Russian assembly set for tough response to U.S. rights bill

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's foreign minister urged parliament on Sunday to agree a tough response to a U.S. law punishing Russian human rights violators, increasing the risk of a chill in relations with Washington.

Moscow announced restrictions on meat imports from the United States on Friday although it denied suggestions it had done so in response to the U.S. Senate's passage a day earlier of the so-called Magnitsky Act.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the parliament should now respond and Alexei Pushkov, a senior parliamentary deputy from President Vladimir Putin's party, said the State Duma lower house would discuss retaliatory measures this week.

"As this is an attempt to interfere in our internal affairs, I would be very interested in a reaction by the state Duma that would be collective, on a multi-party basis and representing all party groups," Lavrov said in televised remarks.

Puskhov, who heads the chamber's foreign affairs committee, said a majority of lawmakers wanted a tough response, calling for visa restrictions on U.S. citizens who have violated human rights. He did not say who this might include or what rights violations they were accused of making.

"The Americans have reminded us about the way Russia is viewed on Capitol Hill," Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to Putin, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.

"Stereotypes about our country persist and no one can get rid of them. So the Americans have made an extremely unfriendly move against us."

President Barack Obama, who launched a "reset" in relations with Russia less than four years ago, is likely to sign the Magnitsky legislation, which will test his and Putin's resolve to improve relations since both won elections this year.

The new U.S. legislation would bar visas for Russian officials linked to the 2009 death in custody of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who accused federal investigators of stealing $230 million from the state.

Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday that Russia would bar entry for Americans "guilty of crude human rights abuses."

Moscow has also warned it would respond with "asymmetrical" measures. Areas in which the United States wants Russian cooperation most include nuclear arms control and Iran.

DAMAGE MAY BE LIMITED

But there are also signs that Putin, back in the presidency since May, wants to limit the damage to relations with Russia's former Cold War enemy.

Political analysts say the Magnitsky Act will probably not derail Russian assistance on Afghanistan, affect diplomacy aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear program, or deepen disputes over U.S. missile defense and the conflict in Syria.

Moscow is trying to ensure its interests are protected in Syria. Despite frequent denials that it is shifting position, Moscow appears to be preparing for when President Bashar al-Assad leaves power.

The Senate approved the "Magnitsky Act" as part of a broader bill to lift a Cold War-era restriction and grant Russia "permanent normal trade relations, " or PNTR.

Despite Russian denials, analysts saw a link between the Magnitsky Act and Moscow's announcement of restrictions on meat imports from several countries, including the United States.

In a joint statement on Saturday, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Russia's new requirement for imported beef and pork to be certified free of ractopamine, a feed additive used in the U.S. meat industry but banned in some other countries, appeared to be a violation of Moscow's obligations to the World Trade Organisation.

The move could potentially make producers from the United States, which exports more than $500 million a year worth of beef and pork to Russia, less competitive, giving an advantage to China and the European Union, where ractopamine is banned.

Russia's plant and health regulator, Rosselkhoznadzor, said it had warned over a year ago about the "inadmissibility" of meat with ractopamine to Russia.

(Editing by Timothy Heritage and Jason Webb)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russian-assembly-set-tough-response-u-rights-bill-145147696.html

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Researchers devise contact lens with built-in LCD (video)

Researchers devise contact lens with built-in LCD (video)

Another day, another step towards technologically tricked out contact lenses. The latest development comes from researchers at the Centre of Microsystems Technology at Ghent University, who've developed a prototype lens with an embedded, spherical curved LCD that isn't limited to a paltry amount of pixels. As opposed to LED-based solutions which could only muster a few pixels, the newly-developed screen can pack enough to display graphics that cover a contact. In its current form, the display can show simple patterns, and demonstrates the technology with a simple dollar sign. What appears on the lens wouldn't be visible to folks who wear it, however, since eyes can't focus at such a close range. Despite the limitation, researchers are trying to tackle the focusing issue and are assessing the feasibility of a version that would effectively act as a heads-up display. In the future, the tech could be leveraged for medical purposes, such as controlling light transmission to the retina when the iris is damaged, cosmetic uses and -- you guessed it -- HUDs. With the technology's foundation established, it's expected that real-world applications are potentially a few of years away. Hit the jump to catch a video of the tech in action.

Continue reading Researchers devise contact lens with built-in LCD (video)

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Benefit of PET or PET/CT in recurrent bowel cancer is not proven

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 10-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Anna-Sabine Ernst
presse@iqwig.de
49-221-356-850
Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care

Lack of studies regarding benefit/consequences of higher diagnostic accuracy remain unclear

For patients in whom a recurrence of bowel cancer is suspected, the study data currently available allow no robust conclusions as to the advantages and disadvantages of using positron emission tomography (PET), alone or in combination with computed tomography (CT). This is because no studies have directly compared the benefits of these imaging techniques in recurrent colorectal carcinoma (bowel cancer) with conventional diagnostic techniques. Although PET or PET/CT show a higher diagnostic accuracy, i.e. in certain cases recurrences can be detected more reliably, it is still unclear how this actually affects patient-relevant outcomes such as quality of life. This is the conclusion of the final report of the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) published on 24th October 2012.

More reliable diagnosis ought to improve treatment

Bowel cancer is the second most common malignant tumour in both men and women. Every year, more than 65,000 people are diagnosed with the disease in Germany and more than 25,000 die from it annually. About 80% of the recurrences occur in the first two years after surgery for bowel cancer. After 5 years, virtually no more recurrences are found. These can arise at the original site - the bowel - or as secondary tumours ("metastases"), for example in the liver. Follow-up after surgery should therefore last for 5 years.

Many experts hope that when a recurrence is suspected, an examination using PET or PET/CT alone or in combination with other methods is better able to distinguish between benign and malignant tumours (recurrence diagnostics) and, if applicable, to classify the stage of the latter correctly, i.e. to determine how advanced the cancer is (recurrence staging). This information should enable patients to be given better treatment recommendations.

Benefits for patients crucial

IQWiG therefore searched the international literature for studies which had examined the consequences of a diagnostic intervention using PET or PET/CT on health aspects of direct relevance to patients. For example, the results of the diagnostic investigation - and appropriately tailored treatment - could contribute to better chances of survival for patients, spare them unnecessary operations or further diagnostic interventions, or improve their quality of life.

As requested by the contracting agency, the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), this report was to focus on those patients in whom a recurrence had already been detected or in whom there was at least a justified suspicion thereof.

The only benefit study proved to be unsuitable

In its final assessment IQWiG was unable to include any studies that had investigated benefits of relevance to patients. For the preliminary report, i.e. the preliminary results, IQWiG had evaluated one study. This addressed the question as to whether, in patients in whom potentially operable liver metastases were suspected, unnecessary laparotomies (surgical opening of the abdomen) could be avoided if a PET investigation took place following a diagnostic intervention using contrast-medium-enhanced CT.

As IQWiG has since discovered after requesting information from authors, this study was, however, unsuitable for deriving any conclusions regarding benefit. This was because - in contrast to the original plan - the decision to operate or not was not allowed to be made in dependence upon the PET results. The independent advisory committee had advised against this procedure on ethical grounds. But information on this important change in the conduct of the study was provided neither in the publication of the study results nor by entry in a clinical trials registry.

In certain cases, PET/CT can detect recurrences more reliably

For the preliminary report, IQWiG had already made an additional search for studies in which the diagnostic accuracy and prognostic power of PET or PET/CT had been compared with other diagnostic techniques. This referred to the question as to how often a PET investigation provides a correct result. On the one hand, true malignant tumours should be overlooked as rarely as possible, while on the other, false suspicions should not be aroused.

The results of a total of 5 evidence syntheses and 13 individual studies regarding this question could be evaluated. The conclusion on recurrence detection was as follows: PET and PET/CT appear capable of detecting or excluding recurrences more reliably than a conventional diagnostic intervention consisting solely or predominantly of CT. This applies particularly to local recurrences and distant metastases. It is not possible to state with certainty whether PET and PET/CT differ in terms of their diagnostic accuracy.

Further study results needed

Important questions in relation to PET technology remain unanswered. For example, it has not yet been examined whether the higher accuracy of PET or PET/CT has a positive effect on mortality, the burden of disease or quality of life.

As long as this deficiency remains, a patient-relevant benefit of PET or of PET/CT as a supplementation to a suspicion-driven diagnostic investigation with conventional methods is not proven. For instance, it is particularly doubtful whether a recurrence detected by using PET or PET/CT can actually be better treated and thereby produce a perceptible advantage for patients. Experts are therefore eagerly awaiting the results of a Canadian study with more than 400 patients, which is to be published shortly.

Missing information can lead to false conclusions

Stefan Lange, the Deputy Director of IQWiG, commented on the new information gained by IQWiG during the assessment procedure of the study on laparotomies: "The fact that the only benefit study on PET turned out to be unsuitable is extremely regrettable. The rupture of the logical link between diagnosis and treatment devalued the study results." As Lange explained, a basic principle of medicine is that a diagnostic intervention is only of benefit if it enables patients to receive more tailored treatment. The fact that the study authors (Ruers et al., 2009 / Nijmegen University, The Netherlands) had also failed to inform about a fundamental change in their procedure was unacceptable. As Lange stated, because of this there is a danger that researchers, doctors and patients will draw the wrong conclusions.

Procedure of report production

IQWiG published the preliminary results in the form of the preliminary report in September 2011 and interested parties were invited to submit comments. At the end of the commenting procedure, which included an oral scientific debate including parties who had submitted comments, the preliminary report was revised and sent as a final report to the contracting agency, the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), in August 2012. The written comments were published in a separate document at the same time as the final report. The report was produced in collaboration with external experts.

###


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?


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.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 10-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Anna-Sabine Ernst
presse@iqwig.de
49-221-356-850
Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care

Lack of studies regarding benefit/consequences of higher diagnostic accuracy remain unclear

For patients in whom a recurrence of bowel cancer is suspected, the study data currently available allow no robust conclusions as to the advantages and disadvantages of using positron emission tomography (PET), alone or in combination with computed tomography (CT). This is because no studies have directly compared the benefits of these imaging techniques in recurrent colorectal carcinoma (bowel cancer) with conventional diagnostic techniques. Although PET or PET/CT show a higher diagnostic accuracy, i.e. in certain cases recurrences can be detected more reliably, it is still unclear how this actually affects patient-relevant outcomes such as quality of life. This is the conclusion of the final report of the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) published on 24th October 2012.

More reliable diagnosis ought to improve treatment

Bowel cancer is the second most common malignant tumour in both men and women. Every year, more than 65,000 people are diagnosed with the disease in Germany and more than 25,000 die from it annually. About 80% of the recurrences occur in the first two years after surgery for bowel cancer. After 5 years, virtually no more recurrences are found. These can arise at the original site - the bowel - or as secondary tumours ("metastases"), for example in the liver. Follow-up after surgery should therefore last for 5 years.

Many experts hope that when a recurrence is suspected, an examination using PET or PET/CT alone or in combination with other methods is better able to distinguish between benign and malignant tumours (recurrence diagnostics) and, if applicable, to classify the stage of the latter correctly, i.e. to determine how advanced the cancer is (recurrence staging). This information should enable patients to be given better treatment recommendations.

Benefits for patients crucial

IQWiG therefore searched the international literature for studies which had examined the consequences of a diagnostic intervention using PET or PET/CT on health aspects of direct relevance to patients. For example, the results of the diagnostic investigation - and appropriately tailored treatment - could contribute to better chances of survival for patients, spare them unnecessary operations or further diagnostic interventions, or improve their quality of life.

As requested by the contracting agency, the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), this report was to focus on those patients in whom a recurrence had already been detected or in whom there was at least a justified suspicion thereof.

The only benefit study proved to be unsuitable

In its final assessment IQWiG was unable to include any studies that had investigated benefits of relevance to patients. For the preliminary report, i.e. the preliminary results, IQWiG had evaluated one study. This addressed the question as to whether, in patients in whom potentially operable liver metastases were suspected, unnecessary laparotomies (surgical opening of the abdomen) could be avoided if a PET investigation took place following a diagnostic intervention using contrast-medium-enhanced CT.

As IQWiG has since discovered after requesting information from authors, this study was, however, unsuitable for deriving any conclusions regarding benefit. This was because - in contrast to the original plan - the decision to operate or not was not allowed to be made in dependence upon the PET results. The independent advisory committee had advised against this procedure on ethical grounds. But information on this important change in the conduct of the study was provided neither in the publication of the study results nor by entry in a clinical trials registry.

In certain cases, PET/CT can detect recurrences more reliably

For the preliminary report, IQWiG had already made an additional search for studies in which the diagnostic accuracy and prognostic power of PET or PET/CT had been compared with other diagnostic techniques. This referred to the question as to how often a PET investigation provides a correct result. On the one hand, true malignant tumours should be overlooked as rarely as possible, while on the other, false suspicions should not be aroused.

The results of a total of 5 evidence syntheses and 13 individual studies regarding this question could be evaluated. The conclusion on recurrence detection was as follows: PET and PET/CT appear capable of detecting or excluding recurrences more reliably than a conventional diagnostic intervention consisting solely or predominantly of CT. This applies particularly to local recurrences and distant metastases. It is not possible to state with certainty whether PET and PET/CT differ in terms of their diagnostic accuracy.

Further study results needed

Important questions in relation to PET technology remain unanswered. For example, it has not yet been examined whether the higher accuracy of PET or PET/CT has a positive effect on mortality, the burden of disease or quality of life.

As long as this deficiency remains, a patient-relevant benefit of PET or of PET/CT as a supplementation to a suspicion-driven diagnostic investigation with conventional methods is not proven. For instance, it is particularly doubtful whether a recurrence detected by using PET or PET/CT can actually be better treated and thereby produce a perceptible advantage for patients. Experts are therefore eagerly awaiting the results of a Canadian study with more than 400 patients, which is to be published shortly.

Missing information can lead to false conclusions

Stefan Lange, the Deputy Director of IQWiG, commented on the new information gained by IQWiG during the assessment procedure of the study on laparotomies: "The fact that the only benefit study on PET turned out to be unsuitable is extremely regrettable. The rupture of the logical link between diagnosis and treatment devalued the study results." As Lange explained, a basic principle of medicine is that a diagnostic intervention is only of benefit if it enables patients to receive more tailored treatment. The fact that the study authors (Ruers et al., 2009 / Nijmegen University, The Netherlands) had also failed to inform about a fundamental change in their procedure was unacceptable. As Lange stated, because of this there is a danger that researchers, doctors and patients will draw the wrong conclusions.

Procedure of report production

IQWiG published the preliminary results in the form of the preliminary report in September 2011 and interested parties were invited to submit comments. At the end of the commenting procedure, which included an oral scientific debate including parties who had submitted comments, the preliminary report was revised and sent as a final report to the contracting agency, the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), in August 2012. The written comments were published in a separate document at the same time as the final report. The report was produced in collaboration with external experts.

###


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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/2012-12/ifqa-bop121012.php

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How About A Little Drive, Hmm? (A Horror Story)

For just a moment, I'm going to pretend to be in Russia, and I'm going to pretend to jump into my car and take a drive to...oh, let's make it the country, so I head out, drive through streets, then to highways, my car-cam always on (for insurance reasons ? see below) and that's when crazy things start to happen. And when I say crazy, I mean, totally off the charts, ohmygod, this-isn't-happening kind of crazy.

I don't normally watch videos like this one, accidents aren't my thing, but this one I couldn't stop looking at, for the whole 13 minutes. It shows road behavior I've never imagined, find hard to explain, which raises all kinds of questions. Here it is:

Two immediate questions: Is this occasional or typical behavior? And why does everybody seem to have a working camera on their dashboard? Videos like this are a window into different cultures, and this window has made me really curious. Maria Galperina, who blogs for Animal New York, says "dash-cameras" are very common in Russia. You need them to prove or defend insurance claims.

In Russia, everyone should have a camera on their dashboard. It's better than keeping a lead pipe under your seat for protection (but you might still want that lead pipe).

The conditions of Russian roads are perilous, with insane gridlock in cities and gigantic ditches, endless swamps and severe wintry emptiness on the back roads and highways. Then there are large, lawless areas you don't just ride into, the police with a penchant for extortion and deeply frustrated drivers who want to smash your face.

Psychopaths are abundant on Russian roads. You best not cut anyone off or undertake some other type of maneuver that might inconvenience the 200-pound, six-foot-five brawling children you see on YouTube hopping out of their SUVs with their dukes up. They will go ballistic in a snap, drive in front of you, brake suddenly, block you off, jump out and run towards your vehicle. Next thing you start getting punches in your face because you didn't roll up your windows, or getting pulled out of the car and beaten because you didn't lock the doors.

These fights happen all the time and you can't really press charges. Point to your broken nose or smashed windows all you want. The Russian courts don't like verbal claims. They do, however, like to send people to jail for battery and property destruction if there's definite video proof. That is why there's a new, growing crop of dash-cam videos featuring would-be face-beaters backing away to the shouts of "You're on camera, f - - -er! I'm calling the cops!"

Not too long ago, she writes, there were gangsters who'd create small "accidents" by dashing in front of slow moving vehicles and feigning injury. "Bystanders" (really co-conspirators) would then threaten the driver and demand cash payments. When Jason Kottke ran the Russian accident video on his blog last week, someone sent him a "Phony Accident" compilation video, where you can see (because they are identified in oval highlights) the perps waiting to become victims and then throwing themselves in harm's way.

This video, in its way, is as astonishing as the first one, though Cory Jones, the reporter at Mandatory who describes what's going on (the video is in Russian, but the images are vividly obvious), suggests that having a camera in your car, and saying so, often makes the scam artists go away.

If you want to see these criminals doing their daring-do, (and when you see them fall over, hit the ground, looking looking dead, they're not, not at all) here's the video.

The moral of this story? There are obviously better places to go for a drive than Russia. Most places on Earth would probably qualify, but it's the details, the dash-cams, the scam artists, the drunkenness, the anything-can-happen quality (how about that fighter jet roaring up the highway at about 100 feet off the ground?) that remind you, different places on Earth are still richly, oddly, troublesomely, different.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/12/10/166863893/how-about-a-little-drive-hmm-a-horror-story?ft=1&f=1007

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Obama, Boehner discuss 'fiscal cliff' stalemate

FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama acknowledges House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio while speaking to reporters in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, as he hosted a meeting of the bipartisan, bicameral leadership of Congress to discuss the deficit and economy. Admnistration officials say President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met Sunda, Dec. 9, 2012, at the White House to discuss the ongoing negotiations over the impeding "fiscal cliff." Spokesmen for both Obama and Boehner said the two men agreed to not release details of the conversation, but emphasized that the lines of communication remain open. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama acknowledges House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio while speaking to reporters in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, as he hosted a meeting of the bipartisan, bicameral leadership of Congress to discuss the deficit and economy. Admnistration officials say President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met Sunda, Dec. 9, 2012, at the White House to discuss the ongoing negotiations over the impeding "fiscal cliff." Spokesmen for both Obama and Boehner said the two men agreed to not release details of the conversation, but emphasized that the lines of communication remain open. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 6. 2012, photo, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., is surrounded by, from left, his wife Elizabeth, and daughters Emily and Julia, as he speaks to supporters at an election night victory rally at the Cabana Restaurant on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn.S enate Republicans would probably agree to increased tax rates on the wealthiest Americans if it meant getting a chance to reform massive government entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security,Corker said Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski, File)

(AP) ? President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met at the White House to discuss the "fiscal cliff," while rank-and-file Republicans stepped forward with what they called pragmatic ideas to break the stalemate.

The Obama-Boehner meeting Sunday was the first between just the two leaders since Election Day. They agreed not to release details of their weekend conversation, but aides emphasized that the lines of communication remain open.

Seeking to rally popular support for his position, Obama was heading to Michigan on Monday to speak to auto workers at a plant outside Detroit. It's the latest in a string of campaign-style appearances Obama has held in recent weeks echoing a theme he stressed repeatedly during his campaign: that the richest Americans should pay more to help reduce the deficit.

At the same time, GOP mavericks are putting increased pressure on their party's leaders to rethink how they approach negotiations with Obama in the wake of a bruising national election that left Democrats in charge of the White House and Senate.

"There is a growing group of folks looking at this and realizing that we don't have a lot of cards as it relates to the tax issue before year end," Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., told "Fox News Sunday."

If Republicans agree to Obama's plan to increase rates on the top 2 percent of Americans, Corker added, "the focus then shifts to entitlements, and maybe it puts us in a place where we actually can do something that really saves the nation."

Conservative stalwart Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma had already floated a similar idea, and Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., has said Obama and Boehner could at least agree not to raise tax rates on the majority of Americans and negotiate the rates of top earners later.

"It's not waving a white flag to recognize political reality," Cole said on CNN's "State of the Union."

But such ideas face an uphill battle. Many House Republicans say they wouldn't vote for tax rate hikes under any circumstances. And GOP leadership could lose leverage in the negotiations if it raises the rate on upper-income earners without getting anything substantial in return like entitlement reform.

Democratic leaders have suggested they are unwilling to tackle entitlement spending in the three weeks left before the fiscal cliff is triggered.

"I just don't think we can do it in a matter of days here before the end of the year," Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said of Medicare reform specifically, in an interview Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"We need to address that in a thoughtful way through the committee structure after the first of the year," Durbin added.

The "fiscal cliff" refers to rate increases that would affect every worker who pays federal taxes, as well as spending cuts that would begin to bite defense and domestic programs alike. Economists say the combination carries the risk of a new recession, at a time the economy is still struggling to recover fully from the worst slowdown in decades.

Obama's plan would raise $1.6 trillion in revenue over 10 years, partly by letting decade-old tax cuts on the country's highest earners expire at the end of the year. He would continue those Bush-era tax cuts for everyone except individuals earning more than $200,000 and couples making more than $250,000. The highest rates on top-paid Americans would rise from 33 percent and 35 percent to 36 percent and 39.6 percent, respectively.

Boehner has offered $800 billion in new revenues to be raised by reducing or eliminating unspecified tax breaks on upper-income earners. The Republican plan also would cut spending by $1.4 trillion, including by trimming annual increases in Social Security payments and raising the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 67.

___

Associated Press writer Julie Pace contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-10-Fiscal%20Cliff/id-fb6a7dc3490148af9511e1be1fa4ef56

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'It's a Miracle': Displaced Family Gets Home Furnished | KTXL FOX40

Picture 1Picture 1ANTELOPE?

?It?s a miracle,? says Danae Reynolds.

The mother and her family of seven were displaced six days ago in the wake of the rainstorm that swept through the Sacramento Valley.

?We woke up to a foot and a half of rain in our home, everything was ruined,? says Reynolds.

Now, thanks to more than two dozen of her co-workers at a company called Paramount Equities, she has furniture. Employees spent their Saturday unloading a trailer full of stuff for the family?s new home. Since their previous home had a history of flooding, the property manager gave them keys to a new rental on the same property.

?It?s amazing how God can answer your prayers in ways you?d never expect,? says Reynold?s son.

By the afternoon, the family had a fully furnished home.

Source: http://fox40.com/2012/12/08/its-a-miracle-displaced-family-gets-home-furnished/

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Navy Seal killed in rescue of doctor in Afghanistan

By Jim Miklaszewski, NBC News

A U.S. Navy SEAL was killed early Sunday in the rescue of an American doctor who was kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan, defense officials tell NBC News.

The Navy SEAL?was wounded in the rescue operation and later died, according to a senior defense official.

The rescue operation was launched when coalition forces reported that Dr. Dilip Joseph was in imminent danger. Joseph, who worked with the non-profit Morning Star Development of Colorado Springs, was kidnapped Wednesday along with two Afghan staff members -- one is part of the medical team, the other part of the support team. Joseph has been the non-profit?s medical adviser for three years.


Morning Star said the team of three had been returning from a visit to one of its rural medical clinics when the kidnappers stopped their vehicle. The three were then taken to a mountainous area about 50 miles from the Pakistan border, Morning Star said.?

Related: Kidnapped American rescued from Taliban, coalition says

Contact between the hostages, their captors and the non-profit's crisis management team started immediately, according to a statement on Morning Star's website. On Saturday evening, two of the hostages were released. The two men then made their way out of the area and were taken to a police station.

At least six people were reported killed in the operation to rescue Joseph, the third hostage. It is unclear whether that number includes the American soldier. Morning Star said the two staff members were released earlier.

In a statement Sunday evening, President Barack Obama said: ?Yesterday, our special operators in Afghanistan rescued an American citizen in a mission that was characteristic of the extraordinary courage, skill and patriotism that our troops show every day.?

Two Taliban leaders were reportedly taken into custody.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta issued a statement Sunday evening commending the U.S. Special Operations that carried out the raid. He said he was deeply saddened by the soldier?s death.

?I also want to extend my condolences to his family, teammates and friends,? Panetta said.

Defense officials have not released the deceased soldier?s name pending notification of his family.

Jim Miklaszewski is the chief Pentagon correspondent for NBC News.

More world stories from NBC News:

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/09/15799890-navy-seal-killed-in-rescue-of-american-doctor-in-afghanistan?lite

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Parents plead for release of former US Marine held in Mexico jail

By Justin Finch, NBCMiami.com

Jon Hammar?s Marine veteran son is being held in a Mexican prison ? and he?s desperate to bring him home safe.

?I don't know what to do to get him out before he gets killed,? he said.

The holidays have been unbearable for the Hammar family in Palmetto Bay ? hoping each day that they'll soon see their son Johnny again.

They last saw him back in August, before he took off in a Winnebago with a friend for a road trip to Costa Rica, where the two planned to surf.


?I actually thought it would be a good idea for him to go to Costa Rica, but I wanted him to fly,? Olivia Hammar said.

A getaway is just what the 27-year-old Hammar needed. His service as a Marine includes stints in Afghanistan ? where he worked a security detail for President Hamid Karzai ?and patrols in Iraq. Hammar's family says he was deeply hurt by the loss of his close friend, Marine Cpl. Albert Gettings, in combat in Iraq's Fallujah section.

Grieving Daughter Asks for Public's Help

Days after Hammar left for Costa Rica, they learned he was being held in Mexico's Matamoros prison ? charged with carrying an illegal weapon.

Even worse, they heard he was in the clutches of the Zetas, a dangerous drug gang. The Hammars say they were haunted by late-night phone calls.

The father described one. ?You know, one o' clock in the morning, we have your son and this doesn't have anything to do with the police, we're gonna kill him if you don't send us money,? he recounted.

Said his wife, ?At some point the phone calls stopped, so we assumed that he had been isolated. But you didn't know whether he had been isolated or he had been killed.?

For months, the Hammars have been trying to get their son home through Mexico's courts. But in recent weeks, they say their son has been pressured to plead guilty to the gun charge, which could land him 15 years behind bars.

The Hammars have also reached out to Washington, but have hit walls along the way.

?The response from everyone is Mexico is a sovereign nation, and, you know, we can't force them to do anything, which we know, but this is an outrage,? Olivia Hammar said.

An online petition is gathering signatures to try and help bring Johnny Hammar home. Click here for more information.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/08/15779716-parents-plead-for-release-of-former-us-marine-held-in-mexico-jail

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Family of Late Reverend Eichelberg Establishes Scholarship at Benedict College

The Reverend Tryon Eichelberger Sr., Memorial Scholarship Benefit Program will take place on Friday, December 14th at 6 p.m. The program will take place at the Bell Memorial Baptist Church which is located at 7205 Farrow Road in Columbia.?

The event will feature:?

The Showing of the DVD Episode of Blind Faith, from Stolen Voices Buried Secrets Aired On Discovery Television Channel

On Program

The Eichelberger Generations In Song

Bethany AME Church, Union, South Carolina

Women of Strength

Women With A Vision

The Sons Of Unity

Lil Sonny And The Peacemakers

And More!?

The event is FREE, but donations will be accepted to go towards the Tryon Eichelberger Sr., Scholarship Memorial Benefit at Benedict College.

Source: http://fortjackson.wistv.com/news/events/54646-family-late-reverend-eichelberg-establishes-scholarship-benedict-college

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Emma Watson Dresses Up For New 'Bling Ring' Photos

By Hannah Soo Park A few official stills and on-set paparazzi shots are the only glimpses we've been given of Sofia Coppola's fourth directorial effort, "The Bling Ring," since it began filming earlier this year. And today, we're getting a little bit more to buzz about. French magazine Premiere recently published a few promo snapshots [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/12/07/emma-watson-bling-ring-photos/

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