Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/297911468?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Thursday, April 11, 2013
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
'Iron Man 3' Extended Scene To Power Up MTV Movie Awards!
Before watching the full clip at Sunday's show, team up with fans to unlock an early look at the footage.
By Todd Gilchrist
Robert Downey Jr. in "Iron Man 3"
Photo: Marvel/Disney
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1705320/iron-man-3-preview-scene-mtv-movie-awards.jhtml
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Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Officer arrested after 'extremely dangerous' prisoner escapes
By Daniel Arkin, Mark Stevenson and John Newland, NBC News
A Denver sheriff?s deputy has been arrested in connection with the escape of a prisoner who walked out of the county jail Sunday night wearing a deputy?s uniform and possibly carrying a gun, according to local reports.
Police have identified the deputy as Matthew Andrews, a two-year veteran of the sheriff?s department, NBC affiliate 9News reported. Andrews, who was arrested late Sunday, stands accused of helping Felix Dino Trujillo, 24, escape Denver County Jail at about 7 p.m. MT that evening, according to the station.
Trujillo remained at large Monday afternoon.
?Felix Trujillo may be armed and should be considered extremely dangerous,? the sheriff?s office said in a statement.
Trujillo had been jailed on charges of aggravated robbery and a parole violation, according to information obtained from the jail?s inmate database.
He was being held on $75,000 bond and was slated to appear in Denver District Court on May 13, according to court records.
This story was originally published on Mon Apr 8, 2013 1:50 AM EDT
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Warm weather helps wheat crop but soil still dry
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Nebraska's winter wheat crop has started to turn green with the warm weather, but the soil remains exceptionally dry because of the drought.
The U.S. Agriculture Department said Monday that the state's pastures haven't started growing much this spring because of the dry conditions.
About 64 percent of the state's hay and forage supplies rated short or very short.
Roughly 77 percent of the state's topsoil moisture rated short or very short. And 95 percent of the subsoil rates short or very short.
About 11 percent of Nebraska's wheat crop rated in good or excellent condition.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/warm-weather-helps-wheat-crop-091616770.html
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Sculptor of Rosa Parks statue says she 'made a stand by sitting'
The last time Congress commissioned a statue for the U.S. Capitol, Ulysses S. Grant was president, the first cable cars were making their way up San Francisco streets, and Levi Strauss patented blue jeans.
When President Barack Obama unveiled the sculpture of Rosa Parks this past February, it not only was the first commissioned statue for the site in 140 years, but Parks became the first African-American woman to have her likeness in Statuary Hall. It appears alongside such notables as Andrew Jackson, Brigham Young and Helen Keller.
On Dec. 1, 1955, a bus conductor in Montgomery, Ala., ordered Parks to give up her seat on a public bus so white passengers could be seated. Parks refused to stand up and remained in her seat. She was quickly arrested.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called her action ?the spark that ignited the modern civil rights movement.?
Parks? bronze-and-granite statue is close to 9 feet tall. In a departure from others in Statuary Hall, it features a seated figure.
?She made a stand by sitting,? said Los Angeles-based sculptor Eugene Daub, 70. ?This was more about a quiet, heroic [act] that was performed and a solid, rooted pose.?
Daub and co-designer Rob Firmin entered a 2008 competition managed by the National Endowment for the Arts and were selected from among more than 100 entries. The entry was a maquette, a 24-inch model in clay created after historical research.
?If somebody that you?re sculpting isn?t around anymore, you need every angle that you can find,? said Daub. ?Profiles are especially hard to find because who ever saves profiles of themselves. I just had to go through hundreds of images, even of her in a courtroom, trying to find her turning around, to get a good profile.?
Daub has been a sculptor for more than 30 years. His previous commissions include Harvey Milk, young Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. For the Rosa Parks figure, Daub worked out composition issues in the two-foot model and refined the details in clay for the final figure. He pointed out that the sculpture is missing a key element of Parks? story.
?People might not recognize immediately that there is no bus seat,? said Daub. ?There?s just a form that she?s emerging from. We thought that a rail or cushions would be seen as a distraction.?
To capture the essence of a 42-year-old, mid-century, African-American woman, Daub said he did what actors often do.
?It?s a little like method acting,? he said. ?How would I sit if I want to invoke determination, steadfastness and vision? You just have to develop it and keep moving it around until it begins to happen.
?In some way, sitting poses are very un-heroic poses,? Daub added. ?We are used to hero poses being open stances and prideful. She?s sitting holding her purse on her lap and just determined not to be moved, not to give up this seat to yield to injustice.?
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Monday, April 8, 2013
Egyptian wedding certificate key to authenticating controversial biblical text
Apr. 8, 2013 ? A scientist who helped verify authenticity of the fabled Gospel of Judas today revealed how an ancient Egyptian marriage certificate played a pivotal role in confirming the veracity of inks used in the controversial text. The disclosure, which sheds new light on the intensive scientific efforts to validate the gospel, was made in New Orleans on April 8 at the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
"If we hadn't found a Louvre study of Egyptian wedding and land contracts, which were from the same time period and had ink similar to that used to record the Gospel of Judas, we would have had a much more difficult time discerning whether the gospel was authentic," said Joseph G. Barabe. A senior research microscopist at McCrone Associates, he led an analytical team of five scientists who worked on the project at McCrone, a consulting laboratory in microscopy and microanalysis in Westmont, Ill. "That study was the key piece of evidence that convinced us that the gospel ink was probably okay."
Barabe's team was part of a multidisciplinary effort organized in 2006 by the National Geographic Society to authenticate the Gospel of Judas, which was discovered in the late 1970s after having been hidden for nearly 1,700 years. The text, written in Egyptian Coptic, is compelling because -- unlike other Biblical accounts that portray Judas Iscariot as a reviled traitor -- it suggests that Jesus requested that his friend, Judas, betray him to authorities.
Barabe's presentation was part of an ACS symposium on archeological chemistry.
After analyzing a sample, Barabe and his colleagues concluded that the gospel was likely penned with an early form of iron gall ink that also included black carbon soot bound with a gum binder. While this finding suggested that the text may have been written in the third or fourth century A.D., the researchers were perplexed by one thing: The iron gall ink used in the gospel was different than anything they'd ever seen before. Typically, iron gall inks -- at least those from the Middle Ages -- were made from a concoction of iron sulfate and tannin acids, such as those extracted from oak gall nuts. But the iron gall ink used to produce the Gospel of Judas didn't contain any sulfur. And that, Barabe said, was troubling.
"We didn't understand it. It just didn't fit in with anything that we had ever encountered," he said. "It was one of the most anxiety-producing projects I've ever had. I would lie awake at night trying to figure it out. I was frantically searching for answers."
Ultimately, Barabe found a reference to a small French study conducted by scientists at the Louvre who analyzed Egyptian marriage and land records written in Coptic and Greek and dating from the first to third centuries A.D. Much to Barabe's relief, those researchers had determined that a wedding certificate and other documents were written in ink made with copper, but little or no sulfur.
"Finding that study, and realizing its implications, tilted my opinion a little in the direction of it being appropriate for the era," Barabe said. "My memory of that experience remains quite vivid. I had a sudden feeling of peace that things were okay, and that I could submit my data without qualms."
Barabe now suspects that the ink used in the Gospel of Judas was probably transitional, a "missing link" between the ancient world's carbon-based inks and the iron gall inks (made with iron sulfate) that became popular in medieval times.
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Rover traces loss of Martian air
8 April 2013
Last updated at 09:52 ET
The degree to which Mars' atmosphere has thinned over time is evident in exquisite new measurements from Nasa's Curiosity rover.
It has analysed the different types, or isotopes, of argon atoms in the planet's air.
The study shows how a heavier version of the element has built up relative to a lighter one during Mars' history.
It is confirmation that a substantial portion of the planet's original atmosphere has escaped into space.
Scientists think that perhaps as much as 95% of the gaseous shroud Mars started out with billions of years ago has gone.
All of the key components in the present-day air show a leaning towards heavier isotopes.
Curiosity itself has already demonstrated this to be the case with its measurements of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and also of water vapour.
But the new analysis of the ratio of argon-36 to argon-38 is particularly incisive because the element is so unreactive. There is no significant way for the ratio between the two to change other than through the preferential loss of the lightest isotope to space.
"We've been waiting for this result for a long time," said Prof Sushil Atreya from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, US.
"Argon is chemically inert. It does not interact with the surface; it does not exchange with the interior [of the planet]. So it's the cleanest, clearest signal of escape," he told BBC News.
Prof Atreya was speaking here in Vienna at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly.
He is a co-investigator on the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) experiment. This is a large, sophisticated laboratory tucked away inside the belly of Curiosity.
As well as studying rock specimens, it can also suck in the air to examine the concentration of gases that are present.
Argon forms a very small fraction of the modern Martian atmosphere at just 5.3 parts per million.
To make its latest measurement, SAM actually had to amplify the argon in its sample chambers by removing other, more dominant gases - the first time it has used such a procedure on the mission.
The test showed there are 4.2 atoms of argon-36 for every one of argon-38.
By way of comparison, the ratio is 5.5 to one in the atmospheres of the Sun and Jupiter, which can be considered the baseline for when the Solar System formed.
But Mars has no global magnetic field to protect atoms and molecules at the top of its atmosphere from being stripped away by the solar wind, and it is the lightest versions of those air atoms and molecules that are most readily eroded.
The Curiosity data is very precise and resolves the large uncertainties in previous measurements acquired by the Viking landers in the 1970s and from the study of Martian meteorites.
"We've been seeing the same kind of behaviour in the carbon dioxide isotopes and the water isotopes - they're all telling us the same story; that gases have been escaping from Mars over time, and the argon isotope just really nails it," Prof Atreya said.
The observation is important because a thicker atmosphere in the past could have allowed liquid water to be stable at the surface of the Red Planet, and this could have assisted any life that might have been present.
Today, the air pressure is so low that any exposed water would rapidly boil away.
Some researchers doubt Mars ever had an atmosphere suitable to retain water on its surface for very long, but the Curiosity project scientist said he did not share this view.
Prof John Grotzinger argued that the rocks now being observed by Curiosity looked like they were formed under stable conditions.
"We see these mudstones and we see the textures that indicate stratification," he told BBC News.
"It's kind of hard to imagine that [these textures] would be preserved if the mud was boiling - if the water in the mud was boiling."
Curiosity landed on Mars' equator in August last year. It is investigating a deep crater, looking for evidence that the Red Planet may once have had the conditions to allow simple microbial life to flourish.
The US space agency will launch a new mission to Mars at the end of the year called Maven.
This satellite will address specifically the issue of atmosphere loss. Its high altitude measurements will complement perfectly the studies conducted by Curiosity at the surface.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22063337#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
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Conn. gov faults gun lobbyists over restrictions
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) ? Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy harshly criticized gun industry lobbyists on Sunday, saying they are doing too little to halt gun violence.
Just three days after he signed into law new restrictions on weapons and large-capacity magazines, the governor compared Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, to clowns and said lobbyists want to ensure that the industry can sell guns indiscriminately.
"Wayne reminds me of the clowns at the circus," Malloy said of LaPierre on CNN's "State of the Union." ''They get the most attention and that's what he's paid to do."
Representatives of the NRA did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
"What this is about is the ability of the gun industry to sell as many guns to as many people as possible even if they're deranged, even if they're mentally ill, even if they have a criminal background," Malloy said. "They don't care. They want to sell guns."
Robert Crook, executive director of the Connecticut Coalition of Sportsmen, a lobbying group, said Malloy's criticism was "absolutely false."
"It's another political statement from a governor with little knowledge," he said.
Connecticut's gun industry supports a gun trafficking task force and tighter background checks of buyers, Crook said.
Andrew Doba, a spokesman for Malloy, said the Democratic governor was criticizing lobbyists, not the gun industry. Malloy has said he wants Connecticut's large gun industry to remain in the state, though gun manufacturers say the new restrictions will hurt their business.
"People are welcome to stay in our state as long as they're producing a product that can be sold in the United States legally," Malloy said.
Nearly four months after a gunman killed 20 children and six educators at an elementary school in Newtown, lawmakers and Malloy enacted legislation that adds more than 100 firearms to the state's assault weapons ban. It also immediately bans the sale of magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. People who purchased those guns and magazines before midnight Wednesday will be allowed to keep them if they're registered with the state police before Jan. 1.
Required background checks for private gun sales also take effect.
Other parts of the new law include a ban on armor-piercing bullets, establishment of a deadly weapon offender registry, expansion of circumstances when a person's mental health history disqualifies them from holding a gun permit, mandatory reporting of voluntary hospital commitments, doubled penalties for gun trafficking and other firearms violations, and $1 million to fund the statewide firearms trafficking task force.
Malloy said he preferred an "all-out ban" on magazines of more than 10 rounds of ammunition, but the legislature opposed him on the issue.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/conn-gov-faults-gun-lobbyists-over-restrictions-195304857.html
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Sunday, April 7, 2013
'Evil Dead' rises again with $26M box-office stake
This film image released by Sony-TriStar Pictures shows Jane Levy in a scene from "Evil Dead." (AP Photo/Sony-TriStar Pictures)
This film image released by Sony-TriStar Pictures shows Jane Levy in a scene from "Evil Dead." (AP Photo/Sony-TriStar Pictures)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Resurrected demons and resurrected dinosaurs are helping to put some life back into the weekend box office.
The demonic horror remake "Evil Dead" debuted at No. 1 with $26 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
In a tight fight for second-place were two holdovers, the animated comedy "The Croods" and the action flick "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," both with an estimated $21.1 million. Final numbers Monday will sort out which movie comes out ahead.
Steven Spielberg's 3-D debut of his dinosaur blockbuster "Jurassic Park" came in fourth with $18.2 million. That's on top of the $357.1 million domestic haul for "Jurassic Park" in its initial run in 1993.
Released by Sony's TriStar Pictures, "Evil Dead" added $4.5 million in 21 overseas markets, giving it a worldwide start of $30.5 million. Shot on a modest budget of $17 million, the movie is well on its way to turning a profit.
The remake was produced by the 1983 original's filmmakers, director Sam Raimi and producer Rob Tapert, and its star, Bruce Campbell. The new "Evil Dead" lays the gore on thickly for the story of a group of friends terrorized and possessed by demons during a trip to a cabin in the woods.
"It's one crazy ride, that movie. I have to think Sam Raimi is so proud in remaking this film that it turned out so well," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. "It's such a visceral ride, where you're holding on to your seat or holding on to the person next to you."
Paramount's "G.I. Joe" sequel, which had been No. 1 the previous weekend, pushed its domestic total to $86.7 million. The movie also added $40.2 million overseas for an international haul of $145.2 million and a worldwide take of $232 million.
"The Croods," a DreamWorks Animation release distributed by 20th Century Fox, raised its domestic total to $125.8 million after three weekends. Overseas, the movie did an additional $34.1 million to lift its international total to $206.8 million and its worldwide receipts to $333 million.
Universal Pictures' "Jurassic Park" reissue opened in a similar range of other recent blockbuster 3-D releases such as "Titanic" ($17.3 million) and "Star Wars: Episode I ? The Phantom Menace" ($22.4 million).
None of the new movies or holdovers came close to the domestic business being done a year ago by "The Hunger Games," which led over the same weekend in 2012 with $33.1 million in its third weekend. But collectively, Hollywood had a winning lineup of movies that gave revenues a lift from last year.
Domestic receipts totaled $134 million, up 8.5 percent from the first weekend of April a year ago, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com. That uptick comes after three-straight weekends of declining revenue and a quiet first quarter in which domestic business has totaled $2.47 billion, down 11.4 percent from the same point in 2012.
Hollywood set a record with $10.8 billion domestically last year, and 2013's releases so far have been unable to match up. Studios are counting on a strong start to the summer season as "Iron Man 3" arrives the first weekend in May and such sequels as "Star Trek: Into Darkness," ''The Hangover Part III" and "Fast & Furious 6" quickly follow.
"When you have a record box-office year like we did in 2012, every weekend in 2013 is becoming a challenge to best or even equal what we did the year before," said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "The summer movie season can't come a moment too soon. We definitely need it."
In limited release this weekend, director and star Robert Redford's "The Company You Keep" started well with $146,058 in five theaters for a healthy $29,212 average. That compares to an $8,595 average in 3,025 cinemas for "Evil Dead."
"The Company You Keep" also features Susan Sarandon and Shia LaBeouf in the story of a 1970s fugitive on the run for three decades for a robbery that left a security guard dead.
"Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle's "Trance" opened with $136,103 in four theaters for a $34,026 average. The twisting thriller features James McAvoy as an amnesiac art thief whose accomplices enlist a hypnotist (Rosario Dawson) to crack his memory.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Evil Dead," $26 million ($4.5 million international).
2 (tie). "The Croods," $21.1 million ($34.1 million international).
2 (tie). "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," $21.1 million ($40.2 million international).
4. "Jurassic Park" in 3-D," $18.2 million ($3 million international).
5. "Olympus Has Fallen," $10.04 million.
6. "Tyler Perry's Temptation," $10 million.
7. "Oz the Great and Powerful," $8.2 million ($13.6 million international).
8. "The Host," $5.2 million ($3.5 million international).
9. "The Call," $3.5 million.
10. "Admission," $2.1 million.
___
Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:
1. "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," $40.2 million.
2. "The Croods," $34.1 million.
3. "Oz the Great and Powerful," $13.6 million.
4. "Jack the Giant Slayer," $10.9 million.
5. "Identity Thief," $6.4 million.
6. "Evil Dead," $4.5 million.
7. "Dragon Ball Z: Kami to Kami," $4.4 million.
8. "Running Man," $3.7 million.
9. "The Host," $3.5 million.
10. "Wreck-It Ralph," $3.4 million.
___
Online:
http://www.hollywood.com
http://www.rentrak.com
___
Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.
Associated PressGillmor Gang: Fork You | TechCrunch
The Gillmor Gang ? John Borthwick, Kevin Marks, Keith Teare, John Taschek, and Steve Gillmor ? spent a too-quick hour on Facebook Home, Twitter?s new deep linking Cards, and the jousting over Webkit. Individually, these developments represent interesting strategy for the major notification platforms of Google, Apple, Twitter, and Facebook.
But taken together, we?re seeing an important moment of truth. With Facebook pulling a ?kindle? by hijacking Android?s lockscreen for its notification engine, suddenly everybody has to get in line. Apple retains its AirPlay gateway to the big screen, but it?s Facebook not Google that threatens iOS? fit and finish. And just in time for apps, Twitter sets in motion developer innovation linking app to app and eventually the Web, Look out Cleveland, a fork is coming through.
@stevegillmor, @kteare, @kevinmarks, @borthwick, @jtaschek
Produced and directed by Tina Chase Gillmor @tinagillmor
Live chat stream
John Borthwick is CEO of betaworks. betaworks is a technology company that operates as a studio. betaworks builds new products, runs companies and seed invests. Prior to betaworks John was Senior Vice President of Alliances and Technology Strategy for Time Warner Inc. John?s company, WP-Studio, founded in 1994, was one of the first content studios in New York?s Silicon Alley. John holds an MBA from Wharton (1994) and an undergraduate degree BA...
? Learn moreKevin Marks is a software engineer. Kevin served as an evangelist for OpenSocial and as a software engineer at Google. In June 2009 he announced his resignation. From September 2003 to January 2007 he was Principal Engineer at Technorati responsible for the spiders that make sense of the web and track millions of blogs daily. He has been inventing and innovating for over 17 years in emerging technologies where people, media and computers meet. Before joining Technorati,...
? Learn moreJohn Taschek is vice president of strategy at salesforce.com. He is responsible for corporate product strategy, corporate intelligence and market influence. Taschek came to company in 2003, bringing over 20 years of technology evaluation experience. Taschek currently is also the editorial director for CloudBlog - an independent blog run as an adjunct to salesforce.com?s web properties. He occasionally is on Steve Gillmor?s The Gillmor Gang enterprise web video-cast. Previously, Taschek ran the testing labs at eWEEK (formerly PC Week) magazine....
? Learn moreKeith Teare is the CEO and founder of just.me Inc and a Founder at the Palo Alto incubator, Archimedes Labs. Teare has a track record as a serial entrepreneur with big ideas and has achieved significant returns for investors. History (a) The EasyNet Group: Founded in 1994 as one of the first ISP?s in Europe, Teare was CTO and co-founder. It went public on the AIM exchange in London in 1996 and was trading at a valuation of more than $1...
? Learn moreSteve Gillmor is a technology commentator, editor, and producer in the enterprise technology space. He is Head of Technical Media Strategy at salesforce.com and a TechCrunch contributing editor. Gillmor previously worked with leading musical artists including Paul Butterfield, David Sanborn, and members of The Band after an early career as a record producer and filmmaker with Columbia Records? Firesign Theatre. As personal computers emerged in video and music production tools, Gillmor started contributing to various publications, most notably Byte Magazine,...
? Learn moreSource: http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/06/gillmor-gang-fork-you/
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Church: Rick Warren's son commits suicide
LAKE FOREST, Calif. (AP) ? The 27-year-old son of popular evangelical Pastor Rick Warren has committed suicide at his Southern California home, Warren's church said in a statement on Saturday.
Matthew Warren struggled with mental illness, deep depression and suicidal thoughts throughout his life. Saddleback Valley Community Church spokeswoman Kristin Cole said he died Friday night.
"Despite the best health care available, this was an illness that was never fully controlled and the emotional pain resulted in his decision to take his life," the church statement said.
Rick Warren, the author of the multimillion-selling book "The Purpose Driven Life," said in an email to church staff that he and his wife had enjoyed a fun Friday evening with their son. But their son then returned home to take his life in "a momentary wave of despair."
Over the years, Matthew Warren had been treated by America's best doctors, had received counseling and medication and been the recipient of numerous prayers from others, his father said.
"I'll never forget how, many years ago, after another approach had failed to give relief, Matthew said 'Dad, I know I'm going to heaven. Why can't I just die and end this pain?'" Warren recalled.
Despite that, he said, his son lived for another decade, during which he often reached out to help others.
"You who watched Matthew grow up knew he was an incredibly kind, gentle, and compassionate man," Warren wrote. "He had a brilliant intellect and a gift for sensing who was most in pain or most uncomfortable in a room. He'd then make a bee-line to that person to engage and encourage them."
The elder Warren founded Saddleback Church in 1980, according to his biography on the church website, and over the years watched it grow to 20,000 members. He and his wife, Kay, began by holding Bible studies for people who weren't regular churchgoers.
As Saddleback grew over the years, it spread out from its Lake Forest headquarters, 65 miles southeast of Los Angeles, adding several other campuses and ministries around Southern California.
The church says it now offers more than 200 community ministries and support groups for parents, families, children, couples, prisoners, addicts, and people living with HIV, depression and other illnesses.
In 2008, the church sponsored a presidential forum with Barack Obama and John McCain. Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney were invited to a similar forum last fall, but Warren canceled it several days beforehand, saying the campaign had become too uncivil.
Warren was named the top newsmaker of the year for 2009 by the Religion Newswriters Association. He gained attention that year with his invocation at Obama's inauguration, as well as with comments he made in the aftermath of California's Proposition 8, which overturned gay marriage.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/church-pastor-rick-warrens-son-commits-suicide-211206608.html
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Saturday, April 6, 2013
#Kosovo too high a price to pay for EU, #Serbia?s Orthodox Church says http://t.co/giWtH9dGJT via @reuters
Under 100 characters, optional
Source: http://twitter.com/lou_reuters/status/320632912653479936
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10 million pounds of frozen pizza, snacks recalled in rare E. coli outbreak
By JoNel Aleccia, Senior Writer, NBC News
A New York snack food maker now says it is recalling more than 10 million pounds of frozen pizza, mozzarella bites, Philly cheese steaks and other products linked to a rare and potentially dangerous outbreak of E. coli poisoning. Three million pounds of the products remain in the marketplace, a company spokesman said Friday.
Rich Products Corp. of Buffalo, N.Y., is pulling all products manufactured at its Waycross, Ga., plant. The ?snacks have best buy dates from Jan. 1 2013 through Sept. 29, 2014, according to a press release.?For a full list of products, click here.
Spokesman Dwight Gram originally told NBC News that 3 million pounds of the products were recalled, but he later confirmed that the company also had control of 7 million pounds of the frozen items that had not reached stores.
The foods may be contaminated with the bacterium E. coli O121, which already has sickened 27 people in 15 states who ate certain Farm Rich and Market Day frozen chicken quesadillas, pizza slices and other snack foods. Eight people have been hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which updated cases on Friday.
However, many more people may have been made ill by the products without knowing it because of complexities involved in identifying? E. coli O121, a strain that can be just as dangerous as the better-known E. coli O157:H7 frequently tied to outbreaks caused by hamburger.
The Thursday announcement expands a March 28 recall?of 196,222 pounds of Farm Rich brand frozen chicken quesadillas and other frozen mini meals and snack items because they could be contaminated with E. coli O121.
The strain is among a potentially lethal group of bacteria known as Shiga-toxin producing E. coli or STECs. The bacteria, which include E. coli O157, create poisons that can lead to severe illness and disease, including bloody diarrhea, kidney failure and death.
In 2011, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials banned E. coli O121 and five other strains -- known as ?the big six? -- from the nation?s beef supply. This outbreak is the first time Food Safety and Inspection Service officials have recalled products potentially tainted with E. coli O121.
The bacteria are tough to identify in outbreaks because clinical laboratories typically test only for the E. coli O157 strains. To detect the other strains, labs must screen for the presence of Shiga toxins and then send positive samples to public health laboratories to find any non-E. coli O157 STECs.
The strain involved in this outbreak is so rare, its genetic fingerprint has been seen less than 30 times in PulseNet, the CDC?s network of laboratories that track bacteria involved in foodborne illness.
The New York state Department of Health identified the outbreak strain of E. coli O121 in an opened package of Farm Rich brand frozen mini chicken and cheese quesadillas from an ill person?s home, the CDC said.
People usually become sick from Shiga-toxin producing E. coli within two to eight days after eating contaminated food. ?Symptoms include bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Most people recover within a week, but others can become severely ill with a complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, which causes kidney failure.
Children and the elderly are most vulnerable to the worst effects of the illness.
Related stories:?
?
This story was originally published on Thu Apr 4, 2013 3:57 PM EDT
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Deployment of Metro Fiber Providers, Fiber Optic Internet Maps, and ...
SolveForce brings its new Metro Fiber Internet Providers to market that provide businesses with Metro Ethernet, Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet services around the world.
Irvine, CA (PRWEB) April 05, 2013
In an international and national push to bring advanced business telecom services that facilitate communication at the lowest possible prices, SolveForce has now launched its Metro Fiber Internet products in the existing telecom markets in the United States of America and its environs.
SolveForce has been able to partner with all the major Metro Fiber providers and this has been a great campaign when it comes to providing comprehensive telecommunication services to businesses and residents. The Metro T1 Line and Metro T3 line connections offered by the company for example are dedicated T1 lines which are great for companies that need exclusive copper or fiber connections for voice and data transfer. SolveForce also throws in low cost business VoIP services to companies in this nationwide area and this helps business owners manage telephone systems and other business functions without the large overhead expenses.
Highlights of Metro Fiber Connectivity:
- Bandwidth Scalability
- Burstable Bandwidth
- Managed Routers
- Free Install
- SLAs with Uptime Guarantees
- Provider Diversity
For Metro Fiber Quotes in Real-Time visit: http://www.metrofiber.org
SolveForce also provides affordable voice and Internet services to residents and businesses in the metropolitan and rural areas providing services like Dark fiber, analog and digital phone lines as well as satellite Internet. Satellite and DSL services work well for businesses with offices built in rural or metro areas depending on the application.
Top Metro Fiber Provider City Footprint:
Albuquerque, Arlington, Atlanta, Austin, Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Chicago, Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Worth, Fresno, Fullerton, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Mesa, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York City, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, St. Louis, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Tucson, Tulsa, Virginia Beach, District of Columbia, and Yorba Linda to name a few.
All businesses can benefit from the VoIP services offered by SolveForce. These voice services allow businesses to utilize the Internet while reducing costs incurred through telephone call management in the company. Making telephone calls via the Internet is much cheaper than calling through other means. Businesses can also make use of point to point lines that allow connectivity between offices throughout the world.
Gigabit Ethernet and Fast Ethernet in metropolitan areas are suitable for many businesses that need to send large amounts of data at very high speeds. SolveForce also provides Metro Ethernet Internet as well as MPLS connections for businesses that need secure connections for their Internet connectivity.
Common Metro Fiber Ethernet Symmetrical Speed Ranges:
-10 Mbps- 20 Mbps
- 50 Mbps
- 100 Mbps
- 250 Mbps
- 500 Mbps
- 1 Gbps
- 5 Gbps
- 10 Gbps
To get price estimates on Mbps and Gbps Connections visit: http://www.gbps.us
Online security for business transactions cannot be overlooked and SolveForce understands the need for very private and secure connections to the Internet. For this application, SolveForce offers VPN and VPLS networks that facilitate such high privacy levels. Businesses will also experience the technology when using Ethernet over Copper, which offers very fast and reliable high-speed Internet connections.
For high Bandwidth connections and services, SolveForce provides Dark Fiber Networks within the entire USA coverage area. Other high-speed Internet solutions offered by this telecom solutions company include PRI T1 Lines, DS3 Bandwidth, OC1, OC3, OC12, OC48, OC192 and Fiber Optic Internet services to name a few.
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Friday, April 5, 2013
RWJF grant to Brown University supports childhood obesity research
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Public release date: 5-Apr-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: David Orenstein
david_orenstein@brown.edu
401-863-1862
Brown University
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the nation's leading philanthropy on health and health care, has awarded Akilah Dulin Keita, Brown University Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, a 24-month grant through the New Connections program. Keita is among a select group of Junior Investigators to receive one of the 24-month grants from New Connections. The grant will allow Keita, who studies health disparities at the Brown Institute for Community Health Promotion, to examine the risk and protective factors for childhood obesity among Southeast Asians.
New Connections is a national program designed to introduce new scholars to RWJF and expand the diversity of perspectives that inform the Foundation's programming. New Connections seeks early to mid-career scholars who are historically underrepresented ethnic or racial minorities, first-generation college graduates, or individuals from low-income communities.
"We are thrilled to welcome Professor Keita to a program that reflects the Foundation's commitment to increasing the diversity in our grant making and in the broader fields of health research," says Debra Prez, PhD, MPA, MA, Assistant Vice-President for Research and Evaluation at RWJF.
"More than a grant opportunity, New Connections serves as a lifelong professional network for diverse researchers and evaluators," says Prez.
"I am extremely proud to be among the junior investigators/midcareer consultants honored with this prestigious grant," says Keita. "This award will connect me to a network of established experts in research and evaluation related to health and health care, while providing me with an opportunity to evaluate a program that has far-reaching implications for childhood obesity."
###
More information about New Connections is available at http://www.rwjf-newconnections.org/index.html.
About Brown University
Founded in 1764 and a member of the Ivy League, Brown University is globally known for its culture of independent thinking and academic excellence. In FY 2012, Brown spent $179 million on research, an increase of nearly 29 percent since FY 2009. Professor Keita performs her teaching and research in the university's Program in Public Health. Earlier this year Brown announced that the program will become School of Public Health and that the university will seek accreditation as such.
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, RWJF works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For 40 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those we serve. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, RWJF expects to make a difference in your lifetime.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 5-Apr-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: David Orenstein
david_orenstein@brown.edu
401-863-1862
Brown University
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the nation's leading philanthropy on health and health care, has awarded Akilah Dulin Keita, Brown University Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, a 24-month grant through the New Connections program. Keita is among a select group of Junior Investigators to receive one of the 24-month grants from New Connections. The grant will allow Keita, who studies health disparities at the Brown Institute for Community Health Promotion, to examine the risk and protective factors for childhood obesity among Southeast Asians.
New Connections is a national program designed to introduce new scholars to RWJF and expand the diversity of perspectives that inform the Foundation's programming. New Connections seeks early to mid-career scholars who are historically underrepresented ethnic or racial minorities, first-generation college graduates, or individuals from low-income communities.
"We are thrilled to welcome Professor Keita to a program that reflects the Foundation's commitment to increasing the diversity in our grant making and in the broader fields of health research," says Debra Prez, PhD, MPA, MA, Assistant Vice-President for Research and Evaluation at RWJF.
"More than a grant opportunity, New Connections serves as a lifelong professional network for diverse researchers and evaluators," says Prez.
"I am extremely proud to be among the junior investigators/midcareer consultants honored with this prestigious grant," says Keita. "This award will connect me to a network of established experts in research and evaluation related to health and health care, while providing me with an opportunity to evaluate a program that has far-reaching implications for childhood obesity."
###
More information about New Connections is available at http://www.rwjf-newconnections.org/index.html.
About Brown University
Founded in 1764 and a member of the Ivy League, Brown University is globally known for its culture of independent thinking and academic excellence. In FY 2012, Brown spent $179 million on research, an increase of nearly 29 percent since FY 2009. Professor Keita performs her teaching and research in the university's Program in Public Health. Earlier this year Brown announced that the program will become School of Public Health and that the university will seek accreditation as such.
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, RWJF works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For 40 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those we serve. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, RWJF expects to make a difference in your lifetime.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/bu-rgt040513.php
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Best Cinco de Mayo Celebrations in Stafford TX | Waterstone Place
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Home / Apartment Living, Food / Host a Stafford Cinco de Mayo Party at Your Stafford Luxury Apts.
Home / Apartment Living, Food / Host a Stafford Cinco de Mayo Party at Your Stafford Luxury Apts.
Here are some great tips to help you host your own Cinco de Mayo party here at your Stafford luxury apartments.
A Stafford Cinco de Mayo party is only done right when you have good food, good drink, and festive colors. Nubry offers some suggestions, but to get your party started, go with these three basics.
- Party Food: Good appetizer foods include nachos and individual seven layer dip. For the main course, burritos and fajitas are the way to go. As a desert, mexican brownies are always a nice treat.
- Party Drinks: Margaritas frozen or on the rocks are always a good call. You should be able find a Margarita recipe to suit anyone, but Sangria is a good second choice. You can make a couple batches the night before so that the fruit is nicely fermented and ready for your party on May 5th.
- Festive Colors: Incorporate the colors of the Mexican flag into your food and drinks. For instance a melon mint sangria highlights very well the green, white, and red colors of the flag. While you can make Margaritas reflective of the colors of flag as well, margarita cupcakes?a are nice added touch for color and flavor.
How are you celebrating your Stafford Cinco de Mayo? Tell us below or on our Facebook page.
Photo via Flickr.
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Researchers identify edema inhibitor: Substance that can prevent the accumulation of fluid in body tissue
Apr. 5, 2013 ? Researchers of the Max Delbr?ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) and the Leibniz Institute of Molecular Pharmacology (FMP) in Berlin-Buch, Germany, have now detected a substance that can prevent the accumulation of fluid in body tissue and thus edema formation.
The results of Dr. Jana Bogum (MDC/FMP) from the MDC research group led by Professor Walter Rosenthal and PD Dr. Enno Klu?mann could be important in the future for the treatment of excessive fluid retention in patients with chronic heart failure. Using a novel approach, the researchers have also discovered a new molecular mechanism controlling water homeostasis in the kidneys (Journal of the American Society of Nephrology).
Every day around 1 500 liters of blood flow through the kidneys. Of this total volume, the kidneys initially filter 180 liters of primary urine, which they concentrate to two liters and then excrete as the final urine. A key regulatory step of the concentration mechanism is the release of the hormone AVP (arginine-vasopressin) from the brain. This hormone triggers a multi-step signaling cascade in the kidneys which affects water channels (aquaporins) and in particular aquaporin-2. "The water channels, specifically aquaporin-2, and their redistribution play a key role in the regulation of the water balance," said Dr. Klu?mann.
AVP, which is released from the brain upon thirst, induces aquaporin-2 located in the renal collecting duct principal cells to redistribute from the cell interior to the plasma membrane. The renal cells can then filter out the water from the primary urine flowing past the membrane via aquaporin-2. Dr. Klu?mann explained: "To keep the renal cell from bursting and the body from dehydrating, the water is directed back via another group of water channels, aquaporin 3 and 4, into the bloodstream and body tissue. In contrast to aquaporin-2, these water channels are located in another domain of the plasma membrane in the renal principal cells and stay there permanently." Once the thirst is quenched, the levels of the hormone AVP are reduced and aquaporin-2 is shuttled back into the interior of the renal cell until it is needed again.
However, if the AVP level is too high, as is the case in patients with chronic heart failure, aquaporin-2 remains permanently in the plasma membrane of the renal principal cell and directs the water continuously from the primary urine into the renal collecting duct principal cells. These cells funnel the excess water into the body tissue. "This process contributes to edema," Dr. Klu?mann said.
Discovery of how translocation of water channels can be inhibited
How can aquaporin-2 be prevented from settling permanently in the plasma membrane and thus triggering diseases or making them worse? Using a new research approach, the scientists were able to identify an inhibitor which prevents the translocation of the water channel aquaporin-2 into the cell membrane. At the same time they discovered a new regulatory mechanism of water homeostasis at the molecular level.
The researchers used "small molecules," low molecular weight organic compounds, which penetrate well into cells. They tested 17 700 such substances in renal cells and ultimately filtered out a substance that blocks the redistribution of aquaporin-2 to the plasma membrane. The substance (4-acetyldiphyllin) prevents phosphorylation, an important biological and regulatory activation step. In particular, the compound prevents a phosphorylation reaction that is catalyzed by a protein termed protein kinase A. This protein is activated in the signaling cascade that is triggered by AVP in the renal principal cells. In the presence of 4-acetyldiphillin protein kinase A cannot add a phosphate group to aquaporin-2, with the result that the water channels can no longer redistribute to the plasma membrane.
The new research findings may not only be of interest for the treatment of edema but also for the treatment of depression. Here, by contrast, medical researchers are seeking a way to shuttle aquaporin-2 to the plasma membrane of the renal principal cell, because lithium, which is often used to treat depression, prevents aquaporin-2 from redistributing to the plasma membrane, thus causing diabetes insipidus. If AVP is not released from the brain, or if the receptor for AVP in the renal cell is defective, this likewise results in diabetes insipidus, as Professor Rosenthal discovered several years ago. The affected individuals excrete 20 liters of urine every day. A similar effect, but not quite as drastic, is caused by alcohol. Drinking lots of beer causes the body to excrete large amounts of urine. The reason -- alcohol prevents the brain from releasing the hormone AVP and thus prevents the redistribution of aquaporin-2 to the plasma membrane.
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Max Delbr?ck Center for Molecular Medicine.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- J. Bogum, D. Faust, K. Zuhlke, J. Eichhorst, M. C. Moutty, J. Furkert, A. Eldahshan, M. Neuenschwander, J. P. von Kries, B. Wiesner, C. Trimpert, P. M. T. Deen, G. Valenti, W. Rosenthal, E. Klussmann. Small-Molecule Screening Identifies Modulators of Aquaporin-2 Trafficking. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 2013; DOI: 10.1681/ASN.2012030295
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/top_news/~3/6eWnWFEIZfs/130405104814.htm
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Thursday, April 4, 2013
Undocumented Youth Reaching for Higher Education ... - Diverse
by Marjorie Valbrun
Carlos Rao waited four years after graduating from high school before going to college because he mistakenly believed undocumented immigrants like him were barred from attending. He?s been waiting even longer for Congress to adopt one of the many on-again, off-again proposals for immigration reform it has debated but never adopted. That legislation might grant him and millions of other immigrants legal resident status.
Each time a proposal failed, Rao, who had been working for below minimum wages in dead-end jobs, lost hope that his life would ever change.
?It was a really depressing time period,? he said. ?That?s not what I wanted for my life.?
Rao is now completing his studies toward an associate degree in architecture at Miami Dade College and is planning to graduate this spring. He?s still waiting for the immigration laws to change, but these days he?s brimming with hope. He?s one of hundreds of thousands of young immigrants, many of them college students, who have applied for permission to legally stay and work in the U.S. for two years without the threat of deportation under a new program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.
Unburdening Youth
President Obama established the deferred deportation policy by executive order last June after Congress failed to pass the DREAM Act (acronym for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors), legislation that would have legalized the status of more than a million young, undocumented immigrants brought by their parents to this country as children. The DACA policy calls for a two-year halt of deportations of these very same immigrants as long they came here before age 16. If granted deferred action, Rao will get a work permit enabling him to earn money for tuition at a top university where he hopes to pursue an advanced degree in architecture.
?It will be a huge relief,? said Rao, 25, who came to the U.S. from Venezuela at age two. ?I?ll have some normalcy in my life. I can go work for an architect without problems.?
A more permanent reprieve may be in the offing now that a bipartisan group of U.S. senators has announced formal plans to draft legislation overhauling the nation?s immigration system and granting legal residency, and even possibly citizenship, to most of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living here. Given the wide partisan divide in Congress and the many failed attempts to tackle immigration reform, it?s hard to predict if or when lawmakers will pass such a complicated and controversial measure.
For now, Rao is happy for the opportunity to get deferred deportation. Under the new policy, only those who meet certain criteria are eligible. They must have come to the United States before age 16 and be under age 31 by June 15, 2012, when the executive order went into effect. They must have lived continuously in the U.S. since June 15, 2007 and have been physically present in the country on the day the policy went into effect and on the day they applied for deferred action. They must either be in school or have received a high school diploma or certificate of completion, or a GED certificate.
As many as 1.7 million people may be eligible nationwide, 140,000 in Florida, according to U.S. immigration authorities. While the large majority of the applicants were born in Mexico and in Central America, immigrants from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and elsewhere are also expected to apply. So far, 407,899 applications had been received as of Jan. 17, 2013, and 154,404 approved, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
At Miami Dade College, where 31 percent of the 180,000 students are non-U.S. citizen immigrants, the majority from Latin and South America and the Caribbean, 279 undocumented students were enrolled in fall 2012, according to college administrators. While some colleges around the country have been taking a wait-and-see approach to determine the effect of the policy on student enrollment, others like Miami Dade that have large numbers of immigrant students have been reaching out to undocumented students. Miami Dade hosted informational workshops about DACA last September at its various campuses for students interested in applying for the program. The workshops were led by Americans for Immigrant Justice, a Miami-based advocacy group.
?We have had students come forward saying they have been approved for deferred action and are now applying for college,? says Dulce Beltran, Miami Dade College?s registrar.
She says the numbers have not been significant.
Some of the 13 states that have passed their own versions of the DREAM Act, such as Massachusetts, allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities, have said that students granted deferred action will also be treated as state residents, as long as they meet specific criteria. This is not the case in Florida, where DREAM Act legislation has not been adopted. Only those noncitizen students whose parents are in the country legally are eligible for in-state tuition. Out-of-state tuition at Miami Dade is $396.51 per credit, compared to $112.22 per credit for in-state. The college does offer scholarships through private sources for which immigration and residency status are not criteria for eligibility.
In Maryland, voters approved a DREAM Act last November, making it the first state to approve such a law through legislation and voter referendum. Under the law, public universities and community colleges allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates after they meet strict eligibility requirements.
Dr. Wallace D. Loh, president of the University of Maryland, strongly supported the measure.
?They worked hard. They excelled in our public schools,? he wrote in an op-ed article in the Washington Post. ?They want to go to college so they can be more productive members of our workforce. They do not ask for a free ride. Yet they remain shadows because their parents came without immigration papers.?
(Loh?s use of the word ?shadows? was a reference to the name undocumented student activists in Maryland call themselves. While their counterparts in other states call themselves ?Dreamers,? an allusion to the failed federal DREAM Act. ?Shadows? implies the student?s illegal status marginalizes them from the larger society.)
?It costs, on average, about $14,000 a year to educate each Maryland public school student. It is a waste of investment and talent to then slam the door on those with the ability and motivation ? but limited money ? to go to college,? wrote Loh, himself an immigrant and self-described ?Latasian? (Latino-Asian).
He is Chinese, but grew up in Peru. He came to the United States alone as teenager.
Loh, who is also a lawyer, called education ?the great equalizer in our democracy? and ?the passport to social and economic mobility.? He said the U.S. Supreme Court upheld these values when it ruled in 1982 that undocumented children are entitled to a public school education.
Loh also pointed to a 2012 state commission report on the impact of immigrants in Maryland, including the benefits and costs of unauthorized immigration, attributing a 57 percent increase in the state?s workforce expansion from 2000 to 2010 to immigrants.
The report noted that the children of unauthorized immigrants would be part of the labor force in coming decades that will reinforce the economies of the U.S. and Maryland and prop up Social Security and Medicare benefits for current workers.
?It would be foolhardy, then, for state and local communities to withhold education and other opportunities from those future workers,? the report concluded.
At the University of Massachusetts, Boston, Kathleen Teehan, vice chancellor for enrollment management, said that as word spread about deferred action, the university began getting a few calls from enrolled students who have been paying out-of-state tuition rates and now want to pay in-state rates. She said the university has also heard from students who want to attend.
?I think as we get heavy into the enrollment period and students start filling out applications, we may see an increase, but I don?t think we?ll see an onslaught,? she said.
By the time Carlos Rao enrolled at Miami Dade College, he had already spent four years waiting on the sidelines of the long-running political debate on immigration as his peers around the country became outspoken activists and advocates for undocumented immigrants brought here as young children.
Activist Dreamers
Their parents either entered the U.S. illegally by crossing a land border or used fake documents to enter by airplane, or came legally with a valid visa and simply never returned to their home country as the visa term required. The activists called themselves ?Dreamers.?
Rao finally got tired of just waiting. He wrote letters to journalists around the country decrying the status of young undocumented immigrants like him. He started meeting with immigrant activists and soon joined the movement of students who publicly outed themselves as ?Americans without papers? ? young people raised in the United States and American in every way but lacking the formal documentation to be considered fully American.
In 2102, he joined three other students in a four-month protest walk from Miami to Washington to highlight the Obama administration?s lack of action on immigration reform.
?I was fed up with being undocumented, and I had had enough,? he said. ?I looked into activism. I had no idea this other world even existed until I got involved. It really transformed my life.?
At Miami Dade, the undocumented students are very politically active and even started their own organization, Students Working for Equal Rights, or SWER They showed up at the DACA workshops on campus wearing black T-shirts with ?Undocumented?? printed on the front and ?Got papers?? on the back.
The students receive broad support from the college?s administrators, some of whom are themselves from immigrant families, or have relatives who are immigrants. Though the students welcome the temporary reprieve offered through DACA, Rao and the other students haven?t given up hopes of being granted permanent legal residency or U.S. citizenship.
?If I?m still undocumented by the time I have a master?s degree in architecture, at that point, I would consider moving from the country, because there would be no reason to stay,? he said. ?I know that anywhere in the world I could do anything that I could be doing here. That?s why education means the world to me. It?s the most important thing.?
Marjorie Valbrun is a journalist based in Washington, D.C., who writes frequently about immigration issues.
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Veteran Out-of-State Tuition Row IntensifiesSource: http://diverseeducation.com/article/52380/
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Apple apologizes in China after service criticism
A man smokes near the logo of Apple in Shanghai, China, Tuesday, April 2, 2013. Apple apologized to Chinese consumers after government media attacked its repair policies for two weeks in a campaign that reeked of economic nationalism. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A man smokes near the logo of Apple in Shanghai, China, Tuesday, April 2, 2013. Apple apologized to Chinese consumers after government media attacked its repair policies for two weeks in a campaign that reeked of economic nationalism. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A man walks by an advertisement of Apple's iPad in Shanghai, China, Tuesday, April 2, 2013. Apple apologized to Chinese consumers after government media attacked its repair policies for two weeks in a campaign that reeked of economic nationalism. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A woman walks by an advertisement of iPhone 5 at Apple store in Shanghai, China, Tuesday April 2, 2013. Apple apologized to Chinese consumers after government media attacked its repair policies for two weeks in a campaign that reeked of economic nationalism. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A man walks by an advertisement of Apple's iPad in Shanghai, China, Tuesday April 2, 2013. Apple apologized to Chinese consumers after government media attacked its repair policies for two weeks in a campaign that reeked of economic nationalism. Chinese on top reads; Drooling over it. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
In this Monday April 1, 2013 photo, a man leaves an Apple store with an iPhone and an iPad in his hands in central Beijing, China. Apple apologized to Chinese consumers after government media attacked its repair policies for two weeks in a campaign that reeked of economic nationalism. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)
BEIJING (AP) ? Apple apologized to Chinese consumers after government media attacked its repair policies for two weeks in a campaign that reeked of economic nationalism.
A statement Apple posted in Chinese on its website Monday said the complaints had prompted "deep reflection" and persuaded the company of the need to revamp its repair policies, boost communication with Chinese consumers and strengthen oversight of authorized resellers.
State broadcaster CCTV and the ruling Communist Party's flagship newspaper, People's Daily, had led the charge against the American company. They accused Apple Inc. of arrogance, greed and "throwing its weight around" and portrayed it as just the latest Western company to exploit the Chinese consumer.
The attacks quickly backfired, though, and were mocked by the increasingly sophisticated Chinese consumers who revere Apple and its products. State-run media also inadvertently revived complaints over shoddy service by Chinese companies.
Nonetheless, Apple responded with an apology from CEO Tim Cook.
"We've come to understand through this process that because of our poor communication, some have come to feel that Apple's attitude is arrogant and that we don't care about or value feedback from the consumer," Cook's Chinese statement said, as translated by The Associated Press. "For the concerns and misunderstandings passed on to the consumer, we express our sincere apologies."
Although Apple enjoys strong support from Chinese consumers, the vehemence of the attacks and the importance of the Chinese market appeared to have persuaded the company to appear contrite.
The People's Daily newspaper ran an editorial last Wednesday headlined "Strike down Apple's incomparable arrogance."
"Here we have the Western person's sense of superiority making mischief," the newspaper wrote. "If there's no risk in offending the Chinese consumer, and it also makes for lower overheads, then why not?"
Chinese observers accused People's Daily of gross hypocrisy and pointed out that the newspaper had maintained a stony silence when Chinese companies were implicated over food safety, pollution and other scandals. Meanwhile, CCTV was shamed when it emerged that celebrities had been recruited to blast Apple on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, in what had been billed as a grassroots campaign.
"The public responded in two ways to this incident," popular commentator Shi Shusi wrote on his Weibo account. "One group supports this criticism but quite a number of people felt that there are state monopolies which have severely violated customer's rights, but which are not being exposed."
Popular business magazine Caijing said its readers identified a long list of abusers, including state banks that lend to those with political connections while stiffing ordinary savers with low rates on deposits; a government oil company that sets gas prices and other rates as it sees fit; and state telecom providers notorious for their lack of customer service.
"If media is going to go after Apple, let's hope they spare some thought for those big Chinese communications companies and other monopolies, the ones that enrich special interests in the name of being publicly owned," Cai Tongqi, a lawyer from the eastern province of Jiangsu, wrote on Weibo.
Consumers seem unfazed by the state media's attacks on Apple.
Perusing the wares at an Apple reseller in Beijing's tony China World mall, recent college graduate Zeng Lu said she considered the controversy a sign of the Chinese consumer's growing maturity.
"It's great to see Chinese consumers standing up for their rights, but it's ridiculous for the People's Daily to get involved," Zeng said. "They should be criticizing state companies instead."
Apple's popularity flies in the face of China's ardent attempts to push its own brands and develop internationally competitive companies. The company also has resisted trends to enter joint ventures and move research and development to China. It also ignores big state media such as CCTV and People's Daily. Apple relies on Chinese factories, though, to make iPads, iPhones and other popular products.
Sales of Apple products in the region, which includes Taiwan and Hong Kong, grew 67 percent to $6.8 billion in the first three months of 2013, compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the company. Apple sold 2 million iPhone 5s during the first weekend it was available in China, in December.
The region is Apple's third largest market, accounting for 13 percent of all sales last year. More than 17,000 outlets sell its products in mainland China, a figure that includes 11 Apple stores and 400 premium resellers. In January, Cook said he expects China to replace North America as its largest source of revenue in the foreseeable future.
The attacks on Apple center on complaints over Apple's repair policies in China ? specifically its practice of only replacing faulty parts rather than providing new iPhones, as it does in other markets. Critics say that allows Apple to avoid having to extend its service warranty by another year. Until Monday, the Cupertino, California-based company had kept silent apart from issuing a statement March 23 explaining its repair policy and pledging its deep respect for the Chinese consumer.
Yet consumers and analysts say the complaints hardly justify Beijing's campaign of vilification. Such nationalist outbursts are not uncommon, although previous campaigns against foreign companies have often been tied to perceived national slights, as often befalls Japanese firms in China. Beijing accused Google of being an arm of American "information imperialism" after the company announced in March 2010 that it would cease censoring its search responses inside mainland China and instead send visitors to its uncensored search engine in Hong Kong.
Beijing is also angry over Washington's efforts to exclude Chinese high-tech firms Huawei Technologies Ltd. and ZTE Corp. from the U.S. market, amid worries over security. A spending bill signed by President Barack Obama two weeks ago includes a clause barring NASA, the National Science Foundation and the Justice and Commerce Departments from contracting with firms tied to the Chinese government.
Washington and Beijing have also sparred over more recent hacking attacks, including a forensically detailed report by cybersecurity firm Mandiant that tied Chinese hacking to a unit of the People's Liberation Army based in Shanghai.
Apple, however, may have been singled out simply because it is "the biggest open target," said Jim McGregor, senior counselor at consultancy APCO Worldwide.
"We're still seeing a lot of things wrapped up in economic nationalism," McGregor said.
Even before Monday's apology, he had predicted Apple would make a show of contrition to get its relations with the Chinese authorities back on track.
Duncan Clark, managing director of BDA China Ltd., a Beijing research firm, said the assault probably stems from a combination of factors, including the failure of Chinese companies to make breakthroughs in high-end consumer electronics.
"There's a general sense of frustration that China can't move further up the value chain," Clark said.
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Online:
Apple statement (in Chinese): http://www.apple.com.cn/support/warranties
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