dami.moor: Professional Reflections: A Service Delivery Issue I feel ...

An issue I feel strongly about is using scores from standardized tests to determine (assess) an individual?s speech and language abilities. I learned about what validity and reliability mean in reference to using standardized testing tools early in my educational course work for this field. What is bothersome to me is that while it is common knowledge that most if not all exams, especially those for children, are not ?normed? on children I would test, many agencies and supervisors demand a score as part of an evaluation report.

Children I would test are those that live in New York City and the New York region (i.e., Long Island, Yonkers, Westchester). Further exasperating this topic are those children which are exposed to more than one language. These children do not follow the ?typical? speech and language developmental norms of any monolingual community. Therefore, why are SLPs using these testing tools to make an assessment? Some may think the SLP is monolingual and may not be aware. Let?s make it clear, there is no SLP that should graduate from any program, bilingual or not, that is not aware of reading a testing manual at the least. We are also taught, even if briefly, that testing tools should be scanned to remove or adjust bias questions/materials and that bilingual children should be tested by bilingual SLPs. Let me make another point clear: while a person is bilingual it does not qualify them to assess a bilingual person. For example, I am proficiently bilingual in English and Spanish. ??

What is especially worrisome is that while this is such a touchy subject, a certified SLP can actually lose their license over this issue/topic (using a score to report findings). I would venture and guess that one or two malefactions would not substantiate a license being revoked, however it baffles me as to how not more of an emphasis is made on using appropriate testing materials and informed clinical opinions to report findings instead of using scores from a test. In New York City there are rarely any children that would meet the reliability, validity, and norming standards for any test that I know of, yet I find that too often they are used to assess the child?s language abilities.

Catherine J. Crowley is not only the director of the Bilingual Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University but she is an advocate for this issue. In reality, I cannot say she is an advocate she is the leader who identifies what issues need to change and how to go about changing them. Last year when I started at the institute she informed us of some upcoming trainings and reforms regarding this precise topic: agencies forcing their employees to use scores to report a disorder/delay. Cate, as she likes to be addressed by her students, is still conducting trainings around the city to various agencies and changing policies as we speak. She has a lot of support, some of which is through her students and staff. Cate posts information on the institution?s Facebook page such as rallies, petitions, current events, etc. This is a person that I would reach out to about this issue and support for continuing to proctor this change.?

Source: http://anelonherbilingualslpmission.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-service-delivery-issue-i-feel.html

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Source: http://heatholiver.typepad.com/blog/2012/11/professional-reflections-a-service-delivery-issue-i-feel-strongly-about.html

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Source: http://damimoor.blogspot.com/2012/11/professional-reflections-service.html

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US twin astronaut, Russian to spend year in orbit

This photo combo provided by the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center via NASA, shows NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko. Kelly and Kornienko will spend an entire year aboard the International Space Station beginning in 2015, according to reports, Monday, Nov. 26, 2012. The extended mission was approved almost two months ago to provide a medical foundation for future missions around the moon, as well as far-flung trips to asteroids and Mars. (AP Photo/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center via NASA)

This photo combo provided by the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center via NASA, shows NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko. Kelly and Kornienko will spend an entire year aboard the International Space Station beginning in 2015, according to reports, Monday, Nov. 26, 2012. The extended mission was approved almost two months ago to provide a medical foundation for future missions around the moon, as well as far-flung trips to asteroids and Mars. (AP Photo/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center via NASA)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) ? A former space shuttle commander whose twin brother is married to former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will attempt the longest spaceflight ever by an American.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will spend an entire year aboard the International Space Station beginning in 2015.

Both countries' space agencies announced the names of the two veteran spacefliers on Monday. The extended mission was approved almost two months ago to provide a medical foundation for future missions around the moon, as well as far-flung trips to asteroids and Mars.

Both men already have lived aboard the space station for six months. NASA wanted experienced space station astronauts to streamline the amount of training necessary for a one-year stint. Officials had said the list of candidates was very short. They will begin training next year.

"Their skills and previous experience aboard the space station align with the mission's requirements," Bill Gerstenmaier, head of human exploration for NASA, said in a statement. "The one-year increment will expand the bounds of how we live and work in space and will increase our knowledge regarding the effects of microgravity on humans as we prepare for future missions beyond low-Earth orbit."

Kelly's identical twin brother, Mark Kelly, retired from the astronaut corps last year and moved to Tucson, Ariz., his wife's hometown. The former congresswoman was critically wounded in an assassination attempt in January 2011, while Scott Kelly was living aboard the space station.

NASA said neither crew member was available Monday to comment and that news conferences would be held next week to outline the mission.

Astronauts normally spend about four to six months aboard the space station. The longest an American lived there was seven months, several years back.

Russia, though, will continue to hold the world space endurance record.

Four cosmonauts spent at least a year aboard the old Mir space station. A Russian physician, Valery Polyakov, logged nearly 15 continuous months there in the mid-1990s.

Boris Morukov, head of the Moscow-based Institute for Medical and Biological Problems, Russia's main space medicine research center, told the Interfax news agency that communications and food rations for Kelly and Kornienko may be limited during their yearlong mission to better simulate interplanetary travel.

Kelly and Kornienko will launch aboard a Russian rocket from Kazakhstan. Americans must buy seats on Russian spacecraft now that NASA's shuttles have retired to museums, until private U.S. companies have vessels capable of carrying human passengers. That's still four or five years off.

Kelly is a 48-year-old, divorced Navy captain with two daughters. Kornienko, 52, a rocket engineer, is married with a daughter.

"We have chosen the most responsible, skilled and enthusiastic crew members to expand space exploration, and we have full confidence in them," Russian Space Agency chief Vladimir Popovkin said in the announcement.

___

AP writer Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.

___

Online:

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-11-26-Space%20Station/id-0793f8f2a05d404ba723ddbd0cfa15a6

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Cyber Monday sales poised to hit $1.5B

Americans are returning to work today after the extended Thanksgiving weekend just in time for Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day of the year.

Shoppers are expected to spend more than $1.5 billion today, up 20 percent from last year, according to research firm comScore.

It has already been a big holiday weekend with a record $59.1 billion spent at U.S. stores and websites, according to the National Retail Federation.

Online sales on Thanksgiving Day, traditionally not a popular day for online shopping, rose 32 percent from last year to $633 million, according to comScore. And online sales on Black Friday were up 26 percent from the same day last year, to $1.042 billion. It was the first time online sales on Black Friday surpassed $1 billion.

The National Retail Federation says 247 million shoppers hit stores and websites to cash in on savings during the holiday weekend, up 9 percent from last year. Nearly two-thirds of those shoppers went to stores or hit the web on Black Friday.

Black Friday is now history along with Small Business Saturday. Now, it's Cyber Monday's turn.

At midnight, Amazon.com was offering as much as 60 percent off a Panasonic VIERA 55-inch TV that's usually priced higher than $1,000. Sears is offering $430 off a Maytag washer and dryer, each on sale for $399. And Kmart is offering 75 percent off diamond earrings.

"Cyber Monday is really all about doing your homework, and it really means looking for the really good deals" retail analyst Marshal Cohen said. "If it's a really good deal, grab it."

But Cyber Monday might be losing its luster. The busiest day for Internet shopping has been overshadowed this year by online sales that started as early as Thanksgiving Day.

"Look for Cyber Monday to be important, but not necessarily getting that same growth rate that they've had in years past," Cohen said.

The rise in smartphones and tablets has changed consumers' shopping habits since Cyber Monday's inception seven years ago. Cyber Monday was first widely publicized by Shop.org in 2005 to persuade shoppers to buy online, as people were still warming to e-commerce.

"There were so many deals being offered online, starting from Wednesday and all the way through the weekend and now some of the money has already been spent," Cohen said.

Cyber Monday is also an easier alternative for people who don't like long lines and chaos that comes with the Black Friday weekend. This season proved to be no different from past Black Friday horror stories.

A man suspected of shoplifting two DVD players from a Lithonia, Ga., Walmart Sunday died after an altercation with two store employees and a contract security guard.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found the employees on top of the middle-aged man, according to a police report obtained by ABC News affiliate WSB-TV. When an officer bent down to handcuff the suspect, he noticed there was no resistance.

At that point, the officer noticed the suspect was bleeding from the nose and mouth, according to the report. He was transported to DeKalb Medical-Hillandale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

"This is truly a sad situation," Dianna Gee, a Walmart spokeswoman, said in a statement issued to ABC News. "We don't know all of the facts right now. We're in the process of working with law enforcement to determine all of the facts and cooperating and providing any information we have to assist in the investigation."

Gee said the contract security guard will no longer be providing services to the retailer. The two store employees have been suspended with pay while Walmart assists police in the investigation.

ABC News' Alyssa Newcomb, Susana Kim, ABC News Radio and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Also Read

Source: http://gma.yahoo.com/cyber-monday-sales-poised-hit-1-5b-083554015--abc-news-topstories.html

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Researchers report potential new treatment to stop Alzheimer's disease

Monday, November 19, 2012

Last March, researchers at UCLA reported the development of a molecular compound called CLR01 that prevented toxic proteins associated with Parkinson's disease from binding together and killing the brain's neurons.

Building on those findings, they have now turned their attention to Alzheimer's disease, which is thought to be caused by a similar toxic aggregation or clumping, but with different proteins, especially amyloid-beta and tau.

And what they've found is encouraging. Using the same compound, which they've dubbed a "molecular tweezer," in a living mouse model of Alzheimer's, the researchers demonstrated for the first time that the compound safely crossed the blood?brain barrier, cleared the existing amyloid-beta and tau aggregates, and also proved to be protective to the neurons' synapses ? another target of the disease ? which allow cells to communicate with one another.

The report appears in the current online edition of the journal Brain.

"This is the first demonstration that molecular tweezers work in a mammalian animal model," said Gal Bitan, an associate professor of neurology at UCLA and the senior author of the study. "Importantly, no signs of toxicity were observed in the treated mice. The efficacy and toxicity results support the mechanism of this molecular tweezer and suggest these are promising compounds for developing disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's and other disorders."

Molecular tweezers are complex molecular compounds capable of binding to other proteins. Shaped like the letter "C," these compounds wrap around chains of lysine, a basic amino acid that is a constituent of most proteins. Bitan and his colleagues, including Aida Attar, first author of the study and a graduate student in Bitan's lab, have been working with a particular molecular tweezer called CLR01.

In collaboration with scientists at the Universit Cattolica in Rome, the researchers, working first in cell cultures, found that CLR01 effectively inhibited a process known as synaptotoxicity, in which clumps of toxic amyloid damage or destroy a neuron's synapses.

Even though synapses in transgenic mice with Alzheimer's may shut down and the mice may lose their memory, upon treatment, they form new synapses and regain their learning and memory abilities.

"For humans, unfortunately, the situation is more problematic because the neurons gradually die in Alzheimer's disease," Bitan said. "That's why we must start treating as early as possible. The good news is that the molecular tweezers appear to have a high safety margin, so they may be suitable for prophylactic treatment starting long before the onset of the disease."

Next, using a radioactive "label," the researchers were able to confirm that the compound had crossed the mouse's blood?brain barrier and was effective in clearing the brain of amyloid-beta and tau aggregates.

"This work shows that molecular tweezers do a number of things ? they help to ameliorate multiple pathologic features of Alzheimer's, including amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles and brain inflammation, and our cell culture experiments demonstrated that molecular tweezers block the toxic effect of amyloid-beta on synaptic integrity and communication," Bitan said.

"We call these unique tweezers 'process-specific,' rather than the common protein-specific inhibitors," he added, meaning the compound only attacks the targeted toxic aggregates and not normal body processes. "That's a big deal, because it helps confirm evidence that the molecular tweezers can be used safely, ultimately supporting their development as a therapy for humans."

The next step, Bitan hopes, is to confirm that the tweezers improve memory and not just brain pathology. The researchers say they are working on this question and already have encouraging preliminary data.

###

University of California - Los Angeles: http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu

Thanks to University of California - Los Angeles 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/125315/Researchers_report_potential_new_treatment_to_stop_Alzheimer_s_disease_

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Ora case puts eight speakers around your iPad

If you're dissatisfied with the audio quality of your iPad's speakers like so many others, you'll be happy to hear about Ora, a new accessory hitting Kickstarter today. Ora is an iPad case for audiophiles, complete with its own 10-hour power supply, data pass-through, and a reversible cover that doubles as a stand, much like Apple's Smart Covers. Eight speaksers built into the frame provide front-facing, finely-tuned audio output from the device while still sticking close to the original design aesthetic. The iPad is installed thanks to some quarter-friendly screws on the back, which should keep it nice and secure. On the downside, the Ora is built with 30-pin iPads in mind, so only second- and third-gen models.?

Ora's Kickstarter campaign is offering a bunch of different models to backers, starting at $99 as an early bird special, going all the way up to the exclusive premium $199 model. The question is, is audio a big enough deal for you to warrant the added bulk, or would you need to be able to tap the Ora's power supply as back-up for the iPad for it to be worthwhile? What's your preferred solution for iPad audio while on the move? Who's backing?

?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/L0kAlLc9U10/story01.htm

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Full Synopsis for ENDER'S GAME Starring Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley & Harrison Ford

Ender's Game, based on the best-selling, award-winning novel by Orson Scott Card, is an epic science fiction adventure about a brilliant young strategist who is drafted to an intergalactic war to save the human race.

Summit Entertainment has released the full summery for their upcoming adaptation of Ender's Game, which is scheduled to be released in conventional and IMAX theaters on November 1st, 2013:

In the near future, a hostile alien race (called the Formics) have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander, Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young children to find the future Mazer. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy, but strategically brilliant boy is pulled out of his school to join the elite.

Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult war games, distiguising himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military's next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he's trained by Mazer Rackham, himself, to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.

Ender's Game, directed by Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and produced by Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Cowboys and Aliens, Star Trek), stars Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Sir Ben Kingsley, Abigail Breslin, Jimmy "Jax" Pinchak, Aramis Knight, Moises Arias, Suraj Parthasarathy, Viola Davis and Nonso Anozie.

Source:?

Summit Entertainment

Source: http://www.dailyblam.com/news/2012/11/18/full-movie-synopsis-released-for-enders-game-starring-asa-butterfield-ben-kingsley-h

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home: a new chapter

We said goodbye to our first home today.

It had been a long time coming and, truthfully, I spent more time over the last year wishing that someone else would want our home than I did appreciating it for all it had been to us.

We were engaged when we closed on the house five years ago. I lived there while Todd lived with some friends, and he moved in after our wedding. A few days after I moved in, we were hanging out watching football and it started to snow. Boudreaux saw the snow flakes falling through the big windows in the front and he started barking. And we all ran out side to see the snow.

We saw two snows, we brought home two babies, we had three Christmases, we hosted countless guests. There was laughing, there was some fighting, there were tears, and there were trials. We built our marriage and our family while living in that home.

My mom reminded me of the time that she was staying with Hudson while I was out of town and she accidentally locked herself out of the house with 14 month old Hudson inside.

Then there was the time that we opened our back door and saw a rooster standing in the backyard. In downtown Columbia! Boudreaux took off after that rooster and chased it down the street. We still have no idea how that rooster got there.

It was a great home and the memories are endless.

We walked to restaurants, to football games, to baseball games, and all over the neighborhood.

I cried when I told the neighbors goodbye.

When the last box was moved out and I stood in my empty, cold kitchen, I looked around. The life was gone. The warmth was gone. Our home transformed before my eyes.

It may take a few months before I can gather the courage to drive by the house. I get a lump in my throat just thinking about it. Another sweet family is making memories there.

And our family is moving on and preparing to make new memories. But seeing my empty house today, I realized that the house itself is just a shell. It?s a vessel for love and spirit and life.

I am so thankful that all of that love and spirit and life will be with us no matter where we live.

Source: http://blueeyedbride.com/2012/11/16/home-a-new-chapter/

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Israel's military counts over 800 airstrikes on Gaza

November 17, 2012 - 10:33 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Israel's military says it has struck more than 800 targets in the Gaza Strip, as it expands a fierce air assault responding to rocket launches from the Palestinian territory, Associated Press reported.

The military's early Saturday, Nov 17 count includes 180 overnight airstrikes. The campaign began Wednesday with the assassination of the ruling Hamas militant group's military chief after days of heavy rocket fire from Gaza.

The Gaza Interior Ministry says Israeli aircraft have struck government and police compounds, smuggling tunnels and a three-story apartment building.

Militants have struck back with about 500 rockets, including one unprecedented attack aimed at the holy city of Jerusalem.

The Israeli military has also called up thousands of reservists and massed troops and armored vehicles along the border with Gaza, signaling a ground invasion could be imminent.

Source: http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/132927/

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2 people still missing following platform fire in Gulf of Mexico

The search continues for?two crew members missing since Friday's platform fire 25 miles southeast of Grand Isle, the U.S. Coast Guard in New Orleans said Saturday morning. The search continued through the night, with the initially responding Coast Guard Cutter Razorbill getting relieved around 4 a.m. by the 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Pelican.

An aerial search is being led by an MH-Jayhawk helicopter crew from the Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala., as well as an HC-144 Ocean Sentry fixed-wing aircraft crew from the center and two MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crews from the Coast Guard's Air Station New Orleans hub.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Lally said Friday that no more information would be released until the search is suspended and that the Coast Guard would continue to look for the missing crew members "until we've exhausted all resources trying to locate these personnel."

Twenty-two workers were on the platform when the blaze erupted shortly before 9 a.m. Friday, according to?Capt. Ed Cubanski, chief of the Coast Guard response division in New Orleans. Eleven of those were transported to four area hospitals. Nine others were evacuated from the platform uninjured, and two remain missing, he said. There have been no reported deaths at this time.

Four of the injured workers, who suffered extensive burns, were taken to West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero and later transferred to the Burn Center at Baton Rouge General Hospital. The extent of their burns and their condition are not known at this time.

Four others were transported to Lady of the Sea Hospital in Galliano, according to officials in Jefferson Parish. Their conditions were reported as stable.

Source: http://www.nola.com/traffic/index.ssf/2012/11/2_people_still_missing_followi.html

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Swing Night with Center for Ballroom and Dance, and The Flat Cats ...

Today, November 16, 2012, 8:00 pm

45 S Barrington Rd, South Barrington, IL | Get?Directions??
FREE

Center for Ballroom and Dance, The Millrose Restaurant, and The Flat Cats swing band have joined forces to bring you a spectacular night of swing dancing! From 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Jonathan Spencer of CBD will teach a swing lesson, then enjoy open dancing with a live band (The Flat Cats) from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. It's going to be a great time! Be there or be square!

Open to the public.

All skill levels welcome.

The Flat Cats website:
http://www.flatcatsmusic.com/

The Millrose website
http://www.millroserestaurant.com/

For more information about Center for Ballroom and Dance please visit their website:
http://www.ballroomanddance.com

For more information about events taking place at Center for Ballroom and Dance please see their events page:
http://www.ballroomanddance.com/cbd-events.html

CBD Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/CenterForBallroomAndDance

CBD Twitter:
@Ballroom2Dance

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-88.142509

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Source: http://lakezurich.patch.com/events/swing-night-with-center-for-ballroom-and-dance-and-the-flat-cats

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Deadly train-parade float crash in Texas probed

Bystanders react as emergency personnel work the scene where a trailer carrying wounded veterans in a parade was struck by a train in Midland, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. "Show of Support" president and founder Terry Johnson says there are "multiple injuries" after a Union Pacific train slammed into the trailer, killing at least four people and injuring 17 others. (AP Photo/Reporter-Telegram, James Durbin)

Bystanders react as emergency personnel work the scene where a trailer carrying wounded veterans in a parade was struck by a train in Midland, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. "Show of Support" president and founder Terry Johnson says there are "multiple injuries" after a Union Pacific train slammed into the trailer, killing at least four people and injuring 17 others. (AP Photo/Reporter-Telegram, James Durbin)

Rob Fields holds up the blood type of his wife, Laura, outside the packed United Blood Services in Midland after a parade float carrying wounded veterans and their families was struck by a train Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012, killing four and injuring 17, in Midland, Texas. Fields and his wife Laura traveled more than 30 miles from Lenorah, Texas after hearing on the television news that the United Blood Services was specifically in need of 0- type blood. (AP Photo/Reporter-Telegram, James Durbin)

Midland police, fire and sheriffs respond to an accident where a trailer carrying veterans in a parade was struck by a train crossing in Midland, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. "Show of Support" president and founder Terry Johnson tells the Midland Reporter-Telegram that a Union Pacific train slammed into the trailer that was on its way to a wounded veterans event, resulting in multiple injuries. (AP Photo/Reporter-Telegram, Tim Fischer)

"Show of Support" president and founder Terry Johnson talks on the phone following a fatal accident where a semi trailer carrying veterans in the Hunt for Heroes parade was struck by a train in Midland, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. Johnson tells the Midland Reporter-Telegram that there are "multiple, multiple" injuries and organizers still are trying to account for everyone. (AP Photo/Reporter-Telegram, Tim Fischer)

A flatbed truck carries wounded veterans and their families during a parade before it was struck by a train Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012 in Midland, Texas. "Show of Support" president and founder Terry Johnson says there are "multiple injuries" after a Union Pacific train slammed into the trailer, killing at least four people and injuring 17 others. (AP Photo/Reporter-Telegram, James Durbin)

MIDLAND, Texas (AP) ? Federal officials are heading to West Texas to join investigators looking into why a freight train slammed into a parade float carrying wounded veterans, killing four people and injuring 17 others.

Witnesses described a harrowing scene Thursday afternoon as the Union Pacific locomotive bore down on the decorated flatbed truck as it tried to clear the rail crossing on its way to an honorary banquet.

The train was sounding its horn and people on the flatbed truck ? mostly wounded veterans and their spouses ? were scrambling to jump off before the collision around 4:40 p.m. in Midland, according to witnesses and Union Pacific spokesman Tom Lange.

A preliminary investigation indicates the crossing gate and lights were working, Lange said, though he didn't know if the train crew saw the float approaching.

Two people died at the scene, while two others died at Midland Memorial Hospital, City of Midland spokesman Ryan Stout said. Six people remained hospitalized Thursday night, including at least one in critical condition; the other 11 people injured have been treated and released, hospital officials said.

About two dozen veterans and their spouses had been sitting in chairs on the float, set up on the back of a flatbed tractor-trailer decorated with American flags and signs identifying each veteran. Many seemed to panic as the locomotive's horn sounded, said Patricia Howle, who was waiting in her car at a nearby traffic light as the train approached.

"I was on the phone, and I just started screaming," she told The Associated Press late Thursday night. "The truck was on the other side of the train, but I did see the panic on the faces of the people and saw some of them jump off."

The float was among two flatbed tractor-trailers carrying veterans and their spouses. Police said the first truck safely crossed the railroad tracks, but the second truck's trailer was still on the crossing as the train approached.

"The train honked its horn, but the 18-wheeler could not go anywhere because of the other one being right in front of it," said Daniel Quinonez, who was in traffic that had been stopped by sheriff's deputies to allow the parade to pass.

"It was a horrible accident to watch happen right in front of me. I just saw the people on the semi-truck's trailer panic, and many started to jump off the trailer. But it was too late for many of them because the train impacted the trailer so fast," he told the AP.

Several police vehicles remained at the crash scene late Thursday night. Flood lights illuminated the wreck as investigators in reflective vests and hard hats carefully took measurements of the site, which was cordoned off by yellow police tape.

The parade had been scheduled to end at a "Hunt for Heroes" banquet honoring the veterans. The wounded service members were then going to be treated to a deer-hunting trip this weekend. The events were canceled.

The events were organized by Show Of Support, a local veterans group. Its president, Terry Johnson, did not immediately return an email for comment and his phone number was unlisted; the phone rang unanswered at the group's offices.

Stout, also the police department's spokesman, said he had no information about the individuals who died or the driver of the truck.

Lange said Union Pacific is offering help to the community and victims' families, as well as peer-to-peer counseling for the train crew, who did not sustain any injuries.

"There is going to be a very thorough investigation," Lange said. "It's obviously a very tragic incident."

The National Transportation Safety Board also is investigating, NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta "was deeply saddened by news of the tragic accident involving veterans heroes and their spouses in Midland," Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement. "His thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims, with those injured in this incident, and with the entire community."

Midland is about 320 miles west of Dallas.

___

Terry Wallace reported from Dallas. Associated Press writer James Beltran also contributed to this report from Dallas.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-11-16-Veterans%20Parade-Train%20Crash/id-91deb0506c804d12b8b3e125ea67166d

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Samsung Galaxy Premier

Samsung Galaxy Premier Summary

More Samsung Galaxy Premier Pics Release Date 17 November 2012

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Diabetes rates rocket in Oklahoma, South

NEW YORK (AP) ? The nation's diabetes problem is getting worse, and the biggest jump over 15 years was in Oklahoma, according to a new federal report issued Thursday.

The diabetes rate in Oklahoma more than tripled, and Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama also saw dramatic increases since 1995, the study showed.

The South's growing weight problem is the main explanation, said Linda Geiss, lead author of the report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study.

"The rise in diabetes has really gone hand in hand with the rise in obesity," she said.

Bolstering the numbers is the fact that more people with diabetes are living longer because better treatments are available.

The disease exploded in the United States in the last 50 years, with the vast majority from obesity-related Type 2 diabetes. In 1958, fewer than 1 in 100 Americans had been diagnosed with diabetes. In 2010, it was about 1 in 14.

Most of the increase has happened since 1990.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body has trouble processing sugar; it's the nation's seventh leading cause of death. Complications include poor circulation, heart and kidney problems and nerve damage.

The new study is the CDC's first in more than a decade to look at how the nationwide boom has played out in different states.

It's based on telephone surveys of at least 1,000 adults in each state in 1995 and 2010. Participants were asked if a doctor had ever told them they have diabetes.

Not surprisingly, Mississippi ? the state with the largest proportion of residents who are obese ? has the highest diabetes rate. Nearly 12 percent of Mississippians say they have diabetes, compared to the national average of 7 percent.

But the most dramatic increases in diabetes occurred largely elsewhere in the South and in the Southwest, where rates tripled or more than doubled. Oklahoma's rate rose to about 10 percent, Kentucky went to more than 9 percent, Georgia to 10 percent and Alabama surpassed 11 percent.

Several Northern states saw rates more than double, too, including Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Maine.

The study was published in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/diabetes-rates-rocket-oklahoma-south-170611305.html

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Obama, lawmakers hold ?constructive? talks

President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner share a handshake as "fiscal cliff" talks open??Finally, a bipartisan consensus in polarized Washington!?Congressional leaders of both parties emerged from an opening round of "fiscal cliff" talks with President Barack Obama at the White House on Friday describing the negotiations as "constructive."

Obama himself spiced up relatively boilerplate language about hoping for a deal by wishing Republican House Speaker John Boehner an early happy birthday before the talks began.

"Tomorrow is Speaker Boehner's birthday," Obama told reporters. "We're not going to embarrass him with a cake because we didn't know how many candles were needed."

"Yeah, right," said Boehner with a grin. (The speaker, who turns 63 on Saturday, is well-known for his "Birthday Song.")

"But we do want to wish him a happy birthday," the president said.

Obama then mostly hewed to his re-election campaign message of wanting "fruitful" talks for a "balanced" deficit-reduction deal?code for "raising taxes on the richest Americans." The president has vowed to veto any legislation that extends the Bush-era tax rate reductions on Americans making over $250,000. Republicans say hiking taxes on the rich will cost jobs.

"Our challenge is to make sure that we are able to cooperate together, work together, find some common ground, make some tough compromises, build some consensus to do the people's business," Obama said.?"And what folks are looking for?and I think all of us agree on this?is action." Speaking in the sun-soaked White House driveway after the meeting, Boehner and other top leaders seemed to be singing from the same hymnal even though evident differences remained.

"We had a very constructive meeting," proclaimed Boehner. "I think it was a very constructive meeting," declared Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "It was a very constructive meeting," agreed Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. "I can only echo the observations of the other leaders that it was a constructive meeting," said Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Boehner said he had outlined a "framework" combining increased tax revenues with spending cuts "to show our seriousness.?While we're going to continue to have revenue on the table, it's going to be?incumbent for my colleagues to show the American people that we're serious about cutting spending and solving our fiscal dilemma. I believe that we can do this and avert the fiscal cliff that's right in front of us today."

Pelosi warned against too-deep cuts in "investments" (government outlays in areas like education and infrastructure) but said, "I feel confident a solution may be in sight.?It has to be about cuts, it has to be about revenue, it has to be about growth, it has to be about the future. We should have a deadline before Christmas."

Republicans "fully understand that you can't save the country until you have entitlement programs that fit the demographics of changing America in the coming years," said McConnell. "We're prepared to put revenue on the table provided we fix the real problem."

"We have the cornerstones of being able to work something out," Reid said. "We all know something has to be done?there 's no more 'Let's do it some other time.' We're going to do it now.

"This isn't something we're going to wait until the last day of December to get it done," Reid continued. "We have a plan, we're going to move forward on it."

Congressional leaders will work through the Thanksgiving recess and then meet with Obama the week after that.

Obama's smiling exchange with Boehner came three days after the president, at his first postelection press conference, admitted that his personal relationships with key lawmakers need work.?"I think there's no doubt that I can always do better," he had told reporters. "And I don't exempt myself from needing to do some self-reflection and see if I can improve our working relationship."

In addition to Obama and the lawmakers, Vice President Joe Biden, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, White House chief of staff Jack Lew and top Obama economic adviser Gene Sperling attended the talks.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-lawmakers-hold-constructive-talks-taxes-deficit-174256300--politics.html

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PM to dissolve Japan's parliament, call elections

TOKYO (AP) ? Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda was poised to dissolve Japan's parliament Friday, setting the stage for elections next month that will likely end the ruling Democrats' three years in power.

Polls suggest that the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, which led Japan for most of the post-World War II era, would win the most seats in the 480-seat lower house but far short of a majority.

It is likely that no party will emerge as a clear winner in the lower house election that media reports say is set for Dec. 16, and polls show that nearly half of the electorate are undecided on which party to support. Analysts predict that the most likely result will be a coalition government made up of parties with differing policies and priorities.

That could hinder decision-making for Japan as it wrestles with a two-decade economic slump, clean-up from last year's nuclear disaster, growing national debt and a rapidly aging population ? not to mention a festering territorial dispute with China that is hurting business ties with its biggest trading partner.

"It's unlikely that the election will result in a clear mandate for anybody," said Koichi Nakano, a political science professor at Sophia University. "So in that sense, there's still going to be a lot of muddling through."

Japan must also decide whether it will follow through with plans to phase out nuclear power by 2040 ? a move that many in the LDP oppose.

In a sudden turn of events, Noda abruptly said Wednesday in a one-on-one debate with LDP chief Shinzo Abe that he would dissolve parliament Friday if the opposition would agree to key reforms, including shrinking the size of parliament.

Abe, who said his party would go along with the measures, could get a second stab at being prime minister after his one-year stint in 2006-2007 if the LDP wins the most seats in the election. He would become Japan's seventh prime minister in seven years.

A staunch nationalist, Abe has taken a strong stance against China in the dispute over a cluster of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan. Abe suddenly quit as prime minister in 2007, citing health problems that he says are no longer an issue.

Noda's Democratic Party of Japan won a landslide victory in 2009 elections amid high hopes for change, ousting the conservative, business-friendly LDP, which had ruled Japan nearly continuously since 1955.

But those hopes have been dashed amid widespread disgust with the DPJ's failure to keep campaign promises and the government's handling of the Fukushima nuclear crisis triggered by the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami.

Voters are also unhappy with Noda's centerpiece achievement during his nearly 15 months in office: passing legislation to double the nation's 5 percent sales tax by 2015 ? a move he says is necessary to meet growing social security costs as the country grays.

Recent polls show about 25-30 percent of voters back the LDP, while support for the DPJ is in the low teens. With scattered support for a few other parties, that leaves nearly half of the public undecided, meaning the outcome is still quite unclear.

"I really don't know who to vote for," said 62-year-old taxi driver Tetsuo Suzuki. "I voted for the DPJ in the last election, but they couldn't seem to get things done. I don't really want to go back to the LDP, either."

"Japan doesn't seem as perky as it used to be," he said, ticking off the economy and territorial dispute with China as the two most pressing issues. "We want a strong leader who won't bend his principles."

Tapping into that voter dismay, outspoken leaders in the two biggest cities in Japan have decided to form their own national political parties, but they may not have enough time to get organized for the election.

The nationalistic governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara ? who stirred up the flap with China by saying the Tokyo government would buy and develop the disputed islands called Senkaku by Japan and Diaoyu by China ? resigned recently to create the Sunrise Party.

Toru Hashimoto, the brash, young mayor of Osaka, is working to draw up candidates for the newly formed Japan Restoration Party, although he said he himself will not run in the elections. Recent polls show his party has support in the 5 percent range.

The two men are reportedly in discussions to merge their parties and form a so-called "third force" to counter the LDP and DPJ, but it appears they are having difficulty reconciling some of their differing policy views, including on nuclear power.

Japan is going through a messy period of political transition with its merry-go-round of prime ministers and the emergence of various parties to challenge the long-dominant LDP, experts say.

"The era of one-party dominance is clearly over and behind us," said the professor, Nakano. "We know what we are transiting from, but we don't know where we are going."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pm-dissolve-japans-parliament-call-elections-004950486.html

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Pandas' oldest known ancestor found in surprising place

Now paleontologists reveal two sets of fossil jaws and teeth that they say belong to the earliest member of the giant panda lineage discovered yet. The fossils were recovered from a pair of sites in northeast Spain.

By Charles Choi,?LiveScience Contributor / November 15, 2012

The oldest known ancestor of the giant panda lineage (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) lived about 11.6 million years ago in what is now Spain.

SINC

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All giant pandas may come from China, but fossils reveal that the oldest known ancestor of the lineage dwelled in Spain, researchers say.

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The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is known worldwide for its black-and-white fur. The giant panda is unique among bears for dining?almost entirely on bamboo?? other members of the bear family are omnivorous or mostly carnivorous.

Genetic evidence suggests the ancestors of giant pandas diverged from other bears 18 million to 22 million years ago. However, much remains uncertain about what early giant pandas were like and how this lineage of bears changed over time ? before the new find, the earliest undisputed?giant panda fossils?recovered were about 8.2 million years old at most, and were from China.

Now paleontologists reveal two sets of fossil jaws and teeth that they say belong to the earliest member of the giant panda lineage discovered yet. The fossils were recovered from a pair of sites in northeast Spain.

Earliest panda

The species belongs to a newly declared genus,?Kretzoiarctos, which means "bears of Kretzoi," named after paleontologist Miklos Kretzoi, who had discovered other extinct panda species. The species is named?Kretzoiarctos beatrix, with "beatrix" referring to a colleague of the researchers, Spanish paleontologist Beatriz Azanza. [Butter Balls: Photos of Playful Pandas]

The fossils date back 11.6 million years to the middle of the Miocene Epoch, when the area was humid, moderately warm, and forested.

"The new genus we describe in this paper is not only the first bear recorded in the Iberian Peninsula, but also the first of the giant panda's lineage," said researcher Juan Abella, a paleontologist in Madrid at Spain's National Museum of Natural Sciences.

This new bear would have weighed no more than 130 pounds (60 kilograms), making it more or less the size of the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), the smallest living bear species.

Judging by its teeth, it was an omnivore, but it possessed many dental features of bears adapted to eating tough plant materials such as bamboo.

"It had a very wide variety of food available to it, from meat and fruit to plant stems or even leaves," Abella told LiveScience. "We are unaware if there was bamboo in Spain during the Middle Miocene, but there were many other similar plants associated with humid climates available for?Kretzoiarctos."

Questions remain

It remains uncertain whether?Kretzoiarctos?was colored the same way as?modern giant pandas, as no hair from it remains. However, Abella speculated the primitive coloration for this group of bears was also dark with several white patches. This is based on the fact that most?bear cubs?have this coloration ? in many animals, biological patterns seen among the young reflect what their ancestors were like.

These findings might suggest a Western European origin for the giant panda lineage. However, the fossil record of this group of bears is still too scarce and fragmentary to say for certain where they arose, researchers said.

Another mystery: Why did?Kretzoiarctos?go extinct? "The most probable cause is likely to be the opening up of the forests, giving way to more open, drier spaces and the appearance of similar yet larger and more competitive species," Abella said.
Abella and his colleagues detailed their findings online today (Nov. 14) in the journal?PLoS ONE.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/vjlyWa_QnEo/Pandas-oldest-known-ancestor-found-in-surprising-place

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Tech firms launch new website to fix patent mess ? Tech News and ...

An advocacy group for tech companies has launched a new website, Patent Progress, that provides policy makes and the public with ideas about how to fix the country?s broken patent system.

The U.S. patent system is supposed to foster innovation and reward inventors. But in recent years it has devolved into an epidemic of licensed blackmail with shell companies using flimsy patents to shake down productive companies ? especially in the tech sector.

Today, technology firms launched a new website called Patent Progress to call attention to the patent problem, and to share solutions from legal and policy experts. The site is run by the Computer & Communications Industry Association, an advocacy group that counts Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Facebook among its members. Its contributors include leading intellectual property and antitrust lawyers and scholars.

The significance of the site is that it adds new intellectual heft to a growing patent reform movement in Congress and the courts. Patent Progress also provides plain English explanations of topics like ?trolls? and the ?Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit? which have contributed to the patent problem. The site also has a helpful dictionary of terms like prior art?and payday mugging (?the phenomenon of small start-up companies being targeted with litigation by patent plaintiffs immediately after receiving venture capital investment.?)

?The goal is to build a narrative towards a bigger picture legislative solution,? said Dan O?Connor, a ?policy expert and director at the CCIA.

Will all this be enough to stop the patent troll epidemic that, according to a recent academic study, has drained $500 billion from the US economy in the last decade?

In the short term, probably not. The trolls and their lawyers have invested too much in their sprawling legal campaigns (which rely on ?inventions? like emoticon patents) to stop now. And Nathan Myhrvold, the man most responsible for the patent mess, continues to gull media outlets into believing his shakedown campaigns are a force for global good.

But in the bigger picture, the launch of Patent Progress coincides with a growing public awareness,?reflected in radio shows like NPR?s ?When Patents Attack? and websites like PatentTrolls.org, that there is more to patent policy than romantic images of Thomas Jefferson or Steve Jobs.

(Image by Creativa via Shutterstock)

Source: http://gigaom.com/2012/11/14/tech-firms-launch-new-website-to-fix-patent-mess/

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Eurozone back in recession in Q3

BRUSSELS (AP) ? The 17-country eurozone economy is back in recession.

Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, says Thursday the eurozone economy contracted by 0.1 percent in the July to September period from the quarter before.

That follows on from the 0.2 percent decline recorded in the second quarter and officially puts it in recession, commonly defined as two straight quarters of falling output.

The wider EU, which includes non-euro countries, avoided the same fate. It saw output rise 0.1 percent during the quarter, largely on the back of an Olympics-related boost in Britain.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eurozone-back-recession-q3-100356113--finance.html

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