A downed utility pole along May Avenue in South Oklahoma City. (Holly Bailey/Yahoo News)
OKLAHOMA CITY?Anthony Connel was sitting in traffic off of South 149th Street, about a mile from his home, when he saw it happen: A dark black cloud, so ominous and wide that it didn?t even look like a tornado, dropped to the ground?and headed straight for his house.
Connel, a sales manager at Anheuser-Busch, had seen tornadoes before. They are a way of life in Oklahoma?a dangerous, yet fascinating phenomenon of nature considered as normal as the state?s rabid devotion to Sooner football. Here, local meteorologists are considered major celebrities, and everyone has been a storm chaser of sorts at least once or twice, curious about how a cloud so eerily beautiful could also be so destructive.
But there was something different about this tornado, Connel recalled in an interview with Yahoo News.
?It was just this big black cloud on the ground. You couldn?t even tell it was a tornado. And it didn?t seem to be moving. It just keep getting bigger and bigger,? he said. Watching the twister take direct aim at his largely rural neighborhood just east of Interstate 44, Connel realized he was about to lose everything. He knew his neighbors were in his storm cellar (his wife, Virginia, was at work) and believed they would be safe, but he also knew that his home probably wouldn?t survive.
?I just felt totally helpless,? Connel said Tuesday, as he stood alongside the large pile of shredded lumber, brick and steel that used to be his home.
?There was nothing I could do,? he added, his voice thick with emotion. ?It was too late. If I?d been here, I could have tried to save some things, but I just had to sit back and watch it happen. I was too late.?
To say Connel?s neighborhood looked like a war zone is an understatement. Trees lush and green earlier this spring, now shaved off and resembling slingshots, were pierced by sheet metal and daggers of jagged wood from homes swallowed up and spit out by the tornado. Massive electricity towers that usually resemble giant power robots along the prairie were twisted and collapsed, while downed power lines were everywhere, the utility poles snapped like matchsticks. Crushed cars were thrown up against homes and wrapped around tree trunks.
Across the street from Connel?s home, a mattress was impaled deep atop the trunk of a massacred tree. On a nearby lot, a brick mailbox was the only sign left of where a house once stood.
Within giant piles of debris were dead horses and cattle?apparently transported by the storm from other places. The air smelled strongly of natural gas.
On Tuesday afternoon, many of Connel?s neighbors climbed through the debris of their former homes, looking for anything they could salvage. Most waved off this reporter?saying it was just too hard to talk about what they were going through. But there was one miracle: Nobody in the immediate neighborhood had died.
At the remains of his home, Connel spoke of the small, yet important things he had recovered, including several external hard drives of photographs he had taken, as well as one of the old-timey shaving kits he collected.
He marveled at the randomness of what was found. Earlier that morning, Connel?s neighbor, an elderly man, had asked his family to look through the rubble for a jewelry box containing the wedding ring of his wife who had recently died. Amazingly, they found the ring buried in the red mud.
?That?s the only thing he wanted, and they found it,? Connel said.
For now, Connel and his wife are staying in a nearby hotel. As the skies darkened again and rain began to pour, he pointed across the street to a red car crushed against a tree near a dead cow. It was his beloved 1970 Road Runner, a car he had meticulously restored to pristine condition and that had a ?$10,000 paint job,? he said.
When Connel had left for work Monday, it had been parked in his garage. It was one of the first things he looked for upon returning to his house after the tornado. He looked for a half hour and then gave up, convinced the storm had just carried it away.
But a little while later, he noticed its crumpled shape against a tree.
?I know, standing here, it?s right in plain sight,? Connel said. ?But it doesn?t look like it used to. ... Things around here are hard to recognize. You just feel helpless."
May 20, 2013 ? Women who smoke during pregnancy increase the risk of both obesity and gestational diabetes, in their daughters, concludes research published in Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. The study is by Dr Kristina Mattsson, Lund University, Sweden, and colleagues including Dr Matthew Longnecker from the National Institute on Environmental Health Sciences at the U.S.National Institutes of Health, North Carolina, USA.
While the relation of prenatal tobacco exposure to negative outcomes in childhood has been much studied, reports on possible adverse effects that persist until adulthood are more scarce and results are inconsistent. In the study using data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, the authors investigated the relationship between a woman smoking in pregnancy and the chances of her daughter then developing gestational diabetes and obesity.
Data were retrieved from the Medical Birth Register of Sweden for women who were born in 1982 (when smoking data were first registered) or later and who had given birth to at least one child; 80,189 pregnancies were included. The data on maternal smoking behaviour in the register are categorised into three categories: non-smokers, moderate smokers (1-9 cigarettes/day) and heavy smokers (>9 cigarettes/day). Among the daughters studied, 7,300 subsequently became obese and 291 developed gestational diabetes when they themselves were pregnant.
The risk (odds ratio) of gestational diabetes was increased by 62% among women (daughters) who were moderately exposed to smoking in the womb and 52% among those heavily exposed.The women moderately exposed were 36% more likely to be obese and those heavily exposed 58% more likely to be obese. The associations remained after adjustment for age, parity, BMI, mode of delivery, gestational age and birthweight.
The authors suggest possible mechanisms behind the associations could be alterations in the regulation of appetite and satiety, which has been found in animal studies. Other reported effects of prenatal nicotine exposure include a higher rate of death of the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, and increased gene expression of transcription factors triggering formation of fat cells (adipocyte differentiation), which could be involved in the development of diabetes and obesity, respectively. In addition, the authors add that recent data show epigenetic changes in the offspring of smoking mothers (meaning the smoking actually causes changes in the gene expression in the unborn child that could predispose them to later obesity or diabetes). They caution though, that unmeasured differences in diet or other factors between families with and without smokers could possibly account for the associations observed.
The authors say: "In conclusion, these data show that women exposed to smoking during fetal life are at higher risk of developing gestational diabetes. Although short-term detrimental effects of smoking on the individual and her offspring are well known, such associations might extend into adulthood, making the incentive stronger for undertaking preventable measures, particularly as numbers in some countries point to an increase in daily smoking among young women."
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Diabetologia, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
K. Mattsson & K. Ka?lle?n & M. P. Longnecker & A. Rignell-Hydbom & L. Rylander. Maternal smoking during pregnancy and daughters? risk of gestational diabetes and obesity. Diabetologia, 2013 DOI: 10.1007/s00125-013-2936-7
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Actor Claire Julien poses for photographers during a photo call for the film The Bling Ring at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Actor Claire Julien poses for photographers during a photo call for the film The Bling Ring at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, left, and director Baz Luhrmann arrive for the opening ceremony and the screening of The Great Gatsby at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
Dancers perform on the red carpet ahead of the opening ceremony and the screening of The Great Gatsby at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
Jury president Steven Spielberg poses for photographers during a photo call for the jury at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
From left, director and jury president Steven Spielberg, actress Nicole Kidman and actor Daniel Auteuil attend the opening ceremony ahead of the screening of The Great Gatsby at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
CANNES, France (AP) ? Associated Press journalists open their notebooks at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival:
___
BRAFF NOT JUST DEPENDING ON KICKSTARTER
Zach Braff isn't just counting on the $2.7 million he raised on the crowd-funding platform Kickstarter to make his follow-up movie to "Garden State." Worldwide Entertainment has stepped in at Cannes as a financier for that film, "Wish I Was Here."
It's not uncommon for a film to find additional foreign investors at Cannes, but Braff has come under considerable criticism for relying on fans to bankroll his second directorial effort.
In one of the most high-profile Kickstarter campaigns, the "Scrubs" actor lobbied his fans to contribute money. The film's 38,000-plus backers earn various levels of rewards, from a copy of the script to a part in the film.
On his Kickstarter page, Braff denied that he was doing anything to undermine the spirit of crowd-funding. He said the additional funds would allow him to make the film as designed, within a budget of $5-6 million.
"I'm sorry for the hoopla," he wrote. "I'm sorry if your friends think you've been duped. But you haven't been. This is real. Crowd-sourcing films is here to stay."
Braff follows Rob Thomas' popular Kickstarter campaign to bring the cult TV show "Veronica Mars" back as a film. That project, too, had outside investment from Warner Bros.
Not everyone is a fan of "The Great Gatsby'''s hip-hop flavored soundtrack, but director Baz Luhrmann says using modern music was essential to capturing the spirit of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel.
"We wanted the film to feel like how it would have felt to read the novel in 1925," the director told reporters at the Cannes Film Festival, where the movie provided opening-night screen fireworks and red-carpet glamor.
"Fitzgerald put music front and center in his novel. He took African-American street music called jazz and he put it right as a star in the book. People said, 'Why are you doing that? It's a fad, it'll be gone next week.' And he said, because I want this book to feel right here, right now."
Luckily for Luhrmann, "Gatsby" star Leonardo DiCaprio introduced him to Jay-Z, and the superstar agreed to help score the film. Two of Jay-Z's own tracks ? "$100 Bill" and the Grammy-winning jam "No Church in the Wild" ? feature on the soundtrack, and he elicited contributions from the wife Beyonce, Emeli Sande and Lana Del Rey.
Luhrmann also used the soundtrack to counter criticism of the absence of African-American speaking characters in the movie ? as in Fitzgerald's book.
"Jay said that music is a star in the film so I think there is a great African-American presence in this film and I am very, very grateful for it," he said.
The French Riviera is a magnet for gamblers, so it's no surprise that oddsmakers are speculating furiously about who will win prizes from the Cannes Film Festival jury headed by Steven Spielberg.
Journalist and Cannes betting expert Neil Young ranks "Grisgris," by Chadian filmmaker Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, the early favorite for the Palme d'Or prize at 5-1. That is followed by "The Past," from Iran's Asghar Farhadi ? who won an Academy Award for "A Separation" ? at 11-2 and U.S. director James Gray's 1920s New York story "The Immigrant" at 13-2.
Other frontrunners are "Like Father, Like Son" from Korean director Kore-eda Hirokazu; Arnaud Desplechin's "Jimmy P," with Benicio del Toro as a traumatized Native American war veteran; and Alexander Payne's road movie "Nebraska."
But none of those films has even screened yet, and the odds are sure to change often before the prizes are handed out May 26.
Add Julianne Moore to those who are commending Angelina Jolie for her decision to reveal her choice to have a double mastectomy.
"I'm impressed with her and I'm impressed with her announcement, particularly because I feel there are so many women who are facing the same kind of choice, and it's a way to kind of validate and have solidarity with women who are having the same issue," Moore said in an interview from Cannes.
"It's obviously a really, really complicated (decision), and so I think her decision to go public about something like that can only help other women."
Jolie announced this week that she had both breasts removed recently because she had a very high chance of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Jolie has since had reconstructive surgery. Jolie's mother had breast cancer and died of ovarian cancer, while her grandmother suffered from ovarian cancer.
The chefs who prepared the dinner for the Cannes Film Festival's opening gala were as starry as the guests.
Anne Sophie Pic, who is a three-star Michelin chef, and Bruno Oger, who has two, collaborated for the four-course meal after the festival's opening night film of "The Great Gatsby" on Wednesday night.
Guests were treated to a menu that included King crab with shrimp and sea bass with rhubarb and celery. Select media were given a preview on Tuesday.
Pic and Oger will join other chefs during the festival at the Electrolux Agora Pavillion to ensure that VIPs get top cuisine.
AP10ThingsToSee - Fire engulfs a home along in Highland Township, Wis. late Tuesday, May 14, 2013 during a wildfire in northwestern Wisconsin that forced evacuations in the sparsely populated area. (AP Photo/The Duluth News-Tribune, Clint Austin, File)
AP10ThingsToSee - Fire engulfs a home along in Highland Township, Wis. late Tuesday, May 14, 2013 during a wildfire in northwestern Wisconsin that forced evacuations in the sparsely populated area. (AP Photo/The Duluth News-Tribune, Clint Austin, File)
AP10ThingsToSee - Amalia Lopez, who is 114-years-old, sits for a portrait inside her home on Mother's Day in Mexico City, Friday, May 10, 2013. Lopez was honored by the city on Mother's Day for being the oldest living woman in Mexico City. Born on July 10, 1898, she has survived her four children, and has 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)
AP10ThingsToSee - An internally displaced Rohingya man pushes a rickshaw with children and belongings leaving a camp for displaced Rohingya people in Sittwe, northwestern Rakhine State, Myanmar on Thursday, May 16, 2013. Members of the displaced Rohingya minority started to evacuate for safer shelters ahead of the arrival of Cyclone Mahasen. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe, File)
AP10ThingsToSee - In this photo provided by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the final section of spire is lowered into position on the top of One World Trade Center in New York on Friday, May 10, 2013. With the spire in place, One World Trade Center is now 1,776 feet tall. (AP Photo/Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, File) MANDATORY CREDIT: PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY
AP10ThingsToSee - A man jumps from the fifth floor of a burning government building in Lahore, Pakistan on Thursday, May 9, 2013. The fire spread to to three floors of the 13-story building. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary, File)
Here's your look at highlights from the weekly AP photo report, a gallery featuring a mix of front-page photography, the odd image you might have missed and lasting moments our editors think you should see.
This week's collection includes a wildfire in Wisconsin, the elections in Pakistan, Cyclone Mahasen in Myanmar, a Ukrainian circus act and Mother's Day in Mexico.
___
This gallery contains photos published May 9-16, 2013.
Follow AP photographers on Twitter: http://apne.ws/XZy6ny
___
See other recent AP photo galleries:
AP PHOTOS: OJ Simpson testifies in new trial bid: http://apne.ws/13zaFnv
AP PHOTOS: One World Trade Center reaches its apex: http://apne.ws/19yA5RQ
AP PHOTOS: Pakistanis defy dangers, go to polls: http://apne.ws/1071RnU
AP PHOTOS: Woman freed from collapse in Bangladesh: http://apne.ws/12DWURU
AP PHOTOS: Eerie ghost town comes up for air: http://apne.ws/12DX6Rg
___
AP 10 Things To See:
Week 1: http://apne.ws/ZWiCOl
Week 2: http://apne.ws/ZWiJt0
Week 3: http://apne.ws/10USsze
Week 4: http://apne.ws/14Qg5N1
Week 5: http://apne.ws/ZbwW8U
Week 6: http://apne.ws/101TrcA
Week 7: http://apne.ws/XZyYZu
Week 8: http://apne.ws/18ulJSa
Week 9: http://apne.ws/10vr50m
Week 10: http://apne.ws/13z9GDF
___
Follow AP Images on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Images
Visit AP Images online: http://www.apimages.com/
___
This gallery was curated by news producer Amir Bibawy in New York: https://twitter.com/AmirBibawy
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Ovarian cancer rates in the U.S. began to decline faster in 2002 around the time many older women went off hormone replacement therapy, according to a new study.
That year, the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) found that estrogen or estrogen plus progestin hormone therapy, prescribed for the symptoms of menopause, was linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, stroke and heart attack.
In a new analysis using census data, researchers found that ovarian cancer rates were falling by about one percent each year before 2002, then dropped by more than two percent per year.
The findings don't mean there's a cause-effect relationship between ovarian cancer and the hormone treatments, lead author Hannah Yang of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, told Reuters Health by email.
But the association is compelling, she said.
"Understanding exposures, such as (hormone therapy), within at-risk populations is useful for overall cancer prevention and control strategies, particularly for tumors that are difficult to treat, such as ovarian cancer," Yang said.
She and her colleagues used cancer incidence in North America data combined with census data to compare the yearly percent change in ovarian cancers from 1995 to 2002 and from 2003 to 2008. They found a significant change in the rate for women over 50, but not for younger women, according to results in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Overall, for women over 50, rates decreased by 21 percent from 1995 to 2008, from 38 cases out of 100,000 women to 30 out of 100,000.
There were more than 22,000 cases of ovarian cancer diagnosed in 2012, with 15,500 deaths, Yang said.
"Therefore, a two percent annual decline equates to a significantly reduced number of new cases and deaths related to ovarian cancer," she said.
?MOUNTING EVIDENCE'
"I think that there is mounting evidence that hormone replacement therapy, estrogen alone and combined with progestin, increases risks of ovarian cancer," Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, told Reuters Health.
"But unless a woman has a family history of ovarian cancer, it will still be a relatively small part of the benefit risk equation," said Manson, who was not involved in the study but was a principal investigator for the WHI.
"Compared to the risk of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, severity of symptoms, the risk of other adverse events, or quality of life benefits, it's really going to factor in a limited way as far as making the decision," she said.
The new results come on the heels of research into the risks of stopping hormone therapy while menopause symptoms are still disruptive (see Reuters Health story of May 1, 2013 here: http://reut.rs/10s8Anv).
"The paper does not provide definitive information that (hormonal therapy) accelerates or promotes the growth of ovarian cancer, but it does provide an additional reason for women to be cautious about their choice to consider taking it," Dr. D. Lawrence Wickerham, who helps run a National Institutes of Health-funded cancer research project in Pittsburgh, told Reuters Health by email.
"Women who are already taking (hormone therapy) should be diligent about obtaining their follow-up examinations and may wish to discuss with their health care provider whether or not to continue the therapy," said Wickerham, who was not involved in the study.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/10w06fv Journal of Clinical Oncology, online May 6, 2013.
FILE This Sept. 18, 2011 file photo shows Jimmy Fallon, left, and Seth Meyers at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. Meyers is moving from his "Weekend Update" desk to his own late night show on NBC. The network said Sunday, May 12, 2013 that the longtime "Saturday Night Live" cast member will replace Jimmy Fallon at the 12:35 a.m. "Late Night" show. Fallon will be moving up an hour as Jay Leno's replacement on the "Tonight" show. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file)
FILE This Sept. 18, 2011 file photo shows Jimmy Fallon, left, and Seth Meyers at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. Meyers is moving from his "Weekend Update" desk to his own late night show on NBC. The network said Sunday, May 12, 2013 that the longtime "Saturday Night Live" cast member will replace Jimmy Fallon at the 12:35 a.m. "Late Night" show. Fallon will be moving up an hour as Jay Leno's replacement on the "Tonight" show. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Seth Meyers is moving from his "Weekend Update" desk to his own late night show on NBC.
The network said Sunday that the 12-year "Saturday Night Live" cast member will replace Jimmy Fallon at the 12:35 a.m. "Late Night" show next year. Fallon is moving up an hour as Jay Leno's replacement on the "Tonight" show.
Meyers was considered the lead candidate for the "Late Night" job ever since Fallon's promotion was announced. The announcement solidifies Lorne Michaels as the comedy kingmaker at NBC. He'll be the executive in charge of "Late Night," ''Tonight" and "Saturday Night Live," which will all originate from New York's Rockefeller Center.
Meyers, 39, has been the head writer at "Saturday Night Live" for eight seasons. He's in his seventh year as "Weekend Update" host, to which he devotes all of his on-air time now.
And like Fallon before him, Meyers is making the move from "Weekend Update" to "Late Night."
"We think Seth is one of the brightest, most insightful comedy writers and performers of his generation," said Bob Greenblatt, NBC entertainment chairman. His topical comedy is "perfect for the 'Late Night' franchise," he said.
The late-night show began with David Letterman in 1982, and its other hosts have been Conan O'Brien and Fallon.
Meyers is a Northwestern University graduate and began his comedy career in Chicago. His chief television competition will by Craig Ferguson on CBS and "Nightline" on ABC. Like television in general, the late-night audience has dispersed in several directions, with DVR viewing of shows taped earlier a big alternative at night.
Late-night comedy is one of the NBC's few strong suits, with "Saturday Night Live" often drawing a bigger audience than most of what the network airs in prime-time. With Meyers' appointment, NBC is hoping for a smooth transition to a younger generation.
"I only have to work for Lorne for five more years before I pay him back for the time I totaled his car," Meyers quipped. "12:30 on NBC has long been incredible real estate. I hope I can do it justice."
Behind the scenes, Michael Shoemaker will remain with "Late Night" as producer, NBC said.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Attorney General Eric Holder says those who argue that civilian courts are incapable of handling terrorism cases "are simply wrong."
He says that after Sept. 11, members of Congress "placed unwise and unwarranted" restrictions on where certain suspected terrorists could be held, charged and prosecuted.
In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, Holder says "many of these tired and meritless political arguments" about the effectiveness of civilian courts have come up again.
On Saturday, he told law school graduates of the University of California, Berkeley, that federal courts have shown a "robust ability to stop terrorists and collect intelligence," and he contends that any move to limit their use would be counterproductive.
The Justice Department in Washington released a copy of his speech.
By David Morgan WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is asking companies for financial donations to help implement President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul, months before it is due to take effect. In telephone calls that began around March 23, officials say, Obama's top healthcare adviser has been seeking assistance from companies in the healthcare field and other industries as well as from healthcare providers, patient advocacy groups, churches and other charitable organizations. "The secretary has been working with a full range of stakeholders ... We have always worked with outside groups, and the efforts now ramping up are just one more part of that work," said Jason Young, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services. HHS declined to identify the targeted donors but said none of the companies are regulated by department agencies. The administration's aim is to win financial help for nonprofit groups, including Washington-based Enroll America, which are mounting a private-sector effort to persuade millions of uninsured Americans to obtain health coverage in 2014 through new online marketplaces, known as exchanges, slated to begin enrollment for federally subsidized private insurance on Oct. 1. With Republicans in Congress unwilling to consider allocating new money to finance government outreach efforts, the White House and HHS have appealed to private sources, including the insurance industry, to help with an implementation effort that could lead to higher costs and jeopardize a cornerstone of Obama's presidential legacy if it were to fail. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, blasted Sebelius' action as "absurd." "Moving forward, I will be seeking information from the administration about these actions to help better understand whether there are conflicts of interest and if it violated federal law," he said in a statement. HHS said the secretary began phoning companies after getting advice from department lawyers. "There is a special section in the Public Health Service Act that allows the secretary to support and to encourage others to support non-profit organizations working to provide health information and conduct other public health activities," Young told Reuters in an email.
OBAMA: DON'T BE 'BAMBOOZLED' Sebelius' fund-raising activities were originally reported by the Washington Post. Organizations like Enroll America are expected to play a key role in public outreach efforts set to begin this summer. A nonpartisan group dedicated to extending health coverage to nearly 49 million uninsured people, Enroll America's board includes representatives from Teva Pharmaceuticals, the Kaiser Permanente health system and the American Hospital Association, a Washington trade group. Enroll America President Anne Filipic said cooperation between the public, private and nonprofit sectors is vital to making sure the marketplaces are ready on time. "Secretary Sebelius recognizes the importance of the work Enroll America is doing and we're thrilled to be working with her," she said. Obama defended his Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on Friday at a White House event intended to kick off the administration's promotional campaign with a focus on the law's benefits for women. The president said he was "110 percent committed" to the law's success and warned listeners not to be "bamboozled" by misinformation. "This is too important for political games," Obama said. "Regular access to a doctor or medicine or preventive care - that's not some earned privilege, it is a right." The law is expected to provide health coverage to 38 million people by the end of the decade through the new marketplaces and an expansion of the Medicaid healthcare program for the poor. Some 7 million people are expected to gain coverage through the marketplaces alone in 2014, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Republicans have turned up the volume on their opposition to the law. The House of Representatives is to vote next week on a Republican measure to repeal the law. Like three-dozen previous House votes to repeal or defund healthcare reform, the measure is expected to go nowhere in the Democratic-led Senate. HHS officials say the department has put together $1.26 billion to finance Affordable Care Act implementation between now and Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. That includes an outreach campaign that has already cost $240 million, as well as funding for the establishment of 17 state insurance exchanges, and 33 others that HHS will operate in states that are either not ready or unwilling to run their own. The exchanges are scheduled to begin operating on Jan. 1, 2014, when the healthcare law comes into full force. (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
The Elephant's Tomb in Carmona may have been a temple to the god MithrasPublic release date: 10-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: SINC info@agenciasinc.es 34-914-251-820 FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
The so-called Elephant's Tomb in the Roman necropolis of Carmona (Seville, Spain) was not always used for burials. The original structure of the building and a window through which the sun shines directly in the equinoxes suggest that it was a temple of Mithraism, an unofficial religion in the Roman Empire. The position of Taurus and Scorpio during the equinoxes gives force to the theory.
The Carmona necropolis (Spain) is a collection of funeral structures from between the 1st century B.C. and the 2nd century A.D. One of these is known as the Elephant's Tomb because a statue in the shape of an elephant was found in the interior of the structure.
The origin and function of the construction have been the subject of much debate. Archaeologists from the University of Pablo de Olavide (Seville, Spain) have conducted a detailed analysis of the structure and now suggest that it may originally not have been used for burials but for worshipping the God Mithras. Mithraism was an unofficial religion that was widespread throughout the Roman Empire in the early centuries of our era.
Researchers have identified four stages in which the building was renovated, giving it different uses.
"In some stages, it was used for burial purposes, but its shape and an archaeoastronomical analysis suggest that it was originally designed and built to contain a Mithraeum [temple to Mithras]," as explained to SINC by Inmaculada Carrasco, one of the authors of the study.
Carrasco and her colleague Alejandro Jimnez focus their studies on a window in the main chamber built during the first stage. Earlier studies had already suggested that the purpose of the window was not to provide light, but that rather it may have served a symbolic and spiritual purpose.
The Sun, the Moon and the stars
"From our analysis of the window, we have deduced that it was positioned so that the rays of the sun reached the centre of the chamber during the equinoxes, in the spring and autumn, three hours after sunrise" explains Carrasco.
The authors believe that at that moment a statue of the tauroctony, the statue of Mithras slaying the bull (which has been lost), would have been illuminated.
In addition, during the winter and summer solstice, the sun would light up the north and south walls respectively.
Moreover, the position of the heavenly bodies at that time in the 2nd century reinforces the theory that the building was constructed for Mithraic worship, a religion that gave considerable importance to the constellations.
As the sun shines through the window during the spring equinox, Taurus rises to the East and Scorpio hides to the West. The opposite occurred during the autumn equinox.
Taurus and Scorpio were of special significance to the Mithraics. The main image of the cult is that of the God Mithras slaying a bull, and in the majority of these images there is also a scorpion stinging the animal's testicles.
Other constellations such as Aquarius, Orion or Leo, which were also of significance in this religion, appear in the path of the sun in the equinoxes and solstices at that time.
Moreover, according to the authors, the Moon, although having a secondary role, may have lit up the face of Mithras with a full moon on nights near to the equinoxes.
Four stages of renovation
Apart from the window, the architecture of the original building has similarities to other Mithraic constructions.
Carrasco explained that it is "an underground structure, with a room divided into three chambers, with a shrine or altar illuminated by the window at the head. The presence of a fountain is also highly significant as these are commonly found in the Mithraeums".
According to the authors, after its period as a Mithraic temple, the building was renovated three times, giving it new functions more in line with the functions of a necropolis. A burial chamber was built and at a later date, the roof was removed, leaving open courtyards. Lastly, it was filled with rubble and used as an area for burials.
However, there are some objections to the theory that it was a Mithraic temple as it is in a necropolis, an uncommon site for buildings used for this cult which were more often found in domestic, urban or rural environments.
"A similar case is that of Sutri (Italy) where the Mithraeum is on the outskirts of the town. The structure in Carmona is in a multi-purpose space, next to the Via Augusta which connected Cadiz to Rome, close to the amphitheatre and the circus, and consequently its position should not be considered an objection," says Jimnez.
###
References:
A. Jimnez, I. Carrasco. "The tomb of the Elephant at the Roman Necropolis of carmona. A necessary review through the Building Archaeology and Archaeostromy" Archivo espaol de arqueologa. DOI: 10.3989/aespa.085.012.007
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The Elephant's Tomb in Carmona may have been a temple to the god MithrasPublic release date: 10-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: SINC info@agenciasinc.es 34-914-251-820 FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
The so-called Elephant's Tomb in the Roman necropolis of Carmona (Seville, Spain) was not always used for burials. The original structure of the building and a window through which the sun shines directly in the equinoxes suggest that it was a temple of Mithraism, an unofficial religion in the Roman Empire. The position of Taurus and Scorpio during the equinoxes gives force to the theory.
The Carmona necropolis (Spain) is a collection of funeral structures from between the 1st century B.C. and the 2nd century A.D. One of these is known as the Elephant's Tomb because a statue in the shape of an elephant was found in the interior of the structure.
The origin and function of the construction have been the subject of much debate. Archaeologists from the University of Pablo de Olavide (Seville, Spain) have conducted a detailed analysis of the structure and now suggest that it may originally not have been used for burials but for worshipping the God Mithras. Mithraism was an unofficial religion that was widespread throughout the Roman Empire in the early centuries of our era.
Researchers have identified four stages in which the building was renovated, giving it different uses.
"In some stages, it was used for burial purposes, but its shape and an archaeoastronomical analysis suggest that it was originally designed and built to contain a Mithraeum [temple to Mithras]," as explained to SINC by Inmaculada Carrasco, one of the authors of the study.
Carrasco and her colleague Alejandro Jimnez focus their studies on a window in the main chamber built during the first stage. Earlier studies had already suggested that the purpose of the window was not to provide light, but that rather it may have served a symbolic and spiritual purpose.
The Sun, the Moon and the stars
"From our analysis of the window, we have deduced that it was positioned so that the rays of the sun reached the centre of the chamber during the equinoxes, in the spring and autumn, three hours after sunrise" explains Carrasco.
The authors believe that at that moment a statue of the tauroctony, the statue of Mithras slaying the bull (which has been lost), would have been illuminated.
In addition, during the winter and summer solstice, the sun would light up the north and south walls respectively.
Moreover, the position of the heavenly bodies at that time in the 2nd century reinforces the theory that the building was constructed for Mithraic worship, a religion that gave considerable importance to the constellations.
As the sun shines through the window during the spring equinox, Taurus rises to the East and Scorpio hides to the West. The opposite occurred during the autumn equinox.
Taurus and Scorpio were of special significance to the Mithraics. The main image of the cult is that of the God Mithras slaying a bull, and in the majority of these images there is also a scorpion stinging the animal's testicles.
Other constellations such as Aquarius, Orion or Leo, which were also of significance in this religion, appear in the path of the sun in the equinoxes and solstices at that time.
Moreover, according to the authors, the Moon, although having a secondary role, may have lit up the face of Mithras with a full moon on nights near to the equinoxes.
Four stages of renovation
Apart from the window, the architecture of the original building has similarities to other Mithraic constructions.
Carrasco explained that it is "an underground structure, with a room divided into three chambers, with a shrine or altar illuminated by the window at the head. The presence of a fountain is also highly significant as these are commonly found in the Mithraeums".
According to the authors, after its period as a Mithraic temple, the building was renovated three times, giving it new functions more in line with the functions of a necropolis. A burial chamber was built and at a later date, the roof was removed, leaving open courtyards. Lastly, it was filled with rubble and used as an area for burials.
However, there are some objections to the theory that it was a Mithraic temple as it is in a necropolis, an uncommon site for buildings used for this cult which were more often found in domestic, urban or rural environments.
"A similar case is that of Sutri (Italy) where the Mithraeum is on the outskirts of the town. The structure in Carmona is in a multi-purpose space, next to the Via Augusta which connected Cadiz to Rome, close to the amphitheatre and the circus, and consequently its position should not be considered an objection," says Jimnez.
###
References:
A. Jimnez, I. Carrasco. "The tomb of the Elephant at the Roman Necropolis of carmona. A necessary review through the Building Archaeology and Archaeostromy" Archivo espaol de arqueologa. DOI: 10.3989/aespa.085.012.007
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
You woke up this morning and decided that today is the day to get sales training for your team. But what is driving that decision? What makes you think you really need sales training? Before setting out to find a sales trainer, the next best step may be to assess the sales team since there are a lot of options out there. Do they meet your profile for your ideal salesperson? If not, training becomes secondary to finding sales talent that meets your needs.
In this article, I will share with you five important steps in making a sales training decision.
Trainer Type. The spectrum of sales trainers is very broad. At one end of the spectrum is the motivational speaker. These are folks that excite the troops, but provide few actionable tools. The team walks away feeling great, but needs to have a process to follow for this to be an effective venture. This type of trainer makes sense for companies with morale issues or if the organization has undergone significant change.
In the middle of the spectrum are those trainers who have some personality flavor and present a comprehensive sales methodology. These engagements are ideal for companies that do not have a selling system and are trying to bring energy and focus to their sales team.
At the other end of the spectrum is the sales skill trainer. Oftentimes, the trainers in the middle of the spectrum can deliver this type of training as well. These trainers focus on specific areas of the buying process and work on skill development with the team. These are not "rah-rah" sessions, but are usually structured as workshops. From these sessions, the salespeople walk away with actionable tools that they can implement into their selling system. This type of trainer is beneficial in support of a new corporate strategy, with newer salespeople, or to tackle problem areas in the buying process.
Expectation Setting. The key to success in any relationship is defining the realistic expectations upfront with the trainer. The magic word here is realistic. Going into the engagement thinking that one day of sales training will help your team double their sales in the next month is unrealistic. While working with the trainer, objectives should be established that allow for a measurement of success.
Sometimes, the sales training initiative is driven by the C-suite (CEO, etc) which can create a feeling of uncertainty for the sales management team. Engaging the sales management team in the scope of the training is a key to a successful engagement. Leaving them out will make them resist the program. If they resist the program, so will the salespeople.
Expectation setting is also important for participants. Unlike many other professional occupations, sales training is not often greeted by the team with open arms. Tell an IT professional that you are sending them for additional skill training and they jump for joy. Not the case with salespeople. Since many are type "A" personalities, there is a feeling of knowing it all. Thus, it is important to work with the sales training participants to ensure their needs and goals are heard and understood.
Area of Focus. The operative word here is focus. If the training need is specific, the session(s) needs to zoom-in on the specific areas of the buying process that need improvement. An oxymoron is to say that the training is going to focus on the entire process from prospect to award. This isn't focus, it's everything! Sometimes a consulting engagement is needed prior to the training to help identify the right area of focus for the training. If there is a need to train the team on the entire process, the training time and approach should be adjusted to accommodate for it.
One of the other important reasons for the concentrated focus is that adult learning is very different from child learning. For one, it is well-documented that adults cannot absorb as much information, nor as fast, as children can. The training needs to be structured in a way that accommodates for that style. In addition, salespeople are not individuals who can sit for a long period of time in a lecture. These are movers and shakers that want to be out selling. How will the trainer engage the team while teaching them new skills?
Reinforcement Plans. Thinking back to high school science class, there is an experiment where the fire from a Bunsen burner is applied to water. The purpose of the experiment is to show what happens when heat is applied to atoms. The experiment shows that the atoms get excited and bounce off the walls while the heat is applied. Once the heat is removed, the atoms move back to a static state.
One of the worst things that can happen following sales training is that the team walks away excited but doesn't know how to implement the tools. Just like in the science experiment, they are like heated atoms, but quickly return to the static state due to a lack of reinforcement of the program. If the company and sales management is not committed to a follow-up program that reinforces the training, the dollars invested become wasted. If the issue is resources, some trainers offer follow-up programs.
Budget. One of the biggest disconnects in procuring sales training is price. A President will say to the trainer that the objective of the training program is to help the sales team selling high value/high price products. The company positions itself at the top of the market from a price perspective. When it comes to contracting for sales training, price becomes the main issue. Wait a minute! High value must meet high value. If you don't want your prospects buying based on price, don't short change your sales team that is tasked with accomplishing that goal.
Oftentimes, the way this comes out is by expanding the size of the class to reduce the number of sessions needed. Coming back to the point on adult learning, there is a diminishing return in class size. Based on the method the course is delivered and the subject matter, the class size can range from ten to twenty-five.
One of the great questions to ask yourself as you look to buy sales training is how many new sales does the team need to make to cover the cost of the investment.
Sales training is a great investment for a business if done prudently. Consider these five points and you are well on your way to a successful engagement.
Lee B. Salz is President of Sales Dodo and author of "Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager." He founded Sales Dodo with the fundamental purpose of helping companies remain competitive in the ever-changing business world. Adapt and Thrive! Those who fail to adapt become extinct, just like the dodo bird of ages ago. Many laugh at the use of the word ?dodo,? but there is nothing funny about a business losing its competitive edge due to unmanaged change.
Salz has spent over 15 years helping companies adapt and thrive. He has successfully differentiated seemingly commoditized products and services in a wide array of industries resulting in record revenues and profits for companies ranging from Fortune 1000 to small start-up ventures.
Ameet Talwalkar, University of California, Berkeley Friday, May 10, 2013, 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM Location: 599 Engineering 2 Hosted By David Haussler, Biomolecular Engineering
Abstract:
Next-generation sequencing holds the promise for great advances in science and medicine, and computational methods are essential to extract actionable information from raw sequencing data. Unfortunately, computational tools developed to call variants from human sequencing data disagree on many of their predictions, and current methods to evaluate performance are ad-hoc and incomplete. A standardized methodology for benchmarking variant calling methods is thus required to stimulate development of genomic processing tools and facilitate communication among researchers. We propose such a benchmarking methodology (called SMASH). We generate synthetic datasets, organize and interpret a wide range of existing benchmarking data for real genomes, and propose a set of metrics for evaluation on this benchmarking data. Moreover, we illustrate the utility of SMASH to evaluate the performance of some leading SNP and structural variant calling algorithms.
A bill aiming to legalize adoption and foster parenting for same-sex couples is being reintroduced in the House of Representatives. The Every Child Deserves a Family Act would ?prohibit programs that receive federal funding from discriminating against potential foster and adoptive families based on sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status? according to the legislative proposal.
The bill is sponsored by Reps. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and hopes to use the momentum surrounding LGBT equality to promote the importance of this issue.
The Huffington Post reports:
Seven states currently ban a person in a same-sex couple from adopting his or her partner?s children, and gay couples face legal restrictions when petitioning for joint adoption in five states. In all, according to the Family Equality Council, LGBT people face barriers to adopting or fostering children in 39 states.
?Why?should more than 400,000 children remain in foster care ? 104,000 of whom are eligible for adoption ? when they could receive this support from loving, capable, and qualified lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender parents?? said PFLAG National Executive Director Jody M. Huckaby in a statement. ?This is truly discrimination at its worst: hurtful to the people who are being denied the opportunity to become parents, and harmful to thousands of vulnerable children being denied the opportunity for stable, loving, permanent homes.?
The push to allow same-sex couples equal adoption rights gained a new supporter last week, when Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told his constituents at a town hall meeting that he regretted voting in 1999 to ban same-sex couples in Washington, D.C., from adopting children.
?I do believe that if there are children who are orphans who do not have a loving person or couple, I think if a person wants to love and raise a child they ought to be able to do that. Period. I would vote that way,? he said.
?His statements demonstrate that the best interests of children isn?t a partisan issue,? said Emily Hecht-McGowan, director of public policy for Family Equality Council. ?We welcome support of the Every Child Deserves a Family Act by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.?
Ryan?s office did not return a request for comment on whether he would back the bill.
In late March, the American Academy of Pediatrics came out in favor of same-sex marriage, as well as full adoption and foster care rights for all parents, regardless of sexual orientation. It concluded that there is no scientific evidence to suggest that children raised by same-sex parents are any worse off than those raised by heterosexual parents.
?The APP believes there should be equal opportunity for every couple to access the economic stability and federal supports provided to married couples to raise children,? said Benjamin Siegel, MD, FAAP, chair of the AAP Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health.?Children thrive in families that are stable and that provide permanent security, and the way we do that is through marriage.?
The ECDF hopes to increase the number of accessible stable and supportive homes by removing the obstacles keeping LGBT couples from adopting and fostering.
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) - A Japanese auto parts manufacturer plans to add more assembly lines and hire another 200 workers at an existing North Carolina factory by the end of 2016.
Gov. Pat McCrory's office said Wednesday that ASMO North America's Greenville plant already employs more than 530 people who produce parts for front wipers and for radiator fan motors. The products are used by Toyota, Honda, Ford, Chrysler, General Motors, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan and BMW.
The state Commerce Department said the subsidiary of ASMO Co. Ltd. could receive tax breaks and other incentives from state and local governments worth up to $8.3 million if it meets hiring and other targets.
Average salaries for the new jobs will be $34,600, compared to the average annual Pitt County wage of $33,800.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
When NFL teams pick players who excelled in college football, it?s difficult to know whether they?ll thrive at the next level.
For the Rams, who picked both of West Virginia?s star receivers in the 2013 draft, the decision was assisted by a pair of backup quarterbacks ? Kellen Clemens and Austin Davis ? who traveled with G.M. Les Snead and coach Jeff Fisher to Morgantown last month for a private workout.
?We went into the West Virginia campus, a great host, and we went into their indoor [facility], but we take our two quarterbacks, backup quarterbacks and we actually run our routes,? Snead explained on Thursday?s PFT Live.? ?And for Tavon [Austin] we ran more routes that the inside slot receiver would be running.? For Stedman [Bailey], we did both inside slot and outside routes that our receivers and offense will be running.
?What?s really neat about the whole process is those quarterbacks, you know passing game is a timing thing so they know they can easily give you insight, ?Hey when they hit that third step, wait a minute, Tavon was there.? Hey, we?ve never had a receiver there on that third step.?? And the same thing on Stedman was, being his stature, he?s not a tall player, we worked out a lot of players before the draft.? They felt like, hey, this was like throwing to the tallest receiver they threw to.? They felt like they could just launch that ball and he was going to come down with it.? So, great insight in those private workouts, you know, all things considered.?
Austin?s ability to run routes like an NFL player doesn?t mean he?ll take hits like an NFL player, given his (lack of) height and (lack of) size.
?You being in West Virginia, you?ve seen what he can do with the ball in his hands,? Snead said.? ?God, mom, and dad gave him some freaky skills to be able to get open but also to avoid tacklers when he gets the ball in his hands.? And I was a part of being with Warrick Dunn who, when we had him in Atlanta we made him, if you want to call it, a number one, full-time, carry-the-load back which nobody ever thought he could be.
?Again, a man that?s not a very large, physical stature, but to go with the ability to elude tacklers, [Austin] just has that knack to to not get hit, to avoid big hits, to go down when necessary.? So, I think that?s what gives him that and hey, the track record is this ? the guy hasn?t really missed a game [or] practice since he started playing football in high school, so I think track record says more than anything because he?s been avoiding bigger people his entire life.?
He?ll soon be avoiding bigger and stronger people than he ever has.? We hope he can do it, in part because I like to see West Virginia players succeed in the NFL ? and in part because I?m not sure what?ll happen to Austin if one of those giants hits him hard.
BERLIN (Reuters) - A Nazi-themed staging of a Wagner opera in Germany that caused some members of the audience to become sick with its scenes of murder and a gas chamber has been withdrawn, the opera company said on its website.
After failing to get the director to agree to changes, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Duesseldorf said that the production of "Tannhaeuser" would be given for the rest of its run in a concert version only.
German director Burkhard C. Kosminski's interpretation of "Tannhaeuser" is set during the Holocaust and caused a scandal when it opened on Saturday, prompting some audience members to seek medical treatment, the opera house said in a posting this week on its website.
Management was aware before the premiere that the director's modern take on the opera rooted in German legends would cause controversy, it said.
"We are, however, shocked that some scenes, especially the very realistic shooting scene, caused numerous guests such psychological and physical stress that they had to get medical treatment afterwards," the Deutsche Oper am Rhein said.
"After considering all of the arguments, we have concluded that we cannot take responsibility for our artistic work having such an extreme effect so we cannot allow this production to continue being performed without any changes."
The opera house said while it had discussed the possibility of changing some scenes with Kosminski, he had refused to allow this for artistic reasons. Deutsche Oper am Rhein said it accepted his artistic freedom for legal reasons.
Kosminski was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters but he was quoted by German newspaper Westdeutsche Zeitung as saying he was "shocked" by the decision, adding that he had merely been informed of it by the opera house's manager.
"Ten months ago I presented my concept and explained what I wanted to do. I ensured there was a lot of transparency during the rehearsals too. I am not a scandalous director," he said.
In the bicentenary year of his birth, Wagner is still a controversial figure in Germany given his virulent anti-Semitism and the fact that he was Adolf Hitler's favorite composer.
Last year, a Russian opera singer pulled out of the opera festival at Bayreuth, which was founded by Wagner, over tattoos on his chest, one of which resembled the Nazi swastika.
(Reporting by Michelle Martin; Additional reporting by David Cutler; Editing by Michael Roddy)
A downed utility pole along May Avenue in South Oklahoma City. (Holly Bailey/Yahoo News)
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 10-May-2013
Share ] 
A bill aiming to legalize adoption and foster parenting for same-sex couples is being reintroduced in the House of Representatives. The Every Child Deserves a Family Act would ?prohibit programs that receive federal funding from discriminating against potential foster and adoptive families based on sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status? according to the legislative proposal.