FRESNO, Calif. (AP) ? Three of four reptiles that were swiped from a science museum and thrown together into a garbage bag during a heist were recovered Friday, though a 3-foot-long ball python remained at large, officials said.
The 3?-foot savannah monitor lizard, a 7-foot-long red-tailed boa constrictor and another 3-foot-long ball python were in good condition, said Mary Ellen Wright, the director of the Fresno Discovery Center. Authorities were searching for the missing python in an area frequented by a suspect, who has been arrested.
Wright had been worried about the reptiles' confinement together in the bag "because they are mortal enemies," she said.
"It would be like throwing two pit bulls in a locked room," she added, noting that the monitor lizard has sharp, 2-inch claws.
The reptiles were taken in a robbery that has perplexed museum officials and authorities, who have not released a motive.
Fresno Police Lt. Donald Gross said Friday Devin Michael Madej, 20, was arrested on suspicion of burglary and possession of stolen property.
The museum's education coordinator, Ian Goudelock, said the burglar didn't appear to be out to intentionally hurt the animals though the museum planned to have the reptiles checked by a veterinarian.
"It's just a strange theft. We're still trying to figure out why," he said. "It does kind of more or less have a happy ending."
Surveillance video showed the burglar broke into the Central California museum sometime late Wednesday or early Thursday, smashed the tanks that held the four reptiles ? worth hundreds of dollars ? and popped them into a garbage bag.
He also went into the center's gift shop and stole children's toys, the phone system and the security monitor, the Fresno Bee reported.
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Information from: The Fresno Bee, http://www.fresnobee.com
Giant pandas have become China's poster child for endangered species, but now another iconic animal in the country can claim to be even rarer than the bears.
There are just 1,000 individual Yangtze finless porpoises left in the wild, according to a new report. That's less than half of what a similar survey of the porpoises found six years ago.
The rapidly dwindling numbers have conservationists worried that the species could vanish from the wild as early as 2025.
"The species is moving fast toward its extinction," said Wang Ding, head of the expedition to count the porpoises and a professor at the Institute of Hydrobiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Yangtze finless porpoises, the only freshwater finless porpoise in the world, live mainly in the Yangtze River and China's Dongting and Poyang lakes. They are threatened by shrinking food resources and man-made disturbances like shipping traffic.
The expedition, which took place over 44 days last fall, comes after a similar trek along the Yangtze in 2007 failed to find any surviving Baiji dolphins, a close relative of the finless porpoise that was subsequently declared functionally extinct.
The new report showed that some finless porpoises are splintering off into relatively isolated groups, which could hurt their ability to reproduce. The scientists also noted that more of the animals seemed to be flocking to wharf and port areas, perhaps to look for food.??
"They may risk their lives for rich fish bait resources there," Wang said in a statement from the World Wildlife Fund, a conservation group involved in the report. "But busy shipping traffic close to the port areas poses a threat to the survival of finless porpoise."
Other finless porpoises seemed to be avoiding human disturbances and were spotted gathering in dense groups in waters not open to ship traffic. But that strategy could backfire ? in these waters, the animals risk getting caught in illegal fishing traps.
As part of their conservation recommendations, the report authors urge for a year-round fishing ban in all river dolphin reserves, and for new reserves to be established in Poyang Lake and along the Yangtze.
The report, called the 2012 Yangtze Freshwater Dolphin Survey Report, was released Thursday (March 28).
Follow Megan Gannon on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.
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Think about your gym, which you visit so infrequently you?re practically making a charity donation to Bally Total Fitness. Or the diet cleanse you spent $100 on ... when you could have paid $30 in healthy groceries that would have also done the trick.
Don?t kick yourself?you?re not alone in falling prey to these marketing ploys. There?s a reason that, for instance, the burgeoning ?enhanced waters? beverage category (think Vitamin Water) has become a $1.5 billion industry.
By playing on our delusions and our fears, companies tempt us to shell out for needless items, and that can wreak havoc on our finances.
Watch out for these seven industries that profit from our insecurities?and find out how to resist their ploys.
Pet products Americans spent an estimated $53 billion on their pets in 2012, a number that's grown nearly 30 percent in the past five years, even as the economy tanked. Last Halloween, pet owners were projected to spend $370 million on their pets' Halloween costumes?a 40 percent increase from 2010.
Several factors account for the rise in pet spending: Americans have a third fewer friends than they did 20 years ago and the number of Americans living alone?one in seven?is at an all-time high. These trends partly explain why about four in five animal owners think of their pets as children, and 58 percent even call themselves the "mommy" or "daddy" of their pets.
This higher status of pets in the eyes of their owners has even resulted in one million dogs being named beneficiaries in their owners' wills.
Tip: Be realistic about how much your pet costs, and be sure to budget for any extra splurges or treats. As for whether to name your beloved pet in your will?that depends on what you think of its money-managing skills.
Gyms No industry plays on the chasm between what we do and what we wish we did better than the $21 billion fitness club industry. At the beginning of a fitness push, we are all too happy to hand over a hefty membership fee and sign a yearlong contract, hoping the sunk cost will encourage us to create whole new selves.
But the reality is that 67 percent of people with gym memberships never use them. Even those who go to the gym regularly are paying a lot more than they imagined: A University of California, Berkeley study showed that people who signed up for a monthly gym membership ended up paying 70 percent more than they could have paid on a pay-per-visit plan available at the same club.
The reason? ?Overconfidence about future self-control,? say the researchers. In other words: Delusion.
Tip: If this is you, find out the best workouts for you and your budget. Even if you do use the gym, make sure you're getting the best deal possible: comparison shop, use a competitor's price to get a deal at your preferred gym, or sign up for a yearlong membership to get the best possible rate.
Health and diet food In 2011, the market for vitamins and supplements was $28 billion?despite a lack of solid research proving their effectiveness. In fact, most of our food is fortified with nutrients, so once-common deficiency diseases are now rare. Most researchers say that unless you're pregnant or elderly or have an identified deficiency, you don't need supplements and that a balanced diet is the best source of nutrients.
As for the weight-loss market, which in 2010 was worth $60 billion, several studies show that dieting actually consistently correlates with future weight gain.
Tip: If you're a sucker for vitamins and supplements, don't pay a premium for packaged foods making health claims; eat these superfoods instead. And if you think your ticket to weight loss is a diet program, consider preparing meals from fresh, whole ingredients and setting up a regular exercise routine to do it on your own instead.
Electronics rebates and warranties Electronics stores often advertise a new gadget?s price as though you already received all the mail-in rebates. But a Consumer Reports survey found that fewer than half of people always or often cash in on rebate offers, and a full quarter never do. Even among those who sent in for their rebates, 21 percent said they never received them.
Additionally, extended warranties and insurance plans for smartphones sound so sensible. But they're almost never a good deal, consumer advocates warn. The extended warranty business itself generates $15 billion a year of almost pure profit, playing on our innate urge to avoid losses even if we could financially afford to replace the object.
And consider this: By the time the manufacturer's warranty ends on your phone, laptop or other high-tech gizmo, you'll probably want to upgrade to a newer model or the replacement price will have dropped, making the extended warranty moot.
Tip: Before you rush to take advantage of a deal you can only get with rebates, ask yourself: Are you going to fill in and mail every form?
And next time the cashier asks you if you want to pay 10 to 50 percent extra for an extended warranty, just say no.
Clothes According to a recent survey, a woman owns 22 garments she never wears.
And that adds up: Americans spend $331 billion a year on clothing (which works out to $1,100 per person a year). While every once in a while we all really do need a new item of clothing, you could probably easily identify a number of pieces in your closet that you never wear?and they probably add up to a lot of wasted dollars.
How does this happen? We tend to invest in the same items over and over (whether ten black sweaters or a dozen flirty sundresses). Another problem: We buy for the life we want to have?cocktail dresses for parties we never go to or fancy new workout clothes for the gym we never visit.
Tip: Host a clothing swap to get rid of the chaff in your closet and bring fresh inspiration in, and go on a clothing fast for six months to force yourself to get creative with what you have. Need some ideas? See how one editor dressed herself for one month with just six items of clothing.
Cleaning products Do you buy different cleaners for your floors, your furniture, your bathroom and your windows? Then you can understand how the cleaning product industry rakes in $52 billion a year.
Commercials for household disinfectants and other cleaning products would have you believe that illness-causing germs linger on every surface. But experts warn that routine use of disinfectants is not only unnecessary but harmful, especially when harsh chemicals are used.
Tip: You can get your home sparkly-clean?and with less harm to the environment?using inexpensive combinations of baking soda and vinegar. In fact, we can show you how to tackle 40 household tasks with just these five everyday products.
Baby products Certain baby products really do ensure infant safety, like car seats. But companies also milk extra money out of parents' desires to give their kids the most organic, least toxic, most brain-enhancing food, toys, clothing, bedding and more.
Previous generations somehow survived infancy without shopping cart liners, video baby monitors, tiny shade tents for sunny days at the park and many of other items that make up the $7 billion Americans spend on today's babies.
Tip: Stick to essentials and learn how to save on baby stuff with these 12 tips. Want to really overhaul the way you handle the baby portion of your budget? Check out our Baby on Board Bootcamp, which explains what you should buy new, what you can get used and which safety considerations really matter.
I?d like to share some of the problems that prevented me making any money whatsoever for around 7-8 months after I began online almost exactly 3 years ago. I?ll also explain how I overcame them by giving some recommendations for each.
It?s quite interesting for me to see how my thinking and understanding of how to start and build a successful web business has changed over time.
But more importantly I hope you?ll be able to get a lot out of this because from talking to others I?ve learned that most people face the same challenges that I?ve experienced.
Let?s dive in with 7 things I was baffled by when I started out:?
1. How To Create Web Pages
Like all of us I visited lots of different websites on a daily basis but I really didn?t understand how to replicate them. Do you have to learn web design and HTML and get involved in the technical side of things?
Luckily, I was introduced to WordPress pretty early on. Although I have built a few pages in other systems (such as the free HTML editor Kompozer) I really never looked back.
What began as a blogging platform has now developed into a fully fledged content management system (CMS) for websites and for running a home business, there are very few cases when it makes sense to not use WordPress.
My Recommendation: If you don?t know WordPress. Learn it. Just create a simple personal blog and get acquainted. It?s time very well spent.
2. How To Get Traffic
I thought the only options were SEO (ranking your web pages high in Google) or Adwords (Google Paid ads).
Like most newcomers I didn?t want to risk any money so I went down the SEO path.
The trouble was by 2010 SEO was already becoming harder, more long term and increasingly uncertain. This didn?t stop me spending a small fortune on SEO software and training courses which resulted in virtually no revenue whatsoever.
My Recommendation: Traffic is a KEY element in your online success. So invest some time in learning about it. There are countless ways to promote your websites and many of them have been discussed on this blog (here and here?for example). Also, although I wouldn?t completely ignore SEO, I also highly recommend you don?t rely on it. Less than 10% of my traffic comes from SEO ? quite honestly I wouldn?t bother with it much at all!
3. Why The Websites Of Successful Marketers Didn?t Look Like Mine
During my ?SEO phase? I followed several ?gurus? who were very keen to tell me (and sell me) strategies which could rank my websites high in Google. Most of these involved setting up blogs, choosing the keywords, meta tags, headlines, H1 tags correctly and building backlinks to my site.
So how come when I visited these gurus? sites they had none of these things? I remember checking the backlinks and wondering why there weren?t any? How could they be making money if they didn?t seem to do the things they were telling me to do?
Also, a lot of their websites just had places for your name and email address (what I later learnt were called ?squeeze pages?) and had no content on them at all. Google wouldn?t rank these surely so I was baffled.
I was very na?ve really. But it just goes to show if you don?t know something then you just don?t know.
Of course, the reality was the the gurus were using joint ventures (JVs), affiliates and paid traffic to promote their websites. As silly as it might sound it really took me about 10 months to fully recognize this.
My Recommendation: Always ask yourself, ?Are the strategies that this person is teaching me what they actually use to make money themselves??. You can?t always be sure but being aware of this question really helps!
4. Who To Trust
A biggy.
As with any business ? online or offline ? there are scams and people who just want your money. In the internet marketing area there are definitely these kinds of people but also many very genuine businesses and marketers who provide solid products and services which can help you.
My Recommendation: Rather than expand on this here I will refer to a previous post where we covered this issue in detail.
5. Which Niche To Go Into
Again, usually a problem most of us have, especially at the early stage of our business.
This is partly related to ?I?m not an expert in anything? thinking but also because there are literally SO many different niches that it can become difficult to decide!
What I did was go into lots of niches. I don?t recommend this because you end up juggling so many balls that you can?t give the attention each niche deserves.
My Recommendation: Brainstorm niches you are interested in, check for sufficient audience size and profitability. Then pick one and go with it. Later on you can (as I have done) expand it more than one niche but that?s when you?ll have the experience of setting them up and promoting them. Also, understand you don?t need to be an expert: 1) You can learn, 2) You can get another expert to help (e.g., by interviewing them), 3) Many products (e.g., software) don?t rely on you being an expert at all.
6. How Can I Keep Up With The Information Coming At Me
Yes, the old information overload problem here!
What I specifically referring to though is the emails that I received as a result of signing up to people?s lists.
This distraction can manifest in at least 2 ways: 1) You are reading emails instead of implementing and taking action, 2) You get mixed messages and conflicting information which stops you taking action on your current plans by introducing doubt and shiny object syndrome.
My Recommendation: Unsubscribe from any list which just promotes things all the time. Follow the people you trust (or at worst think you trust!) ? see above for tips on this. Pick one project and stick with it, emotionally detach (as best you can) and work on your business (imagine you are consulting on someone else?s business which helps) instead of in your business.
7. Sales Funnels
Again I?m admitting naivety here but after coming online I really didn?t understand the importance of having a funnel or even what one was!
Basically, the sales funnel is process people go through after they go up the ?on ramp? into your business.
For example, they might sign up at for your squeeze page, get offered a promotion on the thank you page, receive email follow ups which offer free content and promotions which increase in price and value.
My recommendation: Be aware all the time of sales funnels and every time you purchase something or sign up for something watch what happens and take notes. I actually have a Word files called ?Other Marketers Swipe? which I take notes on what I see from my journeys around the internet in different niches.
3 Final Tips
Overall, If I could go back in time and speak to myself when I started out I?d give this advice:
Focus soley on building a list of subscribers in a profitable niche that you are interested in
Go to live events and meetups
Invest some time and money in solid training from people who have achieved what you want to achieve
If you can relate to any of my experiences I?ve described in this post then this is the same advice I?d give to you. Regardless of your history and where you are right now with your business the PERFECT time is NOW!
What things have baffled you in terms on setting up a successful web business? Please LIKE/TWEET if you enjoyed this and start some discussion by dropping a comment below. Cheers, Rob.
Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) is helped by referee Ian Walsh (29) after being hit in the face with a puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders in Pittsburgh, Saturday, March 30, 2013. Crosby left the game. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) is helped by referee Ian Walsh (29) after being hit in the face with a puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders in Pittsburgh, Saturday, March 30, 2013. Crosby left the game. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
PITTSBURGH (AP) ? Sidney Crosby has been hit in the mouth by a puck and the Pittsburgh Penguins' star captain will not return to the game against the New York Islanders.
A bloodied Crosby skated off the ice with a towel covering his mouth after Brooks Orpik's slap shot from the point deflected off a stick and hit the NHL scoring leader just 1:28 into Saturday's game.
Crosby, who immediately fell to the ice and tossed his stick in the air, did not return in the first period. Early in the second, the Penguins announced that he would not be back in the game.
Crosby has a history of concussions that have kept him out for long periods during his stellar career.
Pittsburgh was looking for its 15th straight victory, which would be two shy of the NHL record set by Mario Lemieux and the 1992-93 Penguins.
With 15 goals and 56 points, Crosby held a 10-point lead over Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos in the NHL scoring race.
As much as we're intrigued by the prospect of Twitter's music app, the rumored emphasis on SoundCloud would potentially limit the selection given major label resistance to giving away ad-free content: we'd expect a lot of DJ sets and indie demos. A supposed leak from AllThingsD has Twitter catering to the less adventurous among us by adding Vevo support. While the full workings of the rumored app remain a mystery, Twitter would reportedly play Vevo's mostly pop-oriented music videos through a custom player. It might not be the only service involved, too: the same tips suggest that Twitter wants to round up multiple services, and the two that have surfaced so far are just the first to hop aboard. We have a hunch that the expanded app (if real) won't make the originally claimed March launch when we're already at the last weekday of the month, but the latest tidbit suggests Twitter is far from giving up on turning microblogs into mini jukeboxes.
By Martyn Herman LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Whether by design, necessity, self-interest or because of all three, nurturing youngsters has become fashionable for England's elite with no expense spared in the hunt for the new Wayne Rooney or Steven Gerrard. The length and breadth of the country, scouts from top clubs are hoovering up promising footballers barely old enough to tie their bootlaces in a bid to unearth the 30 million pounds ($45.40 million) treasures of the future. ...
?I probably sit still longer here than I do the rest of the day,? she said jokingly as she waited for her chemotherapy to begin.
DeMore is battling a recent recurrence of her breast cancer with a new drug that is causing a buzz in breast cancer treatment circles. DeMore is the first at the practice to get Kadcyla, or ado-trastuzumab emtansine, which combines the antibody-targeted treatment Herceptin with an additional drug toxic to breast cancer cells.
?It is directed to the tumor site,? said Dr, Alice David, DeMore?s oncologist. ?It is able to shrink the tumor. It is able to slow the disease progression and prolong survival as well.?
Compared to the standard treatment for those, such as David, who are no longer helped by Herceptin, it increased progression-free survival by about three months and increased overall survival by about six months, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Pam Anderson, the program coordinator for cancer services at University Hospital, recently returned from a meeting of the National Consortium of Breast Centers.
?Every speaker mentioned this drug,? she said.
Kadcyla, which had been clinically tested under the name T-DM1, was approved by the FDA on Feb. 22, and DeMore started on it less than a week later.
Her cancer had already spread to her liver when she was diagnosed in 2004, but after the original treatment ?everything went away,? DeMore said. She stayed on Herceptin until the cancer came back a couple of months ago.
?We were waiting for the (drug) to be approved by the FDA,? DeMore said. ?Dr. David was really excited and hopeful that it would be approved soon.?
David said she hopes the targeted nature of the treatment means less damage to healthy tissue and thus fewer side effects than the previous treatments.
That?s important to a patient like DeMore, who has a very active lifestyle, David said.
Though the ?Herceptin did its job,? she thinks the cancer figured out a way around it and is thankful there is something new to combat it.
?It?s a good thing they keep working on it,? DeMore said.
Alternative folk singer Michelle Shocked sits outside Moe?s Alley nightclub in Santa Cruz Calif., and strums her guitar on Thursday, March 28, 2013. After her show was canceled when she made an anti-gay slur earlier this month. Shocked had her face covered and her mouth taped shut. She dressed in a white disposable safety suit and invited people to write on it. (AP Photo
Alternative folk singer Michelle Shocked sits outside Moe?s Alley nightclub in Santa Cruz Calif., and strums her guitar on Thursday, March 28, 2013. After her show was canceled when she made an anti-gay slur earlier this month. Shocked had her face covered and her mouth taped shut. She dressed in a white disposable safety suit and invited people to write on it. (AP Photo
Alternative folk singer Michelle Shocked sits outside Moe?s Alley nightclub in Santa Cruz Calif., and strums her guitar on Thursday, March 28, 2013. After her show was canceled when she made an anti-gay slur earlier this month. Shocked had her face covered and her mouth taped shut. She dressed in a white disposable safety suit and invited people to write on it. (AP Photo
Alternative folk singer Michelle Shocked stands reading the signs outside Moe?s Alley nightclub in Santa Cruz Calif., on Thursday, March 28, 2013. After her show was canceled following making an anti-gay slur earlier this month. Shocked had her face covered and her mouth taped shut. She dressed in a white disposable safety suit and invited people to write on it. (AP Photo/Thomas Mendoza)
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) ? Her show had been cancelled, but that didn't stop alternative folk and rock singer Michelle Shocked from showing up at a Santa Cruz nightclub where she staged a sit-in with tape across her mouth that read "Silenced By Fear."
Moe's Alley was one of several nightclubs that cancelled Shocked's gigs after she made what were considered anti-gay comments during a rambling outburst at a show earlier this month.
On Thursday evening, Moe's Alley owner Bill Welch had replaced her with two local bands that support gay rights, Beaver Fever and Frootie Flavors.
"We will not be bashing Michelle Shocked," he said. "Rather, we will celebrate music, diversity and send some healing Santa Cruz energy her way."
Sitting on the ground outside the venue and strumming her guitar, Shocked was largely ignored and refused to speak. She pointed to a sign inviting people to pick up a Sharpie marker and write on the white disposable safety suit she was wearing.
Earlier this week in an email to The Associated Press and other media, Shocked apologized and said her comments during the San Francisco show were misinterpreted.
"Of course the fault for that is completely my own, and I cannot and do not blame anyone for defending the gay community," she wrote.
On Thursday night, she posted signs that read "Does speech scare you that much?" and on her back she had scrawled "Gimme Wit, Not Spit."
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) ? A battle between South Sudan soldiers and rebels allegedly backed by neighboring Sudan killed 163 people, most of them rebels, government officials said Thursday.
South Sudan's military spokesman, Col. Philip Aguer, said government forces also captured an airstrip in the town of Okello, which he claimed the rebels have been using to import most of their military supplies. Okello is in South Sudan's southeast Pibor County, where rebel leader David Yau Yau hails from.
"This airstrip has been used by Khartoum (Sudan) intelligence to transport and supply arms and ammunition to David Yau Yau. Some of the arms that were being dropped by Antanovs were captured, AK-47s. Some are broken, some are in good condition," Aguer said.
He said 143 rebels led by Yau Yau died in the battle Tuesday, and that 20 soldiers were killed and 70 wounded.
South Sudan peacefully broke away from Sudan in 2011 but is still dealing with violence inside its own borders. Military battles and fights between tribes kill dozens of people with alarming frequency. After decades of war with Sudan, the country is flooded with assault rifles.
Death tolls are almost impossible to verify without months of investigations, given how remote the country is and the complete lack of infrastructure. In late December 2011 and early January 2012, cattle raid attacks between tribes killed at least 600 people in Jonglei. A government disarmament campaign afterward collected more than 10,000 weapons.
Aguer said South Sudan's military will continue to "deal with the militia group" and that it would be a matter of time before Yau Yau's rebels are cleared from Pibor County.
South Sudan accuses Sudan of arming the rebellion to block South Sudan's plans to build an oil pipeline eastward through Ethiopia to a port in Djibouti.
A dispute with Sudan over oil transit fees led South Sudan to shut down its oil industry last year and look for alternative ways to transport its crude. The two governments recently reached an agreement that is supposed to restart South Sudanese exports through Sudan's oil pipelines.
Sudan has repeatedly denied having any ties to the rebels. It accuses South Sudan, in turn, of supporting rebels in Sudan's South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.
Yau Yau first rebelled against South Sudan after he failed to win a parliamentary seat in the 2010 general elections. He accused the ruling party of rigging the vote. In 2011 he accepted an amnesty offer and was promoted to a general. But last year he fled to Sudan and started a rebellion in Pibor against South Sudan's government.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) ? Turkey's deputy prime minister says Turkish and Israeli officials will meet next week to work out the amount of compensation to be paid to the victims of a raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla that killed eight Turks and a Turkish-American in 2010.
Israel apologized for the botched raid last week and agreed to compensate the injured and relatives of the dead.
Turkey accepted the apology but said it wanted to ensure the victims were compensated and Israel remained committed to the easing of restrictions of goods entering Gaza before restoring full diplomatic relations.
Bulent Arinc said Friday an Israeli delegation will travel to Turkey next week. He says the amount of compensation to be requested will be worked out in consultation with experts and the families' lawyers.
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) ? A judge in South Africa says Oscar Pistorius, who is charged with murdering his girlfriend, can leave South Africa to compete in international competition, with conditions.
Judge Bert Bam says the Olympic and Paralympic athlete must provide authorities with his travel plans at least a week before he leaves the country. He must also return his passport to the court within 24 hours of returning to South Africa
Pistorius' lawyers said in the North Gauteng High Court on Thursday that he had no immediate plans to compete, but might eventually need to run at track meets again to earn money.
NEW YORK (AP) ? Government health officials are launching the second round of a graphic, emotional ad campaign designed to push smokers into kicking the habit.
The $48 million campaign involves TV, radio, online, print and billboard ads. It's the second year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has spent tens of millions to get people to quit smoking. In previous years the agency relied on public service announcements.
Last year's campaign which cost a few million more triggered an increase of 200,000 calls to quit smoking lines. CDC officials believe it prompted tens of thousands of smokers to kick the habit.
NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) ? When Adam Lanza walked out of his house for the last time, he left behind firearms and knives and more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition ? taking only four guns. They would suffice.
He loaded the weapons into his car, drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School, blasted his way into the building and within five minutes fired off 154 shots with a Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle. Having murdered 20 first-graders and six educators, he killed himself with a final, single shot from a Glock handgun. He still had more than 100 rifle bullets at hand.
Warrants released Thursday provide the most insight to date into the world of the 20-year-old gunman, a recluse who played violent video games in a house packed with weaponry that was all too real. The inventory of items taken from the spacious, colonial-style home included books on autism, a vast array of weapon paraphernalia, and images of what appears to be a dead person covered with plastic and blood.
The weapons used in the shooting had all apparently been purchased by Lanza's mother, Nancy, with whom he lived, said prosecutor Stephen J. Sedensky III, in a statement accompanying the warrants.
She was found dead in her bed; Adam Lanza had shot her the morning of the massacre, Dec. 14. Authorities also found a holiday card from Nancy Lanza containing a check made out to her son for the purchase of yet another firearm.
Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy expressed incredulity over the access that the troubled young man had to a cache of weapons.
"There are parts of this story that are unfathomable," he said. "How anyone would have maintained that household that way is difficult to understand."
Mark Barden, whose 7-year-old son Daniel was killed at Sandy Hook, said he was not surprised by anything revealed Thursday.
"Most of this is pretty high level stuff that we were aware of already and it just reminds me of what happened, that a gunman stormed his way into an elementary school and shot to death 26 people, 20 of which were first-grade boys and girls," Barden said.
The shooting elevated gun safety to the top of President Barack Obama's agenda; at an event in Washington on Thursday, joined by the families of four children killed at Sandy Hook, he urged lawmakers not to get "squishy" in the face of opposition to gun control.
"Shame on us if we've forgotten," Obama said. "I haven't forgotten those kids."
The debate has extended to Newtown, a rural community of 27,000 people in western Connecticut which is also home to the National Shooting Sports Foundation. A protest and counter-protest were scheduled outside the foundation's offices Thursday.
If it's possible to determine a motive for the massacre, there may be clues in Adam Lanza's journals, which state police seized from the house and turned over to the FBI for analysis. But authorities say that so far no conclusions have been reached. Sedensky estimated the investigation will be finished this summer.
At the Lanza house, investigators found books about autism and Asperger's syndrome, as well as one with tabbed pages entitled: "Train Your Brain to Get Happy." Adam Lanza was said to have been diagnosed with Asperger's.
But the warrants also reveal an intense interest in weaponry and violence.
A gun locker in Lanza's bedroom was open when police arrived at the house in the aftermath of the shootings, and there was no sign it had been broken into.
Investigators found a 7-foot pole with a blade on one side and a spear on another, a metal bayonet, three samurai swords, a .323-caliber bolt-action rifle, a .22-caliber Savage Mark II rifle and a .22-caliber Volcanic starter pistol. There was a military-style uniform in Lanza's bedroom; literature seized from the house included a news article on a 2008 shooting at Northern Illinois University and a National Rifle Association guide to pistol shooting.
In a duffel bag, investigators found ear and eye protection, binoculars, numerous paper targets and an NRA certificate that belonged to Adam Lanza. The NRA said Lanza was not a member.
An unnamed person told investigators that Lanza was an avid gamer who played "Call of Duty" and rarely left his home. The affidavit, which is partially blacked out, also has that person saying that Sandy Hook, the school Lanza attended as a child, was his "life."
On the day of the massacre, Lanza took two loaded handguns to the school along with the Bushmaster rifle. A fourth gun, a loaded 12-gauge Saiga shotgun, was found in the passenger compartment of his Honda Civic, along with 70 shotgun rounds.
Lanza went through six 30-round magazines for the Bushmaster, although half of them were not completely empty, and police said he had three other 30-round magazines in addition to one that was in the rifle.
A judge's order to seal the warrants expired on Wednesday, and a Danbury Superior Court judge granted a request by Sedensky to withhold some details. Sedensky asked to redact the name of a witness, saying the person's safety might be jeopardized if the name were disclosed. He also asked that the release not include other information such as telephone numbers, serial numbers on items found and a few paragraphs of an affidavit.
Malloy, a Democrat in his first term as governor, said the fact that Lanza left smaller magazines at the house should boost support for a state ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines.
"That somebody could get 154 shots off in less than five minutes, kill 20 children and six adults, is disturbing," Malloy said.
Connecticut House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero Jr., a Republican, said he expects the General Assembly will be ready to vote next week, possibly Wednesday, on a package addressing gun control and other issues raised by the shooting.
___
Associated Press writers John Christoffersen, Dave Collins and Susan Haigh in Hartford and John Christoffersen in New Haven contributed to this report. Melia reported from Hartford.
A new era in sports science journals: The launch of BMC Sports Science, Medicine and RehabilitationPublic release date: 28-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dr Hilary Glover hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com 44-020-319-22370 BioMed Central
Open access publisher BioMed Central is proud to announce the launch of BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, another addition to the BMC-series portfolio.
The journal's scope includes all aspects of sports medicine and the exercise sciences, including rehabilitation, traumatology, cardiology, physiology, and nutrition. It is journal policy to publish work deemed by peer reviewers to be a coherent and sound addition to scientific knowledge and to put less emphasis on interest levels, provided that the research constitutes a useful contribution to the field.
Deborah Kahn, BioMed Central's Publishing Director says, "This new journal is intended to move the BMC series into an exciting and fast growing field. The broad scope and open access nature of BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation offers authors and readers from a wide range of disciplines a unique venue to serve their communities' needs."
BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation also incorporates the recently closed Sports Medicine, Arthroscopy, Rehabilitation, Therapy & Technology (SMARTT) with an expanded scope and new Editorial Board. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation will fill its own niche in the BMC series alongside other companion journals including BMC Physiology, BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders and BMC Surgery.
The launch articles reflect the breadth and scope of the new journal and include a study on the 'Determinants of pain, functional limitations and health-related quality of life six months after total knee arthroplasty' by Franois Desmeules et al. and an interview with Section Editor Michael Carmont examining the discipline of sports traumatology research. A systematic review by Emily Churton and Justin W Keogh also published amongst the launch articles highlights the constraints influencing sports wheelchair propulsion performance and injury risk.
BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation fills a key niche in the sports science field and Per Renstrom, PhD, Emeritus Professor at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has said, "Sports Medicine by its very nature is multidisciplinary and the new BMC Sports Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation with its broad scope and inclusive editorial policy will offer a home for diverse research in this area. The field of sports science and medicine is an area with a very high public interest and the transparent open peer review process on the journal shall provide a greater trust in the research the journal reports."
BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation is accepting submissions; please use the online submission system to submit your manuscript. For all enquiries about the journal, please contact: newjournals@biomedcentral.com.
1. A new era in sports science: the launch of BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation
Elizabeth Moylan and Genevieve Horne
BMC Sports Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation 2013, 5:1
Determinants of pain, functional limitations and health-related quality of life six months after total knee arthroplasty: results from a prospective cohort study
Franois Desmeules, Clermont E Dionne, tienne L Belzile, Rene Bourbonnais, Franois Champagne and Pierre Frmont
BMC Sports Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation 2013, 5:2
Constraints influencing sports wheelchair propulsion performance and injury risk
Emily Churton and Justin W Keogh Keogh
BMC Sports Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation 2013, 5:3
A case report of semitendinosus tendon autograft for reconstruction of the meniscal wall supporting a collagen implant
Juan D Ayala Mejias, Roselyn, C Sciamanna, Manuel Perez-Espaa Muniesac and Luis Alcocer Prez-Espaa
BMC Sports Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation 2013, 5:4
An interview with Michael Carmont, Section Editor for the Surgery, traumatology, and rehabilitation section on sports traumatology research: acute, overuse and chronic problems, early return to play and long-term outcomes
Michael Carmont
BMC Sports Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation 2013, 5:5
Articles available at journal website http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcsportsscimedrehabil/ or here
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcsportsscimedrehabil/content/5/1/1
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcsportsscimedrehabil/content/5/1/2
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcsportsscimedrehabil/content/5/1/3
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcsportsscimedrehabil/content/5/1/4
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcsportsscimedrehabil/content/5/1/5
Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.
2. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation (http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcsportsscimedrehabil/) is an open access, peer reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of sports medicine and the exercise sciences, including rehabilitation, traumatology, cardiology, physiology, and nutrition. It is journal policy to publish work deemed by peer reviewers to be a coherent and sound addition to scientific knowledge and to put less emphasis on interest levels, provided that the research constitutes a useful contribution to the field.
3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector. @BioMedCentral
[ | 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.
A new era in sports science journals: The launch of BMC Sports Science, Medicine and RehabilitationPublic release date: 28-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dr Hilary Glover hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com 44-020-319-22370 BioMed Central
Open access publisher BioMed Central is proud to announce the launch of BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, another addition to the BMC-series portfolio.
The journal's scope includes all aspects of sports medicine and the exercise sciences, including rehabilitation, traumatology, cardiology, physiology, and nutrition. It is journal policy to publish work deemed by peer reviewers to be a coherent and sound addition to scientific knowledge and to put less emphasis on interest levels, provided that the research constitutes a useful contribution to the field.
Deborah Kahn, BioMed Central's Publishing Director says, "This new journal is intended to move the BMC series into an exciting and fast growing field. The broad scope and open access nature of BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation offers authors and readers from a wide range of disciplines a unique venue to serve their communities' needs."
BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation also incorporates the recently closed Sports Medicine, Arthroscopy, Rehabilitation, Therapy & Technology (SMARTT) with an expanded scope and new Editorial Board. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation will fill its own niche in the BMC series alongside other companion journals including BMC Physiology, BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders and BMC Surgery.
The launch articles reflect the breadth and scope of the new journal and include a study on the 'Determinants of pain, functional limitations and health-related quality of life six months after total knee arthroplasty' by Franois Desmeules et al. and an interview with Section Editor Michael Carmont examining the discipline of sports traumatology research. A systematic review by Emily Churton and Justin W Keogh also published amongst the launch articles highlights the constraints influencing sports wheelchair propulsion performance and injury risk.
BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation fills a key niche in the sports science field and Per Renstrom, PhD, Emeritus Professor at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has said, "Sports Medicine by its very nature is multidisciplinary and the new BMC Sports Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation with its broad scope and inclusive editorial policy will offer a home for diverse research in this area. The field of sports science and medicine is an area with a very high public interest and the transparent open peer review process on the journal shall provide a greater trust in the research the journal reports."
BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation is accepting submissions; please use the online submission system to submit your manuscript. For all enquiries about the journal, please contact: newjournals@biomedcentral.com.
1. A new era in sports science: the launch of BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation
Elizabeth Moylan and Genevieve Horne
BMC Sports Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation 2013, 5:1
Determinants of pain, functional limitations and health-related quality of life six months after total knee arthroplasty: results from a prospective cohort study
Franois Desmeules, Clermont E Dionne, tienne L Belzile, Rene Bourbonnais, Franois Champagne and Pierre Frmont
BMC Sports Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation 2013, 5:2
Constraints influencing sports wheelchair propulsion performance and injury risk
Emily Churton and Justin W Keogh Keogh
BMC Sports Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation 2013, 5:3
A case report of semitendinosus tendon autograft for reconstruction of the meniscal wall supporting a collagen implant
Juan D Ayala Mejias, Roselyn, C Sciamanna, Manuel Perez-Espaa Muniesac and Luis Alcocer Prez-Espaa
BMC Sports Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation 2013, 5:4
An interview with Michael Carmont, Section Editor for the Surgery, traumatology, and rehabilitation section on sports traumatology research: acute, overuse and chronic problems, early return to play and long-term outcomes
Michael Carmont
BMC Sports Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation 2013, 5:5
Articles available at journal website http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcsportsscimedrehabil/ or here
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcsportsscimedrehabil/content/5/1/1
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcsportsscimedrehabil/content/5/1/2
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcsportsscimedrehabil/content/5/1/3
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcsportsscimedrehabil/content/5/1/4
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcsportsscimedrehabil/content/5/1/5
Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.
2. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation (http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcsportsscimedrehabil/) is an open access, peer reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of sports medicine and the exercise sciences, including rehabilitation, traumatology, cardiology, physiology, and nutrition. It is journal policy to publish work deemed by peer reviewers to be a coherent and sound addition to scientific knowledge and to put less emphasis on interest levels, provided that the research constitutes a useful contribution to the field.
3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector. @BioMedCentral
[ | 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.
Mar. 27, 2013 ? Welding engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., have had an extremely busy winter assembling adapters that will connect the Orion spacecraft to a Delta IV rocket for the initial test flight of Orion in 2014. The adapter later will attach Orion to NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), a new heavy-lift rocket managed and in development at the Marshall Center that will enable missions farther into space than ever before. The 2014 Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) will provide engineers with important data about the adapter's performance before it is flown on SLS beginning in 2017.
In a high bay of Marshall's Building 4755, expert welders using state-of-the-art friction stir welding machines worked on two separate adapters. For each adapter, a vertical welding machine stitched panels together to form a conical cylinder, then a circumferential welding machine attached a thicker, structural support ring at the top and the bottom.
"While the adapters are identical and are considered flight articles, only one will actually be used for EFT-1," said Brent Gaddes, Spacecraft & Payload Integration Subsystem manager. "The other will undergo strenuous structural testing to ensure quality, while its twin will make the trip to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for integration into the rest of the test vehicle for launch."
United Launch Alliance (ULA), which makes the Delta IV rocket in nearby Decatur, Ala., will deliver a full-size section of the rocket later this spring for engineers to test the fit of the adapter.
"You really don't have the tools and the resources in one place anywhere else in the world," said Justin Littell, a mechanical engineer with the welding group at the Marshall Center. "The work that we do here is exciting and I get to work with a great team. It's amazing."
See the friction stir welds in action in this video: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=161317831
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA. The original article was written by Bill Hubscher, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
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Body art is an artwhich uses one?s body (human body) as a canvas, with the water colors of the traditional art being replaced by virtually anything (which can stick or stay on body) like paint, spray, tattoos, piercings, etc. Body Art is the new fashion craze these days. It?s a new form of art, a way to express oneself, or a way to show one?s devotion to a particular cause. It?s the voice of the body, of one?s mind, expressing one?s desire in an unspoken manner. Body art is also a sub-category of performance art, in which artists use or abuse their own body to make their particular statements. Body art may be permanent or temporary.
For some people, body art is a means of liberation, for others a way to show their rebellion. Others simply use it for fashion purpose, while some just for the fun of it. Whatever the cause, it?s becoming a fast growing trend now. It?s time to know about some of the body arts.
Piercings:
These maybe temporary or permanent, though usually these are temporary. Piercing is making a needle sized hole in your body to attach a stud type item to it, like earrings are worn on pierced ears. You may get piercings in almost any part of your body, though they may be quite painful to get. Make sure to used high quality studs to avoid getting bruises and infections.
Henna (Mehandi):
A popular art form, especially in Arabian countries, and in India, it utilizes the color imparting properties of henna leaves to make designs on the body. Typically, it?s applied on hands, and feet, but the possibilities are limitless. It leaves a red or maroon, orange, black color on the applied part of the body which depends on the type of Henna used. It?s temporary.
Nail Art:
This is one of the mostcommon and simple types of body art. It involves the nails. Either the nails could be painted, or some small studs specifically made for nails can be used, like stones, sparkles, glitters, feathers, etc. Nails can also be artificially bought. This art is of temporary type. Some jewels are available especially for nails. Nail art can be done easily from beauty salons, or at home.
Body Paint:
This is a temporary form of artwhich involves painting in colors one?s own body. Any design can be made using a multitude of colors. Sparkles and glitters can also be added. It can be face painting or body painting generally over a large part of body. ?A type of florescent body paint is also available these days. Care should be taken to choose only non-toxic paints and make sure no allergic reaction is experienced. Latex should be avoided as far as possible.
Tattoo:
A tattoo is a form of body art, which requires inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. This is usually painful. It can be permanent or temporary. Another type of tattoo (which is always temporary) is the sticker type; you get a sticker (called a decal) with a pre-made design, put it on your hand, slightly wet it, and then pull it. The design from the sticker stays on your hand. It?s a non-painful alternate to tattoos. Another alternate is the ballpoint pen tattoos which are washable. Some permanent tattoos can be removed by laser techniques, but this is far more painful than applying them in the first place, plus costly too.
Airbrush:
Airbrush is a temporary type of body art.Ink or paint is sprayed on to the skin by an artist. It can be done by using a stencil too to create more creative designs. The result usually looks like a real tattoo. If you use the best quality inks, the tattoo can last up to at two weeks or even more. It?s an alternate choice for those who want to get beautiful designs on their bodies through tattoos minus the pain of tattooing.
These are few of the most common forms of body art. There are more arts, but those are not so popular, while some are exceptionally painful. They include tooth art, scalpelling, implants, branding, scarification, subdermal implants, shaping, etc. If you are into body art or just deciding to try out some sort of body art, then try something from this list. Select based on your mood, devotions and confidence. That?s it for body art. Hope it inspired some of you to try out something new with your own canvas.
I?d like to share some of the problems that prevented me making any money whatsoever for around 7-8 months after I began online almost exactly 3 years ago. I?ll also explain how I overcame them by giving some recommendations for each.
Cheers, Rob.
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