered frequency modulation (FM) up to 25W. The stations? programming must also be open to all inhabitants in its coverage area, should not aim for a profit and have no connection to political parties or religious institutions.

Brazil currently has around 4,700 community radio stations, operating either with full or temporary authorisation from the federal government. Up to another 1,300 stations that are waiting for authorisation to begin broadcasting.

Experts and stations representatives say that community stations are still a great way to empower people through efficient communication within their communities, even in a time when social media and cyberspace seem to command the most attention.

?While commercial media speaks about a place, community media speaks from a place?, says Professor Adair Rocha from PUC-Rio and Uerj universities. Rocha has more than 30 years of experience working with community communication in Rio de Janeiro.

?It?s obvious that commercial media has greater power, with broader market relations that attract the population. But community media has another power, which is making each person to identify oneself with that particular thing he or she does, or communicates.?

In this context, the phenomenon of social media has strengthened community radios, giving them space to publish programming notes and attract new listeners, says Jos? Luiz S?ter, executive coordinator at Abra?o Nacional, which is Brazil?s Community Radio Broadcasting Association.

?Just as mobile phones replaced the use of transistor radios by fans at the football stadiums, most community radio stations have adopted the latest streaming technologies and entered the virtual world?, S?ter told Index on Censorship.

States from the South and Southeast regions, the richest in Brazil, have the highest concentration of community radio stations in the country, especially in the metropolitan areas.

The federal government has been criticised for not doing more to improve the legislation that regulates community radios, which is generally thought to be obsolete.

One of the radio stations? main complaints is related to diversifying the sources of financing. The 1998 bill states that stations can only get advertising in the form of ?cultural support?, stipulating it only comes from sponsors located inside its community ? which is seen as something that limits the radios? financial viability.

Associations like Abra?o Nacional also demand more broadcasting power for stations and a streamlined authorisations process for new stations.

Brazil?s Ministry of Communications denies the existence of any obstacle in the authorisation process. In 2011, it created the National Plan of Grants for Community Radio Broadcasting, which publishes a list of expansion locations months ahead, allowing time for interested parties to collect required documentation and to prepare themselves to go on air.

?Many times, however, the entities that ask for the authorisation do not send us the complete documentation, which pushes back the schedule?, says the Ministry?s general coordinator for Community Radio Broadcasting, Samir Nobre.

Nobre says the government intends to make it possible for all municipalities in Brazil to have at least one community radio by the end of 2013. Around 2,000 of the 5,500 cities in the country still don?t have community radio stations.

Abra?o Nacional recently issued a statement criticising the government for not completing a series of recommendations that it had committed to complete by November 2011. One of the demands was making communities radios eligible for the federal government?s advertising budget, which has not yet been done.

?The public power has done everything to make it difficult for community radios to survive?, says Abra?o Nacional?s Jos? Luiz S?ter.

The Ministry of Communications responded by saying that community radios are an ?important form of communication? but claimed it has no power to modify the law in force.

The community radio movement has also been hijacked by many groups ? political and religious ? flouting the law?to create broadcasting outlets?. Radio stations that were supposed to have community-driven programming end up being vehicles for the interests of private groups.

The Ministry of Communications acknowledges the problem and says it is doing its best to improve control over authorised stations? operations.

On the other hand, some community radio stations that violate the law?s technical restrictions or that simply start operating without authorisation are considered by the government to be ?pirate radios?. Many of them end up being shut down and having their equipment impounded by the police.

Traditional media often portrays these ?pirate stations? as a menacing problem that could interfere with the frequency used by flight controllers, allegedly threatening the safety of commercial flights. Some see this kind of attitude as a move by big media companies to stop community stations from operating.

The debate about pirate stations ?is part of the dispute for audience, in which groups with greater economic power try to keep their hegemony?, says Professor Adair Rocha from PUC-Rio and Uerj.

?This image the media created of ?radios that put planes down? is certainly not truthful?.

Source: http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2013/04/brazils-community-radio-stations-struggle-to-survive/

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Do you fear you are missing out?

Apr. 29, 2013 ? Does checking Twitter and Facebook to see what your friends are up to make you feel like you are missing out on all the fun? Researchers have come up with a way of measuring the modern day concept of the "fear of missing out" (FoMO).

The rise in social media, where we can keep up-to-date with each other's every movements like never before, has led to the hidden curse of the "fear of missing out."

A relatively new concept, FoMO is a concern people have that others may be having more fun and rewarding experiences than them and is characterised as the desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing.

Now, researchers at the University of Essex have devised a way of measuring FoMO for the first time, providing a reliable measure of what people are experiencing.

The research, to be published in the July issue of the journal Computers in Human Behavior, is the first study to delve deeper into the fear of missing out phenomenon, which only came to light about three years ago as social media become ever-more accessible with the increase in smart phones.

As lead researcher and psychologist Dr Andy Przybylski explained, the fear of missing out is not new, but the rise is social media offers a window into other people's lives like never before. The problem for people with a high level of FoMO is they may become so involved is seeing what their friends are doing and they are not, they often ignore what they are actually enjoying themselves.

"I find Facebook rewarding to use, but how we are using social media is changing," explained Dr Przybylski. "It is no longer something we have to sit at a computer and log into as we have access all the time on our phones. It is easier to get into the rhythm of other people's lives that ever before as we get alerts and texts.

"We have to learn new skills to control our usage and enjoy social media in moderation. Until we do, it creates a double-edged sword aspect to social media."

The research team, which included academics from the University of California and University of Rochester in the United States, devised a way of measuring an individual's level of FoMO. Take a version of the test yourself to see what your level of FoMO is compared to the people taking part in the study at www.ratemyfomo.com.

The research found that people aged under 30 were more affected than others from the fear of missing out. This group saw social media as an important tool for them and they were more dependent on social media as part of their social development.

Dr Przybylski explained that social factors are also important. The research also found if people's "psychological needs were deprived" they were more likely to seek out social media and FoMO bridged that gap, explaining why people were using social media more than others.

To see what effect FoMO had on people's lives, the researchers found that those with a high level of fear of missing out were more likely to give into the temptation of composing and checking text messages and e-mails whilst driving, were more likely to get distracted by social media during university lectures, and had more mixed feelings about their social media use.

The researchers hope this will study will prompt more investigation into the fear of missing out and how it affects on people's wellbeing.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Essex, via AlphaGalileo.

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

Journal Reference:

Andrew K. Przybylski, Kou Murayama, Cody R. DeHaan, Valerie Gladwell. Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out. Computers in Human Behavior, 2013; 29 (4): 1841 DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.014

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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/living_well/~3/6ffp7vV7Vxc/130429094949.htm

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Monday, April 29, 2013

Stars Stand Up for Kim Kardashian: Leave Her Alone!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/stars-stand-up-for-kim-kardashian-leave-her-alone/

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Fire destroys Danish museum, collection saved

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) ? A fire blazed through The Museum of Danish Resistance in Copenhagen on Sunday, destroying large parts of the building but most of the collection was saved, museum officials said.

No one was injured in the fire and firefighters and staff who rushed to the scene in central Copenhagen managed to save the majority of display items, museum spokesman Henrik Schilling said.

The fire started in the museum cafe around 2 a.m. and quickly spread to the exhibition hall. The last pockets of fire were being extinguished shortly after noon, Schilling said.

The museum is an affiliate of the Danish National Museum and exhibits objects related to the Danish resistance to the German occupation during World War II. The wooden building, located close to the waterfront, was built specifically for its purpose in the 1950s, Schilling said.

Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark started on April 9, 1940, and continued until the Germans surrendered to the Allies on May 5, 1945. The Danish resistance movement distributed illegal flyers and upheld secret radio communication with the British. The resistance grew stronger toward the end of the war, when acts of violent sabotage against factories and railways increased.

The cause of the fire is not yet known. Schilling said it is still unclear if the building can be restored or needs to be rebuilt entirely.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fire-destroys-danish-museum-collection-saved-112137703.html

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Michael Jordan and Yvette Prieto: Married!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/michael-jordan-and-yvette-prieto-married/

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Rolling Stones to play small LA club ahead of tour

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Surprise!

Before they kick off their "50 and Counting" tour, the Rolling Stones are playing a warm-up date at a small Los Angeles club.

The band is set to perform Saturday night at the Echoplex before a sold-out crowd that will be miniscule compared to the thousands who are set to see them launch their tour May 3 at the Staples Center.

Tickets were sold for $20 each ? a fraction of what tickets to the tour will cost.

Hundreds of fans lined up outside the El Rey Theatre earlier Saturday for a chance at the tickets. They were dispensed through a confusing lottery system that led to much of the crowd departing even though show tickets were made available to lottery ticket holders.

Buyers were limited to one ticket, and were required to show a government-issued ID, pay with cash, wear a wristband with their name on it and be photographed. Their names will be verified at the venue, which has a capacity of about 700. Cameras and smartphones will not be allowed inside.

Rumors of the spontaneous show spread across social networks this week after the band teased the appearance on their Twitter accounts. The dance-pop band New Build, which was originally scheduled to play the Echoplex on Saturday, was first to leak details about the show.

"Our gig got shifted b/c the Rolling Stones are playing Echoplex," the band posted Friday on Twitter. They joked that they're looking forward to "having it out" with the Rolling Stones.

The Rolling Stones performed a few dates together in London, Brooklyn, N.Y., and Newark, N.J., last winter, but didn't announce a tour until earlier this month. They will play 17 dates in the United States but said they may add more down the line.

The lowest price for tickets to the show at the Staples Center, which has a capacity of about 20,000, is $250.

___

Online:

http://www.rollingstones.com

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rolling-stones-play-small-la-club-ahead-tour-012237917.html

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Obama Mixes Serious Tone with Humor at WH Correspondents' Dinner (ABC News)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/302082506?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Stocks stall on tepid GDP growth

Stocks?stalled Friday after GDP didn't grow as much as hoped and earnings from a handful of big companies failed to rev up investors.?Weaker hiring reports have also held stocks back.

By Steve Rothwell,?AP Markets Writer / April 26, 2013

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange, Friday. Three stocks fell for every two that rose on Friday, after a disappointing GDP report.

Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Enlarge

The?stock?market stalled Friday after the U.S. economy didn't grow as much as hoped and earnings from a handful of big companies failed to rev up investors.

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The economy grew at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year, the government said. That was below the 3.1 percent forecast by economists.

The shortfall reinforced the perception that the economy is grinding, rather than charging, ahead. Investors have also been troubled by reports in the last month of weaker hiring, slower manufacturing and a drop in factory orders. Many economists see growth slowing to an annual rate of around 2 percent a year for the rest of the year.

U.S. government bonds, where investors seek safety, rose after the report.

"There are some concerns as we head into the summer," said JJ Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist for TD Ameritrade. "In the last three weeks, we've have seen numbers that weren't exactly what you'd love to see."

Corporate earnings this week have also contained worrisome signs. Many companies missed revenue forecasts from financial analysts, even as they reported higher quarterly profits. For example, Goodyear Tire slipped 3.3 percent to $12.51 Friday after revenue fell short of analysts' estimates, hurt by lower global tire sales.

Of the companies that have reported earnings so far, 70 percent have exceeded Wall Street's expectations, compared with a 10-year average of 62 percent, according to S&P Capital IQ. However, 43 percent have missed analysts' revenue estimates. Just over half of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported quarterly results.

The S&P 500 index dropped 2.92 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 1,582.24.

The Dow rose 11.75 points, or 0.1 percent, at 14,712.55. The index got a big lift from Chevron. Profit for the U.S. oil company beat expectations of financial analysts in the first quarter, pushing shares up 1.3 percent to $120.04.

Three?stocks?fell for every two that rose on the New York?StockExchange.

Both indexes were up for the week and remain slightly below their all-time highs reached April 11. The Dow index rose 1.1 percent this week while the S&P gained 1.7 percent.

The market has been bolstered by the Federal Reserve's easy money policy. The disappointing growth figure for the economy will ensure that the Fed sticks with its stimulus policy, providing a support for?stocks, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital.

"The economic data that we've been getting points to no early exit for the Fed's stimulus," Cardillo said.

The Nasdaq composite fell 10.72 points to 3,279.26, a decline of 0.3 percent. The index is still 2.3 percent higher this week.

The tech-heavy index has lagged the Dow and the S&P 500 this year, but it led the way higher this week, boosted by Microsoft. The software giant, which makes up 5.3 percent of the Nasdaq, recorded its biggest weekly gain since January last year, 6.8 percent, after reporting earnings April 19 that beat Wall Street's expectations. The company also rolled out an aggressive push into the computer tablet market.

Even Apple, the largest?stock?in the Nasdaq, had a good week. Apple rose 6.8 percent to $417.20, its best weekly gain since November, despite posting a decline in quarterly profit Tuesday. Apple accounts for 7.6 percent of the Nasdaq composite.

Among other big names investors were focusing on, Amazon.com fell 7 percent to $254.81 after the company warned of a possible loss in the current quarter. The online retailer also reported lower income for the first quarter as it continued to spend heavily on rights to digital content. Expedia fell 10 percent to $58.56 after the online travel company reported a quarterly loss.

Homebuilder D.R. Horton surged 8.7 percent to $26.66 after its income nearly tripled thanks to a continuing recovery the housing market. The results handily beat the forecasts of financial analysts who follow the company.

J.C. Penney jumped 12 percent to $17 after the billionaire financier George Soros disclosed that he had taken a 7.9 percent stake in the struggling company.

In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to its lowest rate of the year, 1.67 percent, from 1.71 percent the day before. The yield has fallen from 2.06 percent six weeks ago as traders move money into lower-risk investments.

The dollar weakened against the euro.

The European currency bought $1.3029 at the end of day, compared with $1.3002 the day before. The ISE dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against a group of other world currencies including the Japanese yen and the euro, dropped 0.3 percent, to 82.48.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/tZqIGjJOmWk/Stocks-stall-on-tepid-GDP-growth

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Comptroller finds $7.7 million state funds unaccounted for by special ...

LAKE PLACID ? Two schools for disabled youth, including the Mountain Lake Academy here, have been cited for overcharging taxpayers $7.7 million.

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released an audit that uncovered, among inappropriate payments, some $4.4 million in undocumented management fees.

Mountain Lake Academy is a boarding-school environment for boys and young men ages 12 to 21 with various behavioral challenges, among them conduct disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Lake Grove School, in Suffolk County, is a sister school.

And both were managed by Windwood Meadow Inc., based in Suffolk County, according to the comptroller?s documents.

SEVERED TIES

Carol Prevost, executive director at Mountain Lake, said Friday that the facility in Lake Placid is no longer affiliated with Windwood Meadow.

?None of the expenditures in the report were authorized or approved by any Mountain Lake personnel,? she said in a statement.

?When Mountain Lake became aware of some of the fiscal concerns raised in the report, we immediately began attempts to separate from the parent/management organization.?

That was accomplished earlier this year.

CEO SALARY

The Comptroller?s Office reviewed four years of school business records, from 2005 to 2009, for the audit released Friday.

It found ?Windwood allocated its management fees among several of its affiliates, including Lake Grove and Mountain Lake, but could not explain those allocations.?

?Because of that, (the comptroller) could not verify if the $5.4 million in management fees allocated to Lake Grove and Mountain Lake were proper.?

Chief among undocumented costs were salary payments to Windwood?s former chief executive officer John Claude Bahrenburg.

?Bahrenburg was paid $450,521 in fiscal year 2006-07; $480,619 in (fiscal year) 2007-08 and $480,619 in (fiscal year) 2008-09,? the report says.

?Program reimbursement guidelines for both the State Education Department and Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) require salary costs to be supported by time and attendance records for the funded program.?

?Auditors found that Bahrenburg did not maintain such records or any other documents to show how his actual time was allocated.?

?His salary also significantly exceeded executive compensation for other not-for-profits of comparable size.?

?STUDENTS SHORTCHANGED?

The audit found that Windwood?s CEO also received ?a $14,000 vehicle allowance for three years and $30,000 for charitable donations for two years.?

DiNapoli said those two expenses are not legally reimbursable under State Education Department guidelines, and no documentation indicated the costs were program-related.

In a statement released with the audit report, DiNapoli said special-education students were being shortchanged.

?The State Education Department and the Office of Children and Family Services need to step up and do a better job policing providers and making sure they only charge for appropriate costs they incur for their services, not exorbitant salaries and perks,? he said.

The comptroller reported that State Ed had ?not conducted any on-site provider audits since 2007.?

LOAN TO BAHRENBURG

Other management fees paid by Windwood were also unsupported in school business records, according to the audit report.

These included ?$55,395 in interest (Windwood) paid on a $250,000 loan obtained for the CEO over the three years ended June 30, 2009. Bahrenburg was supposed to repay $50,000 per year, but Windwood excused the annual repayment for two years.?

?That resulted in both the interest and annual payments being charged to the company?s affiliates as part of the management fees.?

DiNapoli said New York?s Not-For-Profit Corporations Law prohibits facilities from making loans to corporate officers.?

?NO CRIMINAL ASPECT?

Mark Johnson, a spokesman for the Comptroller?s Office, told the Press-Republican that it is the State Education Department?s responsibility to recoup the funds and ?to rectify the situation.?

The audit found no criminal aspect, he said.

?We have not referred this to any law enforcement organization.?

NOT ON STAFF

In response to the audit report, State Ed officials said in writing that they would ?review and make adjustments to the Consolidated Fiscal Reports for inappropriate and/or unsupported expenses ? and recover any overpayments as appropriate by recalculating tuition rates.?

In their response to DiNapoli, officials at Lake Grove said Bahrenburg ?is no longer on staff. The current CEO earns a salary 80 percent less than his predecessor.?

Bahrenburg is listed on LinkedIn as a practicing attorney in Killingworth, Conn.

NEW BOARD

In a letter to the state comptroller dated Jan. 18, Prevost said the new board would amend bylaws to ?avoid conflicts of interest or even the appearance of such.?

Her letter indicated that Mountain Lake had an Office of Children and Family Services agency review last November.

?We are now totally independent and have a new Board of Directors comprised of prominent and local business and educational leaders,? she said in her statement Friday.

View a copy of the comptroller?s report at: http://tinyurl.com/cjtf6ka.

Email Kim Smith Dedam: kdedam@pressrepublican.com

Source: http://pressrepublican.com/0100_news/x326070790/Comptroller-finds-7-7-million-state-funds-unaccounted-for-by-special-ed-schools

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Sunday, April 28, 2013

Overseer of US victim funds says work wrenching (Providence Journal)

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Roundworm quells obesity and related metabolic disorders

Friday, April 26, 2013

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, have shown in a mouse model that infection with nematodes (also known as roundworms) can not only combat obesity but ameliorate related metabolic disorders. Their research is published ahead of print online in the journal Infection and Immunity.

Gastrointestinal nematodes infect approximately 2 billion people worldwide, and some researchers believe up until the 20th century almost everyone had worms. In developed countries there is a decreasing incidence of nematode infection but a rising prevalence of certain types of autoimmunity, suggesting a relationship between the two. Nematode infection has been purported to have therapeutic effects and currently clinical trials are underway to examine worms as a treatment for diseases associated with the relevant cytokines, including inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, and allergies.

In the study researchers tested the effect of nematode infection on mice fed a high-fat diet. Infected mice of normal girth gained 15 percent less weight than those that were not infected. Mice that were already obese when infected lost roughly 13 percent of their body weight within 10 days. Infection also drastically lowered fasting blood glucose, a risk factor for diabetes, and reduced fatty liver disease, decreasing liver fat by ~25 percent, and the weight of the liver by 30 percent.

The levels of insulin and leptin also dropped, "indicating that the mice restored their sensitivities to both hormones," says corresponding author Aiping Zhao of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore. Leptin moderates appetite. As with too much insulin, too high a level of leptin results in insensitivity, thus contributing to obesity and metabolic syndrome, Zhao explains.

The mechanism of the moderation of these hormones "was associated with a parasite-induced reduction in glucose absorption in the intestine, reduced liver triglycerides, and an increase in the population of cells called "alternatively activated macrophages," which regulate glucose metabolism and inflammation," says coauthor Joe Urban of the United States Department of Agriculture. Some of these changes involved "a protein called interleukin-13 and related intracellular signaling mechanisms," he says. "This suggests that there are immune related shifts in metabolism that can alter expression of obesity and related metabolic syndrome."

The incidence of obesity has been climbing dramatically, worldwide. It is a key risk factor for many metabolic diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. Recent studies indicate that it is accompanied by chronic low-grade inflammation in adipose tissues, causing the release of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines that contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome.

Parasitic nematode infection induces a marked elevation in host immune Th2-cells and related type 2 cytokines which, besides combating the infection, also have potent anti-inflammatory activity, according to the report.

###

Z. Yang, V. Grinchuk, A. Smith, B. qin, J.A. Bohl, R. Sun, L. Notari, Z. Zhang, H. Sesaki, J.F. Urban, Jr., T. Shea-Donohue, A. Zhao, 2013. Parasitic nematode-induced modulation of body weight and associated metabolic dysfunction in mouse models of obesity. Infect. Immun. Published ahead of print 18 March 2013, doi:10.1128/IAI.00053-13.

American Society for Microbiology: http://www.asm.org

Thanks to American Society for Microbiology for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127965/Roundworm_quells_obesity_and_related_metabolic_disorders

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Saturday, April 27, 2013

April is Autism Awareness Month - The Valley News

Elizabethtown ? It is beneficial for all parents to know the signs of Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and take actions early if they are concerned about how their child learns, plays, speaks or acts. Autism signs can be seen before age three (3) and last throughout a lifetime and can range from mild to severe.

?About 1 in 100 children has Autism or ASD which can cause significant social, behavioral and communication challenges,? said Lucianna Celotti, Coordinator of the Children with Special Health Care Needs Program of Essex County Public Health.

ASDs are a group of developmental disabilities categorized as Autistic Disorder, Asperger Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified. Children with an ASD may have unusual reactions to sensory input like sounds, smells, tastes, looks or feels; repeat words or phrases; get upset by schedule changes; have difficulty understanding other peoples? feelings; avoid eye contact or prefer to be alone.

?It is important for parents who have concerns about their child?s development to talk to their child?s pediatrician. Children can greatly benefit from early detection and interventions,? said Celotti.

Essex County Public Health (ECPH) offers several programs for children with special health care needs. ?Our Early Intervention Program helps children ages birth through 3 years develop important social, behavioral and communication skills. Our services are provided based on a child?s individual need and are designed to help parents and families nurture their children and encourage skills.?

Learn more about the ECPH Early Intervention Program and other programs for children with special health care needs, visit www.co.essex.ny.us/PublicHealth or call Lucianna Celotti at (518) 873-3500.

Source: http://www.valleynewsadk.com/news/2013/apr/26/april-autism-awareness-month/

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Factories inside collapsed building in Bangladesh

The collapse of a building housing garment factories near Bangladesh's capital is renewing attention on the unsafe conditions in the country's $20 billion industry that supplies clothing retailers around the world. Here's a look at the factories in the Rana Plaza building and the retailers they say they were working for.

THE FACTORIES

? Ether Tex was located on the fifth floor. Its website, now offline, says its 530 workers made up to 960,000 pieces of clothing a year. It claimed to have a passing grade for safety and other business standards from SOCAM, a group that audits garment factories on behalf of European fashion company C&A. The company said its customers included retail giant Wal-Mart.

? New Wave is a group of three companies that says it makes shirts, pants and other garments for U.S., Canadian and European retailers. New Wave Bottoms was on the 2nd floor, and New Wave Style occupied the sixth and seventh floors. The New Wave website lists 27 retailers as its main customers. The list includes Spain's Mango, Dress Barn of the U.S., Canada's The Children's Place, and the Asian arm of Benetton based in Hong Kong.

? Phantom Apparels operated a factory called Phantom-TAC in conjunction with Spain's Textile Audit Company on the fourth floor. The Phantom-TAC website says it is "committed to reaching a high standard of working conditions." It claimed to have a comprehensive auditing system that allowed it to "monitor and analyze daily the conditions in our factory." The 20,000-square-foot factory could make up to 3 million garments a year. It does not list its customers.

? None of the factory owners have been contactable despite repeated attempts to reach them.

RETAILERS

? Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, said it had no authorized production at the factories. If the company finds there was unauthorized production as a result of subcontracting it said it would take action based on its zero tolerance policy for that.

? Primark, a British retailer with more than 250 stores across Europe, says it was being supplied by a garment producer on the second floor.

? The Children's Place used one of the garment factories in the building but said it wasn't being supplied by it at the time of the collapse.

? Dress Barn said it hadn't used garment factories at the building since 2010.

? Benetton said none of the factories were its suppliers.

? Mango said it hadn't bought clothing from Rana Plaza factories but said it had been in talks with one factory to produce a test batch of clothing.

AT THE DISASTER

? An Associated Press reporter found clothed labeled with the following brands in the rubble: Saddlebred, Easycare Oxford, Next, Tweeti.com, LcWaikiki.

LABOR GROUPS

? Charles Kernaghan, executive director of the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights, which has an office in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka, says his staff is investigating. "You can't trust many buildings in Bangladesh," Kernaghan said. "It's so corrupt that you can buy off anybody and there won't be any retribution."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/factories-inside-collapsed-building-bangladesh-011840843--finance.html

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Tax-free Internet shopping in jeopardy

FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2010 file photo, an Amazon.com package is prepared for shipment by a United Parcel Service (UPS) driver in Palo Alto, Calif. States could force Internet retailers to collect sales taxes under a bill that overwhelmingly passed a test vote in the Senate Monday, April 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Internet shoppers are moving closer to paying sales taxes for their online purchases. But the fight is far from over.

The Senate voted 63-30 Thursday to advance a bill that would impose state and local sales taxes on purchases made over the Internet. An agreement among senators delayed the Senate's final vote on passage until May 6, when senators return from a weeklong vacation.

Opponents hope senators hear from angry constituents over the next week, but they acknowledged they have a steep hill to climb to defeat the bill in the Senate.

Their best hope for stopping the bill may be in the House, where some Republicans consider it a tax increase. President Barack Obama supports the bill.

The bill would empower states to reach outside their borders and compel online retailers to collect state and local sales taxes for purchases made over the Internet. Under the bill, the sales taxes would be sent to the states where a shopper lives.

Under current law, states can only require stores to collect sales taxes if the store has a physical presence in the state. As a result, many online sales are essentially tax-free, giving Internet retailers an advantage over brick-and-mortar stores.

"We look forward to passing this landmark bill in 11 days and call on the House to stand up for America's Main Street businesses with us," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said shortly after Thursday's vote.

Senate Democratic leaders wanted to finish work on the bill this week, before leaving town for the recess. But they were blocked by a handful of senators from states without sales taxes.

Oregon, Montana, New Hampshire and Delaware have no sales taxes, though the two senators from Delaware support the bill.

"I think it's going to be interesting for senators to get a response from constituents over this upcoming week," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. "I'm not sure that the country knows that something like this coerces businesses all around America to collect other people's sales taxes."

The bill pits brick-and-mortar stores like Wal-Mart against online services such as eBay. The National Retail Federation supports it. And Amazon.com, which initially fought efforts in some states to make it collect sales taxes, supports it, too.

Retailers who have lobbied in favor of the bill celebrated Thursday's vote.

"The special treatment of big online businesses at the expense of retailers on Main Street will soon be a thing of the past," said Bill Hughes of the Retail Industry Leaders Association. "The overwhelmingly bipartisan support for leveling the playing field is rare in today's political environment and paves the way for a level playing field once and for all."

Supporters say the bill is about fairness for local businesses that already collect sales taxes, and lost revenue for states. Opponents say the bill would impose complicated regulations on retailers and doesn't have enough protections for small businesses. Businesses with less than $1 million a year in online sales would be exempt.

Many of the nation's governors ? Republicans and Democrats ? have been lobbying the federal government for years for the authority to collect sales taxes from online sales.

The issue is getting bigger for states as more people make purchases online. Last year, Internet sales in the U.S. totaled $226 billion, up nearly 16 percent from the previous year, according to Commerce Department estimates.

The National Conference of State Legislatures estimates that states lost $23 billion last year because they couldn't collect taxes on out-of-state sales.

Anti-tax groups have labeled the bill a tax increase. But it gets support from many Republicans who have pledged not to increase taxes. The bill's main sponsor is Sen. Mike Enzi, a conservative Republican from Wyoming. He has worked closely with Durbin, a liberal Democrat.

Enzi and Durbin say the bill doesn't raise taxes. Instead, they say, it gives states a mechanism to enforce current taxes.

In many states, shoppers are required to pay unpaid sales taxes when they file state tax returns. But governors complain that few people comply.

Under the bill, states that want to collect online sales taxes must provide free computer software to help retailers calculate the taxes, based on where shoppers live. States must also establish a single entity to receive Internet sales tax revenue, so retailers don't have to send them to individual counties or cities.

___

Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-04-26-Internet%20Sales%20Tax/id-943aa4aeec8041ea98b7065a13d6bba7

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On immigration, it?s pathway to citizenship or bust

Sens. Chuck Schumer and John McCain (Christian Science Monitor)

The lead authors of the Senate immigration reform bill are dug in on the question of whether the final product must include a "pathway to citizenship" for many of the 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

The bill will die if it does not include such a pathway, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York told reporters Thursday.

"There's no way of getting this job done without giving people a path to citizenship," McCain said during a Christian Science Monitor breakfast that Schumer also attended. "To say that you can have a legal status but you can't ever have a path to become a citizen of his country offends our fundamental principles of fairness in this country. I know that that opposition is there; I don't think it's valid and I don't think it's held even by a majority of Republicans, certainly not in the Senate."

Whether unauthorized immigrants should be given the choice to remain here without returning to their home country first has remained a sticking point for some Republican lawmakers. In an interview with CBS News on Wednesday, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz warned that including a pathway to citizenship would likely "scuttle the bill." Others in the House have said they will refuse any attempts to offer what they call "amnesty" for such immigrants.

According to the language of the Senate bill, those living in the U.S. illegally who arrived before Dec. 31, 2011, must wait up to 13 years to achieve citizenship, and only after undergoing a rigorous application system that includes background checks, proof of access to gainful employment and the paying of back taxes and fines. The federal government will also have to comply with a strict set of enforcement mandates for the pathway provisions to trigger.

During the breakfast meeting, Schumer seconded McCain's prediction about the bill's fate.

"Any attempt to say in the House that you will not have a path to citizenship will be a nonstarter, and I say that unequivocally," Schumer said, pounding his fist on the table. "It will not pass the Senate. I don't think it would get a Democratic vote."

"A majority of Republicans support it," Schumer said, before McCain interjected.

"As long as?" McCain said.

"?there's a path," Schumer said. "You earn it."

"Right," McCain added.

McCain also reiterated his warning to Republicans that a failure to pass an immigration overhaul could be devastating to the party in the future. Passage won't automatically gain votes, he said, but it will keep the party competitive.

"If we pass this legislation, it won't gain us a single Hispanic vote. But what it will do is put us on a playing field where we can compete. Right now we cannot compete," McCain said. "It's a demographic certainty that if we condemn ourselves to 15, 20, 25 percent of the Hispanic vote, we will not win elections, but I have no illusions about whether passage of this legislation will gain Hispanic voters. It won't."

The Senate is currently holding hearings about the immigration bill in the Judiciary Committee, and supporters say they expect a vote in the chamber by early summer.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/immigration-bill-authors-pathway-citizenship-bust-151543776--politics.html

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On Syria, U.S. options appear limited

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The White House disclosure that the Syrian government has twice used chemical weapons still leaves the Obama administration stuck with a limited choice of military options to help the rebels oust President Bashar Assad.

Arming the rebels runs smack into the reality that a military group fighting alongside them has pledged allegiance to al-Qaida. Establishing a no-fly zone poses a significant challenge as Syria possesses an air defense system far more robust than what the U.S. and its allies overwhelmed in Libya two years ago.

President Barack Obama had declared that the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons in the two-year civil war would be "game changer" that would cross a "red line" for a major military response, but the White House made clear Thursday that even a quick strike wasn't imminent.

Reflecting a strong degree of caution, the White House said the intelligence community assessed "with varying degrees of confidence" that the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons on a small scale. The White House said in a letter to two senators that the "chain of custody" was unclear and that the determination was based on physiological samples.

The information had been known to the administration and some members of Congress for weeks despite public pronouncements from the White House. The revelation on Thursday strengthened proponents of aggressive military action, who challenged the administration to act and warned that going wobbly would embolden Assad.

Yet it also underscored the difficulties of any step for war-weary lawmakers horrified by a conflict that has killed an estimated 70,000 but guarded about U.S. involvement in a Mideast war.

"There's no easy choice here," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., a member of the Armed Services Committee. "All the alternatives are flawed. It's just finding the least flawed among them that will get Assad out."

The next move on Syria was high on the agenda for Obama's meeting Friday with King Abdullah II of Jordan, as the U.S. ally has struggled with the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees escaping the Syrian violence. Vice President Joe Biden and Abdullah discussed the best path to "a peaceful, democratic post-Assad Syria where moderates are empowered" on Thursday.

"I think it's important for the administration to look for ways to up the military pressure on Assad," said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

One of the most powerful of the rebel groups in Syria is Jabhat al-Nusra, which recently declared its affiliation with al-Qaida. Last December, the State Department designated the group a terrorist organization, and the administration's opposition to directly arming the Syrian opposition stems from concerns about the weapons ending up in the hands of Islamic extremists.

Arming the rebels, said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is a "lot harder that it was before."

"We've gotten to the point now where the opposition has been affected by the radicals," Graham said in an interview. "Right weapons in right hands is the goal. The second war is coming. I think we can arm the right people with the right weapons. There's a risk there, but the risk of letting this go and chemical weapons falling into radical Islamists' hands is the greatest risk."

Several lawmakers, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., have called for the U.S. to create a narrow, safe zone inside Syria, along its border with Turkey.

Either a safe zone or a no-fly zone would require neutralizing Syria's air defenses. According to a report by the Institute for the Study of War, Syria's largely Soviet-era air defense system includes as many as 300 mobile surface-to-air missile systems and defense systems, and more than 600 static missile launchers and sites.

"You can establish it (safe zone) by taking out their aircraft on the ground with cruise missiles and using the Patriot (missile) also. No American manned aircraft in danger," McCain said.

The U.S. has taken only minimal military steps so far, limiting U.S. assistance to nonlethal aid, including military-style equipment such as body armor and night vision goggles.

The U.S. has deployed about 200 troops to Jordan to assist that country's military, and participated in NATO's placement of Patriot missile batteries in Turkey near the border to protect against an attack from Syria.

It's unclear, however, what arming the rebels or patrolling a no-fly zone over Syria would accomplish.

"The options are all bad," says Aram Nerguizian, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. "Arming the opposition doesn't do anything regarding chemical weapons or solving proliferation concerns in Syria."

Targeting a facility, he added, might send a message to the Assad regime. But it does little to address the larger direction of the civil war, which is tilting back toward government forces again after a counteroffensive.

"Here's one thing you can do," argues Andrew Tabler at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in a similar vein. "If they load this stuff into bombs or mix the stuff, we can hit it," he said, but agreed that wouldn't eliminate the larger stockpiles or address the larger context of a conflict that is destroying Syria.

In testimony to Congress last week, Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked whether he was confident that U.S. forces could secure the chemical weapons caches within Syria.

"Not as I sit here today, simply because they've been moving it and the number of sites is quite numerous," Dempsey said.

Tabler pointed to the Israeli attack earlier this year on a Syrian weapons convoy going to Hezbollah as an example of a possibly targeted U.S. intervention. He said the question of arming the rebels should be looked at beyond chemical weapons use, considering the 200 Scud missiles that have been launched by Assad's regime in the last five months and the government's ongoing escalation "all over the place."

Even if U.S. interests aren't immediately affected, they could be over time.

"Syria isn't Vegas," Tabler said. "What happens in Syria doesn't stay in Syria. Where do these chemical weapons all go?"

___

Associated Press Intelligence Writer Kimberly Dozier contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-options-limited-syria-despite-weapons-report-071116497.html

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Obama, former presidents rally around George W. Bush as library opens

By Steve Holland

DALLAS (Reuters) - George W. Bush basked in warm praise from President Barack Obama and three fellow former presidents on Thursday as Bush's library was dedicated in a ceremony that emphasized his resolute response to terrorism while skirting controversies such as his decision to invade Iraq.

Obama and fellow Democrats Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, along with Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush, came together on the campus of Southern Methodist University to honor one of their own. At the end of the hour-long ceremony, Bush - who has largely avoided public life since leaving Washington in January 2009 - choked back tears as he concluded his remarks.

Obama captured the feeling of the day when he indicated that Bush's political friends and foes both view the former president as genuine.

"To know the man is to like the man, because he's comfortable in his own skin," Obama said. "He takes his job seriously but he doesn't take himself too seriously. He's a good man."

Bush, a Republican, had historically low popularity ratings for a U.S. president - about 33 percent - when he left office.

Although most Americans give him credit him for his steadfast response to the September 11, 2001, attacks, many opposed his decision to go war against Iraq on what turned out to be a false claim that Saddam Hussein's regime was stockpiling biological and chemical weapons. By the end of Bush's term a once-vibrant economy was collapsing, fueling an image of an administration gone awry.

But time away from the spotlight has helped Bush in the eyes of many Americans. In the days leading up to the dedication of his library and museum, a Washington Post-ABC News poll indicated that Bush's approval rating was 47 percent, about equal to Obama's.

In his speech, Bush alluded to the difficult choices he faced as president, which is a theme that runs through several of the library's exhibits.

"One of the things about democracies is people are free to disagree. It's fair to say I gave people plenty of opportunities to exercise that right," Bush said with a chuckle.

ELDER BUSH: 'GLAD TO BE HERE'

The former presidents form what amounts to the world's most exclusive gathering, known informally as the Presidents Club. Most were rivals at one time or another, but the shared experience of being president has created bonds between them.

The United States has 13 presidential libraries around the country which preserve documents and records from presidents dating to Herbert Hoover.

During the ceremony the former presidents focused on the positive aspects of Bush's tenure. Clinton and Carter praised Bush for pushing Congress to fund AIDS relief for Africa.

Clinton is particularly close to Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, because the two have worked on various relief projects together.

Clinton teased Bush about the not-so-complex paintings that Bush, a novice artist, had produced in recent years, including self-portraits of Bush in the shower and the bathtub.

Clinton, a Democrat, said he considered asking Bush to do a similar painting of him, but then thought better of it.

"Those bathroom sketches are great, but at my age I think I should keep my suit," he said to laughter.

George H.W. Bush, 88 and in a wheelchair, had a health scare last December. But on Thursday he joined the other former presidents and their wives onstage, and spoke briefly.

"We're glad to be here," he said in a shaky voice. "God bless America."

Unlike other former presidents, Carter, a Democrat who served from 1977 to 1981, has not been shy about criticizing his predecessors. But he was upbeat when he stood before the crowd of Bush supporters.

Carter recalled that Bush had become president after winning a disputed election in 2000 against Democrat Al Gore. Carter said that two months later, he was among the few Democrats to show up for Bush's first inauguration.

Carter thanked Bush for helping the needy in Africa with increased foreign assistance and for seeking a solution to the conflict in Sudan. Carter told Bush he was grateful "for the contributions you've made to the most needy people on Earth."

The crowd included a who's who of dignitaries who served with Bush, such as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, forever linked with Bush on the decision to launch the Iraq war. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi also attended.

Since he left office, Bush, a 66-year-old Texan, has focused mostly on helping to build his library and museum, getting involved in charitable projects as well as painting, playing golf and riding mountain bikes.

The museum exhibits cover major points of Bush's presidency and offer visitors an opportunity to decide how they would have responded to those challenges. A central part is devoted to the September 11 attacks.

"When our freedom came under attack we made the tough decision required to keep our people safe," Bush said. He said his library's presidential center will be devoting to promoting freedom abroad.

"I'm retired from politics - happily so, I might add - but not from public service," he said.

Bush's supporters hope the library and the passage of time will lead more Americans to their belief that his performance in the White House was better than they might have thought.

(Editing by David Lindsey and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/george-w-bush-returns-spotlight-library-dedication-055506893.html

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Friday, April 26, 2013

Escaped convict turns himself in after 14 years on the run

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ? After 14 years on the run from the FBI and tips from witnesses in two countries, David Lee Kemp turned himself over to authorities in southwest Oklahoma early Friday morning, local authorities said.

Kemp, of Lawton, Okla., was the only inmate to elude capture after escaping with eight other inmates on March 11, 1999, while awaiting trial on two first-degree murder counts in the killings of his ex-wife and her boyfriend.

Comanche County Sheriff Kenny Stradley said Kemp told police he was done running.

"He said that he was just tired basically of running and it was affecting his health," Stradley told The Associated Press.

Comanche County Jail records show Kemp was taken into custody at about 1:40 a.m. Friday on charges of felony first-degree murder and escaping from a county jail, a misdemeanor.

The sequence of events leading up to his arrest started at a rest stop along Interstate 44, Stradley said, when Kemp knocked on the window of a sleeping truck driver.

"He said, 'I need you to call Comanche County Sheriff's department to come up here. I need to talk to them,'" Stradley told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

A deputy arrived and told Kemp he looked familiar. The deputy then asked for Kemp's name. Kemp told him and was immediately arrested, Stradley said. It's unclear if Kemp has a lawyer.

Kemp is charged in the deaths of Christina Cremer and her boyfriend, Robert Miller, whose bodies were found in August 1998, riddled with bullets in their Lawton apartment. He was apprehended by police in California several days later and taken to Comanche County.

In March 1999, he and eight other inmates overpowered a guard with a large grilling fork and escaped. Most were recaptured the same day.

Since then, Kemp was the subject of the "America's Most Wanted" and "Unsolved Mysteries" TV shows. He was reportedly spotted in Las Vegas and may have also been spotted in Phoenix, Louisiana and even Canada.

Stradley was also sheriff back in 1999 when Kemp escaped, and called Kemp's capture "a big relief."

A spokesman for the county said Kemp was under observation because of suicide concerns.

"He's completely compliant right now and following all the rules," said Jacob Russell, the spokesman. "All the added security at this time will be to and from the courtroom."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/inmate-missing-since-1999-surrenders-oklahoma-162641201.html

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Marshall Monitor headphones available now for $200, we go ears-on

When you've got legitimate rock-sound credentials, why wouldn't you make headphones? Right? To that end, Marshall is back with a new pair -- called Monitor -- to sit at the top of its existing range. Players in the current market seem to have found the sweet spot between premium pricing and street credibility, and there's no change here. Priced at $200, Marshall is putting the Monitor directly up against these other sets that mix style-consciousness with claims of quality audio. It's not all about looks though, as the Monitor sports a proprietary "F.T.F" (Felt Treble Filter) system that lets you change the sound for a different high-end response. Under the hood is a 40MM driver, and the same gold, black and leather stylings we saw on the Major model. This time, however, Marshall opted for an over-ear fit, and threw in a few other goodies too. These include the increasingly popular 3.5mm pass-through jack (so friends can plug in and share your music), a collapsible design, a detachable part-coiled cable and in-line remote. The Monitor is available starting today for the aforementioned $200. But, if you want to know a little more, we got our hands on a set, so rock past the break for our impressions.

Gallery: Marshall Monitor hands-on