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Translate the given Spanish text to English
Ex Input:
Methods of treating a diabetes patient with the compositions are provided.
Ex Output:
Se proporcionan metodos para tratar pacientes diabeticos con las composiciones.
Ex Input:
In another embodiment, a Transmission Sequence Number (TSN) may be included in a Block Ack Request.
Ex Output:
En otra modalidad, un Numero de Secuencia de Transmision (TSN) se puede incluir en una solicitud de Reconocimiento de bloque.
Ex Input:
A fastening member (206) couples the stem to the closure member.
Ex Output:
| Un miembro de sujeción (206) acopla el vástago al miembro de cierre.
| task840_para_pdt_en_es_translation |
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Detailed Instructions: Translate the given Spanish text to English
See one example below:
Problem: A method for converting a series of m-bit information words to a modulated signal is described.
Solution: Se describe un método para convertir una serie de palabras de informacion de bits m a una señal modulada.
Explanation: The translation is fluent, formal, and accurate
Problem: Methods of treating a diabetes patient with the compositions are provided.
Solution: | Se proporcionan metodos para tratar pacientes diabeticos con las composiciones. | task840_para_pdt_en_es_translation |
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Translate the given Spanish text to English
--------
Question: An aseptic process and package are also disclosed.
Answer: También se describe un proceso y empaque asépticos.
Question: Another network element in the LTE system signals to the UE indications of a mapping of a number of CDMA systems to associated ones of LTE system(s).
Answer: Otro elemento de red en el sistema de LTE señaliza al UE indicaciones de un mapeo de un número de sistemas de CDMA al(los) asociado(s) del(los) sistema(s) de LTE.
Question: Gabapentin and lysine clonixinate (CLG) can be combined to relieve neuropathic pain caused by both diabetic neuropathy and nerve injury.
Answer: | La combinación de gabapentina con clonixinato de lisina (CLG) permite aliviar el dolor neuropático originado tanto por neuropatía diabética como por una lesión al nervio.
| task840_para_pdt_en_es_translation |
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In this task, you are given a sentence from the research paper and your task is to classify the given sentence into the following categories: Background (Why is this problem important? What relevant works have been created before? What is still missing in the previous works? What are the high-level research questions? How might this help other research or researchers?), Purpose (What specific things do the researchers want to do? What specific knowledge do the researchers want to gain? What specific hypothesis do the researchers want to test?), Method (How did the researchers do the work or find what they sought? What are the procedures and steps of the research?), or Finding (What did the researchers find out? Did the proposed methods work? Did the thing behave as the researchers expected?).
--------
Question: and the lay public in understanding the progress of Ebola virus disease and the continuing outbreak.
Answer: background
Question: Since then , researchers have conducted numerous in vitro and in vivo studies that consistently confirmed the antidiabetic activity of banaba.
Answer: background
Question: On the other hand , viruses has evolved many strategies to combat or utilize the host autophagy for their own benefit.
Answer: | background
| task1163_coda19_section_classification |
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In this task, you are given a sentence from the research paper and your task is to classify the given sentence into the following categories: Background (Why is this problem important? What relevant works have been created before? What is still missing in the previous works? What are the high-level research questions? How might this help other research or researchers?), Purpose (What specific things do the researchers want to do? What specific knowledge do the researchers want to gain? What specific hypothesis do the researchers want to test?), Method (How did the researchers do the work or find what they sought? What are the procedures and steps of the research?), or Finding (What did the researchers find out? Did the proposed methods work? Did the thing behave as the researchers expected?).
Example Input: Since then , researchers have conducted numerous in vitro and in vivo studies that consistently confirmed the antidiabetic activity of banaba.
Example Output: background
Example Input: the development of vaccines and antiviral agents for SARS-CoV is essential for improving control and treatment of future outbreaks.
Example Output: background
Example Input: and to examine associations between PWD and other dam-related characteristics ( age , litter size , body mass index , and weight and number of active mammary glands of the dam ).
Example Output: | purpose
| task1163_coda19_section_classification |
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In this task, you are given a sentence from the research paper and your task is to classify the given sentence into the following categories: Background (Why is this problem important? What relevant works have been created before? What is still missing in the previous works? What are the high-level research questions? How might this help other research or researchers?), Purpose (What specific things do the researchers want to do? What specific knowledge do the researchers want to gain? What specific hypothesis do the researchers want to test?), Method (How did the researchers do the work or find what they sought? What are the procedures and steps of the research?), or Finding (What did the researchers find out? Did the proposed methods work? Did the thing behave as the researchers expected?).
Ex Input:
Since then , researchers have conducted numerous in vitro and in vivo studies that consistently confirmed the antidiabetic activity of banaba.
Ex Output:
background
Ex Input:
This review attempts to identify potentially important genes that show some consistency in ( relative ) up or downregulation in key tissues between the resistant and susceptible chickens.
Ex Output:
purpose
Ex Input:
and CA3 and CA1 pyramidal cells were examined for spine density and morphology.
Ex Output:
| method
| task1163_coda19_section_classification |
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instruction:
In this task, you are given a sentence from the research paper and your task is to classify the given sentence into the following categories: Background (Why is this problem important? What relevant works have been created before? What is still missing in the previous works? What are the high-level research questions? How might this help other research or researchers?), Purpose (What specific things do the researchers want to do? What specific knowledge do the researchers want to gain? What specific hypothesis do the researchers want to test?), Method (How did the researchers do the work or find what they sought? What are the procedures and steps of the research?), or Finding (What did the researchers find out? Did the proposed methods work? Did the thing behave as the researchers expected?).
question:
inhibit growth of vaccinia virus ( VACV ) in vitro.
answer:
purpose
question:
Since then , researchers have conducted numerous in vitro and in vivo studies that consistently confirmed the antidiabetic activity of banaba.
answer:
background
question:
exhibits potent antiviral activity against FIV.
answer:
| background
| task1163_coda19_section_classification |
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instruction:
In this task, you are given a sentence from the research paper and your task is to classify the given sentence into the following categories: Background (Why is this problem important? What relevant works have been created before? What is still missing in the previous works? What are the high-level research questions? How might this help other research or researchers?), Purpose (What specific things do the researchers want to do? What specific knowledge do the researchers want to gain? What specific hypothesis do the researchers want to test?), Method (How did the researchers do the work or find what they sought? What are the procedures and steps of the research?), or Finding (What did the researchers find out? Did the proposed methods work? Did the thing behave as the researchers expected?).
question:
We constructed speci ¢ c siRNAs targeting the S gene in SARS-CoV.
answer:
method
question:
Since then , researchers have conducted numerous in vitro and in vivo studies that consistently confirmed the antidiabetic activity of banaba.
answer:
background
question:
political , and economic policies as the foci of upstream drivers of the public 's health.
answer:
| method
| task1163_coda19_section_classification |
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In this task, you are given a sentence from the research paper and your task is to classify the given sentence into the following categories: Background (Why is this problem important? What relevant works have been created before? What is still missing in the previous works? What are the high-level research questions? How might this help other research or researchers?), Purpose (What specific things do the researchers want to do? What specific knowledge do the researchers want to gain? What specific hypothesis do the researchers want to test?), Method (How did the researchers do the work or find what they sought? What are the procedures and steps of the research?), or Finding (What did the researchers find out? Did the proposed methods work? Did the thing behave as the researchers expected?).
Ex Input:
have highlighted the importance of infection control.
Ex Output:
background
Ex Input:
Since then , researchers have conducted numerous in vitro and in vivo studies that consistently confirmed the antidiabetic activity of banaba.
Ex Output:
background
Ex Input:
Peripheral or central inflammation is characterized by an upregulation of cytokines and their receptors in the brain.
Ex Output:
| background
| task1163_coda19_section_classification |
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Teacher:In this task, you are given a sentence from the research paper and your task is to classify the given sentence into the following categories: Background (Why is this problem important? What relevant works have been created before? What is still missing in the previous works? What are the high-level research questions? How might this help other research or researchers?), Purpose (What specific things do the researchers want to do? What specific knowledge do the researchers want to gain? What specific hypothesis do the researchers want to test?), Method (How did the researchers do the work or find what they sought? What are the procedures and steps of the research?), or Finding (What did the researchers find out? Did the proposed methods work? Did the thing behave as the researchers expected?).
Teacher: Now, understand the problem? Solve this instance: Since then , researchers have conducted numerous in vitro and in vivo studies that consistently confirmed the antidiabetic activity of banaba.
Student: | background | task1163_coda19_section_classification |
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TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you are given a sentence from the research paper and your task is to classify the given sentence into the following categories: Background (Why is this problem important? What relevant works have been created before? What is still missing in the previous works? What are the high-level research questions? How might this help other research or researchers?), Purpose (What specific things do the researchers want to do? What specific knowledge do the researchers want to gain? What specific hypothesis do the researchers want to test?), Method (How did the researchers do the work or find what they sought? What are the procedures and steps of the research?), or Finding (What did the researchers find out? Did the proposed methods work? Did the thing behave as the researchers expected?).
PROBLEM: Since then , researchers have conducted numerous in vitro and in vivo studies that consistently confirmed the antidiabetic activity of banaba.
SOLUTION: background
PROBLEM: single mismatch detection and low current response.
SOLUTION: background
PROBLEM: The average diameter of the silver colloids was approximately 10 nm.
SOLUTION: | method
| task1163_coda19_section_classification |
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Summarize this article:
Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
Paula Deen’s longtime powerhouse publicist, Nancy Assuncao, has quit after six years over the butter-loving chef’s plan to plug a diabetes drug.
Assuncao faithfully stuck with Deen through years of hearty drama, including her battle with rival chef Anthony Bourdain, who called her “the most dangerous woman in America.” But she quit as Deen’s spokeswoman and chief marketer last month as Deen negotiated her deal to hawk the drug Victoza.
Deen, now under siege by diabetics, nutritionists and fellow chefs for keeping her own Type 2 diabetes secret for three years, even as she pushed recipes full of sugar and fat, probably could use Assuncao’s help now. Deen only revealed her diagnosis last week.
A source said Assuncao “strongly disagreed with Deen’s dramatic turnabout, after years of promoting fatty foods, to announcing she has a deal with a diabetes drug company [Novo Nordisk] and will be promoting lighter food and ‘diabetes in a new light.’
“While Paula did tell some people at her live appearances about her diabetes, she certainly didn’t talk about it on her show. Nancy disagreed with Paula’s plan to be a drug-company spokesman and challenged her decision. But this wasn’t a battle Nancy felt she was going to win. She couldn’t be part of it.”
Assuncao, whose past clients have included Ian Schrager, told us last night, “I’m very grateful for the six years that I worked with Paula in helping her build the Deen brand.
“Although we had a great deal of fun along the way, I could not agree with the new business strategy going forward. Nonetheless, I wish them continued success.”
Deen’s new rep could not be reached last night, with a staffer at her office telling us, “She is on the Paula Deen cruise.” The chef’s Web site said Celebrity Cruises’ Eclipse would be a “tasty journey” in the Caribbean with a group buffet dinner, a cooking demo and a personal photo with Deen (one per family). ||||| Let Food Network chefs plan what's for dinner, with quick and easy recipes delivered to your inbox daily.
E-Mail Address: CONTINUE ||||| Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. |||||
Summary: | – What do you do when your celebrity chef client continues churning out dishes like Deep-Fried Stuffing on a Stick or Cheesy Ham and Banana Casserole three years after she learns she has Type 2 diabetes, only to start shilling for a drugmaker? If you're Paula Deen's publicist, you walk. Nancy Assuncao, who worked with Deen for six years, quit over Deen's plan to hawk a diabetes drug, the New York Post reports. Assuncao “strongly disagreed with Deen’s dramatic turnabout, after years of promoting fatty foods, to announcing she has a deal with a diabetes drug company and will be promoting lighter food and 'diabetes in a new light,'" says a source. Assuncao herself adds, "I could not agree with the new business strategy going forward." Deen's new rep was "on the Paula Deen cruise" and unavailable; the Post notes that that jaunt is a "'tasty journey' in the Caribbean with a group buffet dinner, a cooking demo, and a personal photo with Deen (one per family)." If you can't get enough, click to see Deen's last meal before announcing her diagnosis, or her unfortunate "six-word memoir." | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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Article:
Our general interest e-newsletter keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics.
Carbohydrates: How carbs fit into a healthy diet Carbohydrates aren't bad, but some may be healthier than others. See why carbs are important for your health and which ones to choose. By Mayo Clinic Staff
Carbohydrates often get a bad rap, especially when it comes to weight gain. But carbohydrates aren't all bad. Because of their numerous health benefits, carbohydrates have a rightful place in your diet. In fact, your body needs carbohydrates to function well.
But some carbohydrates might be better for you than others. Understand more about carbohydrates and how to choose healthy carbohydrates.
Understanding carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are a type of macronutrient found in many foods and beverages. Most carbohydrates occur naturally in plant-based foods, such as grains. Food manufacturers also add carbohydrates to processed foods in the form of starch or added sugar.
Common sources of naturally occurring carbohydrates include:
Fruits
Vegetables
Milk
Nuts
Grains
Seeds
Legumes
Types of carbohydrates
There are three main types of carbohydrates:
Sugar. Sugar is the simplest form of carbohydrate and occurs naturally in some foods, including fruits, vegetables, milk and milk products. Types of sugar include fruit sugar (fructose), table sugar (sucrose) and milk sugar (lactose).
Sugar is the simplest form of carbohydrate and occurs naturally in some foods, including fruits, vegetables, milk and milk products. Types of sugar include fruit sugar (fructose), table sugar (sucrose) and milk sugar (lactose). Starch. Starch is a complex carbohydrate, meaning it is made of many sugar units bonded together. Starch occurs naturally in vegetables, grains, and cooked dry beans and peas.
Starch is a complex carbohydrate, meaning it is made of many sugar units bonded together. Starch occurs naturally in vegetables, grains, and cooked dry beans and peas. Fiber. Fiber also is a complex carbohydrate. It occurs naturally in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and cooked dry beans and peas.
More carbohydrate terms: Net carbs and glycemic index
Terms such as "low carb" or "net carbs" often appear on product labels. But the Food and Drug Administration doesn't regulate these terms, so there's no standard meaning. Typically "net carbs" is used to mean the amount of carbohydrates in a product excluding fiber, or excluding both fiber and sugar alcohols.
You probably have also heard talk about the glycemic index. The glycemic index classifies carbohydrate-containing foods according to their potential to raise your blood sugar level.
Weight-loss diets based on the glycemic index typically recommend limiting foods that are higher on the glycemic index. Foods with a relatively high glycemic index ranking include potatoes and white bread, and less healthy options such as snack foods and desserts that contain refined flours.
Many healthy foods, such as whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits and low-fat dairy products, are naturally lower on the glycemic index.
How many carbohydrates do you need?
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that carbohydrates make up 45 to 65 percent of your total daily calories.
So, if you get 2,000 calories a day, between 900 and 1,300 calories should be from carbohydrates. That translates to between 225 and 325 grams of carbohydrates a day.
You can find the carbohydrate content of packaged foods on the Nutrition Facts label. The label shows total carbohydrates — which includes starches, fiber, sugar alcohols, and naturally occurring and added sugars. The label might also list separately total fiber, soluble fiber and sugar.
Carbohydrates and your health
Despite their bad rap, carbohydrates are vital to your health for a number of reasons.
Providing energy
Carbohydrates are your body's main fuel source. During digestion, sugars and starches are broken down into simple sugars. They're then absorbed into your bloodstream, where they're known as blood sugar (blood glucose).
From there, glucose enters your body's cells with the help of insulin. Glucose is used by your body for energy, and fuels all of your activities — whether it's going for a jog or simply breathing. Extra glucose is stored in your liver, muscles and other cells for later use, or is converted to fat.
Protecting against disease
Some evidence suggests that whole grains and dietary fiber from whole foods help reduce your risk of cardiovascular diseases. Fiber may also protect against obesity and type 2 diabetes. Fiber is also essential for optimal digestive health.
Controlling weight
Evidence shows that eating plenty of fruit, vegetables and whole grains can help you control your weight. Their bulk and fiber content aids weight control by helping you feel full on fewer calories. Contrary to what low-carb diets claim, very few studies show that a diet rich in healthy carbohydrates leads to weight gain or obesity.
Choose your carbohydrates wisely
Carbohydrates are an essential part of a healthy diet, and provide many important nutrients. Still, not all carbs are created equal.
Here's how to make healthy carbohydrates work in a balanced diet:
Emphasize fiber-rich fruits and vegetables. Aim for whole fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables without added sugar. Other options are fruit juices and dried fruits, which are concentrated sources of natural sugar and therefore have more calories. Whole fruits and vegetables also add fiber, water and bulk, which help you feel fuller on fewer calories.
Aim for whole fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables without added sugar. Other options are fruit juices and dried fruits, which are concentrated sources of natural sugar and therefore have more calories. Whole fruits and vegetables also add fiber, water and bulk, which help you feel fuller on fewer calories. Choose whole grains. Whole grains are better sources than refined grains of fiber and other important nutrients, such as B vitamins. Refined grains go through a process that strips out parts of the grain — along with some of the nutrients and fiber.
Whole grains are better sources than refined grains of fiber and other important nutrients, such as B vitamins. Refined grains go through a process that strips out parts of the grain — along with some of the nutrients and fiber. Stick to low-fat dairy products. Milk, cheese, yogurt and other dairy products are good sources of calcium and protein, plus many other vitamins and minerals. Consider the low-fat versions, to help limit calories and saturated fat. And beware of dairy products that have added sugar.
Milk, cheese, yogurt and other dairy products are good sources of calcium and protein, plus many other vitamins and minerals. Consider the low-fat versions, to help limit calories and saturated fat. And beware of dairy products that have added sugar. Eat more legumes. Legumes — which include beans, peas and lentils — are among the most versatile and nutritious foods available. They are typically low in fat and high in folate, potassium, iron and magnesium, and they contain beneficial fats and fiber. Legumes are a good source of protein and can be a healthy substitute for meat, which has more saturated fat and cholesterol.
Legumes — which include beans, peas and lentils — are among the most versatile and nutritious foods available. They are typically low in fat and high in folate, potassium, iron and magnesium, and they contain beneficial fats and fiber. Legumes are a good source of protein and can be a healthy substitute for meat, which has more saturated fat and cholesterol. Limit added sugars. Added sugar probably isn't harmful in small amounts. But there's no health advantage to consuming any amount of added sugar. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that less than 10 percent of calories you consume every day come from added sugar.
So choose your carbohydrates wisely. Limit foods with added sugars and refined grains, such as sugary drinks, desserts and candy, which are packed with calories but low in nutrition. Instead, go for fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
||||| Bacon became my new best friend on the ketogenic diet. Business Insider
A viral diet that's been found to burn up to 10 times as much fat as a standard diet is gaining momentum among Silicon Valley tech workers. And it involves eating a lot of fat.
The ketogenic, or "keto," diet — which first became popular in the 1920s as a treatment for epilepsy and diabetes— limits carbohydrates to no more than 50 grams a day, which is the rough equivalent of a plain bagel or a cup of white rice. By comparison, dietary guidelines from the US Department of Agriculture recommend from 225 to 325 grams of carbs a day.
On the keto diet, the body goes into starvation mode and taps its fat stores for fuel. Studies suggest the low-carb, high-fat diet may promote weight loss, improve focus, and stave off age-related diseases. More research is needed on its long-term effects, especially among healthy people.
A small study recently published in the journal Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome found that adults who had been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome (a precursor of diabetes) and ate a ketogenic diet had resting metabolic rates (a measure of how much energy your body burns when at rest) more than 10 times as high as people who ate a standard diet.
Last year, I spent two months eating bacon, butter, and avocados to see why the keto movement is so popular with tech workers. Here's what it was like. ||||| I am no stranger to diets. I've cut sugar, counted points on Weight Watchers, and swapped solid food for Soylent, a venture-capital-backed meal-replacement shake. I gave up breakfast for a week and drank this caffeinated meal-replacement shake instead »
But those usually don't last long. I love food. I'm a chronic snacker.
When I learned about the keto diet, it caught my interest because dieters could eat seemingly unlimited amounts of healthy fats, like cheese, nuts, avocado, eggs, butter — foods that have high "point values" on Weight Watchers and are severely restricted. The keto diet reorganizes the building blocks of the food pyramid. It cuts down carbs to 20 to 50 grams a day, depending on a person's medical history and insulin sensitivity. (There are about 30 grams in one apple or half of a plain bagel.) On the diet, healthy fats should be about 80% of a person's daily calories, while protein should be about 20%. On average, Americans get about 50% of their calories from carbs, 30% from fat, and 15% from protein, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The keto diet is like Atkins on steroids. It turns the body into a fat-burning machine. The human body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose, which is used for energy or stored as glycogen in liver and muscle tissue. But it has a plan-B fuel supply. When carbs go missing from a person's diet, the body uses up its glucose reserves and then breaks down stored fat into fatty acids, which, when they reach the liver, are converted into an organic substance called ketones. The brain and other organs feed on ketones in a process called ketosis, which gives the diet its name. Keto dieters eat lots of fat to maintain this state. While the low-carb diet dates back to the 1920s, when it was found to reduce seizures in people living with epilepsy, Dr. Robert Atkins popularized a version of it in the '60s and '70s. Like the keto diet, the Atkins diet restricts carb consumption to 20 to 25 grams a day during an introductory phase, but then ramps up to 80 to 100 grams a day. So it's less strict than keto.
But the keto diet is not for everyone, so I sought medical supervision. Dr. Priyanka Wali is an internal-medicine physician with specialty training in obesity medicine. She uses the keto diet routinely for her patients who have insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, and diabetes. In 2014, Wali was moonlighting at a weight-loss clinic in San Francisco, where she saw her patients struggle to stick to their strict diet programs and maintain their weight loss. She started reading studies on low-carb diets and became convinced it was the solution. Wali made herself a guinea pig before she prescribed the diet. And it worked. She said she "expected to feel a lot of adverse side effects" from eating so much fat, "but what ended up happening was I felt great." "I started to have more energy and concentration," Wali said. "I didn't lose weight, but my fat distribution changed, so I lost weight from my hips."
After asking me about my family history and my reasons for trying the keto diet, Wali determined I was an "optimizer," like the healthy tech workers who rely on the diet. Tech workers living in the Bay Area sometimes go to extreme lengths to improve their bodies and minds. For example, at the supplements startup HVMN (formerly known as Nootrobox), most employees don't eat on Tuesdays — a ritual they say improves ketone production and productivity. Intermittent fasting has been found to assist ketosis. To see whether I was a good fit for the keto diet, Wali requested I have some lab work done, including a cholesterol panel and a fasting-insulin-level test. My results came back normal, meaning there was no medical necessity for me to go on the diet. If I were pre-diabetic or insulin-resistant, Wali would likely have made the keto diet part of my treatment.
Wali introduced me to the "keto food pyramid," via this image that went viral on Reddit. We agreed that for my first week on the keto diet, I would aim for 30 to 50 grams of carbs during the day and eat regular, carb-heavy dinners, even if they took me over the limit. "Sugar addiction is a real thing," Wali told me in our first meeting. She wanted me to ease into ketosis to avoid "carbohydrate withdrawal," which can cause irritability, depression, headaches, lethargy, and nausea. I was happy to take it slow. As I was learning the carb loads of different foods in those first few weeks, I tracked my meals on the Fitbit and Weight Watchers apps, but Wali says paper and pen works just as well.
She taught me how to count carbs the smart way: Carbohydrates - dietary fiber = net carbs. Fiber is a carbohydrate that the body can't digest. It doesn't raise blood-sugar levels, so there's no use in counting grams of dietary fiber toward a daily carbohydrate goal. A cup of almonds has about 20 grams of carbohydrates, but 12 of those come from dietary fiber. As a result, I had to count only 8 grams for the serving. What a bargain!
Pasta was off the menu. A cup of cooked whole-wheat noodles has about 41 net carbs, which would blow through my daily carb allowance in one small portion.
I had to be careful even with fruits and starchy vegetables. A cup of blueberries has about 11.5 net carbs. It's also low in fiber, so it's not very filling for long.
When I got home from my visit with Wali, I was forced to rethink all my dietary staples. I let my boyfriend finish off our supply of apples, bananas, bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes.
And I said yes to fat. A typical breakfast included a coffee with half-and-half, along with cheesy eggs cooked in butter and two slices of bacon. Some mornings I scrambled to find 20 minutes to make breakfast. Few restaurants had dishes that met my dietary restrictions. I ate a sad, tortilla-less breakfast burrito once. I managed to find one restaurant, La Boulangerie in San Francisco, that makes scrambled eggs with mix-ins to order. I swapped potatoes for a side salad and tossed the toast. It cost $11.
For lunch, I ate a lot of "sad desk salads." Two cups of leafy greens, an ounce of cheddar cheese, a handful of nuts, and avocado or cauliflower rang up about 6 net carbs.
Our office has the best snacks — Goldfish, Nature Valley bars, animal crackers, and peanut-butter-filled pretzels (my personal brand of indulgence). I thought of them often. I used to snack every hour between 10 a.m. and dinner. Food was always on my mind. In my first week, I dug up the willpower to resist those sugar binges. But it was not without consequences. My headaches pounded for hours on end. My mind said, "Eat something." Wali recommended I drink more water and salt my food to ease the headaches.
I scoured keto blogs for high-fat snacks — called "fat bombs" — to power me through the sugar cravings. Loaded cauliflower made with butter, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and bacon became my go-to treat. The keto comfort food didn't make me feel deprived. Here's the recipe for loaded cauliflower »
During Week 2, my ketone-testing meter kit arrived in the mail. The pocket-sized medical device uses a small blood sample to measure the presence of ketones. A doctor can prescribe a ketone-testing meter to people with diabetes, but insurance may not cover it. Optimizers like me turn to Amazon for third-party sellers. I bought the Precision Xtra glucose-meter kit (which also measures ketones) for $22, and a 10-pack of ketone testing strips for $42. The meter has since gone up to about $60 on Amazon. Keto adherents use ketone-testing meters to check whether they're in a state of nutritional ketosis — generally considered to be above 0.3 millimoles per liter of blood, according to Wali. Entrepreneurs sometimes share their ketone levels on social media. It's the biohacking community's equivalent of posting photos of a bathroom scale to celebrate recent weight loss.
My first encounter with a lancing device, a tool that draws blood from the fingertip, was not particularly pleasant. Afterward, I held the ketone-testing meter to the drop of blood.
I got 0.4 mmol/L, a low-level state of nutritional ketosis. In less than two weeks on the diet, my body had flipped the switch from burning carbs to burning fat as its primary fuel source.
Three weeks in, I felt the difference. Even on days when I ate bun-less cheeseburgers for lunch, my energy was sky-high. I no longer needed coffee to stay awake in the afternoon.
I suddenly could go three, four, even five hours without thinking about food. My snacking became much less frequent, and I became more focused on work as a result. Dr. Jason Fung, who specializes in kidney care, offers an analogy in his book "The Obesity Code." Imagine sitting down to an all-you-can-eat buffet. At some point, the idea of eating one more pork chop becomes sickening. But if the dessert cart passes, it's hard to resist. That's because highly refined carb-filled foods, like cake and pie, don't trigger hormones in the brain that say: "You're full. Stop eating." Proteins and fat can signal when you've had enough.
When I splurged on a bagel or pizza, which did happen, I wanted to curl up under my desk and nap within 30 minutes of eating. I felt uncomfortably full and groggy. The worst part of cheating was that it had the potential to reverse a state of nutritional ketosis. When my parents came to town over one weekend and I went rogue, I wound up with a ketone reading of 0.3 mmol/L, meaning my body was burning more carbs than fat. I returned to the diet that Monday, but it takes an average of five days for the body to use up the leftover glycogen reserves and return to nutritional ketosis, Wali says.
To avoid the ill feelings that carbs gave me, I experimented more in the kitchen. I learned that pizza made with a baked cauliflower crust was not pizza. It tastes like a vegetable casserole, but at least I don't wake up feeling bloated.
Eating at restaurants was the hardest part. I ate taco fillings out of tortillas and scraped the breading off fried chicken. Every menu had just one or two things I could order guilt-free.
After eating mostly fat, protein, and leafy vegetables for one month, I reached my peak ketone reading of 0.9 mmol/L — a strong indication that I reached a state of ketosis. By this point in my journey, most of the negative side effects had subsided. (I experienced leg cramps and tingling sensations in my feet, which Wali said was from eating too little salt. She suggested I try magnesium supplements, and the problem went away within days.) A ketone reading of 0.9 mmol/L indicates a mild state of ketosis. Dieters can reach higher levels — "go deeper" into ketosis — by restricting carbs to fewer than 20 grams a day or fasting. But there isn't consensus in the medical community that doing so unlocks additional benefits. Geoff Woo, the cofounder and CEO of HVMN, said he aimed for 3.0 mmol/L or higher, which he achieves through intermittent fasts that spike ketone production, for "optimal mental flow." When I started to obsess over the numbers my ketone testing meter gave me, Wali encouraged me to instead focus on how I felt.
It was then that I realized why I loved eating keto — it made me feel like a superhero. When I lost 30 pounds on Weight Watchers in college, I celebrated the numbers on the scale and how my clothes fit. But because I continued to eat carbs in smaller portions, I was still prone to sugar crashes and afternoon "brain fog." The transformation was incomplete. The keto diet made over my mind and my body. The sense of mental clarity and energy that came on about three to four weeks into eating keto was unlike anything I've experienced. I woke up feeling strong, confident, and capable of taking on whatever the day threw at me. "This is how you're supposed to feel as a human being," Wali said during a follow-up visit. |||||Summary:
| – Silicon Valley techies adopt some unusual eating habits to boost productivity, including one firm where workers fast on Tuesdays. Melia Robinson wanted to see how one of these dieting regimens would affect her, and she concludes for Business Insider that it "vastly improved my life." The course she followed: the ketogenic, or keto, diet, which deprives the body of carbohydrates—just 50 grams a day instead of the recommended 225 to 325 grams daily—and sends it into "starvation mode." What it then burns instead: a person's fat stores, which are broken down into organic byproducts called ketones, which then become the body's main fuel supply. To keep the fat stores well stocked, that means individuals on this diet have to scarf down plenty of cheese, eggs, and avocados. Off the menu: pasta, bread, rice, and other carb-heavy foods, including some fruits. And so, under the direction of a doctor, Robinson followed a routine she calls "Atkins on steroids." That meant breakfasts of butter-fried eggs and greasy bacon, as well as lunches consisting of "sad desk salads." Robinson sated hunger pangs in between with "fat bomb" snacks (her favorite: cauliflower smothered in butter, sour cream, and cheese). After just two weeks, she says her body "flipped the switch" and started using up her body fat to replace the carbs it had previously burned. Then her energy spiked, she no longer needed coffee as an afternoon pick-me-up, and her obsession with snacking waned. One month in, Robinson reached a "state of ketosis," with few remaining side effects. She not only lost 8 pounds over two months, but she experienced better concentration and more energy. "It made me feel like a superhero," she writes. More on Robinson's eating experiment here. | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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– Odds are, your New Year’s resolution involves losing weight. Most everyone’s does. Well good news: US News & World Report has just released its second annual diet rankings, with the top 25 diets you can jump on to get healthy. The list isn’t haphazard either—the magazine says it spent months combing medical journals, government reports, and more to compile it. Here’s the cream of the crop: DASH Diet—It was originally developed to combat high blood pressure, but DASH ranks as the best all-around balanced diet, with loads of nutritional benefits. Just don’t try it if you’ve got a salt tooth. TLC Diet—This government-endorsed diet focuses on cutting back on fat, and boasts great nutritional benefits, especially for cardiovascular health. Mayo Clinic Diet—This multi-stage diet eases you into a new eating routine, breaking your bad habits. It’s especially effective at fending off diabetes. Mediterranean Diet—This sensible dieting mindset scores big with experts thanks to its emphasis on fruits and vegetables and an overall healthy lifestyle. Weight Watchers Diet—This household name came in well ahead of the other commercial diet plans, proving both better at helping adherents lose weight and easier to follow.
Expand this summary. | Easy omelet
Combine eggs, chives and reduced fat cheddar cheese into a quick breakfast that can provide you with a foundation for the day. You may also consider adding veggies, such as spinach or asparagus. (Getty Images)
Bran flakes
Breakfast needn’t be complicated. Pour a bowl of bran flakes or shredded wheat, douse in low-fat milk and top with blueberries or sliced peaches to sweeten without added sugar. (Getty Images)
Chicken salad sandwich
Between two slices of whole-wheat bread, and paired with lettuce and tomato, unsalted chicken salad topped with regular Dijon mustard can satisfy without leading to a post-lunch afternoon slump. (Getty Images)
Minestrone soup
From tomatoes to diced carrots and chopped celery, plus red kidney beans or chickpeas – this hearty garden in a bowl, which also includes pasta, will satisfy any lunchtime craving. (Getty Images)
Yogurt
For a quick snack on the run, grab a nonfat yogurt with no added sugar – for the healthiest option and more protein, choose plain Greek yogurt – and add fruit for sweetness. (Getty Images)
Salad with chicken and berries
For a green and lean dinner, try a leafy salad topped with grilled chicken and strawberries. Dress lightly with oil and vinegar or your favorite vinaigrette dressing. (Getty Images)
Asian pork tenderloin
Spice it up with this traditional dish featuring roasted pork that incorporates sesame seeds coriander, minced onion and other savory flavoring. Pair with steamed peas. (Getty Images)
Spaghetti squash with meat sauce
Although DASH isn't a low-carb diet, you might still like to enjoy a spaghetti dinner without all of the carbs and calories. For a lighter alternative, try spaghetti squash topped with meat sauce. (Getty Images)
Apples with cottage cheese dip
You don't have to wait until midnight for a snack. Slice up some apples and grab a small bowl of fat-free cream cheese, then add orange juice, peanuts, vanilla and brown sugar for a tasty treat whether it's midmorning or late in the afternoon. (Getty Images)
Tuna salad on a bed of lettuce
Tuna is a healthy lunch or dinner choice that can be used in a wide variety of dishes. A tuna salad on top a bed of lettuce is one option that is a delicious source of protein and vitamins. (Getty Images)
Vegetable kabobs
If you're looking for a vegetarian-friendly dish, throw together some vegetable kabobs. Great for parties or a night at home, these can be made on a grill or in an oven. (Getty Images)
Strawberry banana smoothie with soy milk
A strawberry banana soy smoothie is a great snack for any time of the day, whether you're running out the door in the morning or just finishing your afternoon workout. (Getty Images) ||||| (Getty Images) What is Mediterranean Diet? This diet has been reviewed by U.S. News' team of expert panelists. Learn more » Balanced These diets fall within accepted ranges for the amount of protein, carbs, fat and other nutrients they provide. Pros & Cons Nutritionally sound
Diverse foods and flavors
Lots of grunt work
Moderately pricey It's generally accepted that the folks in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea live longer and suffer less than most Americans from cancer and cardiovascular ailments. The not-so-surprising secret is an active lifestyle, weight control, and a diet low in red meat, sugar and saturated fat and high in produce, nuts and other healthful foods. The Mediterranean Diet may offer a host of health benefits, including weight loss, heart and brain health, cancer prevention, and diabetes prevention and control. By following the Mediterranean Diet, you could also keep that weight off while avoiding chronic disease. There isn't "a" Mediterranean diet. Greeks eat differently from Italians, who eat differently from the French and Spanish. But they share many of the same principles. Working with the Harvard School of Public Health, Oldways, a nonprofit food think tank in Boston, developed a consumer-friendly Mediterranean diet pyramid that offers guidelines on how to fill your plate – and maybe wineglass – the Mediterranean way.
How does Mediterranean Diet work? Do's & Don'ts Do: Load up on whole grains and veggies. Because this is an eating pattern – not a structured diet – you're on your own to figure out how many calories you should eat to lose or maintain your weight, what you'll do to stay active and how you'll shape your Mediterranean menu. The Mediterranean diet pyramid should help get you started. The pyramid emphasizes eating fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, nuts, legumes, olive oil, and flavorful herbs and spices; fish and seafood at least a couple of times a week; and poultry, eggs, cheese and yogurt in moderation, while saving sweets and red meat for special occasions. Top it off with a splash of red wine (if you want), remember to stay physically active and you're set. While certainly not required, a glass a day for women and two a day for men is fine if your doctor says so. Red wine has gotten a boost because it contains resveratrol, a compound that seems to add years to life – but you'd have to drink hundreds or thousands of glasses to get enough resveratrol to possibly make a difference. Do's & Don'ts Do's & Don'ts Do: Load up on whole grains and veggies.
What Can I Eat? x of x | Full Screen Buckwheat pancakes
Top a small stack with sliced bananas or a cup of blueberries, and drizzle on a couple tablespoons of light maple syrup. (Getty Images) Greek yogurt
Add strawberries or raspberries and a teaspoon of honey to sweeten. To make it a more complete breakfast, this can be paired with a slice of whole-grain toast "buttered" with smashed avocado. (Getty Images) Mediterranean pasta salad
Get your carb fix without guilt. This lunch option combines pasta noodles tossed in extra-virgin olive oil with red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and crumbled feta cheese. (Getty Images) Chicken souvlaki
Pocket the good stuff: chicken and veggies, in a wrap. Pair with a side of couscous to eat lunch fast or slow. (Getty Images) Roasted almonds
Grab a handful for a protein-packed snack that will keep you from loading up on sugary junk later in the day. (Getty Images) Grilled salmon
Make a mark on seafood by searing it over an open flame. Make it a meal by adding a side salad of arugula and spinach or wild greens. (Getty Images) Quinoa salad
This ancient edible source of plant-based protein can be combined with a wide array of other filling foods that spring from the dirt, from eggplant to onion. (Getty Images) Chocolate mousse
If you're in the mood for something sweet after dinner, treat yourself to a delicious chocolate mousse. The recipe calls for extra bitter dark chocolate, extra virgin olive oil, eggs, sugar, salt, orange zest and orange liqueur. (Getty Images) Steamed mussels
Try steamed mussels for a fresh seafood meal that can be prepared in about a half hour. Cook them in dry white wine for extra flavor. (iStockPhoto) Pumpkin soup
If you go crazy for all things pumpkin in the fall, "spicy pumpkin soup" is the perfect dish for an appetizer, lunch or dinner. (Getty Images) French fries
You don't have to give up french fries to eat healthy. Keep this favorite in your diet by roasting them in your oven the Mediterranean way rather than frying them. (Getty Images) Banana bread with peanuts
Make "peanut banana bread" on Sunday, and you will have an easy breakfast option or snack throughout the week. (Getty Images) x of x x of x Buckwheat pancakes
Top a small stack with sliced bananas or a cup of blueberries, and drizzle on a couple tablespoons of light maple syrup. (Getty Images) Greek yogurt
Add strawberries or raspberries and a teaspoon of honey to sweeten. To make it a more complete breakfast, this can be paired with a slice of whole-grain toast "buttered" with smashed avocado. (Getty Images) Mediterranean pasta salad
Get your carb fix without guilt. This lunch option combines pasta noodles tossed in extra-virgin olive oil with red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and crumbled feta cheese. (Getty Images) Chicken souvlaki
Pocket the good stuff: chicken and veggies, in a wrap. Pair with a side of couscous to eat lunch fast or slow. (Getty Images) Roasted almonds
Grab a handful for a protein-packed snack that will keep you from loading up on sugary junk later in the day. (Getty Images) Grilled salmon
Make a mark on seafood by searing it over an open flame. Make it a meal by adding a side salad of arugula and spinach or wild greens. (Getty Images) Quinoa salad
This ancient edible source of plant-based protein can be combined with a wide array of other filling foods that spring from the dirt, from eggplant to onion. (Getty Images) Chocolate mousse
If you're in the mood for something sweet after dinner, treat yourself to a delicious chocolate mousse. The recipe calls for extra bitter dark chocolate, extra virgin olive oil, eggs, sugar, salt, orange zest and orange liqueur. (Getty Images) Steamed mussels
Try steamed mussels for a fresh seafood meal that can be prepared in about a half hour. Cook them in dry white wine for extra flavor. (iStockPhoto) Pumpkin soup
If you go crazy for all things pumpkin in the fall, "spicy pumpkin soup" is the perfect dish for an appetizer, lunch or dinner. (Getty Images) French fries
You don't have to give up french fries to eat healthy. Keep this favorite in your diet by roasting them in your oven the Mediterranean way rather than frying them. (Getty Images) Banana bread with peanuts
Make "peanut banana bread" on Sunday, and you will have an easy breakfast option or snack throughout the week. (Getty Images) ×
How much does Mediterranean Diet cost? The cost of the Mediterranean diet, like most aspects of the diet, depends on how you shape it. While some ingredients ( olive oil, nuts, fish and fresh produce in particular) can be expensive, you can find ways to keep the tab reasonable – especially if you're replacing red meats and meals with plant-based home cooking, some research suggests. Your shopping choices matter, too. Can't spring for the $50 bottle of wine? Grab one for $15 instead. And snag whatever veggies are on sale that day, rather than the $3-a-piece artichokes.
Will Mediterranean Diet help you lose weight? The Mediterranean diet might help you lose weight. While some people fear that eating a diet like the Mediterranean diet that is relatively rich in fats (think olive oil, olives, avocado and some cheese) will keep them fat, more and more research is suggesting the opposite is true. Of course, it depends on which aspects you adopt and how it compares to your current diet. If, for instance, you build a "calorie deficit" into your plan – eating fewer calories than your daily recommended max or burning off extra by exercising – you should shed some pounds. How quickly and whether you keep them off is up to you. Here's a look at a few studies addressing weight loss on the Mediterranean diet: A 2016 study in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal that analyzed data from Predimed – a five-year trial including 7,447 adults with Type 2 diabetes or at risk for cardiovascular disease who were assigned either a Mediterranean diet supplemented with olive oil, the same diet supplemented with nuts or a control diet – found that people on the Mediterranean versions added the fewest inches to their waistlines. The olive oil folks lost the most weight.
A 2010 study in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism assigned 259 overweight diabetics to one of three diets: a low-carb Mediterranean diet, a traditional Mediterranean diet or a diet based on recommendations from the American Diabetes Association. All groups were told to exercise 30 to 45 minutes at least three times per week. After a year, all groups lost weight; the traditional group lost an average of about 16 pounds while the ADA group dropped 17 pounds and the low-carb group lost 22 pounds.
Another study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2008, assigned 322 moderately obese adults to one of three diets: calorie-restricted low-fat; calorie-restricted Mediterranean; and non-calorie-restricted low-carb. After two years, the Mediterranean group had lost an average of 9 7/10 pounds; the low-fat group, 6 4/10 pounds; and the low-carb group, 10 3/10 pounds. Although weight loss didn't differ greatly between the low-carb and Mediterranean groups, both lost appreciably more than the low-fat group did.
A 2008 analysis of 21 studies in the journal Obesity Reviews concluded the jury is still out on whether following the Mediterranean diet will lead to weight loss or a lower likelihood of being overweight or obese.
How easy is Mediterranean Diet to follow? Because Mediterranean diets don't ban entire food groups, you shouldn't have trouble complying long term. The Mediterranean diet can be convenient. When you want to cook, there's a recipe and complementary wine that'll transport you across the Atlantic. Oldways' consumer-friendly tips will make meal planning and prepping easier. And you can eat out, as long as you bring someone along to share the hefty entrees. Oldways offers numerous Mediterranean recipes, including this guide featuring meals that all cost $2 or less a serving. Otherwise, a simple Google search will turn up lots of healthy Mediterranean meal ideas. Want more inspiration? Oldways recommends the "4-Week Mediterranean Diet Menu Plan." If you eat out while following the Mediterranean diet, embrace the diet's affinity for sharing by ordering one entree for the two of you. And be sure to start with a house salad or order extra veggies a la carte to get your fill. [RELATED: 10 Ways to Stay on Track With Your Weight-Loss Goals When Life Goes Crazy] Recommended Article Recommended Article 10 Ways to Stay on Track With Your Weight-Loss Goals When Life Goes Crazy Stressed? Busy? Here’s how to keep life from sidelining your weight-loss progress. You may save time on the Mediterranean diet by cooking and storing meals ahead of time; otherwise, you'll have to hire somebody to plan, shop for and prepare your meals, if your time is more valuable than your wallet. You'll find lots of free Mediterranean diet resources on the Oldways website, including an easy-to-understand food pyramid; a printable grocery list; gender- and age-specific tips on making the Mediterranean switch; a quick-read "starter" brochure; a recipe newsletter; and even a glossary defining Mediterranean staples, from bruschetta to tapenade. Hunger shouldn't be a problem on this diet; fiber and healthy fats are filling, and you'll be eating lots of fiber-packed produce and whole grains, and cooking with satiating fats like olive oil. Nutrition experts emphasize the importance of satiety, the satisfied feeling that you've had enough. You're making everything, so if something doesn't taste good, you know who to blame. ||||| (Getty Images) What is Mayo Clinic Diet? This diet has been reviewed by U.S. News' team of expert panelists. Learn more » Balanced These diets fall within accepted ranges for the amount of protein, carbs, fat and other nutrients they provide. Pros & Cons Nutritionally sound
You shape your diet
Lots of grunt work
Somewhat pricey Weight loss and a healthier lifestyle go hand in hand on the Mayo Clinic Diet. You recalibrate your eating habits, breaking bad ones and replacing them with good ones with the help of the Mayo Clinic's unique food pyramid. The pyramid emphasizes fruits, veggies and whole grains. In general, these foods have low energy density, meaning you can eat more but take in fewer calories. Think of it this way: For about the same amount of calories you could have a quarter of a Snickersbar or about 2 cups of broccoli. By sticking with the Mayo Clinic Diet, you’re expected to shed 6 to 10 pounds in two weeks and continue losing 1 to 2 pounds weekly until you’ve hit your goal weight. In 2013, Mayo Clinic published "The Mayo Clinic Diabetes Diet," which our experts did not evaluate. A new edition of this book will be available Jan. 1, 2019. This spin on the standard eating plan is designed for people with prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes, and its advice is specific to lowering blood sugar and keeping levels stable.
How does Mayo Clinic Diet work? Do's & Don'ts Do: Raid the produce section of your supermarket. The newest (and second) edition of the "Mayo Clinic Diet" book was published in 2017. Use it, as well as the Mayo Clinic Diet website , as your guides to work your way through two parts: "Lose it!" and "Live it!" Part one focuses on 15 key habits – ones to add and ones to ditch. You don't count calories, and you can snack all you want on fruits and veggies. After two weeks, you begin part two, learning how many calories you should eat to either lose or maintain weight and where those calories should come from. No food group is completely off-limits – you're developing a pattern of healthy eating you'll follow for life. [Check out the DASH diet, which aims to help prevent and lower high blood pressure.] In "Lose it!" you'll add a healthy breakfast, lots of fruits and veggies, whole grains, healthy fats and at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day. You'll ban eating while watching TV, sugar (except what's found in fruit), snacking (except on fruits and veggies), consuming too much meat and full-fat dairy, and eating out (unless the food you order follows the rules). If you're really motivated, you'll also adopt bonus habits such as keeping food, activity and goal diaries; exercising 60 or more minutes per day; and eating natural or minimally processed "real food."
In "Live it!" you'll use what you learned in the first phase but be allowed to occasionally break the rules. You'll also calculate the number of calories you can eat while still losing a couple of pounds a week. But instead of counting the calories in every grain of (brown) rice you eat, you'll focus on servings. On a 1,400-calorie plan, for example, you're allowed four or more servings each of fruits and veggies, five servings of carbs, four of protein/dairy and three of fats. What's a serving? For fruit, it's the size of a tennis ball; for protein, no bigger than a deck of cards. Round out "Live it!" with regular physical activity and you're set for life. If you’re interested in following the Mayo Clinic Diabetes Diet, it's heavy on food that's naturally rich in nutrients and low in fat and calories, and the diet emphasizes fruits, veggies and whole grains. Recommended foods include healthy carbs (think fruit, legumes, vegetables, whole-wheat flour and wheat bran); fiber-rich foods such as nuts and beans; heart-healthy fish such as salmon, mackerel and tuna; and "good" fats, which include avocados, almonds, olives and walnuts. Foods to avoid include saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol and sodium. Do's & Don'ts Do's & Don'ts Do: Raid the produce section of your supermarket.
How much does Mayo Clinic Diet cost? Whether it's pricier than your current grocery tab depends, of course, on what you put in your cart. Fruits, veggies and whole-grain products are generally more expensive than sugary cereal, white bread and frozen pizzas. But there's no membership fee, and the diet's individualized nature gives you financial wiggle room – by making dinner from whatever produce is on sale, for example. The "Mayo Clinic Diet" book is an essential guide and should be purchased.
Will Mayo Clinic Diet help you lose weight? Most likely, Mayo Clinic Diet will help you lose weight, provided you follow the rules. Although the only research specifically evaluating the diet comes from the Mayo Clinic itself, preliminary results are promising. The principles behind it are backed by substantial research, which suggests its potential for weight loss and weight maintenance. In a 2008 pilot program of 53 obese Mayo Clinic employees who followed "Lose it!" for two weeks, average weight loss was 8 pounds. Nearly all of the 46 who finished lost 4 or more pounds, and most lost between 6 to 10 pounds. There was no control group. In general, diets rich in low-energy-dense foods have been shown to deliver weight loss, promoting fullness on fewer calories, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a study of 97 obese women, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2007, researchers randomly assigned dieters to either a low-energy-dense, low-fat diet or a low-energy-dense, low-fat diet that emphasized fruits and vegetables. After a year, both groups lost weight, and the fruits-and-vegetables dieters lost even more – 14 pounds compared with 11 pounds. More studies, particularly large controlled trials, are needed to confirm the findings.
How easy is Mayo Clinic Diet to follow? Most dieters will find the restrictive "Lose it!" phase difficult. That's why it only lasts two weeks. Once you develop your plan in "Live it!" and find no foods completely off limits, you'll be more likely to stay on the wagon. You're free to eat out, as long as you let Mayo's food pyramid direct your menu choices. Alcohol might be restricted a little more than you'd prefer. And while a slew of Mayo guides make developing your plan easier, there's just no way to avoid the grocery store and stove. Mayo's companion "The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook, Second Edition," is packed with recipe ideas. Once you understand healthy eating and serving sizes, you can scour outside recipe websites for free. Eating out is discouraged in Mayo’s "Lose it!" phase, but the fine print says you technically still can if you don't stray from the guidelines. There are no timesavers, unless you hire somebody to plan your meals, shop for them and prepare them. And you can't pay someone to exercise for you. The book provides meal planning, grocery shopping and dining out guides; a crash course in nutrition basics; and advice for staying motivated. Mayo doesn't have any book-specific resources online, but you can peruse its large database of diet-related articles . Nutrition experts emphasize the importance of satiety, the satisfied feeling that you’ve had enough. You shouldn’t feel hungry on the Mayo Clinic Diet. In part one, you can snack on unlimited veggies and fruits, and later, when you've got a calorie cap, the emphasis on low-energy-dense fruits, veggies and high-fiber whole grains should keep you feeling fuller longer. You're making everything, so if something doesn't taste good, you know who to blame. ||||| Roast beef sandwich
Meat lovers can craft a roast beef sandwich with leafy greens and a tomato. Add a half cup of pasta salad with a quarter cup of mixed vegetables and an apple for a balanced lunch. (Getty Images)
Popcorn
Need a snack? Try popcorn – but stick to two cups cooked with canola oil. (Getty Images)
Apple oatmeal
One cup of oatmeal is a delicious, heart-healthy way to start your morning. Add apple slices or your favorite fruit to sweeten. (Getty Images)
Eggs
Eggs are fine for breakfast, but limit yourself to two yolks per week on this cholesterol-friendly diet. (Egg whites and substitutes aren’t limited.) (Getty Images)
Skinless poultry
Skinless poultry is a great way to add protein to your lunch salad or dinner plate. Just remember not to eat more than five ounces per day. Consider substituting a quarter cup of cooked dry beans or peas for one ounce of meat. (Getty Images)
Vegetables
Leafy greens, cooked or raw vegetables and raw vegetable juices are great ways to get your required three to five servings of vegetables each day. Incorporate squash into your soups or make a radish salad. The choice is yours. (Getty Images)
Whole grains
Don’t shy away from healthy whole grains like English muffins for breakfast if that’s what you crave. The TLC Diet calls for six servings of bread, cereals, pasta, rice and other grains each day. Just remember to limit yourself to one teaspoon of soft margarine. (Getty Images) ||||| Egg, bacon and avocado sandwiches
Serve this ultra‐satisfying breakfast sandwich with hot sauce on the side. For less mess on the go, use whole wheat pita pockets instead. (Courtesy of Weight Watchers)
Chopped spinach salad and pear salad with sherry vinaigrette
Pomegranate seeds add a pop of color and flavor to salads. Cut back on prep work by buying them prepackaged. (Courtesy of Weight Watchers)
Classic lasagna
Dig into this gooey version of meat lasagna. It's rich and flavorful, good enough to be called a classic. (Courtesy of Weight Watchers)
Chocolate mousse espresso shots
Espresso‐spiked chocolate pudding is layered with crushed chocolate wafers in this so‐simple dessert recipe. (Courtesy of Weight Watchers)
Toast with avocado and red pepper flakes
If you usually just throw a slice of bread in the toaster for breakfast, you don't have to stop there. Spread fresh mashed avocado on top and add some red pepper flakes to transform your basic toast into a scrumptious treat. (Getty Images)
Chicken noodle soup
Chicken noodle soup isn't only for when you're sick. You can enjoy this winter favorite as a light lunch or dinner. Add frozen vegetables like peas, corn, green beans and carrots to give it a boost of flavor and vitamins. (Getty Images)
Cheeseburger with tomatoes and grilled onions
If you get a craving for a succulent burger, go ahead and grill one up using 93-percent lean ground beef. Fresh tomatoes and grilled onions make great toppings that are delicious and healthy. If you like your burger extra juicy, don't press down on the patty when you cook it. (Getty Images)
Roasted baby potatoes
Roasted baby potatoes are a great side to any meal. Cook with oregano and lemon to give them a zesty taste. (Getty Images)
Apple pie
Always a popular dessert, apple pie is a delicious option for summer cookouts, holiday dinners or just a night on the couch. For an extra touch, add a crumble made with oats, flour and sugar. (Getty Images)
Butternut squash with sage and orange
The next time you're in your local grocery store or at the farmers market, grab some butternut squash and add orange zest and fresh sage to make a yummy side dish. You can buy pre-cut butternut squash as a time-saver. (Getty Images)
Cucumber slices and dip
If you love snacking on cucumber slices, try them with a dip made from low-fat cottage cheese, sour cream, chives and black pepper for a light option. (Getty Images)
Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
Just because you're watching your weight doesn't mean you can't enjoy fresh cookies from the oven. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are a baked treat you can indulge in without the guilt. (Getty Images) ||||| | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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Article:
Health Tennessee Will Now Criminally Charge Pregnant Women Who Use Drugs CREDIT: Shutterstock
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (R) has approved a measure that will allow Tennessee to bring criminal charges against pregnant women who use drugs for potentially harming their fetuses, even though there isn’t conclusive scientific evidence that being exposed to illicit drugs in the womb causes long-term harm to children.
The governor’s approval of the legislation comes despite a massive outcry from reproductive rights and criminal justice groups across the country, who say that criminalizing pregnant women is the wrong policy approach. Threatening to bring charges against women who are struggling with substance abuse dissuades them from coming forward to seek the medical treatment they need. It’s also a policy that disproportionately harms low-income and non-white women.
“Today, the Tennessee governor has made it a crime to carry a pregnancy to term if you struggle with addiction or substance abuse,” Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, a staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, said. “This deeply misguided law will force those women who need health care the most into the shadows. Pregnant women with addictions need better access to health care, not jail time.”
In a statement accompanying his signature on the bill, Haslam claimed that he had “extensive conversations with experts including substance abuse, mental health, health and law enforcement officials” and will “be monitoring the impact of the law through regular updates with the court system and health professionals.”
But most experts — including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Public Health Association — oppose efforts to arrest pregnant women who use drugs. Medical professionals are concerned about women getting the prenatal care they need, since skipping out on those services actually leads to a greater risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant death. Specialists in obstetric medicine and drug addiction called on Haslam to veto the measure.
Although drug possession and drug sales can result in criminal charges, states typically do not arrest people simply for using drugs. Addiction is considered to be a medical issue, and under the Constitution’s definition of cruel and unusual punishment, states aren’t allowed to criminalize those types of disorders. But Tennessee is making an exception for pregnant people.
“Do we arrest new fathers who come into the emergency room who test positive for drugs? This is not really about arresting pregnant women because they use drugs. This is arresting women because they became pregnant, making them vulnerable to charges of child endangerment for risking harm to a newborn,” Lynn Paltrow, the executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW), one of the groups that’s been fighting against the criminalization of pregnant women for years, told ThinkProgress in an interview earlier this month.
Two years ago, Tennessee barred the use of criminal charges against pregnant women for using drugs, opting to encourage drug-addicted women to enter treatment. Advocates are frustrated that the state is backtracking on that policy, which they supported. “Now we’re seeing the General Assembly take two big steps back,” Farah Diaz-Tello, a staff lawyer for NAPW, recently told the New York Times. “It’s going from a state with some of the best practices to one of the worst.” ||||| Buy Photo Dr. Stephen Patrick, right, and Michael Botticelli, deputy director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, take a close look at a baby inside the NICU on Monday while touring the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University. (Photo: Jae S. Lee, The Tennessean)Buy Photo
Tennessee women who use drugs while pregnant can be criminally charged for harm done to their infants beginning July 1.
Gov. Bill Haslam signed the legislation Tuesday after "extensive conversations with experts including substance abuse, mental health, health and law enforcement officials," he wrote in a statement. "The intent of this bill is to give law enforcement and district attorneys a tool to address illicit drug use among pregnant women through treatment programs."
The governor's decision comes after a week of mounting nationwide opposition from civil and reproductive rights groups. They argued that criminalization would drive vulnerable women away from drug addiction treatment.
"I understand the concerns about this bill, and I will be monitoring the impact of the law through regular updates with the court system and health professionals," Haslam wrote.
Simple Answer: What's best for babies born to drug-addicted mothers?
The law brings back criminalization, which lawmakers had eliminated two years ago as the state moved toward programs that incentivize expecting mothers to get into treatment.
Tennessee officials have wrestled with what to do about the growing numbers of infants born dependent on drugs and who often suffer from a condition known as neonatal abstinence syndrome.
The legislation would allow mothers to avoid criminal charges if they get into one of the state's few treatment programs. Haslam said he wants doctors to encourage women to get into treatment before delivering their babies so they can avoid charges.
The proposal also includes an unusual sunset provision, which means the criminal penalty will be in effect until 2016. At that time, lawmakers will have to revisit the issue.
Opponents, including five national medical organizations and local doctors who treat pregnant women, worry that criminalization will scare women away from treatment and reverse last year's Safe Harbor Act, which protected the custody rights of mothers and gave them priority placement into the state's limited number of treatment programs.
The director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee — joined by the national ACLU — said she was "extremely disappointed" by the governor's decision.
"A pregnant woman struggling with drug or alcohol dependency will now be deterred from seeking the prenatal care she needs," said Hedy Weinberg.
Abuse of prescription painkillers has fueled a tenfold increase in such births in the past decade, sending health officials scrambling. There were 921 drug-dependent births in 2013 and 253 so far this year.
Reach Tony Gonzalez at 615-259-8089 or on Twitter @tgonzalez.
MOMS AND DRUGS
921: The number of drug-dependent births in Tennessee in 2013
253: The number of drug-dependent births so far this year.
The legislation would allow mothers to avoid criminal charges if they get into one of the state's few treatment programs.
Read or Share this story: http://tnne.ws/1kqiiEn ||||| Public Health
Tennessee Bill Could Send Addicted Moms To Jail
itoggle caption Katie Collins/PA Photos/Landov
Pregnant women addicted to illegal narcotics or prescription pain pills could soon be jailed in Tennessee under a bill awaiting the governor's signature. The strict proposal enjoys bipartisan support — despite objections from doctors.
The medical term for what happens when a newborn has withdrawal symptoms a day or two after birth is "neonatal abstinence syndrome." At its worst, these babies suffer from seizures; it's not clear whether there might also be lasting effects.
Tennessee last year forced every hospital to start reporting such cases, and the numbers have only been going up. As health officials have made drug-dependent babies a priority, the Legislature has taken a more punitive approach.
"It's always somebody else's fault," says state Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver. "What's wrong with: 'You screwed up, you're wrong, you've got to pay the consequences.' What's wrong with that?"
It's always somebody else's fault. ... What's wrong with: You screwed up, you're wrong, you've got to pay the consequences?
Weaver initially wanted to make it possible to charge women with homicide if their drug-dependent newborn died, but ultimately she had to tone it down. The women would now have the option to seek treatment.
"We can't make her get help herself," says Weaver, "but, by golly, we can give her an option and a choice."
Weaver is a conservative Republican, but Democrats jumped on board too. State Rep. John DeBerry admits it seems unnatural to punish a pregnant woman for harming her unborn child.
"We are always trying to save children who should be saved by their families, and I have said if there is a better way, bring it to me," he says. "I haven't seen it yet."
In some other states, prosecutors have gone after addicts whose newborn dies, trying to charge them with murder. Farah Diaz-Tello of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women points to a case in Mississippi.
"What Tennessee is doing is creating a law that would permit this kind of prosecution — not for murder," says Diaz-Tello, "but it would allow for reckless endangerment, which is a misdemeanor, all the way up to aggravated assault."
And an assault charge could mean 15 years behind bars for the mother.
Being a poorly controlled diabetic is terrible for pregnancy — probably equally as bad as drug addiction — and we don't legislate those choices.
New mother Jackie Bains has returned to a Nashville women's clinic for a checkup. Her son is 7 weeks old and perfectly healthy. Bains says she was hooked on narcotic pain pills when she found out she was pregnant — but she got help. She says it was hard to tell people, but it would have been even harder if she thought she could be punished for her addiction.
"I mean, some people are worried about going to jail and what it could do. But then you also have to worry about what it would do to the baby, too," she says. "I do think it will deter people from wanting to come in to seek help."
It's a concern that worries many in the medical community — that the punitive approach, even with its treatment option, will drive away women or encourage more abortions.
Jessica Young, an obstetrician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center who specializes in drug treatment during pregnancy, says lawmakers don't fully understand that addiction can be a sickness.
"Being a poorly controlled diabetic is terrible for pregnancy — probably equally as bad as drug addiction — and we don't legislate those choices," says Young. "I just think this is an easy group to pick on because addiction has such a stigma."
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, a relatively moderate Republican, has been hearing from women's groups around the country asking him to veto the bill, but he says he's comfortable with the final language, given that a woman always has a way to avoid jail time, even after giving birth to a child going through drug withdrawal. |||||
What is a summary? | – Starting July 1, if you're pregnant and use drugs while living in Tennessee, you can be charged with a crime for causing harm to your unborn baby. Gov. Bill Haslam signed the controversial law yesterday, the Tennessean reports. Civil and reproductive rights groups had opposed it, saying it would scare women away from getting treatment for drug addiction, but Haslam said he talked to "experts including substance abuse, mental health, health, and law enforcement officials" before signing the legislation, and will closely monitor its impact. Critics also say the law disproportionately affects low-income and non-white women, ThinkProgress notes. Using drugs while pregnant was previously criminalized in the state, but decriminalized two years ago as lawmakers moved toward programs encouraging pregnant women to get treatment. But the law is back as the number of babies born dependent on drugs is on the rise. Pregnant drug users can avoid criminal charges if they enter a treatment program, and Haslam is asking doctors to encourage women to enter treatment programs before delivery to avoid being charged. If they don't enter treatment, women charged under the law could face as many as 15 years in jail, NPR reported last week. | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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News article:
Story highlights "I just feel like God's will will be done," victim's mother tells CNN
Randall Kerrick's attorneys say resubmitting same charge to grand jury illegal
Prosecutors have said first grand jury was not a full panel; defense contests that claim
Officer fatally shot Jonathan Ferrell after woman called 911 to report home invasion
A grand jury has indicted Officer Randall Kerrick of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department on a charge of voluntary manslaughter in the September 14 shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell, according to a statement from state Attorney General Roy Cooper.
The grand jury heard evidence from the state Bureau of Investigation and the police department.
"With the strength of the evidence in this case, we're not surprised," Charles Monnett, an attorney for Ferrell's family, said about Monday's indictment.
"We're all pleased and happy that the process is beginning now and that there's an end in sight," he said. "It is the first step towards justice."
JUST WATCHED Hear 911 call that led to man's death Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Hear 911 call that led to man's death 02:29
Ferrell's mother, Georgia, told CNN that she is prepared to wait as long as it takes for the case to wind its way through the justice system.
"I just feel like God's will will be done," she said.
The Charlotte, North Carolina, officer faced a second grand jury proceeding for the fatal shooting of Ferrell, an ex-college football player who was reportedly seeking assistance after a car accident.
Attorneys for Kerrick had denounced the prosecution's move to resubmit the case as unlawful and filed a motion to block it, but CNN affiliate News 14 Carolina reported the grand jury convened Monday morning
A grand jury last week declined to indict Kerrick . Prosecutors said afterward the grand jury was composed of less than a full panel and vowed to send the case back.
According to a handwritten statement filed with the court, the first grand jury requested that the prosecutor submit a "bill of indictment to a lesser-included or related offense," but the state attorney general said he would resubmit the voluntary manslaughter charge.
Chris Chestnut, another attorney for Ferrell's family, described relatives as "shocked and devastated" by the first grand jury's ruling and said they were concerned a "miscarriage of justice is imminent."
Kerrick's attorneys, however, filed a motion Friday saying that any miscarriage was on the prosecution's part.
Randall Kerrick faces a voluntary manslaughter charge.
North Carolina law states that a grand jury can be made up of 12 to 18 members, the defense attorneys said. Thus, the prosecution's claim that it could go back to the grand jury because fewer than 18 members initially heard Kerrick's case was spurious, the motion said.
There was "nothing irregular or improper" about the grand jury that heard last week's case, the attorneys said in a statement.
The motion further alleged that Cooper's statement to the media -- that "This is not over" -- and his announcement that he would resubmit the case was a "wholly improper and blatant attempt to influence the (second) grand jury."
The defense reiterated its claim that the shooting, "while tragic, was justified under the circumstances presented to Officer Kerrick at the time," according to its statement.
"We have seen news clips and interviews stating the community should be 'outraged' at the return of a No True Bill of Indictment," the statement continued. "Those outraged have simply not heard all of the facts and hasten to a position. The true outrage of this community should be at the Attorney General's complete disregard of the original findings of our first grand jury."
Ferrell's family disagreed and issued a statement saying, "It appears that this motion was filed solely because Randall Kerrick's attorneys feel their client will be indicted once the full Grand Jury properly considers the evidence in this case when it convenes on Monday."
Attorneys for Ferrell's family on January 13 filed a civil lawsuit connected to his death. It targets the city of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe and Kerrick.
Kerrick shot an unarmed Ferrell , a 24-year-old ex-Florida A&M football player, after a woman -- home alone with her 1-year-old child -- called 911 and reported someone was trying to break down her front door.
It was 2:35 a.m., and according to the lawsuit, the woman "does not understand that Jonathon may be injured and is in need of assistance and becomes frightened by his presence on her doorstep at such a late hour. She quickly closes the door, calls 911 for assistance and activates her home security system."
The woman told police Ferrell was "yelling for her to turn her alarm off" but never reported that Ferrell harmed her, made threatening statements, brandished a weapon or stole or vandalized her property, the lawsuit further alleges.
Police were dispatched, and Ferrell walked down the street to seek assistance elsewhere, according to the lawsuit.
Kerrick and two other officers arrived on the scene about 11 minutes after the 911 call, but Kerrick didn't speak with the woman, the lawsuit says. He instead tracked down Ferrell, who "never engages in any conduct which can be objectively reasonably interpreted as aggravated active aggression," according to the lawsuit.
"Defendant Kerrick, in direct violation of written police department regulations, fires 12 high-velocity bullets at Jonathon, striking him 10 times in the chest and arms," the lawsuit continues.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has called the shooting unlawful.
"The evidence revealed that Mr. Ferrell did advance on Officer Kerrick and the investigation showed that the subsequent shooting of Mr. Ferrell was excessive," police said in a statement on September 14, the day of the shooting. "Our investigation has shown that Officer Kerrick did not have a lawful right to discharge his weapon during this encounter."
Kerrick is free on $50,000 bond. His attorneys said in their statement Friday, "The citizens of Mecklenburg County by and through its grand jury have spoken. We pray that if this case is reheard by a second Grand Jury, the same conclusion will be reached -- that there is no probable cause to sustain an indictment for voluntary manslaughter against Officer Kerrick." ||||| Given a second try, a Mecklenburg County grand jury indicted a police officer Monday in connection with the shooting death last fall of an unarmed Charlotte man.
Just before 4 p.m., the voluntary manslaughter indictment of Police Officer Randall Kerrick became public. The officer was arrested Sept. 14 after he shot Jonathan Ferrell 10 times during a predawn confrontation northeast of Charlotte. If convicted, the 28-year-old could spend between three and 11 years in prison.
As news of the grand jury’s decision reached a SouthPark law office, Ferrell’s mother and brother preached patience, faith and divine inevitability.
“God’s will must be done,” Georgia Ferrell, who was up from her home in Tallahassee, Fla., said. “That’s the first thing that popped into my head. God’s will must be done.”
Kerrick’s arrest and indictment mark the first time in more than 30 years that a Charlotte police officer has been charged in connection with an on-duty shooting.
Kerrick’s attorney, George Laughrun, said Monday evening that he has not seen the indictment and would not comment. He said he had delivered the news to Kerrick and his family but would not give details.
The indictment came after Kerrick’s case made a highly unusual second trip to a grand jury, and only because a judge refused to block it. Last week, a Mecklenburg grand jury declined to indict the officer on voluntary manslaughter and asked that a lesser charge be brought to them to consider.
Veteran prosecutors and defense attorneys say a grand jury refusing to indict is extremely rare. For example, the jurors who didn’t indict Kerrick issued “true bills” on all the 276 other cases they heard that day.
In response, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced last week that his prosecutors would resubmit the case to the county’s other sitting grand jury with the same voluntary manslaughter charges.
Kerrick’s defense team went to court Monday morning to block him. They argued that giving prosecutors a second crack at an indictment, coupled with Cooper’s comments about the case and the fact that demonstrators were protesting a block away, compromised their client’s chances at a fair hearing.
“How in the world is that grand jury supposed to go into that courtroom and make a decision when you’ve also got the NAACP outside?” defense attorney Michael Greene asked Superior Court Judge Bob Bell. “How is Randall Kerrick supposed to get a fair trial and due process?”
After the 30-minute debate, Bell said he found no legal basis to stop prosecutors from taking the case to a new grand jury.
This time, Cooper’s team, led by Senior Deputy Attorney General Jim Coman, sent twice as many witnesses to make the case against Kerrick than had testified before the first grand jury the week before. Two came from the State Bureau of Investigation. Two were CMPD detectives, and colleagues of Kerrick.
Twelve votes are required for an indictment. Last week, only 14 jurors were on hand to consider the Kerrick case, meaning that as few as three jurors could block the indictment. Cooper cited those absences as a factor in bringing the case back for a second time.
An attorney general spokeswoman did not respond to questions on whether the witnesses presented new evidence and whether grand jurors had watched video shot from a police car on the night of the shooting.
Charlotte attorney Charles Monnett, who is handling the Ferrell family’s lawsuit against Kerrick, the police department and the city and county, said lines of communication with the prosecutors have improved in recent days and that there was “a good possibility that the grand jury saw the video.”
Monnett earlier had spoken of what he described “as the tremendous sense of relief that the system is headed now in the right direction, that justice may be reached.”
Reasonable force
The indictment sets the stage for a trial on use of force in the city that helped set the national standard for how police are supposed to respond.
The Supreme Court’s landmark 1989 ruling on “objective reasonableness” grew out of a lawsuit on how Charlotte police allegedly mistreated a diabetic black man on West Boulevard five years before.
Police response must be “objectionably reasonable in light of the facts and circumstances confronting them,” Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote. Among the considerations: “the severity of the crime at issue, whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the officers or others, and whether he is actively resisting arrest.”
Rehnquist also added this: Would another “reasonable officer” react the same way?
The standard was used in jury instructions in the federal case against Los Angeles police officers who beat Rodney King, and in talk-show debates and online blogs surrounding the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
As with those cases, Ferrell’s death brought national headlines and has taken on clear racial overtones. Ferrell, a former Florida A&M; football player, was black; Kerrick is white.
Not a ‘complete victory’
Activist John Barnette, who helped organize a Monday morning rally outside the Government Center calling for Kerrick’s indictment, said the grand jury’s decision is not a “complete victory” because the police officer has not been convicted and Ferrell is still dead.
Barnette also criticized a system that he says took almost five months to respond to Ferrell’s death.
Ferrell moved to Charlotte a year before his death from Tallahassee to be with his fiancee. On the night he died, he gathered with friends to drink at a bar, then gave a co-worker a ride home. Ferrell’s autopsy showed his blood-alcohol level was low enough for him to drive.
But Ferrell wrecked his car on his way out of the Bradfield Farms neighborhood. He kicked his way free, apparently losing his cellphone in the process, then walked more than a quarter of a mile to the nearest home. There, police say, he pounded on the front door.
The woman inside called 911, frantically describing how an unknown black man was trying to break into her home.
Kerrick was one of three officers to respond. As he approached the officers, Ferrell ignored their orders to stop, investigators say. One of the other officers fired his Taser but missed. Police say Ferrell then veered into Kerrick, who, with three years on the force, was the least experienced officer on the scene. Kerrick fired 12 shots from close range. He was the only officer to use his gun.
Charlotte police investigations into officer shootings typically last weeks, even months. But Police Chief Rodney Monroe ordered Kerrick’s arrest that same day, accusing the officer of using excessive force.
Laughrun, a former prosecutor, says the video from the police car shows his client acted appropriately.
Last week, when the first grand jury did not indict, Laughrun was declaring victory for Kerrick. Now he must begin preparing for his trial. Laughrun predicts one won’t be held before the end of the year at the earliest.
The fact that prosecutors needed two tries to get what is normally a routine indictment doesn’t necessarily portend a difficult path to a conviction, veteran Charlotte defense attorney James Wyatt said Monday.
But given the nature of the case and the publicity it has received, Wyatt acknowledged that finding an impartial jury could be a long and intense process.
“It will be a very different kind of case because a police officer is a defendant,” said Wyatt, who is not connected to the case. “Jurors are keenly aware of how dangerous a police officer’s job can be and how decisions have to be made on a split-second basis.
“They will have to decide whether the officer’s actions were appropriate or whether he went beyond the bounds of what a well-trained officer should have done.”
Georgia Ferrell and her son Willie say they plan to attend Kerrick’s trial. A week ago, when the grand jury refused to indict the police officer who shot her son, Ferrell asked supporters in Charlotte to keep fighting.
Now she asked for prayer.
“We are going to keep praying, not just for us, but for everyone involved in this case,” she said as she sat near a desk in Monnett’s office that held dozens of photos of her dead son taken over the course of his life.
Asked if that included Kerrick and his family, her eyes flashed.
“Of course, it does,” she said. Staff writers Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Elisabeth Arriero contributed. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article? | – A North Carolina police officer who shot an unarmed car crash victim 10 times was indicted yesterday for involuntary manslaughter on a grand jury's second try. Randall Merrick, who faces between three and 11 years in prison if found guilty, is the first Charlotte police officer to be indicted for an on-duty shooting in more than 30 years, reports the Charlotte Observer. A grand jury refused to indict the 28-year-old officer last week, but the case was sent back for a highly unusual second try after prosecutors said that there hadn't been a full panel present for the first attempt. The family of Jonathan Ferrell, who was shot after he crashed his car late at night and walked to a nearby house, where the homeowner called 911, filed a wrongful death lawsuit earlier this month. A lawyer for the family says the evidence is so strong that the indictment is no surprise. "We're all pleased and happy that the process is beginning now and that there's an end in sight," he tells CNN. "It is the first step towards justice." | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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Here is a news article: FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/groups/864431573661266/ This ordinance has been in place for many years. Many families have had to give up their family pets due to this law. It is important for all of us to come together and be a voice for not only Diggy the American Bulldog, but all of the pets and people that have suffered heartache in the past years. We must remember, it is not the animal that is the beast, it is man that creates the beast. Aggressive dogs come in all shapes, sizes, and BREEDS. This should be handled on a case-by-case basis. Please sign this petition so that these wonderful, intelligent, and LOYAL dogs can call Waterford, Michigan their home too!
Diggy is an American Bulldog that was at the Detroit Dog Rescue for 100 days before Dan Tillery came and adopted him. Dan snapped the photo above to show their joy for becoming a family, and the photo immediately went viral on the Internet. But now, the Waterford Township is threatening to take Diggy away because they claim owning him violates a local ordinance that bans specific breeds.
To whom it may concern,
In light of "Diggy", the American Bulldog owned by Mr. Daniel Tillery and the ban against "dangerous dogs/ "pit bulls"",
Please take action to remove/revise Article 3, Section 3 "Pitbull Breeds, et al" in the Township Code of Ordinances.
Please make our community safer by creating a dog ordinance that does not single out specific breeds. We can make the community safer through dog ordinances that all dog owners have to follow, no matter what their dog looks like.
Dangerous dogs are a problem. Irresponsible dog owners are causing the problem, and our laws should target the people.
Included is website address where you will find a model ordinance as published by the American Veterinary Medical Association which serves to equally protect animals as well as victims of dangerous animals and their irresponsible owners. Please take this into serious consideration. https://www.avma.org/KB/Policies/Documents/Model-Dog-Cat-Control-Ord-Policy.pdf
The signatures you will find attached are in support of Diggy STAYING in Waterford Township, AND removing the ban on "pit bull" dogs.
This petition was started Friday June 10, 2016, and as of today, Monday June 13, 2016, it has gotten 49,781 total signatures. 2,312 of those signatures are from WATERFORD RESIDENTS. This number is steadily climbing.
Sincerely,
Tara Vitale and Tiffany Robertson (former residents of Waterford)
and Susan Roberson, 5754 Pontiac Lake Rd., Waterford 48327 ||||| WATERFORD TOWNSHIP (WWJ) – Diggy the dog has been given three days to vacate his brand new Metro Detroit home.
A Waterford Township dog owner says local officials are threatening to take away his newly adopted dog, all because the dog’s breed was misidentified in a photo that swept the internet by storm.
“Sir Wiggleton” sat in a shelter for almost 100 days waiting for someone, anyone to make him a part of their family. On Monday, his dreams came true when local musician Dan Tillery made it official and adopted the dog, now named Diggy.
When the two met, they instantly became best friends. Staff at Detroit Dog Rescue knew this was a match made in heaven, so they snapped a photo of the grinning best friends and posted it to Facebook, saying: “We know this photo is going to break the internet and we apologize, but we had to share.”
And were they ever right. The photo quickly went viral, spreading across the internet and reaching a national television audience.
But it also drew the eyes of officials in Waterford Township. The township has an ordinance banning pit bull breed dogs and when officials saw the photo, they apparently assumed Diggy was a pit bull.
On Thursday afternoon, just days after Diggy moved in, police showed up on Tillery’s doorstep and asked to see the dog. Police told WWJ they received several complaints of a pit bull being housed at the home, which violates a city ordinance.
“They asked if he’s a friendly dog, I said he’s the friendliest dog,” Tillery told WWJ’s Jon Hewett. “When they went to the gate the actually see him, he licked their face, was very kind. They said, we’re dog lovers, that’s cool, he seems like a good boy. Took some pictures of him.”
Tillery said he got a call about an hour later and was told, based on their visual inspection alone, the officers concluded Diggy was a pit bull.
“He said, you know, we don’t really need much more than I think he’s a pit, and that’s enough, so, he looks like a pit, I think he’s a pit, he’s got to go. You have three days to have him out of your home,” Tillery said.
The deadline is Monday.
The dog rescue is standing behind Tillery, who registered and obtained a proper license for Diggy shortly after he was adopted. The rescue and Tillery say Diggy is an American Bulldog, not a pit bull, and they have supporting adoption papers from the City of Detroit Animal Control and Welfare and their veterinarian who all confirm the dog’s breed.
In a statement, police said Tillery indicated he had another place to take the dog and that he would comply with the ordinance by Monday.
Violation of the township’s ordinance, which prohibits any person from owning, possessing or maintaining a pit bull/pit bull terrier, can result in a civil infraction and a fine of $500. ||||| A picture of a man and his newly adopted pit bull went viral because of the dog's big smile, but the attention brought local police to the man's door demanding he return the dog as pit bulls are prohibited in the town.
Stop and frisk: Why are police departments moving away from it?
When musician Dan Tillery’s joyous photo with his smiling new dog, Diggy, went viral last week, it looked as though the story of a dog held in a shelter for nearly 100 days would have a happy ending.
But a pit bull ban in Mr. Tillery’s hometown, Waterford Township, Michigan, threatens to separate the two and has raised questions regarding the ethics of such bans.
The police say that Diggy, the smiling dog in this viral photo, must leave town. 😠 https://t.co/Oc1tjPHAwy pic.twitter.com/DD3mO1YoMg — The Dodo (@dodo) June 12, 2016
On Thursday, Waterford Township police said Diggy may not be allowed in the town because he might be pit bull, which violates an ordinance banning pit bulls and pit bull mixes, according to ABC News.
Tillery is contending that Diggy is an American Bulldog, and got a dog license from the town stating that he was. A veterinarian from the Detroit Dog Rescue also classified the dog as an American Bulldog. However, the Detroit Dog Rescue had previously classified the dog as a pit bull mix.
The town’s ordinance allows police officers to ban any dog they believe is a pit bull at their personal discretion, the Huffington Post reported. Police Chief Scott Underwood told The Oakland Press that its “a pretty clear case of an ordinance that makes it clear what’s permissible and what’s not, and our job is to enforce the ordinance.”
This development has brought renewed attention to bans against pit bulls. Proponents of such bans say the pit bulls are a dangerous breed, while opponents say humans are responsible when their pets become violent.
Proponents of such bans point to the reputation of pit bulls as dangerous animals. The April 2011 issue of Annals of Surgery asserted that one person is killed by a pit bull every 14 days, two people are injured every day, with children at a higher risk. The report concluded that pit bull attacks are associated with "higher morbidity rates, higher hospital charges, and a higher risk of death than are attacks by other breeds of dogs," and suggested that strict regulation of the breed could "substantially reduce" deaths from dog bites in the United States.
Colleen Lynn, the president and founder of DogsBite.org, a national dog-bite-victims group dedicated to reducing dog attacks, told Time violence is not a learned behavior in pit bulls, it is something they are born with.
"Pit bulls were specifically bred to go into that bite with incredible aggression and fight," she said.
A petition from opponents of Waterford's ban has 42,179 signatures as of Sunday afternoon.
"We must remember, it is not the animal that is the beast, it is man that creates the beast," part of the petition reads. "Aggressive dogs come in all shapes, sizes, and BREEDS. This should be handled on a case by case basis."
In a response to the Time article, Sara Enos, the founder and executive director of the American Pit Bull Foundation argued that the problem is with people, not with pit bulls.
Ms. Enos wrote that pit bulls have many positive traits and serve in many capacities, such as being search-and-rescue dogs, companions, helping kids with reading disabilities, serving as seizure watch dogs, diabetic alert dogs, and comforting nursing home residents.
“Eradicating Pit Bull dogs will affect more than just our family dogs; it will affect the much larger number of citizens that these dogs help, as opposed to attack,” she wrote.
As for Diggy, it is unclear whether or not he will be allowed to stay in town. Kristina Millman-Rinaldi, the executive director of Detroit Dog Rescue, told the Huffington Post that the group is waiting to hear back from the township. ||||| Notice
You must log in to continue. ||||| The mutt, part American bulldog and part who-knows-what-else, was scooped up off the Detroit streets and kept in a small animal control enclosure. There, he waited. And waited. For nearly 100 days, the pooch had little new to explore except different corners of his cage.
Enter a no-kill animal shelter, Detroit Dog Rescue, which transferred the dog out of animal control in March and gave him his first name, Sir Wiggleton. “He had a sparkle in his eye that he needed to get out,” Kristina Rinaldi, Detroit Dog Rescue executive director, told the Detroit News. “I definitely did not want to see him euthanized.”
The group posted a picture of Sir Wiggleton to its Facebook page at the end of May, and almost immediately his future seemed to change. In the photo — the kind of picture social media gurus might describe as “highly shareable” — a goofy grin splits Sir Wiggleton’s face, revealing a long tongue as pink as a fresh tuna steak. His friendly visage accrued genial anthropomorphism and likes aplenty.
To one particular Facebook user, the animal’s smile evoked a fellow mammal with an equally goofy grin. The man passed Sir Wiggleton’s photo along to a local musician named Dan Tillery, citing the similarity in their smiles. In Sir Wiggleton — renamed Diggy, post-adoption — Tillery saw the very animal companion he had been looking for.
“It was like, ‘We need this guy. He looks like he has a lot of personality,’ ” Tillery said to the Detroit News.
On their first day together at Tillery’s home in Waterford, Mich., Tillery and Diggy took a goofball selfie and gave it to Detroit Dog Rescue. The group, which understands that photos of well-groomed men and cute animals have great power, decided that the joint Tillery-Diggy snapshot was destined for nothing less than breaking the Internet, putting Diggy in the same company as Taylor Swift, color-changing dresses and Kim Kardashian as would-be destroyers of the delocalized communications technology.
The Internet remained intact, but the photo caught social media fire, as fans shared it thousands of times. The duo scored celebrity treatment by People magazine and wound up on ABC News, with Tillery on the guitar and Diggy chewing on a stick.
“Every time I see him, I get a big dumb smile, and every time he sees me he gets a big dumb smile,” Tillery told ABC on Tuesday morning, which filmed the musician singing affectionate pop tunes to his new pooch.
“I’ve only had him one night,” Tillery said, “but he’s totally cool.”
Such total coolness was, unfortunately, not destined to last. As the photo gaveth — skyrocketing Tillery and Diggy’s relationship into the animal Facebook exosphere — it threatened to taketh away, once the news of the pooch landed in the hands of the Waterford Township Police Department.
[Being labeled a pit bull can doom a shelter dog’s chances of adoption]
Waterford, Mich., is a township where certain dog breeds are outlawed, under a type of ordinance known as breed-specific legislation, or BSL. The Waterford ban has its roots in a 1988 incident in which a pit bull pair severely injured a woman’s arm and killed her pet Airedale terrier. A few months afterward, the township passed its first ban on pit bull terriers, eventually prohibiting dogs with characteristics that “substantially conform to the breed standards established by the American Kennel Club for American Staffordshire Terriers or Staffordshire Bull Terriers.”
Supporters of BSL argue that some dog breeds are inherently riskier to own than others, because of their size or propensity for aggression. In a 2014 interview with Time, Colleen Lynn, the creator of DogsBite.org, an organization that aims to reduce dog attacks and advocates against pit bull ownership, blames human selection of certain traits. “Why do herding dogs herd? Why do pointing dogs point? They don’t learn that behavior, that’s selective behavior,” Lynn said. “Pit bulls were specifically bred to go into that pit with incredible aggression and fight.”
[‘Oh my God. He’s lifeless’: Detroit preschooler dies after attack by pack of 4 neighborhood pit bulls]
Pit bull defenders say that reports of the animal’s death-lock jaws are exaggerated and that its bred-for-violence history is a recent invention. In fact, one WWI-era depiction shows a pit bull defending an American flag chock-full of kittens, as The Washington Post reported in May; in her new book, “Pit Bull: The Battle Over An American Icon,” author Bronwen Dickey interviews a geneticist who argues that, even if the dogs fought in pits a century ago, claims that fighting DNA remains baked into their genomes are “ludicrous.”
[It’s time to stop demonizing pit bulls]
Other dog breed experts note that too many dogs are painted with the “pit bull” brush; one study of four Florida shelters determined that every other pooch labeled a pit bull had no such genetic ancestry.
The Waterford Police visited Tillery at his home on Thursday, asking if Diggy was friendly. Tillery said yes. “When they went to the gate,” Tillery told CBS News, the pooch “was very kind” and licked the cops’ faces. “They said, ‘we’re dog lovers, that’s cool, he seems like a good boy.’ Took some pictures of him.”
An hour after that, the police told him Diggy was unwelcome.
Neighbors had complained, the police said, that Tillery had violated the pit bull ban. Per a statement via the Detroit Free Press, Waterford Police Chief Scott Underwood said that, “Based on their observations, it was determined the dog was part pit bull/pit bull terrier.” The police department did not cite Tillery — violations of the pit bull ordinance come with up to a $500 penalty — but insisted that, by Monday, Diggy would have to go. If a court hearing were to agree that Diggy is a prohibited animal, according to the ban, he would be “subject to destruction.”
[Dog law, pit bulls, and “breed-specific presumptions”: When must a dog who bites be destroyed]
Rinaldi described the ordinance as “the craziest” in an interview with the Huffington Post. Detroit Dog Rescue had called Waterford Township prior to Diggy’s adoption, to make sure that an American bulldog would be welcome in Tillery’s home. And the veterinary assessment determined that Diggy was an American bulldog — distinct from a Staffordshire terrier. Town officials, she said, told her that only dogs determined to be pit bulls are forbidden.
Tillery may have to relocate Diggy if the township does not budge. “I don’t like controversy,” he wrote on Facebook on Friday. “I hate it actually. I just love dogs. I just wanted a dog. This feeling in my stomach is awful. I hate this.”
By early Monday morning, an online petition to overturn the ban had roughly 49,000 signatures. ||||| ...
day at Union Lake Veterinary Hospital ! He’s improved his range of motion after being hit by a car and now this guys is ready for a home. Stories like these are all thanks to your donations in action! ||||| See more of Detroit Dog Rescue on Facebook |||||
A summary of this is? | – Dan Tillery was so excited to adopt his pup, Diggy (nee Sir Wiggleton), who had spent 100 days in a Detroit shelter, that they made a music video and took a beaming photo together that went viral on social media. "We know this photo is going to break the internet and we apologize, but we had to share!" Detroit Dog Rescue's Facebook page gushed June 6. But that thrill was short-lived when Waterford Township cops got wind of the adoption and informed the Michigan man he had until Monday to "relocate" Diggy because they say he's a pit bull—a breed banned by a local ordinance, MLive.com reports. Waterford police tell WWJ they received multiple complaints about Diggy and headed to Tillery's house Thursday. "When they went to the gate [to] actually see him, he licked their face," Tillery says, noting officers took photos of Diggy. They informed him later that day that they had concluded Diggy was a pit bull. But Detroit Dog Rescue says in a follow-up post that Diggy isn't a pit bull, but an "American Bulldog who can't stop smiling." Supporting documents from a vet and Detroit's animal control department also contend Diggy is a bulldog. Some experts say "too many dogs are painted with the 'pit bull' brush," the Washington Post notes, and others maintain pit bull bans are unethical to begin with, per the Christian Science Monitor. For now, however, Waterford officials are sticking with their pit bull definition (they used guidelines from the American Kennel Club) and say Diggy has to go. Police say Tillery has indicated he'll comply; he could face a civil infraction and $500 fine if he refuses. Meanwhile, more than 50,000 have signed an online petition to overturn Waterford's "dangerous dog" ban. The Post notes that if Diggy is found to be a prohibited pup, he can be destroyed. (A pit bull burned in a fire is now an honorary firefighter.) | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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Here is a news article: EMBED More News Videos This may be the most intense video you will see all day.
EMBED More News Videos A passenger told ABC13 people were pretty upset after a woman's outburst on a Spirit Airlines flight.
EMBED More News Videos Passenger describes woman's outbursts on Spirit Airlines flight from Houston.
EMBED More News Videos Woman detained after outburst on Spirit flight from Houston
A woman was taken off a Spirit Airlines flight from Houston after she had a mid-flight meltdown.Eyewitness video taken by passenger Chianti Washington shows the woman pacing frantically up the aisle of the Minneapolis-bound plane, screaming hysterically.During the intense one-minute, 20-second video, the woman curses, makes threats involving her brothers, and acts erratically before a plane full of stunned passengers."Get me the f*** off this (long string of expletives) plane!" the woman screams. "You want to be (expletive) and b**chy to me? You'll see me f***ing pissed."At one point, when a male passenger stands up to block the woman from getting to the front of the plane, she shakes her fist at the man before lashing out again."Do you know who my brothers are? They are f***ing Marine snipers. Do you want to f*** with a f***ing Marine?" she screams, before pushing her way toward the cockpit.In the video, passengers can be heard praying, consoling each other, some audibly in distress by the unsettling incident."Do you want to know what hell is? I've (expletive) been there 10 (expletive) times!" the woman continues to shout.According to authorities, the woman became irate after the flight landed in Rochester, Minnesota, due to a medical issue.A passenger who became ill was taken off the aircraft before the outburst. She was taken into custody, screaming while being escorted off by police.It was not immediately known if the woman had any relation to the sick passenger.Spirit Airlines released the following statement to ABC13 about the incident: ||||| HOUSTON – After a Spirit Airlines flight from Bush Intercontinental Airport made an emergency landing in Rochester, Minn., a passenger became enraged.
Watching and recording from Row 14 of Spirit Airlines flight 346, Stephanie Calder all but panicked herself. She was afraid of an irate fellow passenger’s erratic outburst over an unexpected delay.
“I was thinking I need to protect my 15-year-old daughter (who was headed to Detroit for a volleyball tournament),” Calder said. “I (was just) worried (the angry passenger was) going to go even more irate and so I just put my back toward my daughter and shielded my daughter in case this woman decided to. I was one row behind the emergency exit door. Now, we were landed but who knows what this woman could have done.”
Their flight left Houston around 8 a.m. headed for Minneapolis. The Calder’s had a connecting flight to Michigan. However, about an hour after takeoff their plane diverted to Rochester, Minnesota because a man near the front of the plane needed a doctor.
“The attendant thought that he was just sleeping but he was actually in a coma,” Calder said.
When the plane landed, paramedics had to call police for back up.
“All of a sudden that’s where the lady came running from the back of the plane,” Calder said. “She started saying she’s not going to calm down and wanted off the plane and such.”
Police sent that passenger to a hospital for mental health evaluation after they were told she is a military veteran battling PTSD.
“That saddens me,” Calder said. “Now looking back at it all you just wish there was somebody on that plane (who) could have helped at that moment.”
Along with the man needing a doctor a third passenger got off the plane in Rochester, police said. That passenger was upset with how the airline handled the woman’s situation.
“This morning a flight from Houston to Minneapolis had to land in Rochester, Minnesota due to a Guest experiencing a medical emergency,” Derek Dombrowski, spokesman for Spirit Airlines said in a statement. “On the ground in Rochester, another passenger became erratic and irate and was removed from the aircraft with the assistance of law enforcement. We apologize to our guests who had to witness this and for the inconvenience of the delay. Safety (is) our top priority at Spirit Airlines.”
© 2018 KHOU ||||| The passenger who took and posted the video, Chianti Washington, tells KSTP the woman started acting out after EMT's took the medical patient off the plane. She says the woman started "being irate" about 5 minutes later. Washington says at first she thought the woman was just a disgruntled passenger, but soon realized there was a legitimate issue, which put her and other passengers in fear.
A short time later, Rochester Police returned to the flight for another passenger who wanted to get off. The passenger told police she didn't agree with how Spirit Airlines had treated the woman.
Spirit Airlines released a statement to ABC News, saying in part that it apologizes to guests and that safety is its top priority.
Police said the passenger who suffered the diabetic reaction was taken to the hospital for further treatment. |||||
A summary of this is? | – A female passenger became enraged after a Spirit Airlines flight had to divert for a medical emergency Monday, and she was caught on video screaming to be let off the plane before ultimately being escorted off the plane by police, ABC 13 reports. Flight 346 took off from Houston heading for Minneapolis, but after a male passenger was discovered to be unconscious, the plane made an emergency landing in Rochester, Minn., KHOU reports. In video shot by fellow passengers, the woman can be seen storming up and down the aisle of the plane shouting, among other things, "Get me the f--- off this f---ing plane" and "Do you know who my brothers are? They are f---ing Marine snipers. Do you want to f--- with a f---ing Marine?" The man had already been taken off the plane for medical attention at the time, and the woman was eventually escorted off by police officers and taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation. She ultimately made other arrangements to get home. A fellow passenger says the woman told him she is a military veteran with PTSD, and she reportedly told police she was traveling alone for the first time and panicked. Police say a third passenger, who was reportedly upset with the way the woman's situation was handled, also exited the plane in Rochester. As for the male passenger, his current condition was not being reported, but KAAL reports he was having a diabetic reaction and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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Write a summary based on this article:
For three agonizing years, Sam Ou waited for justice for his little girl, murdered in her baby-sitter’s Mandarin home after being beaten with a wire fly-swatter handle.
Three years of court dates and doctors’ reports sustained by anguished memories of 2-year-old Amara’s joyful, outgoing spirit.
Tuesday finally brought the justice Ou sought with a life prison sentence handed down against Syna Lim, herself a mother of two children.
“I have relief the court part’s over,” Ou told the Times-Union afterward. “I’m very pleased.”
A jury convicted Lim, 41, of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse last month in the October 2006 beating death of the St. Johns County girl. She died of severe head trauma three days after being rushed from Lim’s home to Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
Though the only possible sentence was life in prison, dozens of Lim’s friends and relatives — some traveling from as far as Canada — packed the courtroom to support her. None chose to speak, said Lim’s attorney, Chief Assistant Public Defender Refik Eler.
Amara’s parents also declined to testify, but issued a statement to the court through Assistant State Attorney Sam Garrison. He said the loss of their daughter was made more difficult because it came at the hands of someone they trusted.
“They will never get over this loss,” Garrison told Circuit Judge Mallory Cooper. “All the defendant had to say was she didn’t want to watch her, and this never would have happened.”
Ou said later that Amara was a friendly child who would smile and wave at everyone she saw when her parents took her out. He praised police and prosecutors for sticking with the case and ensuring justice for his daughter.
Cooper said she thought the mandatory life sentence was appropriate for Lim.
“There’s nothing the court can do to make either family feel better,” the judge said.
[email protected],
(904) 359-4107 ||||| A judge threw out the conviction and life sentence of a Mandarin baby sitter after new evidence suggesting that a 2-year-old St. Augustine child in her care was not beaten to death, but instead died from high blood sugar due to undiagnosed juvenile diabetes.
This week Circuit Judge Angela Cox ordered a new trial for Syna Lim, 48, who was convicted in 2009 for the murder of Amara Ou.
Lim will now get a new trial if outgoing State Attorney Angela Corey and State Attorney-elect Melissa Nelson choose to retry her. Prosecutors also could choose to drop the case and let Lim go free, or Cox’s ruling could be sent to the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee.
“We have advised the victim’s family of Judge Cox’s decision,” said Corey spokeswoman Jackelyn Barnard. “We are currently reviewing the order and we will be deciding in the near future whether we will appeal Judge Cox’s order or proceed to a second trial.”
Nelson will replace Corey the first week of January after defeating the incumbent in the Aug. 30 election. She has previously told the Times-Union she will not comment on any pending cases before taking office.
But a new trial could raise troubling questions about former Chief Medical Examiner Margarita Arruza, who conducted the original autopsy on Amara and did not find she was suffering from diabetes. Aruzza resigned several years later, and allegations have surfaced that she suffered from the early effects of Alzheimer’s disease while still serving as medical examiner.
The toddler’s father left her in Lim’s care at the woman’s Jacksonville residence at 6305 Devonhurst Drive in 2006.
Lim later told police the child wouldn’t wake up from a nap a few hours later, so for two hours she tried calling the mother before reaching the father.
Doctors said the 2-year-old was brain dead upon arrival at the hospital and had bruises on her head and limbs.
Lim told police she was doing laundry, and Amara must have fallen off the couch. Prosecutors charged Lim with first-degree murder and child abuse and said she hit Amara with the handle of a flyswatter and then delivered a crushing blow to the child’s skull.
Chief Assistant Public Defender Refik Eler and Assistant Public Defender Michelle Barki did not dispute that Ou had died from blunt head force trauma at the original trial but contended it wasn’t Lim who did it.
“Once blunt force trauma became accepted by all parties as the child’s cause of death, with no suggested alternate cause of death, the defendant was doomed,” wrote Lim’s current attorney, Samuel Jacobson, in court filings arguing that she deserved a new trial.
Eler has been found to be ineffective in criminal cases four times in recent years, but Cox did not find him deficient in this case.
Lim was convicted and Circuit Judge Mallory Cooper sentenced her to life in prison for the murder and an additional 30 years for child abuse.
But according to court records, years after the conviction an Orlando pathologist and a Jacksonville pediatrician re-examined the case and determined that Amara did not die from blunt force trauma at all. They testified that Amara had been suffering from diabetes and a condition called “disseminated intravascular coagulation,” or DIC, that produces uncontrolled internal bleeding.
“Uncontrolled bleeding from DIC, the physicians testified, likely caused the bruising and other discolorations on or about the child which were interpreted by the treating personnel as indications of trauma,” Jacobson said in court filings.
In other words, the medical evidence suggests Amara may have died from internal bleeding and was never the victim of blunt force trauma, Jacobson said.
He said their motions to dismiss did not involve the competence of Aruzza since the focus of their argument was that this was new evidence that justified a new trial.
“Mrs. Lim’s new evidence is her most important evidence,” Jacobson said. “With it her innocence is realistically demonstrable.”
But if prosecutors choose to go back to court, Jacobson said he intended to challenge the original autopsy and raise the issue of Aruzza’s competence.
The Orlando pathologist questioned the competence and soundness of mind of the person who did the original autopsy, Jacobson said.
Barnard said it would be inappropriate to comment on a potential second trial. Corey defended Aruzza this year after questions were raised, saying all of the cases where she performed the autopsie were re-examined by her successor Valerie Rao, or someone else in the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Other medical examiners then testified when those cases went to trial based on their own independent examinations of the evidence.
Aruzza resigned in 2010.
Larry Hannan: (904) 359-4470 ||||| JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A woman who was convicted of murder in 2009 in the death of a 2-year-old girl she was babysitting has been granted a new trial, according to court documents.
A judge overturned the conviction of Syna Lim, who was found guilty of killing Amara Ou. According to court documents, there is newly discovered evidence as to the cause of the toddler's death.
During the October 2009 trial, prosecutors contended Lim beat the St. Augustine girl with the handle of a flyswatter, then struck the child's head with a hard object. A jury found Lim guilty of first-degree murder and she was sentenced to life in prison.
Dr. Deborah Thoni told the appeals court that the toddler had a “classical” case of diabetic ketoacidosis, which led to her death, not blunt-force trauma to the head, which was the cause of death determined at the time.
Dr. Aylin Ozdemir also told the court that medical testing done prior to Amara’s death was inadequate, especially because there was no urinalysis done before the child went into the emergency room. Post-mortem testing showed the girl had extremely high glucose levels. Ozdemir said the condition causes uncontrolled bleeding that causes internal and external bruising that could be mistaken for trauma.
Lim, now 48 years old, appealed on two claims, the new evidence and ineffective counsel. She has since withdrawn the claim of ineffective counsel.
"We have advised the victim’s family of Judge Cox’s decision," the State Attorney's Office said. "We are currently reviewing the order and we will be deciding in the near future whether we will appeal Judge Cox’s order or proceed to a second trial."
Copyright 2016 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved. |||||
Summary: | – In October 2006, Amara Ou's father dropped the 2-year-old off at her babysitter's Florida home. A few hours later, after the girl wouldn't wake up from a nap, babysitter Syna Lim, now 48, tried for two hours to reach Amara's parents before getting hold of the father. When Amara finally arrived at the hospital, she was brain dead. Three years later, a jury found Lim guilty of the girl's murder, convicting her of beating the toddler with the handle of a flyswatter and hitting her on the head. She was sentenced to life in prison. But last week, the conviction was overturned and a new trial ordered, the Florida Times-Union reports. New evidence has found that Amara may not have been beaten to death after all, but may have died due to undiagnosed juvenile diabetes and another condition that causes uncontrolled internal bleeding. A pathologist and a pediatrician re-examined the case years later and testified that Amara had very high blood sugar levels at the time of her death, which caused the internal bleeding. That bleeding, in turn, would have led to the bruises found on Amara that could be mistaken as coming from a beating. The doctors told the court that not enough medical testing was done on Amara at the hospital, News 4 Jax reports. The case brings up questions about the medical examiner who performed Amara's autopsy, the Times-Union notes: She resigned in 2010, and allegations have swirled that she was experiencing early symptoms of Alzheimer's before she resigned. (Shaken baby syndrome is dividing the medical world.) | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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Summarize this article:
From Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Soroka Medical Center, Beer Sheva, Israel; Nuclear Research Center Negev, Dimona, Israel; Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel; Karolinska Institute, Solna, Sweden; University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; and Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
Acknowledgment: The authors thank the CASCADE participants for their consistent cooperation. They thank Harel Segal from Nuclear Research Center Negev; Dr. Lena Novak, Dr. Michael Friger, Dr. Arie Moran, Dr. Amos Katz, Noa Cohen, Michal Rein, Nitzan Bril, and Dana Serfaty from Ben-Gurion University of Negev; Dr. Tatiana Shuster, Sagit Saadon, Malka Kaminsky, Yasmin Asuly, Roman Tsirkin, and David Shushan from Soroka Medical Center; Eyal Goshen, Meir Aviv, Hassia Krakauer, Haim Strasler, Dr. Ziva Schwartz, Dr. Einat Sheiner, Dr. Dov Brickner, Dr. Rachel Marko, Esther Katorza, Ilanit Asulin, and Tzvika Tzur from Nuclear Research Center Negev; and Dr. Rosa M. Lamuela-Raventos, University of Barcelona.
Grant Support: By the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.
Disclosures: The authors have no relationship with the companies that make products relevant to the manuscript. Drs. Shai and Bolotin had full access to all of the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. Dr. Bluüher reports compensation as a board member of Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Sanofi; compensation as a consultant for Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals, and AstraZeneca; and payment for lectures (including service on speakers bureaus) for Sanofi, Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals, Novo Nordisk, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and Berlin-Chemie outside of the submitted work. Authors not named here have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Disclosures can also be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M14-1650.
Editors' Disclosures: Christine Laine, MD, MPH, Editor in Chief, reports that she has no financial relationships or interests to disclose. Darren B. Taichman, MD, PhD, Executive Deputy Editor, reports that he has no financial relationships or interests to disclose. Cynthia D. Mulrow, MD, MSc, Senior Deputy Editor, reports that she has no relationships or interests to disclose. Deborah Cotton, MD, MPH, Deputy Editor, reports that she has no financial relationships or interest to disclose. Jaya K. Rao, MD, MHS, Deputy Editor, reports that she has stock holdings/options in Eli Lilly and Pfizer. Sankey V. Williams, MD, Deputy Editor, reports that he has no financial relationships or interests to disclose. Catharine B. Stack, PhD, MS, Deputy Editor for Statistics, reports that she has stock holdings in Pfizer.
Reproducible Research Statement:Study protocol: Available from Dr. Shai (e-mail, [email protected]). Statistical code and data set: Not available.
Requests for Single Reprints: Iris Shai, RD, PhD, Department of Public Health, The S. Daniel Abraham International Center for Health and Nutrition, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, PO Box 653, Beer Sheva, 8410501, Israel; e-mail, [email protected].
Current Author Addresses: Drs. Golan, Bolotin, Rudich, and Shai; Mr. Gepner, Ms. Kovsan, Ms. Witkow, Ms. Tangi-Rosental, and Ms. Ben-Avraham: Department of Public Health, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, PO Box 653, Beer Sheva, 8410501, Israel.
Drs. Harman-Boehm, Henkin, Shelef, Shemesh, Chassidim, and Liberty: Soroka Medical Center, Rager Boulevard, PO Box 151, Beer Sheva, 85025, Israel.
Dr. Schwarzfuchs and Mr. Sarusi: Nuclear Research Center Negev, 16th Beth Lethem Street, Dimona, 8477605, Israel.
Drs. Durst, Leitersdorf, Balag; and Ms. Spitzen: Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Kiryat Hadassah, PO Box 12000, Jerusalem, 91120, Israel.
Dr. Helander: Department of Laboratory Medicine, H5, Division of Clinical Chemistry, CI:74, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Laboratory Hudding, Stockholm, SE-14186, Sweden.
Drs. Ceglarek, Stumvoll, Blüher, and Thiery: Department of Diagnostics, University of Leipzig, Paul List Street 13-15, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
Dr. Stampfer: Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard School of Public Health, 181 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.
Author Contributions: Conception and design: Y. Gepner, I. Harman-Boehm, Y. Henkin, D. Schwarzfuchs, I. Shelef, R. Durst, E. Shemesh, S. Witkow, M. Stumvoll, A. Rudich, M.J. Stampfer, I. Shai.
Analysis and interpretation of the data: Y. Gepner, R. Golan, I. Harman-Boehm, I. Shelef, R. Durst, J. Kovsan, A. Bolotin, S. Shpitzen, E. Shemesh, Y. Chassidim, A. Helander, U. Ceglarek, M. Stumvoll, M. Bluüher, A. Rudich, M.J. Stampfer, I. Shai.
Drafting of the article: Y. Gepner, R. Golan, Y. Henkin, D. Schwarzfuchs, I. Shelef, R. Durst, J. Kovsan, A. Helander, U. Ceglarek, M. Stumvoll, A. Rudich, M.J. Stampfer, I. Shai.
Critical revision of the article for important intellectual content: Y. Gepner, I. Harman-Boehm, Y. Henkin, I. Shelef, R. Durst, J. Kovsan, E. Shemesh, A. Helander, M. Stumvoll, M. Bluüher, J. Thiery, A. Rudich, I. Shai.
Final approval of the article: Y. Gepner, R. Golan, I. Harman-Boehm, Y. Henkin, D. Schwarzfuchs, I. Shelef, R. Durst, J. Kovsan, A. Bolotin, E. Leitersdorf, E. Shemesh, I.F. Liberty, B. Sarusi, A. Helander, U. Ceglarek, M. Stumvoll, M. Bluüher, J. Thiery, A. Rudich, M.J. Stampfer, I. Shai.
Provision of study materials or patients: Y. Gepner, R. Golan, I. Harman-Boehm, Y. Henkin, D. Schwarzfuchs, R. Durst, S. Witkow, O. Tangi-Rosental, I.F. Liberty, I. Shai.
Statistical expertise: R. Golan, R. Durst, A. Bolotin.
Obtaining of funding: Y. Gepner, R. Durst, M. Stumvoll, I. Shai.
Administrative, technical, or logistic support: I. Shelef, J. Kovsan, E. Leitersdorf, S. Balag, E. Shemesh, O. Tangi-Rosental, B. Sarusi, M. Stumvoll.
Collection and assembly of data: Y. Gepner, R. Golan, Y. Henkin, D. Schwarzfuchs, I. Shelef, R. Durst, J. Kovsan, E. Shemesh, S. Witkow, O. Tangi-Rosental, I.F. Liberty, B. Sarusi, S. Ben-Avraham, M. Bluüher, A. Rudich, I. Shai. ||||| TIME Health For more, visit TIME Health
Alcohol is the Goldilocks of the nutrition world. Too much can be destructive to your health, raising your blood pressure and your risk of developing several kinds of cancer. Too little may hold you back from some of the benefits that moderate drinkers enjoy, like lower incidence of cardiovascular disease, mortality and type-2 diabetes.
The amount that’s just right, according to a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, might be a nightly glass of wine with dinner—for some people, anyway.
Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel wanted to look at how safe and effective it is for a specific group of people—those with well-controlled type-2 diabetes and who had a low risk for alcohol abuse—to drink moderately. People with type-2 diabetes are more likely than the general population to develop cardiovascular disease and have lower levels of heart-protective HDL cholesterol, the authors note.
They chose 224 people who fit this profile, and who didn’t drink wine currently, then assigned them to start drinking one of three things. At dinner, the people in the study were told to drink five ounces of one of the following beverages: mineral water, dry white wine or dry red wine. Under the guidance of dietitians, they also followed a Mediterranean diet without calorie restrictions—and kept it up for two years.
Intermittently, they took questionnaires and were subjected to follow-ups, including blood draws at the start of the study, six months in and at 24 months, so the scientists could look at biomarkers of glycemic control, lipids and liver function.
They found that the red wine drinkers had significantly increased their levels of good HDL cholesterol and had a more beneficial cholesterol ratio compared to the group that drank water. They were also the only group to experience a significant drop in components of metabolic syndrome. People who drank either red or white wine also reported better sleep quality than the group that drank water, and the researchers found no significant adverse effects with any group.
(It’s worth making it explicit that those who drank alcohol, drank just one glass per night, with meals.)
“This is what I’ve been telling people for years based on observational data,” says Dr. James O’Keefe, chief of preventive cardiology at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, who was not involved in the study. “It seems to me that my patients who drink red wine in moderation tend to do better, and this really solid gold-standard kind of research confirms our intuitions about the beneficial effects of moderate alcohol intake.”
O’Keefe wasn’t surprised that the best results came from the group drinking red wine—which had resveratrol levels 13-fold higher than the white wine, according to the study. “Partly it’s the benefits of the alcohol, but red wine also contains a lot of unique antioxidants that are hard to get other places,” O’Keefe says. And pairing it with dinner, like they did in the study, is key.
“If you have a glass of red wine with your evening meal tonight, your peak blood sugar, if you measured it an hour later, would be about 30% lower than if you hadn’t had the wine,” O’Keefe says. The post-meal spike in sugar is one of Americans’ main sources of inflammation, which contributes to everything from diabetes to dementia to heart disease and arthritis, he adds. “It makes your system more able to sop up the sugar and the calories that you’re consuming in the meal if you have a little alcohol before,” he says.
But there’s a disclaimer, of course. Drinking every day can be a “slippery slope that a lot of people can’t safely navigate,” O’Keefe says. “If they start drinking daily and they drink a bottle or two a day, that’s a disaster.”
For those who can safely imbibe, one glass of dry red wine—like pinot noir or Cannonau—with the largest meal of the day is the very best pairing, O’Keefe says. “If you’re going to drink red wine, this study is a good reminder to do it the old fashioned way: drink it with a Mediterranean meal high in vegetables and fish and lower in meat, with fruit for dessert and using olive oil. Doing it in a social, relaxed setting also goes a long way to improving health and happiness.” ||||| A glass of red wine a day can improve cardiac health and help manage cholesterol for patients with type 2 diabetes, according to findings in a 2-year study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
Red wine can help people with type 2 diabetes to avoid heart disease. Red wine can help people with type 2 diabetes to avoid heart disease.
Moderate alcohol consumption has been linked to improved cardiovascular and total mortality rates, and a glass of red wine a day as part of a healthy diet has been considered beneficial for some time.
There is evidence that type 2 diabetes is less prevalent among moderate drinkers, yet the risk-benefit balance is controversial for such patients, due to a lack of long-term randomized studies.
Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev-Soroka Medical Center and Nuclear Research Center Negev, Israel, wondered if both red and white wine might improve glucose control, depending on alcohol metabolism and genetic profiling.
Previous research has suggested that ethanol (alcohol) is the key, meaning that alcoholic drinks other than red wine could be equally beneficial; others claim that red wine has particularly advantageous properties.
Potential benefits for people with type 2 diabetes
People with diabetes have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, as well as lower levels of "good" HDL cholesterol. High levels of HDL cholesterol can reduce the risk for heart disease and stroke, as it absorbs cholesterol and carries it back to the liver, where it is flushed from the body.
Fast facts about diabetes 29.1 million people in the US probably have diabetes, or 9.3% of the population
21 million have been diagnosed
An estimated further 8.1 million have not been diagnosed. Learn more about diabetes
Should patients with type 2 diabetes be recommended to take up moderate alcohol consumption? The American Diabetes Association (ADA) leave the decision to the individual; the American Heart Association (AHA) recommend discussing alcohol with a physician.
The researchers wanted to find out what the cardiometabolic effects would be when patients with type 2 diabetes took up drinking moderate amounts of alcohol; they also wanted to assess whether the type of wine would matter.
They hypothesized that initiating moderate wine consumption would lower cardiometabolic risk, mainly because of the ethanol component. They predicted similar effects of red and white wine. Because of genetic variability in alcohol metabolism, they predicted that the effects of wine would vary according to ADH1B genotype.
The 224 participants were 40-75-year-old alcohol-abstaining men and women with well-controlled type 2 diabetes.
Among those excluded were: people already taking more than one alcoholic drink per week, anyone with a history of addiction and patients using two or more insulin injections a day.
Measurements taken at baseline included genetic markers, blood pressure, liver biomarkers, medication use and symptoms, and quality of life.
From June 2010 to May 2012, participants were randomly assigned to 150 mL of mineral water, white wine or red wine with dinner. Wines and mineral water were provided. All groups followed a Mediterranean diet without caloric restriction. At intervals, blood samples were taken, questionnaires completed and group sessions attended.
Lipid and glycemic control profiles were primarily measured. Secondary outcomes included triglyceride levels, blood pressure, waist circumference, genetic interaction, medication use, liver function tests and quality-of-life indicators.
Red wine indicates a better cardiometabolic rate
After 2 years, no material differences were identified across the groups in blood pressure, adiposity, liver function, drug therapy, symptoms or quality of life, except that sleep quality improved in both wine groups compared with the water group.
However, patients who drank wine showed decreased cardiometabolic risks compared with those drinking mineral water. The red wine drinkers experienced the most significant changes in lipid variables.
The researchers unexpectedly found that while the alcohol itself appears to aid glycemic control, red wine has a stronger effect on lipid levels and overall variables of the metabolic syndrome, suggesting that its non-alcoholic constituents also play a role.
The red wine had seven times higher levels of total phenols than the white wine. Whether the phenolic compounds increase the cardioprotectiveness is still debated. The team calls for differences between red and white wine to be further studied, with focus on the varied biodeliverability of the compounds.
The team found that genetic differences affected glycemic control and therefore suggest that genetic information could assist in identifying which patients with type 2 diabetes would benefit from moderate wine consumption.
Limitations include the participants not being blinded to treatment allocation, but the long-term nature of the study is a strength.
The authors caution that the benefits of drinking wine should be weighed against potential risks when translated into clinical practice.
Medical News Today recently reported on research suggesting that red wine can help stabilize a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease. ||||| A glass of red wine each evening with dinner may offer heart health perks to people with type 2 diabetes.
A two-year study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine is the first long-term study aimed at assessing the effects and safety of drinking moderate amounts of alcohol in people with type 2 diabetes, who are more at risk for developing cardiovascular disease than the general population. Those with type 2 diabetes also tend to have lower levels of HDL, the "good" cholesterol.
The researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev reported that over two years, red wine helped improve signs of cardiac health by modestly increasing levels of HDL cholesterol and lowering overall cholesterol.
The randomized controlled intervention trial involved 224 controlled diabetes patients aged 45 to 75, who generally abstained from alcohol. The patients were randomly assigned to drink 5 ounces of red wine, white wine, or mineral water (the control group) with their dinner for two years. They were all given instructions to follow a well-balanced Mediterranean diet plan that did not have a calorie restriction.
The researchers performed genetic tests that showed how quickly the patients metabolized alcohol, as well as various lipid (cholesterol) tests. They also measured glucose control, blood pressure, liver function tests, medication use, and other symptoms at several time points during the two-year follow-up.
Compared with the group that drank water, patients in the red wine group had improvements in their lipid tests, the study showed. "Red wine was found to be superior in improving overall metabolic profiles, mainly by modestly improving the lipid profile, by increasing good HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein A1, one of the major constituents of HDL cholesterol, while decreasing the ratio between total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol," the researchers explained.
Also, in both wine groups, patients who were "slow alcohol metabolizers" (according to the genetic tests) showed more improvements in glucose control tests than "fast alcohol metabolizers." Compared with water, wine did not increase or decrease blood pressure or liver function tests.
The study authors noted that in both red and white wine drinkers, sleep quality was significantly improved, too, compared with the water control group.
Iris Shai, principal investigator of the trial, and a member of the Department of Public Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences, said in a press statement, "The differences found between red and white wine were opposed to our original hypothesis that the beneficial effects of wine are mediated predominantly by the alcohol."
So, how much can people with type 2 diabetes sip at dinner without going over the top? "One to two glasses of red wine for men and up to one glass of red wine for women, daily, at dinner," was the amount indicated by the study, Dr. Minisha Sood, an endocrinologist at Lenox Hill Hospital, told CBS News.
Sood said researchers have known for some time that moderate amounts of alcohol are acceptable for diabetics, but the jury was out on which kind of alcohol might offer the most benefit.
Sood said of red wine's health-enhancing ingredients: "It's the non-ethanol components of the wine, which are present more so in red wine. It's the phenols, it's the resveratrol, it's the tannins. They all work together with the ethanol possibly to result in these positive changes."
While the study shows benefits, Dr. Susan Spratt, an endocrinologist and assistant professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, said, "I worry about the subset of my type 2 diabetes patients who drink too much, and that this may give them more ammunition to say alcohol is good for diabetes. Over-drinking can poison the pancreas. In these patients, when they stop drinking, their diabetes gets tremendously better."
Spratt also told CBS News that in the South, where she lives, many people abstain from drinking for religious reasons. She said, "Here in the South, it would not be something I would generally recommend. I would not say, 'Now you should start drinking wine.' I wouldn't tell someone to start drinking, but if I knew a type 2 diabetes patient was a moderate drinker, I would tell them it looks like red wine is the best choice out of all alcohols to drink, rather than white wine, beer, or hard liquor."
Spratt also noted that the study did not look at cardiovascular outcomes such as heart attack and stroke.
For 51-year-old Garret Rubin, who said he has to watch out for everything -- fats, salt, sugar -- in his diet since being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, the study is a positive note.
Rubin said diet, exercise and medication will remain his first line of defense, but he told CBS News, "Now, since I have a choice, I think red wine might be the thing."
Editor's note: In an earlier version of this article, Dr. Sood said red wine decreased development of heart disease, but that was not found in the study. The research only looked at risk factors like cholesterol levels, not whether patients actually developed heart disease. |||||
Summary: | – A glass of red wine a day might indeed keep the doctor away—at least that could be the case for those suffering from Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study. It suggests red wine in moderation helps patients manage cholesterol and improves cardiac health. Researchers set out to discover the effects of moderate alcohol consumption on people with well-controlled Type 2 diabetes, who generally have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and lower levels of HDL cholesterol, which is good for the heart, reports Time. The 224 alcohol-abstaining participants with a low risk for alcohol abuse, aged 40 to 75, were then assigned a beverage—mineral water, dry white wine, or dry red wine—and told to drink 5 ounces with a meal each night for two years; they also followed a Mediterranean diet. At the end of the study, there were no major differences in blood pressure and liver function among the three groups, reports Medical News Today. However, red wine drinkers were the only ones to see decreased cardiometabolic risks. They also saw a significant boost in HDL cholesterol and lower cholesterol overall, while all wine drinkers reported improved sleep, reports CBS News. Though the alcohol appeared to aid glycemic control in white wine drinkers, the differences between the red wine and white wine groups suggest alcohol wasn't responsible for all the benefits. The red wine had seven times higher levels of total phenols than the white wine, and "it's the phenols, it's the resveratrol, it's the tannins" in the red wine that effect these benefits, says an expert. Genetic differences also affected glycemic control, meaning certain people are more likely to benefit from drinking wine. (Just watch out for arsenic.) | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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Article:
Using marbles instead of ballot papers, some 800,000 Gambians will vote on Thursday by dropping a clear glass ball into one of three different coloured drums representing the presidential hopefuls in this tiny nation on the west coast of Africa.
Most will land in the green drum, which represents incumbent, a close friend of Jermaine Jackson and self-proclaimed mystic who says he can cure Aids – but only on a Thursday.
Since taking power in a bloodless 1994 coup, Yahya Jammeh has swapped army fatigues for white gowns and a sceptre, holding sway through a potent mixture of state brutality and mysticism.
International rights groups have repeatedly pointed the finger at his authoritarian regime. In 2000, at least 14 people were killed during an anti-government rally, while an opposition leader was jailed in 2006 for using a microphone without official permission.
He claims powers to cure a long list of maladies including obesity and erectile dysfunction, and in 2007 hundreds of people with HIV flocked to Jammeh's Thursday-only Aids clinic in Banjul, the capital. A UN envoy who questioned it was booted out. Jermaine Jackson, brother of the late Michael and a former Jackson 5 member, said the president was a man of "truth and logic" after a 2010 visit in which he decided his ancestors had come from Gambia.
Best known for palm-fringed beaches that attract thousands of European winter sun-seekers, Africa's smallest mainland nation is also one of its most autocratic. Jammeh, whose face is used to advertise everything from food to phone credit, has cemented his 17-year reign by dishing out death sentences and gifts. He is expected to win Thursday's vote hands-down.
To deter multiple voting, electoral monitors listen closely to the sound of a bell that rings out as each marble drops, making sure there is only one. Modelled on traditional arrangements used in much of Africa, the system was introduced in 1965 for a population with illiteracy rates topping 75%. That's down to 55% thanks partly to Jammeh's efforts to improve schools.
Aminata Hydara, a beneficiary of a government scholarship in Brikama, east of Banjul, will vote for him. "He has constructed roads, hospitals … the only way for Gambians to say thank you to him is to vote massively for him." There were, she said, few signs of the two opposition candidates on the campaign trail.
In 2008 Jammeh threatened to "cut off the head" of gay people in Gambia. The following year, up to 1,000 villagers were rounded up as suspected witchdoctors behind the death of the president's aunt. They were forced to drink hallucinogens and beaten, Amnesty International said.
Gambia has the region's worst press rights. Draconian sedition rules have seen dozens of journalists routinely imprisoned and others assassinated or disappeared.
"It's a foregone conclusion Jammeh will win," said one journalist in Banjul. Speaking in hushed tones, the journalist, who has been detained in the past, added: "We have to be very tactful, anything we say can be used against us."
Senegal, which envelops Gambia, has accused it of trying to ship weapons from Iran to separatist rebels in the Casamance region. Over a dozen carts of Iranian weapons headed to Gambia were seized in a Nigerian port last year.
Jammeh retired from campaigning this week, saying God had decreed he would win. ||||| An estimated 800,000 of Gambia's two million citizens registered to vote but experts say that a climate of fear and intimidation mean that few will back anyone other than Yahya Jammeh.
Brought to power in a bloodless coup in 1994, the 46-year-old has since changed the constitution in the former British colony to removed presidential term limits, won three previous elections and recently declared that only God could remove him from power.
For added certainty, he took to the streets for a "thank you" tour last week in which he handed out biscuits, sugar, rice and farming equipment in return for pledges of support.
In a country where less than half the population can read and write, a novel polling system has been devised which sees voters pop a glass marble into a coloured drum picturing their chosen candidate. As it falls, the marble strikes a bicycle bell, enabling poll staff to detect multiple voting.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has already denounced the poll as unfair.
An ECOWAS fact-finding mission reported "an unacceptable level of control of the electronic media by the party in power and an opposition and electorate cowed by repression and intimidation."
Staff campaigning for Ousainou Darboe, the main opposition challenger, say they have received death threats. As he cast his vote yesterday, Mr Darboe complained about a large military presence on the streets.
"The presence of armoured vehicles all over the country, especially in Banjul (the capital), is intended to intimidate voters," he said.
Mr Jammeh, dressed in his trademark white flowing robes, brushed off criticisms of his regime as he arrived to vote.
"No Western country can tell me anything about democracy," he said. "
In this country we fear only God and I don't care what anybody says. What matters to me is the development of this country. Africa has been insulted for centuries and this is unacceptable."
The United States sees the Gambian government as an important ally against militants and drugs trafficking and Mr Jammeh has overseen strong economic growth along with the construction of roads, schools and hospitals.
But poverty remains widespread in Gambia, where thousands of European holidaymakers flock each year to lie on tropical beaches, with 67 per cent of the population living on less than $1.25 a day.
Mr Jammeh generated concern and mirth in equal measure when he claimed, in 2007, to have developed a cure for Aids that involves a green herbal paste and a diet of bananas.
His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya AJJ Jammeh, to give him his full title, also claims to be able to treat infertile women, asthmatics, epileptics and diabetics with his herbal remedies. |||||Summary:
| – It's election time in the Gambia, and the west African nation's 800,000 voters are dropping their marbles. With the literacy rate under 50%, the country has adopted a unique voting system in which each voter drops a marble into one of three different colored drums representing presidential hopefuls, reports the Telegraph. Election monitors listen for the sound of a bell that rings as a marble is dropped. Incumbent President Yahya Jammeh, who seized power in a 1994 coup, is widely expected to get the vast majority of the marbles, the Guardian notes. The self-proclaimed mystic, a close friend of Jermaine Jackson, has spent heavily on roads and hospitals but has also cracked down on dissent and imprisoned dozens of journalists. He retired from campaigning this week, saying God had decreed that he would win, and there have been few signs of the other two candidates on the campaign trail. | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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Write a summary based on this article:
For three agonizing years, Sam Ou waited for justice for his little girl, murdered in her baby-sitter’s Mandarin home after being beaten with a wire fly-swatter handle.
Three years of court dates and doctors’ reports sustained by anguished memories of 2-year-old Amara’s joyful, outgoing spirit.
Tuesday finally brought the justice Ou sought with a life prison sentence handed down against Syna Lim, herself a mother of two children.
“I have relief the court part’s over,” Ou told the Times-Union afterward. “I’m very pleased.”
A jury convicted Lim, 41, of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse last month in the October 2006 beating death of the St. Johns County girl. She died of severe head trauma three days after being rushed from Lim’s home to Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
Though the only possible sentence was life in prison, dozens of Lim’s friends and relatives — some traveling from as far as Canada — packed the courtroom to support her. None chose to speak, said Lim’s attorney, Chief Assistant Public Defender Refik Eler.
Amara’s parents also declined to testify, but issued a statement to the court through Assistant State Attorney Sam Garrison. He said the loss of their daughter was made more difficult because it came at the hands of someone they trusted.
“They will never get over this loss,” Garrison told Circuit Judge Mallory Cooper. “All the defendant had to say was she didn’t want to watch her, and this never would have happened.”
Ou said later that Amara was a friendly child who would smile and wave at everyone she saw when her parents took her out. He praised police and prosecutors for sticking with the case and ensuring justice for his daughter.
Cooper said she thought the mandatory life sentence was appropriate for Lim.
“There’s nothing the court can do to make either family feel better,” the judge said.
[email protected],
(904) 359-4107 ||||| A judge threw out the conviction and life sentence of a Mandarin baby sitter after new evidence suggesting that a 2-year-old St. Augustine child in her care was not beaten to death, but instead died from high blood sugar due to undiagnosed juvenile diabetes.
This week Circuit Judge Angela Cox ordered a new trial for Syna Lim, 48, who was convicted in 2009 for the murder of Amara Ou.
Lim will now get a new trial if outgoing State Attorney Angela Corey and State Attorney-elect Melissa Nelson choose to retry her. Prosecutors also could choose to drop the case and let Lim go free, or Cox’s ruling could be sent to the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee.
“We have advised the victim’s family of Judge Cox’s decision,” said Corey spokeswoman Jackelyn Barnard. “We are currently reviewing the order and we will be deciding in the near future whether we will appeal Judge Cox’s order or proceed to a second trial.”
Nelson will replace Corey the first week of January after defeating the incumbent in the Aug. 30 election. She has previously told the Times-Union she will not comment on any pending cases before taking office.
But a new trial could raise troubling questions about former Chief Medical Examiner Margarita Arruza, who conducted the original autopsy on Amara and did not find she was suffering from diabetes. Aruzza resigned several years later, and allegations have surfaced that she suffered from the early effects of Alzheimer’s disease while still serving as medical examiner.
The toddler’s father left her in Lim’s care at the woman’s Jacksonville residence at 6305 Devonhurst Drive in 2006.
Lim later told police the child wouldn’t wake up from a nap a few hours later, so for two hours she tried calling the mother before reaching the father.
Doctors said the 2-year-old was brain dead upon arrival at the hospital and had bruises on her head and limbs.
Lim told police she was doing laundry, and Amara must have fallen off the couch. Prosecutors charged Lim with first-degree murder and child abuse and said she hit Amara with the handle of a flyswatter and then delivered a crushing blow to the child’s skull.
Chief Assistant Public Defender Refik Eler and Assistant Public Defender Michelle Barki did not dispute that Ou had died from blunt head force trauma at the original trial but contended it wasn’t Lim who did it.
“Once blunt force trauma became accepted by all parties as the child’s cause of death, with no suggested alternate cause of death, the defendant was doomed,” wrote Lim’s current attorney, Samuel Jacobson, in court filings arguing that she deserved a new trial.
Eler has been found to be ineffective in criminal cases four times in recent years, but Cox did not find him deficient in this case.
Lim was convicted and Circuit Judge Mallory Cooper sentenced her to life in prison for the murder and an additional 30 years for child abuse.
But according to court records, years after the conviction an Orlando pathologist and a Jacksonville pediatrician re-examined the case and determined that Amara did not die from blunt force trauma at all. They testified that Amara had been suffering from diabetes and a condition called “disseminated intravascular coagulation,” or DIC, that produces uncontrolled internal bleeding.
“Uncontrolled bleeding from DIC, the physicians testified, likely caused the bruising and other discolorations on or about the child which were interpreted by the treating personnel as indications of trauma,” Jacobson said in court filings.
In other words, the medical evidence suggests Amara may have died from internal bleeding and was never the victim of blunt force trauma, Jacobson said.
He said their motions to dismiss did not involve the competence of Aruzza since the focus of their argument was that this was new evidence that justified a new trial.
“Mrs. Lim’s new evidence is her most important evidence,” Jacobson said. “With it her innocence is realistically demonstrable.”
But if prosecutors choose to go back to court, Jacobson said he intended to challenge the original autopsy and raise the issue of Aruzza’s competence.
The Orlando pathologist questioned the competence and soundness of mind of the person who did the original autopsy, Jacobson said.
Barnard said it would be inappropriate to comment on a potential second trial. Corey defended Aruzza this year after questions were raised, saying all of the cases where she performed the autopsie were re-examined by her successor Valerie Rao, or someone else in the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Other medical examiners then testified when those cases went to trial based on their own independent examinations of the evidence.
Aruzza resigned in 2010.
Larry Hannan: (904) 359-4470 ||||| JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A woman who was convicted of murder in 2009 in the death of a 2-year-old girl she was babysitting has been granted a new trial, according to court documents.
A judge overturned the conviction of Syna Lim, who was found guilty of killing Amara Ou. According to court documents, there is newly discovered evidence as to the cause of the toddler's death.
During the October 2009 trial, prosecutors contended Lim beat the St. Augustine girl with the handle of a flyswatter, then struck the child's head with a hard object. A jury found Lim guilty of first-degree murder and she was sentenced to life in prison.
Dr. Deborah Thoni told the appeals court that the toddler had a “classical” case of diabetic ketoacidosis, which led to her death, not blunt-force trauma to the head, which was the cause of death determined at the time.
Dr. Aylin Ozdemir also told the court that medical testing done prior to Amara’s death was inadequate, especially because there was no urinalysis done before the child went into the emergency room. Post-mortem testing showed the girl had extremely high glucose levels. Ozdemir said the condition causes uncontrolled bleeding that causes internal and external bruising that could be mistaken for trauma.
Lim, now 48 years old, appealed on two claims, the new evidence and ineffective counsel. She has since withdrawn the claim of ineffective counsel.
"We have advised the victim’s family of Judge Cox’s decision," the State Attorney's Office said. "We are currently reviewing the order and we will be deciding in the near future whether we will appeal Judge Cox’s order or proceed to a second trial."
Copyright 2016 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved. ||||| | – In October 2006, Amara Ou's father dropped the 2-year-old off at her babysitter's Florida home. A few hours later, after the girl wouldn't wake up from a nap, babysitter Syna Lim, now 48, tried for two hours to reach Amara's parents before getting hold of the father. When Amara finally arrived at the hospital, she was brain dead. Three years later, a jury found Lim guilty of the girl's murder, convicting her of beating the toddler with the handle of a flyswatter and hitting her on the head. She was sentenced to life in prison. But last week, the conviction was overturned and a new trial ordered, the Florida Times-Union reports. New evidence has found that Amara may not have been beaten to death after all, but may have died due to undiagnosed juvenile diabetes and another condition that causes uncontrolled internal bleeding. A pathologist and a pediatrician re-examined the case years later and testified that Amara had very high blood sugar levels at the time of her death, which caused the internal bleeding. That bleeding, in turn, would have led to the bruises found on Amara that could be mistaken as coming from a beating. The doctors told the court that not enough medical testing was done on Amara at the hospital, News 4 Jax reports. The case brings up questions about the medical examiner who performed Amara's autopsy, the Times-Union notes: She resigned in 2010, and allegations have swirled that she was experiencing early symptoms of Alzheimer's before she resigned. (Shaken baby syndrome is dividing the medical world.) | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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PRAGUE (AFP) -
Czech President Milos Zeman, known for showing hostility towards journalists, taunted them on Thursday, saying he regretted making them look like "little idiots" during a bizarre event in which he set a huge pair of red underpants on fire.
The visibly frail 73-year-old Zeman abruptly announced a press conference on Thursday afternoon, raising speculation about his possible resignation.
"I apologise to the journalists whose intelligence I tested, unsuccessfully as always," Zeman told reporters gathered for the briefing the gardens of Prague Castle where he was flanked by his spokesman, assistants and several firemen.
To their amazement, Zeman then proceeded to burn a huge pair of red underpants in a fire pit, assisted by two firemen dressed in full gear.
"The time of underwear in politics is over," Zeman declared. "I'm sorry to make you look like little idiots, you really don't deserve it," he told reporters before leaving in his car.
The red underpants, measuring roughly one square metre, resembled a pair that Czech pranksters had flown from a flag pole atop the presidential palace in 2015 in protest against Zeman.
The pranksters said that the red colour of their boxer-short style protest flag symbolised the unhealthily close link they believed Zeman, a former communist, had with China and Russia.
Staunchly pro-Russian and pro-Chinese, Zeman once dubbed journalists "manure" and "superficial" before telling Russian President Vladimir Putin in China in May 2017 that "journalists should be liquidated".
He also showed up at a press conference in October 2017 with a toy Kalashnikov in his hand labelled "for journalists".
Zeman narrowly won a second consecutive term in January elections, beating his pro-European liberal rival Jiri Drahos in a knife-edge run-off that underscored deep divisions in the EU and NATO state.
Zeman's stunt drew a barrage of criticism on Thursday, with Jiri Pospisil, leader of the right-wing TOP 09 party, exclaiming "let us wake up from this nightmare!"
Zeman's health has come under heavy scrutiny in recent months.
He walks with a cane, is diabetic and is a former heavy drinker and smoker.
© 2018 AFP ||||| PRAGUE (AP) — A fiery stunt by the Czech president has really stunned journalists this time.
Milos Zeman announced a press conference for Thursday, but instead of briefing reporters, he had two firefighters in protective gear burn a huge pair of red underpants in front of them.
Czech media said the boxer shorts in question had been hoisted by activists in 2015, replacing the official presidential flag on Prague Castle. The red underwear was meant to symbolize Zeman's close relationships with Russia and China and has since become a symbol for criticism of his presidency.
After the incineration, Zeman told reporters: "I'm sorry to make you look like little idiots, you really don't deserve it."
Zeman, 72, has often clashed with the press, even waving a fake machine gun at reporters last year. |||||
Write a summary. | – A fiery stunt by the Czech president has really stunned journalists this time. Milos Zeman announced a press conference for Thursday, but instead of briefing reporters, he had two firefighters in protective gear help him burn a huge pair of red underpants in front of them, the AP reports. Per AFP, a "visibly frail" Zeman did the deed on a 10-foot-by-10-foot pair of boxer shorts, and he had some words after the incineration. "The time of underwear in politics is over," he declared to reporters. "I'm sorry to make you look like little idiots, you really don't deserve it." Czech media said the boxer shorts in question resembled a pair that had been hoisted by activists in 2015, replacing the official presidential flag on Prague Castle. The red underwear was meant to symbolize Zeman's close relationships with Russia and China and has since become a symbol for criticism of his presidency. Zeman, 73, has often clashed with the press, even waving a fake machine gun at reporters last year. | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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– A conservative Utah senator has apologized to "my family, my Idaho constituents, and any others who have put their trust in me," after being arrested in Virginia in the wee hours of yesterday morning with a blood-alcohol level of .11, reports Politico. Mike Crapo was arrested after police spotted his car run a red light around 12:45am. CBS News reports that the senator, a member of the "Gang of Six," failed "several" field sobriety tests. In his statement, the 61-year-old professed, "I am deeply sorry ... I made a mistake. I accept total responsibility and will deal with whatever penalty comes my way in this matter." That penalty may become more clear following his Jan. 4 court date. A first-time DUI conviction in the state carries a mandatory minimum $250 fine and license revocation for one year. The AP adds that Crapo has explained in past interviews that, as a Mormon, he does not drink.
Let's expand this into a news article: Updated Dec. 24, 1:10 p.m. ET
Sen. Michael Crapo, R.-Idaho, was arrested in Virginia early Sunday morning and charged with driving under the influence, Alexandria, Va., police say.
Police spokesman Craig T. Fifer said an officer was on routine patrol when he saw Crapo's vehicle run a red light. It was stopped at Hume Avenue and Mount Vernon at 12:45 a.m. and he was alone at the time.
Sen. Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, following his arrest for DUI, December 23, 2012 / Alexandria Police Department
Crapo then underwent several field sobriety tests, which he failed, Fifer said in a statement. He was then taken into custody without incident. According to the Alexandria police, his blood alcohol level was 0.11; 0.08 is the legal limit in Virginia.
Police took Crapo to the Alexandria jail and he was released on $1,000 bond at about 5 a.m., Crapo's office said. He has a January 4 court date.
"I am deeply sorry for the actions that resulted in this circumstance," Crapo said Sunday night. "I made a mistake for which I apologize to my family, my Idaho constituents and any others who have put their trust in me. I accept total responsibility and will deal with whatever penalty comes my way in this matter. I will also undertake measures to ensure that this circumstance is never repeated."
Crapo, a Mormon who has been a bishop in the church for decades, has said before in interviews that he doesn't drink alcohol, consistent with his church's doctrine. ||||| Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) issued a public apology after being arrested for drunken driving in Alexandria, Va., early Sunday morning.
Jody Donaldson, a spokesperson for the Alexandria Police Department, said in an e-mail that Crapo was arrested at 12:45 a.m. Sunday. An Alexandria police officer noticed Crapo’s vehicle run through a red traffic light, and after the vehicle was stopped, the officer conducted field sobriety tests, which Crapo failed, Donaldson said. Crapo was arrested for driving under the influence, and taken into custody without incident, Donaldson said.
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In a statement, Crapo apologized for his actions.
“I am deeply sorry for the actions that resulted in this circumstance,” Crapo said. “I made a mistake for which I apologize to my family, my Idaho constituents and any others who have put their trust in me. I accept total responsibility and will deal with whatever penalty comes my way in this matter.
“I will also undertake measures to ensure that this circumstance is never repeated.”
Police said the senator’s blood-alcohol level was .110. In Virginia, drivers at .08 or higher are considered intoxicated.
He was released on $1,000 bond, and has a court date scheduled for Jan. 4.
The 61-year-old Republican is serving his third term in the U.S. Senate. Crapo is Mormon, and has said publicly that he abstains from alcohol. |||||
– If you're worried about diabetes, you might want to stock up on blueberries and ditch the fruit juice. That's the upshot of a new study in the British Medical Journal that tracked the eating habits of 180,000 subjects over nearly 30 years. The simplified findings: Those who ate five servings of whole blueberries a week had a 26% lower risk of contracting type 2 diabetes, reports the New York Times. Grapes and apples also did well, followed by prunes, pears, bananas, and grapefruit. Other fruits didn't seem to have much of an effect in terms of diabetes. One striking part of the study is that fruit juice might actually raise the risk for the disease, notes National Geographic. That's probably in part because dietary fiber and nutrients are lost in the juicing process, explains Bloomberg. So are blueberries a silver bullet? Not even close. “We don’t want to leave the impression that there’s any magical fruit,” says a co-author of the study, per the Boston Globe. And, he adds, no amount of blueberries in the world will compensate for things like a lack of exercise, an otherwise lousy diet, or a pack of smokes. (A previous study suggested blueberries also helped ward off dementia.)
| Let's expand this into a news article: We excluded participants who reported a diagnosis of diabetes (including types 1 and 2 and gestational diabetes), cardiovascular disease, or cancer at baseline (n=10 134 for the Nurses’ Health Study, 6155 for the Nurses’ Health Study II, and 6707 for the Health Professionals Follow-up Study), those who had missing data for individual fruits and fruit juice or an unusual level of total energy intake (<500 or >3500 kcal/day for the Nurses’ Health Study and the Nurses’ Health Study II and <800 or >4200 kcal/day for the Health Professionals Follow-up Study) (n=4765 for the Nurses’ Health Study, 5647 for the Nurses’ Health Study II, and 5750 for the Health Professionals Follow-up Study), those whose diagnosis date of type 2 diabetes was unclear (n=200 for Health Professionals Follow-up Study), and those who completed only the baseline questionnaire (n=719 for the Nurses’ Health Study, 699 for the Nurses’ Health Study II, and 1103 for the Health Professionals Follow-up Study). After excluding these participants, 66 105 women in the Nurses’ Health Study, 85 104 women in the Nurses’ Health Study II, and 36 173 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study were available for the analysis.
We used data from the Nurses’ Health Study (established in 1976; n=121 700), the Nurses’ Health Study II (established in 1989; n=116 671), and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (established in 1986; n=51 529). These cohort studies are discussed in detail elsewhere. 14 15 16 Every two years since baseline, follow-up questionnaires have been mailed to the participants to collect and update information on lifestyle practices and occurrence of chronic diseases. In all three cohorts the follow-up rates are approximately 90%.
In 1984 a 118 item food frequency questionnaire was sent to the participants of the Nurses’ Health Study to assess their habitual diet in the past year. In 1986 and every four years thereafter, a similar but expanded questionnaire was sent to the participants to update their dietary information. The expanded questionnaire was also administered every four years to assess diet among the participants in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study since 1986 and those in the Nurses’ Health Study II since 1991. In all food frequency questionnaires we asked the participants how often, on average, they consumed each food in a standard portion size. Participants could choose from nine possible responses, ranging from “never, or less than once per month” to “six or more times per day.” We consistently asked about 10 individual fruits since baseline: grapes or raisins; peaches, plums, or apricots; prunes; bananas; cantaloupe; apples or pears; oranges; grapefruit; strawberries; and blueberries. We calculated total whole fruit consumption by summing the consumption levels of the 10 individual fruits and watermelon, which we inquired about sporadically during follow-up. Fruit juice included apple, orange, grapefruit, and other juices. The food frequency questionnaires were validated against diet records among 173 participants in the Nurses’ Health Study in 1980 and 127 participants in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study in 1986. 17 18 19 Corrected correlation coefficients between food frequency questionnaire and diet record assessments of individual fruit consumption were 0.80 for apples, 0.79 for bananas, and 0.74 for oranges in women, 17 and 0.67 for total whole fruits, 0.76 for fruit juice, 0.95 for bananas, 0.84 for grapefruit, 0.76 for oranges, 0.70 for apples and pears, 0.59 for raisins and grapes, and 0.38 for strawberries in men. 18 19 For some individual fruits, the corrected correlation coefficients were not available owing to large within person variability in the comparison methods.
In the follow-up questionnaires administered every two years, we inquired and updated information on anthropometric and lifestyle factors for chronic diseases, including body height and weight, cigarette smoking, physical activity, multivitamin use, and family history of diabetes. Among participants in the Nurses’ Health Study and Nurses’ Health Study II, we ascertained menopausal status, post-menopausal hormone use, and oral contraceptive use (Nurses’ Health Study II only). Estimates of total physical activity levels were calculated by multiplying the energy expenditure in metabolic equivalent tasks (METs) measured in hours per week of each activity by hours spent on the activity and summing the values of all activities. Each MET hour is the caloric need per kilogram of body weight per hour of an activity, divided by the caloric need per kilogram of weight per hour at rest. Based on the food frequency questionnaire, we derived a score of the alternate healthy eating index, an indicator of adherence to healthy eating behavior, described in detail elsewhere. 20 In brief, the alternate healthy eating index score summarizes the consumption of 11 foods or nutrients (including consumption of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, sugar sweetened beverages and fruit juice, nuts and legumes, red and processed meat, trans fat, long chain n-3 fat, polyunsaturated fat, sodium, and alcohol). Each component was scored on a scale of 0 to 10. In the current analysis, we excluded fruits and fruit juice when calculating the alternate healthy eating index score.
In all three cohorts, to inquire about symptoms, diagnostic tests, and diabetes drug use we mailed a supplementary questionnaire to participants who reported physician diagnosed diabetes in the follow-up questionnaires. A type 2 diabetes diagnosis was confirmed if participants met at least one of the following National Diabetes Data Group criteria 21 : one or more classic symptoms (excessive thirst, polyuria, weight loss, and hunger) plus raised blood glucose levels (fasting levels ≥140 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L), random blood levels ≥200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L), and/or two hour blood glucose levels ≥200 mg/dL during oral glucose tolerance testing), raised blood glucose levels on two different occasions in the absence of symptoms, or treatment with antidiabetic drugs (insulin or oral antidiabetic agent). The diagnostic criteria changed in June 1998 and a fasting blood glucose level of 126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L) instead of 140 mg/dL was considered the threshold for the diagnosis of diabetes. 22 The validity of the supplementary questionnaire for the diagnosis of diabetes has been examined in validation studies. 23 24 Of 62 self reported cases of type 2 diabetes randomly selected in the Nurses’ Health Study, 61 (98%) were confirmed after an endocrinologist reviewed the medical records without the information from the supplementary questionnaire 23 ; and in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, 57 of 59 self reported cases of type 2 diabetes (97%) were confirmed by a review of medical records. 24
Statistical analysis
We calculated each participant’s person years from the return date of the baseline food frequency questionnaire to the date of the type 2 diabetes diagnosis, date of death, last return of a valid follow-up questionnaire, or end of follow-up (2008 for the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study, or 2009 for the Nurses’ Health Study II), whichever came first. To represent long term dietary intake and minimize within person variation, we calculated and used the cumulative average of dietary intake based on valid assessments from baseline to the end of follow-up.26 To minimize the effects of chronic diseases diagnosed during follow-up on subsequent diet, we stopped updating dietary information after self reported diagnosis of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, gestational diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer, since these chronic diseases may lead to changes of fruit consumption levels in the cohorts.27 To reduce the effect of potential outliers and to pool the results from the three cohorts, we used the same cut-off points to categorize consumption levels in these studies. The highest two consumption levels were combined for prunes, cantaloupe, and blueberries owing to the small number of participants with high consumption levels of these fruits.
To minimize missing covariates, we replaced missing data on body mass index and physical activity with the last valid values. For missing data on body mass index and physical activity at baseline, we created a dummy variable when making categories for these two continuous covariates. Similarly, we also used missing indicator variables to include participants with missing categorical variables, including cigarette smoking, oral contraceptive use (Nurses’ Health Study II only), menopausal status, and post-menopausal hormone use. The overall percentages of missing data for body mass index and physical activity were, respectively, 6.8% and 9.5% in the Nurses’ Health Study, 6.7% and 8.5% in the Nurses’ Health Study II, and 12.8% and 14.0% in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. The overall percentages of missing values during follow-up ranged from 0.6% (for cigarette smoking) to 5.1% (for menopausal status and post-menopausal hormone use) in the Nurses’ Health Study, from 0.3% (for cigarette smoking) to 4.7% (for menopausal status and post-menopausal hormone use) in the Nurses’ Health Study II, and from 0.1% (for physical activity) to 12.2% (for cigarette smoking) in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
Using Cox proportional hazard regression, we estimated the hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals of type 2 diabetes for fruit consumption. We tested the proportional hazard assumption by including interaction terms between individual fruit consumption and duration of follow-up, and the assumption was unlikely violated (P>0.05 for all tests). We examined linear trend by modelling the median values for fruit consumption categories as a continuous variable. Using a fixed effects model, we pooled multivariable adjusted hazard ratios from three cohorts, and we used the Cochrane Q statistic and the I2 statistic to examine the heterogeneity of associations among the cohorts.
To examine whether the associations with risk of type 2 diabetes were heterogeneous among individual fruits, we fitted two fully adjusted models: one with total fruit consumption and the other with total fruit consumption plus consumption of individual fruits excluding oranges (which had the most similar association as the total fruit consumption) to avoid over-fitting. Then we used the likelihood ratio test to examine whether the model including individual fruits had better fit than that including total fruit consumption only.
We also estimated potential effects of substituting specific fruit consumption for fruit juice consumption by examining the median values for consumption categories of individual fruits and fruit juice in the same multivariate model; the hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for substitution effects were calculated based on the differences in point estimates, and the variance and covariance for the regression coefficients of specific fruits and fruit juice.28 To examine the robustness of our findings, we also conducted four sensitivity analyses: evaluating the influence of adjustment for major dietary variables including polyunsaturated to saturated fat ratio, and intakes of trans fat, red meat, fish, whole grains, sugar sweetened beverages, coffee, and nuts (all in fifths) instead of the modified alternate healthy eating index score; adjusting for baseline body mass index instead of updated body mass index to estimate the impact of potential over-adjustment; using baseline consumption levels as an exposure instead of cumulative average of intake levels; and stopping updating diet after diagnosis of gestational diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer only when calculating the cumulative averages.
We further examined whether the associations of individual fruit consumption with risk of type 2 diabetes depended on the glycemic index/glycemic load values of fruits. We calculated the glycemic load values per serving for individual fruits based on the glycemic index values from the international glycemic index database13 and the amount of carbohydrate in fruits from the USDA nutritional database11 (see supplementary table 1). We categorized individual fruits into three groups based on their glycemic load values per serving: prunes, bananas, grapes, raisins, apples, and pears for high glycemic load fruits (glycemic load 8.1-19.2); cantaloupe, blueberries, and oranges for moderate glycemic load fruits (5.7-8.0); and peaches, plums, apricots, strawberries, and grapefruit for low glycemic load fruits (1.3-5.6). In terms of the categorization of fruits by the glycemic index values, high glycemic index fruits included cantaloupe, bananas, grapes, raisins (glycemic index 60-70); moderate glycemic index fruits included prunes, blueberries, and grapefruit (47-59); and low glycemic index fruits included apples, pears, oranges, peaches, plums, apricots, and strawberries (34-46). Moreover, to estimate the degree to which the observed associations were explained by flavonoid intake, in a secondary analysis we further adjusted for intake of flavonoid subtypes (flavonols, flavones, flavanones, flavan-3-ols, and anthocyanins).
The analysis was stratified jointly by age and calendar year and adjusted for body mass index (kg/m2; <23, 23.0-24.9, 25.0-26.9, 27.0-28.9, 29.0-30.9, 31.0-32.9, 33.0-34.9, 35.0-36.9, 37.0-38.9, 39.0-40.9, 41.0-42.9, 43.0-44.9, ≥45.0, or missing), ethnicity (white, African-American, Hispanic, or Asian), physical activity (MET hours/week; <3, 3.0-8.9, 9.0-17.9, 18.0-26.9, ≥27.0, or missing), cigarette smoking (never, former, currently smoke 1-14 cigarettes/day, currently smoke 15-24 cigarettes/day, or currently smoke ≥25 cigarettes/day, or missing), multivitamin use (yes or no), family history of diabetes (yes or no), menopausal status and post-menopausal hormone use (premenopause, post-menopause (never, former, or current hormone use), or missing) (for women), oral contraceptive use (yes, no, or missing) (Nurses’ Health Study II only), total energy intake (kcal/day), fruit juice consumption (fifths), and the modified alternate healthy eating index score (fifths).20 When examining the association for total whole fruit, we included total fruit consumption in the multivariate model without further adjusting for individual fruits. Likewise, when examining the associations for individual fruits or fruit groups based on their glycemic index/glycemic load values, we included consumption levels of all other individual fruits or fruit groups instead of total fruit consumption in the final model.
Statistical analyses were performed with SAS 9.2. All P values were two sided, and statistical significance was defined as P<0.05. ||||| View Images Blueberries on the Charlotte Berry Farm in Charlotte, Vermont
Photograph by Robert Nickelsberg, Getty Images
Science is finding more health benefits from blueberries—but raising more concerns about fruit juice. According to a new study by Harvard University researchers, eating whole fruits helps ward off diabetes, while drinking juice can actually raise the risk of developing the disease.
In a study published in the British Medical Journal, nutrition experts report that consumption of certain fruits—especially blueberries—cut people’s risk of type 2 diabetes by as much as 26 percent in a survey of more than 180,000 subjects over two and a half decades.
Study participants were asked about their consumption of grapes or raisins, prunes, bananas, cantaloupe, apples or pears, oranges, grapefruit, blueberries, strawberries, and stone fruits (peaches, plums, or apricots).
Blueberries had the strongest effect on cutting diabetes risk, followed by grapes and apples, especially when three or more servings a week were eaten. A standard serving of blueberries was half a cup.
Prunes, pears, bananas, and grapefruit also helped lower diabetes risk, while the other fruits did not.
The difference is something called polyphenols, said study co-author Qi Sun, an assistant professor of nutrition at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard School of Public Health. Some of these plant-based chemical compounds—including anthocyanins, chlorogenic acid, and resveratrol, all powerful antioxidants—may help the body process glucose. Blueberries, grapes, and apples are all rich in these beneficial polyphenols.
Sun and his collaborators based their research on data from 151,209 female participants in the long-running Nurses' Health Studies, which have tracked the lifestyles and health of participating nurses since 1976 through questionnaires and medical testing. They also included a cohort of 36,173 men from a similar survey of male medical health professionals, the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, conducted from 1986 to 2008.
Juicy Details
The study also revealed an interesting twist. Consumption of fruit juices—including apple, orange, and grapefruit—not only failed to deliver the same benefits as whole fruit but even appeared to raise the risk of diabetes. People who drank at least one serving a day of juice had a 21 percent higher risk of developing diabetes than those who did not.
There are a few possible reasons, said Sun.
"During juicing processes, some phytochemicals and dietary fiber are lost,” said Sun. And since fluids are more rapidly absorbed than solids, drinking juice brings on a “more rapid and more dramatic glucose and insulin response” than eating whole fruits.
The questionnaires did not specifically ask whether the juice people were consuming was pasteurized or sweetened, although many store-bought juices are.
It’s hard to get that kind of specific data from large epidemiological studies, said Sun: “Participants often are not aware of how much sugar is added to the juices that they typically drink.” But, he added, “One can reasonably assume that juices with added sugar may be more strongly associated with diabetes risk.” ||||| 3 fruits that lower your risk of type 2 diabetes, at least a little
For years, nutritionists have debated whether fruit—rich in natural sugars—has a net positive or net negative impact on type 2 diabetes risk. Now a Harvard School of Public Health finding suggests that overall, eating several servings of fruit a week offers slight protection against type 2 diabetes. But certain fruits—blueberries, grapes, and apples—offer greater benefits.
In the study, published online Wednesday in the British Medical Journal, the Harvard researchers examined the dietary habits of more than 187,000 participants involved in three long-term studies and found that people who ate fruit at least three times a week had a 2 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared with those who ate less fruit.
Nearly 7 percent of the participants developed type 2 diabetes during the studies, which followed volunteers for more than two decades.
But those who ate three servings a week of blueberries had more than a 25 percent lower risk, while grapes were associated with an 11 percent reduced risk and apples with a 5 percent lower risk.
Drinking fruit juice, on the other hand, slightly raised a person’s risk of developing the disease, and so did eating cantaloupes. Other fruits such as blackberries and raspberries weren’t included in the dietary questionnaire.
Should these results lead us to change our eating habits, choosing, say, blueberries over melon?
No, said study co-author Qi Sun, an epidemiologist. “We don’t want to leave the impression that there’s any magical fruit,” he said, since the study doesn’t prove that eating blueberries actually helps people avoid diabetes.
But the study does point to the need for more research to gain a better understanding of how fruit alters blood sugar levels. For example, it’s long been known that fruit high in fiber is digested more slowly, leading to a slower rise in blood sugar—which is thought to help protect against diabetes. But fruits also contain an array of plant chemicals that can play a role in blood sugar levels.
Blueberries, in particular, are rich in anthocyanins, which have been shown to play a role in how the body metabolizes the blood sugar glucose. ||||| If you want to reduce your chances of becoming a diabetic, you’re better off munching apples or blueberries instead of sipping fruit juice, researchers found.
Eating more blueberries, apples and grapes was shown to lower the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, while increased consumption of fruit juice was linked to a higher risk, according to a study published in The BMJ.
People should “replace fruit juice with solid fruits, maintaining the same energy level” while substituting a less healthy option with a healthier one, Qi Sun, the senior author of the study, said in a telephone interview. He’s an assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School.
This adds to a growing body of evidence that eating fruit is beneficial for health, and is the strongest confirmation to date that it can also lower Type 2 diabetes risk.
Previous studies showed links between increased fruit consumption and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and hypertension. According to one published last year in the Annals of Neurology, berries are good for the brain and can help fend off the mental decline of aging.
For the study published today, researchers from the U.K., the U.S. and Singapore set out to examine the relations between consumption of different kinds of fruits and diabetes, analyzing data from three groups of U.S. nurses and health workers who were surveyed about their eating habits and physical activity over the course of about two decades. The participants included 151,209 women and 36,173 men.
Three Groups
The results are convincing as they are consistent among the three groups, said Sun, also an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Among study participants who had three servings a week of blueberries, grapes, raisins, apples and pears rather than juice, the risk of diabetes was reduced by 7 percent, the study showed.
The study is part of a body of evidence showing benefits from fruit. Eating at least 2 1/2 cups of vegetables and fruits a day is associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease, according to U.S. government dietary guidelines, which encourage the increased consumption of fruit. Most Americans don’t eat enough fruit, according to the guidelines, which were last updated in 2010.
Fruit juices are probably less healthy for a number of reasons, Sun said. In the juicing processes, some beneficial nutrients, for example flavonoids and dietary fibers, are lost, he said. Juices also pass through the gastrointestinal tract more quickly, leading to more rapid and more dramatic changes in blood sugar and insulin levels after eating, he said.
Eating Habits
Researchers asked about consumption of grapes or raisins, peaches, plums or apricots, prunes, bananas, cantaloupe, apples or pears, oranges, grapefruit, strawberries and blueberries. The juices used included orange, apple and grapefruit. Participants were submitted a questionnaire every four years to assess their eating habits, and were asked how often they consumed each food in a standard portion size.
Greater consumption of fruit juice was associated with an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, the study showed. Substitution of juices with fruits was linked with a lower risk, with the exception of strawberries and cantaloupe, the researchers said.
“Some fruits are more beneficial than others, in terms of diabetes prevention,” Sun said. “Based on our data, blueberries, apples, grapes and raisins are preferred.”
Future Studies
Such results will have to be corroborated in future studies, he added.
Diabetes is caused by a lack of insulin the body needs to convert blood sugar into energy. Lifestyle changes around the globe have kindled a surge in cases. The number of sufferers worldwide will reach an estimated 552 million by 2030, according to the International Diabetes Federation.
Some diabetics, suffering from Type 1 diabetes, have a lifelong inability to produce insulin. The Type 2 variant tends to strike later in life, brought on by obesity and sedentary lifestyles, as people become resistant to the insulin their own body produces.
The study was funded by research grants from the National Institutes of Health. Professor Sun also was supported by a career development award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
For Related News and Information: Eating More Berries May Delay Memory Decline, Research Shows
To contact the reporter on this story: Albertina Torsoli in Geneva at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at [email protected] ||||| | multi_news_1_0_0 |
|
About 100,000 bats dead after heatwave in southern Queensland
Updated
About 100,000 bats may have died as a result of last weekend's heatwave in southern Queensland, the RSPCA says.
Mass deaths at about 25 separate colonies have been reported since the weekend, including at Mt Ommaney, Redbank, Boonah, Palmwoods, Laidley and Gatton.
RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty says the heatwave was a significant hit to the population of bats across the state.
"The heatwave was basically a catastrophe for all the bat colonies in south-east Queensland," he said.
"That's obviously going to have a pretty disturbing impact on those colonies and those colonies are vital to our ecosystem."
The smell of bat carcasses has caused problems for locals.
The Scenic Rim Regional Council, west of Brisbane, has organised rubbish collectors to clear up the carcasses of about 2,000 bats.
Residents near Boonah's Athol Terrace lookout say they have been putting up with the stench of the dead animals for four days.
Hundreds of bats also lie dead in trees and nearby bushes, and are being eaten by maggots.
The council today advised local residents it will not send workers into nearby bushland to collect the remaining bat carcasses, as it could cause further disruption to the nearby colony.
One resident has told the ABC she is receiving anti-viral treatment after being scratched by a baby bat while clearing the dead animals out of her tree with a rake.
Further north, Lockyer Valley Regional Council says it also faces a massive task of cleaning up thousands of dead bats from around Laidley and Gatton.
Sunshine Coast Regional Council has sent workers out to collect thousands more dead bats near Palmwoods.
At least 16 people across south-east Queensland are receiving anti-viral treatment after coming into close contact with a bat.
Queensland Health is advising people not to touch the animals and to call authorities for help in clearing them away.
Sammy Ringer from Bat Rescue echoed those concerns, saying it was best to call a wildlife volunteer or a vet.
"Don't touch them, they're stressed," she said.
"If they do bite or scratch you and break the skin you can get a vaccination, you can get a shot for the lyssavirus."
Topics: local-government, phenomena, environmental-impact, boonah-4310, southport-4215, maroochydore-4558
First posted ||||| Queensland heatwave: Brisbane set to roast as weekend temperatures soar
Updated
The scorching heatwave gripping much of Queensland is being felt in Brisbane today, with residents set to roast in temperatures of up to 41 degrees Celsius.
At 9:25am, the mercury had already hit 35.1C, with the apparent temperature hovering at 37.4C, according to the Bureau of Meteorology website.
By 1:00pm, the temperature had risen to 38C, although the apparent temperature was 41C.
Queensland's interior has been sweltering through record-breaking heat in recent days, along with parts of Central Australia and north-western New South Wales.
The heatwave continued as a Bureau of Meteorology report revealed 2013 was the hottest year on record in Australia.
The mass of hot air causing the extreme weather again led to searing temperatures in central and western Queensland on Friday.
St George topped the temperature list with 47.2C, while Winton and Longreach also had scorchers at 46.4C and 46.3C respectively.
Charleville followed on 46.1C, while Blackall, Roma and Thargomindah all recorded temperatures just above 45C.
Brisbane's top for Friday was 34.3C, but the mercury is predicted to reach 41C today as northerly winds push the heatwave south.
Further evacuations not expected
Firefighters are confident no further evacuations will be needed as they battle a large bushfire on Stradbroke Island.
Firefighters are confident no further evacuations will be needed as they battle a large bushfire on Stradbroke Island.
The Gold Coast's beaches have been packed with people keen to beat the heat, and that is sure to be the case over the weekend.
Queenslanders have also been urged to put their health first during the current heatwave.
Last summer, paramedics responded to more than 350 cases of heat-related illness across the state.
Steven Clarke from Queensland Ambulance says drinking plenty of water is the key.
Mr Clarke says families should ensure loved ones are coping with the heat, with the elderly particularly vulnerable.
"For the elderly and people with chronic illnesses, especially with kidney problems, diabetic problems, obese people, they need to take extra care," he said.
"Probably a critical point to make is family need to check their loved ones - grandad and grandma living on their own - they need to ring them up, they need to go around and visit them and make sure they are doing the right thing.
Live heatwave tracker
Track the heatwave rolling over inland Australia with Track the heatwave rolling over inland Australia with our animated visualisation
"Especially with the elderly. They'll lock their windows to make themselves feel safe; they live on their own. Family need to spend the time and go visit them."
Meanwhile, cooler weather has arrived in South Australia's outback, after two days of scorching heat and a catastrophic fire danger rating.
It reached 49.3C at Moomba in the state's far-north-east on Thursday, but conditions are set to ease to 32C today.
The state's fire danger rating has been reduced by two levels to severe.
In New South Wales, Walgett recorded 49.1C on Friday, which is the highest temperature recorded in NSW since 1939, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Former tropical cyclone Christine has further weakened as it passes into northern New South Wales, and the system can now barely be seen on satellite images.
2013 was hottest year on record
The weather bureau's Annual Climate Statement shows that in 2013, average temperatures were 1.20C above the long-term average of 21.8C, breaking the previous record set in 2005 by 0.17C,
All states and territories recorded above average temperatures in 2013, with Western Australia, Northern Territory and South Australia all breaking annual average temperature records.
Every month of 2013 had national average temperatures at least 0.5C above normal, according to the statement.
The country recorded its hottest day on January 7 - a month which also saw the hottest week and hottest month since records began in 1910.
A new record was set for the number of consecutive days the national average temperature exceeded 39C – seven days between January 2 and 8, 2013, almost doubling the previous record of four consecutive days in 1973.
The highest temperature recorded during 2013 was 49.6C at Moomba in South Australia on January 12, which was the highest temperature in Australia since 1998.
Australia has experienced just one cooler-than-average year in the last decade - 2011.
Australian temperatures have warmed approximately 1C since 1950, consistent with global climate trends
Topics: weather, phenomena, brisbane-4000, qld, australia, st-george-4487, roma-4455, winton-4735, longreach-4730, charleville-4470
First posted ||||| About 100,000 bats have fallen from the sky and died during a heatwave in Australia that has left the trees and earth littered with dead creatures.
In scenes likened to "an Alfred Hitchock thought bubble", a heatwave across the north-east state of Queensland in recent days caused mass deaths of flying foxes from an estimated 25 colonies.
"It's a horrible, cruel way to die," a conservation worker, Louise Saunders, told The Courier Mail .
"Anything over 43 degrees [Celsius, 109F] and they just fall. We're just picking up those that are just not coping and are humanely euthanising what we can."
Health experts have warned residents not to touch the dead creatures amid concerns about the spread of virus or bites and scratches from bats that may still be alive. At least 16 people have been are receiving antiviral treatment after coming into close contact with a bat.
"If you find a bat it is very important not to touch it because of the risk of infection with Australian bat lyssavirus," the state's chief health officer, Dr Jeannette Young, told APN.
"Some bats may appear dead but they are not and when people have attempted to remove them they have been bitten or scratched. Bats also have a claw on their wings which is a frequent cause of injury."
The stench from the rotting carcasses has begun to disturb residents of Brisbane and large towns. Authorities have dispatched rubbish collectors to pick up thousands of carcasses from populated areas.
The RSPCA said the heatwave could have a devastating effect on the state's wildlife.
"The heatwave was basically a catastrophe for all the bat colonies in south-east Queensland," a spokesman, Michael Beatty, told ABC News.
"That's obviously going to have a pretty disturbing impact on those colonies and those colonies are vital to our ecosystem." |||||
Write a summary. | – As the US emerged from that whole "polar vortex," Australia saw an intense heatwave last weekend—leading to the deaths of 100,000 bats, many of which reportedly dropped from the sky. In one video that went viral, a man filmed what he estimated to be more than 1,000 bat carcasses in his backyard, the Guardian reports. "The heatwave was basically a catastrophe for all the bat colonies in southeast Queensland," a rep for the RSPCA tells Australia's ABC News, noting that mass deaths were reported at 25 colonies. Bats are fragile and can't withstand temperatures above 109 degrees, a conservation worker explains. (Queensland's Brisbane got as hot as 106 on Saturday, notes ABC News.) "They just fall," she says. "It's a horrible, cruel way to die." Another problem: The stench from the bodies is bothering locals. In one area, residents say they've had to live with the smell for days; in others, teams of trash collectors have been put together by regional councils to clean up the carcasses. In addition to those that fell to the ground, hundreds of bodies are still in trees and bushes, and maggots have already set in. As if all that isn't enough, at least 16 people have had to undergo anti-viral treatment after getting scratched or otherwise coming into close contact with a bat. | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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– If you hate spending time at the mechanic, you'll need a Porsche. Or at least a Kia. JD Power and Associates is out with its annual rankings on new-vehicle quality, and those brands are at the top of the list, reports AP. The results factor in problems reported by owners in the first 90 days. Forbes says the biggest surprise on the overall list is that Japanese cars now fall below the industry average for the first time in 30 years. Here is the top 10, with the number of problems reported per 100 vehicles, and the number of spots the brand rose or fell from last year: Porsche (80, same) Kia (86, +5) Jaguar (93, -1) Hyundai (95, same) Infiniti (97, +18) BMW (99, +2) Chevrolet (101, -1) Lincoln (103, +2) Lexus (104, -6) Toyota (104, -4)
Let's expand this into a news article: This will appear next to all of your comments
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– Animal experts believe a dog in Oregon was only trying to be helpful when he chewed off three of his diabetic owner's toes as the man slept. The dog, a Shiba Inu called Cosmo, was acting on instinct to help remove diseased flesh and doesn't seem to be dangerous, according to a county official. Its owner, who suffers from numbness in his hands and feet caused by diabetes, called 911 after waking up to find himself short a few toes. He has put the dog up for adoption, AP reports. The dog has to remain quarantined for 10 days after eating human flesh but the animal adoption center hopes to find a home for him afterward. Cosmo, who was healthy but anxious when he arrived at the center, "is a bit aloof, but overall he's a friendly dog, I suppose," the director of the center tells Seattle Weekly. Bizarrely enough, this has happened before...
| Let's expand this into a news article: Do you need some added companionship around the house? Are you an animal lover? And most important, do you have or plan to have an abundance of dead tissue on your body, like, say, a few dead and infected toes? Well, the Saving Grace Pet Adoption Center in Roseburg, Ore., has just the dog for you!
His name is Cosmo. He's a Shiba Inu. And, as we told you about last week, he recently ate half his owner's foot.
Now, for some reason, the owner, James Little, no longer wants the dog.
Seattle Weekly talked with Saving Grace Pet Adoption Center Director Wendy Kang, who said the rambunctious pup isn't quite available yet, since he has to remain quarantined for 10 days after eating human flesh. But by this time next week, he could be munching the toes off all your gangrenous friends.
Kang has nothing but the most glowing endorsements for little Cosmo. "[He] is a bit aloof, but overall he's a friendly dog, I suppose," she says.
According to the American Kennel Club, the Shiba Inu ranges from 17 to 23 pounds and was originally bred for hunting small game, boar, and bear in Japanese forests (no, really, it says they hunted freaking bears).
Little, a diabetic man who has no feeling in his feet, didn't even realize that little Cosmo was feasting on his phalanges until he woke up sans three toes and half his foot. The phenomenon isn't unique to Cosmo--several other cases of dogs eating infected or dead tissue from their masters have been reported.
In one case, a dog's eating of his drunk and passed-out owner's toe is credited with saving the man's life, because the eaten toe alerted doctors to the man having deadly type-II diabetes.
So little Cosmo isn't necessarily a bloodthirsty zombie dog--he just cares a lot about his master's hygiene.
Follow The Daily Weekly on Facebook and Twitter. ||||| A dog ate three of his owner's toes as the diabetic man slept, most likely out of instinct to help remove diseased flesh, animal experts say.
James Little, 61, made an emergency call on Tuesday to say his dog had eaten the body parts while he was sleeping. He told The Associated Press on Friday that he is "doing fine."
Little suffers from diabetes, of which one symptom is numbness in the hands or feet.
The dog, a Shiba Inu, was acting on its instinct to remove diseased flesh and does not appear to be dangerous, said Douglas County Animal Control Deputy Lee Bartholomew.
Dogs have been known to eat dead or diseased human flesh. A family's dog in Illinois ate the toes off a 10-year-old girl's left foot while she slept last December. She had a sore on her foot.
In August, a dog in Michigan bit off most of its owner's infected big toe after the man passed out from alcohol. The man had diabetes, and the animal was apparently attracted to a festering wound.
Little has given up ownership of his dog, putting it up for adoption pending an examination and a standard 10-day quarantine to determine it does not have rabies, Bartholomew said.
The dog was taken to Roseburg's Saving Grace Pet Adoption Center, where executive director Wendy Kang said the animal is healthy but appears anxious.
Little was in fair condition at a hospital and expected to be released later Friday. ||||| | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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News article:
Robert A Levinson vanished in the Persian Gulf in 2007, though the US has claimed it has evidence he is still alive
The FBI has offered an award of up to $1m for information leading to the location of a former special agent who disappeared in Iran five years ago.
Robert A Levinson vanished on Kish Island, a Persian Gulf resort, in March 2007. He was 59 at the time. Formerly an FBI agent, Levinson was working as a private investigator when he disappeared. His family and US officials say he was investigating cigarette smuggling for a private client at the time of his disappearance.
In December, a video of Levinson surfaced showing him alive, if gaunt, a year earlier. Levinson addresses the camera from inside a concrete cell, where he claims to have been held for three years. He said he had been treated well, but implored US authorities to co-operate with his unidentified captors.
A screenshot from the video released in December
"I need the help of the United States government to answer the requests of the group that has held me," Levinson said at the time.
"Please help me get home. Thirty-three years of service to the United States deserves something," he added.
Levinison's wife and seven children received an email last year containing photographs of him wearing what appears to be an orange prison uniform and with a full beard. While federal agents were able to trace the emails back to Afghanistan or Pakistan, they were unable to pinpoint their exact source.
On Tuesday, the FBI issued a statement reading: "The Federal Bureau of Investigation will hold a press conference to announce a reward of up to $1,000,000 for information leading directly to the safe location, recovery and return of Robert A Levinson. Robert A Levinson is a US citizen and former FBI Special Agent who disappeared from Kish Island, Iran, five years ago on March 9, 2007."
The agency announced the reward at a press conference at the FBI's field office in Washington, DC.
Officials in Iran have denied any knowledge of Levinson's disappearance. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, during a 2010 trip to the US, said his government was willing to co-operate in the investigation.
Last year, the secretary of state, Hilary Clinton, indirectly referred to the case, saying the US had evidence Levinson was alive. ||||| FBI Director Robert Mueller has made a personal plea for the safe return of a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran five years ago. NBC's Pete Williams reports.
U.S. investigators believe the captors of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, missing since 2007, are in the border region that Iran shares with Pakistan and Afghanistan.
That detail, one of the most specific ever offered by the FBI in the long search for Levinson, emerged Tuesday as FBI Director Robert Mueller announced the offer of a $1 million reward for information that leads to Levinson’s safe return.
A 22-year veteran of the FBI, he disappeared five years ago from the resort island of Kish in Iran, after meeting a contact while working as a private investigator looking into cigarette smuggling. Very little has been learned about his whereabouts since then, despite an intensive investigation and the release of a video last fall in which he pleaded for help.
"There have been some indications that a group has him" and that they are located in the border regions of Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan, said James McJunkin, the FBI assistant director in charge of the Washington field office.
Over 100 current and former agents stood on the front steps of the FBI's Washington, D.C., office Tuesday in a show of solidarity with their former colleague and his family. Levinson's wife of 37 years, Christine, choked up as she discussed her ordeal.
"There are no words to describe the nightmare my family and I have been living every day. I never imagined that we would still be waiting for Bob to come home five years later," she said.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Levinson case “remains a priority for the United States.”
Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP An FBI poster shows a composite image of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, right, indicating how he would look now after five years in captivity, an image, center, taken from the video released by his kidnappers, and a picture before he was kidnapped, left, displayed during a news conference.
“We welcome the assistance of our international partners in this investigation. We also call on the Government of Iran to uphold its promise of assistance and help safely return Mr. Levinson to the United States,” she said in a written statement.
The FBI is spreading the word of the reward offer through billboards, fliers, and radio announcements overseas. "Help Robert get back to his family by contacting your nearest American embassy or US consulate," the messages say, printed and broadcast in the languages of the border regions.
The billboards and fliers include photos to show how Levinson appeared in the recent video and how he might look now, with longer hair and a graying beard. They also include local telephone numbers to receive confidential tips. Information can be sent over the Internet to an FBI tips link.
"We hope that this reward will encourage anyone with information about Bob or his captors, no matter how insignificant it seems, to contact the FBI," McJunkin said.
Levinson, whose 64th birthday is March 10, is diabetic with high blood pressure, and his family is concerned for his health. Agents say they have no hard evidence to indicate where he may have been taken the day he disappeared.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article? | – The FBI is offering up to $1 million for information leading to the return of former special agent Robert Levinson, a 63-year-old who vanished in Iran five years ago while working as a private investigator probing cigarette smuggling, the Guardian reports. A video of Levinson pleading for help from the US government, in which he says a group has been holding him for years, surfaced late last year. An FBI assistant director says investigators believe Levinson is being held in the border region Iran shares with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Emails sent to the former agent's wife and seven children containing photos of him in an orange prison uniform are believed to have been sent from Afghanistan or Pakistan. More than 100 current and former FBI agents stood on the steps of the agency's Washington, DC, office yesterday in a show of support for Levinson, reports MSNBC. | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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Here is a news article: You've heard the term "hangry," right? People who are hungry often report being unreasonably angry until they're fed.
"Hangry" is a relatively new buzz word, but science is backing it up. A new study published in the journal PNAS suggests married couples are more aggressive when they have low blood sugar levels.
Background
Everyone gets upset at their spouse or significant other sometimes. But self-control hopefully prevents you from taking that anger out on them in a physical manner.
Yet scientists know that self-control is a limited resource. You have a tank of it, so to speak, in your brain. Each time you use self-control to avoid telling off your boss or to skip the dessert bar, that tank becomes less full.
And "aggression often starts when self-control stops," says Brad Bushman, a psychologist at Ohio State University who's studied aggression for 25 years.
What refills your self-control tank? Energy, which comes in part from the food you eat.
The study
Researchers recruited 107 married couples to participate in the study. The husbands and wives measured their glucose (or blood sugar) levels every morning and night for 21 days.
Each night they were asked to stick up to 51 pins in a voodoo doll, depending on how angry they were at their spouse. The researchers compared this aggression level to the participants' average glucose levels over the study period.
At the end of the 21 days, researchers had the couples come into the lab for another test. They asked each husband and wife to compete against their significant other in a virtual game. The couples were told the winner got to blast the loser with a loud, obnoxious noise. (In reality, their partner was not on the receiving end.)
Researchers measured how long and how intense the winner chose to blast the noise, and compared that aggression level to their average blood sugar level.
The results
Study participants with lower nightly blood sugar levels were more aggressive - both in "pinning" their voodoo doll and in blasting their partner with a louder noise for longer. These findings remained true even after researchers controlled the data for relationship satisfaction.
More evidence
This study supports previous research done by Bushman's lab at Ohio State University. In an earlier study, Bushman and his colleagues found participants who drank a sugar-sweetened beverage behaved less aggressively than those who drank a beverage sweetened with a sugar substitute.
Another study linked diabetes to more aggressive behavior. Because glucose increases self-control, people who have difficulty metabolizing glucose should have less self-control, the researchers theorized.
In a separate series of studies, Bushman showed diabetics were less inclined to forgive others. "These findings provide the first evidence that forgiveness depends on how efficiently the body uses glucose," the study authors wrote.
Takeaway
The study authors say giving people more access to food could reduce aggression in certain settings, such as prisons or psychiatric hospitals. As for the rest of us:
"I would recommend couples discuss sensitive issues over dinner," Bushman said. "Or better yet, after dinner." ||||| New study finds that spouses are more likely to get angry with each other if they're dealing with low blood sugar levels. So have a snack, and chill out.
Brad Bushman, professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University, holds one of the voodoo dolls used in the study. (Photo: Jo McCulty, Ohio State University)
The next time you get annoyed at your spouse, you might want to grab something to eat. That's the take-home message from a new study that found marital hostility is at its highest when blood sugar is at its lowest.
Spouses of both genders jabbed more pins into a voodoo doll on evenings when their blood sugar was the lowest, according to the new study, published online Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Lead researcher Brad Bushman of Ohio State University said his own marriage has improved since he took his study's advice: "When you discuss a sensitive topic with your spouse, you should do so over dinner, or better yet after dinner – but you should definitely not do it on an empty stomach."
Bushman and his colleagues paid $100 each to 107 married couples, found through public advertisements, to participate in the study.
This is one of the voodoo dolls used in the study to measure participants' anger with their spouses. (Photo: Jo McCulty, Ohio State University)
To measure aggressiveness, each husband and wife was given a voodoo doll and 51 pins. They were told to check their blood glucose level before bed each night for three weeks, and to stick any number of pins into the doll, depending on how angry they were with their spouse that day. They didn't see each other's dolls.
After three weeks, the couples were invited back to the lab, placed in separate rooms and told to compete against each other to see who could press a computer button faster after a given command. The winner could blast the loser with a loud, ugly sound.
The spouses who stabbed their voodoo doll more freely also were more likely to turn up the volume on the punishing sounds, the study found. The results did not differ between couples who said their marriages were weak or strong, he said.
Angry people are more impulsive, more likely to lash out, both verbally and physically, said Bushman, adding that anger is the leading cause of homicide.
Ann Goebel-Fabbri, a psychologist with the Joslin Diabetes Institute in Boston, praised the creativity of the study but said she thinks the researchers went too far in suggesting that low blood sugar could lead to violence.
People with diabetes – who are prone to large swings in blood glucose – do complain about being moody, she said. But they are certainly not any more likely to be violent than the general population.
"There is no connection between diabetes and aggression," said Goebel-Fabbri, also an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.
"I think the translation from voodoo doll and loud noise to domestic violence, I think is way overstating it," she said. "It would be lovely if we could solve the domestic violence problem by feeding people better, but…there's no data that would support that."
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1kqc5Jm ||||| Husbands and wives reported being most unhappy with their spouses when their blood-sugar levels were lowest, usually at night, according to research released today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Husbands and wives reported being most unhappy with their spouses when their... Read More
Husbands and wives reported being most unhappy with their spouses when their blood-sugar levels were lowest, usually at night, according to research released today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Close
Serious discussions between spouses shouldn’t take place on an empty stomach, a study suggests.
Husbands and wives reported being most unhappy with their spouses when their blood-sugar levels were lowest, usually at night, according to research released today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Missing a meal, dieting or just being hungry may be the reason, researchers said.
Sugar, or glucose, is used by the brain as fuel to help regulate self-control. Without the fuel, it is more difficult for people to control emotions like anger and aggression, researchers said. Today’s findings are among the first to show how low sugar levels in the body may play a part in marital arguments, confrontations and even domestic violence, said Brad Bushman, the lead study author.
“Self-control comes in part from the fuel we give our brains. This is one of the few physiological aspects we can control,” said Bushman, a professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University in Columbus, in a telephone interview today. “People who are hungry are often very cranky.”
Researchers in the study included 107 married couples who for 21 days had to test their blood-sugar levels before breakfast in the morning and before bed in evening. They were also given voodoo dolls representing their spouses and told to insert as many as 51 pins daily depending on how angry they were with their partner. The researchers were testing aggressive impulses.
Measuring Aggression
Those with the lowest nighttime blood-sugar levels inserted the most pins, while those with the highest glucose levels inserted the least, the study found. Women tended to stick more pins into their husband voodoo doll, but the finding wasn’t significant. The authors only found the association for nighttime blood glucose levels as the amount of sugar in the body drops throughout the day, Bushman said.
After 21 days, the couples went into a laboratory where they were told they would compete with their spouse to see who could press a button the fastest to test aggressive behavior. The winners could blast their spouse with a loud noise through headphones. The spouses in reality were playing against a computer, not each other.
The researchers found that those with the lowest average nighttime blood-sugar levels sent louder and longer noises to their spouse no matter how good their relationship was or whether they were male or female.
Timing Important
“If couples have a sensitive topic to discuss, it would be really smart to do it over dinner or better yet after dinner,” Bushman said. “They should definitely not do it on an empty stomach.”
Low blood sugar can trigger hormones that activate the body’s “fight or flight” system and cause people to become more aggressive, anxious and irritable, said Timothy Graham, who wasn’t an author of today’s study.
For families with someone who has diabetes, where swings between highs and lows can occur more often, he suggests counseling. For others, regular, small meals throughout the day may help keep blood sugar levels consistent and help prevent dips that can cause aggression.
“Probably more regular and healthy meals could improve the dynamics of a relationship,” Graham, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, said in a telephone interview.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nicole Ostrow in New York at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Reg Gale at [email protected] Andrew Pollack, Angela Zimm |||||
A summary of this is? | – "If couples have a sensitive topic to discuss, it would be really smart to do it over dinner or better yet after dinner," say researchers who have linked low blood sugar to marital hostility. "They should definitely not do it on an empty stomach." Researchers tracked the blood sugar levels—and, using voodoo dolls, the aggression levels—of 107 married couples and found that those with the lowest nighttime blood sugar were the most likely to stick pins in the doll representing their partner, CNN reports. In laboratory tests, people with low blood sugar were also the most willing to blast their partner with a loud, obnoxious noise in what they were told was a game, USA Today reports. The results were similar no matter how strong a couple said their marriage was. Low blood sugar can trigger hormones that cause people to become aggressive and irritable, a professor of medicine explains to Bloomberg. "Probably more regular and healthy meals could improve the dynamics of a relationship," he says, adding that counseling should be considered when diabetes is involved. | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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News article:
A power generator tips in front of Texas' CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas, as Hurricane Harvey hits Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. (Courtney Sacco /Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP) (Associated Press)
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Tropical Storm Harvey (all times local):
8:25 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he will be traveling to Texas "as soon as that trip can be made without causing disruption" in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
Trump tweeted that the "focus must be life and safety."
At least two people are dead and more than a dozen injured due to the storm that has battered the region, including the cities of Corpus Christi and Houston.
Trump has been complimenting the response to the storm on his Twitter feed, commending "Great coordination between agencies at all levels of government."
Trump adds that: "Many people are now saying that this is the worst storm/hurricane they have ever seen. Good news is that we have great talent on the ground."
The storm could linger for days in the region and could unload as much as 40 inches of rain on cities including Houston.
___
8:15 a.m.
The U.S. Coast Guard says it's received more than 300 requests for urban search and rescue in the Houston area.
The Coast Guard has five helicopters working the emergency calls and is asking for additional helicopters from New Orleans to help.
Officials are advising people in dire straits to get to the roofs of their homes and mark them somehow to be seen from the air. They're suggesting people wave sheets or towels.
___
7:45 a.m.
Flooding in some parts of the county that includes the city of Houston is so bad that residents are being urged to seek refuge on their roofs.
Harris County Flood Control District official Jeff Lindner says people inundated by rising waters shouldn't crawl into attics of their homes but should get on top of them.
He says rainfall of more than 4 inches per hour has sent water higher than in recent Houston floods side and are exceeding levels seen in Tropical Storm Allison in June 2001.
Lindner says areas south of the city appear hard-hit and some flooding is reported in downtown Houston and in the Texas Medical Center, which was devastated in Allison.
He calls Harvey "a different animal" from Allison and a "historic situation."
He says he's most amazed that he's getting reports "of water into second-story of apartments and homes." Considering Houston's flat terrain, "it's very rare to get that depth of water."
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6:20 a.m.
Authorities say rescue attempts continue in Houston for those stranded inside flooded homes and submerged vehicles in the wake of Harvey.
The Houston Chronicle reports that hundreds of calls have been fielded for water rescues as of early Sunday, including Houston police officials who evacuated two apartment complexes and rescued more than 50 children.
Meanwhile, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Sunday continued urging residents via Twitter to "shelter in place" and stay off rain-swollen roadways.
Gonzalez actively used Twitter overnight to field assistance for those trapped inside water-soaked homes, attics and vehicles. Those appealing for assistance or being steered to help via Gonzalez's Twitter feed included a person suffering "cardiac-arrest," and a woman who posted: "I have 2 children with me and the water is swallowing us up. Please send help."
Gonzalez at one point appealed for calm and patience, saying officials were "trying to make it to everyone as best we can."
Turner's official Twitter account said "911 services at capacity. If u can shelter in place do so, a few inches in your home is not imminent danger. Only call if in imminent danger."
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4:03 a.m.
The National Hurricane Center says Harvey continues to cause "catastrophic flooding in southeastern Texas."
The hurricane center says in its 4 a.m. Sunday update that the tropical storm has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (72.42 kph) and remains stationary about 45 miles (72.42 kilometers) northwest of Victoria, Texas.
A storm surge warning and a tropical storm warning also are both in effect for Port O'Connor to Sargent. The hurricane center says a storm surge warning means there is a danger of life-threatening inundation from rising water moving inland from the coastline.
The center says Harvey is likely to weaken to a tropical depression later Sunday. Harvey made landfall Friday night as a Category 4 hurricane.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service says a Flash Flood Emergency over west and central Harris County, where Houston is located, as well as for eastern Fort Bend and northern Brazoria counties remains in effect until 6:15 a.m. Sunday, calling it a "Particularly Dangerous Situation."
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2:11 a.m.
Jersey Village, Texas, officials are recommending that people who live along the White Oak Bayou, about 17 miles northwest of Houston, consider whether they need to evacuate their homes.
Jersey Village City Manager Austin Bleess says the city issued a notice to residents about 1:30 a.m. saying the bayou looked like it would be out of its banks before long. He says city officials worried that streets may soon become impassable and wanted those residents to have time to make arrangements.
"Certainly if people can stay in their homes, they can do that," Bleess said. "It's quite possible that the streets could get impassable so we wanted to get that recommendation out."
Bleess says the city is in the process of opening a storm shelter at the Champion Forest Baptist Church, Jersey Village chapter.
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1:20 a.m.
The National Hurricane Center says Harvey continues to weaken at a slow pace as it produces torrential rains across parts of Southeast Texas.
In its early Sunday update, the hurricane center said the tropical storm has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (72.42 kph) and it is practically stationary about 45 miles (72.42 kilometers) northwest of Victoria, Texas.
The airport in Austin, about 165 miles (265.53 kilometers) west of Houston, reported sustained winds of 38 mph.
The center says Harvey is likely to weaken to a tropical depression later Sunday. Harvey made landfall Friday night as a Category 4 hurricane.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service extended a Flash Flood Emergency over west and central Harris County, where Houston is located, as well as for eastern Fort Bend and northern Brazoria counties until 6:15 a.m. Sunday, calling it a "Particularly Dangerous Situation."
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12:30 a.m.
At least two people have died as Tropical Storm Harvey continues to dump rain on Southeast Texas.
The Harris County medical examiner's office confirmed the death of one person late Saturday in Harris County, but the office did not identify the cause of death.
Gary Norman, a spokesman for the Houston emergency operations center, says the woman appeared to have gotten out of her vehicle in high water. She was found by neighbors about 30 yards away from the vehicle. Norman says she was pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor who was in the area.
Earlier Saturday, Aransas County Judge C.H. "Burt" Mills Jr. said the storm left one person dead in the county.
Harvey came ashore Friday night as a Category 4 hurricane, but has since been downgraded to a tropical storm. ||||| JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. Houston, TX ABA # 021000021 For credit to: Greater Houston Community Foundation A/C#: 849170287 For further credit to: Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund
Online Credit Card Donations: Visit www.ghcf.org . Online credit card donations will be assessed a small fee, typically 3 percent, by the credit card companies. Donors have the option of increasing their credit card donations to cover this fee. Checks/Money Orders: Mail to Greater Houston Community Foundation, 5120 Woodway Drive, Suite 6000, Houston, TX 77056. Transfer Cash by Wire: Wire To:
"We are getting calls from across the country and right here in our hometown, and the generosity of people who understand this disaster is truly amazing," Mayor Turner said. "Together we can make a difference to those who will need extensive help to get back on their feet once this storm is over."
Earlier Sunday, Abbott said the state activated 3,000 National Guard and State Guard members as a result of the storm damage. He also said 500 vehicles and 14 aircraft had been put into service.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says another 1,000 National Guard members will be sent to Houston on Monday as flooding from Harvey continues to ravage the area. The governor announced the move late Sunday on his personal Twitter account.
Meanwhile, officials in Fort Bend County, Houston's southwestern suburbs, late Sunday issued widespread mandatory evacuation orders along the Brazos River levee districts. County officials were preparing for the river to reach major flood stages late Sunday. County Judge Robert Herbert said at a news conference that National Weather Service officials were predicting that the water could rise to 59 feet, three feet above 2016 records and what Herbert called an "800-year flood level." Herbert said that amount of water would top the levees and carries a threat of levee failure.
Thousands of homes could be affected by the releases, CBS Houston affiliate KHOU-TV reports .
Harris and Fort Bend county officials said Sunday that residents around certain areas should be prepared for the influx of water that was scheduled to happen at Addicks around 2 a.m. local time Monday and a day later at Barker. Officials warned residents they should pack their cars Sunday night and wait for daylight Monday to leave.
Residents living around the Addicks and Barker reservoirs designed to help prevent flooding in downtown Houston, were warned Sunday that a controlled release from both reservoirs would cause additional street flooding and could spill into homes. Rising water levels and continuing rain was putting pressure on the dams that could cause a failure without the release.
he American Red Cross was expanding the shelter by the hour. Volunteers initially set out around 1,300 cots and quickly assembled more in anticipation of other evacuees arriving through the night. They have enough space and cots to house 5,000 people.
Hundreds of people affected by devastating flooding in Houston have flocked to a downtown showcase convention center-turned-emergency shelter. Many arrived Sunday carrying little more than what was in their pockets. Most are preparing for a stay of several days, as water rises inside their homes and roads remain impassable.
Some 269,000 homes and businesses were in the dark in Southest Texas early Monday due to Harvey, utilities reported.
Smith says the city's 911 emergency response system has been challenged by sharply increased call volumes since the tropical storm made landfall late Friday.
Public Information Officer Keith Smith also says Sunday that rescue efforts continue and now are focused on those who feel trapped inside a home or building.
Houston officials continue to urge people to shelter in place and stay off flooded roadways as Harvey continues to batter the nation's fourth-largest city.
The center says people in the upper Texas coast and in southwestern Louisiana should continue to monitor Harvey's progress.
The hurricane center says Harvey's center was expected to drift off the middle Texas coast Monday and meander offshore through Tuesday before beginning "a slow northeastward motion."
That means it remains virtually stalled near the coast and continues to drop heavy rain on the Houston and Galveston areas. In the past 48 hours, numerous spots in the region have measured more than 25 inches of rain.
The National Hurricane Center said in its 4 a.m. CDT update that the tropical storm still has sustained winds of up to 40 mph and is centered 20 miles east of Victoria, Texas, about 120 miles southwest of Houston. It continues to creep to the southeast at 3 mph.
Harvey continues to head back toward the Gulf of Mexico at a slow pace.
Edwards said life-saving efforts such as search and rescue and shelters will be needed, especially in southwest Louisiana where forecasters say 10 to 20 inches of rain could fall.
Gov. John Bel Edwards said he sent a letter to the White House requesting the initial disaster declaration for five parishes in southwest Louisiana, and could add more areas to the request later.
Louisiana's governor is asking President Trump for a federal emergency declaration for Louisiana since forecasters expect Harvey to cause significant damage in the state.
Those in need of assistance should visit www.disasaterassistance.gov if they have internet access or call 1-800-621-FEMA.
Long encouraged Americans who want to help storm victims to go to the website www.NVOAD.org to connect with National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, which is coordinating donations and volunteers.
According to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service, the storm is expected to dump another 15 to 20 inches of additional rainfall on the region before it's over.
Duke said she will accompany President Trump as he visits Houston on Tuesday.
For now, she urged local residents to avoid calling 911 unless they were in need of urgent, immediate medical assistance.
Duke said emergency officials are currently focused on rescue efforts and plan to move into recovery mode later this week.
"We are not out of the woods yet," said Elaine Duke, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. "Harvey is still a dangerous and historic storm."
"All disasters begin and end at the local level," he added. "All evacuation decisions are made at the local level in Texas."
When it comes to the emergency response and evacuations, Long said he believes local, state and federal agencies thus far have operated with the "best information that they had at the time." More widespread evacuations would have been "difficult" given the time frame, putting people at risk of becoming trapped in long lines of vehicles trying to escape rising floodwaters, which would have been worse than the shelter-in-place scenario playing out now.
Calling Harvey a "landmark event," Long said "you could not dream this forecast up."
In a Monday morning briefing, FEMA Administrator Brock Long said officials are expecting 30,000 people in emergency shelters. As many as 50 counties are feeling the impact of the storm.
The statement said the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA would coordinate disaster relief efforts "to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, and Vermillion."
A statement from the White House Monday said President Donald Trump has declared an emergency in Louisiana, authorizing federal assistance for Harvey relief efforts in the state.
Follow along below for live updates on the storm. All times are Eastern unless otherwise noted.
The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Brock Long, predicted that the aftermath of the storm would require FEMA's involvement for years. "This disaster's going to be a landmark event," Long said.
"The breadth and intensity of this rainfall is beyond anything experienced before," the National Weather Service said in a statement.
As the water rose, the National Weather Service issued another ominous forecast: Before the storm is gone, some parts of Houston and its suburbs could get as much as 50 inches of rain. That would be the highest amount ever recorded in Texas.
Judging from federal disaster declarations, the storm has so far affected about a quarter of the Texas population, or 6.8 million people in 18 counties. It was blamed for at least two deaths.
Rescuers had to give top priority to life-and-death situations, leaving many affected families to fend for themselves. And several hospitals in the Houston area were evacuated due to the rising waters.
Volunteers joined emergency teams to pull people from their homes or from the water, which was high enough in places to gush into second floors. The flooding from Harvey, which made landfall late Friday as a Category 4 hurricane and has lingered dropping heavy rain as a tropical storm, was so widespread that authorities had trouble pinpointing the worst areas. They urged people to get on top of their houses to avoid becoming trapped in attics and to wave sheets or towels to draw attention to their location.
The incessant rain covered much of Houston in gray-green floodwaters and turned streets into rivers navigable only by boat. In a rescue effort that recalled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, helicopters landed near flooded freeways, airboats buzzed across submerged neighborhoods and high-water vehicles plowed through water-logged intersections. Some people managed with kayaks or canoes or swam.
"We are not out of the woods yet," Elaine Duke, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said at a Monday morning briefing. "Harvey is still a dangerous and historic storm."
The National Weather Service says flooding isn't expected to peak until Wednesday or Thursday.
HOUSTON -- The remnants of Hurricane Harvey continued dumping historic levels of rainfall on the Houston area Monday morning as devastating floods swamped the nation's fourth-largest city. Rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground and overwhelmed rescuers who could not keep up with the constant calls for help.
About 300,000 customers were without power statewide. Gov. Greg Abbott said it would probably be several days before electricity is restored.
One person was killed in Aransas County when in a fire at home during the storm, county Judge C.H. "Burt" Mills Jr. said. A second person died in flooding in Harris County, where Houston is located.
Harvey continues to cause "catastrophic flooding in southeastern Texas," the National Hurricane Center says.
The National Weather Service said catastrophic flooding in the Houston metropolitan area "is expected to worsen and could become historic in association with Harvey."
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HAS REQUESTED: IF HIGHEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOME BECOMES DANGEROUS...GET ON THE ROOF. #houwx #glswx #txwx #Harvey pic.twitter.com/rG3dsdQUxu
The National Weather Service Houston/Galveston said Emergency Management officials are requesting that people get on the roof of their home if the highest floor becomes dangerous.
In Houston, authorities were pleading with people not to leave their homes as a flood emergency was declared.
The U.S. Coast Guard says it has received more than 300 requests for urban search and rescue in the Houston area amid flooding from Harvey. The Coast Guard has five helicopters working the emergency calls and is asking for additional helicopters from New Orleans to help.
Great coordination between agencies at all levels of government. Continuing rains and flash floods are being dealt with. Thousands rescued.
"Great coordination between agencies at all levels of government," he tweeted Sunday morning. "Continuing rains and flash floods are being dealt with. Thousands rescued."
Mr. Trump has sent a flurry of tweets about the powerful storm, and has complimented the government's response to it so far.
I will be going to Texas as soon as that trip can be made without causing disruption. The focus must be life and safety.
President Donald Trump said in a tweet he will travel to Texas "as soon as that trip can be made without causing disruption." He added: "The focus must be life and safety."
"We're very appreciative of our fellow states as well as what the federal government has done," Abbott said. "I gotta tell you the Trump administration has provided us everything that we need ."
Abbott also applauded the efforts of the Trump administration.
"And so we are working on as many water rescues as we possibly can and trying to find ways to get people out of harm's way," Abbott said on "Face the Nation" Sunday, as catastrophic flooding hit Houston.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said "our first and foremost focus at this particular time is saving lives."
Houston Assistant Police Chief Larry Satterwhite said there has been an increase in calls from residents with flooded homes in the city's northeast, southeast and southwest sections.
Pena said his agency has made more than 250 water rescues, all of them people in vehicles, during a three-hour period overnight.
Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena said that since midnight his agency has responded to more than 2,500 emergency calls and another 1,000 calls were waiting to be serviced.
All commercial operations at Hobby Airport have ceased until further notice. No flights in/out and roadways in/out are closed.
Commercial operations have ceased at both George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) in Houston until further notice "due to severe weather," an alert said Sunday. "No inbound or outbound flights from either airport at this time. For flight details, rescheduling and waivers, please contact your air carrier."
This event is unprecedented & all impacts are unknown & beyond anything experienced. Follow orders from officials to ensure safety. #Harvey pic.twitter.com/IjpWLey1h8
"This event is unprecedented & all impacts are unknown & beyond anything experienced," the National Weather Service tweeted Sunday. "Follow orders from officials to ensure safety."
Rainfall totals since Thursday evening have reached about 25 inches in south Houston. In Dayton, located 38 miles northeast of Houston, rainfall has already reached 27 inches.
The NWS says in a statement that "the breadth and intensity of this rainfall is beyond anything experienced before and is resulting in catastrophic flooding."
"We're in kind of unprecedented territory with this storm," Burke said.
NWS meteorologist Patrick Burke said rainfall totals will end up around 40 inches or more for Houston on average, but some isolated spots will see 50 inches or more.
The National Weather Service said some parts of Houston and areas just west of the city could get 50 inches of rain as Tropical Storm Harvey stalls over the state. It would be the highest ever recorded in Texas.
A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Louisiana and Texas until 2 AM CDT pic.twitter.com/U07kpmb05G
The agency has also been tweeting a series of tornado warnings for locations in Texas, including Humble, Moonshine Hill and Kingwood, among other areas.
The National Weather Service in Houston issued a tornado watch for parts of Texas and Louisiana. It said the watch is valid until 2 a.m. CT Monday. The alert warned of possible tornadoes, marble-sized hail and isolated winds up to 60 mph.
Do you have a HIGH WATER VEHICLE or BOAT and helping rescue in your community? Call us to coordinate: 713-881-3100. Ask for Fire Marshal. pic.twitter.com/D3SfSYWgxr
"Do you have a HIGH WATER VEHICLE or BOAT and helping rescue in your community? Call us to coordinate: 713-881-3100. Ask for Fire Marshal," officials wrote on Twitter.
Harris County officials are asking the public to volunteer high-water vehicles and boats to help rescue efforts in the area.
Regional distribution centers would be set up Monday for food distribution purposes in Rockport, Port Aransas, Aransas Pass, Ingleside and Portland.
Abbott said that helicopters and additional resources have been provided by Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah, California, Missouri, Ohio, Arizona and New York, in addition to the federal government.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a news conference Sunday that 3,000 national and state guard members were activated as a result of Tropical Storm Harvey. He said there are now 250 highway closures across the state.
Been sleeping after being up all nite but here's some more perspective on #HoustonFlooding problem. This is near galleria. #khou11 #Harvey pic.twitter.com/JyhRWnLVdf
Videos posted online Sunday showed flooding that resulted from Harvey after it dumped massive amounts of rain on southeast Texas.
Houston needs our prayers! Our TV station is evacuated. Headed back out in the field to help us get back on the air #Harvey #KHOU11 🙏 pic.twitter.com/roq8Q6xlZN
Rainfall totals climbed by the hour. Since Thursday, South Houston had received nearly 25 inches and the suburbs of Santa Fe and Dayton got 27 inches.
Staff at CBS affiliate KHOU-TV, broadcasting live coverage of the floods, had to evacuate after water started to gush into the building. The anchors and news operations at the station moved first to a second floor before finally abandoning the station.
"We are coordinating logistics with state and local officials, and once details are finalized, we will let you know. We continue to keep all of those affected in our thoughts and prayers," Sanders said in a statement.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Trump will travel to Texas on Tuesday.
It warned that flying drones without authorization may violate federal, state, or local laws and ordinances. "Allow first responders to save lives and property without interference," the FAA said in a statement.
#Harvey Info: The #FAA does not want you to fly #drones in the aftermath of #Harvey . Allow 1st responders to work. https://t.co/rN9b6GgxhX pic.twitter.com/DFOq1R1Hio
"The FAA warns unauthorized drone operators that they may be subject to significant fines if they interfere with emergency response operations," the FAA said in a statement .
The Federal Aviation Administration is asking people not to fly drones over areas affected by Tropical Storm Harvey.
Rosenberg police did not immediately provide additional details on the sinkhole, other than urging drivers to avoid the area.
Water could be seen filling the sinkhole as pieces of highway asphalt hung from the edge of the damaged roadway.
The 3900 block of FM 762 (in front of 24 HR fitness) has just collapsed. There is a massive sinkhole in the roadway. AVOID THE AREA! #Harvey pic.twitter.com/BJreUS1D9C
Rosenberg police on Sunday tweeted a photo of the gaping hole that spread across more than half of a two-lane highway -- Farm-to-Market 762.
Police say a sinkhole has opened on a Texas highway about 25 miles southwest of Houston as Tropical Storm Harvey dumps more rain on the region.
McLeod says the evacuations won't start until the water recedes from around the facility and will likely take several days. The hospital is part of the Texas Medical Center, and has 350 patients.
McLeod says the flooding resulted in only a small amount of water in the basement and did not affect the hospital's power supply. But shutting down the kitchen leaves the hospital with a limited supply of dry food for patients.
Bryan McLeod, a spokesman for Harris Health System, said Sunday that minor flooding in the basement of Ben Taub Hospital and a busted sewer pipe forced officials to close the kitchen.
The evacuation of Houston's main public hospital hasn't begun yet because it is surrounded by waist-deep water as a result of Tropical Storm Harvey.
"Many in our HISD family will be dealing with the task of cleaning up the damage Harvey left behind. As a result, all HISD schools and district administrative offices will be closed all week."
The Houston Independent School District announced Sunday that all schools will be closed from Monday, August 28 through Friday, September 1, due to damage from Tropical Storm Harvey. The district said in a statement that schools and offices are expected to reopen on Tuesday, Sept. 5.
The State has requested we prepare to open our Mega Shelter to receive coastal guests. The City plans to open it by Tuesday morning.
The city opened a third smaller shelter about 4:30 p.m. Sunday. About 415 evacuees are staying at the two other shelters, where they will remain for the time being.
The city, Red Cross, Dallas County, Parkland Hospital, the Salvation Army, Children's Hospital and other volunteer groups are coordinating the logistics of getting the shelter ready.
City Office of Emergency Management Director Rocky Vaz says the state made a formal request to open the convention center, which should be ready by early Tuesday morning.
Officials say the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center will open to evacuees on Tuesday morning. Dallas has three shelters currently open for evacuees, but the convention center will serve as a "mega shelter."
Dallas officials say they'll open the city's convention center to about 5,000 people who are fleeing the southern part of the state.
The city of Houston opened the convention center Sunday to people fleeing the flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey.
Asked if he wishes he'd have evacuated, Cain laughed and walked away. He said: "That's a no-brainer, brother."
William Cain says the water outside their home was in some spots several feet high. He says, "I live in a lake where there was once dry land." Water had started to come into their apartment, and they had already lost power.
She suffers from congestive heart failure - when the heart's pumping power is weaker than normal - and other illnesses. Her son, William, and 9-year-old grandson were waiting for her inside. Both were barefoot as well.
Patricia Cain entered the George R. Brown Convention Center barefoot and carrying two oxygen tanks. The first was empty. The second was given to her by the Houston Fire Department after the U.S. Coast Guard rescued her from her home.
The NFL's Houston Texans flew to Dallas after their preseason game Saturday in New Orleans instead of returning home and have said they'll stay there until conditions improve enough for them to come back to Houston. They'll practice at the suburban practice facility of the Cowboys on Monday and said they will provide details on their schedule for the rest of the week later.
The Rangers had been scheduled to head to Houston after playing Oakland to await the start of a three-game series with the Astros beginning Tuesday. Instead, they'll return to Dallas to await word on its status. The Astros are in Anaheim and also will fly to Dallas while a decision is made on when and where the series will be played.
The Houston Astros and Texas Rangers won't travel to Houston as planned after their games Sunday in California because of torrential floodwaters that have engulfed the city.
Thank you to all the first responders and people helping each other out. That's what we do as Americans. Here's one way you can help now. https://t.co/iGfE8rAoAu
Former President Barack Obama thanked first responders in Houston as the city was slammed with flood water Sunday. Mr. Obama tweeted a link to the American Red Cross, saying, "Here's one way you can help now."
"We were airlifting grandmothers and grandfathers," David Popoff of Dickinson County Emergency Management told The Daily News, who showed him the viral image. "These people have been evacuated."
Eighteen people were rescued, including 15 seniors, from the La Vita Bella living facility, a city official told The Galveston County Daily News .
Residents of a nursing home in Dickinson, Texas, were evacuated Sunday after a viral image showed them sitting in waist-deep flood waters .
Henry is appealing for volunteers to help staff rescue shelters and see to the needs of the 2,000 to 10,000 people that have sheltered in them. He says he appealed for state and federal help mid-morning Sunday, adding "we have gotten some help, but we still need more."
Henry says about 90 percent of the county's rescue calls have come from Dickinson. An appeal had been made through social media for assistance by private boat owners and their vessels, and 25 to 35 owners responded.
The area hardest-hit by floods has been Dickinson, a low-lying city of about 20,000 residents along Dickinson Bayou, where crews had to lead to safety 19 residents and five staff members from an assisted-living center flooded with waist-deep water.
Galveston County Judge Mark Henry said Sunday that about 22 inches of rain has fallen on the coastal county so far with another 10 to 15 inches still expected.
A Galveston County official says Harvey has caused unprecedented flooding and 800 to 1,200 residents have had to be rescued.
Zetterstrom says the dams will impound water for one to three months as water is gradually released. He adds that some neighborhoods on the fringes of the reservoir are likely to see some floods.
Zetterstrom says the water contained by the dams is "unparalleled in the dams' history." The waters are rising about 4 inches per hour.
Downtown Houston is 17 miles downstream from the dams, which were built during the 1940s in response to a 1935 flood that inundated much of downtown area.
Col. Lars Zetterstrom is commander of the Galveston District of the Corps of Engineers. He says water will be released from the Barker Reservoir and Addicks Reservoir very slowly on Monday morning to prevent uncontrollable flooding of downtown Houston and the Houston Ship Channel.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to begin releasing water into Buffalo Bayou from two flood-control dams on the western outskirts of the city.
"The decision that we made was a smart one. It was in the best interest of Houstonians. It was the right decision in terms of their safety... absolutely no regrets. We did what was the right thing to do," Turner said.
The mayor also defended his decision not to order an evacuation.
In addition, 35 boats and 93 dump trucks were being used by the city for high water rescues.
Turner said 22 aircrafts were working to help identify people stranded on roofs. Sixteen of those aircrafts are from U.S. Coast Guard.
Turner said that so far only one fatality has been confirmed -- a woman who died Saturday evening after getting out of her car when it drove into a flooded street.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said that as of 5 p.m. on Sunday, Houston police and fire departments had received nearly 6,000 calls for rescues and had rescued more than 1,000 people. Many of these rescues were of people trapped on their roofs or in their attics.
On Sunday, videos emerged showing dramatic rescues by the coast guard. A number of rescues by boat took place, but Morgan reports there are still many people unaccounted for.
CBS News' DeMarco Morgan is in Dickinson, Texas, where he met one family who was rescued by boat. They live in a two-story home and one of the homeowners said the water level was up to her chest. She said all the furniture was just floating on the first floor as the family took refuge in the second story.
More video from the U.S. Coast Guard has been released showing rescues from their helicopter. A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Houston rescued five people from floodwaters in a southeastern Houston neighborhood Sunday:
Dramatic video from @USCG shows some of the many rescue efforts underway in Texas https://t.co/WZP2arvuWh pic.twitter.com/Ex1D23BzvK
The clip shows a Coast Guard member airlifting various people (including a dog) into one of their aircraft.
The United States Coast Guard posted video online that showed various rescues Sunday from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
The Coast Guard says they assess each call of distress and that those in medical need take priority, according to Adm. Karl Schultz during a late Sunday press update.
They say that rescues have been done from bridges, rooftops, attics and they will continue to respond to calls.
Officials from the Coast Guard said that 19 helicopters have been deployed, 250 people have been rescued.
Officials say to call 911 if there is an immediate threat or 311 if you need help relocating from your home, but not in immediate danger.
If you see this do not share, KENS-TV writes. The number belongs to an insurance group and not the National Guard. If you are in danger and call this number you will not be rescued.
The station adds that the post reads, "The National Guard is being deployed to our Texas area. If you find yourself in a state of emergency. Call 1-800-527-3907. Please copy, paste or share!!!!!!!!!"
Despicable! Please share this story so no one affected by #Harvey who needs help/support/rescue is taken in by this scam https://t.co/c50wbWVGJn
A scam targeting victims of Tropical Storm Harvey posted on various social media sites has gone viral, CBS affiliate KENS-TV reports .
The hurricane center says Harvey's center was expected to drift off the middle Texas coast on Monday and meander offshore through Tuesday before beginning "a slow northeastward motion."
That means it remains virtually stalled near the coast and continues to drop heavy rain on the Houston and Galveston areas. In the past 48 hours, numerous spots in the region have measured more than 25 inches of rainfall.
In its 10 p.m. CDT advisory, the National Hurricane Center reports the storm still has sustained winds of up to 40 mph and is centered 20 miles east of Victoria, Texas, about 120 miles southwest of Houston. It continues to creep to the east-southeast at 3 mph.
Tropical Storm Harvey continues to head back toward the Gulf of Mexico at a slow pace.
3:35 a.m.: Houston rainfall totals eclipse 500-year rain level mark
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted that the rainfall totals in three hours had eclipsed the 500-year rain level mark.
Rainfall totals over the last 3 hours have eclipsed the 500 year rain level mark. #Harvey — Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) August 27, 2017
Harris County Flood Control District meteorologist Jeff Linder tweeted there have been calls of people climbing into their attics due to floodwaters. According to Linder, 13-14 inches of rain fell in three hours.
Calls to HCFCD of people climbing into their attics. Flooding in SE Harris County is equal to or greater than TS Allison #houwx — Jeff Lindner (@JeffLindner1) August 27, 2017
Life threatening flash flooding across the Harris County. 13-14 inches in 3 hrs — Jeff Lindner (@JeffLindner1) August 27, 2017
The National Weather Service said Houston is in a catastrophic, life-threatening flash flood emergency. The flash flood emergency will last until 7 a.m.
1:50 a.m.: Fatality is confirmed from flooding in Houston
A motorist died Saturday after being stranded in the floodwaters from Harvey, County Judge Ed Emmett told CBS affiliate KHOU.
KHOU reports the woman tried to get out of her car but didn't make it. A neighbor found her body.
Cars sit abandoned at a flooded gas station after Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas Gulf coast and brought heavy rain to the region, in Houston, Texas, U.S. August 26, 2017. NICK OXFORD / REUTERS
Several major Houston roadways are underwater.
Houston mayor Sylvester Turner said the streets are "treacherous."
11:35 p.m.: Flash flood emergency declared in Houston's Harris County
A flash flood emergency is in effect for Harris County, meaning life-threatening flooding is possible, CBS affiliate KHOU reports.
"We're seeing just incredible rainfall rights right now in the heart of Houston," said Jeff Lindner with the Harris County Flood Control District.
The Harris County Sheriff's office tweeted that a man had been rescued from his car in three feet of rushing water.
HCSO deputies rescued one male driver in 3 feet of rushing water in west Harris County — Saums Rd. & Park View Dr. pic.twitter.com/i51U6jcT42 — HCSOTexas (@HCSOTexas) August 27, 2017
Most areas have seen more than 2 inches in the last hour, according to KHOU.
They've had more than 4 inches in the last hour in the Meyerland area and there is a threat of water in homes there, Lindner said.
The Houston Office of Emergency Management tweeted that the Red Cross shelter is closing due to high water. The METRO Houston has suspended all bus and rail service.
The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office is also reporting tornado sightings in Stafford, Missouri City and near US 90 and the Texas Parkway.
Tornados have already caused damage in Cypress, Sienna Plantation, Katy, Richmond and Atascocita.
9:40 p.m.: Coast Guard launches helicopter rescue
The Coast Guard said Saturday that it was responding to a call of seven distressed people in Aransas Pass, Texas.
The Coast Guard said it received the call at about 7 p.m. central time of seven people, one of which is reportedly on oxygen and had run out, in need of assistance.
The Coast Guard said its Air Station Corpus Christi aircrews rescued in total 20 people and a dog after they received reports from watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi Saturday morning and afternoon.
7:50 p.m.: "Biggest concern" is the 20-30 inches of rain, Texas Gov. says
More than a foot-and-a-half of rain fell in just 24 hours in Victoria, Texas -- and by the time the storm is over, the city could get in only days the amount of rain it sees in one year, CBS News' Manuel Bojorquez reports.
Rain from Harvey not nearly finished
"Our biggest concern is the possibility of between 20 and 30 inches of rain in areas ranging from Corpus Christi over to Houston," said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. "Because of the flooding, one of the top focal points that we are concerned about is ongoing rescue and recovery."
Angela and Mario Manzano are checking on the home they recently purchased.
"It's devastating because like I said, we're barely purchasing the home, we're still paying it off, to lose it now, it's going to be hard," Angela said.
Their home is in a low-lying area prone to flooding.
"If it was just the two of us, it would be different, but having our kids, that why we took, we just took the most important things -- our important documents and pictures that can't be replaced and that stuff," Angela said.
7:30 p.m.: Inside Rockport, the city in the eye of Harvey
Inside the city directly hit by Harvey
Ferocious winds and floodwater have left this quaint city on the gulf a disaster zone, CBS News' David Begnaud reports. Parts of the high school were torn to shreds. Harvey showed no mercy on the local First Baptist church. Some homes have collapsed into the water.
"We went upstairs and looked out the window and down the road here it was a sheer wall of water, like 100 mph it was crazy," said Tim Freiburger. His garage was lifted up and jammed against the side of the house.
"It was insane all you could do was just feel stuff pounding the house," he said.
Residents of this senior living complex were stranded when portions of its roof torn away and emergency workers were unable to respond at the height of the storm.
Nearly every police car in town has been damaged, but still officers were out Saturday, banging on doors, making sure no one was trapped.
When the hurricane made landfall here late Friday night, the city was under a mandatory evacuation.
"I'll take a while to get it all straightened backup," said Randy Bonnett, who has been through Texas hurricanes before but he says he will not forget Harvey.
"You got three hours of hell and then an hour lull and then three hours hell," Bonnett said.
7:10 p.m.: Millions in danger of potentially catastrophic flooding
Harvey churns over southeast Texas
Harvey is still going and it's not going anywhere for awhile, CBS News' DeMarco Morgan reports. There are over 1,000 people assigned to search and rescue operations. Near Corpus Christi on Saturday, the Coast Guard rescued 17 people whose vessels were in distress. The governor of Texas has issued a disaster declaration for 50 counties. Saturday morning, Galveston got pounded.
With the storm stalling out, now millions are in danger of potentially catastrophic flooding. More than three feet of rain could fall in some places.
"We are just getting into this so people need to understand that the longevity of this is gonna go thru the weekend and even into the early part of next week," said Jeff Linder with the Harris County Flood Control in Houston.
Nearly 300,000 power outages have been reported and Corpus Christi is under a boil water order. Incredibly, no fatalities have been reported yet. In Rockport, where the storm took a direct hit, ten people were injured when the roof of a senior housing complex collapsed, according to local media reports. Hundreds of people were evacuated from a hotel there last night.
5:34 p.m.: White House releases photos of President Trump on teleconference call earlier Saturday
The White House said President Trump was briefed on the response to Harvey at Camp David, where he's spending the weekend.
President Trump hosts a teleconference on Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead
President Trump hosts a teleconference on Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead
4:11 p.m.: Coast Guard rescues 17 people
Coast Guard rescues 17 in Texas
The Coast Guard says it has rescued 15 people onboard vessels near Port Aransas, Texas. Two Coast Guard helicopters were dispatched to help the ships earlier Saturday after receiving distress calls.
The Coast Guard said in a release that seven people were rescued from the tugboat Sabine; four people from the Signet Enterprise; and four from the vessel Sandy Point.
A man and a woman were also rescued in Houston, along with their dog. Read the full story here.
3:47 p.m.: President Trump thanks volunteers
THANK YOU to all of the great volunteers helping out with #HurricaneHarvey relief in Texas! https://t.co/Ds95oSgo8f — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 26, 2017
3:31 p.m.: Harvey shuts down one-fifth of U.S. oil production
About one-third of the America's refining capacity reside in low-lying areas on the coast from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Lake Charles, Louisiana, the Associated Press reports.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said Friday that workers were evacuated from 86 of 737 manned oil production platforms where oil and gas are pumped from the Gulf of Mexico.
The agency estimated that approximately 21.55 percent of oil production had been shut down along with 23.24 percent of natural gas production.
The AP reports, citing FlightAware, that nearly 1,200 flights were cancelled on Friday and Saturday, and an additional 485 flights for Sunday were cancelled.
2:27 p.m. President Trump receives update from cabinet officials
President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence met with cabinet members and senior administration officials via video teleconference Saturday about the hurricane, according to a White House readout of the meeting. Mr. Trump expressed that all departments and agencies involved should stay focused on saving lives, the White House said.
Mr. Trump, who had been receiving updates from his chief of staff John Kelly Friday night and Saturday morning, directed his team to support the governors of Texas and Louisiana. Mr. Trump on Friday night signed a disaster declaration for the state of Texas at Gov. Greg Abbott's request. The declaration frees up federal resources to alleviate affected localities.
2:18 p.m.: Texas governor: No confirmation of fatalities; 338,000 without power
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he could not confirm any fatalities from now-Tropical Storm Harvey. He says 338,000 customers are without power and service might not be restored for several days.
Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a news conference about Hurricane Harvey at the State Operations Center in Austin, Texas, on Fri., Aug. 25, 2017. AP
2:15 p.m.: Hotel taxes suspended for evacuees
Evacuees from areas affected by Harvey as well as first responders will be able to stay in hotels tax-free, Abbott says. He said he has waived the state's surcharge in a proclamation.
Abbott said about 1,500 evacuees are currently staying at Texas state park facilities. Nearly 1,500 more are staying in 21 Red Cross shelters and 42 more shelters are standing by to accept more evacuees. More than 200 buses have been deployed to transport residents, Abbott said.
2:13 p.m. 1,000 people involved in search and rescue operations
Abbott says 1,000 workers are focused on search and rescue operations, which he said "will be one of the foremost tasks that we take in the coming days."
Search and rescue "will be one of the foremost tasks that we take in the coming days," Gov. Abbott says https://t.co/8YHzAJZ5CQ pic.twitter.com/xh7822hmG8 — CBS News (@CBSNews) August 26, 2017
2:10 p.m.: 1,800 service members to assist in recovery in Texas
Abbott says 1,300 Texas service members are already assisting in recovery and search and rescue efforts, with another 500 to be activated soon.
2:06 p.m.: Abbott says state concerned about 20 to 30 more inches of rain
"Turn around. Don't drown," the governor said. He says flooding is still a major concern.
"Now that the hurricane has come on shore our primary concern remains dramatic flooding," Abbott said. Abbott said about 20 inches of rain has already fallen in Corpus Christi and about 16 inches in Houston.
2:05 p.m.: Texas governor gives update on Harvey
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is providing an update on Harvey from Austin, Texas. You can watch on CBSN at the top of this post.
1:50 p.m. Harvey downgraded to tropical storm
Harvey is now a tropical storm, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) says in its latest release.
Winds have slowed to 70 mph, down from a peak of 130 mph when Harvey made landfall late Friday. The storm is now located 45 miles north-northwest of Victoria, Texas, and moving at 2 mph.
But Texas isn't out of the woods yet. The NHC adds that an "extremely serious flooding event is unfolding" as the storm continues to drench the area in rain. Some areas have seen rainfall of up to 3 inches per hour at times. The threat of storm surge continues to threaten low-lying areas, as well.
1:39 p.m.: Texas attorney general warns against price gouging
Texas attorney general says Harvey is "probably the biggest storm in [Texas] history"
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined CBSN to discuss Harvey, and warned potential price gougers from taking advantage of residents as flooding continues.
"Under Texas law, you're not allowed to massively increase your prices by more than 10 percent, [that's] the approximate number, when there's some type of crisis or catastrophe," Paxton said. "There's significant fines for that, up to $20,000 per incident. If you're doing that to somebody over 65, it could be up to $250,000."
Paxton said his office has received over 200 calls about potential price gouging. He said investigators have looked into instances of alleged price gougers charging nearly $100 for a case of water.
12:45 p.m.: Texas evacuates prisoners threatened by flooding
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice announced Saturday three prisons would be evacuated in Brazoria County, just south of Houston, as rainfall from Hurricane Harvey slams the area.
In a news release, the department said approximately 4,500 inmates will be evacuated beginning Saturday morning.
"These evacuated offenders will not be available for visits at the designated receiving units, but will have the ability to use the offender telephone system," the statement said. "Additional food and water has been delivered to the prisons receiving the displaced inmates."11:59 a.m.: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott warns of "ongoing danger" from flooding.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on the state's response to Hurricane Harvey
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Saturday said ongoing flooding in the wake of Harvey poses the greatest danger in the days ahead, as rescue efforts are already underway in the southeast part of the state.
The Republican governor told CBSN that the hurricane, which made landfall late Friday night as a Category 4 storm but has since been downgraded to Category 1, has caused "great devastation." As it moves slowly and unleashes devastating amounts of rain on the Texas coastline, Abbott says flooding is the greatest concern. Read the full story here.
11:32 a.m.: Mayor of Rockport, Texas, details "widespread damage"
Rockport, Texas, suffers "widespread damage" from Harvey, mayor says
The mayor of Rockport, Texas, says the town has suffered "widespread damage" from Hurricane Harvey as the storm continues to dump rain across southeast Texas. Mayor Charlie Wax joined CBSN to discuss the situation in Rockport, one of the towns hardest hit by the storm.
"Our high school is damaged. One of our learning centers is also damaged. We have businesses that are destroyed, we have homes that have been destroyed, and at the very least lives are disrupted," Wax said.
The mayor said, as of Saturday morning, there were no confirmation of any deaths, but said it was likely because the response teams haven't been able to survey the town completely.
He also warned residents to "stay in place," adding that it wasn't safe to return home.
"Stay in place, protect yourself. If you did evacuate, do not even attempt to go back," he said. "Stay away, let the first responders do their job."
10:55 a.m.: Harvey expected to weaken to tropical storm this afternoon
Catastrophic flooding predicted over the coming days
The National Hurricane Center says Harvey remains a Category 1 hurricane as wind speeds remain at 75 mph. The threat for serious flooding will continue for several days as the storm continues to move slowly over inland Texas.
In its latest advisory, the NHC says "torrential rains will continue for a few more days." The center says Harvey should become a tropical storm sometime Saturday afternoon.
Harvey made landfall late Friday night as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained wind speeds of 130 mph. It has slowed overnight but will continue to pull in moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, and could still move back out over water.
10:28 a.m.: NASA animation of satellite data shows rainfall upon making land
@NASA's GPM satellite analyzed Hurricane Harvey's rainfall as it made landfall in Texas: https://t.co/OGW4LLZvd5 pic.twitter.com/eWF3cHVL1N — CBS News (@CBSNews) August 26, 2017
10:25 a.m.: Houston airport lifts ground stop on incoming flights
Flights are beginning to land again at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport following an earlier ground stop on incoming flights. The airport said 225 flights have been canceled so far.
IB ground stop has been lifted, and aircraft are now beginning to land. Get the latest at https://t.co/9gZJSkXIjn #fly2houston — Houston Bush Airport (@iah) August 26, 2017
10:11 a.m.: Coast Guard responds to mayday calls
The Coast Guard says it is responding to tugboats in distress near Port Aransas, Texas.
In a statement, the Coast Guard says its Corpus Christi sector received mayday calls from the boats Belle Chase, Sandy Point and Sabine Pass near the Lydia Ann Channel. It has dispatched two MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crews to the scene.
10:05 a.m.: Wind speeds slow to 75 mph
The National Hurricane Center says in an advisory that sustained wind speeds have decreased slightly to 75 mph. The storm remains a Category 1 hurricane.
Harvey's center is now about 25 miles west of Victoria, Texas, moving at 6 mph.
9:20 a.m.: More than 16 inches of rain have fallen in Victoria, Texas
Hurricane Harvey slams the Gulf Coast
CBS News correspondent Manuel Bojorquez joined CBSN from Victoria, Texas, with an update from the heart of the storm. Speaking from his hotel as Harvey's eyewall whipped palm trees in the background, Bojorquez reports Victoria has received more than 16 inches of rain in the past 24 hours.
His hotel began swaying in the wind early Saturday morning. The roof of a car dealership behind the hotel began flapping in the heavy winds, indicating the likelihood of extensive structural damage as Harvey swirls over Texas.
"The big concern is not only all this wind, but of course all of this rain," Bojorquez reports. "They're not expecting just inches of rain here. They are expecting to get up to 2.5 feet. And so the major flooding that will happen as a result of this hurricane is something that they will deal with for days to come here."
9:12 a.m.: Michio Kaku says "agony has just begun"
Michio Kaku on Hurricane Harvey: "Agony has just begun"
CBS News science contributor Michio Kaku joined "CBS This Morning: Saturday" to discuss the science behind Harvey and why it will continue to cause damage for days.
"First of all, if it lingers over the land, it could cause massive flooding. And then, watch out," he said. "If it goes back into the Gulf, it could get reenergized and create a second, even a third landfall. And so the agony has just begun with this hurricane of the decade."
8:55 a.m.: Power outages now affect more than 255,000 customers in Texas
More than a quarter-million customers are without power in Texas early Saturday after Hurricane Harvey made landfall. Utilities are reporting outages affecting more than 255,000 customers.
AEP reported more than 192,000 customers without power as of early Saturday. CenterPoint Energy reported nearly 58,000 customers without power.
Outages were also reported by Austin Energy, CPS, Entergy and Oncor. Read the full story here.
8:35 a.m.: Latest forecast as Harvey settles over Texas
Hurricane Harvey forecast: Weakening winds, days of rain to come
Texans are facing days of rain as Hurricane Harvey settles in. Meteorologist Megan Glaros joined "CBS This Morning: Saturday" with the latest forecast at the top of the hour.
The system continues to weaken in terms of wind speed, but it continues to pull in moisture from warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico. Winds have decreased to 80 mph and the storm continues to move at a sluggish 6 mph, which will continue for the next few days.
In Victoria, Texas, more than 16 inches of rain has fallen. McFaddin and Austwell have received just under 12 inches, and Edna and Sugar Land about 9 inches. Total rainfall could total more than 40 inches in places over the coming days.
7:25 a.m.: President Trump says he is "closely monitoring" storm, FEMA director doing "great job"
Closely monitoring #HurricaneHarvey from Camp David. We are leaving nothing to chance. City, State and Federal Govs. working great together! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 26, 2017
You are doing a great job - the world is watching! Be safe. https://t.co/PJLdxy3hD9 — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 26, 2017
6:15 a.m.: Category 1, with maximum winds near 90 mph
Hurricane Harvey became a Category 1 storm with top wind speeds near 90 mph, the National Hurricane Center reported. Tide gauges near Port Lavaca, Texas, recorded water levels more than 6.5 feet higher than normal.
Craig "Cajun" Uggen, 57, nearly floods his truck as Hurricane Harvey comes ashore in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Fri., Aug. 25, 2017. Minutes later, high winds blew off the camper carrying all of his belongings. Reuters
5 a.m.: From Category 3 to Category 2
The National Hurricane Center downgraded Hurricane Harvey to a Category 2 storm, with maximum sustained winds near 100 mph. Harvey is likely to become a tropical storm later today as it moves further inland, predicted NHC forecasters who also warned of "catastrophic flooding over the next few days due to heavy rainfall."
4:30 a.m.: Emergency crews in limbo
Many emergency crews were unable to make rescues early Saturday because of Harvey's strong winds. Melissa Munguia, the deputy emergency management coordinator in Nueces County, which includes Corpus Christi, said early Saturday that it could be several more hours before crews could fully assess the damage in coastal communities.
Corpus Christi, Texas. Reuters
3:40 a.m.: More than 211,000 homes and businesses lose power
More than 211,000 customers were without power on the Texas Gulf Coast due to effects from Hurricane Harvey, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas reported. The storm was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane early Saturday morning, as Harvey's maximum sustained winds decreased to nearly 125 mph. Additional weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours while the center of Harvey is over southeastern Texas.
2:30 a.m.: Homeowner shoots intruder, cops say
A homeowner shot an alleged intruder in Corpus Christi just as Hurricane Harvey was making landfall late Friday night, Corpus Christi police said. Read the full story here on CBSNews.com.
The victim was taken to a local hospital, and was coherent when police arrived on scene, Corpus Christi police tweeted. According to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, the victim was shot in the head.
Update on shooting @ 7100 Ficus Ct. homeowner shot intruder. Victim @ Hosp. with gunshot wound was coherent when medics took him. PIO Pace — Corpus Christi PD (@CorpusChristiPD) August 26, 2017
1:45 a.m.: "Boil water," Corpus Christi residents told
In Corpus Christi, the major city closest to the center of the storm, wind whipped palm trees and stinging sheets of horizontal rain slapped against hotels and office buildings along the city's seawall as the storm made landfall. Boats bobbed violently in the marina. It was too dark to tell whether any boats had broken their moorings.
City officials notified residents to "boil their water prior to consumption (e.g., washing hands/face, brushing teeth, drinking, etc)" to kill all potentially harmful bacteria and other microbes. "Water for drinking, cooking and ice making should be boiled and cooled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes. The water should be brought to a vigorous rolling boil and then boiled for two minutes."
1:15 a.m.: Early details emerge from Rockport
Rockport, Texas, a coastal city of about 10,000 people some 30 miles northeast of Corpus Christi, was directly in the path of Harvey when it came ashore. The city had peak wind surges of more than 125 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
Volunteer Fire Department Chief Steve Sims said there were about 15 firefighters at the city's fire station waiting for conditions to improve enough for their vehicles to safely respond to pleas for help. "There's nothing we can do at this moment. We are anxious to get out there and make assessments, but we're hunkered down for now," Sims said, according to an Associated Press report.
Fire Department spokeswoman Gillian Cox told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that the roof of Rockport's high school has partially caved in. But Cox says social media posts that the school has "disappeared" are inaccurate.
Rockport City Manager Kevin Carruth told the newspaper that the courthouse also sustained major damage. Carruth said a cargo trailer was halfway in the building.
Earlier Friday, Rockport Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Rios offered ominous advice, telling a local TV station that those who chose to stay put "should make some type of preparation to mark their arm with a Sharpie pen," implying doing so would make it easier for rescuers to identify them.
When I reported people in Rockport, TX were being told to write their social security # on their arms, people tweeted me it was ridiculous. https://t.co/BkVhUJsGz6 — David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) August 26, 2017
12:30 a.m.: Facebook activates "Safety Check" feature
Facebook has activated its Safety Check feature for Hurricane Harvey, allowing Facebook users to inform friends and family of their whereabouts during the weather emergency.
Facebook users can also find the feature on their smartphone apps. As CBSNews.com sibling site CNET explains: "Safety Check is now integrated into the mobile apps, meaning you can manually notify friends of your status as well as follow crises worldwide and even offer support. The only trick is finding it. When Facebook does a server-side activation, you'll usually see a notification right at the top of the app. But if you want to access the feature yourself, it requires a bit of menu-diving."
Here's a primer from CNET on how to find the feature on Android devices and iPhones.
12:00 a.m.: Roof collapses at senior housing complex
Several residents are trapped inside a senior housing complex in Rockport, Texas, where a roof collapsed, a city manager confirmed to CBS News.
City manager in Rockport, TX tells CBS News people trapped inside of senior housing complex where roof collapsed; rescuers unable to get in — David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) August 26, 2017
A couple is trapped in a mobile home in Rockport after a tree fell on it, according to Rockport City Manager Kevin Carruth.
More than 32,000 homes and businesses have lost power in Corpus Christi, CBS affiliate KZTV reports. The city of Corpus Christi has issued a precautionary water boil advisory.
The City of Corpus Christi.. yeah, I'd say we lost some power. #hurricaneharvey 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/CAO8hy3oCl — Marisol Gonzalez (@MarisolKZTV) August 26, 2017
Large shipping boats in Port Aransas have broken away from their moorings, leading to significant damage, KZTV reports.
Storm surges up to 13 feet are predicted in some places with up to 40 inches of rain over several days. The National Weather Service warns some residents may not be able to return to their homes for weeks or months.
Friday
11:05 p.m.: Harvey makes landfall
The eye of Harvey made landfall just after 11 p.m. between Port Aransas and Port O'Connor as a Category 4 storm with 130 mph winds, the National Weather Service said.
#Harvey made landfall at 10 PM CDT as a category 4 hurricane near Rockport, Texas, with max winds of 130 mph and min pressure of 938 mb. pic.twitter.com/98y5wpKmBw — NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) August 26, 2017
9:51 p.m.: President Trump signs disaster proclamation
President Trump tweeted shortly before 10 p.m. that he had signed a disaster proclamation, which Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said earlier Friday he had requested. The disaster proclamation will allow federal funds to flow into state and local relief efforts.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm is expected to make landfall "very soon."
Eye of Category 4 #Harvey almost onshore in Texas. Hurricane force winds reported at many observing stations. Landfall expected very soon. pic.twitter.com/JZ4tE1Bvbx — NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) August 26, 2017
8:20 p.m.: Evacuees seek refuge in San Antonio
Hundreds of evacuees seeking shelter from Hurricane Harvey arrived in San Antonio on Friday, CBS affiliate KENS-TV reports.
Two shelters opened their doors Friday morning, and city officials announced they would make room for at least 6,000 evacuees.
"I get deep anxiety when it comes to stuff like this," Justine Vela of Corpus Christi told the station. Vela packed up her four children and left for San Antonio.
"My kids don't kinda know what's going on because they are little," she said. "I'm trying to keep them calm and safe. This is the best place for us to be right now."
7:45 p.m.: Trump prepares to face first major natural disaster as president
Trump prepares for first major natural disaster as president
Hurricane Harvey will be the first major natural disaster of President Trump's administration. The White House is saying FEMA has changed since the organization's dismal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, CBS News' chief White House correspondent Major Garrett reports.
The failures of Katrina haunt emergency planners to this day, so much so, White House Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert felt compelled to say "now is not the time to lose faith in your government institutions."
"All the mayors and governors saw what happened at Katrina and they're not gonna let that happen," says David Paulison, who headed FEMA after Katrina and until 2009. He says that Katrina changed management procedures.
"Before we waited for the local community to become overwhelmed before the state stepped in, and waited for the state to become overwhelmed before the federal government stepped in," Paulison tells Garrett.
7:40 p.m.: FEMA urges residents to follow future orders
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials are encouraging residents and visitors in Hurricane Harvey's path to follow directions from local and state officials.
"I encourage residents who will be affected to follow directions from their local officials," Administrator Brock Long said in a statement. "Know your threats, heed the warnings, and if you're in the path of the storm, ensure your family is prepared for possible prolonged disruptions to normal services."
The agency has set up bases near Seguin, Texas, and areas closer to the storm's path to store supplies including more than 96,000 liters of water, 306,000 meals and 4,500 tarps and blankets, the Associated Press reports. State and local officials will be responsible for distributing the materials as needed.
7:20 p.m.: 20-30 inches of rain expected in Victoria, Texas
Hurricane Harvey could dump feet of rain in Texas
Victoria, Texas, is about 20 miles from the coast, but the distance is not expected to shield it from the worst impacts of Hurricane Harvey. Aside from winds up to 105 miles per hour, the biggest threat is the rain, CBS News' Manuel Bojorquez reports.
Victoria is in the bull's eye of Hurricane Harvey's rain, with 20-30 inches expected over the next 72 hours. that's a year's worth of rain for this city.
The flooding is expected to be worse than Victoria's 1998 disaster.
"We've never seen a forecast for that kind of localized rain, and I've been working hurricanes and emergencies here for several years. It's the most dangerous forecast we've ever seen," said O.C. Garza the Victoria Office of Emergency Management.
7:15 p.m.: Corpus Christi police stop responding to emergency calls
Millions flee for safety ahead of Hurricane Harvey
Corpus Christi police are not responding to calls for emergency service because of the current weather conditions. If you live in the area and you want to get out, the free bus rides are over and the city has discontinued the service, CBS News correspondent David Begnaud reports.
The National Weather Service says winds could leave homes uninhabitable for weeks or even months. Storm surge could reach 12 feet -- that's strong enough to wash away vehicles, Begnaud reports.
Fears of a power outage forced the sickest babies at a children's hospital to be moved out of the hurricane's path. Others are heeding the warnings and evacuating on their own.
7:02 p.m.: Hurricane Harvey upgraded to Category 4 storm
The National Hurricane Center has upgraded Hurricane Harvey to a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph and is moving northwest at a speed of 8 miles an hour. The storm is about 45 miles outside of Corpus Christi.
NEW: #Harvey continues to intensify and is now a category 4 #hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/7CkJkuafTb — NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) August 25, 2017
6:09 p.m.: Houston officials resist calls for evacuation
Houston is bracing for dozens of inches of rain, but officials are urging residents to stay put.
Judge Ed Emmett, Harris County's top official, said "no mass evacuations" would be called because the hurricane would not "directly" hit the area.
"Always say run from water, hide from wind, we mean storm surge, not rain. [It's] not the kind of water we would ask people to evacuation from," Emmett said.
Mayor Sylvester Turner also urged residents to stay off roads and in their homes. Turner said there might be "greater danger" in having residents who don't need to be evacuated onto roads that could possibly flood, the Associated Press reports.
6:13 p.m.: NWS issues "EXTREME WIND WARNING"
The National Weather Service in Corpus Christi has issued a warning for southwestern Calhoun County in south Texas, urging residents to "TAKE COVER NOW!"
"Widespread destructive winds of 115 to 145 mph will spread across Calhoun County, Aransas County, Nueces County, San Patricio County, Refugio County, producing swaths of tornado-like damage," the advisory says. "TAKE COVER NOW! Treat these imminent extreme winds as if a tornado was approaching and move immediately to the safe room in your shelter. Take action now to protect your life!"
5:08 p.m.: Wind speeds reach 125 mph, officials warn of "catastrophic flooding"
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) says in an update that Harvey now has wind speeds of 125 mph. It's now about 60 miles southeast of Corpus Christi.
The NHC also says some areas of Texas could get 40 inches of rain and cause "catastrophic flooding." The storm surge is expected to be between 6 to 12 feet along parts of the coast.
5:06 p.m.: Feds won't question families about immigration status at shelters
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a joint statement Friday saying they won't question the immigration status of families arriving to hurricane shelters in Texas and Louisiana.
The agencies said their "highest priorities are to promote life-saving and life-sustaining activities, the safe evacuation of people who are leaving the impacted area, the maintenance of public order, the prevention of the loss of property to the extent possible, and the speedy recovery of the region."
The joint statement said that routine "non-criminal immigration enforcement operations" would not be conducted at evacuation sites or assistance centers such as shelters or food banks.
It also warned that immigration laws would not be suspended, and the agencies would "be vigilant against any effort by criminals to exploit disruptions caused by the storm."
5:03 p.m.: President Trump arrives at Camp David
The president has arrived at Camp David, where he will be monitoring the storm over the weekend:
Just arrived at Camp David where I am closely watching the path and doings of Hurricane Harvey, as it strengthens to a Category 3. BE SAFE! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2017
4:50 p.m.: National Weather Service director: "The impacts will be extreme"
National Weather Service Director Louis Uccellini issued a warning to Louisiana and Texas residents on Friday, calling the impact of Hurricane Harvey "extreme" and "devastating."
"Catastrophic inland flooding due to incredible rainfall amounts and damaging wind will also be associated with this storm," Uccellini said in a statement Friday. "The flooding will be catastrophic and life threatening. The economic impact will likely be devastating."
4:46 p.m.: NASA posts photos of storm from space
NASA posted new photos of Harvey from the International Space Station taken by astronaut Jack Fischer:
.@Astro2fish orbited over Hurricane #Harvey2017 and photographed the storm bearing down on the Texas coast. pic.twitter.com/eBzNc7NlMZ — Intl. Space Station (@Space_Station) August 25, 2017
4:38 p.m.: Coast Guard rescues 12
The U.S. Coast Guard says it has rescued 12 people from the storm near Corpus Christi.
Breaking News: @USCG Air Station Corpus Christi rescued 12 as #HurricaneHarvey nears. Updates to follow soon at https://t.co/AJyH7tl8P9. pic.twitter.com/WRA8KzFQdy — USCG Heartland (@USCGHeartland) August 25, 2017
4:30 p.m.: Corpus Christi mayor: "You can't force people to leave"
Corpus Christi Mayor Joe McComb told CBSN that he hadn't issued a mandatory evacuation order citywide because "you can't force people to leave and send police out there and drag them out."
He added, "you can highly recommend it, and we've done that, and say they need to get out of low-lying areas."
McComb said he'd received a positive response of residents who were seeking higher grounds. "Many people have gone to San Antonio and points beyond," he said Friday.
4:15 p.m.: Tornado threats in Louisiana and Texas
The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for for parts of Louisiana and Texas lasting until 3:00 a.m. on Saturday.
A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Louisiana and Texas until 2 AM CDT pic.twitter.com/WjHxXSSDFt — NWS Houston (@NWSHouston) August 25, 2017
4:00 p.m.: Vice President Pence halts travel
Vice President Mike Pence will remain in Washington D.C. during the storm, his spokesman Marc Lotter announced on Twitter. Pence will coordinate with President Trump as he visits Camp David with first lady Melania Trump on Friday.
The White House said Marine One landed at Camp David at 3:46 p.m. on Friday, according to the pool report.
Due to #HurricaneHarvey, @VP Pence will remain in DC this wknd, coordinating with @POTUS Trump at Camp David, monitoring storm & response. — Marc Lotter (@VPPressSec) August 25, 2017
3:18 p.m.: President Trump tweets about Harvey
President Trump addressed the threat of Hurricane Harvey on Friday, urging residents to follow the advice of local and state officials.
I encourage everyone in the path of #HurricaneHarvey to heed the advice & orders of their local and state officials. https://t.co/N6uEWCZUrv — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2017
3:15 p.m.: Texas governor requests disaster declaration
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott held an afternoon news conference warning residents that Harvey is going to be a "very major disaster." Abbott said Friday that he's asked President Trump for a federal disaster declaration.
Abbott warned residents in coastal areas to evacuate their homes, even if local officials hadn't issued an official warning.
"Even if an evacuation order has not been issued by your local official," Abbott said, "if you are in areas between Corpus Christi and Houston, and maybe even some other areas, especially low lying areas, you need to strongly consider evacuating."
He added, "You don't want to put yourself in a situation where you could be subject to a search and rescue."
3:00 p.m.: Hurricane Harvey reaches Category 3
Harvey became a Category 3 hurricane Friday afternoon, with sustained winds of 120 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. ||||| Houston (CNN) Harvey is no longer a hurricane, but life-threatening flooding continued in and around Houston on Sunday night as citizens with boats assisted authorities in search and rescue efforts.
Flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey is overburdening resources in the country's fourth-largest city, prompting authorities to call on volunteers with watercraft for help in rescuing those trapped in homes and buildings.
An immediate respite from Harvey's wrath seems unlikely to come. The National Weather Service calls the flooding "unprecedented," and warns things may become more dire if a forecasted record-breaking 50 inches of rain does fall on parts of Texas in coming days. In anticipation of a worsening situation, Dallas is turning its main convention center into a "mega-shelter" that can host 5,000 evacuees.
The rainfall threatens to exacerbate an already dangerous situation, as Harvey's rains have left many east Texas rivers and bayous swollen to their banks or beyond.
"The breadth and intensity of this rainfall are beyond anything experienced before," the weather service said. "Catastrophic flooding is now underway and expected to continue for days."
The storm killed two people in Texas, authorities said, and the death toll will likely rise. More than 1,000 people were rescued overnight, and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner warned that some 911 calls are going unanswered as operators "give preference to life-threatening calls."
From 10pm Sat to 1pm Sun., Houston 911 received over 56,000 calls. During an average day, they usually handle about 8,000. #harvey — Houston OEM (@HoustonOEM) August 27, 2017
Here are the latest developments:
A woman who drove her vehicle into high water in Houston was killed, and fire killed a man in Rockport.
Several states and the US military are sending emergency workers and equipment to Texas. In Harris County, though, authorities are having issues mobilizing those resources. "We've requested boats, all the things that would normally happen in a well-planned response to an event like this, but they can't get here," Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said.
Dallas announced its plans to open a "mega-shelter" capable of accommodating 5,000 evacuees at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. County officials, charitable groups and local hospitals are working to open the shelter by Tuesday morning.
While Turner warned the rain could exacerbate flooding for "four to five days," Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Brock Long said he expects his agency "is going to be there for years."
The Houston Independent School District has canceled school for the week.
Houston's George Bush Intercontinental and William P. Hobby airports are closed until further notice, officials said. Corpus Christi International reopened at 4 p.m. Sunday, officials said. Jack Brooks Regional Airport in Beaumont, Ellington Airport in Houston, Mustang Beach Airport in Port Aransas and McCampbell-Porter Airport in Aransas Pass are also temporarily closed, the Federal Aviation Administration says.
Ben Taub Hospital, which houses a Level I trauma center, is being evacuated after flooding in the basement "disrupted the power source," Emmet said.
316,000 customers have lost electricity, Gov. Greg Abbott said.
The Red Cross is serving about 130,000 meals a day, the governor said.
President Donald Trump will travel to Texas on Tuesday, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
Trapped
JUST WATCHED Woman trapped in home: 911 told us not to call Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Woman trapped in home: 911 told us not to call 01:28
Among those stranded by the storm is Ify Echetebu, 30, who spoke to CNN from her aunt's house in Dickinson, not far from Galveston Bay. Along with her fiancé, grandparents, a friend and several teenagers, Echetebu is trapped on the second floor of the house as floodwaters creep up the staircase. She can see the rooftops of submerged cars in driveways, she said.
On the first floor, the water is up to her waist, she said. Emergency services know she and 10 others are holed up in the home, she said, but because emergencies take priority, she doesn't expect to be rescued until tomorrow, Echetebu said.
The severity of the situation just hit me. I'm overcome with grief due to how helpless I feel in all of this. This is truly devestating. #PrayForTexas #PrayForGalvestonCounty #TropicalStormHarvey #HurricaneHarvey A post shared by Lotenné I. E. (@1whitenigerian) on Aug 27, 2017 at 7:42am PDT
"We're nervous to stay here, but we are sleeping in shifts," she said. "Now we're having to deal with sewage in the water, river water, bayou water, water moccasins, snakes, gators."
Not far away, a rescue operation saved 20 to 25 residents of La Vita Bella assisted-living facility in Dickinson.
"They were up to their waist," Galveston County Commissioner Ken Clark said. "If they were in a wheelchair, they could have been up to their neck."
Residents of a nursing home in Dickinson, Texas, were rescued Sunday.
After a record 22 inches fell on the county in one day, rescuers set out before dawn Sunday to save those who braved the storm. Officials quickly realized they did not have enough boats for the rescue operations and asked private boat owners to help, said County Judge Mark Henry, responsible for disaster response in the county.
As of Sunday evening, between 800 and 1,200 people had been rescued from their homes in Galveston County, Henry said.
As authorities warned people not to take shelter in attics, unless they have axes handy to break through their roofs, several residents provided CNN with their accounts of riding out the storm.
"We are still stranded in our home with little kids and the water keeps rising," Houston resident Janet Castillo said Sunday morning. "We have (tried calling several numbers), but their lines are all busy or they don't answer."
We are going on fumes & our hearts ache for community we serve, but we will not stop! We are leveraging more assets with every passing hour. — Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) August 27, 2017
Jake Lewis of New Braunfels, Texas, said he woke up to ankle-deep water in the Houston hotel where he is staying.
"We have nowhere to go," he said. "I have a 2016 Chevy Silverado and the water is up to the door panels. The water keeps rising."
One of two confirmed fatalities happened in Houston when a woman drove her vehicle into high water and couldn't make it across, city police said. She got out of her vehicle, was overtaken by floodwaters and drowned.
Many roads impassable
Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Downtown Houston is reflected in the flooded Buffalo Bayou on Wednesday, August 30, five days after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas. The Category 4 storm came ashore late Friday, August 25, just north of Port Aransas, and has caused historic flooding. Correction: Previous versions of this gallery incorrectly reported that Hurricane Harvey is the strongest storm to make landfall in the United States since Wilma in 2005. Harvey is actually the strongest storm to make landfall in the United States since Charley in 2004. Hide Caption 1 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Members of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Louisiana National Guard help rescue elderly people from a flooded assisted living home in Orange, Texas, on August 30. Hide Caption 2 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A baby sits with family belongings at a Gallery Furniture store in Houston being used as a temporary shelter on August 30. Hide Caption 3 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Floodwaters engulf homes in Port Arthur on August 30. Hide Caption 4 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Janice Forse cries at an emergency shelter in Beaumont on August 30. Her home in Beaumont was flooded Wednesday morning. "Even Katrina wasn't this bad," Forse told the Austin American-Statesman. Hide Caption 5 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Tammy Dominguez, left, and her husband, Christopher Dominguez, sleep on cots at the George R. Brown Convention Center, where nearly 10,000 people are taking shelter in Houston, on August 30. Hide Caption 6 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A cat tries to find dry ground around a flooded apartment complex on August 30 in Houston. Hide Caption 7 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Volunteer rescue workers help a woman from her flooded home in Port Arthur on August 30. Hide Caption 8 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas The Florida Air Force Reserve Pararescue team from the 308th Rescue Squadron helps evacuees board a helicopter in Port Arthur on August 30. Hide Caption 9 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Water from the Addicks Reservoir flows into neighborhoods in Houston as floodwaters rise Tuesday, August 29. Hide Caption 10 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Chris Gutierrez, second from right, helps his grandmother, Edelmira Gutierrez, down the stairs of their flooded house and into a waiting firetruck in the Concord Bridge neighborhood of Houston on August 29. Hide Caption 11 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Members of the National Guard rest at a furniture store in Richmond, Texas, on August 29. Hide Caption 12 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Alexis Hernandez holds her daughter Faith at the George R. Brown Convention Center, which is serving as a shelter in Houston. Hide Caption 13 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Evacuees make their way though floodwaters in Houston on August 29. Hide Caption 14 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas President Donald Trump takes part in a briefing on Harvey as he visits Corpus Christi on August 29. In a stop in Austin, Trump spoke of the long-term effort and stiff costs that will be needed to rebuild the region. "Nobody's seen this kind of water," he said. "Probably, there's never been something so expensive in our country's history." While talking about recovery and relief efforts, Trump said, "We want to do it better than ever before." Hide Caption 15 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Civilian rescuers put a boat into a flooded road to search for people in Cypress on August 29. Hide Caption 16 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Volunteers organize items donated for Hurricane Harvey victims in Dallas on August 29. Hide Caption 17 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas An overview of downtown Houston on August 29 shows the scale of the catastrophic flooding. Hide Caption 18 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Matthew Koser searches for important papers and heirlooms inside his grandfather's house in Houston's Bear Creek neighborhood on August 29. The neighborhood flooded after water was released from nearby Addicks Reservoir. Hide Caption 19 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Shane Johnson removes items from a family home in Rockport, Texas, on August 29. Hide Caption 20 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Airplanes sit at a flooded airport in Houston on August 29. Hide Caption 21 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas People set up a shelter for volunteer rescue workers at Fairfield Baptist Church in Cypress, Texas, on August 29. Hide Caption 22 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Shardea Harrison looks at her 3-week-old baby, Sarai, as Dean Mize, right, and Jason Legnon use an airboat to rescue them from their home in Houston on Monday, August 28. Hide Caption 23 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Thousands take shelter at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston on August 28. Hide Caption 24 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Rescue boats fill Tidwell Road in Houston as they help flood victims evacuate the area on August 28. Hide Caption 25 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas People wait to be rescued from their flooded home in Houston on August 28. Hide Caption 26 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A firefighter helps Sara Golden and her daughters Paisley, Poppy and Piper board a Texas Air National Guard C-130 at Scholes International Airport in Galveston, Texas, on August 28. Hide Caption 27 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas People make their way out of a flooded neighborhood in Houston on August 28. Hide Caption 28 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Sam Speights removes possessions from his damaged home in Rockport on August 28. Hide Caption 29 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Flood victims wait to unload from the back of a heavy-duty truck after being evacuated from their homes in Houston on August 28. Hide Caption 30 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas People leave a flooded area of Houston on August 28. Hide Caption 31 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas People are rescued in Houston on August 28. Hide Caption 32 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Bridget Brundrett presents an American flag to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott while he was in Rockport on August 28. The flag had been recovered from city hall after flying during the hurricane. Hide Caption 33 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A Coast Guard helicopter hoists a wheelchair on board after lifting a person to safety from a flooded area of Houston on August 28. Hide Caption 34 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Houston flood victims eat and rest at the George R. Brown Convention Center on August 28. Hide Caption 35 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Belinda Penn holds her dogs Winston and Baxter after being rescued from their home in Spring, Texas, on August 28. Hide Caption 36 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A firefighter is wheeled to a waiting ambulance after he became fatigued while fighting an office-building fire in downtown Houston on August 28. Hide Caption 37 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas People evacuate a neighborhood in west Houston on August 28. Hide Caption 38 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Julie Martinez, right, hugs her daughter, Gabrielle Jackson, in front of a relative's damaged apartment in Rockport on August 28. Hide Caption 39 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Cattle are stranded in a flooded pasture in La Grange, Texas, on August 28. Hide Caption 40 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Volunteer rescue boats make their way into a flooded subdivision in Spring, Texas, on August 28. Hide Caption 41 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Houston police officer Daryl Hudeck carries Catherine Pham and her 13-month-old son, Aiden, after rescuing them from floodwaters on Sunday, August 27. Hide Caption 42 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas People push a stalled pickup through a flooded street in Houston on August 27. Hide Caption 43 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Residents of Rockport return to their destroyed home on August 27. Hide Caption 44 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas The Buffalo Bayou floods parts of Houston on August 27. Hide Caption 45 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Two men try to beat the current that was pushing them down an overflowing Brays Bayou in Houston on August 27. Hide Caption 46 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Jane Rhodes is rescued by neighbors in Friendswood, Texas, on August 27. Hide Caption 47 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Volunteers at Sacred Heart Catholic Church prepare cots for evacuees in Elgin, Texas, on August 27. Hide Caption 48 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Damage to a home is seen in the Key Allegro neighborhood of Rockport on August 27. Hide Caption 49 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Melani Zurawski cries while inspecting her home in Port Aransas on August 27. Hide Caption 50 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Wilford Martinez, right, is rescued from his flooded car along Interstate 610 in Houston on August 27. Assisting him here is Richard Wagner of the Harris County Sheriff's Department. Hide Caption 51 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A car is submerged by floodwaters on a freeway near downtown Houston on August 27. Hide Caption 52 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A resident of the Bayou on the Bend apartment complex watches its first floor flood in Houston on August 27. Hide Caption 53 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A city flag, tattered by the effects of Hurricane Harvey, flaps in the wind over the police station in Rockport on August 27. Hide Caption 54 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls and Lucas Wu lift Ethan Wu into an airboat as they evacuate the Orchard Lakes subdivision in Fort Bend County, Texas, on August 27. Hide Caption 55 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Damage is seen at a boat storage building in Rockport on August 27. Hide Caption 56 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Water rushes from a large sinkhole along a highway in Rosenberg, Texas, on August 27. Hide Caption 57 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Evacuees wade through a flooded section of Interstate 610 in Houston on August 27. Hide Caption 58 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Evacuees are loaded onto a truck on an Interstate 610 overpass in Houston on August 27. Hide Caption 59 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A graveyard is flooded in Pearland, Texas, on August 27. Hide Caption 60 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A driver works his way through a maze of fallen utility poles in Taft, Texas, on Saturday, August 26. Hide Caption 61 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Steve Culver comforts his dog Otis on August 26 as he talks about what he said was the "most terrifying event in his life." Hurricane Harvey destroyed most of his home in Rockport while he and his wife were there. Hide Caption 62 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas People walk through flooded streets in Galveston on August 26. Hide Caption 63 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Aaron Tobias stands in what is left of his Rockport home on August 26. Tobias said he was able to get his wife and kids out before the storm arrived, but he stayed there and rode it out. Hide Caption 64 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Brad Matheney offers help to a man in a wheelchair in Galveston on August 26. Hide Caption 65 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Jessica Campbell hugs Jonathan Fitzgerald after riding out Hurricane Harvey in an apartment in Rockport. Hide Caption 66 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Boats are damaged in Rockport on August 26. Hide Caption 67 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A damaged home in Rockport on August 26. Hide Caption 68 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Donna Raney makes her way out of the wreckage of her home as Daisy Graham assists her in Rockport on August 26. Raney was hiding in the shower after the roof blew off and the walls of her home caved in. Hide Caption 69 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A laundromat's machines are exposed to the elements in Rockport on August 26. Hide Caption 70 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A semi-truck is overturned on a highway south of Houston on August 26. Hide Caption 71 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas An American flag flies in front of a damaged mobile-home park in Rockport on August 26. Hide Caption 72 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas NASA astronaut Jack Fischer photographed Hurricane Harvey from the International Space Station on Friday, August 25. Hide Caption 73 of 74 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Waves pound the shore as Harvey approaches Corpus Christi, Texas, on August 25. Hide Caption 74 of 74
In a Sunday news conference, Abbott said, "We want to stress when there is heavy rainfall and flooding, the importance of staying off the road. If you drive into water, you're taking your life into your own hands."
Portions of major highways, including Interstates 10, 45 and 610, were submerged and unnavigable. Houston resident Dion Laurent said the White Oak Bayou flooded I-10 and I-45.
White Oak Bayou flooding I-10 and I-45 #Harvey from Quitman St. Bridge A post shared by dion laurent (@dionrlaurent) on Aug 27, 2017 at 11:57am PDT
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said he understands the compulsion to find safer ground, but urged people to think twice before venturing out into high water and to consider unforeseen dangers, such as manhole covers being lifted from their holes.
Lt. Craig Cummings of the Texas Department of Public Safety said attempts to drive to safety may be futile anyway, as it took him two and a half hours to drive 20 miles in Houston on Sunday.
"There's 60 barricaded locations as of midnight. Most thoroughfares are impassable. Several hundred structures are flooded, and we are expecting that number to rise," he said.
In Brazoria County, south of Houston, officials set up an evacuation route for all residents living west of State Highway 288 and south of State Highway 6, ordering them to "LEAVE NOW!" under a mandatory evacuation order. Those in need of shelter can take refuge in the Bell County Expo Center in Belton, officials said.
The 911 dispatchers in the nation's fourth-most populous city have received 2,000 requests for rescue, Mayor Turner said. Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said his department had responded to 2,500 calls and have about 1,000 more waiting to be serviced.
Gonzalez tweeted that many high-water rescues were performed overnight in Houston, some involving children or residents with medical issues, including one person suffering from cardiac arrest. Stranded residents were saved from vehicles on the highway. Airboats were employed in some instances, he said.
We need help!! My house is flooded and my dad has heart disease my mom diabetic — Juanita Arreguin (@JuanitaArregui4) August 27, 2017
People are taking to social media to announce their locations and ask for help.
One person, whose mom is diabetic and dad has heart disease, tweeted, "We need help!! My house is flooded."
24 inches of rain in 24 hours
JUST WATCHED Slow moving storm Harvey drenching Texas Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Slow moving storm Harvey drenching Texas 01:58
Harvey blasted ashore as a Category 4 hurricane just north of Corpus Christi. It brought with it 132-mph winds but was quickly downgraded to a tropical storm. Still, it continued to spawn tornadoes and lightning.
A flash flood emergency was declared for sections of Houston, where more than 24 inches of rain fell in 24 hours, the National Weather Service said.
The weather service said maximum sustained winds Sunday would be near 45 mph. While Harvey could become a tropical depression by Sunday night, residents are warned to remain vigilant.
The slow-moving storm is expected to drop 15 to 25 inches of rain over the Texas coast through Thursday. Isolated storms could drop up to 50 inches of rain, the weather service said.
"What is unique in Harvey is that as the storm moved inland, a large high pressure built in to the north and, basically, the steering currents, which guide Harvey, collapsed," said CNN senior meterologist Dave Hennen. "This has caused the extremely slow movement of the storm, moving only around 60 miles, less than 2 miles per hour. This has allowed the bands of storms to move over the same areas over and over."
The weather service says rainfall of this magnitude "will cause catastrophic and life-threatening flooding."
Some residents are comparing Harvey to Allison, a storm that struck the Texas coast in 2001 and killed 23 people.
"Allison was bad -- really, really bad," Houston resident Pat Napolio said, "but if (the water) creeps up anymore, Harvey will surpass (Allison)."
Rockport hit hard
A damaged home sits amid floodwaters Saturday after Hurricane Harvey slammed Rockport, Texas.
Another fatality was reported in the battered coastal city of Rockport. A person died in a house fire during the storm, Aransas County Judge Burt Mills said Saturday.
Warnings of tornadoes, torrential downpours and potentially historic flooding means extra bad news for broad swaths of southeast Texas, already littered with uprooted trees, toppled signs, flagpoles snapped like toothpicks and homes missing rooftops and patches of brick walls.
Hurricane Harvey took the walls off many Rockport homes.
Additional fatalities were feared in Rockport, where an estimated 5,000 residents rode out the storm, Aransas County Sheriff Bill Mills said.
Brock Long, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said that Harvey would leave areas "uninhabitable for weeks or months," echoing language last heard ahead of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
"FEMA is going to be there for years," Long said. ||||| Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said flooding in Houston from Tropical Storm Harvey may be the worst the city has ever seen.
“Houston is an area that is prone to flood at least once a year,” Abbott told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on “This Week” Sunday, “but this is one of the worst, if not the worst that Houston has suffered.”
Harvey, which hit the Texas coast Friday night as a Category 4 hurricane with 130 mph winds and has since been downgraded to a tropical storm, has so far left at least two people dead. The storm is lingering over the Houston area, causing severe flooding that is expected to grow worse over the next few days, with a total of up to about three feet in rain possible through Wednesday.
Abbott said he appreciates the federal government's help in responding to Harvey.
“We could not be more appreciative of what the federal government has done, from the president on down,” Abbott, a Republican, told Stephanopoulos.
President Trump granted Governor Abbott’s request for a disaster proclamation on Friday, activating response from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for relief to the state.
“FEMA has been very active, involved, and engaged in this whole process long before the hurricane even hit ground,” said Abbott. “Because of their assistance it means that Texas will be able to begin the rebuilding process very swiftly.”
Ralph Barrera/Austin American-Statesman via AP
Asked by Stephanopoulos if it makes sense for the president to visit Texas this week, or if it will divert resources from the relief effort, Abbott said, “it depends on where he goes.”
“We are already involved in the cleanup process in Corpus Christi, if the president were to visit there it wouldn’t hinder any efforts. We’ll just have to wait and see where the storm goes, understanding that this entire storm has been very unpredictable in its movement, and I couldn’t tell you right now where it will be in two days,” he said.
The president tweeted Sunday morning that he will visit Texas once he can do so without disrupting emergency response efforts.
I will be going to Texas as soon as that trip can be made without causing disruption. The focus must be life and safety. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2017
The White House point man on the storm, Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert echoed the president’s tweet in a separate interview on “This Week” Sunday saying that Trump “doesn't want to get in the way” of relief efforts.
“We’ll go where we can without getting in the way of the operators,” said Bossert. “We certainly won’t go in a place where we would prevent lifesaving activities from taking place. The president wants to go to show support. He doesn’t want to go to get in the way.” ||||| A daily crawl of more than 200,000 home pages of news sites, including the pages linked from those home pages. Site list provided by The GDELT Project
These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites.
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The Iowa Environmental Mesonet maintains a similiar archive to that found on this website.
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What is a shorter version of the above article? | – As "catastrophic" flooding batters Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, President Trump says he will be traveling to Texas "as soon as that trip can be made without causing disruption" in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, reports the AP. Trump tweeted that the "focus must be life and safety." Trump has been complimenting the response to the storm on his Twitter feed, commending "Great coordination between agencies at all levels of government." Trump adds that: "Many people are now saying that this is the worst storm/hurricane they have ever seen. Good news is that we have great talent on the ground." As much as 40 inches of rain could hit cities including Houston. Other developments: The National Weather Service is advising residents to not leave their homes, but if the highest floor becomes dangerous, to get on the roof and call 911, reports CBS News. More than 1,000 people have been rescued so far, reports CNN. "We could not be more appreciative of what the federal government has done, from the president on down," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tells ABC News of the response. "FEMA has been very active, involved, and engaged in this whole process long before the hurricane even hit ground. Because of their assistance it means that Texas will be able to begin the rebuilding process very swiftly." "Houston is an area that is prone to flood at least once a year, but this is one of the worst, if not the worst that Houston has suffered," Abbott says. | multi_news_1_0_0 |
|
NEW DELHI (Reuters Life!) - A hardline Hindu organization, known for its opposition to "corrupting" Western food imports, is planning to launch a new soft drink made from cow's urine, often seen as sacred in parts of India.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), or National Volunteer Corps, said the bovine beverage is undergoing laboratory tests for the next 2 to 3 months but did not give a specific date for its commercial release.
The flavor is not yet known, but the RSS said the liquid produced by Hinduism's revered holy cows is being mixed with products such as aloe vera and gooseberry to fight diseases such as diabetes and cancer.
Many Hindus consider cow urine to have medicinal properties and it is often drunk in religious festivals.
The organization, which aims to transform India's secular society and establish the supremacy of a Hindu majority, said it had not decided on a name or a price for the drink.
"Cow urine offers a cure for around 70 to 80 incurable diseases like diabetes. All are curable by cow urine," Om Prakash, the head of the RSS Cow Protection Department, told Reuters by phone.
Prakash, who is based in Hardwar, one of four holy Hindu cities on the river Ganges where the world's largest religious gathering takes place, said the product will be sold nationwide but did not rule out international success.
"It is useful for the whole country and the world as well. It will be done through shops and through corporates," he said.
The Hindu group has campaigned against foreign imports such as Pepsi and Coca Cola in the past, which it sees as a corrupting influence and a tool of Western imperialism.
The RSS was temporarily banned after a Hindu mob tore down a mosque in 1992 which lead to bloody religious riots.
The Shiv Sena, a hardline Hindu political party also known for attacking what it sees as threats to Indian culture such as Valentine's Day, started a similar initiative last year to appeal to its powerbase in Mumbai.
To promote the food of the native Marathi culture, the Shiv Sena said it was "making a chain like McDonalds" to sell a popular local fried snack.
(Additional reporting by Vipul Tripathi)
(Editing by Miral Fahmy)
([email protected]; +91-997 111 0254; Reuters Messaging: [email protected])) ||||| Though it may never move into the mainstream, an alternative medicine promoted by a Hindu group in India is getting some attention: cow urine as a treatment for numerous diseases, including cancer, diabetes and tuberculosis.
But not any old cow urine will do, according to the followers of the hardline Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) sect — only the urine collected from a female virgin cow will suffice, and it's best when collected before dawn.
"Cow urine offers a cure for around 70 to 80 incurable diseases like diabetes," Om Prakash, of the RSS Cow Protection Department, told Reuters. "All are curable by cow urine." [7 Medical Myths Even Doctors Believe]
Cow urine soda?
Though Westerners may find the practice surprising — if not outright disgusting — the therapeutic use of cow urine has a long history in India, particularly in Ayurvedic medicine, an ancient health care tradition that has been practiced in India for at least 5,000 years.
For people who would rather not drink their cow urine straight, the RSS has developed a cow-urine-based soft drink called Gomutra Ark. The drink is promoted as a "healthy" alternative to Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other soft drinks, which are seen as part of a wider problem resulting from corrupt Western influences.
"We refer to gau ark (cow urine) as gau jal (cow water), as it has immense potential to cure various diseases," Prakash told The Telegraph. "We have developed a soft-drink formula with gau jal as the base."
Science weighs in
Health experts, however, are less enthusiastic about the health benefits of drinking cow urine, especially when anti-cancer properties are claimed. "I think I'm perfectly comfortable in saying that I'm aware of no data that cow's urine — or any other species' urine — holds any promise ... in treating or preventing cancer," Dr. Donald Hensrud of the Mayo Clinic told ABC News.
Nonetheless, the product has been studied by a handful of researchers. A 2012 study published in the journal Ancient Science of Life suggested rats with diabetes that were fed Gomutra Ark had significantly lower blood glucose levels than rats in a control group did. "This study supports the traditional use of Gomutra Ark in diabetes," the researchers wrote, noting that it has a "high therapeutic index and is safe for chronic use."
And a 2013 study in the International Brazilian Journal of Urology claimed that distilled cow urine might help to prevent the development of kidney stones in rats.
However, these and other studies may not convince skeptics to start drinking urine anytime soon, even if it is part of a tasty soft drink.
"Just trust me on this — this drink really will require flavoring," Keith-Thomas Ayoob, nutritionist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, told ABC News. "If they use sugar or a caloric sweetener, then the world probably doesn't need another drink that's just a source of sugar calories, although this drink will probably have its 15 minutes [of fame] because of its novelty."
Follow Marc Lallanilla on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience. ||||| Chin chin: Urine-drinking Hindu cult believes a warm cup before sunrise straight from a virgin cow heals cancer - and followers are queuing up to try it
The Hindu believers regard the cow as a holy animal and say her urine has divine healing properties
In the north Indian city of Agra, dozens gather at the cow shelter of DD Singhal to have a fresh glass of cow urine
A growing cult of Hindu worshippers in India claim that drinking fresh cow urine will help cure them of all diseases - including cancer.
The Hindu believers regard the cow as a holy animal and say her urine has divine healing properties.
Jairam Singhal, 42, has been drinking cow pee for over a decade and was keen to testify to its health benefits.
Scroll down for video
A cult of Hindu worshippers in India is claiming that drinking fresh cow urine can help cure all diseases - including cancer
The Hindu believers regard the cow as a holy animal and say her urine has divine healing properties
In the north Indian city of Agra, dozens gather at the cow shelter of DD Singhal to have a fresh glass of cow urine
'I had diabetes, but ever since I have started drinking cow urine, my diabetes levels have been under control,' Jairam said.
'Someone told me drinking cow urine is good for health.
'We have had cows here for over 12 years now, so first thing in the morning we take cow urine and drink it.'
In the north Indian city of Agra, dozens gather at the cow shelter of DD Singhal to have a fresh glass of cow urine.
'Lots of people come here. And of late, the numbers have been rising. We all gather in the morning and drink fresh urine that Mother cow offers us,' Singhal said.
'Just a few years ago, there would hardly be anyone interested in taking cow urine from our shelter.
'But today lots of people come to our cow shelter. There are cancer patients sometimes - they want to see the benefits of cow urine.'
Many say the recent increase in the number of people drinking cow urine can be attributed to campaigns run by spiritual leaders.
Followers of the cult claim cow urine can successfully be used to combat cancer, diabetes, tumours, tuberculosis, stomach problems and much more.
They also claim that drinking cow pee is the only effective solution for treating baldness.
DD Singhal, founder of the Agra Gaushala Foundation, seen with some locals and his wife, worships a cow at his house in Agra, India
Followers of the cult claim cow urine can successfully be used to combat cancer, diabetes, tumours, tuberculosis, stomach problems and much more. They also claim that drinking cow pee is the only effective solution for treating baldness
'Lots of people come here. And of late, the numbers have been rising. We all gather in the morning and drink fresh urine that Mother cow offers us,' Singhal said
Many say the recent increase in the number of people drinking cow urine can be attributed to campaigns run by spiritual leaders
Two little girls pose with a cow at a cow shed in Agra, India
Cows seen on the roof of D.D Singhal's house. 'Only two things are pure in this universe, in this world. One is the water from the Holy Ganges river and the other is urine from mother holy cow,' Ramesh Gupta, a Hindu priest, said
'Only two things are pure in this universe, in this world. One is the water from the Holy Ganges river and the other is urine from mother holy cow,' Ramesh Gupta, a Hindu priest, said.
'Cow urine has been mentioned in ancient Hindu scriptures. No one can doubt the good effects it has on the human body. It is a divine gift from God.'
Followers like Gupta, however, insist that urine from every cow cannot be beneficial.
'The cow, whose urine one has to drink, should be a virgin - she must not have delivered a calf. Also, the urine is to be collected just before sunrise - that urine has the best effect,' he said.
However, there are people who oppose the claims made by preachers.
'People keep saying all kinds of things about cow urine, but we don't mind. People don't know what this is. They have never experienced the taste of cow urine or its effects, so how can they judge it,' Singhal said.
'It is just a matter of time before people realise the utility of cow urine.'
He is now eyeing to cash in on the growing trend and has plans to start manufacturing cow urine products on a commercial scale.
'We can manufacture eye drops, medicines for stomach ailments, toothpaste, bathing soaps, herbal powdered medicine, among other things, from cow urine,' he said.
||||| In a country where cows are sacred, drinking their urine is close to godliness. And better yet, it's marketable.
Along with protecting the bovine beast, the Cow Protection Department of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) wants to make a cola from the cow's urine, which they say has curative properties.
"It has been established that cow urine is capable of curing even cancer, so imagine a drink which would not only be tasty but also healthy," Om Prakash, leader of RSS, told ABC News.
Curing cancer with cow urine? Cancer prevention experts said this seems like an unlikely stretch.
"It's a claim from somebody that does not have any distinction or credentials, and it's an empty claim without scientific basis," said Dr. Sam Epstein, emeritus professor of environmental and occupational medicine at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health.
Dr. Donald Hensrud, chairman of the Division of Preventive Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., agreed. "I think I'm perfectly comfortable in saying that I'm aware of no data that cow's urine -- or any other species' urine -- holds any promise ... in treating or preventing cancer."
So How's It Taste?
The cola concoction is currently undergoing laboratory testing in the northern city of Lucknow. The group hopes it will be launched in the market by the end of this year. The RSS does not have the budget to compete with other major soda companies, but Prakash believes the product is unique.
"It won't be like carbonated drinks and would be devoid of any toxics or pesticides. What do you get by drinking colas? Nothing. It's all gas, and that too is not good for health," he said.
Keith-Thomas Ayoob, nutritionist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, said there are a couple of potential problems with the drink, including the taste.
"Just trust me on this -- this drink really will require flavoring," Ayoob said. "If they use sugar or a caloric sweetener, then the world probably doesn't need another drink that's just a source of sugar calories, although this drink will probably have its 15 minutes because of its novelty."
Cow Urine Cola May Not Live Up to Claims
Pasteurization may also be necessary, he said.
One thing the cola does have going for it: cost.
"It won't be possible to make any guess or give you a rough idea about the price, but it will be cheap," said Prakash.
Dan Childs contributed to this report.
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Write a summary. | – An Indian Hindu group says it has a cure for some "70 to 80 incurable diseases," but it might not appeal to everyone. The miracle medicine is cow urine—specifically, pee from a virgin female taken before sunrise, LiveScience reports. The head of a cow shelter in northern India tells the Daily Mail: "We all gather in the morning and drink fresh urine that mother cow offers us." But you don't have to drink it neat: "We have developed a soft-drink formula with gau jal," or cow water, "as the base," Om Prakash told the Telegraph in 2009. Prakash is part of the Cow Protection Department of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh sect of Hinduism. Does it work? Some data seems to support it. In 2012, a study on diabetic rats given the soda, called Gomutra Ark, showed that they had significantly lower blood glucose than rats in a non-soda-drinking control group. It said the drink has a "high therapeutic index and is safe for chronic use." "I had diabetes, but ever since I have started drinking cow urine, my diabetes levels have been under control," a longtime user tells the Mail, which has a long series of fairly unappetizing photos of people drinking the urine. Last year, another study suggested distilled cow pee could help prevent rats from getting kidney stones. It's even said to cure cancer. But a Mayo Clinic doctor pooh-poohed that claim in a 2009 interview: "I think I'm perfectly comfortable in saying that I'm aware of no data that cow's urine—or any other species' urine—holds any promise ... in treating cancer." (As far as the pee of humans goes, scientists finally know what's in it.) | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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Article:
People with type 1 diabetes who used a bionic pancreas instead of manually monitoring glucose using fingerstick tests and delivering insulin using a pump were more likely to have blood glucose levels consistently within the normal range, with fewer dangerous lows or highs. The full report of the findings, funded by the National Institutes of Health, can be found online June 15 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The researchers - at Boston University and Massachusetts General Hospital - say the process of blood glucose control could improve dramatically with the bionic pancreas. Currently, people with type 1 diabetes walk an endless tightrope. Because their pancreas doesn't make the hormone insulin, their blood glucose levels can veer dangerously high and low. Several times a day they must use fingerstick tests to monitor their blood glucose levels and manually take insulin by injection or from a pump.
In two scenarios, the researchers tested a bihormonal bionic pancreas, which uses a removable tiny sensor located in a thin needle inserted under the skin that automatically monitors real time glucose levels in tissue fluid and provides insulin and its counteracting hormone, glucagon, via two automatic pumps. In one scenario, 20 adults wore this device combination and carried a cell phone-sized wireless monitor around Boston for five days, unrestricted in their activities. In the other, 32 youth wore the device combination for five days at a camp for children with type 1 diabetes. Both groups were also monitored for five days wearing their own conventional pumps that deliver insulin.
"The bionic pancreas system reduced the average blood glucose to levels that have been shown to dramatically reduce the risk of diabetic complications," said co-first author Steven Russell, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. "This is tremendously difficult with currently available technology, and so most people with diabetes are unable to achieve these levels."
The researchers found about 37 percent fewer interventions for low blood glucose (hypoglycemia) and a more than twofold reduction in the time in hypoglycemia in adults using the bionic pancreas than with the manual pump. For adolescents using the bionic pancreas, results showed more than a twofold reduction in the need for interventions for hypoglycemia. As well, both groups had significant improvements in glucose levels with the bionic pancreas, particularly during the night.
"The performance of our system in both adults and adolescents exceeded our expectations under very challenging real-world conditions," said Ed Damiano, Ph.D., the paper's senior author, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University and the parent of a son with type 1 diabetes.
"A cure is always the end goal," he said. "As that goal remains elusive, a truly automated technology, which can consistently and relentlessly keep people healthy and safe from harm of hypoglycemia, would lift an enormous emotional and practical burden from the shoulders of people with type 1 diabetes, including my child and so many others."
Just as a thermostat helps control a home's temperature, the normal pancreas senses blood glucose levels and adjusts the hormones that control it. People with type 1 diabetes, whose pancreas produces little or no insulin, have been using the equivalent of a manual thermostat, needing constant checking and adjustment. A bionic pancreas - like the one used in these studies - would function more like an automated thermostat, automatically monitoring blood glucose and delivering insulin or glucagon when needed to keep glucose within the normal range. As well, these bionic pancreas devices could be monitored remotely by the patient's medical provider or parent.
"With promising results such as these, we plan to support larger multicenter trials of the artificial pancreas in the near future," said Guillermo Arreaza-Rubín, M.D., the project officer for artificial pancreas studies funded by the NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). "Within the next few years, we hope these technologies will go beyond experimental trials and be available to benefit more people with type 1 diabetes."
"The landmark Diabetes Control and Complications study - also funded by NIDDK - has long shown that maintaining as normal a blood glucose level as possible early on can stave off complications, including heart, kidney and eye diseases, decades later," said NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D. "By funding research on the artificial pancreas, we aim to help people with type 1 diabetes maintain healthy blood glucose levels, prevent painful and costly complications, and lead freer, healthier lives."
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Among other funding sources, this research was supported by NIDDK grants R01DK085633 and R01DK097657, and was made possible by the Special Statutory Funding Program for Type 1 Diabetes Research. The program was established by Congress for research to prevent and cure type 1 diabetes.
The NIDDK, part of the NIH, conducts and supports basic and clinical research and research training on some of the most common, severe and disabling conditions affecting Americans. The Institute's research interests include: diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, nutrition, and obesity; and kidney, urologic and hematologic diseases. For more information, visit http://www. niddk. nih. gov/ .
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www. nih. gov .
NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health ||||| A portable artificial pancreas built with a modified iPhone successfully regulated blood sugar levels in a trial with people who have Type 1 diabetes, researchers reported Sunday.
Type 1 diabetes, which usually starts in childhood or young adulthood, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, the hormone that lowers blood sugar levels. Insulin works in conjunction with glucagon, a hormone that raises blood sugar. Together, they keep blood sugar in a healthy range.
Currently about one-third of people with Type 1 diabetes rely on insulin pumps to regulate blood sugar. They eliminate the need for injections and can be programmed to mimic the natural release of insulin by dispensing small doses regularly.
But these pumps do not automatically adjust to the patient’s variable insulin needs, and they do not dispense glucagon. The new device, described in a report in The New England Journal of Medicine, dispenses both hormones, and it does so with little intervention from the patient.
“The data address some of the most difficult problems in diabetes management,” said Dr. Kevan Herold, director of the Yale Diabetes Center, who was not involved in the study. “I’d say that the effects are quite significant and noteworthy.”
Dr. Fredric E. Wondisford, director of the diabetes institute at Johns Hopkins, also found the results encouraging. “To me, it’s a clear advance,” he said. But he cautioned that the effectiveness and practicality of the device had still not been tested in large numbers of patients over long periods of time. He also raised the issue of cost and insurance coverage.
Treatment of Type 1 diabetes is complicated. Patients not using pumps need two or more insulin injections a day, and all have to monitor blood sugar several times a day by pricking their skin and testing their blood.
Maintaining safe blood sugar levels requires precise adjustments, especially to prevent hypoglycemia, or extremely low blood sugar. Hypoglycemia can occur quickly, without the patient’s awareness, and can be a life-threatening emergency.
For patients with adequate treatment, elevated blood sugar is usually not an emergency, but can cause vascular damage over time that can lead to eye problems and amputations.
The artificial pancreas is the latest version of a device that researchers have been refining for several years. The system consists of an iPhone 4S with an attached glucose monitoring device, two pumps, and reservoirs for insulin and glucagon.
A sensor implanted under the skin on one side of the patient’s abdomen measures the glucose in the fluid between the cells, which corresponds closely to blood glucose levels. The sensor delivers the reading to the smartphone, and the phone’s software calculates a dose of insulin and glucagon every five minutes.
The medicine is then pumped through thin tubes to two tiny infusion points embedded just under the skin on the other side of the patient’s abdomen.
The phone also has an app with which a patient can enter information immediately before eating, indicating whether the meal is breakfast, lunch or dinner, and whether the carbohydrate content will be small, large or typical. The device then calculates and dispenses the proper dosages.
The device still requires a finger stick twice a day to get an accurate blood reading, which the patient enters into the phone.
The developers tested the device over five days in two groups of patients, 20 adults and 32 adolescents, comparing the results with readings obtained with conventional insulin pumps that the participants were using.
The adults in the trial each had the constant attention of a nurse, and they lived in a hotel for the five-day study. Most of the time they were free to travel around and pursue normal activities.
The adolescents, 16 boys and 16 girls, lived under supervision in a summer camp for youths with diabetes.
“We need to do a true home-use study, give people the device and send them home,” said the lead author, Dr. Steven J. Russell, an assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Let them do whatever it is they’re going to do without supervision.”
Several authors of the new report have received payments from medical device companies and hold patents on blood sugar monitoring technology.
The artificial pancreas performed better than the conventional pump on several measures. Among the adolescents, the average number of interventions for hypoglycemia was 0.8 a day with the experimental pump, compared with 1.6 a day with the insulin pumps. Among adults, the device significantly reduced the amount of time that glucose levels fell too low.
And the artificial pancreas worked well at calculating mealtime doses without the patient having to use (often inaccurate) estimates and correct a too high or too low reading after eating.
Much more work needs to be done before the device can be marketed, Dr. Russell said. The senior author, Edward R. Damiano, an associate professor of biomechanical engineering at Boston University, has a 15-year-old son with Type 1 diabetes. He said he was determined to get the new device working and approved in time for his son to go off to college carrying one. ||||| An artificial pancreas developed by Boston researchers shows considerable promise to dramatically change the treatment of type 1 diabetes, potentially enabling 2 million Americans to eat what they want without counting carbohydrates or calculating insulin injections, researchers announced Sunday.
Investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston University developed the experimental device, which consists of an automated pump that releases the hormones insulin and glucagon and a glucose monitoring system controlled by an iPhone app.
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“We encouraged them to eat whatever they wanted while they wore the bionic pancreas,” said Dr. Steven Russell, an endocrinologist at Massachusetts General Hospital who led the study. “They went on a diabetes vacation, eating ice cream, candy bars, and other things they normally wouldn’t eat — like taking out a new sports car and seeing what it can do.”
In a new study published online in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers found that 52 adults and teens who used the mobile system for five days had healthier blood sugar levels compared to when they used standard treatments that required them to check their own blood sugar levels and determine how much insulin to inject via a pump device.
“This is not a cure,” said study coauthor Edward Damiano, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University who holds a patent on the software that makes the automatic dosing decisions. “It’s taking diabetes management to its ultimate potential and unburdens people with type 1 diabetes from thinking about all the things that go into managing diabetes every day of their lives.”
Damiano, whose 15-year-old son developed type 1 diabetes during his first year of life, said he wakes up two to three times a night to check his son’s blood sugar to prevent it from falling to a dangerously low level, called hypoglycemia, which can cause seizures, a coma, and sometimes even death. Having an automated device, which is expected to become available by 2017 after more testing and upgrades, would save Damiano and other parents from having to wake up in the middle of the night to avoid medical emergencies, he said.
Children with type 1 diabetes are eight times more likely to die from severe hypoglycemia at night — called dead in bed syndrome — than in a car accident.
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Diabetes experts who were not involved in the study cautioned that automated devices need far more rigorous testing to determine if they’ll be safe enough to become widespread.
“Quite a few things need to be addressed,” added Dr. David Harlan, chief of the diabetes division at the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. “The chances of the pump failing with two difference hormone infusions are great and it doesn’t remove constant diligence from lives of people with diabetes.”
The rate of type 1 diabetes — in which the body’s immune cells attack and destroy a healthy insulin-producing pancreas — has, for unknown reasons, been surging over the past few decades, with nearly 16,000 children under age 18 now diagnosed with the condition every year. (Type 2 diabetes, by comparison, is a more common condition, and tends to occur well into adulthood and has far more explainable causes, such as genetics, obesity, and a lack of exercise.)
In the new study, all of the study participants were closely monitored — adults were accompanied by nurses round-the-clock and the teens were in a summer camp for those with type 1 diabetes — to ensure that their blood sugar levels wouldn’t rise too high or fall too low, which could cause seizures or other complications.
The research found that adult patients with type 1 diabetes who used the experimental device had lower blood sugar levels overall than the control group while also spending 67 percent less time in a state of hypoglycemia.
Children who used the device experienced a 50 percent reduction in carbohydrate use to treat hypoglycemia, though they did not experience a significant difference in their blood sugar measurements. That’s likely because children who participated in the study were closely monitored even when they used their usual treatments, said Russell.
He and his colleagues presented their results Sunday evening at the American Diabetes Association meeting in San Francisco.
“The initial proof of concept is very strong,” said Dr. Guillermo Arreaza-Rubin, a director at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases which funded the trial. “Parents of children with type 1 live in permanent fear and maybe this device can free them from that burden and increase the quality of life of those with this disease.”
A few other groups of researchers presented findings on similar automated devices at the diabetes conference, he said, which, like the device developed in Boston, are also about three or four years away from widespread use.
Christopher Herndon, 13, a study participant who tried the bionic pancreas last summer while at Camp Joslin in Charlton, said for the first time in his life he “felt steady the whole day” rather than shaky when his blood sugar levels dropped too low and “really talkative” when it was too high.
Despite using an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring device, which many diabetes experts consider to be gold standard therapies, the Newburyport teen said he has never been able to achieve the kind of blood sugar control that he had while using the bionic pancreas.
While his mother, Christina, often wakes him at 2 a.m. to have some juice if his blood sugar drops too low, he was never woken by his counselors at the camp during the five days he used the device.
Mark Lorenz for The Globe Christopher Herndon said he has never been able to achieve the kind of blood sugar control that he had while using the bionic pancreas.
Colby Clarizia, another study participant, said he consumed three blueberry muffins for breakfast while wearing the artificial pancreas and was surprised to see how well the device worked. The 21-year-old from Amesbury also found it easy to use.
“Instead of measuring every carb in a glass of milk or serving of rice, I just had to input whether I was going to eat a large meal or small one,” he said.
Such a device, he added, would make it far easier for him to eat in restaurants where carbohydrate counts aren’t posted on menus.
The bionic pancreas automatically monitors blood sugar using a wireless glucose monitoring system that sends a signal every five minutes to an iPhone adapted with software. The iPhone app determines how much insulin to dispense — to make high blood sugar levels decrease — and how much of the hormone glucagon to dispense to make blood sugar levels rise; it also learns over time how to adjust the release of the two hormones based on input from the monitoring system.
Harlan plans to test the device in conjunction with Russell’s team in a large multicenter study launching this week that will have less rigorous monitoring. Participants will need to stay within an hour’s drive of the study site but won’t need to be accompanied by a health professional wherever they go.
“I think it’s an important step forward, but it’s going to be quite challenging to see whether this device can function safely and effectively without close supervision,” said Dr. Howard Wolpert, director of the institute for technology translation at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, who reviewed the paper before publication. “An analogy I would present is that they climbed a flight of stairs but now the next stage will be like climbing a hill or even a mountain.” |||||
What is a summary? | – While you were using your iPhone to browse Facebook and read Newser, a group of researchers was modifying an iPhone 4S to be used as a portable artificial pancreas—and in a recent trial, the device successfully regulated the blood sugar levels of people with Type 1 diabetes. About a third of people with Type 1 diabetes, which is typically diagnosed in childhood, use an insulin pump to regulate their blood sugar rather than giving themselves insulin injections. But unlike those pumps, the bionic pancreas adjusts both insulin and glucagon, a hormone that works with insulin to regulate blood sugar, automatically, the New York Times reports. It performed better than a regular pump for both adults and adolescents, according to the press release. The device is comprised of more than just the iPhone: The patient has a sensor implanted under the skin near the abdomen, which sends readings of blood glucose levels to the attached phone. The phone then calculates and sends the correct dosage of insulin and glucagon through attached pumps and tubes every five minutes. Patients can also enter information about meals before they eat, and the phone will calculate and deliver the correct dose. Twice-daily finger pricks are still required, with the blood sugar readings entered into the phone. Adult participants had about 37% fewer incidents during which low blood glucose levels required intervention—incidents that can be dangerous in the moment as well as cause health complications down the line—and the device could even allow patients to eat what they want, the Boston Globe notes. (During the trial, participants "went on a diabetes vacation, eating ice cream, candy bars, and other things they normally wouldn’t eat," explains the lead researcher.) It could be available by 2017, but larger trials are the next step. | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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News article:
Frankie the dog delivers the diagnosis through smelling patients’ urine samples, according to a study conducted by the Arkansas University for Medical Sciences.
A group of researchers in Arkansas have trained a dog to detect thyroid cancer by smelling patients’ urine samples.
The german shepherd-mix named Frankie predicted with 88% accuracy which patients had thyroid cancer and which had a benign disease. The formerly stray pup was rescued from a busy street in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The study is researchers’ first crack at using canines to diagnose thyroid cancer through scent imprinting – a way of training dogs to recognize a particular smell. It follows an earlier study that showed dogs could reliably distinguish between the urine samples of healthy people and those with cancer.
“We’ve all looked at it from a skeptical, scientific standpoint, but the data just keeps leading us to the fact that this has remarkable clinical potential,” said Arny Ferrando, one of the lead researchers, said in a press release from Arkansas University for Medical Sciences, where the study was conducted.
Over six months, researchers at UAMS scent-imprinted Frankie with samples of blood, tissue and urine from patients with cancerous thyroid growths. Frankie was trained to turn away when benign thyroid disease was smelled, and lie down at the scent of metastatic thyroid carcinoma, a common thyroid cancer.
Researchers gave Frankie samples of patients who came to the university clinic with symptoms of thyroid cancer. The results of Frankie’s diagnosis, which was blinded to researchers, was compared with surgical pathologies, according to the study.
Of 34 patients, Frankie accurately predicted the diagnosis 30 times.
“Detecting and diagnosing thyroid cancer can be difficult, because it’s often looking for a very small number of occurrences in a very large background of benign nodules. It is also difficult to say with certainty that a patient is cancer-free after surgery,” said Donald Bodenner, director of the thyroid center at the university and chief of endocrine oncology, in a statement. He was also a lead researcher in the study.
Thyroid cancer is one of the fastest-growing cancer diagnoses worldwide, though the death rate has remained stable for years – leading some to believe that doctors are detecting growths that don’t need treatment. Diagnosis rates have risen especially fast in countries such as South Korea where health officials have started mass screening.
Compared with other cancers in the United States, thyroid cancer has a relatively low death rate. The American Cancer Society predicts that the cancer, which grows in the thyroid gland located in the neck, will result in 1,950 deaths in 2015, most of which (about two out of three) are diagnosed in people younger than 55.
“Having a technique with which to do these things with a higher degree of certainty would be a tremendous advance in thyroid cancer,” he said.
Researchers said they were interested in the future in determining what olfactory elements are present in the samples that allows Frankie to determine which are cancerous. Dogs’ sense of smell is often cited as being up to 100,000 times more acute than that of humans, according to PBS.
The findings were presented at the Endocrine Society’s annual conference Endo.
||||| This horse is completely relaxed. "There is no tension in the mouth and in the chewing muscles," said Dalla Costa. "The nostrils are relaxed." The horse was happy to be chilling out on a pleasant day in an open field.
While perhaps not as uncomfortable as the previous horse, this horse was also photographed while experiencing temporary, minor discomfort. In this case, the horse’s nostrils are wide open, while its lower lip is drawn back. Even its "ears are held passively backward," Dalla Costa said. PHOTOS: World's Ugliest Dog Winner for 2014
This unfortunate horse was photographed while in pain, which, thankfully, turned out to be only temporary. In this moment, however, Dalla Costa noted that the horse's ears are in a sideways position. Its eyes are partially closed, and its "chewing muscles are strained and prominent." Even the horse’s nostrils are stiff over its tightly shut mouth.
Horse expressions, meanwhile, share similar qualities with dogs. This horse, similar to the dogs happily looking at their owners, is attentive and awaiting direction. "The eyes are open and focused on the environment, ears are moving in the direction of sounds, and there is no muscle tension in the mouth," said Dalla Costa. VIDEO: Why Dogs Spin Before They Poop
If this dog could talk, the canine would likely be saying, "Oh, please -- feed me." The photo was snapped as the dog looked longingly at its owner, who was holding a favorite food treat. Dalla Costa explained that there is no visible tension in the dog’s face. Its expression cleverly communicates desire and gentleness, while also revealing a sense of hopeful expectation.
Every aspect of this dog’s face communicates concern and worry. "The mouth is opened and the dog is panting," Dalla Costa said. "The dog’s lips are partly drawn back, with no teeth exposure. The facial muscles show some degree of tension, visible through ridges that emerge on the lateral side of the face and near the eyes." His ears are up, yet not fully open, an indication that he’s attentive but also worried. VIDEO: Dogs Have Feelings, Too
This dog's gaze is riveted on its owner, who is holding food. "This emotional condition is considered positive, and we can assume that this dog is happy," said Dalla Costa, adding that "there is no visible tension in the facial muscles." Even though the eyes, ears and face are pointed in one direction, just as they were for the worried and lonely dog in the previous slide, this hopeful canine feels no anxiety. Dogs Know When You're Sad
This poor pooch "is tense, due to the departure of his owner," Dalla Costa said. Every part of the dog's face is turned in the direction of his owner's recent exit, maximizing the pup's ability to find him. The dog's eyes and tense mouth convey his worry and loneliness. The Dog Paddle Is Just an Underwater Jog
Here is another happy dog. In this case, Dalla Costa explained, the dog's "lips are retracted, but with no exposure of the teeth." The dog is thrilled that its owner has just returned and eagerly looks to the human for guidance. Dogs Were a Prehistoric Woman's Best Friend, Too
Facial expressions among social animals appear to have universal qualities, to the point where humans and other animals can discern how certain species feel just by looking at their faces. That's the suggestion in two new studies -- published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior and PLOS ONE -- that help explain how humans can have such close, understanding relationships with animals such as dogs and horses, the subjects of the investigations. The research confirmed, through animal behavioral analysis, the underlying meaning of dog and horse facial expressions and also demonstrated that people have a natural knack for figuring out what they mean. For example, "this dog is experiencing a positive emotional state, as his owner has just come back," Emanuela Dalla Costa told Discovery News. She led both studies and is a researcher in the Department of Veterinary Science and Public Health at the Università degli Studi di Milano. She explained that the dog’s eyes are wide open, as is his mouth, yet his facial muscles are somewhat tense. Together, these features and others suggest that he is happy, eager and hopeful. Why Dogs Find Some Toys Boring
What Your Dog (or Horse) Is Trying to Tell You: Photos
A rescued male German shepherd-mix named Frankie (not shown here) recognized the smell of cancer in thyroid tissue obtained from multiple patients.
A scent-trained dog was able to identify the presence or absence of thyroid cancer in human urine samples 88.2 percent of the time, a new study concluded.
The study out of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) gathered urine samples from 34 university thyroid clinic patients before they underwent a biopsy for suspicion of thyroid cancer.
Fifteen of those biopsies came back positive for thyroid cancer, while the remaining 19 were diagnosed as benign thyroid disease.
Enter Frankie, a male German shepherd mix that had been trained to recognize the scent of cancer in thyroid tissue. Frankie's sharp nose matched 30 out of 34 samples with their pathology diagnoses.
"Frankie is the first dog trained to differentiate benign thyroid disease from thyroid cancer by smelling a person’s urine," said study co-author Arny Ferrando, PhD at UAMS, in a release.
The study's senior investigator, Donald Bodenner, M.D., PhD, and chief of endocrine oncology at UAMS, said Frankie was only slightly less accurate than a standard thyroid biopsy with a needle. The dog's results offer the possibility of a cheaper, less invasive approach to diagnosis of the illness.
"Current diagnostic procedures for thyroid cancer often yield uncertain results, leading to recurrent medical procedures and a large number of thyroid surgeries performed unnecessarily," Bodenner explained. "Scent-trained canines could be used by physicians to detect the presence of thyroid cancer at an early stage and to avoid surgery when unwarranted."
Bodenner is not yet using canines in formal diagnoses outside of the study and said the next step will be to collaborate with Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine on an expansion of the scent-training program. The veterinary center plans to train two of its bomb-sniffing dogs to learn how to sniff out thyroid cancer, using samples from UAMS patients. ||||| Researchers are looking to create a breakthrough method of detecting ovarian cancer - by using dogs to sniff out the disease.
A group of researchers collaborated to investigate using canine olfaction and chemical and nanotechnology analysis as a means of detecting early-stage ovarian cancer.
The collaboration was between the Working Dog Center of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, the physics and astronomy department of Penn's School of Arts and Science, Penn's Gynecologic Oncology division and the Monell Chemical Senses Center.
Physicians currently use the senses of light, sound and touch to help diagnose ovarian cancer in women. But the researchers say the sense of smell will now play an important part.
Volatile organic compounds (VOC) - or odorants, are altered in the early stages of ovarian cancer. The researchers say that previous studies have shown that trained detection dogs, alongside specific electronic devices, are able to detect minute quantities of odorants.
Patients from Penn Medicine, with and without ovarian cancer, have donated tissue and blood samples to the Working Dog Center to assist in their research.
Dr. Cynthia Otto hopes to develop a new system of screening ovarian cancer using the dogs' enhanced sense of smell.
The project is already under way, with three dogs being trained to sniff out the odorants that indicate a woman has ovarian cancer:
A springer spaniel called McBaine
A labrador retriever called called Ohlin, and
Tsunami - a German shepherd.
George Preti, an analytical chemist at the Monell center and adjunct professor in Penn Medicine's Department of Dermatology, says:
"Prior to the advent of modern quantitative clinical testing, physicians used olfaction to help with disease diagnosis. In this research, we are reaching back to move forward by using sensitive biological and analytical sensors to detect ovarian cancer's odorous signature."
Ovarian cancer accounts for around 3% of all cancers in women, and mainly develops in older women aged over 63. According to the American Cancer Society, 22,240 women in the US will receive a new diagnosis of ovarian cancer this year, and 14,230 women will die from the disease.
The researchers say that an effective screening strategy does not currently exist for the detection of ovarian cancer. Any advancement in diagnosis of ovarian cancer could have an important impact on overall survival from the disease.
Researchers at the Working Dog Center have begun training three dogs to sniff out odorants that indicate the presence of ovarian cancer.
Cynthia Otto, director of the Working Dog Center, says:
"These odorants remain a relatively untapped source for cancer detection information.
By utilizing the acute sense of smell in detection dogs in conjunction with chemical and nanotechnology methods, we hope to develop a new system of screening for ovarian cancer using analysis of odorants to facilitate early detection and help decrease future cancer deaths."
The researchers add that future studies will look at determining the most suitable tissue for evaluation, and measuring odor differences among various tumor grades.
Written by Honor Whiteman ||||| share
Inquiry: AN OCCASIONAL COLUMN
Dogs' Dazzling Sense of Smell
By Peter Tyson
Posted 10.04.12
NOVA scienceNOW
What lies behind their exceptional gift of sniff?
They haven't got no noses,
The fallen sons of Eve;
Even the smell of roses
Is not what they supposes;
But more than mind discloses
And more than men believe.
—from "The Song of the Quoodle," G.K. Chesterton
My dog Jones used to do the most curious thing whenever my friend Burk visited my house. Jones was a mutt from the pound, so before we adopted him he might have picked up some unsavory habits. But he'd sidle over to Burk, rub up against him, and start to lift his leg on him.
Your average dog's nose is tens of thousands of times as sensitive to odors as yours. What accounts for this stunning piece of machinery? Enlarge Photo credit: © Image Source/Corbis
Jones, a greyhound-black lab mix who, bless his big heart, passed on at age 15 a few years ago, never did that with any other visitor. Burk didn't smell or wear stinky clothes, and he didn't antagonize or otherwise provoke Jones. Burk did have a dog of his own, a redbone coonhound named Hattie, but other visitors had dogs. In short, he shouldn't have stood out in any way from anyone else. But to Jones, Burk was like a fresh wall to a graffiti artist.
Why? For me, Jones's behavior—which even a dog-cognition expert acknowledged was unusual—epitomizes the mystery that is dogs' sense of smell. What lies behind this astonishing capability of theirs, one that makes the world not a visual one as it is to us but a richly odoriferous one? How do their noses differ from ours, and what do their brains do differently? Finally, is there an answer to why Jones tried to pee on Burk every time he set foot in my place?
Olympic sniffers
Dogs' sense of smell overpowers our own by orders of magnitude—it's 10,000 to 100,000 times as acute, scientists say. "Let's suppose they're just 10,000 times better," says James Walker, former director of the Sensory Research Institute at Florida State University, who, with several colleagues, came up with that jaw-dropping estimate during a rigorously designed, oft-cited study. "If you make the analogy to vision, what you and I can see at a third of a mile, a dog could see more than 3,000 miles away and still see as well."
Figure 1: When a dog breathes in, the air separates into distinct paths, one (red) flowing into the olfactory area and the other (blue) passing through the pharynx (black) to the lungs. Enlarge Photo credit: © Courtesy of Brent Craven
Put another way, dogs can detect some odors in parts per trillion. What does that mean in terms we might understand? Well, in her book Inside of a Dog, Alexandra Horowitz, a dog-cognition researcher at Barnard College, writes that while we might notice if our coffee has had a teaspoon of sugar added to it, a dog could detect a teaspoon of sugar in a million gallons of water, or two Olympic-sized pools worth. Another dog scientist likened their ability to catching a whiff of one rotten apple in two million barrels.
"I find it really astonishing that they're able to detect such minute odor discriminations."
Experts have reported incredible true stories about the acuteness of dogs' sense of smell. There's the drug-sniffing dog that "found" a plastic container packed with 35 pounds of marijuana submerged in gasoline within a gas tank. There's the black lab stray from the streets of Seattle that can detect floating orca scat from up to a mile away across the choppy waters of Puget Sound. There's the cancer-sniffing dog that "insisted" on melanoma in a spot on a patient's skin that doctors had already pronounced cancer-free; a subsequent biopsy confirmed melanoma in a small fraction of the cells. And so on.
A nose for odors
What do dogs have that we don't? For one thing, they possess up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to about six million in us. And the part of a dog's brain that is devoted to analyzing smells is, proportionally speaking, 40 times greater than ours.
Dogs' noses also function quite differently than our own. When we inhale, we smell and breathe through the same airways within our nose. When dogs inhale, a fold of tissue just inside their nostril helps to separate these two functions. "We found that when airflow enters the nose it splits into two different flow paths, one for olfaction and one for respiration," says Brent Craven, a bioengineer at Pennsylvania State University who modeled airflow and odor transport using high-resolution MRI scans of a lab cadaver's nose (see Figure 1). Craven and colleagues are working to reverse-engineer the canine nose, in part to aid in the design of artificial "noses" that can sniff out odors as well as man's best friend can.
Figure 2: In the rear of a dog's nose lies the olfactory region (yellowish-brown), with its scroll-like tissues bristling with smell receptors. Respiratory regions appear in pink. Enlarge Photo credit: © Courtesy of Brent Craven
In us humans, the sense of smell is relegated to a small region on the roof of our nasal cavity, along the main airflow path. So the air we smell just goes in and out with the air we breathe. In dogs, about 12 percent of the inspired air, Craven's team found, detours into a recessed area in the back of the nose that is dedicated to olfaction, while the rest of the incoming air sweeps past that nook and disappears down through the pharynx to the lungs. Within the recessed area, the odor-laden air filters through a labyrinth of scroll-like bony structures called turbinates (see Figure 2). Like a whale's baleen sifting out krill, the turbinates sieve odor molecules based on different chemical properties. Olfactory receptors within the tissue that lines the turbinates, in turn, "recognize" these odor molecules by their shape and dispatch electrical signals to the brain for analysis.
Exit strategy
When we exhale through our nose, we send the spent air out the way it came in, forcing out any incoming odors. When dogs exhale, the spent air exits through the slits in the sides of their noses. The manner in which the exhaled air swirls out actually helps usher new odors into the dog's nose. More importantly, it allows dogs to sniff more or less continuously. In a study done at the University of Oslo in Norway, a hunting dog holding its head high into the wind while in search of game sniffed in a continuous stream of air for up to 40 seconds, spanning at least 30 respiratory cycles.
"It is a really big issue as to how in the heck dogs are doing it."
We can't wiggle our nostrils independently. Dogs can. This, along with the fact that the so-called aerodynamic reach of each of their nostrils is smaller than the distance between the nostrils (see Figure 3), helps them to determine which nostril an odor arrived in. This aids them in locating the source of smells—we've all seen dogs on an interesting scent weave back and forth across its invisible trail.
A second olfactory system
On top of all this, dogs have a second olfactory capability that we don't have, made possible by an organ we don't possess: the vomeronasal organ, also known as Jacobson's organ. Located in the bottom of a dog's nasal passage, Jacobson's organ picks up pheromones, the chemicals unique to each animal species that advertise mating readiness and other sex-related details.
Figure 3: When a dog breathes in (far left), it can tell which nostril an odor arrived in because each nostril's "aerodynamic reach" (blue) is so small. When a dog breathes out (near left), the expired air blows out the side slits in such a way as to augment the sampling of new odors. Enlarge Photo credit: © Courtesy of Brent Craven
The pheromone molecules that the organ detects—and their analysis by the brain—do not get mixed up with odor molecules or their analysis, because the organ has its own nerves leading to a part of the brain devoted entirely to interpreting its signals. It's as if Jacobson's organ had its own dedicated computer server.
Track masters
If dog's basic smelling skills amaze us, what they manage to achieve with those skills is truly astounding.
Take tracking, for example. Deborah Wells and Peter Hepper of the Animal Behaviour Centre at Queen's University Belfast, in Northern Ireland, showed in one study that dogs brought in at right angles to a trail recently walked by a person could determine the direction that person took from as few as five steps. In other words, the first step in the direction the person walked has a little less odor than subsequent steps, because its odor molecules have begun to diffuse into the air. "I find it really astonishing, kind of mind-boggling, that they're able to detect such minute odor discriminations," Horowitz says.
Scent-tracking dogs take such tracking to the extreme, routinely accomplishing remarkable feats in unfamiliar environments and on the trail of unfamiliar people such as missing persons. "It is a really big issue as to how in the heck dogs are doing it, that is, how they are tracking a so-called gradient," Walker says. "They're able to come to a branch point in the woods and say, 'Okay, I think little Sally ran this way. Something happened, and I need to make a decision.' That's pretty amazing if you think about it from an engineering standpoint, because little Sally's odors aren't the only thing there. There's changing wind, changing humidity. There are other odors—a deer defecated over here, and over here there's some urine from a rabbit. And somehow that dog is able to say, 'Yeah, but I'm focusing on little Sally.'"
As it moves along the ground, the bloodhound's giant, flappy ears help fan up odors to its nose, one reason the breed is the superstar of scent-tracking. Enlarge Photo credit: © Luis Santana/iStockphoto
Open questions
Such mysteries are the spice for dog researchers. In a 2003 study, for instance, Wells and Hepper found that dogs led at right angles to a human-laid trail one hour after the trail was walked identified the correct direction of those trails that had been laid from left to right more frequently than those laid from right to left.
"The dog has distinguished you."
"This was an interesting result, and I'm not too sure what is going on here," Wells told me in an email. "It is possibly related to lateral bias—we know that dogs show strong motor preferences, with male dogs using their left paws more than female dogs, who, by contrast, tend to use their right paws more." Some studies on other species show that lateral biases can extend to the olfactory system, she says, and further research is in order with dogs.
A marked man
And what of Jones and my friend Burk? When I told Horowitz about my dog's behavior—which always caught me and Burk equally off guard—and I asked why Jones might have done it, she laughed and said, "I cannot tell you. There are some places my science does not go." She could theorize, she said: Dogs mark with urine at places they think a lot of other dogs are going to smell, or maybe because there's something desirable or interesting about that place. Perhaps Burk already smelled pretty fragrantly of something else, she offered.
Regardless of why, I said, Burk should have felt honored by such treatment, right? Horowitz laughed again. "He certainly shouldn't have seen it as an insult," she said. "The dog has distinguished you."
Peter Tyson is former editor in chief of NOVA Online. ||||| Image copyright AM Hinson Image caption Dogs have 10 times the number of smell receptors as people
A dog has been used to sniff out thyroid cancer in people who had not yet been diagnosed, US researchers say.
Tests on 34 patients showed an 88% success rate in finding tumours.
The team, presenting their findings at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, said the animal had an "unbelievable" sense of smell.
Cancer Research UK said using dogs would be impractical, but discovering the chemicals the dogs can smell could lead to new tests.
The thyroid is a gland in the neck that produces hormones to regulate metabolism.
Thyroid tumours are relatively rare and are normally diagnosed by testing hormone levels in the blood and by using a needle to extract cells for testing.
Smelly job
Cancers are defective, out-of-control cells. They have their own unique chemistry and release "volatile organic compounds" into the body.
The canine approach relies on dogs having 10 times the number of smell receptors as people and being able to pick out the unique smells being released by cancers.
The man's best friend approach has already produced promising results in patients with bowel and lung cancers.
A team at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) had previously showed that a dog could be trained to smell the difference between urine samples of patients with and without thyroid cancer.
Image copyright AM Hinson Image caption Frankie gave the correct diagnosis in 30 out of 34 cases
The next step was to see if it could be used as a diagnostic test.
Frankie the German Shepherd was trained to lie down when he could smell thyroid cancer in a sample and turn away if the urine was clean.
Thirty-four patients, who were going to hospital for conventional testing, took part in the trial.
Frankie gave the correct diagnosis in 30 out of 34 cases. There were two false positives and two patients who would have been incorrectly given the all-clear.
Dr Donald Bodenner, the chief of endocrine oncology at UAMS, said: "The capability of dogs to smell minute amounts is unbelievable.
"The medical community over the next few years is going to have a great appreciation [for them].
E-nose
Some researchers are trying to strip out the canine-element and test for the unique pong of cancer with an "electronic nose".
This approach is also being trailed outside of cancer and has been used to find dangerous infections such as Clostridium difficile.
Dr Bodenner added: "We would like to know what Frankie is smelling, nobody knows."
Commenting on the findings Dr Jason Wexler, an endocrinologist in Washington, DC, argued: "This is a fascinating, interesting study and it has high potential in areas of the world that may not have access to biopsy techniques.
"There are many patients who are reluctant to undergo fine needle aspiration so I think that if you could design a technique where you have no invasive procedure that can have tremendous widespread appeal."
But Dr Emma Smith, from Cancer Research UK, cautioned: "Although there's some evidence that some trained dogs can sniff out the smelly molecules given off by cancers, there have been mixed results on how accurate they are and it's not really practical to think about using dogs on a wide scale to detect the disease.
"But carrying out lab tests to understand what the dogs are smelling might help to inform the development of 'electronic noses' to detect the same molecules, which could lead to better diagnostic tests in the future."
Dr Bodenner says it is an approach that he is actively pursuing.
Meanwhile, the lab is also trying to find a new home for canine-veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Instead of sniffing out bombs, they will be trained to hunt for cancer.
Symptoms of thyroid cancer
A painless lump or swelling at the front of the neck below the Adam's apple
Unexplained hoarseness that doesn't get better after a few weeks
Sore throat or difficulty swallowing that doesn't get better
Pain in the neck
Source: NHS Choices ||||| Dogs are often referred to as "man's best friend," and a new study brings further strength to this term after revealing how a rescue dog called Frankie was able to detect the presence of thyroid cancer in human urine samples with almost 90% accuracy.
The study reveals that Frankie - a male German Shepherd-mix - correctly identified the thyroid cancer status of 30 out of 34 human urine samples. The study reveals that Frankie - a male German Shepherd-mix - correctly identified the thyroid cancer status of 30 out of 34 human urine samples.
According to the research team, from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock, Frankie - a male German Shepherd-mix - is the first dog that has been trained to differentiate benign thyroid disease and thyroid cancer by sniffing human urine samples.
Thyroid cancer is a cancer that begins in the thyroid gland, situated just below the thyroid cartilage in the front of the neck. Approximately 62,450 new cases of thyroid cancer will be diagnosed in the US this year, and around 1,950 Americans will die from the disease.
Unlike most other cancers, thyroid cancer is more common among younger adults, with almost 2 in 3 cases diagnosed in people under the age of 55.
Diagnostic techniques for thyroid cancer include fine-needle aspiration biopsy, which involves the patient having a thin needle inserted into the thyroid gland in order to obtain a tissue sample.
Senior investigator Dr. Donald Bodenner, chief of endocrine oncology at UAMS, says the diagnostic accuracy of canine scent detection is almost on par with that of fine-needle aspiration biopsy, but it would be an inexpensive and noninvasive alternative.
What is more, he notes many current methods for diagnosing thyroid cancer can be inaccurate, causing some patients to undergo needless surgery.
"Scent-trained canines could be used by physicians to detect the presence of thyroid cancer at an early stage and to avoid surgery when unwarranted," he adds.
Frankie trained to sniff out cancer in human urine samples
For their study, recently presented at The Endocrine Society's 97th Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA, Dr. Bodenner and colleagues obtained urine samples from 34 patients who attended the UAMS thyroid clinic.
All patients showed abnormalities in their thyroid nodules and went on to have biopsies and diagnostic surgery. Thyroid cancer was identified in 15 patients while 19 had benign thyroid disease.
Frankie - who the researchers say had been previously trained to recognize the smell of cancer in human thyroid tissue - was presented with the urine samples to sniff one at a time by a gloved dog handler.
While humans have around 5 million smell receptors, or olfactory cells, dogs possess around 200 million, making their sense of smell around a thousand times stronger than that of humans.
Frankie alerted the handler to a cancer-positive urine sample by lying down, while turning away from the urine sample alerted the handler to a benign status.
The authors note that the cancer status of each urine sample was unknown to both the dog handler and the study coordinator.
The handler also presented Frankie with urine samples with a known cancer status in between the study samples so the dog could be rewarded for achieving a correct answer.
30 out of 34 samples correctly identified with canine scent detection
On comparing Frankie's results with those of the final surgical pathology report for the samples, the team found the dog correctly identified the status of 30 out of 34 samples.
The sensitivity, or true-positive rate, of the canine scent detection came in at 86.7%, while specificity, or true-negative rate, was 89.5%. This means Frankie correctly identified a benign sample almost 9 in every 10 times.
The team notes that canine scent detection led to two false-negative and two false-positive results. The researchers now plan to expand their research by teaming up with Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, AL, who have agreed to assign two of its bomb-sniffing dogs to thyroid cancer detection training.
This is not the first time Medical News Today have reported on the cancer-detection talent of dogs. In May 2014, a study by Italian researchers revealed how specially trained dogs were able to detect prostate cancer in urine samples with 98% accuracy.
And in August 2013, MNT reported on a US study in which researchers detailed how three dogs are being trained to detect ovarian cancer. ||||| It is estimated that 233,000 men in the US will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year. Although current screening methods for the disease - such as digital rectal exams - aid early detection, they are not always accurate. But with the help of "man's best friend," a new screening technique could be in the cards.
A new study from Italian researchers, presented at the 109th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association in Orlando, FL, found that specially trained dogs were able to detect prostate cancer from urine samples with 98% accuracy.
There is no denying a dog's extraordinary sense of smell. While we have around 5 million olfactory cells in our noses - receptors that detect different odors - dogs have approximately 200 million. It is dogs' acute ability to trace scents that has made them so attractive to the medical world.
In November last year, a spotlight feature from Medical News Today delved into the world of medical detection dogs. The feature looked at how the animals can help alert a diabetic owner to high or low blood sugar levels through being trained to detect a specific scent in their breath or sweat.
The feature also explored how dogs are now being used for detection of various cancers. One study revealed that trained detection dogs were able to detect ovarian cancer in tissue and blood samples through sniffing out volatile organic compounds (VOCs). A 2011 study, conducted by researchers at UK charity Medical Detection Dogs, found that such compounds could also be biomarkers of bladder cancer.
The authors of this latest research note that in 2010, a study demonstrated that specially trained dogs were able to smell VOCs released into urine from prostate cancer tumors. But this study only involved 33 patients. Therefore, the Italian research team set out to determine dogs' detection accuracy in a larger sample.
A 'promising approach' to cancer detection
For their study, the team wanted to see whether two highly trained dogs were able to detect prostate cancer-specific VOCs in the urine samples of 677 participants. Of these, 320 had prostate cancer ranging from low-risk to metastatic and 357 were healthy controls.
Researchers found that two highly trained dogs were able to detect prostate cancer in urine samples with a combined 98% accuracy. Researchers found that two highly trained dogs were able to detect prostate cancer in urine samples with a combined 98% accuracy.
All testing was carried out in an environment that was free of olfactory disturbance, according to the team.
They found that the dogs were able to detect prostate cancer-specific VOCs in the urine samples with a combined accuracy of 98%. Sensitivity to the compounds was 99% accurate, while specificity was 97% accurate.
The first dog's overall accuracy for detecting VOCs was 99%, while sensitivity was 100% and specificity was 98%. The second dog was able to detect VOCs with 97% accuracy, while sensitivity was 99% accurate and specificity was 96% accurate.
Dr. Brian Stork, a urologist as West Shore Urology in Muskegon and Grand Haven, MI, who was not involved in the study but conducted the presentation, comments:
"These data show analysis of volatile organic compounds in urine is a promising approach to cancer detection. The possibility of using dogs to identify cancer is something most would never have considered possible a decade or two ago. It's an interesting concept that 'man's best friend' could help save your life."
It is not only dogs' intricate sense of smell that has caught the interest of medical researchers. Earlier this year, Medical News Today reported on a study revealing that dogs could provide new insight into Chiari malformation in humans - a condition that occurs when the lower parts of the brain are pushed down toward the spinal cord.
Other research published in Genome Biology found that dogs could serve as a model for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in humans. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article? | – Scientists seeking a quick and affordable way to detect thyroid cancer have trained a dog to smell it on people, with really good results. In a US study, a German shepherd mix named Frankie detected thyroid cancer (or lack thereof) in urine samples with nearly 90% accuracy, Medical News Today reports. Trained to lie down if he smelled cancer and turn away if he didn't, Frankie got it right 30 out of 34 times in patients who'd already undergone biopsies and diagnostic surgery for abnormal thyroid nodules. The study's top investigator, Donald Bodenner, tells Discovery that Frankie was nearly as accurate as thyroid biopsies done with a needle. He's also cheaper and less annoying. "We would like to know what Frankie is smelling, [but] nobody knows," Bodenner tells the BBC. His research team now plans to work with veterinarians in training two other dogs who already sniff bombs to detect thyroid cancer. Researchers also want to figure out what the dogs are smelling and possibly design "electronic noses" to do the job. All this would help people avoid invasive diagnostic procedures that "often yield uncertain results," Bodenner says, which lead to "a large number of thyroid surgeries performed unnecessarily." Meanwhile, thyroid cancer is spiking worldwide as the death rate remains stable, meaning doctors may be spotting thyroid growths that don't need treatment, the Guardian reports. Bodenner's dog-sniffing approach has worked before—with ovarian and prostate cancer—because, as PBS notes, a dog's sense of smell is up to 100,000 times better than ours. (But like other animals, their short-term memory stinks.) | multi_news_1_0_0 |
|
– The plant tequila is derived from could play a role in fighting obesity, and it doesn't involve getting people so drunk they forget to eat, researchers say. Natural sugars found in agave appear to protect mice against obesity and type 2 diabetes, Fox News reports. The sugars, known as agavins, acted as a dietary fiber and were not absorbed into the bloodstream, leading researchers to believe they could be an ideal artificial sweetener for obese or diabetic people. "In certain circumstances, artificial sweeteners are useful in helping people maintain glucose control," an expert tells MedPage Today. "If this is all true, it sounds like it could be another additional tool for people with diabetes." The researchers say "agavins have a great potential as a light sweetener," though two big obstacles exist: They aren't that widely available, and they aren't very sweet. And if you're an agave syrup fan, take note: That syrup is very different from agavins; the researchers liken it more to high-fructose corn syrup. (In more booze- and health-related news, click to read about the case of a man whose body produces its own alcohol.)
Let's expand this into a news article: Tequila shots may do more than lighten the mood at a party; the drink may be beneficial for your health as well.
According to researchers from Mexico, natural sugars derived from the agave plant, called agavins, greatly protected a group of mice against diet-induced obesity and type 2 diabetes, MedPage Today reported.
In a new study presented at the American Chemical Society (ACS) annual meeting in Dallas, mice were distributed into seven groups. One group received a diet of plain water, while the other groups received water supplemented with either aspartame, glucose, fructose, sucrose, agave syrup or agavins.
The mice that consumed agavins showed a reduction in food intake and weight and a decrease in blood glucose levels. These findings were similar to the control group that received standard water.
Because agavins act as dietary fibers and do not raise blood sugar, the researchers believe the ingredient could be used as an alternative sweetening agent.
"We believe agavins have a great potential as a light sweetener," Mercedes G. López, of the Centro de Incetagcioan y de Estudios Avanzados, Biotechnology and Biochemistry Irapuato, in Guanajuato, Mexico wrote in the ACS abstract. "They are sugars, highly soluble, with a low glycemic index and a neutral taste…This puts agavins in a tremendous position for their consumption by obese and diabetic people."
The alcoholic beverage tequila is made from the blue agave plant, primarily around the Mexican city of Tequila. However, Lopez noted that agavins are not widely available and not as sweet as regular sugars.
Click for more from MedPage Today. ||||| Action Points Note that this study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Agavins, natural sugars derived from the stem of the agave plant, reduced weight and blood sugar in mice prone to diet-induced obesity and type 2 diabetes, according to researchers from Mexico.
In the study, male C57BL/6J mice were randomly distributed into seven groups of four mice. One group received a standard diet plus plain water. The others received a standard diet plus water supplemented with either glucose, fructose, sucrose, agave syrup, agavins, or aspartame.
Mice that consumed agavins in their water reduced their food intake, lost weight, and showed a reduction in blood glucose levels, said Mercedes G. López, PhD, of the Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados, Biotechnology and Biochemistry Irapuato, in Guanajuato, Mexico, at the American Chemical Society (ACS) annual meeting in Dallas.
"They were, most of the time, not different from the control," she said in an email to MedPage Today.
The study is the first to attempt to evaluate agavins -- fructans that are made of long branched chains of fructose that act as a dietary fiber and do not raise blood sugar -- as an alternative sweetener.
"We believe agavins have a great potential as a light sweetener," wrote López in the ACS abstract. "They are sugars, highly soluble, with a low glycemic index and a neutral taste."
Most importantly, she noted, they are nondigestable and act as dietary fiber. "This puts agavins in a tremendous position for their consumption by obese and diabetic people."
López's past research has shown that agavins reduce glucose levels and increase glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a hormone that slows stomach emptying and stimulates production of insulin.
"In certain circumstances, artificial sweeteners are useful in helping people maintain glucose control," Nora Saul, MS, RD, CDE, manager of nutrition services at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, who was not involved in the study, told MedPage Today. "If this is all true, it sounds like it could be another additional tool for people with diabetes."
One potential challenge with agavins is that they are not widely available. Also, while agavins have half the calories of regular sugars, they are not as sweet, noted López in her email. The latter could be solved at least somewhat by partial hydrolysis, she said.
"People must somehow understand that we cannot have the best of both worlds," in terms of finding an alternative sweetener that is still very sweet, she commented.
There's a significant difference between agavins and the agave syrup and nectar that are marketed as an alternative to sugar, López explained. Those agave products are made of fructans that have been broken down into individual fructoses and are similar to high-fructose corn syrup, she said.
High sugar intake contributes to cardiovascular disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. The American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association have said they are not sure whether sugar alternatives are a solution.
In a joint statement in 2012, the organizations said the data is "still inconclusive about whether using non-nutritive sweeteners to displace caloric sweeteners, such as added sugars, can reduce carbohydrate intake (important for diabetes control), calorie intake or body weight, benefit appetite, or lower other risk factors associated with diabetes and heart disease in the long run. "
The study was supported by Mondelez International and Agavaceae Produce. López is on a patent for the methodology to extract agavins.
1969-12-31T19:00:00-0500 |||||
– China is engaged in something more than mere mischief on Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands, new satellite images have revealed. The Center for Strategic and International Studies says photos show that China is building an airstrip on an artificial island it has created, which would be its third large airstrip in the strategic South China Sea island chain, reports CNN, which notes that the photos were taken after China promised to halt land reclamation in the area. CSIS analysts say the nearly 2-mile airstrip will be big enough to take any plane the Chinese military has. Earlier satellite images revealed the construction of airstrips at Subi and Fiery Cross, and a CSIS analyst tells Reuters that with a third airstrip, China will be able to have "more or less constant" patrols in the area, which is also claimed in full or in part by Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei. Over the last year, China has rapidly built what worried US commanders have called the "Great Wall of Sand." "All of these places have gone from being outposts on stilts to full islands, potentially with airstrips, within the space of a year or just over a year," a CSIS analyst tells CNN. The US has repeatedly expressed concerns about the construction, which is expected to be high on the agenda when Chinese President Xi Jinping visits the US next week.
| Let's expand this into a news article: Story highlights Images appear to show new airstrip being built in South China Sea
China had said that land reclamation almost complete
Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit U.S. next week
Hong Kong (CNN) China appears to building a third airstrip in disputed waters in the South China Sea, according to new satellite images analyzed by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The images, taken September 8, come after China pledged to bring land reclamation in those waters to a halt, and will make for uncomfortable discussions when Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Washington next week.
Greg Poling, the director of CSIS's Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative , said that China had reclaimed a flat rectangle of land with a retaining wall about 3,000 meters (3,280 yards) in length on Mischief Reef. It's similar to airstrips that China has been building on artificial islands at the Fiery Cross and Subi reefs in the contested Spratly Islands.
"If it does turn out to be a runway, China will have three airstrips that can carry any plane the PLA (People's Liberation Army) has to offer," he said.
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"All of these places have gone from being outposts on stilts to full islands, potentially with airstrips, within the space of a year or just over a year," he added. ||||| Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in this still image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft provided by the United States Navy May 21, 2015.
WASHINGTON China appears to be building a third airstrip in contested territory in the South China Sea, a U.S. expert said on Monday, citing satellite photographs taken last week.
The photographs taken for Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank on Sept. 8 show construction on Mischief Reef, one of several artificial islands China has created in the Spratly archipelago.
The images show a rectangular area with a retaining wall, 3,000 meters (3,280 yards) long, matching similar work by China on two other reefs, Subi and Fiery Cross, said Greg Poling, director of CSIS's Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI).
"Clearly, what we have seen is going to be a 3,000-meter airstrip and we have seen some more work on what is clearly going to be some port facilities for ships," he said.
Security experts say the strip would be long enough to accommodate most Chinese military aircraft, giving Beijing greater reach into the heart of maritime Southeast Asia, where it has competing claims with several countries.
News of the work comes ahead of a visit to Washington next week by Chinese President Xi Jinping. U.S. worries about China's increasingly assertive territorial claims are expected to be high on the agenda.
A spokesman for the U.S. Defense Department, Commander Bill Urban, declined to comment specifically on Poling's assessment, but repeated U.S. calls for a halt to land reclamation, construction and militarization of South China Sea outposts to "ease tensions and create space for diplomatic solutions."
"China's stated intentions with its program, and continued construction, will not reduce tensions or lead to a meaningful diplomatic solution," he added.
A new airstrip at Mischief Reef would be particularly worrying for the Philippines, a rival claimant in the South China Sea. It would allow China to mount "more or less constant" patrols over Reed Bank, where the Philippines has long explored for oil and gas, Poling said.
Three airstrips, once completed, would allow China to threaten all air traffic over the features it has reclaimed in the South China Sea, he said, adding that it would be especially worrying if China were to install advanced air defenses.
Satellite photographs from late June showed China
had almost finished a 3,000-meter airstrip on Fiery Cross.
Satellite images from earlier this year showed reclamation work on Subi Reef creating land that could accommodate another airstrip. Poling said the latest images made it obvious that such an airstrip was being built at Subi.
China stepped up creation of artificial islands in the South China Sea last year, drawing strong criticism from Washington.
Asked about Mischief Reef on Monday, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei repeated China's claim to "indisputable sovereignty" over the Spratly Islands and its right to establish military facilities there.
(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Christian Plumb) ||||| | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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Article:
This breakfast burger is loaded with cholesterol. But new dietary guidelines may say that this doesn't matter as much as we thought. (Photo: Aramark)
Longstanding advice about avoiding cholesterol for heart health may be on the way out.
In a draft report issued in December, an influential federal panel — the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee — scrapped longstanding guidelines about avoiding high-cholesterol food. In the draft, cholesterol — found in foods such as egg yolks — is no longer listed as a "nutrient of concern."
The panel hasn't yet filed its final report, but it ncludes the same comment on cholesterol, according to a report in The Washington Post.
The committee is not reversing advice about the risks of having a high level of LDL cholesterol, the "bad" cholesterol, in the blood. People with high LDL levels are at greater risk of a heart attack.
The committee will send its final recommendations to the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which issue the dietary advice. Those departments are expected to issue Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015 later this year.
Spokesmen for the USDA and HHS declined to comment on the Post story. In a written statement, the USDA said, "The committee's activities are solely advisory in nature. We look forward to reviewing the recommendations from the advisory committee, as well as public comments and the views of other experts, as we formulate the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans over the course of the next year."
The proposed change on cholesterol would be in line with the positions of other health groups, said Robert Eckel, past president of the American Heart Association. The heart association and American College of Cardiology issued dietary guidelines in 2013 and did not include advice about cholesterol. That's because there wasn't definitive evidence to tell the average person to reduce how much cholesterol they consume, Eckel said.
People with diabetes should still be careful about consuming too much cholesterol, which may increase their heart risks, Eckel says.
Other cardiologists agree it's time to stop telling people to limit cholesterol from food.
"It's the right decision," said Steven Nissen, chairman of cardiovascular medicine at the famed Cleveland Clinic. "We got the dietary guidelines wrong. They've been wrong for decades."
He noted that only 20% of a person's blood cholesterol — the levels measured with standard cholesterol tests — comes from diet. The rest comes from genes, he said.
"We told people not to eat eggs. It was never based on good science," Nissen said.
Advice to avoid foods high in fat and cholesterol led many Americans to switch to foods high in sugar and carbohydrates, which often had more calories. "We got fatter and fatter," Nissen says. "We got more and more diabetes."
Recent studies even suggest that longtime advice on saturated fat and salt may be wrong, Nissen says.
Marion Nestle, a professor in the department of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, noted that the federal government doesn't have to follow the committee's advice.
The last set of advice, the 2010 guidelines, advised Americans to consume less than 300 milligrams a day of dietary cholesterol, about the amount in one egg. Nestle said she has no inside knowledge of the committee's decision.
"If the committee is dropping this recommendation, it may be because so many people are taking statins that dietary cholesterol doesn't matter so much anymore," Nestle said. "In the last study I saw that exonerated eggs from raising heart disease risk, 90% of the study subjects were taking statins. But I think we need to wait and see what the committee actually says before saying too much about this."
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Time to put eggs back on the menu? (Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post)
The nation’s top nutrition advisory panel has decided to drop its caution about eating cholesterol-laden food, a move that could undo almost 40 years of government warnings about its consumption.
The group’s finding that cholesterol in the diet need no longer be considered a “nutrient of concern” stands in contrast to the committee’s findings five years ago, the last time it convened. During those proceedings, as in previous years, the panel deemed the issue of excess cholesterol in the American diet a public health concern.
The finding follows an evolution of thinking among many nutritionists who now believe that, for healthy adults, eating foods high in cholesterol may not significantly affect the level of cholesterol in the blood or increase the risk of heart disease.
The greater danger in this regard, these experts believe, lies not in products such as eggs, shrimp or lobster, which are high in cholesterol, but in too many servings of foods heavy with saturated fats, such as fatty meats, whole milk, and butter.
The new view on cholesterol in food does not reverse warnings about high levels of “bad” cholesterol in the blood, which have been linked to heart disease. Moreover, some experts warned that people with particular health problems, such as diabetes, should continue to avoid cholesterol-rich diets.
While Americans may be accustomed to conflicting dietary advice, the change on cholesterol comes from the influential Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, the group that provides the scientific basis for the “Dietary Guidelines.” That federal publication has broad effects on the American diet, helping to determine the content of school lunches, affecting how food manufacturers advertise their wares, and serving as the foundation for reams of diet advice.
The panel laid out the cholesterol decision in December, at its last meeting before it writes a report that will serve as the basis for the next version of the guidelines. A video of the meeting was later posted online and a person with direct knowledge of the proceedings said the cholesterol finding would make it to the group’s final report, which is due within weeks.
After Marian Neuhouser, chair of the relevant subcommittee, announced the decision to the panel at the December meeting, one panelist appeared to bridle.
“So we’re not making a [cholesterol] recommendation?” panel member Miriam Nelson, a Tufts University professor, said at the meeting as if trying to absorb the thought. “Okay ... Bummer.”
Members of the panel, called the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, said they would not comment until the publication of their report, which will be filed with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture.
While those agencies could ignore the committee’s recommendations, major deviations are not common, experts said.
Five years ago, “I don’t think the Dietary Guidelines diverged from the committee’s report,” said Naomi K. Fukagawa, a University of Vermont professor who served as the committee’s vice chair in 2010. Fukagawa said she supports the change on cholesterol.
Walter Willett, chair of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health, also called the turnaround on cholesterol a “reasonable move.”
“There’s been a shift of thinking,” he said.
But the change on dietary cholesterol also shows how the complexity of nutrition science and the lack of definitive research can contribute to confusion for Americans who, while seeking guidance on what to eat, often find themselves afloat in conflicting advice.
Cholesterol has been a fixture in dietary warnings in the United States at least since 1961, when it appeared in guidelines developed by the American Heart Association. Later adopted by the federal government, such warnings helped shift eating habits -- per capita egg consumption dropped about 30 percent -- and harmed egg farmers.
Yet even today, after more than a century of scientific inquiry, scientists are divided.
Some nutritionists said lifting the cholesterol warning is long overdue, noting that the United States is out-of-step with other countries, where diet guidelines do not single out cholesterol. Others support maintaining a warning.
***
The forthcoming version of the Dietary Guidelines -- the document is revised every five years -- is expected to navigate myriad similar controversies. Among them: salt, red meat, sugar, saturated fats and the latest darling of food-makers, Omega-3s.
As with cholesterol, the dietary panel’s advice on these issues will be used by the federal bureaucrats to draft the new guidelines, which offer Americans clear instructions -- and sometimes very specific, down-to-the-milligram prescriptions. But such precision can mask sometimes tumultuous debates about nutrition.
“Almost every single nutrient imaginable has peer reviewed publications associating it with almost any outcome,” John P.A. Ioannidis, a professor of medicine and statistics at Stanford and one of the harshest critics of nutritional science, has written. “In this literature of epidemic proportions, how many results are correct?”
Now comes the shift on cholesterol.
Even as contrary evidence has emerged over the years, the campaign against dietary cholesterol has continued. In 1994, food-makers were required to report cholesterol values on the nutrition label. In 2010, with the publication of the most recent “Dietary Guidelines,” the experts again focused on the problem of "excess dietary cholesterol."
Yet many have viewed the evidence against cholesterol as weak, at best. As late as 2013, a task force arranged by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association looked at the dietary cholesterol studies. The group found that there was “insufficient evidence” to make a recommendation. Many of the studies that had been done, the task force said, were too broad to single out cholesterol.
“Looking back at the literature, we just couldn’t see the kind of science that would support dietary restrictions,” said Robert Eckel, the co-chair of the task force and a medical professor at the University of Colorado.
The current U.S. guidelines call for restricting cholesterol intake to 300 milligrams daily. American adult men on average ingest about 340 milligrams of cholesterol a day, according to federal figures. That recommended figure of 300 milligrams, Eckel said, is " just one of those things that gets carried forward and carried forward even though the evidence is minimal.”
"We just don't know," he said.
Other major studies have indicated that eating an egg a day does not raise a healthy person’s risk of heart disease, though diabetic patients may be at more risk.
“The U.S. is the last country in the world to set a specific limit on dietary cholesterol,” said David Klurfeld, a nutrition scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Some of it is scientific inertia.”
***
The persistence of the cholesterol fear may arise, in part, from the plausibility of its danger.
As far back as the 19th century, scientists recognized that the plaque that clogged arteries consisted, in part, of cholesterol, according to historians.
It would have seemed logical, then, that a diet that is high in cholesterol would wind up clogging arteries.
In 1913, Niokolai Anitschkov and his colleagues at the Czar’s Military Medicine Institute in St. Petersburg, decided to try it out in rabbits. The group fed cholesterol to rabbits for about four to eight weeks and saw that the cholesterol diet harmed them. They figured they were on to something big.
“It often happens in the history of science that researchers ... obtain results which require us to view scientific questions in a new light,” he and a colleague wrote in their 1913 paper.
But it wasn’t until the 1940s, when heart disease was rising in the United States, that the dangers of a cholesterol diet for humans would come more sharply into focus.
Experiments in biology, as well as other studies that followed the diets of large populations, seemed to link high cholesterol diets to heart disease.
Public warnings soon followed. In 1961, the American Heart Association recommended that people reduce cholesterol consumption and eventually set a limit of 300 milligrams a day. (For comparison, the yolk of a single egg has about 200 milligrams.)
Eventually, the idea that cholesterol is harmful so permeated the country's consciousness that marketers advertised their foods on the basis of "no cholesterol."
***
What Anitschkov and the other early scientists may not have foreseen is how complicated the science of cholesterol and heart disease could turn out: that the body creates cholesterol in amounts much larger than their diet provides, that the body regulates how much is in the blood and that there is both “good” and “bad” cholesterol.
Adding to the complexity, the way people process cholesterol differs. Scientists say some people -- about 25 percent -- appear to be more vulnerable to cholesterol-rich diets.
“It’s turned out to be more complicated than anyone could have known,” said Lawrence Rudel, a professor at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
As a graduate student at the University of Arkansas in the late 1960s, Rudel came across Anitschkov’s paper and decided to focus on understanding one of its curiosities. In passing, the paper noted that while the cholesterol diet harmed rabbits, it had no effect on white rats. In fact, if Anitschkov had focused on any other animal besides the rabbit, the effects wouldn't have been so clear -- rabbits are unusually vulnerable to the high-cholesterol diet.
“The reason for the difference -- why does one animal fall apart on the cholesterol diet -- seemed like something that could be figured out,” Rudel said. “That was 40 or so years ago. We still don’t know what explains the difference.”
In truth, scientists have made some progress. Rudel and his colleagues have been able to breed squirrel monkeys that are more vulnerable to the cholesterol diet. That and other evidence leads to their belief that for some people -- as for the squirrel monkeys -- genetics are to blame.
Rudel said that Americans should still be warned about cholesterol.
“Eggs are a nearly perfect food, but cholesterol is a potential bad guy,” he said. “Eating too much a day won’t harm everyone, but it will harm some people.”
***
Scientists have estimated that, even without counting the toll from obesity, disease related to poor eating habits kills more than half a million people every year. That toll is often used as an argument for more research in nutrition.
Currently, the National Institutes of Health spends about $1.5 billion annually on nutrition research, an amount that represents about 5 percent of its total budget.
The turnaround on cholesterol, some critics say, is just more evidence that nutrition science needs more investment.
Others, however, say the reversal might be seen as a sign of progress.
“These reversals in the field do make us wonder and scratch our heads,” said David Allison, a public health professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “But in science, change is normal and expected.”
When our view of the cosmos shifted from Ptolemy to Copernicus to Newton and Einstein, Allison said, “the reaction was not to say, ‘Oh my gosh, something is wrong with physics!’ We say, ‘Oh my gosh, isn’t this cool?’ ”
Allison said the problem in nutrition stems from the arrogance that sometimes accompanies dietary advice. A little humility could go a long way.
“Where nutrition has some trouble,” he said, “is all the confidence and vitriol and moralism that goes along with our recommendations.”
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Your kids are getting way too many calories from pizza |||||Summary: |
– It looks like Americans will be able to eat their eggs guilt-free soon. The Washington Post reports that the federal government is poised to drop its decades-long warning about eating foods high in cholesterol. In classic bureaucrat-speak, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has concluded that cholesterol is no longer a "nutrient of concern." The finding is currently in a draft report, but it is expected to be included in official USDA dietary guidelines that will be released within weeks. "The move reflects updated scientific thinking on cholesterol," explains a post at Reason. "While high cholesterol levels in the blood can still be a bad health indicator, scientists no longer view high blood cholesterol as a direct result of eating a cholesterol-rich diet, at least not for most people." A cardiologist quoted by USA Today echoes the point: "We told people not to eat eggs," he says. "It was never based on good science." The change will not reverse warnings that high levels of "bad cholesterol," or LDL, pose a health risk, but the panel is embracing the evolving view that dietary cholesterol is not the culprit. Instead, most nutritionists now think that trans fats and saturated fats are the bigger dangers in regard to heart disease, notes the Post. | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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– After an acquisition that brings it deep into people's homes, Google is getting up close and personal with people's bodies. The latest project from the firm's secretive Google X facility is a "smart" contact lens that monitors the glucose levels of diabetics with a tiny wireless chip and sensor, reports PC World. It notes that the move into the rapidly expanding field of wearable medical technology brings Google even further away from its online software roots. "We've always said that we’d seek out projects that seem a bit speculative or strange, and at a time when the International Diabetes Federation is declaring that the world is 'losing the battle' against diabetes, we thought this project was worth a shot," Google said in a blog post. The company says a lot more work needs to be done before the lens can reach consumers, but it is already looking for partners who can help bring it to market, reports the BBC. (In other Google news, a Google Glass legal precedent was set yesterday.)
Expand this summary. | Google started giving back Thursday with an announcement on its official blog that it has begun testing on a smart contact lens. Yeah, you read that right: a smart contact lens.
And while that might initially seem like a mad scientist’s side project, it’s actually incredibly cool: The smart contact lens is designed to assist diabetes patients by measuring glucose levels in their tears, using a mini glucose sensor, and transmitting that data to a phone via a tiny wireless chip.
Both the chip and the sensor are embedded between two layers of soft lens material, and the prototypes can generate a reading once per second.
While clinical research studies have already been completed, Google is still in discussions with the FDA, and the company is also looking for partners to help bring the lens to market. Google is additionally seeking partners who can help leverage the technology to develop apps that would make glucose levels available to both patients and their doctors.
Additionally, there’s some interest in integrating LED lights which would light up to indicate various glucose levels. The blog post reports that one of every 19 people on the planet suffers from diabetes, and many patients do not test their glucose levels often enough because the methods to do so have been cumbersome, or painful.
While this is an amazing medical advancement, and certain to help scores of people, it seems curious that the initial feedback to the announcement is so positive overall, in contrast to the blowback from Google’s purchase of Nest earlier this week—which was met with dozens of privacy concerns. Perhaps we’re just less worried about what we put in our eyes?
This story, "Googly eyes: Smart contact lens would test glucose in diabetics' tears" was originally published by TechHive . ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Google said the sensors on the smart contact lens are so small they look like bits of glitter
Google has said it is testing a "smart contact lens" that can help measure glucose levels in tears.
It uses a "tiny" wireless chip and a "miniaturised" glucose sensor embedded between two layers of lens material.
The firm said it is also working on integrating tiny LED lights that could light up to indicate that glucose levels have crossed certain thresholds.
But it added that "a lot more work" needed to be done to get the technology ready for everyday use.
"It's still early days for this technology, but we've completed multiple clinical research studies which are helping to refine our prototype," the firm said in a blogpost.
"We hope this could someday lead to a new way for people with diabetes to manage their disease."
'Exciting development'
It is likely to spur a range of other innovations towards miniaturizing technology and using it in wearable devices to help people monitor their bodies better Manoj Menon, Frost & Sullivan
Many global firms have been looking to expand in the wearable technology sector - seen by many as a key growth area in the coming years.
Various estimates have said the sector is expected to grow by between $10bn and $50bn (£6bn and £31bn) in the next five years.
Within the sector, many firms have been looking specifically at technology targeted at healthcare.
Google's latest foray with the smart contact lens is aimed at a sector where consumer demand for such devices is expected to grow.
According to the International Diabetes Federation, one in ten people across the world's population are forecast to have diabetes by 2035.
People suffering from the condition need to monitor their glucose levels regularly as sudden spikes or drops are dangerous. At present, the majority of them do so by testing drops of blood.
Google said it was testing a prototype of the lens that could "generate a reading once per second".
"This is an exciting development for preventive healthcare industry," Manoj Menon, managing director of consulting firm Frost & Sullivan told the BBC.
"It is likely to spur a range of other innovations towards miniaturizing technology and using it in wearable devices to help people monitor their bodies better."
Open innovation?
Google said it was working with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to bring the product to mainstream use.
It added that it would look for partners "who are experts in bringing products like this to market".
Google said it would work with these partners to develops apps aimed at making the measurements taken by the lens available to the wearer and their doctor.
Mr Menon said it was "commendable" that Google was willing to work with other partners even before the product was commercially ready.
Image copyright Sensible Baby Image caption Sensible Baby showcased a prototype baby sleep monitoring system at this year's CES
"Their open innovation approach is going to help accelerate the development of this product and get it out to the market much faster," he said.
Other firms have also been looking towards wearable products that help monitor the health of the wearer.
Earlier this month, a gadget called Sensible Baby was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. It is a sensor put in an infant's night clothes that tracks their temperature, orientation and movement.
It sounds a smartphone app alarm if it detects a problem.
Several smartwatches that can monitor data by studying key indicators such as the the wearer's heart rate and temperature have also been launched.
Last year, Japanese firm Sony filed a patent for a 'SmartWig', with healthcare cited as one of its potential uses.
It said the wig could use a combination of sensors to help collect information such as temperature, pulse and blood pressure of the wearer. ||||| | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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Here is a news article: You've heard the term "hangry," right? People who are hungry often report being unreasonably angry until they're fed.
"Hangry" is a relatively new buzz word, but science is backing it up. A new study published in the journal PNAS suggests married couples are more aggressive when they have low blood sugar levels.
Background
Everyone gets upset at their spouse or significant other sometimes. But self-control hopefully prevents you from taking that anger out on them in a physical manner.
Yet scientists know that self-control is a limited resource. You have a tank of it, so to speak, in your brain. Each time you use self-control to avoid telling off your boss or to skip the dessert bar, that tank becomes less full.
And "aggression often starts when self-control stops," says Brad Bushman, a psychologist at Ohio State University who's studied aggression for 25 years.
What refills your self-control tank? Energy, which comes in part from the food you eat.
The study
Researchers recruited 107 married couples to participate in the study. The husbands and wives measured their glucose (or blood sugar) levels every morning and night for 21 days.
Each night they were asked to stick up to 51 pins in a voodoo doll, depending on how angry they were at their spouse. The researchers compared this aggression level to the participants' average glucose levels over the study period.
At the end of the 21 days, researchers had the couples come into the lab for another test. They asked each husband and wife to compete against their significant other in a virtual game. The couples were told the winner got to blast the loser with a loud, obnoxious noise. (In reality, their partner was not on the receiving end.)
Researchers measured how long and how intense the winner chose to blast the noise, and compared that aggression level to their average blood sugar level.
The results
Study participants with lower nightly blood sugar levels were more aggressive - both in "pinning" their voodoo doll and in blasting their partner with a louder noise for longer. These findings remained true even after researchers controlled the data for relationship satisfaction.
More evidence
This study supports previous research done by Bushman's lab at Ohio State University. In an earlier study, Bushman and his colleagues found participants who drank a sugar-sweetened beverage behaved less aggressively than those who drank a beverage sweetened with a sugar substitute.
Another study linked diabetes to more aggressive behavior. Because glucose increases self-control, people who have difficulty metabolizing glucose should have less self-control, the researchers theorized.
In a separate series of studies, Bushman showed diabetics were less inclined to forgive others. "These findings provide the first evidence that forgiveness depends on how efficiently the body uses glucose," the study authors wrote.
Takeaway
The study authors say giving people more access to food could reduce aggression in certain settings, such as prisons or psychiatric hospitals. As for the rest of us:
"I would recommend couples discuss sensitive issues over dinner," Bushman said. "Or better yet, after dinner." ||||| New study finds that spouses are more likely to get angry with each other if they're dealing with low blood sugar levels. So have a snack, and chill out.
Brad Bushman, professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University, holds one of the voodoo dolls used in the study. (Photo: Jo McCulty, Ohio State University)
The next time you get annoyed at your spouse, you might want to grab something to eat. That's the take-home message from a new study that found marital hostility is at its highest when blood sugar is at its lowest.
Spouses of both genders jabbed more pins into a voodoo doll on evenings when their blood sugar was the lowest, according to the new study, published online Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Lead researcher Brad Bushman of Ohio State University said his own marriage has improved since he took his study's advice: "When you discuss a sensitive topic with your spouse, you should do so over dinner, or better yet after dinner – but you should definitely not do it on an empty stomach."
Bushman and his colleagues paid $100 each to 107 married couples, found through public advertisements, to participate in the study.
This is one of the voodoo dolls used in the study to measure participants' anger with their spouses. (Photo: Jo McCulty, Ohio State University)
To measure aggressiveness, each husband and wife was given a voodoo doll and 51 pins. They were told to check their blood glucose level before bed each night for three weeks, and to stick any number of pins into the doll, depending on how angry they were with their spouse that day. They didn't see each other's dolls.
After three weeks, the couples were invited back to the lab, placed in separate rooms and told to compete against each other to see who could press a computer button faster after a given command. The winner could blast the loser with a loud, ugly sound.
The spouses who stabbed their voodoo doll more freely also were more likely to turn up the volume on the punishing sounds, the study found. The results did not differ between couples who said their marriages were weak or strong, he said.
Angry people are more impulsive, more likely to lash out, both verbally and physically, said Bushman, adding that anger is the leading cause of homicide.
Ann Goebel-Fabbri, a psychologist with the Joslin Diabetes Institute in Boston, praised the creativity of the study but said she thinks the researchers went too far in suggesting that low blood sugar could lead to violence.
People with diabetes – who are prone to large swings in blood glucose – do complain about being moody, she said. But they are certainly not any more likely to be violent than the general population.
"There is no connection between diabetes and aggression," said Goebel-Fabbri, also an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.
"I think the translation from voodoo doll and loud noise to domestic violence, I think is way overstating it," she said. "It would be lovely if we could solve the domestic violence problem by feeding people better, but…there's no data that would support that."
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1kqc5Jm ||||| Husbands and wives reported being most unhappy with their spouses when their blood-sugar levels were lowest, usually at night, according to research released today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Husbands and wives reported being most unhappy with their spouses when their... Read More
Husbands and wives reported being most unhappy with their spouses when their blood-sugar levels were lowest, usually at night, according to research released today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Close
Serious discussions between spouses shouldn’t take place on an empty stomach, a study suggests.
Husbands and wives reported being most unhappy with their spouses when their blood-sugar levels were lowest, usually at night, according to research released today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Missing a meal, dieting or just being hungry may be the reason, researchers said.
Sugar, or glucose, is used by the brain as fuel to help regulate self-control. Without the fuel, it is more difficult for people to control emotions like anger and aggression, researchers said. Today’s findings are among the first to show how low sugar levels in the body may play a part in marital arguments, confrontations and even domestic violence, said Brad Bushman, the lead study author.
“Self-control comes in part from the fuel we give our brains. This is one of the few physiological aspects we can control,” said Bushman, a professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University in Columbus, in a telephone interview today. “People who are hungry are often very cranky.”
Researchers in the study included 107 married couples who for 21 days had to test their blood-sugar levels before breakfast in the morning and before bed in evening. They were also given voodoo dolls representing their spouses and told to insert as many as 51 pins daily depending on how angry they were with their partner. The researchers were testing aggressive impulses.
Measuring Aggression
Those with the lowest nighttime blood-sugar levels inserted the most pins, while those with the highest glucose levels inserted the least, the study found. Women tended to stick more pins into their husband voodoo doll, but the finding wasn’t significant. The authors only found the association for nighttime blood glucose levels as the amount of sugar in the body drops throughout the day, Bushman said.
After 21 days, the couples went into a laboratory where they were told they would compete with their spouse to see who could press a button the fastest to test aggressive behavior. The winners could blast their spouse with a loud noise through headphones. The spouses in reality were playing against a computer, not each other.
The researchers found that those with the lowest average nighttime blood-sugar levels sent louder and longer noises to their spouse no matter how good their relationship was or whether they were male or female.
Timing Important
“If couples have a sensitive topic to discuss, it would be really smart to do it over dinner or better yet after dinner,” Bushman said. “They should definitely not do it on an empty stomach.”
Low blood sugar can trigger hormones that activate the body’s “fight or flight” system and cause people to become more aggressive, anxious and irritable, said Timothy Graham, who wasn’t an author of today’s study.
For families with someone who has diabetes, where swings between highs and lows can occur more often, he suggests counseling. For others, regular, small meals throughout the day may help keep blood sugar levels consistent and help prevent dips that can cause aggression.
“Probably more regular and healthy meals could improve the dynamics of a relationship,” Graham, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, said in a telephone interview.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nicole Ostrow in New York at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Reg Gale at [email protected] Andrew Pollack, Angela Zimm |||||
A summary of this is? | – "If couples have a sensitive topic to discuss, it would be really smart to do it over dinner or better yet after dinner," say researchers who have linked low blood sugar to marital hostility. "They should definitely not do it on an empty stomach." Researchers tracked the blood sugar levels—and, using voodoo dolls, the aggression levels—of 107 married couples and found that those with the lowest nighttime blood sugar were the most likely to stick pins in the doll representing their partner, CNN reports. In laboratory tests, people with low blood sugar were also the most willing to blast their partner with a loud, obnoxious noise in what they were told was a game, USA Today reports. The results were similar no matter how strong a couple said their marriage was. Low blood sugar can trigger hormones that cause people to become aggressive and irritable, a professor of medicine explains to Bloomberg. "Probably more regular and healthy meals could improve the dynamics of a relationship," he says, adding that counseling should be considered when diabetes is involved. | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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PRAGUE (AFP) -
Czech President Milos Zeman, known for showing hostility towards journalists, taunted them on Thursday, saying he regretted making them look like "little idiots" during a bizarre event in which he set a huge pair of red underpants on fire.
The visibly frail 73-year-old Zeman abruptly announced a press conference on Thursday afternoon, raising speculation about his possible resignation.
"I apologise to the journalists whose intelligence I tested, unsuccessfully as always," Zeman told reporters gathered for the briefing the gardens of Prague Castle where he was flanked by his spokesman, assistants and several firemen.
To their amazement, Zeman then proceeded to burn a huge pair of red underpants in a fire pit, assisted by two firemen dressed in full gear.
"The time of underwear in politics is over," Zeman declared. "I'm sorry to make you look like little idiots, you really don't deserve it," he told reporters before leaving in his car.
The red underpants, measuring roughly one square metre, resembled a pair that Czech pranksters had flown from a flag pole atop the presidential palace in 2015 in protest against Zeman.
The pranksters said that the red colour of their boxer-short style protest flag symbolised the unhealthily close link they believed Zeman, a former communist, had with China and Russia.
Staunchly pro-Russian and pro-Chinese, Zeman once dubbed journalists "manure" and "superficial" before telling Russian President Vladimir Putin in China in May 2017 that "journalists should be liquidated".
He also showed up at a press conference in October 2017 with a toy Kalashnikov in his hand labelled "for journalists".
Zeman narrowly won a second consecutive term in January elections, beating his pro-European liberal rival Jiri Drahos in a knife-edge run-off that underscored deep divisions in the EU and NATO state.
Zeman's stunt drew a barrage of criticism on Thursday, with Jiri Pospisil, leader of the right-wing TOP 09 party, exclaiming "let us wake up from this nightmare!"
Zeman's health has come under heavy scrutiny in recent months.
He walks with a cane, is diabetic and is a former heavy drinker and smoker.
© 2018 AFP ||||| PRAGUE (AP) — A fiery stunt by the Czech president has really stunned journalists this time.
Milos Zeman announced a press conference for Thursday, but instead of briefing reporters, he had two firefighters in protective gear burn a huge pair of red underpants in front of them.
Czech media said the boxer shorts in question had been hoisted by activists in 2015, replacing the official presidential flag on Prague Castle. The red underwear was meant to symbolize Zeman's close relationships with Russia and China and has since become a symbol for criticism of his presidency.
After the incineration, Zeman told reporters: "I'm sorry to make you look like little idiots, you really don't deserve it."
Zeman, 72, has often clashed with the press, even waving a fake machine gun at reporters last year. |||||
Write a summary. | – A fiery stunt by the Czech president has really stunned journalists this time. Milos Zeman announced a press conference for Thursday, but instead of briefing reporters, he had two firefighters in protective gear help him burn a huge pair of red underpants in front of them, the AP reports. Per AFP, a "visibly frail" Zeman did the deed on a 10-foot-by-10-foot pair of boxer shorts, and he had some words after the incineration. "The time of underwear in politics is over," he declared to reporters. "I'm sorry to make you look like little idiots, you really don't deserve it." Czech media said the boxer shorts in question resembled a pair that had been hoisted by activists in 2015, replacing the official presidential flag on Prague Castle. The red underwear was meant to symbolize Zeman's close relationships with Russia and China and has since become a symbol for criticism of his presidency. Zeman, 73, has often clashed with the press, even waving a fake machine gun at reporters last year. | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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News article:
Story highlights "I just feel like God's will will be done," victim's mother tells CNN
Randall Kerrick's attorneys say resubmitting same charge to grand jury illegal
Prosecutors have said first grand jury was not a full panel; defense contests that claim
Officer fatally shot Jonathan Ferrell after woman called 911 to report home invasion
A grand jury has indicted Officer Randall Kerrick of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department on a charge of voluntary manslaughter in the September 14 shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell, according to a statement from state Attorney General Roy Cooper.
The grand jury heard evidence from the state Bureau of Investigation and the police department.
"With the strength of the evidence in this case, we're not surprised," Charles Monnett, an attorney for Ferrell's family, said about Monday's indictment.
"We're all pleased and happy that the process is beginning now and that there's an end in sight," he said. "It is the first step towards justice."
JUST WATCHED Hear 911 call that led to man's death Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Hear 911 call that led to man's death 02:29
Ferrell's mother, Georgia, told CNN that she is prepared to wait as long as it takes for the case to wind its way through the justice system.
"I just feel like God's will will be done," she said.
The Charlotte, North Carolina, officer faced a second grand jury proceeding for the fatal shooting of Ferrell, an ex-college football player who was reportedly seeking assistance after a car accident.
Attorneys for Kerrick had denounced the prosecution's move to resubmit the case as unlawful and filed a motion to block it, but CNN affiliate News 14 Carolina reported the grand jury convened Monday morning
A grand jury last week declined to indict Kerrick . Prosecutors said afterward the grand jury was composed of less than a full panel and vowed to send the case back.
According to a handwritten statement filed with the court, the first grand jury requested that the prosecutor submit a "bill of indictment to a lesser-included or related offense," but the state attorney general said he would resubmit the voluntary manslaughter charge.
Chris Chestnut, another attorney for Ferrell's family, described relatives as "shocked and devastated" by the first grand jury's ruling and said they were concerned a "miscarriage of justice is imminent."
Kerrick's attorneys, however, filed a motion Friday saying that any miscarriage was on the prosecution's part.
Randall Kerrick faces a voluntary manslaughter charge.
North Carolina law states that a grand jury can be made up of 12 to 18 members, the defense attorneys said. Thus, the prosecution's claim that it could go back to the grand jury because fewer than 18 members initially heard Kerrick's case was spurious, the motion said.
There was "nothing irregular or improper" about the grand jury that heard last week's case, the attorneys said in a statement.
The motion further alleged that Cooper's statement to the media -- that "This is not over" -- and his announcement that he would resubmit the case was a "wholly improper and blatant attempt to influence the (second) grand jury."
The defense reiterated its claim that the shooting, "while tragic, was justified under the circumstances presented to Officer Kerrick at the time," according to its statement.
"We have seen news clips and interviews stating the community should be 'outraged' at the return of a No True Bill of Indictment," the statement continued. "Those outraged have simply not heard all of the facts and hasten to a position. The true outrage of this community should be at the Attorney General's complete disregard of the original findings of our first grand jury."
Ferrell's family disagreed and issued a statement saying, "It appears that this motion was filed solely because Randall Kerrick's attorneys feel their client will be indicted once the full Grand Jury properly considers the evidence in this case when it convenes on Monday."
Attorneys for Ferrell's family on January 13 filed a civil lawsuit connected to his death. It targets the city of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe and Kerrick.
Kerrick shot an unarmed Ferrell , a 24-year-old ex-Florida A&M football player, after a woman -- home alone with her 1-year-old child -- called 911 and reported someone was trying to break down her front door.
It was 2:35 a.m., and according to the lawsuit, the woman "does not understand that Jonathon may be injured and is in need of assistance and becomes frightened by his presence on her doorstep at such a late hour. She quickly closes the door, calls 911 for assistance and activates her home security system."
The woman told police Ferrell was "yelling for her to turn her alarm off" but never reported that Ferrell harmed her, made threatening statements, brandished a weapon or stole or vandalized her property, the lawsuit further alleges.
Police were dispatched, and Ferrell walked down the street to seek assistance elsewhere, according to the lawsuit.
Kerrick and two other officers arrived on the scene about 11 minutes after the 911 call, but Kerrick didn't speak with the woman, the lawsuit says. He instead tracked down Ferrell, who "never engages in any conduct which can be objectively reasonably interpreted as aggravated active aggression," according to the lawsuit.
"Defendant Kerrick, in direct violation of written police department regulations, fires 12 high-velocity bullets at Jonathon, striking him 10 times in the chest and arms," the lawsuit continues.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has called the shooting unlawful.
"The evidence revealed that Mr. Ferrell did advance on Officer Kerrick and the investigation showed that the subsequent shooting of Mr. Ferrell was excessive," police said in a statement on September 14, the day of the shooting. "Our investigation has shown that Officer Kerrick did not have a lawful right to discharge his weapon during this encounter."
Kerrick is free on $50,000 bond. His attorneys said in their statement Friday, "The citizens of Mecklenburg County by and through its grand jury have spoken. We pray that if this case is reheard by a second Grand Jury, the same conclusion will be reached -- that there is no probable cause to sustain an indictment for voluntary manslaughter against Officer Kerrick." ||||| Given a second try, a Mecklenburg County grand jury indicted a police officer Monday in connection with the shooting death last fall of an unarmed Charlotte man.
Just before 4 p.m., the voluntary manslaughter indictment of Police Officer Randall Kerrick became public. The officer was arrested Sept. 14 after he shot Jonathan Ferrell 10 times during a predawn confrontation northeast of Charlotte. If convicted, the 28-year-old could spend between three and 11 years in prison.
As news of the grand jury’s decision reached a SouthPark law office, Ferrell’s mother and brother preached patience, faith and divine inevitability.
“God’s will must be done,” Georgia Ferrell, who was up from her home in Tallahassee, Fla., said. “That’s the first thing that popped into my head. God’s will must be done.”
Kerrick’s arrest and indictment mark the first time in more than 30 years that a Charlotte police officer has been charged in connection with an on-duty shooting.
Kerrick’s attorney, George Laughrun, said Monday evening that he has not seen the indictment and would not comment. He said he had delivered the news to Kerrick and his family but would not give details.
The indictment came after Kerrick’s case made a highly unusual second trip to a grand jury, and only because a judge refused to block it. Last week, a Mecklenburg grand jury declined to indict the officer on voluntary manslaughter and asked that a lesser charge be brought to them to consider.
Veteran prosecutors and defense attorneys say a grand jury refusing to indict is extremely rare. For example, the jurors who didn’t indict Kerrick issued “true bills” on all the 276 other cases they heard that day.
In response, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced last week that his prosecutors would resubmit the case to the county’s other sitting grand jury with the same voluntary manslaughter charges.
Kerrick’s defense team went to court Monday morning to block him. They argued that giving prosecutors a second crack at an indictment, coupled with Cooper’s comments about the case and the fact that demonstrators were protesting a block away, compromised their client’s chances at a fair hearing.
“How in the world is that grand jury supposed to go into that courtroom and make a decision when you’ve also got the NAACP outside?” defense attorney Michael Greene asked Superior Court Judge Bob Bell. “How is Randall Kerrick supposed to get a fair trial and due process?”
After the 30-minute debate, Bell said he found no legal basis to stop prosecutors from taking the case to a new grand jury.
This time, Cooper’s team, led by Senior Deputy Attorney General Jim Coman, sent twice as many witnesses to make the case against Kerrick than had testified before the first grand jury the week before. Two came from the State Bureau of Investigation. Two were CMPD detectives, and colleagues of Kerrick.
Twelve votes are required for an indictment. Last week, only 14 jurors were on hand to consider the Kerrick case, meaning that as few as three jurors could block the indictment. Cooper cited those absences as a factor in bringing the case back for a second time.
An attorney general spokeswoman did not respond to questions on whether the witnesses presented new evidence and whether grand jurors had watched video shot from a police car on the night of the shooting.
Charlotte attorney Charles Monnett, who is handling the Ferrell family’s lawsuit against Kerrick, the police department and the city and county, said lines of communication with the prosecutors have improved in recent days and that there was “a good possibility that the grand jury saw the video.”
Monnett earlier had spoken of what he described “as the tremendous sense of relief that the system is headed now in the right direction, that justice may be reached.”
Reasonable force
The indictment sets the stage for a trial on use of force in the city that helped set the national standard for how police are supposed to respond.
The Supreme Court’s landmark 1989 ruling on “objective reasonableness” grew out of a lawsuit on how Charlotte police allegedly mistreated a diabetic black man on West Boulevard five years before.
Police response must be “objectionably reasonable in light of the facts and circumstances confronting them,” Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote. Among the considerations: “the severity of the crime at issue, whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the officers or others, and whether he is actively resisting arrest.”
Rehnquist also added this: Would another “reasonable officer” react the same way?
The standard was used in jury instructions in the federal case against Los Angeles police officers who beat Rodney King, and in talk-show debates and online blogs surrounding the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
As with those cases, Ferrell’s death brought national headlines and has taken on clear racial overtones. Ferrell, a former Florida A&M; football player, was black; Kerrick is white.
Not a ‘complete victory’
Activist John Barnette, who helped organize a Monday morning rally outside the Government Center calling for Kerrick’s indictment, said the grand jury’s decision is not a “complete victory” because the police officer has not been convicted and Ferrell is still dead.
Barnette also criticized a system that he says took almost five months to respond to Ferrell’s death.
Ferrell moved to Charlotte a year before his death from Tallahassee to be with his fiancee. On the night he died, he gathered with friends to drink at a bar, then gave a co-worker a ride home. Ferrell’s autopsy showed his blood-alcohol level was low enough for him to drive.
But Ferrell wrecked his car on his way out of the Bradfield Farms neighborhood. He kicked his way free, apparently losing his cellphone in the process, then walked more than a quarter of a mile to the nearest home. There, police say, he pounded on the front door.
The woman inside called 911, frantically describing how an unknown black man was trying to break into her home.
Kerrick was one of three officers to respond. As he approached the officers, Ferrell ignored their orders to stop, investigators say. One of the other officers fired his Taser but missed. Police say Ferrell then veered into Kerrick, who, with three years on the force, was the least experienced officer on the scene. Kerrick fired 12 shots from close range. He was the only officer to use his gun.
Charlotte police investigations into officer shootings typically last weeks, even months. But Police Chief Rodney Monroe ordered Kerrick’s arrest that same day, accusing the officer of using excessive force.
Laughrun, a former prosecutor, says the video from the police car shows his client acted appropriately.
Last week, when the first grand jury did not indict, Laughrun was declaring victory for Kerrick. Now he must begin preparing for his trial. Laughrun predicts one won’t be held before the end of the year at the earliest.
The fact that prosecutors needed two tries to get what is normally a routine indictment doesn’t necessarily portend a difficult path to a conviction, veteran Charlotte defense attorney James Wyatt said Monday.
But given the nature of the case and the publicity it has received, Wyatt acknowledged that finding an impartial jury could be a long and intense process.
“It will be a very different kind of case because a police officer is a defendant,” said Wyatt, who is not connected to the case. “Jurors are keenly aware of how dangerous a police officer’s job can be and how decisions have to be made on a split-second basis.
“They will have to decide whether the officer’s actions were appropriate or whether he went beyond the bounds of what a well-trained officer should have done.”
Georgia Ferrell and her son Willie say they plan to attend Kerrick’s trial. A week ago, when the grand jury refused to indict the police officer who shot her son, Ferrell asked supporters in Charlotte to keep fighting.
Now she asked for prayer.
“We are going to keep praying, not just for us, but for everyone involved in this case,” she said as she sat near a desk in Monnett’s office that held dozens of photos of her dead son taken over the course of his life.
Asked if that included Kerrick and his family, her eyes flashed.
“Of course, it does,” she said. Staff writers Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Elisabeth Arriero contributed. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article? | – A North Carolina police officer who shot an unarmed car crash victim 10 times was indicted yesterday for involuntary manslaughter on a grand jury's second try. Randall Merrick, who faces between three and 11 years in prison if found guilty, is the first Charlotte police officer to be indicted for an on-duty shooting in more than 30 years, reports the Charlotte Observer. A grand jury refused to indict the 28-year-old officer last week, but the case was sent back for a highly unusual second try after prosecutors said that there hadn't been a full panel present for the first attempt. The family of Jonathan Ferrell, who was shot after he crashed his car late at night and walked to a nearby house, where the homeowner called 911, filed a wrongful death lawsuit earlier this month. A lawyer for the family says the evidence is so strong that the indictment is no surprise. "We're all pleased and happy that the process is beginning now and that there's an end in sight," he tells CNN. "It is the first step towards justice." | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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News article:
This photo provided by the Long Beach Fire Department shows Captain David Rosa who was fatally shot while responding to an emergency at a senior home on Monday, June 25, 2018 in Long Beach, Calif. Rosa,... (Associated Press)
This photo provided by the Long Beach Fire Department shows Captain David Rosa who was fatally shot while responding to an emergency at a senior home on Monday, June 25, 2018 in Long Beach, Calif. Rosa, a long-time veteran of the department and leaves behind a wife and two children. Another firefighter... (Associated Press)
LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A 77-year-old man set a fire to lure firefighters to his Southern California retirement home so he could shoot them, authorities said. The attack killed one firefighter and wounded another.
Thomas Kim was arrested Monday on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and arson but investigators were still trying to determine a motive for the attack in the southern Los Angeles suburb, Police Chief Robert Luna said.
"There's still is a large puzzle we're trying to put together. There's still a lot of information we don't know," Luna said.
Kim remained jailed on $2 million bail and it was unclear whether he had an attorney.
Firefighters were called to the 11-story Covenant Manor at around 4 a.m. Monday by reports of an explosion. They found some second-floor windows blown out, activated sprinklers, the smell of gas and a fire that they extinguished, authorities said.
Firefighters were searching the building when shots rang out and the two firefighters were hit, Fire Chief Michael DuRee said.
Fire Capt. Dave Rosa, a 17-year veteran, died at a hospital, the chief said. He is survived by a wife and two children ages 16 and 25.
"Long Beach lost a hero today," Mayor Robert Garcia said.
Dozens of firefighters stood at attention and saluted as the flag-draped coffin carrying Rosa's body was brought out of a hospital Monday afternoon and loaded into a coroner's van. Community members waved American flags along the street outside the hospital as the procession of police and fire vehicles escorted the van to the coroner's office.
The other firefighter, Ernesto Torres, was released from the hospital and was expected to make a full recovery, officials said.
An elderly resident at the retirement home was also shot and was in critical but stable condition, Luna said. However, the circumstances of that shooting were not immediately known.
The police chief said a revolver was found after Kim was arrested. Investigators also called in a bomb squad to render two suspicious devices safe.
Luna didn't explain the nature of the devices but said detectives have "a lot of questions" about them and what Kim intended to do with them.
Eighty senior citizens were evacuated from the retirement home until it could be declared safe.
"This is a lot to deal with," said Pamela Barr, 73, as she sat with her son in a car, waiting to be allowed back in the tower.
Barr, who lives on the ninth floor, said she hadn't heard of any troubles involving residents of the facility, where she has lived for seven years. She described it as clean, well-run and secure.
The residential tower near downtown Long Beach has 100 apartments for low-income people age 62 and older as well as disabled adults, according to its website.
Long Beach is a major port city with a population of more than 400,000.
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Balsamo reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer John Antczak in Los Angeles contributed to this report. ||||| Firefighters pay their respects to Capt. Dave Rosa, 45, on Monday, June 25, 2018 during a procession taking his body from St. MaryÕs Hospital in Long Beach to the coronerÕs office. Rosa and another firefighter were struck by gunfire while responding to reports of an explosion at a downtown Long Beach high-rise. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A portrait of Long Beach Fire Captain Dave Rosa, 45, during a press conference after he was shot and killed responding to a fire in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, June 25, 2018. Rosa and another firefighter were struck by gunfire while responding to reports of an explosion at a downtown Long Beach high-rise. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
CHP escortes the fallen firefighter, Capt. Dave Rosa, to the L. A. County Coroners office in Los Angeles on Monday, June 25, 2018, on the 710 freeway as firefighters salute on the overpass. (ABC-7)
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The Los Angeles City Fire Department honor guard brings a wreath to St. Mary Medical Center after Long Beach Fire Captain David Rosa was shot and killed responding to a fire in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, June 25, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Firefighters pay their respects to Capt. Dave Rosa, 45, on Monday, June 25, 2018 during a procession taking his body from St. MaryÕs Hospital in Long Beach to the coronerÕs office. Rosa and another firefighter were struck by gunfire while responding to reports of an explosion at a downtown Long Beach high-rise. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Corinna Rowe of Long Beach said she was showing her support for all firefighters during a procession for Capt. Dave Rosa, 45, on Monday, June 25, 2018 to take his body from St. MaryÕs Hospital in Long Beach to the coronerÕs office. Rosa and another firefighter were struck by gunfire while responding to reports of an explosion at a downtown Long Beach high-rise. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The body of Long Beach Fire Captain David Rosa leaves St. Mary Medical Center inside a coroner’s van after he was shot and killed responding to a fire in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, June 25, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Adrian Duran of Boyle Heights came out to honor fallen Long Beach Fire Capt. Dave Rosa at the Los Angeles County Coroners office Monday afternoon. Rosa and other firefighters were shot at while responding to a fire call early Monday morning. Rosa died from his injuries and another firefighter was treated and released. No suspect has been named in the shooting. (Photo by David Crane, Daily News/SCNG)
Long Beach firefighters console each other outside St. Mary Medical Center after Fire Captain David Rosa was shot and killed responding to a fire in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, June 25, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Residents of the elderly living facility where the shooting of the Long Beach Fire Fighter took place are escorted away from the building for their safety on Monday June 25, 2018. (Photo by Tracey Roman)
Long Beach Assistant Fire Chief Xavier Espino outside St. Mary Medical Center after Fire Captain David Rosa was shot and killed responding to a fire in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, June 25, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Long Beach firefighters console each other outside St. Mary Medical Center after Fire Captain David Rosa was shot and killed responding to a fire in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, June 25, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Long Beach Fire Department Capt. Dave Rosa, 45, was killed after being struck by gunfire while responding to reports of an explosion at Covenant Manor in Downtown Long Beach. (Photo courtesy of Long Beach Fire Department)
LONG BEACH, CA – JUNE 25: Jenn Ochoa of Los Alamitos shows her support during a procession for Capt. Dave Rosa, 45, to take his body from St. Mary’s Medical Centerin Long Beach to the coroner’s office on Monday, June 25, 2018. Rosa and another firefighter were struck by gunfire while responding to reports of an explosion at a downtown Long Beach high-rise. (Photo by Paul Bersebach/Orange County Register/SCNG)
Long Beach firefighters salute as a van carrying the family of Fire Captain David Rosa leaves St. Mary Medical Center after his body left in a coroner’s van after he was shot and killed responding to a fire in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, June 25, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A Long Beach Firefighter wears a black band over their badge in remembrance of Fire Captain Dave Rosa, 45, who was shot and killed responding to a fire in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, June 25, 2018. Rosa and another firefighter were struck by gunfire while responding to reports of an explosion at a downtown Long Beach high-rise. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Long Beach Firefighters CHP and Police escort the body of fallen Fire Captain David Rosa down the 710 Freeway Monday afternoon on Monday June 25, 2018. (Photo by Tracey Roman)
Officials investigate at Covenant Manor in the 600 block of E. 4th St. in Long Beach where Capt. Dave Rosa, 45, was killed on Monday, June 25, 2018 while responding to a fire call. Rosa and another firefighter were struck by gunfire while responding to reports of an explosion at the downtown Long Beach high-rise. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Officials investigate at Covenant Manor in the 600 block of E. 4th St. in Long Beach where Capt. Dave Rosa, 45, was killed on Monday, June 25, 2018 while responding to a fire call. Rosa and another firefighter were struck by gunfire while responding to reports of an explosion at the downtown Long Beach high-rise. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Windows blown out in explosion at Long Beach retirement home where a Long Beach Fire Department Capt. Dave Rosa, 45,was shot to death today. (Photo by Kelly Puente, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The scene from 3rd and Atlantic where firefighters responding to a report of an explosion in a high-rise apartment in downtown Long Beach shortly before 4 a.m. were met with gunfire, with two getting struck on June 25, 2018. (Photo by Megan Barnes)
Long Beach firefighters line 11th. Street as they wait for the body of Long Beach Fire Captain David Rosa to leave St. Mary Medical Center after he was shot and killed responding to a fire in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, June 25, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Long Beach Fire Department Capt. Dave Rosa, 45, who was killed in the line of duty on Monday, June 25, 2018, was active in the Capo Valley Little League as the Vice President and umpire for the league in this 2007 file photo. (Photo by David Bro, Contributing Photographer)
This .357 revolver was recovered at the scene where Long Beach Fire Captain Dave Rosa, 45, was shot and killed responding to a fire in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, June 25, 2018. Rosa and another firefighter were struck by gunfire while responding to reports of an explosion at a downtown Long Beach high-rise. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Long Beach Mayor Rober Garcia, left, and Fire Chief Mike Duree outside St. Mary Medical Center after Fire Captain David Rosa was shot and killed responding to a fire in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, June 25, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Long Beach firefighters line 11th. Street as they wait for the body of Long Beach Fire Captain David Rosa to leave St. Mary Medical Center after he was shot and killed responding to a fire in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, June 25, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
LAFD puts a flag in place for the arrival of Long Beach Capt. Dave Rosa at the Los Angeles County Coroners office Monday afternoon. Rosa and other firefighters were shot at while responding to a fire call early Monday morning. Rosa died from his injuries and another firefighter was treated and released. No suspect has been named in the shooting. (Photo by David Crane, Daily News/SCNG)
The body of Long Beach Fire Capt. Dave Rosa arrives as the Los Angeles County Coroners office Monday afternoon. Rosa and other firefighters were shot at while responding to a fire call early Monday morning. Rosa died from his injuries and another firefighter was treated and released. No suspect has been named in the shooting. (Photo by David Crane, Daily News/SCNG)
Long Beach firefighters embrace as they await the arrival of the body of Capt. Dave Rosa at the Los Angeles County Coroners office Monday afternoon. Rosa and other firefighters were shot at while responding to a fire call early Monday morning. Rosa died from his injuries and another firefighter was treated and released. No suspect has been named in the shooting. (Photo by David Crane, Daily News/SCNG)
Long Beach firefighters embrace as they await the arrival of the body of Capt. Dave Rosa at the Los Angeles County Coroners office Monday afternoon. Rosa and other firefighters were shot at while responding to a fire call early Monday morning. Rosa died from his injuries and another firefighter was treated and released. No suspect has been named in the shooting. (Photo by David Crane, Daily News/SCNG)
Displaced Covenant Manor residents were shuttled to Silverado Park for medical evaluations and meals. The city and the American Red Cross set up cots in the gym. (Photo by Megan Barnes, Long Beach Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Long Beach firefighters salute as the body of Capt. Dave Rosa arrives as the Los Angeles County Coroners office Monday afternoon. Rosa and other firefighters were shot at while responding to a fire call early Monday morning. Rosa died from his injuries and another firefighter was treated and released. No suspect has been named in the shooting. (Photo by David Crane, Daily News/SCNG)
Long Beach firefighters salute as the body of Capt. Dave Rosa arrives as the Los Angeles County Coroners office Monday afternoon. Rosa and other firefighters were shot at while responding to a fire call early Monday morning. Rosa died from his injuries and another firefighter was treated and released. No suspect has been named in the shooting. (Photo by David Crane, Daily News/SCNG)
Long Beach firefighters salute as the body of Capt. Dave Rosa arrives as the Los Angeles County Coroners office Monday afternoon. Rosa and other firefighters were shot at while responding to a fire call early Monday morning. Rosa died from his injuries and another firefighter was treated and released. No suspect has been named in the shooting. (Photo by David Crane, Daily News/SCNG)
Long Beach firefighters embrace as they await the arrival of the body of Capt. Dave Rosa at the Los Angeles County Coroners office Monday afternoon. Rosa and other firefighters were shot at while responding to a fire call early Monday morning. Rosa died from his injuries and another firefighter was treated and released. No suspect has been named in the shooting. (Photo by David Crane, Daily News/SCNG)
Long Beach firefighters salute as the body of Capt. Dave Rosa arrives as the Los Angeles County Coroners office Monday afternoon. Rosa and other firefighters were shot at while responding to a fire call early Monday morning. Rosa died from his injuries and another firefighter was treated and released. No suspect has been named in the shooting. (Photo by David Crane, Daily News/SCNG)
Long Beach Fire Chief Mike Duree and Mayor Robert Garcia chat after a press conference for Fire Captain Dave Rosa, 45, who was shot and killed responding to a fire in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, June 25, 2018. Rosa and another firefighter were struck by gunfire while responding to reports of an explosion at a downtown Long Beach high-rise. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A portrait of Long Beach Fire Captain Dave Rosa, 45, as Long Beach Fire Chief Mike Duree talks about him during a press conference after he was shot and killed responding to a fire in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, June 25, 2018. Rosa and another firefighter were struck by gunfire while responding to reports of an explosion at a downtown Long Beach high-rise. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Long Beach Fire Chief Mike Duree during a press conference after Fire Captain Dave Rosa, 45, was shot and killed responding to a fire in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, June 25, 2018. Rosa and another firefighter were struck by gunfire while responding to reports of an explosion at a downtown Long Beach high-rise. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Flowers and cards are left at Fire Station 10 in Long Beach where Capt. Dave Rosa, 45, worked. Rosa was killed on Monday, June 25, 2018 while responding to a fire call at a downtown Long Beach high-rise. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Long Beach Chief of Police Robert Luna during a press conference after Fire Captain Dave Rosa, 45, was shot and killed responding to a fire in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, June 25, 2018. Rosa and another firefighter were struck by gunfire while responding to reports of an explosion at a downtown Long Beach high-rise. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Long Beach Fire Chief Mike Duree during a press conference after Fire Captain Dave Rosa, 45, was shot and killed responding to a fire in Long Beach, CA, on Monday, June 25, 2018. Rosa and another firefighter were struck by gunfire while responding to reports of an explosion at a downtown Long Beach high-rise. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A decorated, widely respected Long Beach fire captain responding to an explosion at high-rise retirement home was gunned down early Monday morning in a puzzling attack that authorities said was orchestrated by a 77-year-old resident of the facility, who possibly planned the ambush but whose motive remained a mystery.
A second firefighter was grazed by gunfire and was expected to make a full recovery, and an elderly resident who was shot was in critical condition.
As firefighters and other law enforcement personnel across Long Beach, and the state, mourned the loss of veteran fire Capt. Dave Rosa, Long Beach police announced they had apprehended Thomas Kim, a second-floor resident of the building, in connection with both the explosion and the shootings. He was arrested on suspicion of murder, two counts of attempted murder and arson. He was held on $2 million bail.
Kim has a previous arrest years ago for auto theft, police said. But they were trying to figure out a motive for Monday’s attacks.
“We’re frustrated that there’s a large puzzle we’re trying to put together, and a lot of information we don’t know yet,” Police Chief Robert Luna said.
Police were investigating whether Kim set the fires prior to the attack on the two firemen, and said suspicious devices were found in his apartment.
Long Beach Fire Chief Mike DuRee identified the fallen firefighter as Rosa, a 45-year-old captain for the past 6½ years.
Rosa worked the busiest fire stations in the city, most recently Fire Station No. 10, DuRee said, and he trained new firefighters.
He leaves behind a wife and two sons ages 16 and 25.
“He was a staunch family man, a good husband, a good father, a joy to be around, just a wonderful wonderful person, as are most firefighters,” DuRee said. “It’s left quite a big void.”
Rosa’s death triggered an emotional outpouring of support from firefighters and police departments across the state, as well as from elected leaders, including. Gov. Jerry Brown.
“It was with great sadness that Anne and I learned Fire Captain David Rosa passed away today while protecting the residents of a retirement home,” the governor said in statement. “Our deepest condolences go out to Captain Rosa’s family, friends and the entire Long Beach Fire Department as they mourn his tragic death.”
The wounded firefighter was Ernesto Torres, 35, who has 12 years with the department. He suffered a graze wound and was discharged from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
An elderly resident of the building was in a hospital listed in critical but stable condition.
The 11-story, 100-unit Covenant Manor houses low-income senior citizens in the 600 block of East Fourth Street near Atlantic Avenue.
When asked whether the attack was a planned ambush, Police Chief Luna said, “That is definitely on the table. … We’re going to be looking at that. That’s the environment we work in today as law enforcement and firefighters.
“You go to these scenes and you never know what’s on the other side of those doors,” he said. “These brave firefighters went through those doors and, unfortunately, they were met with gunfire.
“We’re brothers and sisters, so this is hitting us extremely hard,” the chief said.
Police recovered a revolver at the scene, and a sheriff’s department bomb squad examined two devices that were deemed to be “suspicious,” Luna said. They were rendered safe, he said, and flammable liquids believed to be gasoline were removed from the scene.
“We have a lot of questions about the devices that were found and the suspect’s intent, which we do not have a full picture of yet,” Luna said.
He said preliminary evidence and witness interviews point to an intentional set-up.
DuRee said that while he has heard of firefighters being targeted in other parts of the country, “this is the first time we’ve ever experienced anything like this.”
The last time a Long Beach firefighter was killed in the line of duty was in 1974.
Kim was arrested about 6 a.m., according to jail records.
“Patrol officers immediately started to search for the shooter as we normally do in these situations, we try and isolate him and save anybody else from being shot,” Luna said.
Thomas Kim’s only major vice is gambling and that cost him his marriage several years ago, according to his brother.
“His wife left him because he gambled,” George Kim, who hasn’t spoken to his brother in nearly 30 years, said. “That is the only thing that is a bad habit.” Thomas Kim and his ex-wife, who is a nurse, have one daughter.
Thomas Kim’s immigrated to the U.S. in the 1960’s, graduated from college and briefly worked as a civil engineer in the LA area.
He then worked in the construction industry in Korea and in Saudi Arabia before returning to the U.S. Thomas Kim, who is diabetic, would also buy clothing items at LA flea markets and then resell them in Mexico, George Kim said. He plans to visit his brother in jail.
“I don’t know what it will be like to see him. I haven’t seen him in almost 30 years,” he said. “I thought he was dead. I’m going to find out what happened to him.
About 3:49 a.m., firefighters received the initial report, said Jake Heflin, a spokesman for the Long Beach Fire Department, with residents reporting a strong smell of gasoline.
“They did notice some windows were blown out and sprinklers were on,” he said.
Within 10 minutes, firefighters had knocked down the fire, apparently on the second floor. Another 10 minutes later, shots were fired, with the victims hit by the gunfire, Heflin said.
Today is an incredibly sad day for Long Beach and the Long Beach Fire Department. We’ve lost one of our local heroes and another is injured but stable. We are all praying and sending love to the families and our @lbfd team. — Robert Garcia (@RobertGarciaLB) June 25, 2018
By late morning, 80 Covenant Manor residents had been bused to a nearby Covenant Presbyterian Church, where they were interviewed by police. Many were still in their pajamas.
Afterward, one woman, visiting her son, said she heard a loud boom on the second floor.
“I was so nervous,” said the woman, who would only give her name as Ms. Harris. “I slipped on my sweatpants and ran downstairs.”
She said she didn’t even know about the shooting, but added, “It looked like it blew a window clean out of the building.”
The residents were then bused to Silverado Park’s gym, where city employees and the American Red Cross set up green cots. They were expected to return home Monday evening.
The displaced residents were offered meals and evaluated for their medical needs. Many have chronic conditions, such as diabetes, or use walkers and wheelchairs to get around.
James Park, a spokesman for HumanGood, which operates Covenant Manor, said the nonprofit is “focusing on helping those residents who were displaced from their homes and assisting the authorities in their ongoing investigation.”
Ronald Keller, sitting barefoot in his wheelchair, said police rescued him from his apartment on the 9th floor, where he lives alone.
“I heard a bang, then I heard glass breaking or scattering across the floor,” he said. “I didn’t know what was going on.”
Keller started going down the hallway, when police told him to stay in his apartment and wait for them take him to safety. From his window while he waited about 15 minutes, he watched a flurry of police activity.
“I’m used to hearing gunshots in this area,” Keller said.
Then police came for him, he said: “They came and pushed me to the elevators.”
Adrian, who declined to provide his last name, said he, his dachshund mix and others escaped the building by going down the stairs. The elevator doors had automatically locked after the fire alarm sounded.
“I was woken by a big boom and initially thought there was an earthquake,” he said.
Friends who live on the second floor told Adrian they heard two gunshots after the blast. He was saddened to learn the gunfire claimed the life of a fireman: “I’m so sorry. There are crazy people all over the place, and good people lose their lives.”
Neal Day, a military veteran who lives next door to the building, said he slept through the explosion, but his neighbors were rattled and initially thought it was a bad car crash.
“It was pretty chaotic and confusing since they were trying to evacuate all of the seniors inside,” he said.
Late Monday morning, police and fire officials collected at St. Mary’s Medical Center, exchanging handshakes, hugs and tears. A large crowd gathered.
An honor guard with the Los Angeles Fire Department brought a wreath of white, yellow and red flowers, with two yellow stripes across it in honor of Capt. Rosa.
Then, at about 12:30 p.m., a 16-vehicle procession that included a coroner’s van began a procession to take the body to the coroner’s office in Los Angeles, heading westbound on 11th Street, to Long Beach Boulevard and then onto the 710 Freeway.
In front were three motorcycle officers. They were followed by Engine No. 10, from Rosa’s station.
Along the 710, firefighters and perhaps other officials positioned their emergency trucks on the overpasses, standing outside and saluting Rosa as the procession moved along just below them.
A few civilians stood with them on the sidewalk in solidarity. An 8 p.m. vigil was planned at Fire Station No. 10.
“My dad was a fireman, so I just wanted to pay my respects,” said Tim McCord, a local oil field operator.
At Fire Station 10 in Central Long Beach, where Rosa was based, residents left notes, candles and flowers.
“First responders have a dangerous job, but this one really brought it close to home,” said Jay Maupin, who lives across the street from the station.
Abraham Garcia, 21, stopped by with a bouquet of two dozen red roses. Garcia, an aspiring firefighter, said he was one of Rosa’s students in the Long Beach Explorers youth program.
“He was always so passionate about what he did,” Garcia said.
One anonymous Long Beach resident left a poem with a note at the bottom: “Thank you for all the lives you’ve saved. I’m so sorry you lost yours.”
Staff writer Scott Schwebke contributed to this story. ||||| These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article? | – A firefighter in Long Beach, Calif., was killed in the line of duty on Monday, and the circumstances are especially jarring: Authorities suspect that a 77-year-old resident of a nursing home deliberately set off an explosion, then waited for firefighters to arrive so he could shoot them, reports the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Thomas Kim, a resident of the 11-story building, is jailed on suspicion of murder, attempted murder, and arson. Police say he killed veteran fire Capt. Dave Rosa, 45, and wounded 35-year-old firefighter Ernesto Torres, who was expected to make a full recovery. A resident of the home also was shot and is in critical condition. “We’re frustrated that there’s a large puzzle we’re trying to put together, and a lot of information we don’t know yet,” says Police Chief Robert Luna. Police have not speculated about a motive, and Kim "hasn't given us much of an explanation," says another police official, per the Los Angeles Times. Firefighters arrived at Covenant Manor about 4am Monday after getting a report about an explosion, reports the AP. They discovered blown-out windows on the second floor and extinguished a fire, and were searching the building when gunfire broke out. Authorities later recovered a revolver from the scene, and found two suspicious devices in Kim's apartment as well as what is believed to be gasoline. An ambush? "That is definitely on the table," says Luna. "These brave firefighters went through those doors and, unfortunately, they were met with gunfire." | multi_news_1_0_0 |
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You are given a question-answer pair. Answer with their type. Pay attention that there may be more than one correct type, but you only have to choose one. In your responses, use of the following types:
(1) Humans: Any individual or group of humans, including fictional ones (e.g., a group or organization of persons , an individual, title of a person, description of a person);
(2) Event: Any phenomenon natural or artificial (e.g., named hurricanes, Battles, Wars, Sports events, Terrorist attacks);
(3) Entity: A thing with distinct and independent existence (Animals, Organs of body, Colors, Inventions, books and other creative pieces, Currency name, Diseases, and medicine, Food, Musical instrument, Languages, Plants, Products, Religions, Sports, Elements and substances, Symbols and signs, Techniques and methods, Equivalent terms, Vehicles);
(4) Facility: Something built for a particular purpose (Buildings, Airports, Highways, Bridges);
(5) Location: A place (Cities, Countries, Mountains, States);
(6) Law: Named documents made into laws (e.g., “the first amendment”, "civil rights act");
(7) Organization: an organized body of people with a particular purpose (Company names, e.g. Google, Cults or terrorist groups, e.g. Al Qaeda);
(8) Date: Absolute or relative dates or periods, bigger than 1 day (Years, Range, e.g. from Monday to Tuesday, or during the 20th century, Approximate time);
(9) Time: Any temporal range/unit that is shorter than a day (e.g., 2 o'clock, 1 pm);
(10) Money: Monetary values, including unit (e.g., "$26", "914$");
(11) Quantity: postcodes or other codes, the number of sth, Ranks, fractions, speed, temperature, size, area, and volume, weight (e.g., "26 degree" "17 inch");
(12) Description: description and abstract concepts (e.g., the definition of something, the manner of an action, reasons);
(13) Abbreviation: expression abbreviated (e.g., AMT = abbreviation of Amazon Mechanical Turk). Don't generate any word that is not mentioned in the list of types (Humans, Event, Entity, Facility, Location, Law, Organization, Date, Time, Money, Quantity, Description, Abbreviation). If you can not associate any of the given types with the provided question and answer pair, respond "Other".
Q: Question: Why was Crystal Bowersox in the hospital during the week of the top 20 on American Idol? (Answer: diabetic ketoacidosis).
A: | Entity. | task046_miscellaneous_question_typing |
|
You will be given a definition of a task first, then an example. Follow the example to solve a new instance of the task.
In this task, you are given two natural language statements with similar wording. You must choose the statement that makes less sense based on common sense knowledge. A '
' separates the statements. Use "first" or "second" to indicate which sentence makes less sense.
A mosquito stings me
I sting a mosquito
Solution: second
Why? The second statement doesn't make sense.
New input: Since he was diabetic he had to take insulin shots regularly.
Since he was diabetic he ate more milkshakes.
Solution: | second | task291_semeval_2020_task4_commonsense_validation |
|
In this task, you are given two natural language statements with similar wording. You must choose the statement that makes less sense based on common sense knowledge. A '
' separates the statements. Use "first" or "second" to indicate which sentence makes less sense.
Since he was diabetic he had to take insulin shots regularly.
Since he was diabetic he ate more milkshakes. | second | task291_semeval_2020_task4_commonsense_validation |
|
In this task, you are given two natural language statements with similar wording. You must choose the statement that makes less sense based on common sense knowledge. A '
' separates the statements. Use "first" or "second" to indicate which sentence makes less sense.
human has a tail
dog has a tail
first
The nightingale is a elephant
The nightingale is a bird
first
Since he was diabetic he had to take insulin shots regularly.
Since he was diabetic he ate more milkshakes.
| second
| task291_semeval_2020_task4_commonsense_validation |
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