Pope leads Catholics into Easter at vigil service in St. Peter's

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, leading the world's 1.2 billion Catholics into Easter for the first time, on Saturday urged those who have strayed from the faith to allow God back into their lives.

Francis, who was elected on March 13, presided at a solemn Easter vigil Mass in St. Peter' Basilica to usher the Catholic Church into the most important day of its liturgical calendar.

The immense basilica, the largest church in Christendom, was in the dark for the start of the service to signify the darkness in Jesus' tomb before what Christians believe was his resurrection from the dead three days after his crucifixion.

Some 10,000 faithful lit candles as Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, walked up the main aisle, and then the basilica's lights were turned on.

The 76-year-old Francis, wearing relatively plain white vestments - as opposed to the more elaborate robes preferred by his predecessor Benedict - delivered a simple homily recounting the Bible story of the women who went to Jesus' tomb but were surprised to find it empty.

He urged his listeners not to be "afraid of God's surprises," never to lose confidence during the trials and tribulations of daily life, and, if they have strayed, to let God back into their lives.

"Let the risen Jesus enter your life, welcome him as a friend, with trust: he is life! If up till now you have kept him at a distance, step forward. He will receive you with open arms," he said, speaking in Italian.

"If you have been indifferent, take a risk: you won't be disappointed. If following him seems difficult, don't be afraid, trust him, be confident that he is close to you, he is with you and he will give you the peace you are looking for and the strength to live as he would have you do," he said.

Another difference between Francis and his predecessor is that Francis reads his homilies standing behind a lectern like an ordinary priest instead of while seated on a throne.

He is still living in the same Vatican guesthouse where he stayed during the conclave that elected him the first non-European pope in 1,300 years instead of moving into the spacious and regal papal apartments in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.

Francis has also been inviting ordinary people to his morning Mass at the guesthouse, including Vatican street sweepers and gardeners and staff of the guest house.

During Saturday night's service he presided at another Easter vigil tradition by baptizing four new adult members of the Church. They were from Italy, Albania, Russia and the United States.

Holy Saturday was the third of four hectic days leading up to Easter Sunday, the most important day in the Christian liturgical calendar.

On Easter Sunday he will celebrate another Mass and then deliver his first "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to tens of thousands of people in the square below.

The balcony is the same spot where he first appeared to the world as pope on the night of March 13 after his election.

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Jason Webb)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-leads-catholics-easter-vigil-st-peters-214300576.html

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End of the line for Roadrunner supercomputer

Susan Montoya Bryan , The Associated Press ? ? ? 15 hrs.

It's the end of the line for Roadrunner, a first-of-its-kind collection of processors that once reigned as the world's fastest supercomputer.

The $121 million supercomputer, housed at one of the nation's premiere nuclear weapons research laboratories in northern New Mexico, will be decommissioned Sunday.

The reason? The world of supercomputing is evolving and Roadrunner has been replaced with something smaller, faster, more energy efficient and cheaper. Still, officials at Los Alamos National Laboratory say it's among the 25 fastest supercomputers in the world.

"Roadrunner got everyone thinking in new ways about how to build and use a supercomputer," said Gary Grider, who works in the lab's high performance computing division. "Specialized processors are being included in new ways on new systems and being used in novel ways. Our demonstration with Roadrunner caused everyone to pay attention."

In 2008, Roadrunner was first to break the elusive petaflop barrier by processing just over a quadrillion mathematical calculations per second.

Los Alamos teamed up with IBM to build Roadrunner from commercially available parts. They ended up with 278 refrigerator-size racks filled with two different types of processors, all linked together by 55 miles of fiber optic cable. It took nearly two dozen tractor trailer trucks to deliver the supercomputer from New York to northern New Mexico.

The supercomputer has been used over the last five years to model viruses and unseen parts of the universe, to better understand lasers and for nuclear weapons work. That includes simulations aimed at ensuring the safety and reliability of the nation's aging arsenal.

As part of the U.S. nuclear stockpile stewardship program, researchers used Roadrunner's high-speed calculation capabilities to unravel some of the mysteries of energy flow in weapons.

Los Alamos has been helping pioneer novel computer systems for decades. In 1976, the lab helped with the development of the Cray-1. In 1993, the lab held the fastest supercomputer title with the Thinking Machine CM-5.

"And to think of where we're going to be in the next 10 to 15 years, it's just mindboggling," said lab spokesman Kevin Roark.

Right now, Los Alamos ? along with scientists at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California ? is using a supercomputer dubbed Cielo. Installed in 2010, it's slightly faster than Roadrunner, takes up less space and came in at just under $54 million.

Roark said in the next 10 to 20 years, it's expected that the world's supercomputers will be capable of breaking the exascale barrier, or one quintillion calculations per second.

There will be no ceremony when Roadrunner is switched off Sunday, but lab officials said researchers will spend the next month experimenting with its operating system and techniques for compressing memory before dismantling begins. They say the work could help guide the design of future supercomputers.

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2a2b3210/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Ctechnolog0Cend0Eline0Eroadrunner0Esupercomputer0E1C9144294/story01.htm

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Look out squirrels: Leopards are new backyard wildlife

Friday, March 29, 2013

A new study led by WCS-India scientist Vidya Athreaya finds that certain landscapes of western India completely devoid of wilderness and with high human populations are crawling with a different kind of backyard wildlife: leopards.

The study found as many as five adult large carnivores, including leopards and striped hyenas, per 100 square kilometers (38 square miles), a density never before reported in a human-dominated landscape.

The study, called "Big Cats in Our Backyards," appeared in the March 6 edition of the journal PLoS One. Authors include: Vidya Athreya and Ullas Karanth of the Wildlife Conservation Society and Centre for Wildlife Studies in Bangalore; Morten Odden of Hedmark University College; John D. C. Linnell of the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research; and Jagdish Krishnaswamy of Asoka Trust for Research of Ecology in the Environment.

Using camera traps, the authors founds that leopards often ranged close to houses at night though remained largely undetected by the public. Despite this close proximity between leopards and people, there are few instances of attacks in this region. The authors also photographed rusty spotted cat, small Indian civet, Indian fox, jungle cat, jackal, mongoose ? and a variety of people from the local communities. The research took place in western Maharashtra, India.

"Human attacks by leopards were rare despite a potentially volatile situation considering that the leopard has been involved in serious conflict, including human deaths in adjoining areas," said big cat expert Ullas Karanth of WCS. "The results of our work push the frontiers of our understanding of the adaptability of both humans and wildlife to each other's presence."

The authors say that the findings show that conservationists must look outside of protected areas for a more holistic approach to safeguarding wildlife in a variety of landscapes.

###

Wildlife Conservation Society: http://www.wcs.org

Thanks to Wildlife Conservation Society 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/127521/Look_out_squirrels__Leopards_are_new_backyard_wildlife

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Dax Shepard & Kristen Bell Welcome Daughter Lincoln

Dax Shepart and Kristen Bell welcomed daughter Lincoln Bell Shepard on Thursday. The first time parents both took to Twitter shortly after their new family member made her debut. It was new dad Dax who was first to share the newes of the baby girl’s arrival. “Lincoln Bell Shepard?is here.?She has mom’s beauty and dad’s obsession with breasts. Hooray!!!” Not soon after it was mommy’s turn to talk about her new bundle of joy. “My new roomate poops her pants and doesn’t pay rent…basically @daxshepard1 pre-sobriety welcome baby Lincoln xo.” Proud and happy parents to say the least. The birth of Lincoln comes hot on the heels of the emotional story Dax wrote regarding his journey with his father, who passed away before the baby was born. The story included an amazing picture of Shepard’s father touching a very pregnant Bell’s belly. It was an emotional, personal and inspiring story that went viral as soon as it was released. The first time parents announced that they were expanding their family last November. The Parenthood actor and House of Lies actress have been dating for years and became engaged in 2009. However they have said numerous times that they will not [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/KwiO9UGl_R8/

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HIV sufferers need hepatitis safeguards

Public release date: 27-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Andy McGlashen
andy.mcglashen@cabs.msu.edu
517-355-5158
Michigan State University

Study finds blood transfusions, race factors in co-infection

Stronger protections are needed to prevent people with HIV from also becoming infected with hepatitis, researchers argue in a new study led by Michigan State University.

Behaviors that put people at higher risk of contracting HIV sharing needles, having unprotected sex or getting blood transfusions, for instance also raise their risk of getting hepatitis B or C, diseases that attack the liver and, if untreated, can be deadly.

The study, which included all registered cases of HIV in Michigan, found about four percent of HIV-positive people also had hepatitis. That's less than some previous studies have found elsewhere, but it still represents a significant public health concern, said Zahid Butt, who led the research as a doctoral student in MSU's Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

"Ultimately, because of the fact that they're suffering from two diseases, they're more likely to die than if they only have one," said Butt, who now runs the epidemiology division of a public health institute in Islamabad, Pakistan.

For example, having HIV more than triples the risk of liver disease, liver failure and liver-related death among individuals who also have hepatitis C, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The researchers found the highest rate of co-infection among males, particularly those who marked their race as "other," which included anything other than white, black or Hispanic. Butt said that was surprising, since previous studies have found African American men were at highest risk for co-infection.

"It could be that we're getting a cohort of people who were not vaccinated in childhood because they're coming from countries that don't require vaccination," he said. "It also may be that some marginalized groups might not get vaccinated because they don't trust the health care system."

Butt said all states should require children to be vaccinated against hepatitis B when they go to school, as most states already do (there is no hepatitis C vaccine). He also said HIV-positive people should protect themselves from hepatitis B by getting vaccinated.

Published in the journal Epidemiology and Infection, the study also found that people who had received transfusions or other blood products were at the highest risk for co-infection. Butt said that raises concerns about whether current safeguards are sufficient to protect people who need transfusions.

"There's a real need for proper screening of blood products," he said. "Even with the screening process we have in place, there was a high risk of infection through blood products. We still have a four percent co-infection prevalence, which shouldn't be the case."

###

Michigan State University has been working to advance the common good in uncommon ways for more than 150 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU focuses its vast resources on creating solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 27-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Andy McGlashen
andy.mcglashen@cabs.msu.edu
517-355-5158
Michigan State University

Study finds blood transfusions, race factors in co-infection

Stronger protections are needed to prevent people with HIV from also becoming infected with hepatitis, researchers argue in a new study led by Michigan State University.

Behaviors that put people at higher risk of contracting HIV sharing needles, having unprotected sex or getting blood transfusions, for instance also raise their risk of getting hepatitis B or C, diseases that attack the liver and, if untreated, can be deadly.

The study, which included all registered cases of HIV in Michigan, found about four percent of HIV-positive people also had hepatitis. That's less than some previous studies have found elsewhere, but it still represents a significant public health concern, said Zahid Butt, who led the research as a doctoral student in MSU's Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

"Ultimately, because of the fact that they're suffering from two diseases, they're more likely to die than if they only have one," said Butt, who now runs the epidemiology division of a public health institute in Islamabad, Pakistan.

For example, having HIV more than triples the risk of liver disease, liver failure and liver-related death among individuals who also have hepatitis C, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The researchers found the highest rate of co-infection among males, particularly those who marked their race as "other," which included anything other than white, black or Hispanic. Butt said that was surprising, since previous studies have found African American men were at highest risk for co-infection.

"It could be that we're getting a cohort of people who were not vaccinated in childhood because they're coming from countries that don't require vaccination," he said. "It also may be that some marginalized groups might not get vaccinated because they don't trust the health care system."

Butt said all states should require children to be vaccinated against hepatitis B when they go to school, as most states already do (there is no hepatitis C vaccine). He also said HIV-positive people should protect themselves from hepatitis B by getting vaccinated.

Published in the journal Epidemiology and Infection, the study also found that people who had received transfusions or other blood products were at the highest risk for co-infection. Butt said that raises concerns about whether current safeguards are sufficient to protect people who need transfusions.

"There's a real need for proper screening of blood products," he said. "Even with the screening process we have in place, there was a high risk of infection through blood products. We still have a four percent co-infection prevalence, which shouldn't be the case."

###

Michigan State University has been working to advance the common good in uncommon ways for more than 150 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU focuses its vast resources on creating solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/msu-hsn032713.php

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The Engadget Podcast is live at 3:30PM ET!

Hey you! We're back! Join Tim, Brian, Peter a bunch of mics and maybe a stuffed animal or two for this latest episode of the Engadget Podcast. Chat and video after the break!

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/28/engadget-podcast/

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Bloomberg, mayor group to push gun control

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a staunch advocate of tougher gun control laws, will bankroll a $12 million national advertising campaign aimed at key members in the U.S. Senate, the mayor said in an interview with The New York Times published on Saturday.

The commercials to be run by Mayors Against Illegal Guns feature a hunter with a rifle, vowing to protect the right to bear arms and voicing support for comprehensive background checks "so criminals and the dangerously mentally ill can't buy guns."

The advertising campaign will run in 13 states to target specific members of the U.S. Senate during the upcoming Congressional recess, according to the organization, of which Bloomberg is a co-chairman.

Bloomberg, who leaves office in January after three terms as Mayor of New York, has championed gun control and been particularly outspoken since a gunman killed 20 students and six adults at a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school in December.

Last week, he appeared at City Hall with parents of some of the Newtown victims and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who is spearheading the Obama administration's efforts to curb gun violence.

The Times said Bloomberg, a self-made billionaire, would bankroll the ad campaign. A spokesman for the mayor could not be immediately reached to comment.

The ad campaign marks a push back against the National Rifle Association, the mayor said in the Times interview. "The N.R.A. has just had this field to itself," Bloomberg said. "It's the only one that's been speaking out. It's time for another voice."

The Senate is set to begin considering gun legislation when Congress returns from its Easter recess in the second week of April.

"These ads bring the voices of Americans - who overwhelmingly support comprehensive and enforceable background checks - into the discussion to move Senators to immediately take action to prevent gun violence," said Bloomberg in a statement released by Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

Targeted in the campaign are Arizona and Republican Senator Jeff Flake; Arkansas and Democrat Senator Mark Pryor; Georgia and Republican Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson; Indiana and Democratic Senator Joe Donnelly and Republican Senator Dan Coats; Iowa and Republican Senator Chuck Grassley; Louisiana and Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu; Maine and Republican Senator Susan Collins; New Hampshire and Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte; Nevada and Republican Senator Dean Heller; North Carolina and Democratic Senator Kay Hagan; North Dakota and Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp; Ohio and Republican Senator Rob Portman; and Pennsylvania and Republican Senator Pat Toomey, the group said.

(Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst; Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Todd Eastham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/york-mayor-bloomberg-fund-gun-control-ads-report-035620113.html

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Coulter-Paul Follow-Ups: Ann Coulter Gets It On Legal Immigration ...

Just a couple of footnotes to my column on Ann Coulter and Rand Paul:

1. Ann Coulter has spoken about legal immigration. ?As Peter Brimelow noted, her CPAC speech last Saturday included a good sharp kick in the pants to Ted Kennedy's horrible 1965 Immigration Act.

2. Another reader sent me this: ?Ann speaking on The Kudlow Report in August of 2011:

No more immigration, legal or otherwise, of low-wage workers. ?We'll have high-school kids working . . . We'll have people who have never worked before.

3. Ann Corcoran from Refugee Resettlement Watch reminds me of how bold Rand Paul was in exposing the case of those Iraqi refugee terrorists in Kentucky two years ago.

Paul was my hero, here and here ?when he demanded hearings and held up some funding for refugee resettlement in the wake of the terrorist arrests in Bowling Green, Kentucky here in June 2011.

That of course was before Paul got swallowed up by the immigration-boosting sinkhole. ?Ann speculates that the Kentucky meatpacking employers got to him; so perhaps it is all down to campaign-cash corruption. ?What a fallen world!

Source: http://www.vdare.com/posts/coulter-paul-follow-ups

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'Something has been broken in Syria'

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) ? Anxious to keep Syria's civil war from spiraling into even worse problems, President Barack Obama said Friday he worries about the country becoming a haven for extremists when ? not if ? President Bashar Assad is ousted from power.

Obama, standing side by side with Jordan's King Abdullah II, said the international community must work together to ensure there is a credible opposition ready to step into the breach.

"Something has been broken in Syria, and it's not going to be put back together perfectly immediately ? even after Assad leaves," Obama said. "But we can begin the process of moving it in a better direction, and having a cohesive opposition is critical to that."

He said Assad is sure to go but there is great uncertainty about what will happen after that.

"I am very concerned about Syria becoming an enclave for extremism," Obama said, adding that extremism thrives in chaos and failed states. He said the rest of the world has a huge stake in ensuring that a functioning Syria emerges.

"The outcome is Syria is not going to be ideal," he acknowledged, adding that strengthening a credible opposition was crucial to minimizing the difficulties.

Eager to resolve another source of tension in the region, the president earlier Friday helped broker a phone call between the Israeli and Turkish prime ministers that led to the restoration of normal diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Obama had come to Jordan from Israel, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu placed a call to Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan to apologize for the deaths of nine Turkish activists in a 2010 Israeli naval raid on a Gaza-bound international flotilla.

"The timing was good for that conversation to take place," Obama said.

Obama, at a joint news conference with Abdullah, said his administration is working with Congress to provide Jordan with an additional $200 million in aid this year to cope with the massive influx of refugees streaming into the country from Syria.

Abdullah said the refugee population in his country has topped 460,000 and is likely to double by the end of the year ? the equivalent of 30 million refugees in the United States, he said.

Obama also said he would "keep on plugging away" in hopes of getting the Israelis and Palestinians to reach a peace agreement.

"The window of opportunity still exists, but it's getting more and more difficult," the president said. "The mistrust is building instead of ebbing."

On Iran, Obama reiterated that the U.S. is open to "every option that's available" to keep the country from developing a nuclear weapon.

He said it would be "extraordinarily dangerous" for the world if Iran does become nuclear capable, and he expressed his desire for using diplomatic means to halt Iran's nuclear aspirations. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

"My hope and expectation is that among a menu of options, the option that involves negotiations, discussions, compromise and resolution of the problem is the one that's exercised," Obama said. "But as president of the United States I would never take any option off the table."

Obama arrived in Jordan on Friday evening, the final stop on a four-day visit to the Middle East that included his first stop in Israel as president.

He began his visit to Amman with an apology.

"I apologize for the delay," Obama told Abdullah after arriving about an hour behind schedule. "We ended up having a dust storm."

The two leaders headed to dinner after their news conference. On Saturday, Obama planned several hours of sightseeing, including a tour of the fabled ancient city of Petra, before the return trip to Washington.

Before leaving Israel, Obama paid his respects to the nation's heroes and to victims of the Holocaust. He also solemnly reaffirmed the Jewish state's right to exist.

Accompanied by Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres, Obama laid wreaths at the graves of Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism who died in 1904 before realizing his dream of a Jewish homeland, and former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated in 1995.

He also toured the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, declaring afterward that it illustrates the depravity to which man can sink but also serves as a reminder of the "righteous among the nations who refused to be bystanders."

Friday's stop at Herzl's grave, together with Thursday's visit to see the Dead Sea Scrolls, the ancient Hebrew texts, were symbolic stops for Obama that acknowledged a rationale for Israel's existence that rests with its historical ties to the region and with a vision that predated the Holocaust. Obama has been criticized in Israel for his 2009 Cairo speech in which he gave only the example of the Holocaust as a reason for justifying Israel's existence.

"Here on your ancient land, let it be said for all the world to hear," Obama said. "The state of Israel does not exist because of the Holocaust, but with the survival of a strong Jewish state of Israel, such a holocaust will never happen again."

Obama and Netanyahu met for two hours over lunch. An Israeli official said that they discussed Israel's security challenges and that, in addressing the peace process with Palestinians, Netanyahu stressed the importance of security. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity under diplomatic protocol.

Obama also squeezed in a stop in Bethlehem in the West Bank to visit the Church of the Nativity.

He had been scheduled to take a helicopter to Bethlehem but had to change plans due to unusually high winds. The route gave Obama a clear look at Israel's separation barrier with the West Bank, which runs south of Jerusalem and is the subject of weekly protests by Palestinians.

About 300 Palestinians and international pilgrims gathered near the Nativity Church, awaiting Obama's arrival. But a knot of protesters along the route held up signs stating: "Gringo, return to your colony" and "US supports Israeli injustice."

At a nearby mosque, Mohammed Ayesh, a Muslim religious official in Bethlehem, issued a plea to Obama in a speech to worshippers: "America, where are your values? Where are the human rights? Isn't it time that you interfere to make it stop?"

Amid high security, Obama toured the church with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. They stopped at the Grotto of the Nativity, which is said to stand where Jesus Christ was born. About 20 children waving U.S. and Palestinian flags greeted Obama in a courtyard outside the sanctuary. He posed for photographs with Abbas and Bethlehem's mayor, Vera Baboun.

At Yad Vashem, Obama donned a skull cap and was accompanied by Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, a survivor of the Buchenwald Concentration camp who lost both parents in the Holocaust. Among his stops was Yad Vashem's Hall of Names, a circular chamber that contains original testimony documenting every Holocaust victim ever identified.

"Nothing could be more powerful," Obama said.

___

Associated Press writers Dalia Nammari in Bethlehem, West Bank, and Daniel Estrin in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-warns-extremist-threat-syria-180949203--politics.html

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Senators close in on immigration deal

FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2013, file photo, before the New York skyline, a group of immigrant rights advocates gather near Ellis Island in Liberty State Park, Jersey City, N.J. A dispute between business and labor groups over wages for low-skilled workers is a final issue holding up a deal on a sweeping immigration bill in the Senate on Friday, March 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, file)

FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2013, file photo, before the New York skyline, a group of immigrant rights advocates gather near Ellis Island in Liberty State Park, Jersey City, N.J. A dispute between business and labor groups over wages for low-skilled workers is a final issue holding up a deal on a sweeping immigration bill in the Senate on Friday, March 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, file)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A last-minute dispute over wages for lower-skilled workers flared Friday as senators scrambled to sketch out a deal on a sweeping immigration bill before Congress takes a two-week recess.

The public clash between the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO underscored the high stakes involved in legislation that would dramatically reshape the U.S. immigration and employment landscape, putting 11 million illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship while allowing tens of thousands of new high- and low-skilled workers into the country.

The chamber and AFL-CIO, negotiating through the so-called Gang of Eight senators, had reached significant agreement on a new visa program to bring up to 200,000 lower-skilled workers a year to the country. The number of visas would fluctuate according to demand, and the workers would be able to change jobs and could seek permanent residency.

But the AFL-CIO was pushing for higher wages for the workers than the chamber had agreed to so far.

The dispute remained unsettled into the night, with chamber officials finally saying talks seemed to have stalled. Senators hoped to keep the disagreement from derailing negotiations on the overall bill.

The eight senators in the negotiating group, including Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and John McCain, R-Ariz., were aiming to finalize as many details as possible before leaving town so that the recess could be devoted to drafting the legislation, which would then be made public when the lawmakers return in April.

"We're close," Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., another member of the group, said after one round of meetings Friday. "The biggest issue has always been the future flow" of workers. Flake said there were only "a few minor items" left to deal with apart from the Chamber of Commerce-AFL-CIO matter.

If that can't be resolved in a way the two sides can agree to, the expectation is that the senators would come to their own agreement on the issue and include it in the bill, and hope the chamber and AFL can live with it or modify it as the bill moves through committee and Senate floor action.

The AFL-CIO argued that the Chamber of Commerce was trying to pay below median wage for any given group of workers, but the chamber said it would pay about the same as American workers get.

In the case of housekeepers, for example, the chamber proposal would mean $8.44 per hour, which falls below the federal poverty level for a family of four, while the AFL-CIO position was $11.39 per hour, according to one official familiar with the labor perspective who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the delicate negotiations. The new visas would cover dozens of professions such as long-term care workers and hotel and hospitality employees. Currently there's no good way for employers to bring many such workers to the U.S.; an existing visa program for low-wage nonagricultural workers is capped at 66,000 per year and is supposed to apply only to seasonal or temporary jobs.

As the day wore on, senators met hour after hour in a private chamber just off the Senate floor, and the chamber and AFL-CIO traded jabs, each accusing the other side of imperiling negotiations.

A proposal from the Gang of Eight that would divide the workers into three wage categories ? two of them beneath median wage ? was rejected by the AFL as insufficient, said Ana Avendano, assistant to the AFL-CIO president for immigration and community action. Avendano said the AFL proposed language stipulating that the new visas only should be used when employing foreign workers would not hurt wages and working conditions of U.S. workers, but that Republicans rejected that.

"It's shocking to us that the Republicans are willing to hold up the bill and they're saying that this bill is not moving forward without poverty level wages," Avendano said. "So we're hopeful that they will see the light and recognize how important this issue is and agree to move forward."

Randy Johnson, the chamber's senior vice president for labor, immigration and employee benefits, said the chamber simply wanted to stick with current law requiring that temporary workers be paid whichever is greater: what comparable American workers make or the prevailing wage as determined by the Labor Department.

"The unions have jeopardized the entire immigration reform effort, which would provide a pathway to legalization and citizenship for the 10-11 million undocumented workers, because of their refusal to take a responsible stance on a small temporary worker program," Johnson said in a statement.

McCain said the last-minute scuffle was understandable.

"People have a lot at stake here, this is a huge deal. We're talking about the lives of 11 million people just to start with, so I understand why passions are high and sentiments are high," McCain told reporters Friday.

"We just make steady progress," he said. "We take two steps forward, and then we take a step back."

A separate visa program for agricultural workers also remained unsettled but was not exciting as much concern.

McCain and Flake plan to visit the Arizona border next Wednesday with Schumer and Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., another Gang of Eight member, to inspect conditions there as they finalize their bill. The legislation would impose new border security requirements before any path to citizenship could begin, which is critical to Republicans in the group.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-22-Immigration/id-7927ba20dbe642b7a320024f5e79555d

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Feds raid 17 Calif. auto stores for nitrous oxide

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Hundreds of law enforcement officers on Friday raided Southern California auto parts shops and other businesses suspected of illegally selling nitrous oxide for use as a recreational drug, in one of the nation's largest such raids to date.

Four federal arrest warrants were also served during the 17 simultaneous raids in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties, and at least two people were arrested on misdemeanor charges of misbranding a drug in violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Authorities said they expected more arrests to come.

The operation was the result of a year-and-a-half-long joint investigation dubbed "No Laughing Matter" by the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The FDA has recently focused on the illegal use of nitrous oxide, and this was its largest case to date, said special agent Lisa Hartsell. Though nitrous oxide has long been a rave phenomenon, it has recently grown into more mainstream use, propelled by the ease of social media to reach young people and spread the word.

"This is a very cheap drug, can be had very easily, it is not a controlled substance, so your big members of the law enforcement community don't have the ability to control it," Hartsell said.

The gas is legally used by dentists for anesthesia, to pressurize whipped cream canisters and to speed up race cars. But authorities say its illegal use has spurred fatal car accidents, rapes and teen deaths ? all in the name of a temporary high.

Los Angeles County sheriff's officials have zeroed in on the recreational use of the drug since September, cracking down on more than 350 illegal parties, nearly all of which were selling nitrous oxide, or "noz," spokesman Mike Parker said Thursday.

The operations are part of a new social media team set up by the Sheriff's Department over the last six months to monitor and identify such illegal activities around the clock. The team has found many public posts that advertise alcohol and illegal drugs such as nitrous oxide and that target teens.

"They're doing the social media equivalent of standing outside the front doors of a high school at 3 o'clock as school lets out with a megaphone announcing that there'll be drugs, noz and alcohol for children, and then handing out fliers to all the kids that are interested," Parker said.

These parties can be lucrative for those provisioning them. Sheriff's deputies have been tracking one distributor who is making more than $60,000 a month in the bulk sale of nitrous oxide, said Sgt. Glenn Walsh, who works in the Sheriff's Department's narcotics bureau.

Hartsell said the drugs have also spurred armed robberies as gangs steal tanks from each other in an effort to make easy money with light legal ramifications.

Sheriff's officials believe they have prevented a least 30 violent and sexual assaults in the last six months because of their efforts to shut down illegal nitrous oxide-related parties before they happen.

One party was forced to change locations three times in one night, before finally moving outside of the sheriff's jurisdiction, Parker said. But the department also notifies neighboring departments of the illegal parties when it spots them, Parker said.

Some of the hotspots are unincorporated Los Angeles County and the San Gabriel Valley, where parties are held primarily in homes and warehouses, Parker said.

Part of the problem for law enforcement officers going after the illegal use of nitrous oxide is that its distribution or use as a recreational drug is only a misdemeanor, officials said.

Sheriff's Lt. Rod Armalin said the department is working on legislation to increase the penalties.

Armalin supervises the team that responds to many of these illegal parties and tries to prevent them from happening.

"Over the past year we've seen an increase in incidents," Armalin said. "It seems like it's really taken off with young people. ... They're openly advertising, 'Hey we're going to sell nitrous oxide, and there are going to be children there,' and that's a concern."

Nitrous oxide isn't the only dangerous substance teens are turning to for a quick and cheap high. On Monday, a 14-year-old Los Angeles honors student died after inhaling computer keyboard dust cleaner, apparently to get high. Aria Doherty's sister found her in bed with a can of compressed air cleaning product attached to her mouth.

Earlier this month a 12-year-old San Bernardino County girl, Kristal Salcido, died after inhaling Freon from an air conditioner.

___

Tami Abdollah can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/latams .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/feds-raid-17-calif-auto-stores-nitrous-oxide-225510584.html

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Source: http://robertwatson.holdonhosting.net/perfect-for-realtors-politics-marketing-in-addition-to-small-business-promotio/

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Teachable Moments: West Jacksonville Elementary reading coach hones in skills - and fun

Teachable Moments: West Jacksonville Elementary reading coach hones in skills - and fun

At West Jacksonville Elementary School, community is key. Most of the students live within a few blocks of the school and walk with their parents to class every morning.

Push open the doors and the blue halls are awash with the sound of students saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

In no person is this more evident than reading coach Robyn White.

White describes education as a team effort between two families, one at school and one at home, and says that teachers and faculty are representatives of the area they serve.

?We are all in this together,? White said.

For White, time spent outside the classroom is essential to build a bond between teacher and community. She hosts writing sleepovers on campus where students come to a lock-in to hone literacy skills in a fun environment.

?Interaction with my kids every day inspires me,? White said. ?That moment when one kid finally says, ?I get it!? I want them to be successful as a person. ? It?s so important to just speak that voice of encouragement to them.?

Morning finds her cross-legged on a colorful rug surrounded by students. She reads to them aloud in an animated voice, blue eyes shining. She stops periodically to ask the kids, ?What do you think about that??

Students and teachers alike see her as an ally and a mentor.

?She is very approachable and easy to talk to,? said Tanya Benti, a fourth-grade reading and writing teacher. ?It?s only my second year teaching so if I question myself or doubt what I?m doing, I can always go to her for reassurance. She redirects me in a way that is kind, not condescending.?

That ability to listen also helps her build trust with students.

?The most important thing is for the students to know that I?m on their side, that I care about them being successful,? White said. ?Sometimes a child will tell their teacher, ?I just need to talk to Ms. White,? and it?s because they know that they?ll be heard.?

Principal Robert Gresham said White was destined to be at West Jacksonville Elementary. He describes her as someone whom others gravitate toward, with a unique ability to work with teachers and students. He recruited her two years ago when he first came on board as principal and said White gave up a comfortable position at Chimney Lakes Elementary to take on new challenges.

?She had other opportunities but chose to be at West Jacksonville to do the work,? Gresham said. ?When teachers come in and really do the work I call it ?washing your hands.? ?

The relationship between faculty and students at West Jacksonville Elementary feels more like a family bond. High priority is placed on the school?s role in the surrounding neighborhood, which has few resources.

?We are a unique school, a community school,? said Wildalynn Harris, a fifth-grade reading and writing teacher. ?Our students sometimes need extra support. [White] goes that extra mile.?

Teachable Moments, a project of the Jacksonville Public Education Fund, highlights the region?s most innovative and effective teachers. Stories that appear each Sunday in the Times-Union are written by journalism students at the University of North Florida. For more, visit Jacksonville.com/teachablemoments and www.jaxpef.org.

Source: http://jacksonville.com/news/schools/2013-03-17/story/teachable-moments-west-jacksonville-elementary-reading-coach-hones

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Report: EU to propose controls on bosses' pay

BERLIN (AP) ? A top European Union official says he plans to propose that company shareholders across the continent be given the power to set managers' pay ? an approach similar to an initiative recently approved by voters in non-EU Switzerland.

EU internal market commissioner Michel Barnier was quoted Sunday as telling Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper he plans to make his proposal by the end of this year.

He says it would mean that at all publicly listed companies in the 27-nation EU shareholders would decide on the level of salaries and so-called "golden handshakes" granted to arriving or departing managers.

Barnier says he also will seek greater transparency on top salaries, perhaps by way of an annual report that would allow investors and the public to compare pay at different firms.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-10-EU-Europe-Managers'-Pay/id-6a4ae28809cb42e4bc0f3dadd83401da

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Love Letters: Paul Monahan Loves Boston

Paul Monahan has seen his fair share of action. His well-earned reputation as a tough-living night owl, Paul is uniquely placed to carry on the legacy of Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins as well as the 92 proof Rum that bears his name. Originally hailing from Boston, Paul now works as Sailor Jerry's Brand Ambassador. Paul has developed and expanded his craft within the world of mixology. This drive to be imaginative with spirits and develop engaging events has brought him to New York, where he continues to embody the spirit he finds in dive bars, cocktails bars, tattoo parlors and motorcycle shops.

---

Dear Boston,

You are fifty square miles of bittersweet emotion.

When the sun is out, your streets bustle with commuters rushing for trains and meetings - not to mention the duck boats and freedom trail walkers. Horns from cavalier drivers play honky tonk. Your eyes see beautiful old buildings surrounded by green grass and turning foliage.

After sunset, everyone rushes toward the quickest watered down draft and local sports bar. Lines into clubs and bars are filled with patrons practicing all manners and styles of cultural regression. Sirens from cavalier police officers and city officials plague your ears. The night's streets are welcoming, but also unforgiving.

After working for a decade in your bustling bars, I miss that singular darkness.

I miss the die-hard sports fans that have never played a competitive sport in their lives. I miss the intoxicated faces selling their souls to get into mediocre drinking establishments. I miss the pretentious city officials attempting to crack down on underage drinking and fire codes. I miss the single-serving friends claiming false promises to get through your doors. I miss the cold weather bringing in five hundred jackets but no where to put them. I miss the quiet nights at the bar when the thriving local sports teams are in the playoffs. I miss after-hours card games full of bartenders and club managers. I miss sleeping all day during the winter months and seeing only two hours of daylight before work. I miss telling myself I didn't care what time I got home that night, I was going to get up before noon.

I miss taking the red line home in the morning after work and watching commuters start their days. I miss watching the city repeat itself every night, where commuters and city dwellers drink like there is no tomorrow. I miss their attempt at an escape from their next Monday.

Today, I spend over 75 percent of my time on the road, in planes, in hotels and, naturally, in bars. Regardless of the time zone or latitude location, I still see the same faces, efforts, and intentions as I did the past ten years.

Still, I am forever grateful to have been shaped by the toughness of Boston.

Sincerely,
Paul Monahan

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/love-letters/paul-monahan-loves-boston_b_2817600.html

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