Binder 03may2010

11-Year-Old One of Youngest Breast Cancer Survivors http://abcnews.go.com/print?
id=8782697
Hannah Powell-Auslam, Youngest Survivor to Return to Normal Life After Battle With Breast
Cancer
By KATIE BOSLAND and KATE McCARTHY
Oct. 9, 2009—
At the tender age of 11 Hannah Powell-Auslam is now a sixth-grader, a big Jonas Brothers fan and a
softball lover who enjoys spending time with her friends.
She's also likely the youngest breast cancer survivor in the country.
After battling the disease since April, Hannah finally had her last chemotherapy treatment this fall, and
shortly thereafter found out her cancer was no longer detectable.
The young girl from Fullerton, Calif., told Robin Roberts on "Good Morning America" Friday that she is
now feeling "good" and is advocating for all children to tell their parents immediately when there is
something wrong with your body.
"Tell [your] parents right away," Hannah said, adding that she had waited to tell her mom about the lump
in her breast because she was "embarrassed."
When "GMA" first reported Hannah's story this past spring, she had just been diagnosed with a malignant
tumor in her primordial breast tissue -- the very tissue that in a healthy body would begin to develop into a
breast once the child hits puberty.
"Originally I thought it was no big deal," Hannah's mom, Carrie Auslam, told "GMA."
But what had started as an itch to Hannah, her mother and doctors soon realized was much more serious.
Following the removal of the lump in her breast the doctor called her parents back into the office.
"He said, 'I'm really sorry to tell you, but it's cancer," Hannah's father, Jeremy Auslam, said.
Hannah's parents said they waited a few days to learn more about the disease and treatment plan before
they told Hannah about the diagnosis.
"Her first question was, 'Am I going to die?'" Carrie Auslam said.
It was devastating news to the 10-year-old girl.
"I was just, how could this happen? I'm 10, so I was really shocked" Hannah told "Good Morning
America" in May. "I just want to be a normal kid. I want to go back to school, play sports, hang out with
my friends."
But Hannah couldn't go back to normal, at least not yet. And because of her young age and the rarity of
the disease, doctors struggled to find a treatment plan that was age appropriate.
"Breast cancer in this population is exceedingly rare, less than one in a million" said Fran Visco, president
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11-Year-Old One of Youngest Breast Cancer Survivors http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8782697
of the National Breast Cancer Coalition.
The form of breast cancer that Hannah had, secretory carcinoma, has been found in only a few hundred
cases of young girls, representing less than .1 percent of all breast cancers, according to the National
Institutes of Health.
Friends Band Together Behind Hannah
From tumor-removal to mastectomy to removal of the four cancerous lymph nodes under her arms and an
exhausting 12 weeks of chemo, Hannah braved it all and even invited us to be there as her friends threw
her a party where they shaved her head and showed their support.
"I feel sad. My hair is gone," Hannah told us choking back tears. "You feel like you are sick all of the
time. You just want to lie in bed and be in your closed-off little box."
"It should be the furthest thing from your mind," said Hannah's mom. "Ten-year-olds don't get breast
cancer."
But this 10-year old did and fought it with fortitude far surpassing her years.
First stop to celebrate the good news? Hannah became the envy of young girls the world over when she
got to meet her heroes, the Jonas Brothers.
And this morning on "Good Morning America," Roberts surprised Hannah and her parents with American
Girl dolls and a gift certificate for lunch at the store with her parents.
The 11-year-old, who said she was "excited to be here," was also excited to receive the new dolls.
Click here to return to the "Good Morning America" Web site.
Copyright © 2009 ABC News Internet Ventures
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2 Thumbs Down: America's Movie Snack Health http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9119503
Concession Stands May Be Expanding America's Waistline, CSPI Report Contends
By COURTNEY HUTCHISON
ABC News Medical Unit
Nov. 19, 2009—
In 1994, on "The Tonight Show," Jay Leno quipped, "We went to the movies last night. The popcorn
came in three sizes: medium, large, and 'Roger Ebert's Tub of Death.'"
Everyone expects to splurge a bit at the movies, but while your wallet may be able to handle an $8 tub of
popcorn, your waistline may not -- at least according to a new report released today by the consumers
group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).
Even popcorn did not escape the scrutiny of the report, which mentioned that even a small bag of the
cinema favorite tips the scales at 700 calories and three days worth of saturated fat.
It's not the first time that CSPI has given movie popcorn two thumbs down; the new report is actually a
sequel to one in 1994 that gave similar negative reviews. And like the first version, the most recent edition
of CSPI's Nutrition Action Health Letter suggests moviegoers forego that trip to the concession stand
altogether.
The report looked at the popcorn, soda and candy sold at the country's top three movie theater chains:
Regal Entertainment Group, AMC Theaters, and Cinemark. The researchers tallied the calories, saturated
fat, sugar, and sodium in each theater's various sizes and combos. Based on their findings, the authors
warn the public that their movie-time indulgences may be a lot more indulgent than they bargained for.
"A combo at Regal (medium popcorn plus medium soda) has 1,610 calories," the authors write. "That's
like eating six scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, four bacon strips, and four sausage links before the
lights come up."
Though the cinema chains refused to comment on these criticisms beyond their official press releases,
they all cited the same reasoning: they were merely giving customers what they wanted.
"Ultimately, our snack and refreshment options are driven by patron demand," Cinemark said in their
press release. "We frequently test market additional concessions alternatives, including trail mix and other
low-fat snacks... nonetheless, our popcorn, fountain soda, and candy offerings are by far our patrons' most
popular and expected offerings."
"Many of our patrons like and enjoy the traditional taste and aroma of theater popcorn, as they have for
decades, [and] the movie theater industry has and will continue to respond to our customers' preferences,"
commented the National Association of Theater Owners, that speaks for AMC, among other theaters.
Unfortunately, according to the CSPI report, that "traditional taste" comes from effectively frying the
popcorn in saturated fats like coconut oil, giving the finished product, even without buttery topping, the
equivalent of eight pats of butter -- and that's for a small.
Cinemark notes that these are the "snacks [patrons] desire" and is meant to be "an escape from their
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everyday lives."
But nutritionists note that this may be a dangerous escape. Keith-Thomas Ayoob, an associate professor of
pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, noted that chowing down on cinema's
monstrous portion sizes of this greasy treat and washing it down with a sugary drink can turn even an
occasional trip to the movies into a "calorie nightmare," Ayoob said.
Movie Popcorn: Traditional Treat or Calorie Nightmare?
Air-popped popcorn, without all the added fat, is "full of fiber" and a "whole grain, good food," Ayoob
said.
But it also "really tastes like cardboard," said Andrew F. Smith, a professor of Food Studies at the New
School and author of "Popped Culture: A Social History of Popcorn in America."
"The flavor of popcorn was intentionally bred out in the 1950s [because] people don't really like the taste
of traditional popcorn," Smith said. "What they wanted was the taste of the butter and salt you added in."
Today, people's appetites haven't changed much. But according to a press release issued this week from
the National Association of Theater Owners, "many cinema operators responded by offering their patrons
additional choices, such as air-popped popcorn...[and] movie patrons in droves made their voices heard,
they wanted traditional popcorn back."
President and COO of Regal Entertainment Group, Greg Dunn, agreed, commenting in a press release that
when they offered alternatives, "air-popped popcorn [was] not well received by our theatre guests."
So, do the cinemas have their hands tied? Ayoob argues that anyone who has made popcorn at home
would probably disagree. And Cinemark, the nation's third largest movie chain, at least has addressed the
issue of saturated fat. Unlike Regal and AMC, they pop their popcorn in non-hydrogenated canola oil,
which brings the saturated fat content down to 2-4 grams per serving, even for their large sizes, though
overall fat content stays roughly the same.
So, until theaters give air-popped popcorn another shot, the researchers say it's important to be aware of
how much you munch.
"Budget 670 [calories] for a small and 1,200 for a medium or large," the authors of the CSPI report write.
"You could think of each small as a Pizza Hut personal pan pepperoni pizza and each medium or large as
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two."
Ayoob said, "If you absolutely need it, treat it like a snack... and 20 cups [the size of Regal's medium and,
curiously enough, their large] is not a snack -- it's overeating by any stretch of the imagination."
Ayoob recommends that snacks should be 100-200 calories and that moviegoers should go for the smallest
size, skip the topping, and share with a friend -- or two, or three.
Behemoth Beverages
Nothing washes down movie popcorn like a tasty beverage. But, with a small-sized soda ranging from
Cinemark's 16-ounce offering to Regal's 32-ounce cup, the report warns it can be difficult to gauge
exactly how much soda you're getting.
Since sodas have roughly the same ingredients wherever you get them, CSPI ranked the sizes of beverages
at the theater. As with popcorn, Regal offered the most generous portions; patrons can wash down their
20-cup large popcorn with a 54-ounce cup of cola. A "large" of this proportion, according to the report,
contains 500 calories and 33 teaspoons of sugar -- about the amount needed to bake a chocolate cake.
Cinemark offered the most moderate options; their small holds only one-and-a-half cans worth of soda,
though their 44-ounce large (the same size as AMC's) is only slightly less massive than Regal's.
The report notes that when drinks come in "money-saving" combos, going up a size (and often adding an
entire can's worth of soda) for just a few cents more, makes it even more tempting for patrons to buy a
drink that carries a quarter of their daily calorie intake and more than three times the daily allotment of
sugar.
Ayoob agrees. "You're adding insult to injury when you get a big sugary soda." He suggests that customers
consider bottled water or a sugar-free drink to help tide them over during the film. But he said that if you
want to treat yourself to a regular soda, keep it to a small and remember to budget 150-300 calories.
"If you go once a month, it's not a big deal, but you still have to cut back in other areas," Ayoob said.
"And just because you're going there doesn't mean you have to throw caution to the wind."
Reese's Pieces or a Porterhouse? It May Be All the Same to Your Waistline
The rationale behind oversized packages of candies at movie theaters is simple; after all, who wants to run
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out of snacks mid movie?
But while the side of the box will at least tell you what you're getting yourself into, the report notes that
buyers should beware: the nutrition facts on king size containers are typically for a 1.5-ounce serving size,
and each package may contain 3 to 4 servings.
Dr. David Katz, the director of Medical Studies in Public Health at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.,
says that he and his family will sometimes sneak dark chocolate into the theater, as this antioxidant-rich
indulgence is a good treat for his kids. But according to Katz, the kind of chocolaty goodness proffered by
the cinema snack shack is usually coated with highly processed milk chocolate, which accounts for the
sky-high levels of saturated fat and sugar contained in movie candy favorites.
The report notes that a 3.5-ounce serving of Raisinets, one of the most popular choices, packs 420
calories, 60 grams of sugar, and 11 grams of saturated fat. Just 3 ounces of Milk Duds, another cinema
snack classic, have 370 calories and 8 grams of saturated fat.
But among the popular candies analyzed by the report, Reese's Pieces stole the show. The report warned
that indulging in the 8-ounce size commonly found in theaters will have you consuming 35 grams of
saturated fat and 1,160 calories -- the equivalent of a T-bone steak plus buttered baked potato.
This doesn't mean that you have to give up your chocolate fix, Katz says.
"Shifting from highly processed... milk chocolate to dark chocolate candy would be a good thing... [but]
after all, it is candy, it's not like we're trying to turn this into broccoli."
Just be aware of the portion size, Ayoob says; if the box says three servings, then plan on sharing the box
three ways or taking most of it home.
Fruity Options May Not Be Guilt-Free
Though most gummy candies have little to no fat, CSPI researchers say that they often contain more than
half a cup of sugar per bag. So, they say, moderation is key when it comes to sweet treats like Twizzlers,
SweeTarts, and Skittles.
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The 4-ounce bag of Skittles sold at theaters is almost twice the size of what you find in supermarkets.
Twizzlers contain 460 calories and about 14 teaspoons of sugar per 5-ounce bag. The report cites Sour
Patch Kids Watermelon flavor, with 370 calories per pack, as the most reasonable candy, mostly because
they are sold in the smaller portions. Nerds, on the other hand, are usually offered in a 7-ounce carton -- a
portion that puts the matchbox-size ones given out at Halloween to shame. Throwing back the whole box
during a film would add up to 790 calories and 185 grams of sugar -- just a teaspoon shy of an entire cup.
So, between low-fat, sugary candy, or high-fat, slightly-less-sugary chocolate, which should we choose?
Ayoob said, "At that point, I'd say look at the calories [and choose judiciously]. Fortunately, boxes are
going to have the information, [unlike] tubs of popcorn -- just be sure to check the serving size."
Plan for the Peckish Patron
If snacking is a big part of your entertainment experience, one alternative is to bring your own. Sneaking
in a more wholesome treat -- like homemade cookies is something health-conscious and frugal patrons
often choose to do. "The problem is you're usually not supposed to do that," Katz said, "you pretty much
have to smuggle it in.
"The question is whether... we might start seeing those rules change... either they offer more nutritious
food or make it legal for others to bring stuff from home," he added. "If consumers want something, they'll
get it."
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If this is the case, until customers start demanding healthier options, cinemas will continue offering "a
day's worth of artery paste" per serving, the report writes -- so what's a peckish patron to do?
Don't go to the movies hungry: "If you're starving when you go to a movie theater, that's a trigger of
overeating and this is not the kind of food you want to overeat," said Ayoob. You can shoot for a 100-200
calorie snack to tide you over, but "keep in mind, the movies is not where you go to get fed."
If rules allow, bring healthier options from home: if you can, bring a more reasonable treat, then, Ayoob
adds. You can supplement with water or a diet soda to help you feel more full during the movie.
Make use of healthier options when available: though CSPI's report looked at candy and popcorn only,
some cinemas, like Cinemark, now offer healthier options as well, such as non-fat sorbet, pretzel nuggets,
and salt-free popcorn.
Share and keep a budget: "Fortunately, this is not what people eat on a regular basis," Ayoob said, but
still, to keep things in check, "get the smallest portion, share with somebody, and remember it's a snack,
not your meal."
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Swine Flu Kills Otherwise Healthy 5-Year-Old http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8574314
5-Year-Old Max Gomez Dies From Swine Flu, Leaving

Doctors Perplexed and Family Devastated
'He Had a Good Heart,' Grieving Mother Says
By DAVID MUIR
S ept. 15, 2009—
The Aug. 28 weekend started out happily for 5-year-old M ax Gomez. The cheerful and precocious boy from
Antioch, Tenn., had just started kindergarten and was looking forward to a church trip to the zoo.
He seemed perfectly fine that Friday, but by M onday night, the apparently healthy boy was dead.
M ax's case of swine flu has left doctors perplexed, with autopsy results pending to determine any underlying
health conditions. Of the 36 children who have died so far of the H1N1 virus, two-thirds have had some
underlying medical condition that made them more susceptible to the virus, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
But until he fell ill that weekend, M ax was a perfectly healthy child.
"M ax had gotten sick in the past," his mother, Ruth Gomez, told The Tennessean newspaper. "He'd had
strep and ear infections, but he always came through. But, this time, everything happ ened so fast."
It all began on a Friday.
M ax woke up Saturday with a fever that peaked a little higher than 102 degrees, according to The Tennessean.
Although high, experts say, a 102-degree fever is not, in itself, a red flag.
"One-hundred-and-two is not that uncommon," ABC's News' Dr. Richard Besser said.
His parents suspected routine illness and gave him an an analgesic.
By Sunday morning, M ax's fever was gone, and he seemed playful and, more or less, back to normal. Still, his
parents decided he should stay home from a church trip to the zoo.
Yet the next morning -- M onday -- the fever returned, along with a case of the chills.
M ax's mother took her son to a local walk-in clinic, where the attending physician reported nothing out of the
ordinary. But as soon as he returned home, M ax's health continued to decline rapidly.
That evening, at 6 p.m., as his fatigue increased, M ax's parents rushed him to M onroe Carell Jr. Children's
Hospital at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
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Swine Flu Kills Otherwise Healthy 5-Year-Old http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8574314
Less than three hours later, he died.
Parents Do Everything Right but Son Dies: Could an Underlying Infection Be to

Blame?
"This happened so fast," Ruth Gomez told The Tennessean. "At the beginning, we couldn't believe it. And,
looking back, we did question why, but we just feel like everything happens for a reason, that hopefully other
people would learn from this."
With such a fast and frightening timeline, questions abound: Could M ax's parents or doctors have done
anything differently? Should the boy have been given flu medications? Right now, the CDC only recommends
the drugs for children younger than 5.
Doctors call for rest, fluids and a watchful eye from parents. M ax's parents followed those guidelines.
Could M ax's second fever have had anything to do with his precipitate decline?
A fever that returns could signal a bacterial infection that could have set in on top of flu, which, in rare cases,
can be deadly, even if all the proper steps are taken, Besser said.
"What you look for is a child who has the flu who might be getting better, who then develops a high fever and
who might not be acting right," Besser said.
If there's a second fever, Besser said, call a doctor immediately. Again, the Gomezes did what they were
supposed to do, making this case all the more troubling.
With autopsy results not due for another two months, M ax's parents will have to wait for an answer on his
death. In the meantime, they are left with only memories.
"He really was a good kid," Ruth Gomez told The Tennessean. "He was very happy, and he was very
helpful. He had a good heart. ... We have hope that we're going to see him again."
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Psychiatrists Say Case Is Enigma, But Psychosis, Schizophrenia Can Be Hidden For Years
By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES
Feb. 16, 2010—
Accused Alabama shooter Amy Bishop screamed and cursed at children, instigating confrontations with
their parents, according to former neighbors who painted a frightening portrait of an woman accused of a
killing rampage.
Former Massachusetts neighbors described the brilliant scientist as a woman who 15 years ago had "face-
to-face, nose-to-nose confrontations" over evening basketball games, skateboarders and even whether an
ice cream truck would be allowed on the child-friendly street.
"She picked fights with them," said one neighbor, who did not want to be identified because Bishop's
children return summers to visit their grandparents -- Judy and Samuel Bishop -- who still live on Fille
Street in quiet Ipswich, Mass.
"I just don't want to alienate them," she told ABCNews.com.
"The ice cream truck was banished from the street because [Bishop] told them her children were lactose
intolerant," said the neighbor. "She even had one of the children's teachers fired."
Last week Bishop was arrested for killing three professors and injuring three others -- all colleagues at
University of Alabama in Huntsville -- during a faculty meeting. She is currently on suicide watch.
Soon more disturbing news emerged from Bishop's background. Investigators unearthed several disturbing
pieces to the puzzle of the suspect, an accomplished cellular biologist and mother of four children aged 8
to 18.
In 1986, she shot her then 18-year-old brother Seth Bishop with a shotgun at their home in Braintree,
Mass., but was never charged in the shooting.
And in 1993, she and her husband were questioned by police after a pipe bomb was mailed to one of
Bishop's colleagues, Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Paul Rosenberg.
James Anderson has said that he and his wife were cleared in the mail bomb investigation and were never
suspects.
Anderson told ABC affiliate WCVB-TV in Boston Monday that he had no idea why his wife would shoot
their co-workers.
"Nobody understands what happened. Nobody knew," he said.
Anderson told The Associated Press that he and Bishop went to a shooting range just weeks before the
killing, but said the family did not own a gun.
Though many at the university had heard grumblings that she had been denied tenure, police,
psychological experts and even her own family say her motivation is an enigma.
"For a faculty member to murder colleagues after denial of tenure would probably require 'standard'
experiences of disappointment, a sense of betrayal, and desperation and the additional burden of mental
illness, either a severe depression or some form of psychosis," said Dr. Stephen Shuchter, professor of
clinical psychiatry emeritus at The University of California, San Diego.
"We are likely to learn about these only if the perpetrator chooses to defend herself by presenting the
mitigating circumstances of an insanity defense," he told ABCNews.com.
Meanwhile, Bishop's family and members of the community are struggling to understand what happened.
Sherry Foley, 63, who lives in the same Alabama neighborhood as Bishop, was still in shock over her
arrest.
"You can't believe that someone you know that lives just down the street can do something like this," she
said. "It's like with sex offenders. You never really know what people are and they might be living right
next to you."
Amy Bishop Known as 'Odd Ball'
University of Alabama colleague Dick Reeves remembers Bishop as someone dedicated to saving lives,
researching cures for diseases like Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimers. Reaves, the executive director of
the Huntsville Angel Network, called Bishop "a very passionate person about everything she did."
Reeves says Bishop became frustrated with how quickly cell samples grown in traditional plastic Petri
dishes would die.
"Every time she took the lid off she risked contamination," said Reeves, noting that Petri dishes were
invented in 1877 and that samples grown in them rarely live more than 48 hours.
Reeves said Bishop developed a better system for incubating expensive brain and nerve tissue samples,
hoping to make them live longer, save researchers money, and allow for more efficient testing and
observation of diseased tissue samples. The system was patented by the University of Alabama.
"Right now things are very hectic up here trying to sort out what is going on," said Bishop's father-in-law,
Jim E. Anderson Sr., who lives three hours away in Prattsville, Ala.
"In the academic world when you are dealing with PhDs and grants and tenure and all that -- it's in it's
own world," he told ABCNews.com. "I suspect somebody in that meeting room was probably an
antagonist and I would like to know who that was."
Bishop and her husband, an Alabama native who was raised in New England, met when they were
undergraduates at Northeastern University.
They settled in the suburban seaside town of Ipswich, while Bishop worked at Harvard's Children's
Hospital in the 1990s.
Sylvia Fluckiger, a lab technician who worked with Bishop then, described her as "an oddball" and
"socially a little awkward," according to the Boston Globe. But Dick Reeves, who worked with Bishop in
developing her cell incubator research, said there was no clue she might one day be violent.
Many of her current students have praised her.
"Dr. Bishop is brilliant," said one who gave Bishop high marks on RateMyTeacher.com. "Her research is
fascinating. She will surely get the Nobel Prize. She is the best teacher I have ever had."
But among former neighbors, Bishop was cantankerous and not well liked.
Ipswich police logged two calls for neighborhood disputes from Bishop, and in 2002, she reported
receiving harassing calls, according to local reports.
Once, neighbors organized a block party and didn't tell Bishop because of conflicts she had with people.
"We never had any issue with them directly," said the grandmother who knew the family. "But it was very
uncomfortable with the other neighbors. Amy was not friendly. The high school kids at the time were very
in to sports and they'd come out and play from 8:30 to 10 at night. The noise was bothersome to her."
Their father worked from home and did most of the child rearing, according to the source. Bishop, she
said, had mentioned an interest in homeschooling the children.
"He was quite pleasant," she said. "But I think she was the leading force in the family."
The children, then aged 1 to about 6, were "kind of meek," but well-behaved, she said. But Bishop's social
skills were "suspect."
Her family denies there were any signs of mental illness, but her father-in-law said Bishop was "different."
Anderson Sr. said that in the past Bishop had "voiced concerns" over her safety on campus.
"Huntsville is not a very friendly community in certain specific areas," he said. "I have a gut feeling that
she may have had a weapon for stalkers."
"I don't know if she would have shared that with [her husband] or not," said Anderson Sr. "It was an off
the cuff remark to me about someone in her campus neighborhood she had to keep an out eye out for."
Anderson Sr., 71, said that his immediate worry was for the "safety of the family," not knowing who might
be "revengeful."
When asked if she had personal issues, he said, "I think that's probably true," especially after she faced a
prospect of unemployment after being rejected for tenure.
Whether that event alone could have triggered an act of violence is unlikely, say mental health experts.
But many psychiatric disorders can go undiagnosed for years, especially for those who lead insular lives.
"People in science and computers are solitary people," said Dr. Igor Galynker, associate chairman for the
department of psychiatry and behavioral science at psychiatry at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York
City and professor of psychiatry at Albert Einstein college of Medicine. .
"They work in solitude and they don't need to interact in complex social situations and can be paranoid for
a long time without someone realizing."
Psychosis, Schizophrenia Can Cause Violence
Schizophrenia can be marked by social isolation, odd behavior, "strange disordered" thinking and
speaking, poor hygiene and lack of friends, according to Galynker.
Often people don't notice signs until more serious symptoms emerge.
"Brilliant scientists are supposed to be crazy," he told ABCNews.com.
John Nash, the Nobel-winning economist from Princeton, portrayed in "A Beautiful Mind," could be
coherent in his field, even as he suffered from schizophrenia.
Anti-social personality disorders can also result behavior that is "incompatible with laws," like stealing or
shooting, he said. And in narcissism, a person can display disregard for the feelings of others or seek
self-aggrandizement and, like Bernie Madoff, can be "very charming."
Psychotics like Seung-Hui Cho, the student who who killed 31 at Virginia Tech in 2007, are particularly
dangerous.
Killers like Cho view others as inconsequential and often humiliation can set off a psychotic depression
that could make a person violent or suicidal, said Galynker.
Those with personality disorders, such as Eric Harris, who went on a shooting rampage at Columbine High
School in 1999, are particularly dangerous.
"They don't have a conscience," said Frank Ochberg, a Michigan psychiatrist and founder of the Dart
Center for Journalism and Trauma.
"Look at a 3-year-old before their conscience is developed," he told ABCNews.com. "You want to escape
bad consequences, and you don't have the internal mechanism to want to be good. If you do become
angered or enraged, nothing inside of you is telling you that it's bad."
"There is the fear of getting caught, and then you get away with it and you harbor a sense that all these
other people are crazy," said Ochberg. "There's a sense of entitlement."
Any of those psychiatric disorders could justify an insanity defense -- lacking the capacity to know right
from wrong , according to both psychiatrists.
Ochberg, who is an expert in psychopathic predators and mass shootings, said female shooters are rare,
but he admits, "mothers have done tragic things. They have killed their kids."
"In general being a woman and a mother makes you more in tune with your feelings, more nurturing and
sympathetic," said Ochberg. "I believe men are from Mars and women are from Venus, but some women
are from Mars."

Acrobat Sarah Romanowsky Determined to Perform Again
By KATIE BOSLAND and KATE McCARTHY
Feb. 4, 2010
During a dramatic three-story fall, aerialist Sarah Romanowsky said instinct kicked in and helped her
survive a plummet to the ground after she lost her grip on a metal ring while hanging upside down during a
live performance.
"I remember being lifted up. I remember being very focused, feeling very strong. And everything felt
completely normal, nothing felt out of the ordinary. And suddenly I went from being inside the hoop to
underneath it and then blackness," Romanowsky, 26, said on "Good Morning America" today.
Romanowsky said she does not remember the November fall. Her body turned in a way that prevented
serious injury to her head and spine.
"I am walking two months later, and I am healed from a pelvis broken in four places and six broken ribs
and a shattered wrist, but it could have been so much worse," she said.
Romanowsky said she was impressed with the singer Pink's acrobatic performance during the Grammy
awards. She was suspended above the audience by a wire.
"She did great. What she did wasn't that difficult, but she was singing live and wet and that is just
incredible. She was so strong and she seemed really well trained for it. And I really give her props,"
Romanowsky said.
Aerialist Determined to Come Back Strong
Romanowsky was part of a show called "Hunky Santa and the Candy Cane Girls," meant to entertain
holiday shoppers at the Beverly Center in Beverly Hills, Calif. She chose to perform her air acrobatics
routine without a safety harness or net. She said she believed strongly as an artist that harnesses inhibited
movement and rought their own safety hazards.
"They can wrap around arms and legs. You know, I thought I didn't need it," Romanowsky said.
Click here to see the video of Romanowsky's fall.
While the frightening fall might have discouraged other aerialists, Romanowsky said she is determined to
return to performing, and has already begun to practice.
"It felt really good, it felt right. I knew the whole time that I had to get back. I knew I couldn't let fear
keep me from returning," Romanowsky said. "I'm not quite as flexible as I was before. But I am convinced
it will all come back."
Air Acrobat Survives 3-Story Fall
It's an impressive return, especially given that on her first day of physical therapy she could not even sit
on the edge of her bed.
Click here to see the video of Romanowsky's fall.
"I really have just tried to stay as positive as possible throughout this entire ordeal. And I really also just
tried to keep moving as much as possible and movement has helped me from experiencing very much
pain," Romanowsky said.

Chicago Man Could Get 6 Months Jail in Custody Dispute Over Religious Services
By CHRIS CUOMO, LAUREN PEARLE, FELICIA PATINKIN and SUZAN CLARKE
Feb. 16, 2010—
A Chicago man who defied a court order and took his toddler to a Catholic Church service was arraigned
today on a charge of indirect criminal contempt in a custody battle that is threatening to put him in jail and
draw new boundaries in divorce cases.
Joseph Reyes pleaded not guilty for allegedly violating a court order issued by Chicago family law Judge
Edward R. Jordan who had barred Reyes from taking his 3-year-old daughter to church following a
dispute over religion with his estranged wife. Reyes' wife, Rebecca Reyes, is Jewish.
Reyes, a veteran of the Afghan war, made a motion to have his contempt charges heard by a different
judge, a motion that was granted. He was arraigned before Judge Elizabeth Loredo-Rivera.
If found guilty of indirect criminal contempt, Reyes could be sentenced to up to six months in jail.
The next court date is on March 3, when Reyes is expected to file a motion to dismiss all charges against
him.
In a statement issued after the hearing, Reyes said, "There's a strong possibility I could end up in jail. It's
really sad it's come to this."
Reyes and his wife are in abitter divorce battle, and the question of what faith their child should be raised
in is pushing the boundaries of child custody arrangements.
Reyes' decision to baptize his daughter without his wife's permission resulted in what some are calling an
extraordinary court order: Jordan in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill., imposed a 30-day restraining
order forbidding Joseph Reyes from, according to the document, "exposing his daughter to any other
religion than the Jewish religion. &"
The couple married in 2004. Joseph Reyes was Catholic, but he converted to Judaism to please his
in-laws. He has said the decision wasn't "voluntary."
Despite his conversion, Reyes, 35, said he never stopped practicing Catholicism.
Man Baptized Daughter Without Informing Estranged Wife
When the marriage fell apart, Rebecca Reyes, 34, got custody of their daughter. The girl, now 3, has been
raised Jewish and attended a Jewish preschool.
Her father decided to baptize his daughter without consulting his wife.
Joseph Reyes sent his wife pictures and an e-mail documenting the occasion. Rebecca Reyes responded
by filing for the temporary restraining order, which the judge granted.
Stephen Lake, Rebecca Reyes' attorney, said his client was shocked at her estranged husband's actions.
"Number one, it wasn't just a religious thing per se, it was the idea that he would suddenly, out of nowhere
without any discussion & have the girl baptized," Lake said. "She looked at it as basically an assault on
her little girl."
Furthermore, Joseph Reyes had never been a particularly devout Christian, Lake added.
When the girl's father took her to church again in violation of the order, he called the media to witness the
event.
A court could rule today on whether Reyes should be jailed for criminal contempt, but he contends he did
nothing wrong.
"Going to church, I don't think I violated the order," he told "Good Morning America." "In terms of
Judaism, based on the information I was given, Catholicism falls right under the umbrella of Judaism."
Click HERE to read and comment on the full transcript of Chris Cuomo's interview with Joseph
Reyes.
Woman's Lawyer Accuses Reyes of 'Power Play' With Baptism
In a YouTube video of the subsequent visit to church, Joseph Reyes says, "I am taking her to hear the
teachings of perhaps the most prominent Jewish rabbi in the history of this great planet of ours."
Lake, Rebecca Reyes' attorney, said Joseph Reyes had never been a particularly devout Christian.
"This was just something that he knew was going to have a negative effect on [Rebecca Reyes], and I
think that's why he did it," Lake said, speaking of Reyes' church visits with the little girl.
"I think he was just trying to exert some power," Lake said.
But Reyes, who is studying law, said he only wants to be a good father to his daughter and expose her to
his faith. That's something the courts usually allow in divorce cases, experts say.
Eugene Volokh, a professor at the UCLA School of Law, said a parent who has visitation rights "usually
has the right to expose the child to his religious beliefs, teach the child his religion, to take the child to
religious services, unless there seems to be likely psychological or physical harm stemming from that
exposure."
Family court law expert Lynne Gold-Bikin said Reyes should have followed the court order, but also said,
"If this couple made an agreement about what religion to raise their child, then it's an inappropriate order."
Reyes: Conversion Wasn't 'Voluntary'
Reyes said his faith is important to him.
Explaining his conversion, he said, "I did it because, one, my mother- and father-in-law would not accept
me any other way and two, because they would not accept me, it was putting a lot of burden on the
marriage."
While he acknowledged that his actions -- flouting the court order and involving the media -- didn't help to
end the conflict, he said he has to take a stand.
"I've made every concession that I possibly can make for Rebecca, and I have to draw the line in the sand
somewhere and this is where I choose to draw it," he said.

Afghanistan: How Can You Rebuild When They're Shooting at You? http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8778096
Deadly Kabul Bombing Shows Challenges of Rebuilding Afghanistan While Under Fire
By CHRIS CUOMO, JOSH GAYNOR and SUZAN CLARKE
Oct. 8, 2009—
A suicide car bomb detonated in Kabul, Afghanistan, this morning, killing at least 12 people and injuring
another 84. The bombing, which was felt more than a mile away, was a stark reminder of the constant
danger coalition troops face as they take on the difficult dual tasks of fighting a war while helping to
rebuild the country.
Many troops in Afghanistan are dedicated to routing out and stopping insurgents, but specialized units
throughout the country are charged with a more delicate task -- to rebuild critical physical infrastructure
and restore civil society.
Special teams of soldiers known as Provincial Reconstruction Teams are working with local leaders to
make life better for locals. Many people hope that Afghans will turn away from the Taliban if coalition
forces help improve their lives.
Troops are rebuilding roads and bridges and creating parks, and plans are in the works for a health clinic
and a women's center.
But reconstruction hasn't been easy, given the dangers inherent in every mission the soldiers and Afghan
police undertake.
While troops are going out to try to rebuild the country, insurgents are determined to stop the soldiers at
all costs. Eight American soldiers were killed in a deadly firefight last week, and the death toll in the
country continues to rise.
On a recent early-morning mission in Kandahar City, troops on foot patrol and in armored vehicles spotted
waving flags.
Shortly afterward, pigeons were released into the air, apparently a signal "for the person that's farthest &
signaling to them to move, that coalition forces are coming in," one soldier explained.
Later in the day, gunfire erupted, and those in the patrol had to run for cover.
A short while afterward, the patrol arrested suspected drug dealers who were believed to be supplying
money to the Taliban.
Eight Anniversary of War's Start
This week marks the eighth anniversary of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, and a debate is raging in
Washington over the future of the campaign.
Even though the Taliban were initially beaten back-- with a presence limited to about half the country in
2007 -- the insurgents today occupy about 80 percent of Afghanistan.
1 of 2 2009/10/10 09:15 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Afghanistan: How Can You Rebuild When They're Shooting at You? http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8778096
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, has requested as many as 40,000
new troops, a request that's become the focal point of White House policy debates.
A surge of 21,000 U.S. troops earlier this year, bringing the U.S. deployment to 65,000, has failed to blunt
the Taliban offensive.
The Kabul bombing comes less than a week after eight U.S. soldiers were killed in a massive, coordinated
ambush at a U.S. base 10 miles from the Pakistan border.
ABC News' Lee Ferran contributed to this report.
2 of 2 2009/10/10 09:15 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Listen: Michael Jackson's New Single 'This Is It' http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8806255
Nearly 4 Months After the King of Pop's Death, His Newest Track is Unveiled
By ALEXA LIGHTNER
LONDON Oct. 12, 2009 —
Almost four months after his death, Michael Jackson fans can hear the King of Pop's voice yet again, as
the first of his new songs debuts today.
The title song of Jackson's latest CD, called "This Is It," was released to the Sony Music office in
Kensington, London before 7:30 a.m. today and was doled out to radio stations under high security. The
track, which features snapping fingers and backup singing by Jackson's brothers, is one of several songs
originally intended to be performed on his comeback tour.
Click here to to listen to Michael Jackson's new song
"This is it," goes one verse on the new song. "Here I stand. The light of the world. I feel grand."
The song also includes the line, "I never thought that I would be your lover ... This is it"
Though it officially came out today, "This Is It" is actually more than a decade old. The song was
reportedly recorded during the sessions for Jackson's1991 "Dangerous" album and written in 1980.
Currently, the song is available at www.michaeljackson.com, but it will not be available for purchase on
CD until later this month, when a two-disc album is scheduled for release alongside a documentary, also
entitled "This Is It," about Jackson's life. The film hits theaters for a limited two-week run on Oct. 28, and
the album will be released in North America on Oct. 27.
The documentary features footage of Jackson rehearsing for his planned London concerts before his death
at the age of 50 on June 25 from a cocktail of potent drugs.
The album, which provides the soundtrack for the film, will feature both new, old, and re-mastered
Jackson songs, as well as a spoken word poem called Planet Earth and a 36-page booklet to commemorate
the singer's life.
The release of "This Is It" comes eight years after Jackson's last album, "Invincible." Despite the long lead
time, the new album may not be the only new material the public will hear from the late star. As Jackson's
estate is sorted through, there is speculation that as many as 100 new songs might be unearthed.
1 of 1 2009/10/13 12:01 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

After the Tsunami, One Little Girl's Will to Survive http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9372511
Magdalena Was 5 Years Old When She Lost Most of Her Family in the Tsunami
By HILARY BROWN
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, Dec. 26, 2009 —
Today is the fifth anniversary of one of the worst natural disasters ever recorded - the Indian Ocean
Tsunami. An underwater earthquake set off a tidal wave that inundated the shores of 11 countries, leaving
more than 230,000 dead.
The first and the worst region to be hit was Banda Aceh, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. More than
50,000 people died here and half a million were made homeless. Houses and shops were flattened by the
wave; broken bodies littered what was left of the streets. People said the town looked like Hiroshima after
the atom bomb.
At the time, aid agencies said that it would take 10 years to rebuild Banda Aceh. To rebuild human lives,
they said, would take much longer. But that isn't quite what happened, not, at least, in the case of one little
girl.
When ABC News first found Magdalena in December 2004, she had seen most of her family swept out to
sea. At age 5 she had just buried her father, who had survived the tsunami itself but whose lungs had
become choked with silt. An exquisitely beautiful child, Magdalena was so traumatized that she had lost
the power of speech.
Recently an ABC News team returned to Banda Aceh, on assignment for "Good Morning America
Sunday," and we managed to find Magdalena. What we found was living proof of the strength and
resilience of the human spirit. Magdalena was living in a new home in the center of town, and had grown
into a happy, well-adjusted 10-year-old, as beautiful as she ever was. Now she talks openly and excitedly
about her life.
"What I like about being at home," she says with a smile, "is that I can look after my baby brother."
After the tsunami Magdalena was found by one surviving uncle, Pak Ismail, who had also lost his entire
family to the tidal wave, a wife and two children. He adopted Magdalena immediately.
"Magdalena was a replacement for the two daughters I lost," her uncle told us, his voice cracking with
emotion. Like many survivors of the tsunami, Pak Ismail quickly remarried and now has two more
children.
With Magdalena, they all live in a comfortable single-story house that miraculously was not damaged by
the tidal wave. They're lucky not to be crowded into one of the 120,000 new housing units that have been
built here for the survivors. Pak Ismail got his old job back as a school administrator. They live well.
What Magdalena loves most, she says, is her school, which she was proud to show me, set in its large
shaded grounds not far from her house. School enrollment in Aceh is now back to pre-tsunami levels and
is among the highest in Indonesia.
She showed me her schoolbooks, neatly stacked inside a glass cabinet at home. She's learning English and
1 of 2 2009/12/29 11:21 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

After the Tsunami, One Little Girl's Will to Survive http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9372511
has high hopes for the future. When I asked her what she would like to be when she grows up, she
answers without hesitation, in English. "Doctor!" she cries.
Officials say that generally, life in Banda Aceh is actually better than it was before the tsunami, because
of the $7 billion of foreign aid that poured into the region. That and a peace agreement that ended 30
years of guerrilla war and opened up Aceh province.
Magdalena doesn't talk too much about her parents and siblings now, her uncle says, because it's just too
painful. But he says she still dreams about them. And she prays for them, when she goes down to the sea
that took them from her.
She is determined to survive & and thrive.
2 of 2 2009/12/29 11:21 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Alleged Underwear Bomber Pleads Not Guilty in Court Debut http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9510524
Plea Comes as Experts Debate Whether He Should Even Be in Court
By CHRIS CUOMO, LAUREN PEARLE and REYNOLDS HOLDING
Jan. 8, 2010—
Accused "underwear bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab entered a Detroit courtroom under high
security today and pleaded not guilty to charges that he tried to blow up a jetliner filled with Christmas
travelers.
The short and slightly built suspect shuffled into the courtroom wearing an untucked white T-shirt and
khaki pants and looking somewhat dazed with his eyes downcast.
It wasn't clear whether Abdulmutallab was shuffling sideways because of the fact that his ankles were
shackled or because of burn injuries he may have suffered during the botched attempt to ignite a bomb in
his underwear. Instead of exploding, the device caught fire.
During the brief five minute hearing, the 23-year-old Nigerian sat hunched over and impassive as his
lawyers surrounded him and spoke with him. When called before the judge, he spoke so softly that federal
Magistrate Judge Mark Randen had to urge him to speak up.
Standing slack-jawed, the suspect appeared to rely on his lawyers' promptings in answering the judge's
questions. He could be heard answering "yes" when asked whether he understood the charges against him.
He lawyers did not ask for bail.
As the hearing was adjourned, Abdulmutallab looked around the courtroom before he was escorted out.
Outside the courtroom, Abdulmutallab's lawyer, Miriam Siefer, said he hobbled because of the ankle
shackles. "Frankly all my clients move that way," she said.
The arraignment took place in a federal courthouse two days after afederal grand jury indicted
Abdulmutallab on six charges, including an attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction -- a bomb
concealed in his underwear. If convicted of the most serious crime, Abdulmutallab, who is 23, could be
sentenced to life in prison.
Click here to read the indictment.
The court appearance came a day after President Obama scolded his national security team for not
recognizing warning signs that Abdulmutallab was a threat. The administration also released a declassified
version of how the near disaster occurred.
Courthouse security was obvious in the hours before the arraignment. Abdulmutallab was brought to court
in a small caravan of U.S. marshals that drove into an underground garage beneath the courthouse.
Outside, metal barricades were erected and streets on two sides of the courthouse were blocked by police
so no traffic could enter.
1 of 3 2010/01/09 08:49 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Two lawyers for Abdulmutallab's wealthy Nigerian family, one from Nigeria and one from the U.S.,
conferred briefly with his public defenders before the hearing began. Abdulmutallab's father, a prominent
Nigerian banker, had tried to warned Nigerian and U.S. officials that he feared his son had come under the
influence of jihadists.
Experts: Civil Courts May Best Handle Terror Trials
Earlier in the day, the suspect's pending arraignment triggered a fresh debate over whether Abdulmutallab
and other accused terrorists should be tried in America's civil courts with rights to lawyers and other civil
protections, or whether they should be relegated to military tribunals.
"It seems to me we're going to be trying the most dangerous terrorists in the wrong place," former New
York City mayor Rudy Giuliani said on "Good Morning America" today.
Giuliani argued that if Abdulmutallab, 23, is tried in a military court the government would have more
time to interrogate him.
Despite reports that Abdulmutallab is talking to interrogators, including about his training with al Qaeda in
Yemen, Giuliani says the first 30 hours of information from a suspect are usually a mix of truth and lies.
"It takes them a lot longer than 30 hours to debrief a terrorist with the kind of history that he appears to
have... Why would you stop it?" he asked.
"If you put someone in a civilian court, within a short period of time a lawyer is appointed and the person
shuts up. If you have a person in the military system you can question him endlessly for as long as you
have to make sure you have gotten the full scope of information," Giuliani said.
The former Republican presidential candidate who presided over New York City during the 9/11 attacks
said that Abdulmutallab's case has implications for how the government handles future terrorism cases.
"This isn't about whether you convict them or not. It's about whether you get information or not," said
Giuliani, who is a former federal prosecutor.
The legal maneuvering will begin when Abdulmutallab, whose groin was burned in the bungled bombing,
appears in the Detroit court this afternoon. Lawyers for the Nigerian are expected to ask the court to
quash a subpoena for Abdulmutallab's blood for DNA testing.
The defense may also ask the judge to lift restrictions on the imprisoned Abdulmutallab. The suspect is
being held at Milan federal prison south of Detroit.
Other experts endorsed Giuliani's preference that Abdulmutallab be tried by a military tribunal instead of a
civil court.
"Foreign enemies don't need the protection of the bill of rights," said Robert Turner, head of the
University of Virgnia's Center for National Security. "In military courts, the hearsay rule and exclusion
rules don't exist," making it easier to get a conviction, he said.
Under the military court system, Abdulmutallab probably would have undergone more intensive
interrogation before getting a lawyer who would stop the grilling, Turner said. "We may have gotten more
intelligence from him," he said.
Trying terrorists in the openness of civil courts also will give "our enemies a chance to raid our intelligence
files," Turner said. Plus, it will be more expensive. New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg has
estimated it will cost more than $400 million to secure the city during what is expected to be a two year
trial of the 9/11 plotters.
2 of 3 2010/01/09 08:49 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Others, however, argued that the civil court system has proven it can handle terror trials and that they
have long term benefits.
"We've only had three military trials of terrorists, but since 9/11 we've had over 200 terrorists convicted in
criminal court. We know this system has worked and been tested. Why roll the dice?" former FBI agent
and terrorism specialist Jack Cloonan told ABC News' Law and Justice Unit.
Those convictions include Richard Reid, the shoe bomber who tried to blow up a plane with explosives
hidden in the soles of his shoes, and 9/11 plotter Zacarias Moussaoui.
Despite the stricter interrogation rules in a civilian court, Cloonan says that they can be more effective in
obtaining information.
"It's wrong to think that because you're lawyered up, you can't gain the suspect's cooperation. Defense
attorneys can be an enormously valuable tool to the government," he said.
For example, defense lawyers might encourage him to take a plea and cooperate and arrange for
Abdulmutallab to be in touch with his family who might also encourage cooperation. "He was vulnerable
to being recruited, but he's also vulnerable to try to find an exit strategy," Cloonan argued.
Since he's only 23, Abdulmutallab may be willing to make a plea that would get him out of prison in about
20 years in exchange for information. "Once they cross that bridge, they can't shut up," said Cloonan.
Obama: 'The Buck Stops With Me'
Karen Greenberg, head of New York University's Center on Law and Security, has little faith in what she
calls the "failed military commission process with no track record."
Trying him in civilian courts can send a political message, said defense attorney Ron Kuby. Abdulmutallab
wants to be considered a "combatant" or a "warrior," but by trying him in a criminal court "we're sending
the message that he's just a criminal, a common thug," he said.
In addition, "Civilian trials serve important functions. They show to us and the world that our system is
fair, transparent and reliable," Kuby said. People may be more willing to come forward and cooperate if
they believe they'll be treated fairly, he said.
On Thursday, the Obama administration released a declassified version of its review of the attempted
bombing detailing the "human and systemic" failures that allowed Abdulmutallab to board the U.S. bound
plane with a bomb in his underwear.
"This incident was not the fault of a single individual or organization, but rather a systemic failure across
organizations and agencies," the president said. "Ultimately, the buck stops with me."
While the entire intelligence community has received some criticism from the administration in recent
days, the report focused considerable scrutiny upon the National Counterterrorism Center and the CIA.
"Though all the information was available to all source analysts at the CIA and NCTC prior to the
attempted attack, the dots were never connected," the report reads. "As a result, the problem appears to
be more about a component failure to connect the dots, rather than a lack of information sharing."
ABC News' Pierre Thomas, Karen Travers, Kate McCarthy and Devin Dwyer contributed to this report.
CLICK HERE to return to the "Good Morning America" Web site.
3 of 3 2010/01/09 08:49 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Is the American Diet Too Sweet for the Heart? Page 1 of 3
American Diet Too Sweet for the Heart's Health

Experts Debate the Value of the American Heart Association's Call to Cut Our Sugar Intake
By LAUREN COX and COURTNEY HUTCHISON

August 25, 2009—
Sugar sneaks into so much of our food -- from spaghetti sauce to salad dressing or peanut butter treats -- that it can be near impossible to stop eating
added sugars all together. Despite those arrays of pink, blue and yellow packets of sugar substitutes, the average American eats 19 percent more sugar
today than in 1970.
Today, for the first time, the American Heart Association (AHA) wants the average American to take a break from this love affair. Under new
recommendations the AHA advises women eat no more than about six teaspoons every day in added sugars and men eat no more than 10 teaspoons.
If Americans followed the guidelines, the average person would cut their added sugar consumption by more than 70 percent.
"We know that soft drinks are the number one source of added sugars in the American diet. We really want Americans to start thinking about this," said
Dr. Rachel K. Johnson, lead author of the study.
Beyond soda, the term "added sugars" includes any non-natural occurring sugar in our food including the copious amounts of extra sugar now
commonly found in processed foods such as cereals, muffins, or even sauces for meat.
Johnson argues that all of these extra calories from added sugars are contributing to the obesity epidemic, which in turn leads to an upward trend in
heart disease. The AHA estimates modern day sugar consumption tacks on an extra 76 calories each day over what the average person consumed in
1970.
"The high intake of added sugar has been implicated in a number of negative health outcomes, but primarily this targets obesity," said Johnson. "Sugars
have been implicated in high blood pressure and inflammation which are risk factors for heart disease."
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http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8399251 2009/08/30
Many dietary specialists hailed the new guidelines. However some questioned whether making yet another complicated equation in the list of nutrition
recommendations marketed to the public helps people eat healthier or just confuses the average consumer.
"Strictly from a health standpoint, sugar is a 'triple threat' - it provides extra calories, no nutrients, and it may displace other foods and nutrients in the
diet that are more beneficial," said Dr. Donald D. Hensrud, an associate professor of Preventive Medicine and Nutrition at the Mayo Clinic.
ABC News contributor Dr. David Katz agreed.
"The recommendations are reasonable, and if anything, overdue," said Katz, the director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center and an ABC
News contributor.
Can People Ever Follow Specific Dietary Recommendations?
"One of the problems with the dietary guidance offered in the U.S. is that it tends to come one nutrient at a time: the heart association frets about
saturated and trans-fat; the stroke foundations fret about sodium; the diabetes association about sugar; and so on," he said. "The truth is, overall
nutritional quality is what matters for all."
Yet some dieters have found that following a single recommendation, especially regarding sugar, can lead to better nutrition overall.
Sandee Kuprel, 42, was 202 pounds when she realized that a major factor in her bad eating habits was a spiraling addiction to sugar in food.
"I was a butterball," said Kuprel. "I started to see, I have a problem with sugar. When I ate the sugar all bets are off. I kept eating -- breakfast sugars,
cereals, spaghetti sauce, pizza, ketchups, dressings, sauces," she said.
After her realization, Kuprel said she started eating only whole grains and foods without processed sugars. That meant no more pizza or soda. It also
meant checking for added sugar in sauces, and mostly eating fruit for dessert.
Kuprel, author of the Happy2BeMe blog lost 70 pounds within a year by changing her habits.
"I love living like this," said Kuprel.
But many doctors doubt the AHA recommendation would have such an effect on the public at large.
"It will be difficult for most people to adhere to the 100 calorie or 150 calorie limit, and most people will not know what it means. The average person
won't remember such a vague concept," said Dr. Jana Klauer, a New York-based expert in nutrition and metabolism and author of "The Park Avenue
Nutritionist's Plan."
"It would have been better to specifically instruct people to 'avoid drinking soda' and to warn 'soda and sugary snacks have been associated with obesity
and may pose cardiovascular risks," she said.
Other nutritional experts worried about the "one size fits all" recommendations put out by health organizations.
Experts Don't Think Everyone Should Cut Sugar
"Not everyone needs to restrict sugar. For people who are active, not overweight, and eating an otherwise healthy diet, extra sugar is not going to be
detrimental," said Beth Kitchin assistant professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham department of Nutrition Sciences.
"I think we need to tailor our recommendations to specific populations rather than throw out these general guidelines that most people will ignore
anyway," she said.
Johnson, the lead author of the study, hopes her recommendations translate into some good advice, even if the public isn't counting grams of sugar every
day.
"We're not saying eliminate added sugar, we're saying use them with discretion," said Johnson.
"Try to use the added sugars with foods that will enhance the diet, for instance a sugared whole grain breakfast cereal or a sugar sweetened dairy
product & they're improving the flavor of the food in a healthy diet as opposed to [spending it on] things that don't carry any other nutritional value, like
soda or candy bars," she said.
Americans Still Traveling Despite High Prices http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=1975782
Tips to Save on Vacations
May 18, 2006 —
Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer, as well as a good indicator for travel habits.
Despite the high gas prices and higher vacation prices, 37 million Americans will travel this Memorial Day
weekend, which is 1 million more than last year, according to AAA.
Right now, a gallon of gas costs an average of $2.93, up 75 cents from last year. And plane tickets are up
10 percent as airlines make up for soaring jet fuel costs. Once you get to your destination, that's going to
cost more, too.
"You're probably going to pay $5 a day more for your hotel room and $6 a day [more] for your rental
car," said Amy Ziff, editor at large at Travelocity.com.
But Americans are still traveling.
"People may alter their trips by traveling closer to home, maybe taking fewer trips or also staying with
family or friends," said Mantill Williams, AAA spokesman.
But what about a family who wants to take the exact same vacation it took last year?
"Your family is no different than anyone else out there," Ziff said. "You're going to compute the
difference and, unfortunately, you're going to see it's going to cost more."
"Good Morning America" did the math to find out how much more one family's vacation from Syracuse,
N.Y., to Chatham, Mass., in beautiful Cape Cod. It's 411 miles from Syracuse to Chatham, so at 16 miles
per gallon, it will cost $152.36 for gas -- $40 more than last year. The family will rent the same cottage as
last year, but this year it will cost $1,006.98, instead of last year's price of $942 -- $65 more. This family
will be spending $105 more on vacation this year.
How to Save Money on Vacation
The travel experts gave these tips on how to save money when planning your vacation this summer.
You'll pay less if you forgo the ocean view and walk to the beach.
If you're flying to your destination, travel midweek to midweek so you can avoid the weekend premium
prices.
With the smaller hotels and lodging, you can still negotiate. Give them a call and try talking the prices
down.
Look for package deals that include transportation and lodging.
ABC's David Muir reported this piece for "Good Morning America."
1 of 1 2009/12/15 05:52 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Another Day, Another Confusing Jolt for Women: Delay Cervical Exams? http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9131632
Doctors Say Young Women Can Wait for First Pap, and Get Them Less Often
By LAUREN COX and Dr. JOSHUA HUNDERT

Nov. 20, 2009—
Pap smears may no longer be called "annuals" if doctors follow new cervical cancer screening
recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
The group announced today that women should start getting cervical cancer screenings at age 21 instead
of 18, and that women could wait longer between the screenings -- regardless of when a woman starts
having sex.
Women in their 20s with normal Pap smear results now should get screenings every two years instead of
every year, and women in their 30s can wait three years between screenings, according to the new ACOG
guidelines.
After a week of uproar over the controversial recommendations for less mammogram screenings for
women, doctors say they will have to wait and see how the public reacts to the new pap smear guidelines.
"This is not a radical change in screening practices. This is something that's been coming gradually since
the 1980s," said Dr. Alan G. Waxman, who helped write the new guidelines.
Some doctors hailed the decision as a way to reduce a host of problems caused by excessive screening;
yet, a few others worried it might trigger more women to neglect annual checkups with gynecologists.
Waxman said the move toward fewer screenings will reduce unnecessary treatment in young women and
protect them from future pregnancy complications.
On one hand, college-aged women have very high HPV infection rates. Dr. John Curtin, of The Cancer
Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City said 70 percent of all college-aged sexually
active people have contracted HPV. These high infection rates translate into a high number of abnormal
pap smears.
However, the ACOG guidelines point out that only 0.1 percent of cervical cancer occurs in women under
21 years of age in part, doctors believe, because young women's immune systems are strong enough to
fight off HPV before it causes cancer. When dysplasias progress to cancers it's usually a result of older
women missing screenings for years at a time; 50 percent of women diagnosed with cervical cancer each
year never had a pap smear before, according to the ACOG statement.
And some research has suggested the diagnostic surgery that often follow an abnormal result can pose
problems for future pregnancies in some women.
"The driving force behind the change was the numerous studies that show women who are treated for
cervical dysplasias are more likely to have a preterm birth," said Waxman, who is a professor at the
1 of 4 2009/11/22 02:08 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
Unnecessary HPV Treatment Can Lead to Pregnancy Problems
Waxman explained that the LEEP procedure to remove precancerous tissue often caused by an infection
with the human papillomavirus, or HPV, also weakens the cervix. In fact, it's estimated, one in 18 women
who've had a LEEP procedure will go on to give birth prematurely.
But, he added, new studies have shown "with most of the cervical abnormalities in adolescents, most of
them get better by themselves. ... The thought is that these are the people who have most of their child-
bearing years in front of them."
The ACOG recommendations cite studies showing that up to 90 percent of these infections are cleared on
their own in adolescents within a few years.
The measure also was intended to reduce anxiety in young women who may struggle with the news that
they are infected with a sexually transmitted virus known to cause cancer.
"I was convinced I was dying, that I had cancer. There was not enough education back then," said Nicole
C., a resident of La Porte, Texas, who was diagnosed at age 22 with cervical dysplasia -- an abnormal Pap
smear -- caused by HPV. "My doctor at the time made me feel horrible about myself, accusing me of not
being truthful about how many partners I'd had."
Reducing Anxiety Now and Later On
Nicole, who asked that her last name not be used for privacy reasons, had her first abnormal Pap smear in
1998. As the years passed, more of her friends were diagnosed with cervical dysplasia in their 20s.
As Nicole started serving as an impromptu counselor to explain how HPV is spread, she aimed to soothe
fears and reduce the stigma.
"If I had known more back then, I would not have freaked out about it," she said. "I wished they had done
that [changed the guidelines] years ago."
Many doctors say they recognize the same anxiety on their young patients' faces.
"Yes, the diagnosis of an abnormal Pap can cause emotional distress to an adolescent girl, and I have
certainly seen that," said Dr. Elizabeth Alderman of Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y.
"[Cervical biopsies] and repeat Pap smears with visits cost a lot of money."
In fact, some doctors felt the new recommendations did not go far enough.
Dr. Diane Harper of the University of Missouri-Kansas, who specializes in HPV infections, felt that
ACOG is behind the other recommending bodies in the United States that argue screening should start at
age 25, not age 21.
"There is ample evidence that screening earlier than 25 years is only costly with many false positives,"
said Harper. "The rest of the world is going to an every-five-or-six-year screening interval ... and ACOG is
now just endorsing the three-year interval for HPV negative and Pap negative [women]."
Doctors speaking to ABCNews.com also said they felt the best way to prevent more cancer deaths wasn't
to re-screen women who are already seeing doctors regularly, but to try to get women who aren't getting
screenings at all into the doctors.
"Whether we screen everybody every two or three years isn't probably not going to make a big difference
I don't think, just as long as they are getting screened," said Curtin. "The fact remains there are
2 of 4 2009/11/22 02:08 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

unscreened patients and they are at risk for cancer."
Doctors speaking to ABCNews.com also said they felt the best way to prevent more cancer deaths wasn't
to re-screen women who are already seeing doctors regularly, but to try to get women who aren't getting
screenings at all into the doctors.
"Whether we screen everybody every two or three years is probably not going to make a big difference,
just as long as they are getting screened," said Curtin. "The fact remains there are unscreened patients and
they are at risk for cancer."
Negative Effects of Fewer Pap Smears Unknown
On the other hand, many women admit that the only reason they go to a doctor is for an annual Pap smear
and contraception. For those reasons, some doctors worry such women won't receive any medical
checkups at all.
"Honestly, the first time it was discovered, I was going to Planned Parenthood for contraception because I
had just become sexually active. It was only my second partner," said Alicia, a 32-year-old woman from
New Orleans who also did not want her last name used.
Alicia had her first abnormal Pap smear when she was 18.
"I cried, and I really, really freaked out," she said.
But the task of treating her abnormal Pap smears made her aware of her health.
"That was a pivotal moment in my life," she said. "I started doing things better. I started getting into
gardening and doing things to calm down."
Dr. Donnica Moore, president of Sapphire Women's Health Group and an obstetrician-gynecologist by
training, worried that the new guidelines might keep women who've had a normal Pap smear, or no
symptoms, away from the doctor.
"Women may now assume -- incorrectly -- that if they only need a Pap smear every two or three years,
then they only need to see their gynecologist every two to three years, and for many of these women, their
gynecologist is their primary care physician," said Moore. "Thus, they will not be getting a routine
physical, breast exam, blood pressure measurement, and sexually-transmitted infection testing."
Changing Recommendations on Pap Smears
However, Friday's changes aren't the first to affect cervical cancer screenings. Over the years, doctors
have scaled back on cervical cancer screening schedules after more research proved less frequent
screenings were effective.
"It is about time this occurred," said Dr. Mark Einstein of the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx,
N.Y. "Oftentimes, young women are put into a 'high-risk' category, clinically, because they have a
[positive] Pap test that is essentially just a sign of an HPV infection -- but it is not clinically relevant. This
leads to anxiety and over-testing."
Dr. Joanna Cain of Brown University agreed, and argued that the HPV vaccine will further decrease the
transmission of the virus that is responsible for up to 70 percent of cancers in the coming years.
Below is a timeline of changes to cervical cancer screenings over the years, according to Waxman:
1957 -- The American Cancer Society runs a nationwide campaign for women to get a Pap test every
year.
3 of 4 2009/11/22 02:08 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

1976 -- Canadian health leaders examine data and recommend a woman get a Pap smear every two years,
after a woman has three consecutive normal Pap smears.
1980 -- The American Cancer Society follows Canadian guidelines recommending a woman get a Pap
smear every two years after three consecutive normal Pap smears.
1988 -- The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends starting screening at 18, or
with the onset of sexual activity and getting a Pap test every year. But after three negative Pap tests,
women should be screened less often.
2003 -- ACOG guidelines shift from recommending the first Pap smear at age 18 or the onset of
intercourse to age 21 or three years after the onset of intercourse.
2008 -- The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guidelines shift to recommend
adolescents who have a minor abnormality on a Pap test wait to get biopsies and a diagnostic test called a
colposcopy.
4 of 4 2009/11/22 02:08 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Baby Cut From Slain Mom's Womb Found Alive Page 1 of 2
Baby Cut From Slain Mom's Womb Found Alive

Darlene Haynes' body was found in her Worcester, Mass. apartment Monday.
By SARAH NETTER and LINDSAY GOLDWERT
July 29, 2009
The baby of a murdered pregnant Worcester, Mass., woman was found alive in a New Hampshire
hospital tonight, ABC News affiliate WCVB in Boston reported.
The baby, a girl, was being evaluated at the Plymouth, N.H., hospital where she was found and
appeared to be in fair condition, police said.
The mutilated body of her mother, Darlene Haynes, had been found wrapped in bedding in a closet
in her Southgate Street apartment Monday. The 23-year-old was eight months pregnant at the time of
her death, and police said the fetus had been cut from her body.
Julie Corey, 35, of Worcester, was arrested tonight in Plymouth, N.H., on a charge of kidnapping,
but she could face a murder charge when she is returned to Massachusetts, police said.
A man was also arrested, police said, but they did not release his name.
Police said they were led to Corey because she told friends she had just had a baby, WCVB reported.
"Friends became concerned about how she got home so early after giving birth," Worcester police
Sgt. Kerry Hazelhurst said.
Worcester police had been frantically searching for the fetus since Haynes' body was discovered.
Haynes's great-aunt, Sandra Grandmaison, told ABCNews.com that the baby had been due to be
born late next month.
"The name was going to be a surprise to us," she said.
The baby would have been Haynes' fourth daughter. Haynes had three other children: Jasmine, 5,
and Lilli, 3, who were being raised by Haynes' grandmother; and Christina, 1, of whom Haynes had
custody.
Grandmaison described Haynes as a loving mother who was friendly to strangers and was severely
developmentally disabled as a result of abuse as a young child.
Haynes functioned as a 12- or 13-year-old would, Grandmaison said, adding that the estimated that
the young woman had a hard time holding down a job.
Grandmaison initially told police that Haynes had problems with two men: her ex-boyfriend Roberto
Rodriquez and her landlord William Thompson, who discovered her body.
Baby Cut From Slain Mom's Womb Found Alive Page 2 of 2
Haynes had taken out a restraining order against Rodriguez, the father of the unborn child and her
daughter Christina, more than three weeks ago.
Grandmaison said Rodriguez had been abusive to Haynes and to her grandmother, threatening to kill
the older woman if she tried to take custody of Christina.
Christina, she said, was not found in the home with her mother's body and Worcester police have
refused to tell her where they found the little girl.
"It was planned," she said. "It was worked out very carefully. They knew enough to take the baby
out of the house."
Christina, she said, is now in the custody of Haynes' mother.
A Horrifying Discovery
The exact cause of Haynes death has not been released pending toxicology reports, but the medical
examiner has ruled the death a homicide.
Grandmaison said it appeared that Haynes died from a blow to the head.
According to police, Thompson searched Haynes' home after getting complaints from neighbors
about a foul smell coming from the apartment and found her in the closet.
He told the Boston Herald that he slept outside in his truck overnight and was waiting until police
would let him go in and clean the apartment.
"It's too much," he told the Herald.
Haynes' uncle, Karl Whitney told WCVB that the family is still in shock.
"How you go forward with this? I have no idea. I, having two grandchildren of my own, could not
imagine this ever happening to one of my kids," Whitney said. "Her other two daughters are aware of
what happened to mom, but, you know, it's difficult to know at a young age."
Bath Time Photos Cause Family Nightmare http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8624533
Bath Time Photos Prompt Child Porn Allegations

Arizona Couple Sues Wal-Mart for Calling Cops Over Bath Time Photos
By DAN PRZYGODA, SARAH NETTER and ADIB DESIREE
Sept. 21, 2009—
For A.J. and Lisa Demaree, the photos they snapped of their young daughters were innocent and sweet.
But after a photo developer at Wal-Mart thought otherwise, the Demarees found themselves in a yearlong
battle to prove they were not child pornographers.
"I don't' understand it at all," A.J. Demaree told "Good Morning America" Monday. "Ninety-nine percent
of the families in America have these exact same photos."
The eight photos in question were among a batch of 144 family photos the Demarees had taken to their
local Wal-Mart. The developer alerted the police and the investigation into child pornography began in
earnest, even though the parents maintained they were innocent bath time photos.
The Peoria, Ariz., couple had their home searched by police and worse, their children -- then ages 18
months, 4 and 5 -- were taken from them for more than month. Their names were placed on a sex offender
registry for a time, and Lisa Demaree was suspended from her school job for a year. The couple said they
have spent $75,000 on legal bills.
A report issued by local authorities described the photos as "child erotica" and "sex exploitation," the
couple's lawyer Dick Treon told "Good Morning America." He said the person responsible for the report
was unqualified to make such judgments.
The Demarees are now sharing a few of the photos with the public, he said, so the "truth to catch up with
the lie."
"These photos were never intended for anyone to see except for family members," Treon said.
"Perversion is in the eye of the viewer."
Eventually, a judge threw out charges against the Demarees, but now they're going on the legal offensive
by suing the state, the city and Wal-Mart for their role in what they call a "nightmare."
"I think that we need to have an awareness of how our innocent photographs can be misconstrued and
misperceived," Lisa Demaree said.
The Demarees are suing the city of Peoria and the State Attorney General's office for defamation. They're
also suing Wal-Mart for failing to tell them that they had an "unsuitable print policy" and could turn over
photos to law enforcement without their knowledge.
"At Wal-Mart, we're committed to providing quality service and convenience to our photo customers," the
company said in a statement. "These are sensitive allegations and we're taking them very seriously."
"It was unbelievable. I was in so much disbelief. I started to hyperventilate. I tried to breathe it out," Lisa
Demaree told "GMA" this weekend, struggling through tears. "Some of the photos are bath time photos,
1 of 2 2009/09/22 12:16 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Bath Time Photos Cause Family Nightmare http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8624533
but there are a few after the bath. Three of the girls are naked, laying on a towel with their arms around
each other, and we thought it was so cute."
Lisa Demaree told "Good Morning America" today that the girls seem to be doing well, but that her oldest
is showing some signs of anxiety when she visits other people's homes. She calls her experience in state
care as time at the "stranger's house."
"They're doing really well, I think, considering what happened," she said. "But sometimes we don't know
the effects that children experience and are undergoing when they go through things like this."
House Searched, Children Taken
After Wal-Mart alerted them, investigators went to the Demaree home to question them and search their
residence where the children live with their parents.
A.J. Demaree said he could understand why the police were there, but he said the pictures were innocuous
snapshots of his kids goofing around, and some of them involved the children being naked.
"We have told our girls that they have freedom to be in their home and feel OK about their bodies and
their nudity, but that there is a time and a place for it," Lisa said.
Police seized numerous videotapes and the Demarees' computers and said they found more photos and
videos of the children frolicking without clothes.
Investigators and Child Protective Services saw it very differently and removed the children from the
house.
A medical exam of the children revealed no signs of sexual abuse, and a judge ruled that the photos were
in fact harmless.
ABC News legal expert Dana Cole said that in cases of child pornography authorities need to prove sexual
intent on the part of the parents, and that after the judge reviewed the case and the Demarees underwent
psychological evaluation, it was determined that there was no such intent.
From the Demarees perspective, the damage was already done.
Police and prosecutors insist they did what they thought was appropriate.
"It took us a long time to take a picture [again]," Lisa Demaree said. "I even worry about them in their
bathing suits now, if I get a shot of them in their bathing suits and they're tilting their heads a certain way
or their hips are sticking out a little bit, all I think of is 'Does someone think that it was posed? Or how is
that going to be perceived?'"
Steve Meissner, a spokesman for Child Protective Services, released a statement saying, "When a police
agency calls us on a matter, we have an obligation to act on that matter. If we refused, the community
would be very unhappy with us."
The city of Peoria also states that it stands behind the appropriate actions of their officers.
"Honestly we've missed a year of our children's lives as far as our memories go," Lisa Demaree said, "As
crazy as it may seem, what you may think are the most beautiful innocent pictures of your children may
be seen as something completely different and completely perverted."
ABC News' Lee Ferran contributed to this report.
2 of 2 2009/09/22 12:16 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Cheney Says Obama Wrong on Security Threat, Waterboarding; Biden Defends National
Security Policies
By HUMA KHAN and RACHEL MARTIN
Feb. 15, 2010—
The war of words between Dick Cheney and the Obama administration escalated as the White House
dispatched Vice President Joe Biden to counter criticism by the former vice president.
Biden and former vice president Cheney don't agree on much, except on how wrong each believes the
other one is when it comes to running the country. The two squared off in Sunday morning talk shows,
with Biden making an appearance on both CBS and NBC in response to Cheney's exclusive ABC "This
Week" interview.
The two leaders clashed on a host of issues, including the likelihood of another terrorist attack on U.S. soil
on the scale of 9/11.
Cheney on "This Week" took a stab at the Obama administration's handling of the war on terror and its
national security policies.
"It's the mind-set that concerns me," Cheney said of President Obama's handling of national security,
including the decision to try 9/11 suspects in civilian courts rather than military tribunals.
Biden, who once called Cheney the most dangerous vice president in history, said the United States is
unlikely to face another 9/11 type of attack.
"I always underestimate the way Dick Cheney approaches things," Biden said on CBS' "Face the Nation."
"The reason it's unlikely is because we have been relentless, absolutely relentless in isolating al Qaeda,
central al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, al Qaeda coming out of the Afghan-Pakistan region."
Cheney called that notion "dead wrong."
"I think, in fact, the situation with respect to al Qaeda to say that, you know, that was a big attack we had
on 9/11, but it's not likely again, I just think that's dead wrong," the former VP said on "This Week. "I
think the biggest strategic threat the United States faces today is the possibility of another 9/11 with a
nuclear weapon or a biological agent of some kind, and I think al Qaeda is out there even as we meet
trying to figure out how to do that."
He said that kind of attitude makes America vulnerable.
"You don't want the vice president of the United States running around saying, 'Oh, it's not likely to
happen,'" he said.
Cheney strongly defended waterboarding, the enhanced interrogation technique assailed by Obama and
what many consider to be torture.
"I was a big supporter of waterboarding. I was a big supporter of the enhanced interrogation techniques,"
he said.
Cheney added that he opposed the current administration's move to do away with it.
"That's Dick Cheney. Thank God the last administration didn't listen to him at the end," Biden countered.
"I think his fight seems to be with the last administration. We did exactly what President Bush did. We got
the similar result. We are protecting America. And I don't know, it seems like Dick Cheney can't take yes
for an answer."
Waterboarding is a controversial interrogation technique that was used by CIA officials on terror suspects.
Its proponents, including Cheney, say waterboarding helped yield valuable information. Opponents,
including Obama, said it's a form of torture. Waterboarding was phased out during the end of the Bush
administration, but Obama officially banned it at the onset of his administration.
Dick Cheney and Joe Biden Face Off on Sunday Shows
Cheney, who has emerged as a vocal critic of the Obama administration, said the current president should
thank its predecessor for success in Iraq.
"If they're going to take credit for it, fair enough, for what they've done while they're there. But it ought to
go with a healthy dose of 'Thank you, George Bush' up front and a recognition that some of their early
recommendations, with respect to prosecuting that war, we're just dead wrong," he said.
Biden countered that it's not credit the Obama administration is taking, but responsibility.
"We're not taking credit. We had to take responsibility," said Biden, who is in Vancouver for the Winter
Olympic games. "When we took responsibility for the mess that we were handed to us at the end of last
year, an awful lot of very informed news people ... were wondering whether or not that country could be
put together."
President George W. Bush has been mostly silent since leaving office more than a year ago, while his vice
president appears to be relishing the freedom that comes from being out of office.
"I have the great freedom and luxury of speaking out, saying what I want to say, what I believe," Cheney
said.
Some analysts point to a power vacuum in the Republican Party that has left a wide opening for the
former vice president to say his piece. Cheney may also be looking for some public vindication.
"Since they lost in 2008 and until they find a presidential candidate in 2012, leadership is up for grabs, and
he's grabbing it," said ABC political analyst George Will.
On Sunday, the former vice president pointed to several Bush policies that the Obama administration has
not been able to fully roll back, including the operation of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and
the use of military tribunals.
Despite the differences in the Sunday talk show duels, there were some points of agreement. Cheney said
he supports efforts to end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in the military and the Obama
administration's approach to the war in Afghanistan.
"When the [military] chiefs come forward and say, 'We think we can do it,' then it strikes me that it's time
to reconsider the policy," Cheney said.
In Afghanistan, Obama approved a surge of 30,000 additional troops last year and his administration has
increased drone attacks in neighboring Pakistan, where some al Qaeda leaders are thought to be hiding. At
the same time, Obama set July 2011 as the date of the start of withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
"You know, I'm a complete supporter of what they're doing in Afghanistan. I think the president made the
right decision to send troops into Afghanistan. I thought it took him a while to get there," Cheney said.

In the Operating Room With Dr. Oz Page 1 of 3
Behind the Scenes in the O.R. With Dr. Oz

Dr. Mehmet Oz Wants Americans to Get Healthy so They Won't Need Heart Surgery
By KATIE ESCHERICH
Aug. 25, 2009—
Dr. Mehmet Oz calls the operating room where he performs 300 heart surgeries each year "the temple," but says he wishes he spent a lot less time there.
Oz is on a mission to inspire Americans to get healthy so he never needs to treat them.
Oz gave Diane Sawyer a rare look inside the operating room at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia Medical Center to see just what happens
during open heart surgery.
"In every case, every single operation, there is one moment where the patient could die," he said. "I don't remember ever in my whole life not having
that be part of an operation. It's not that I think it's going to happen, but I realize if I go left rather than go right, we'll have a catastrophe."
For surgeons, the preparation starts before they make a single cut, when they're scrubbing in.
"The ritual starts off with the fingernails," Oz said. "I only point this out because there's a lot of superstition in surgery. The good surgeons would spend
the time meditating about what they're about to do, actually going through it in their mind. So when you're in there and everyone's wondering what
you're going to do next, you've already thought about it three times while you were scrubbing."
Oz, who treats patients with the highest-tech heart surgery and care, knows 70 percent of his patients could have lived differently and never had to be
lying on his table. And that's why he says he doesn't favor one health care plan over another.
"The big debate right now in Washington is health care finance," he said. "It's how are you going to pay for it. I don't care which program we pick. I'll
tell you why. Because none of them are going to work."
Oz says the health care plans are all doomed unless Americans create a new way of thinking about health. He says there have to be incentives for
healthy behavior at the workplace, in families, with our children, with each other and points out that Americans have, on average, twice as much chronic
disease than Europeans.
"What we haven't done is get to the very root reality of the flaws we have in the health care system," he said. "True health care reform cannot happen in
Washington. It has to happen in our kitchens, in our homes, in our communities. All health care is personal."
And it also complicated.
"I don't think the solution is as simple as saying, 'walk 30 minutes a day,'" he said. "The solution is much more profound than me barking out orders
about how much you have to exercise."
Healthy Lifestyle Key to Avoiding Heart Surgery
The solution will come, he says, when it's easier to make the healthy choice than the unhealthy choice.
"If I make your workplace conducive to walking at lunch, or working out at some time during the day, or I get people to use the stairs more by creating
incentives to do such, then people will start doing it naturally," Oz said.
"We don't walk," he continued. "We overeat because we've made it easy to overeat. We have fast-food joints on every corner. By the way, the 'we' is all
of us. It's not the government. It's all of us doing this together."
Oz says that while one-third of health issues are genetic, two-thirds are the result of factors that we have the ability to alter, like walking regularly,
eating plenty of leafy green vegetables and fruits, and losing weight.
In the operating room, Oz showed Sawyer a heart valve he removed from the patient. It stopped working because of calcium deposits.
Many of the patients he sees are suffering the effects of smoking.
"I don't operate on smokers," he said. "I tell cigarette smokers that I can operate on you, I get paid the same. And you might even do well. But it's the
wrong thing to do. So I refuse to operate on you until you stop smoking."
He promises to do whatever he can to help patients stop smoking.
"In my entire career, I've never had a patient not stop," he said.
Unfortunately, many resume smoking after surgery despite follow-up treatment.
"I recognize that the average smoker stops and then starts again six times before they succeed," he said. "At least I took care of one of 'em."
Oz says the hardest thing for a surgeon to come to terms with is someone who's been through surgery and still hasn't responded to the message about
exercise and weight.
Dr. Oz: 'Put Me Out of Business'
Peter Calafati, a 52-year-old who had a coronary bypass five months ago, still has trouble with exercise -- and some of that stomach is back.
"I look at you and I blame myself," Oz told him. "I say, I must have walked him through all the details of open heart surgery but & I didn't get into his
heart and get him to appreciate why I feel so passionately about doing these things."
"It's laziness on that area, you know?" Calafati said. "It wasn't like a life-shattering moment for me, it was almost somewhat expected."
"That is actually the most cogent answer I have ever gotten to that question," Oz said, adding that coronary bypass never used to be done on patients as
young as Calafati or others he treats.
"It's being done on 25-year-olds," he said.
The rise in surgical procedures may be good for business for a surgeon, but Oz is hoping for the opposite.
"The main reason that I really wanted you to come is to put me out of business," Oz said in the operating room. "Because although this is extremely
fulfilling and I really do enjoy it a lot at its very foundation, you walk in there and you realize my goodness, this didn't have to happen."
Preventative medicine will be the focus of "The Dr. Oz Show," which premieres on Sept. 14, 2009.
The Price Is Right at Salvage Grocery Stores Page 1 of 3
Big Savings at Salvage Grocery Stores

It's a 'Treasure Hunt' for Damaged, Dented or Discontinued Products
By CLAYTON SANDELL and ANDREA BEAUMONT
ARVADA, Colo., Aug. 28, 2009 —
From the outside, it doesn't look like grocery stores you're used to.
Tucked in the back of an industrial complex, Palumbo's Friday Store has a plain brick front and black security bars covering the windows.
And on the inside, you will not find prices you're used to.
"We have people of all walks of life come in here for the sole purpose of saving money," said owner Martin Palumbo, noting that in the last year
business at his store is up anywhere from 30 to 50 percent.
Palumbo and his wife, Jo, run a "salvage" grocery store in Arvada, Colo., near Denver. They take in damaged, dented or discontinued products that
grocery stores won't sell -- everything from baby food to bug spray, cereal to salad dressing -- and offer them at huge discounts.
As the economy has tanked, frugal customers have been flocking to so-called "scratch-and-dent" or salvage grocery stores.
"I notice that a lot of people are coming in and saying, 'I just got laid off, and I'm so glad I found you,'" said Jo Palumbo, herself laid off in December
from her job as a paralegal.
There are hundreds of these types of stores spread across the country, and a growing number of Web sites are dedicated to finding them. Anderson's
Country Market, a discount store located in Madison Heights, Va., maintains a state-by-state list.
Palumbo gets his products from supermarket reclamation centers. The packaging is often crushed or torn; cans are often dented. Some items are near or
even just past their "sell by" dates.
But the deals are great.
Click here for a full directory of salvage grocery stores.
Shopping at Salvage Stores: Know Before You Go
Walking up and down the aisles, Martin Palumbo reached for a bottle of 100 percent fruit juice.
"Juices are very costly in the store," he said. "It takes a lot of berries to fill that jug. They normally sell for $3, $4 apiece. Our price is $1.99."
Also on the shelves that day was a box of Trix cereal for $1.99. The same box at a nearby Safeway supermarket was priced at $3.99. A bottle of
Newman's Own All Natural Salad Mist at Safeway was $3.29, compared to $1.99 at Palumbo's Friday Store.
Shopper Angela Wheaton said the overall savings are substantial, around 50 percent over mainstream grocery stores.
"I automatically know I'm going to save money on my whole wheat pasta," she said. "And the cheese is about 75 percent less."
Palumbo says that the product on his store shelves varies from week to week. He never knows what items will show up packed in boxes that used to
hold bananas.
"It's kind of like a treasure hunt," he said, opening a banana box in the back storeroom.
"These sell for almost $4 apiece," he said, holding up a box of strawberry Pop-Tarts. "But I'll sell them for $2.50."
Health experts say expired products that are "shelf safe," such as crackers or canned goods, can be eaten past their sell by dates.
"The quality of it might be a little bit less, and the flavor might not be quite as robust," said Susan Parachini, the Retail Food Program Manager at the
Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment. "If you use it past that date, it in all likelihood is not going to cause illness. Obviously, if you're
looking at meats that have sell by or use by dates, you'll want to adhere to those."
Parachini also says you should never buy infant formula past the sell by date.
Owner Says Food at Salvage Store Is Safe
As for dented cans, Susan Parachini says to avoid severe dents, especially along the seams. And watch out for two major red flags: leaking or bulging.
"If you have a can, any time it's leaking or if it's bulging, it wouldn't any longer be considered safe," she said.
Leaks or bulges could be a sign that botulism bacteria is growing in the can.
Symptoms of botulism include blurred vision, muscle weakness and even paralysis that could potentially cause death, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
"Just make sure you're informed and you're taking the time to look to make sure you're getting a product that at least visually appears to be of good
quality and integrity," said Parachini.
Martin Palumbo insists the food in crushed boxes and dented cans is safe.
"If it's not something I would eat myself, I wouldn't put it on my shelf. I would not be in business this long if I was putting anything bad out there," he
said.
Palumbo's Friday Store shopper Angela Wheaton says as long as you know what to look for and avoid, the price is right.
"It proves that you don't have to go to a major grocery store," she said. "Or, you can get better prices than the sale prices and a coupon at the grocery
store."
abc7chicago.com: Bikini top strangling baffles police 5/30/06 http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/national_world&id=42...
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1 of 6 2009/12/15 05:59 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

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Tuesday, May 30, 2006
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May 30, 2006 -- Investigators are examining the computer of a Missouri college student strangled with a bikini top, hoping for clues in her slaying.
The body of Tiffany Souers, a 20-year-old civil engineering major, was discovered Friday in her apartment by her former roommate near South
Carolina's Clemson University campus, Police Capt. Robert Griffin said.
Investigators said that her apartment showed no signs of forced entry or struggle, and that they had no people in custody. They hope the contents of
Souers' computer will provide clues that lead them to her killer.
"We are trying to create a timeline at this point, trying to go and backtrack her steps," Griffin said.
'She Didn't Deserve It'
People who knew Souers said she was smart, nice, and liked by everyone. That makes her death all the more puzzling.
"Great girl. Brilliant, very smart, very pretty. A wonderful person to be around, a lot of fun," said her friend Joey Balazs.
Souers, from an upscale neighborhood near St. Louis, was at Clemson attending summer school, attempting to graduate early.
"This girl loved to understand everything," her mother, Bren Souers, said to Charles Gibson on "Good Morning America."
Souers was home recently, and she and her mother "shopped and played tennis" and spent time being "best friends as usual."
Friend Crystal Clark said she wanted the person responsible to be brought to justice because Souers was a great person.
"I don't know why someone would do that to somebody like that," Clark said. "She didn't deserve it."
ABCNews' Mike Von Fremd contributed to this report.
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6 of 6 2009/12/15 05:59 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Futuristic-Looking Suit Gives Paraplegics Life-Changing Experience
By SUZAN CLARKE
Feb. 4, 2010—
When Floyd Morrow's spinal cord was severed in 2006, doctors told him he would never take another
step, but a revolutionary new device will give Morrow and other paraplegics the chance to walk again.
"It's the greatest thing," Morrow, 62, said, speaking about the first time he donned the device called
ReWalk, a motorized exoskeleton that enables wheelchair users with permanent lower limb disabilities to
stand, walk and even climb stairs.
"Just to be able to push a button and it's like, 'OK, let's go.' Go cruising down the hallway, oh, it's
awesome," said Morrow, who lives just outside of Atlantic City, N.J.
He never imagined he'd be able to walk again after the 2006 boating accident that paralyzed him for good.
"I couldn't see or speak, but I heard the break in my back," he said.
He is among 14 people currently enrolled in the U.S. clinical trials of ReWalk, which is made by Argo
Medical Technologies in Israel.
How It Works
ReWalk is a lightweight device comprised of an upper body harness, backpack and full leg supports.
The supports have motorized hips and knees. Advance motion sensors placed in the shoulder and
connected to a backpack computer detect subtle changes in gravity, telling the device when a step needs
to be taken. Users control the movement of the leg supports with the help of crutches, so wearers must
have the use of their upper bodies in order to control the device.
A battery pack provides three hours of continuous movement.
If the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves ReWalk, researchers said they hope it will be available
to the public by the end of 2010. It's not yet known how much it will cost.
Device Offers Multiple Benefits
Dr. Alberto Esquenazi is leading the ReWalk's U.S. trials at MossRehab, a rehabilitation and research
center in Philadelphia.
"As a physician, you're improving someone's health. Well, that's hugely satisfactory. But to take
something that's irreversible, like spinal cord injury, and allow someone to function again, that to me is a
major step," he noted.
In addition to the freedom ReWalk brings, developers say it offers additional health benefits. Lack of
exercise means spinal cord patients tend to have weak and brittle bones, but use of ReWalk can reverse
that process, they say.
Woman Finds ReWalk Life-Changing

Alysse Einbender suffered a spinal stroke in 2004. The 50-year-old from Wyncote, Pa., is among the trial
participants. They get about 24 hours of training on the suit.
"You know, personally what the ReWalk has & meant to me, it's shown me a lot of what my body can do,
instead of all the things it can't do. And it's been hugely valuable to me," she said.
Through ReWalk, 46-year-old Ralph Filipkowski was able to stand without the use of a walker for the first
time since 1985. That's when the truck he was working under fell on top of him, leaving him paralyzed.
Wearing the ReWalk, Filipkowski stood, took a few steps, and offered a big smile.
"Good Morning America" anchor George Stephanopoulos tried the device himself during a recent visit to
observe the trials.
He practiced standing up and sitting down, and was shocked at the suit's power.
"It really does push you," Stephanopoulos said.
Esquenazi said the system "does it all" for the user, but added, "you are in control. If you want to take a
step, you tell it when to take a step."
Einbender said that being able to stand and take those steps has changed her life.
"Looking into somebody's eyes for the first time at that height was ... really incredible," she said.

Bizarre Dinosaurs: Why Were Some So Strange? http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8795103
National Geographic Program Examines the Dinosaur Kingdom's Oddest Animals
By KI MAE HEUSSNER
Oct. 11, 2009—
They were among the largest and strongest creatures to inhabit Earth but, as nature would have it, some
were also among the strangest.
Many of the dinosaurs that lived millions of years ago were so fantastical-looking, it's almost hard to
believe that they were actually of this Earth.
Arms ostensibly too short to use, necks that seemed to stretch forever, and spikes that were likely more of
a hindrance than help in combat.
But paleontologists say that these seemingly strange appendages and body parts developed for a reason,
although in some cases, it's still not clear exactly what some of those reasons were.
"These dinosaurs are not just icons for extinction, they are really evolutionary successful, innovative
creatures," Kristy Curry Rogers, a paleontologist at Macalester College, in St. Paul Minn., says on
"Bizarre Dinosaurs," a National Geographic program airing Sunday night.
"They evolved horns, frills, spikes, plates, long necks, long tails, sharp claws, big teeth," said Rogers.
"They do all of these things and they're wildly successful organisms on the planet from 228 million years
ago to 65 million years ago. They're the kings and queens of the Earth at that time."
"Bizarre Dinosaurs" features some of the most interesting members of the dinosaur family. Here are five
of our favorites.
Spinosaurus Is Example of 'Evolution Gone Wild'
About 60 feet long, the Spinosaurus was the largest of the meat-eating dinosaurs, bigger even than the
fearsome Tyrannosaurus Rex.
But paleontologists remain puzzled about one of its distinguishing body parts: a 5-foot fin attached to its
back.
"I think it would have made it heavier. It would have made it catch wind in a strong breeze. There's no
good advantage to it that you can think of except showing that, 'Hey, I can grow this 5-foot sail and I'm
healthy and I'm bigger than you," said Paul C. Sereno, a paleontologist at the University of Chicago.
1 of 4 2009/10/12 08:05 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

He and others believe the purpose of the giant fin was to help establish its territory and attract mates.
"We have never really seen anything quite like it in the dinosaur world or thereafter," said Sereno.
"They're an example of evolution gone wild."
What Happened to Carnotaurus' Arms?
The fierce-looking Carnotaurus is another dino that leaves paleontologists scratching their heads.
Intimidating in its appearance, the 25-foot carnivore has bull-like horns on its head and a box-like jaw
overflowing with teeth. But though it has enormous shoulder blades, its arms are incredibly small.
"It's got a very shortened skull. It looks like someone has gone up to the dinosaur and smashed it in the
face with a frying pan. But one thing that really strikes me, though, is this enormous shoulder blade -- it is
absolutely vast. At the end of the shoulder blade you'd expect to see enormous arms. But you don't --
they're absolutely tiny," said Phil Manning, a paleontologist at the U.K.'s University of Manchester.
"Carnotaurus is one weird-looking dinosaur."
Mamenchiasaurus's Long Neck Was for Mating
2 of 4 2009/10/12 08:05 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

The giraffe of the dinosaur family, the plant-eating Mamenchiasaurus had a neck and tail twice as long as
its body.
Why?
Although many think that long necks in animals, including giraffes, are driven by the need to reach food at
the tops of high trees, paleontologists say neck length is driven by mate selection.
Giraffes have a ritual in which they wrap their necks around each other and push, Sereno said.
"I'd say probably that's what [the Mamenchiasuruses] were doing," he added.
Parasaurolophus's Elaborate Head Crest Puzzles
One of the dinosaurs to have a cameo in "Jurassic Park," the movie, the Parasaurolophus, has one of the
most elaborate head crests in the dinosaur kingdom.
"Parasaurolophus is just truly weird. It's got this enormous expansion of skull bones, which projects into
this banana-like lump coming out of the back of its skull," said Manning.
3 of 4 2009/10/12 08:05 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

This "banana-like lump" has sparked much discussion among scientists. Some think it might have aided
the animal's sense of smell or helped regulate body temperature. Others think the crest helped it make
communication sounds.
Why Did the Triceratops Have Horns?
Distinguished by three horns atop its head, the Triceratops has also long been a subject of debate among
scientists.
Traditionally, scientists thought the animal's horns were meant to protect its neck or deliver blows in
combat. But now many believe that the horns were meant for display in courtship or to establish
dominance.
"Bizarre Dinosaurs" will air Sunday, Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. ET on the National Geographic channel. For more
information, click here.
4 of 4 2009/10/12 08:05 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Black Dogs, Cats Forgotten in Animal Shelters http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8785177
Dark Fur and Superstition May Hurt Black Animals' Chances of Adoption
By EMILY FRIEDMAN
Oct. 9, 2009 —
They're just as friendly and just as furry, but black dogs sitting in animal shelters are often overlooked by
prospective pet owners, according to animal rescue professionals who have dubbed the problem the
"black dog syndrome."
"What we've learned is that large black dogs, and also black cats, tend to be the last ones to get adopted
from shelters," said Kim Saunders, the head of shelter outreach for Petfinder.com, a Web site often used
by people looking to adopt pets.
"As a result, there are more of them in shelters and are euthanized more because of the lack of space,"
said Saunders, who says that one of the reasons she believes black dogs are overlooked is because they
don't photograph as well as lighter-colored animals.
On sites like Petfinder.com that list more than 300,000 animals that are up for adoption, bad photographs
of dogs can result in them being ignored altogether, said Saunders.
For some shelters, the problem is so bad that they've developed special promotions to help draw attention
to their black pooches.
Hope Hancock, the executive director of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Wake County in
Raleigh, N.C., said that her shelter offered a sort of blue plate special to help get their black dogs adopted.
As part of the campaign, Hancock said a poster was developed to promote the black dogs in the shelter
and it was decorated with a string of blue lights. People who decided to take home the black dogs were
given a discount off the routine adoption fees.
"Sometimes black dogs are seen as scarier by people," said Hancock. "It's very, very unfair you can get
a bite from a little yellow Chihuahua faster than one of the bigger black dogs."
"It's not a fair assessment but it's the one that's made a lot of the time," she said.
Hancock said that the Raleigh shelter has also offered a deal on black cats, who also tend to go unnoticed.
The shelter developed a special portion of their Web site dedicated to these black cats and gave them each
a superhero nickname, handmade them capes, and photographed them in the costumes.
"Many times, the black cats with no markings, much like the black dogs, appear to be a little bit plain,
even though they're bursting with personality," said Hancock, "So we have to accentuate that."
1 of 3 2009/10/12 08:08 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

This black cat was given a costume to attract the eye

of a potential pet owner.
Why Are Black Dogs and Cats Ignored More Than Others in Shelters?
Sherri Skidmore, the owner and founder of the Utah-based Black Dog Rescue Project, started her Web
site to bring attention to the animals that are overlooked, which she says is a result of several factors.
"In the online age, photographs of dark-colored animals are much harder to see," said Skidmore.
In addition, the shelter atmosphere can sometimes offer no natural light to look at a dog's face in, said
Skidmore.
"People are looking for a face to fall in love with and if that dog doesn't stand out in a crowd, they just get
overlooked," said Skidmore. "If you put a black dog and a lighter dog next to each other, people will be
drawn to the lighter one."
Superstition about the bad luck of having a black cat or the way black dogs are portrayed as villainous or
dangerous in movies also contributes to the problem, said Skidmore.
But Julie Morris, the senior vice president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals, says that while the Black Dog Syndrome is talked about a lot, there are no hard numbers to
support the theory.
"There is no research data and no controlled research to support [the Black Dog Syndrome theory], which
doesn't necessarily mean it's not true, but just that there is no data," said Morris.
"There are lots of compounding factors," said Morris. "Are there just more black dogs in shelters or is the
real problem because most black dogs are also big dogs?"
According to Morris, the majority of people adopting dogs especially those in urban areas prefer
smaller, easier-to-handle dogs which often times are not black.
"It's not really clear if shelters see this as a problem just because there are simply more black dogs out
there," said Morris.
Even if the black dog syndrome isn't proven, Morris said that any adoption is a good adoption and there is
no harm in these shelters drawing extra attention to dark dogs and cats.
Hancock is planning another special campaign to attract cat lovers to help deal with a recent influx of
black cats at her North Carolina shelter.
"Human nature leads people toward things that are more vibrant and riveting in color," said Hancock. "It's
very, very superficial... there is no inherent difference in these animals, they're just angels."
2 of 3 2009/10/12 08:08 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

3 of 3 2009/10/12 08:08 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Blind 7-Year-Old Boy Sees With His Ears http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8776553
Humans Can Use Same Technique as Dolphins, Bats to Create Pictures With Sound
By KI MAE HEUSSNER
Oct. 9, 2009—
Born without sight, 7-year-old Lucas Murray used to be so afraid of walking he wouldn't take a step
without his parents by his side.
"He would walk, but he would hold our hands. Always," said his mother, Sarah Murray of Dorset,
England. "When he was younger, he wouldn't even walk on a bumpy surface."
But now Lucas has become more mobile than his parents ever imagined, running with friends, playing
basketball and jumping on a trampoline -- all on his own.
The incredible change, his mother said, is owed to a technique called echolocation, similar to the method
used by dolphins and bats, that allows Lucas to paint a picture of his surroundings using sound he creates
himself.
To "see" the world around him, he clicks his tongue on the roof of his mouth and listens to the echo that
bounces back. From the sound, he can make out the location, depth and shape of objects around him,
allowing him to navigate even unfamiliar areas.
Echolocation Used by Small Percentage of Blind Population
Though it's estimated that only about 5 to 10 percent of the blind population now uses a sonar-type
approach, the Murrays and others hope it could someday become as common as the widely-adopted white
cane.
Inspired by a documentary about a blind American boy who had mastered echolocation, Sarah Murray
and her husband Iain Murray reached out to Daniel Kish, a blind psychologist who has practiced the
technique since childhood and has been teaching it for more than 15 years.
Two years ago, Kish traveled to the Murrays' hometown and worked with Lucas for four days, teaching
him not just echolocation, but convincing Lucas and his parents that blindness doesn't need to be a limiting
condition.
"You have to be able to let go, and it's the hardest thing in the world," said Sarah Murray. The family lives
by a lake, and when Kish suggested the family let Lucas walk along the shore on his own, she said, "It was
terrifying. And Lucas found it terrifying too."
"I had to walk with my hands in my pockets and grip them tightly," she said.
But after the family overcame the initial fear, Lucas' progress skyrocketed.
He advanced from learning how to detect different sized bowls and cardboard panels by clicking to
navigating grocery stores entirely on his own. In addition to clicking, Lucas also uses a white cane to find
his way.
1 of 3 2009/10/12 08:07 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Psychologist: Echolocation Is Means to an End
"He likes exploring things, he likes climbing things," his mother said. "He likes supermarkets and going off
on his own& He'll go up the escalator. That wouldn't have been conceivable in a million years."
She said the frequency of Lucas' clicks depends on the environment and how familiar he is with it, but the
technique is second nature to him now.
"It's quite nice really," said Lucas. "I just do it. It just works really."
And, as his confidence has grown, his parents' perception of his future has been transformed.
"We had a vision of Lucas needing assistance, having a [guide] dog, and now he's never going to be able
to see but I don't see any limits on what he can achieve," said Sarah Murray.
Kish said that mindset is the goal of his echolocation technique, which he calls FlashSonar.
"Although FlashSonar seems to be the most inspiring and impressive part of our work, to us, it's really not
the end, it's really a means to an end," he said. "The goal is what we call self-directed achievement."
Visual Cortex Can Create Images from Sound
The greatest problem facing blind people is that they tend to be directed by others and have their choices
made for them by others, Kish said. The FlashSonar technique helps blind individuals become more
independent and, ultimately, overcome that problem.
With his charity, World Access for the Blind, Kish said he has helped hundreds of blind people develop
their sense of hearing to "see."
"What we really do is we teach the brain how to image using non-visual information," he said.
Although he has used the technique since childhood, it wasn't until he researched echolocation in graduate
school that he understood how it worked.
He said that even in the brains of blind people, the visual cortex continues to function. Although images
don't reach it from the optic nerve, it can image data from other senses, such as hearing.
"The visual cortex is falsely named," he said. "It should more appropriately be named the imaging cortex.
It can take any data fed to it and image that data& And echolocation is just another way of imaging." He
said he's seen people with advanced echolocation skills listen to the echoes from their clicks to sketch
entire scenes of their surroundings.
Some See Clicking as Negative Distinction
But echolocation isn't without its detractors.
"[Blindness] is a rare condition and people do not respond favorably to it. There's a big push to try and
normalize blindness so that it isn't seen as negatively distinctive," Kish said. "And it's believed that odd
behaviors such as clicking your tongue could be construed as a negative distinction." Although the method
he teaches produces a very discrete click, he said for some it's seen as abnormal.
Chris Danielson, a spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind, said that the organization doesn't
oppose echolocation, but advocates it in conjunction with the white cane.
"If you look at the blind population as a whole, that seems to be the most helpful for the most people. That
or the use of the guide dog," he said.
2 of 3 2009/10/12 08:07 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

While some people have demonstrated aptitude for echolocation, he said it doesn't seem to be as effective
for most blind people.
But Kish and the families he has helped argue that while some may have more natural talent, echolocation
doesn't need to be restricted to a small percentage of the blind population. It can be taught to anyone and
has the potential to change the entire system of mobility for blind people, they say.
"If people can get past the point that this isn't magic, it isn't revolutionary, if we can get past those barriers
it could happen," said Sarah Murray. Echolocation and the greater philosophy it reflects, she said,
"Completely turns on its head the way blind people should orient themselves."
3 of 3 2009/10/12 08:07 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Humans Can Use Same Technique as Dolphins, Bats to Create Pictures With Sound
By KI MAE HEUSSNER
Oct. 9, 2009—
Born without sight, 7-year-old Lucas Murray used to be so afraid of walking he wouldn't take a step without his parents by his side.
"He would walk, but he would hold our hands. Always," said his mother, Sarah Murray of Dorset, England. "When he was younger, he wouldn't even walk on a bumpy surface."
But now Lucas has become more mobile than his parents ever imagined, running with friends, playing basketball and jumping on a trampoline -- all on his own.
The incredible change, his mother said, is owed to a technique called echolocation, similar to the method used by dolphins and bats, that allows Lucas to paint a picture of his surroundings using sound he creates himself.
To "see" the world around him, he clicks his tongue on the roof of his mouth and listens to the echo that bounces back. From the sound, he can make out the location, depth and shape of objects around him, allowing him to navigate even unfamiliar areas.
Echolocation Used by Small Percentage of Blind Population

Though it's estimated that only about 5 to 10 percent of the blind population now uses a sonar-type approach, the Murrays and others hope it could someday become as common as the widely-adopted white cane.
Inspired by a documentary about a blind American boy who had mastered echolocation, Sarah Murray and her husband Iain Murray reached out to Daniel Kish, a blind psychologist who has practiced the technique since childhood and has been teaching it for more than 15 years.
Two years ago, Kish traveled to the Murrays' hometown and worked with Lucas for four days, teaching him not just echolocation, but convincing Lucas and his parents that blindness doesn't need to be a limiting condition.
"You have to be able to let go, and it's the hardest thing in the world," said Sarah Murray. The family lives by a lake, and when Kish suggested the family let Lucas walk along the shore on his own, she said, "It was terrifying. And Lucas found it terrifying too."
"I had to walk with my hands in my pockets and grip them tightly," she said.
But after the family overcame the initial fear, Lucas' progress skyrocketed.
He advanced from learning how to detect different sized bowls and cardboard panels by clicking to navigating grocery stores entirely on his own. In addition to clicking, Lucas also uses a white cane to find his way.
1 of 3
Þ.Ù2009/10/12 08:07
Psychologist: Echolocation Is Means to an End

"He likes exploring things, he likes climbing things," his mother said. "He likes supermarkets and going off
on his own& He'll go up the escalator. That wouldn't have been conceivable in a million years."
She said the frequency of Lucas' clicks depends on the environment and how familiar he is with it, but the
technique is second nature to him now.
"It's quite nice really," said Lucas. "I just do it. It just works really."
And, as his confidence has grown, his parents' perception of his future has been transformed.
"We had a vision of Lucas needing assistance, having a [guide] dog, and now he's never going to be able
to see but I don't see any limits on what he can achieve," said Sarah Murray.
Kish said that mindset is the goal of his echolocation technique, which he calls FlashSonar.
"Although FlashSonar seems to be the most inspiring and impressive part of our work, to us, it's really not
the end, it's really a means to an end," he said. "The goal is what we call self-directed achievement."
Visual Cortex Can Create Images from Sound

The greatest problem facing blind people is that they tend to be directed by others and have their choices made for them by others, Kish said. The FlashSonar technique helps blind individuals become more independent and, ultimately, overcome that problem.
With his charity, World Access for the Blind, Kish said he has helped hundreds of blind people develop their sense of hearing to "see."
"What we really do is we teach the brain how to image using non-visual information," he said.
Although he has used the technique since childhood, it wasn't until he researched echolocation in graduate school that he understood how it worked.
He said that even in the brains of blind people, the visual cortex continues to function. Although images don't reach it from the optic nerve, it can image data from other senses, such as hearing.
"The visual cortex is falsely named," he said. "It should more appropriately be named the imaging cortex. It can take any data fed to it and image that data& And echolocation is just another way of imaging." He said he's seen people with advanced echolocation skills listen to the echoes from their clicks to sketch entire scenes of their surroundings.
Some See Clicking as Negative Distinction

But echolocation isn't without its detractors.
"[Blindness] is a rare condition and people do not respond favorably to it. There's a big push to try and normalize blindness so that it isn't seen as negatively distinctive," Kish said. "And it's believed that odd behaviors such as clicking your tongue could be construed as a negative distinction." Although the method he teaches produces a very discrete click, he said for some it's seen as abnormal.
Chris Danielson, a spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind, said that the organization doesn't oppose echolocation, but advocates it in conjunction with the white cane.
"If you look at the blind population as a whole, that seems to be the most helpful for the most people. That or the use of the guide dog," he said.
2 of 3
Þ.Ù2009/10/12 08:07
While some people have demonstrated aptitude for echolocation, he said it doesn't seem to be as effective for most blind people.
But Kish and the families he has helped argue that while some may have more natural talent, echolocation doesn't need to be restricted to a small percentage of the blind population. It can be taught to anyone and has the potential to change the entire system of mobility for blind people, they say.
"If people can get past the point that this isn't magic, it isn't revolutionary, if we can get past those barriers it could happen," said Sarah Murray. Echolocation and the greater philosophy it reflects, she said, "Completely turns on its head the way blind people should orient themselves."
3 of 3
Þ.Ù2009/10/12 08:07
2010-04-09 16:01:00
Tonight, Friday 4/090/10, on
“20/20” (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET), ABC News
investigates cases of sexual misconduct in the world of
American swimming coaches. Chief Investigative
Correspondent Brian Ross reports on a series of
incidents involving girls who say they were abused at
the hands of the coaches they turned to for guidance
and mentoring in the sport they loved. USA Swimming
is the governing body that oversees the U.S. Olympic
team and competitive swimming around the country,
with many of its members turning professional and
competing in Olympic Games. Chuck Wielgus,
executive director of USA Swimming, tells Brian Ross that, while USA Swimming is aware of complaints,
and at times lawsuits involving its coaches, the organization tries to create a safe environment for the
swimmers, including conducting criminal background checks on coaches.
However, he notes that it is the responsibility of individual clubs to fully investigate the backgrounds of
the coaches and the staff they hire. In a response to Ross, when asked if he feels the need to apologize to
the young swimmers who were abused by their coaches, Wielgus tells Ross that he does not feel the need
to apologize personally, or on behalf of the organization, for the misconduct of their coaches towards
young swimmers.
Wielgus goes on to say that it is unfair for Ross to ask for an apology when the organization is doing
everything it possibly can to create a safe and healthy environment for kids participating in their
programs. The victims and parents who speak out in this “20/20” report tell a very different story when
they sit down with Ross to discuss their experiences in this shocking and eye-opening report.
Then: When Michigan mom Carri Emmons awoke in the middle of the night feeling ill last April, the last
thing she imagined was that she was experiencing labor pains and that a baby was on the way! Moments
later, she was in her bathtub positioning herself to give birth, all while on the telephone with a 911
operator. Carri had gone a full nine months without knowing she was pregnant, and the entire surprise
labor and birth is heard on a 911 recording. After three children, it was not supposed to be possible for
Carri and her husband to have more children; or so they both thought. “Good Morning America” news
anchor JuJu Chang sits down with Carri and her family to hear firsthand how it was that a mother of three
did not know she was pregnant. Hear the frantic and alarming 911audio tape for the first time on national
television when “20/20” tells Carri Emmons’ story tonight.
Elizabeth Vargas and Chris Cuomo are the co-anchors of ABC News’ “20/20.” David Sloan is the
executive producer.
(source: ABC)
Have an opinion on this article? Post your comment below.

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Calling All Moms: Celebrate Mother's Day by Casting Your Vote For th... http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY...
Calling All Moms: Celebrate Mother's Day by Casting Your Vote For the 2nd Annual Mothers of
Invention Challenge
Mom Inventor to Receive Product Development and Distribution Support from

Mom Inventors and BabyCenter
SAN FRANCISCO, May 9 /PRNewswire/ -- BabyCenter(R), LLC, the leading

online resource for new and expectant parents, is embracing the
entrepreneurial and creative spirit of mothers across the country this
Mother's Day, by partnering with Mom Inventors, Inc. and the weekend
edition of Good Morning America to support the 2nd Annual Mothers of
Invention Challenge.
There are 82 million moms in the United States, representing the
largest source of untapped entrepreneurial intelligence in this country.
The Annual Mothers of Invention Challenge was started by Good Morning
America and Mom Inventors to give moms the chance to compete to see their
dream invention become a product reality and help take their invented
products from concept to market. The contest first appeared on the weekend
edition of Good Morning America in May 2005.
"Mom Inventors believes and supports the dynamic creativity of moms and
their ability to harness this passion to develop products that can nurture
other mothers in their journey as a parent," said Tamara Monosoff, Mom
Inventors Founder and CEO. "We can't think of a better way to celebrate
Mother's Day than to provide one mom inventor with the opportunity to see
her idea become a real product."
Good Morning America Weekend is scheduled to announce the top three
finalists on Saturday, May 13th (check local listings). Once announced,
viewers will have the chance to vote for their favorite invention from this
year's finalists at http://www.gmaweekend.abcnews.com. Voting will close at
12:00 a.m. EDT May 14th.
"The BabyCenter community offers the perfect environment to nurture the
entrepreneurial spirit found in moms with enthusiastic feedback from other
moms and an online store to market and sell new products," said L. Jasmine
Kim, Chief Marketing Officer at BabyCenter. "We have seen great products
invented by real moms pass through our store and we are proud to work with
Mom Inventors to encourage the inventor in every mother."
The grand prize winner will be revealed on the Mother's Day edition of
Good Morning America Weekend and will receive $5,000 plus a five percent
royalty from the sale of the invention. Mom Inventors will produce the
winning product for sale to the public, where it will be available for
purchase online in the BabyCenter Store (http://www.babycenter.com/store).
Mom invented products currently available in the BabyCenter store range
from diaper to food accessories, such as decorative diaper disposable
covers and sandwich crust cutters in fun shapes.
The contest kicked off in February 2006 through a national call for
entries from Good Morning Weekend and Mom Inventors.
Last year, thousands of inventions were sent to Mom Inventors for
consideration. The winner of the 1st Annual Mothers of Invention Challenge
was Tammy Brook, inventor of the Beverage Barricade, a disposable or
reusable cover that rotates over the opening of a soda pop, beer, or fruit
juice can to protect drinks from bugs as well as little fingers. Two
additional features: the Beverage Barricade opens cans and saves finger
nails, and helps identify drinks at parties and family gatherings.
About Mom Inventors
Established by a mother and inventor in early 2003, Mom Inventors, Inc.
is founded on the principle that many of the best and most unique ideas
come directly from their target market -- Moms. In addition to developing
its own brand of Mom Invented(TM) products, Mom Inventors, Inc., licenses
products, as well as assists and supports other mom inventors in taking
their product ideas to market. For more information:
http://www.mominventors.com.
1 of 2 2009/12/15 05:45 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Calling All Moms: Celebrate Mother's Day by Casting Your Vote For th... http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY...
About BabyCenter
BabyCenter, LLC, http://www.babycenter.com, is the most popular online
resource for new and expectant parents. BabyCenter attracts over 3.5
million visitors each month, as measured by comScore Media Metrix.
BabyCenter also publishes BabyCenter(TM) magazine, the first and only
stage-based print publication for pregnant women and new moms offered as a
free benefit of membership to the BabyCenter.com site. Through its unique
mix of print and online resources, BabyCenter has helped nurture more than
100 million parents. Since its launch in 1997, it has been honored with
numerous awards, including the 2005 People's Voice Webby Award for Best
Family/Parenting Web site.
SOURCE BabyCenter, LLC
back to top
Related links:
http://www.babycenter.com/
CONTACT:
Sarah Seifert of Ogilvy Public Relations,
+1-415-677-2728 or sarah.seifert@ogilvypr.com, for BabyCenter
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2 of 2 2009/12/15 05:45 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Celine Dion returning to Las Vegas for 3-year stint with new show at Caesars Palace
By OSKAR GARCIA
The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS
Celine Dion is returning to the Las Vegas Strip in 2011 to begin a three-year run at Caesars Palace.
The Grammy award-winning singer announced Wednesday she'll return to the 4,300-seat Colosseum,
home of her previous show, "A New Day." It grossed more than $400 million and was seen by nearly 3
million fans over five years before closing in December 2007.
The new show begins March 15, 2011, with tickets for the first 54 performances going on sale Friday.
Officials say ticket prices will range from $55 to $250 before taxes and fees.
Dion says the new show will feature songs ranging from timeless classics to fan favorites, with a concept
incorporating the romance of classic movies.
"It's going to be a very beautiful show, and I think we'll be raising the bar higher than we've ever done
before," Dion said in a statement. "There'll be some truly wonderful moments."
The 41-year-old Canadian singer spent a year on an international tour after her previous Las Vegas show
ended, and plans to spend the year before her Sin City return with her family.
Dion is the youngest of 14 children in a musical family. She sang publicly for the first time at age 5, and
released her first two albums simultaneously when she was 13.
Dion has since sold more than 200 million albums worldwide and won five Grammy awards.
Two songs recorded by Dion have won Academy Awards for best original song, including the title song of
"Beauty and the Beast" and "My Heart Will Go On" from "Titanic."
(This version CORRECTS Academy Awards information to reflect that songs won awards, not Dion
herself.)
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten, or redistributed.

Experts: Serving Sizes Are Often Misleading, Given What Most People Eat
By SARAH NETTER
Feb. 12, 2010—
When bleary-eyed early-risers pour their morning cereal, they typically skip the measuring cup to stay in
line with the serving sizes listed on the side of the box.
People also rarely stop at a handful of chips or one pretzel.
That's why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering tweaking its guidelines on the serving
sizes listed on nutrition labels, recognizing that portion-control recommendations are outdated, given
Americans' eating habits.
"These servings sizes, though, are based on data, surveys that were done in the 1970s or '80s," ABC News'
senior health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser told "Good Morning America" today.
As a result, Americans often unkowningly consume more calories and sodium than they need, sometimes
almost their entire recommended daily allowance in one sitting.
"You can't blame the manufacturers," Besser said. "The FDA tells them exactly what the servings size is,
based on these surveys. That's why the FDA needs to take this on."
Serving sizes on food labels even confuse the experts, according to a New York Times report.
A typical portion size for chips is about one ounce, or six chips. For cereal, maybe a half or three-quarters
of a cup.
"To consumers, the serving size appears to be inconsistent and unintuitive," Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak,
senior director of health and wellness at the International Food Information Council Foundation, told the
Times. "They have trouble trusting it."
The question is, Besser said, whether to show people the nutrition content for the serving size the average
American actually eats or the portion they should be eating to stay healthy.
More Nutrition Than Bargained For
"Who eats half a muffin as a serving?" he said. "But that's the serving of a muffin.
"Most people, they're sitting and watching a game, they like to have a bowl of chips."
And when it comes to frozen pizzas, many Americans think nothing of eating the entire personal pizza,
even though the serving size indicates nutrition information for one-third of the pie.
"If you put on a meaningful portion size, it would scare a lot of people," Barry Popkin, a nutrition
professor at the University of North Carolina, told The New York Times. "They would see, 'I'm going to
get 300 calories from that, or 500 calories.'"

Chaz Bono Talks About Sex Change (Video) on Good Morning America... http://www.nationalledger.com/ledgerpop/article_272629114.shtml
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Iran marks revolution anniversary with crackdown on opposition, nuclear boasts
By NASSER KARIMI
TEHRAN, Iran
The Iranian security forces unleashed a crushing sweep against opposition protesters on Thursday as
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad used the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution to defy the West
and boast his country was now a "nuclear state."
The massive show of force appeared to give authorities the upper hand on the most important day of the
Iranian political calendar. The state-backed rally dwarfed anti-government gatherings, which were far
smaller than other outpourings of dissent in recent months.
Police clashed with anti-government protesters in several sites around Tehran, firing tear gas to disperse
them and paintballs to mark them for arrest. Gangs of hard-liners also attacked senior opposition figures
— including the wife of the head of the reform movement.
Still, the day's events showed that authorities must rely on full-scale pressures to keep a lid on
demonstrations, and any breathing room may be limited. Opposition supporters are certain to regroup and
look for weak spots in the ruling system.
In his address to a crowd of hundreds of thousands — many bused into Tehran's Freedom Square —
Ahmadinejad sought to shift attention from the nation's political troubles, boasting instead about Iran's
advancements in nuclear technology. He also dismissed new U.S. sanctions and denigrated President
Barack Obama's efforts to repair relations.
Iran has the capacity to make weapons-grade nuclear fuel if it chooses, the Iranian leader declared, adding
that Iran had succeeded in enriching uranium to 20 percent and was now a "nuclear state."
"We have the capability to enrich uranium more than 20 percent or 80 percent but we don't enrich (to this
level) because we don't need it," he said. "When we say we do not manufacture the bomb, we mean it,
and we do not believe in manufacturing a bomb. If we wanted to manufacture a bomb, we would
announce it."
The Obama administration dismissed Iran's contention it is enriching uranium at a higher level, adding that
such claims were disturbing.
Even if untrue, Ahmadinejad's claim "further solidifies our impression and that of the international
community that Iran's nuclear intentions are anything but peaceful," State Department spokesman P.J.
Crowley said.
Ahmadinejad has been staunchly backed by Iran's ruling clerics since his disputed re-election in June
touched off the worst internal turmoil in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Now many opposition
groups are denouncing the entire Islamic system.
This is what deeply worried authorities preparing for Thursday's 31st anniversary of the Islamic state. Any
significant protests or clashes would be seen as major embarrassment on a day intended to showcase
national achievements and unity.
An array of riot police, undercover security agents and hard-line militiamen — some on motorcycles —
fanned out across Tehran in what appeared to be the largest and most strategic deployment since the
post-election mayhem.
Security forces were seen in nearly every neighborhood. They had one primary goal: to keep protesters
from gaining momentum following weeks of arrests and warnings from authorities.
Opposition Web sites spoke of groups of protesters in the hundreds — compared with much larger crowds
in past demonstrations.
One protester told The Associated Press she tried to join the opposition demonstrators but soon left in
disappointment because they were overwhelmed by pro-government marchers.
"There were 300 of us, maximum 500. Against 10,000 people," she told an AP reporter outside Iran.
"It means they won and we lost. They defeated us. They were able to gather so many people," she said.
"But this doesn't mean we have been defeated for good. It's a defeat for now, today. We need time to
regroup."
Another protester insisted the opposition had come out in significant numbers, but "the problem was that
we were not able to gather in one place because they (security forces) were very violent."
"Maybe people got scared," he said. "The idea wasn't to lose or win today ... But what is certain, today
was not a good day."
Both spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation by authorities, who have jailed protesters for
talking to foreign media.
Some analysts predict the opposition could move away from large street marches in favor of strikes and
boycotts. "The crackdown has been very tough," said Meir Javedanfar, an analyst. "The lower turnout
means either people are scared or, more likely, they will change tactics."
Despite the smaller opposition turnout, there were reports of clashes in Tehran. Foreign media is banned
from street reporting under rules imposed by Iranian authorities.
At least one opposition leader was attacked, but not injured. Dozens of hard-liners with batons and pepper
spray attacked the convoy of a senior opposition leader, Mahdi Karroubi, smashing his car windows and
forcing him to turn back as he tried to join the protests, his son Hossein Karroubi told the AP.
Authorities also jammed the Internet and mobile phones to disrupt the opposition. In Tehran, Internet
speeds dropped dramatically and e-mail services such as Gmail were widely blocked.
In his nationally televised address, Ahmadinejad said Iran has produced the first batch of 20 percent
enriched uranium — sufficient strength to power Iran's research reactor, — though he did not say how
much uranium had been enriched.
Such a process has been at the heart of a U.N.-drafted proposal to provide Iran with reactor-ready fuel in
exchange for its stockpile of low-enriched uranium. Iran has repeatedly blocked the plan with conditions
and caveats.
The announcement of the higher-enriched uranium adds to Western worries that Iran has long-term goals
to develop nuclear arms — even though it is still below the 90 percent-plus level needed for a weapon.
Iran insists it only seeks to produce energy and medical isotopes.
Ahmadinejad also criticized Obama for failing to shift U.S. policies.
"We expected Mr. Obama to make changes," Ahmadinejad said. "But he is losing the chance and not
acting properly ... Obama's approach and behavior is disappointing."
The gathering was the biggest state-backed event since marches shortly after the June election, which
opponents said was rigged. Many in the crowd waved Iranian flags and carried pictures of Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic state, and his successor as supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei.
But in a sign of Iran's unruly political climate, security forces briefly detained Khomeini's granddaughter
and her husband, who are both pro-reform politicians, according to the couple's son, Ali.
The granddaughter, Zahra Eshraghi, and her husband Mohammad Reza Khatami, who is the brother of a
former pro-reform president, were held for less than an hour before being released, their son told the AP.
The opposition Web site Kaleme reported that security forces prevented opposition leader Mir Hossein
Mousavi from reaching any rallies.
Plainclothes militiamen also beat Mousavi's wife, 65-year-old Zahra Rahnavard, with clubs on her head
and back until her supporters surrounded her and whisked her away, according to the Web site.
For days ahead of the anniversary, anti-government Web sites and blogs called for a major turnout to
display green emblems or clothes, the opposition's signature color. Some protesters heeded the appeals,
brandishing green banners or wore green wrist bands.
Security forces fired tear gas to disperse a group of protesters who were trying to march toward Freedom
Square as they chanted "death to the dictator," the opposition Web site Rahesabz said. It also reported a
number of arrests.
The apparently isolated clashes contrast with the running street battles during protests over the past few
months. In late December, at least eight people were killed during a Shiite holy day.
———
Murphy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. AP correspondent Scheherezade Faramarzi in Beirut
and Ali Akbar Dareini in Dubai contributed to this report.

Immediate Doctor's Visit Likely Saved Ex-President From Bigger Problems
By JOHN BERMAN and DAN CHILDS
Feb. 12, 2010—
Former President Bill Clinton left New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia this morning after stent
surgery on Thursday afternoon.
"President Bill Clinton was released from in excellent health," Clinton spokesman Douglas Band said in a
statement issued this morning. "He looks forward in the days ahead to getting back to the work of his
foundation, and to Haiti relief and recovery efforts."
Clinton's cardiologist Dr. Allan Schwartz said that in recent days Clinton "had been having episodes of
brief discomfort" in his chest, which prompted him to schedule an appointment. It was during this
appointment that the blockage was found.
"He saw his doctor, they did a procedure called an angiogram where they inject some dye into a vein, and
they saw that there was a blockage in one of the arteries," explained ABC News Senior Health and
Medical Editor Dr. Richard Besser on "Good Morning America". A stent is a device that is designed to
prop open a narrowed artery to improve blood flow.
"He had two of those put in, so there must have been two areas of blockage in that artery," Besser said.
"Those will stay in there for the rest of his life."
Dr. Mark Apfelbaum and Dr. Michael Collins were the surgeons who placed the stents Clinton's coronary
artery during the procedure. The surgeons decided to place the stents in the native artery known as the left
circumflex -- the artery that was originally blocked -- rather than into the bypass graft that had closed up.
Putting the stent into the bypass graft would have been tricky, as such a procedure may have loosened
clots that tend to accumulate in bypass grafts, possibly causing a heart attack.
The operation came nearly six years after he had quadruple bypass surgery. Tests found one of the bypass
grafts from his first operation was completely blocked. That's when doctors decided on the procedure.
The former president walked into the hospital on his own and even took part in a conference call on
Haitian relief as he was wheeled into the operating room.
"Literally they were taking him into the room, hitting those double doors that open, he was on a
conference call regarding Haiti and Doug Band had to say, 'Mr. President, that's it, we are taking your
phone away from you,'" Clinton family friend Terry McAuliffe told George Stephanopoulos on "Good
Morning America." this morning. "I mean if President Clinton had his way, George, while they were doing
the operation he'd be working the phone, raising money for Haiti and trying to get trucks and generators
into Haiti. That is just who he is."
Clinton's Healthy Lifestyle, Busy Schedule
By all accounts it was a smooth operation, and within two hours Clinton was back on his feet. But for
many, questions remain over what brought Clinton's chest pain about in the first place. According to
Schwartz, Clinton had been doing all the right things, including eating a healthful diet and exercising every
day.
Clinton has also had a hectic schedule in recent months. In the last month alone, Clinton has traveled
twice to the United Nations to coordinate Haitian relief, gone to Haiti twice to observe relief efforts, and
traveled to Switzerland for the World Economic Forum in Davos.
"I just went overseas with him, I happened to go on his trip to Davos where he went over there to raise all
this money for Haiti," McAuliffe said. "He never went to bed in four days. I mean we've got to get rested
just to travel with President Clinton."
But though some of those traveling with Clinton say he appeared pale and tired, McAuliffe said he was in
good health and good spirits.
"I have been fortunate to travel with him a lot; we went to Africa last year, and I asked him all the time, I
said, 'How are you feeling?' McAuliffe said. "He said, 'Honestly I feel better now than any other time in
my life.'"
Dr. Harlan Krumholz, professor of medicine at Yale University and a cardiologist at Yale-New Haven
Hospital, told "Good Morning America's" Robin Roberts that Clinton's new lifestyle probably delayed the
development of new heart problems following his 2004 bypass operation. Krumholz also said Clinton's
reaction to his chest pain serves as a good example for others who live with heart disease.
"I think there's a lesson here for people who are listening and following this case," Krumholz said. "The
thing is that heart disease is a chronic condition, and it really is important to pay attention to all these
things. Prevention makes a difference, but we can't cure it."

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Film making brothers Joel and Ethan
Europe
Coen, Oscar-winners for the 2007 Print Version
Middle East thriller "No Country For Old Men," turn
to the time and place of their own Related Stories
youth for their latest quirky story. Set Live Nation Cancels
Features 40 years ago in their hometown of Kanye-Lady GaGa
Health & Science Minneapolis, Minnesota, it is about a Tour; DJ AM Death
middle-aged university professor Ruled Accidental
Econ & Business
grappling with a seemingly endless
Entertainment stream of moral choices. Top Story
American Life US 'Confident' in
Michael Stuhlbarg stars as Pakistan's
"I've had quite a bit of 'tzuris' physics professor Larry
News Analysis Government, Nuclear
[troubles] lately: marital problems, Gopnik in writer/directors
Security
Special Reports professional, you name it. This is not a Joel & Ethan Coen’s "A
Pronunciation frivolous request. This is a serious … Serious Man"
More Stories
Guide I'm a serious … uh, I've tried to be a serious man, you know? Tried
Commandos Free 39
to do right."
Hostages, Ending
Militant Siege in
Interactive This is Larry Gopnick at the end of his rope. It seems as though the Pakistan
My VOA universe is testing this mild-mannered and dedicated physics After Accord Signing,
Community professor. At the university he faces students who are too bored to Turkey Presses
care or are trying to cheat their way to passing grades. At home Armenia on Nagorno-
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he struggles to referee the sibling rivalry between his teenaged Karabakh
Facebook son and daughter, not noticing that his wife has begun a romance Samoans Get Aid,
with a family friend: Struggle to Move On
Twitter
Coordinated Bombings
To cap it off, there are the not-always-legal antics of his
Kill 16 in Western Iraq
Shows unemployed, hypochondriac brother:
US Legislators Debate
Shows by Name Way Forward in
Doing what is 'right' is very important to Larry; but he finds it Afghanistan
In Focus increasingly difficult to determine just what 'right' is. Clinton: World Will
Music Mix Not Wait for Iran
Acclaimed Broadway stage actor Michael Stuhlbarg stars as this Humanitarian
Editorials
classic tragic hero with a fatal flaw. "If there's any fatal flaw with Agencies Working to
Larry Gopnick it happens at the moment when his morals or his Deliver Aid to Yemen
ethics slip from him. I think it's a very human thing, but I think all Refugees
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fatal flaw; but it is also the gods …or the Coens …who decide their Celebrates New Saints
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fate," he says.
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Feeds Mideast Peace Mission
Like the Gopnick family, writer-directors Joel and Ethan Coen grew Top UN Official
Mobile up in the Minneapolis suburbs. Like Larry, their father was a Acknowledges
college professor. They drew on family and friends for the names Significant Fraud in
Webcasts of the characters and much of "A Serious Man" plays out in places Afghan Election
they knew as youngsters. So is it autobiographical? Ethan Coen Ethiopia's Meles
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E-mail calls it a very personal film, but insists it is from their imaginations Accuses Donors of
Newsletter and not personal experiences. Exaggerating Food
Crisis
"It was inspired by where we grew up. In terms of setting it is
where and when we were kids. It takes place in a Midwestern
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Jewish community and is set in the late 1960's - in 1967 - and Obama Pledges to Let
there was a lot of pleasure in that for us, just in re-creating the Homosexuals Serve
Openly in US Military
period; but beyond that, the story itself and what happens to the
China, South Korea,
characters is all fiction," says Ethan Cohen.
Japan Leaders Hold
Summit Meeting
Like the melancholy Yiddish music Larry Gopnick listens to as he Burma's Ruling
tries to forget his woes, "A Serious Man" taps into specific details General Confirms
of growing up Jewish in Middle America in the 1960's. The Coens 2010 Election
set the scene for this with a Yiddish-language prologue: a short
fable set many decades earlier in a tiny European village; but, in
typical fashion for the brothers, co-writer Joel Coen suggests it
may have little to do with the story that follows.
"We started reading a lot of Yiddish fiction around the time we

were writing this. We got interested in that and thought it would be
fun and interesting and somehow an 'ambassador' for the movie to
begin it with our own version of a Yiddish story, without really
understanding why or how it would relate …and, frankly, we don't
really understand now why or how it relates, but it felt right," says
Joel Cohen.
What also feels right is something they have captured in their

previous films: the unique flavor of a time and place in America.
"There is a Midwestern sensibility about it," says Sari Lennick, who

plays Larry's wife Judith Gopnick. :I think it is less that we were on
the actual street where they may have played stickball or where
they actually may have shot their first movie at Minneapolis-Saint
Paul airport. I think it is more a sensibility and there is definitely a
feeling about the Midwest. I have lived there now for three years. I
am originally from Miami and lived in L.A. and New York; and
having now lived for three years in the Midwest I can say it is a
different kind of place. So I think in terms of their nostalgia, I think
we all connected to this area and this very specific world."
"A Serious Man" also features comic actor Richard Kind as "Uncle
Arthur" with Adam Arkin as the family lawyer; but many of the
supporting players are from the Minneapolis community where the
film was shot. The soundtrack includes themes composed by
regular Coens' collaborator Carter Burwell blended with rock music
of the era, notably a Jefferson Airplane hit that has a role the
story.
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Twins Once Joined at Head Happy 1st Graders http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8612832
Formerly Conjoined Twins Now Happy First-Graders

Eygptian-Born Twins Mohamed and Ahmed Ibrahim Were Conjoined at the Head
By PATTY NEGER and LEE FERRAN
Sept. 21, 2009—
Mohamed and Ahmed Ibrahim were born in Egypt in 2001 under unusual, life-threatening circumstances:
they were joined at the top of the head.
For more than a year the boys lived with the one-in-two-million condition until 2003 when the World
Craniofacial Foundation sent the twins to Dallas for a daring surgery to separate them. Their parents were
warned that both twins survive in only 10 percent of surgeries.
Dr. Kenneth Salyer of the World Craniofacial Foundation, along with more than 50 physicians,
anesthesiologists and nurses, spent 34 hours performing the daring operation.
Click here for more information from the World Craniofacial Foundation.
Mohamed and Ahmed happily played with toy trucks on "Good Morning America" today while Salyer
reported on their progress.
"I think they're doing quite well," Salyer said. "We have some loss of the bone that we reconstructed, but
overall, they're doing quite well."
But Salyer said the boys treatment is not over.
"Within the next few years we would add some to it. It should give them some nicely shaped skulls and
heads," he said.
The boys condition led to developmental delays and they are entering the first grade at eight years old.
However, Salyer said that Mohamed was right on target developmentally, while Ahmed is lagging a bit
behind.
The boys are now in separate special classes in school in Cairo, something Salyer hopes will help catch
Ahmed up. The World Craniofacial Foundation is footing the bill for the boys' specialty education.
Boy Burned in SUV Fire to Get New Ears
In addition to delivering the good news about Mohamed and Ahmed, Salyer made a major announcement
for five-year-old D.J. Harper who lost his ears when he was rescued from a burning SUV in July.
For his birthday, D.J. asked for new ears -- a wish Dr. Salyer said the Texas Hospital for Advanced
Medicine can grant.
"This is amazing," D.J.'s father, Chris Harper, said. "We're truly blessed."
Though it could be nearly three years before D.J. gets the reconstructive surgery on his ears, as with the
hundreds treated at the Texas Hospital for Advanced Medicine, hope is on the horizon.
1 of 2 2009/09/22 12:13 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Twins Once Joined at Head Happy 1st Graders http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8612832
2 of 2 2009/09/22 12:13 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Gas explosion at under-construction Conn. power plant kills at least 5, hurts at least 12
By PAT EATON-ROBB and JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN Associated Press Writers
MIDDLETOWN, Conn.
An explosion that sounded like a sonic boom blew out walls of an unfinished power plant and set off a fire
during a test of natural gas lines Sunday, killing at least five workers and injuring a dozen or more.
The explosion at the Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown, about 20 miles south of Hartford, could
be heard and felt for miles.
Deputy Fire Marshal Al Santostefano told The Associated Press on Sunday night that no one was known
to be missing amid the rubble from the damaged plant. Still, crews planned to spend all night going through
debris in case there were any more victims. The cause of the gas explosion was unknown, and the
investigation was to begin Monday morning, he said.
The explosion left huge pieces of metal that once encased the plant peeling off its sides. A large swath of
the structure was blackened and surrounded by debris, but the building, its roof and its two smokestacks
were still standing. Rescue crews had set up several tents alongside the site, which is a few miles from
Wesleyan University on a wooded and hilly 137-acre parcel of land overlooking the Connecticut River.
The explosion happened around 11:15 a.m., Santostefano said. Mayor Sebastian Giuliano heard the blast
while leaving church.
"It felt almost like a sonic boom," Giuliano said at an evening news conference.
Santostefano said 50 to 60 people were in the area at the time of the explosion, and multiple contractors
were working on the project, making it difficult to quickly account for everyone.
One of those killed was Raymond Dobratz, a 58-year-old plumber from Old Saybrook, said his son, Erik
Dobratz, who called the elder man "a great dad."
The 620-megawatt plant, which was almost complete, is being built to produce energy primarily using
natural gas. Santostefano said workers for the construction company, O&G Industries, were purging the
gas line when the explosion occurred.
Lynn Hawley, of Hartland, Conn., told The Associated Press that her son, Brian Hawley, 36, is a pipefitter
at the plant. He called her from his cell phone to say he was being rushed to Middlesex Hospital.
"He really couldn't say what happened to him," she said. "He was in a lot of pain, and they got him into
surgery as quickly as possible."
She said he had a broken leg and was expected to survive.
Officials had not released the conditions of the other injured people by Sunday evening, although they said
at least a dozen people had injuries ranging from minor to very serious.
The thundering blast shook houses for miles.
"I felt the house shake. I thought a tree fell on the house," Middletown resident Steve Clark said.
Barrett Robbins-Pianka, who lives about a mile away and has monitored the project for years, said she
was running outside and heard what she called "a tremendous boom."
"I thought it might be some test or something, but it was really loud, a definite explosion," she said.
Work on the plant was 95 percent complete, the mayor said.
Kleen Energy Systems LLC began construction on it in February 2008. It had signed a capacity deal with
Connecticut Light and Power for the electricity produced by the plant, which was scheduled to be
completed by mid-2010.
The company is run by former Middletown City Councilman William Corvo. A message left at Corvo's
home was not returned Sunday. Calls to Gordon Holk, general manager of Power Plant Management
Services, which has a contract to manage the plant, also weren't returned.
Energy Investors Funds, a private equity fund that indirectly owns a majority share in the power plant,
said it is fully cooperating with authorities investigating the explosion. In a written statement, the company
offered sympathy and concern and said it would release more information on the explosion as it becomes
available.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell visited the scene Sunday and announced late in the day that the state had imposed a
temporary no-fly zone for a three-mile radius around the site to ensure that the safety of the search and
rescue workers would not be jeopardized. The restrictions were put in place until Monday evening.
The state's Emergency Operations Center in Hartford also was activated, and the Department of Public
Health was called to provide tents at the scene for shelter and medical triage.
Daniel Horowitz, a spokesman with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, said the agency is mobilizing an
investigation team from Colorado and hopes to have the workers on the scene Monday.
Plants powered by natural gas are taking on a much larger role in generating electricity for the U.S. Gas
emits about half the greenhouse gases of coal-fired plants and new technology has allowed natural gas
companies to begin to unlock gas supplies that could total more than 100 years at current usage levels.
Natural gas is used to make about a fifth of the nation's electricity.
Safety board investigators have done extensive work on the issue of gas line purging since an explosion
last year at a Slim Jim factory in North Carolina killed four people. They've identified other explosions
caused by workers who were unsafely venting gas lines inside buildings.
The board voted last week to recommend that national and international code writers strengthen their
guidelines to require outdoor venting of gas lines or an approved safety plan to do it indoors.
In February 2009, an explosion at a We Energies coal-fired power plant near Milwaukee burned six
workers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is still investigating.
In November 2007, an explosion at a Dominion Virginia Power coal-fired plant in Massachusetts killed
three workers, and in January 2007 one worker and nine others were injured at an American Electric
Power plant of the same type in Beverly, Ohio.
———
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Middletown; Stephanie Reitz in
Glastonbury, Conn.; Mark Williams in Columbus, Ohio; Mike Baker in Raleigh, N.C.; and Anne
D'Innocenzio in New York.

Consumer Reports Favorite Diet Entrees and Suggested Add-Ons
Feb. 4, 2010—
If you want to cut calories from your diet and cut your preparation time, packaged meals can be a great
solution. Frozen diet entrees offer a convenient way for health-conscious people to get portion-controlled
servings of food.
Consumer Reports rated the taste quality of 24 packaged meals from top brands including Healthy Choice,
Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers. While the low calorie count makes these meals an attractive option,
many have so few calories that you're not actually getting enough nutrition if you don't pair them with
other sides.
Mandy Walker from Consumer Reports showed "GMA" the magazine's five favorite microwaveable
meals, and the food you can add to them to get a nutritious, satisfying and calorie-conscious meal.
Check out the Consumer Reports Web site for more details and pick up the February issue for the full list
and advice on choosing packaged meals and pairing them with the proper add-ons.
Kashi Chicken Florentine

290 calories
$3.96
Add:
Broccoli with pat of butter and lemon juice
Grapes
Total calories: 460

Total fat: 14g
Sodium: 590mg
Smart Ones Santa Fe Style Rice & Beans

310 calories
$2.38
Add:
Tossed salad with reduced-fat dressing
Strawberries with 2 tbsp whipped topping
Total calories: 430

Total fat: 11g
Sodium: 710mg
Favorite Frozen Meals from Consumer Reports
Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Roasted Beef Merlot

230 calories $3.45
Add:
Whole wheat bread
Apple
Low fat granola bar
Total Calories: 470 Fat: 11g Sodium: 800mg
Lean Cuisine Cafe Classics Shrimp Alfredo

260 calories
$3.24
Add:
Cucumbers and tomatos with olive oil and lemon juice
Half a cup of light ice cream with sliced pears
Total calories: 490

Fat: 15g
Sodium 790mg
Lean Cuisine Cafe Classics Steak Tips Portabella

Calories: 160
$3.26
Add:
10 baby carrots (approximately 90 grams)
2 tbsp hummus
Light and Fit vanilla yogurt (6 ounces)
Sliced banana (one medium)
Total calories: 430

Total fat: 11g
Sodium: 730 mg
More Diet Entree Picks from Consumer Reports:
Lean Cuisine Cafe Classics Sesame Chicken

330 calories
$3.27
Healthy Choice Café Steamers Five-Spice Beef & Vegetables

$3.46
290 calories
Lean Cuisine Spa Cuisine Classics Butternut Squash Ravioli

$3.22
350 calories
Kashi Garden Vegetable Pasta

$3.95
300 calories
Healthy Choice All Natural Entrées Pumpkin Squash Ravioli

$2.50
300 calories

Cosmetic Op May Cut Migraine Pain Page 1 of 2
Cosmetic Op May Cut Migraine Pain

A Forehead Lift May Be Headache Solution for Some, New Research Shows
By DAVID MUIR and DAN CHILDS
July 31, 2009—
It's a debilitating pain that affects over 10 percent of the population -- some 30 million people in this
country. Nearly one in four households have someone afflicted by migraines.
And no one knows that better than Theresa Schenk.
"I had the migraine syndrome for 20 years, and it really did own my life," Schenk, 62, said. "It was
depressing, it was debilitating; it was something of a nightmare."
For two decades, no drug or treatment could help make the pain go away for the Willoughby, Ohio
woman. And Schenk is far from alone; for many with migraines, standard treatment just doesn't
work.
"There's a subset of patients who have what we call chronic migraine," said Dr. Lawrence Newman,
director of the Headache Institute at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York. "Many of those
people are quite treatment resistant. Why? We're not really sure.
"I tell our patients it is a life-altering condition," Newman said. "Having a migraine interferes with
the person's life, their family members, their friends, their co-workers."
But now there may be new hope, from a common plastic surgery procedure a discovery Dr.
Bahman Guyuron, chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery at University Hospitals Case
Medical Center in Cleveland said he stumbled upon largely by accident.
"I operated on a patient who came for a follow-up after a forehead lift," Guyuron said. "Not only did
she like the way she looked, she didn't have migraines headaches for six months since the surgery."
Other migraine suffering patients told him the same thing -- the forehead lift had made their
migraines disappear.
While the origins of these headaches are often a mystery, research shows that the irritation of certain
facial nerves by nearby muscles might be to blame in some cases.
Guyeron tells ABC News, that would explain the improvement his patients reported following a
forehead lift because "what I do is remove the forehead muscles that pinch the nerve."
Anatomy of a Headache
Doctors have also noted that patients treated with Botox often report migraine relief. Researchers
believe that Botox relieves the source of these migraines by paralyzing the muscles surrounding
these facial nerves. But could surgery offer a more permanent solution?
Cosmetic Op May Cut Migraine Pain Page 2 of 2
Surgery May Cut Migraine Pain For Some
In his small, double-blind study, Guyuron treated patients with migraines either with an operation
that targeted three common trigger areas for migraine, or a fake "sham" surgery, which acted as a
control.
A year after the procedure, 57 percent of patients in the actual surgery group reported complete
elimination of headaches; only 4 percent of the sham surgery group did.
Some pain specialists not affiliated with the research said the results were encouraging. Dr. Richard
Lipton, director of the Montefiore Headache Center in New York, noted that the study provides
"fascinating and promising results" that could benefit patients with high levels of pain and disability
for whom other treatment have failed.
However, some doctors said that the findings may not be as conclusive as they appear at first glance.
Indeed, while 83 percent of the actual surgery group observed significant reduction in symptoms, so
did 57 percent of those receiving the sham surgery.
Dr. Joel Saper, founder and director of the Michigan Headache and Neurological Institute in Ann
Arbor, Mich., found this high placebo response rate "troubling."
"Overall, the study raises more doubts than provides answers," Saper said. "Surgery should be a last
resort."
Dr. Robert Shapiro, professor of neurology at the University of Vermont College of Medicine in
Burlington agreed that the high rate of patients who appeared to improve through receiving the
placebo treatment suggested that the technique needs further study.
"It would be unfortunate if large numbers of migraine sufferers underwent expensive and potentially
hazardous surgery which was actually no more effective than sham surgery," he said. "This study
does not allow a conclusion to be drawn about the effectiveness of the surgeries performed."
Still, Schenk said, for her the results of the procedure were overwhelmingly positive.
"I get to be again the person I want to be," she said. "I can be effective mother, I am now a
grandmother... I feel absolutely that it was a gift and it gave me my life back."
Courtney Hutchison contributed to this report.
Criminal investigation launched in Conn. plant blast; mayor says negligence can't be ruled
out
By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN
MIDDLETOWN, Conn.
Authorities launched a criminal investigation Monday into the cause of an explosion that killed five people
at a power plant under construction, saying they couldn't rule out negligence.
"If everything went right, we wouldn't all be here right now," Middletown Mayor Sebastian Giuliano said.
"There's a point where negligence raises to the level of criminal conduct, and that's what we're
investigating."
The powerful explosion blew apart large swaths of the nearly completed 620-megawatt Kleen Energy
plant as workers for the construction company, O&G Industries Inc., were purging a gas line Sunday
morning. The blast tore apart sheet metal that covered the plant's sides and left parts of the complex so
unstable that rescuers were unable to work Monday because of the danger of collapse.
The mayor said rescue crews had been unable to get to all areas of the plant and he could not say for
certain that no more victims would be found. But authorities also said everyone who was assigned to work
at the plant at the time of the explosion was accounted for.
Deputy Fire Marshal Al Santostefano said the death toll should stand at five.
"We needed something to lift spirits around here, and that definitely did it," he said.
The men who died were identified by police as Peter Chetulis, of Thomaston; Ronald J. Crabb, 42, of
Colchester; Raymond Dobratz, 58, of Old Saybrook; Chris Walters, 42, of Florissant, Mo.; and Roy
Rushton, of Hamilton, Ontario.
Walters was the safety supervisor for Keystone Construction, the power plant's electrical contractor,
whose job was to make sure everyone complied with federal work safety rules, his widow, Fran Walters,
told The Associated Press. Crabb was a foreman, his brother Carl Crabb told the News-Tribune of
LaSalle, Ill.
A representative of the local Plumbers and Pipefitters union, Michael Rosario, broke down crying as he
talked about the men on Monday.
"We hug our families, kiss our children," he said. "We go to work, and we want to come home at the end
of the day, safe. That didn't happen for a few people yesterday."
It was still unknown what caused the blast. Middletown's acting chief of police, Patrick McMahon, said
police had ruled out any intentional act and were focusing on whether there was negligence.
Workers for O&G Industries, a Torrington-based general contractor, were clearing the gas lines of air
when the explosion happened just outside the building, between two of the generators, Giuliano said.
During the procedure, local officials said, equipment such as welding machines and electricity should be
shut off. Santostefano said officials don't know if all equipment was shut down before the blast, and
Giuliano said investigators will look into whether any equipment was on or anything that could have
ignited the gas was at the scene.
Santostefano said workers were at the site Sunday, a few hours before the Super Bowl, because they were
trying to get the plant, slated to open in the middle of 2010, open on time. He added: "It wasn't like they
were working in a frenzy."
Officials from United Association Local 77, which represents plumbers and pipefitters who work at the
site, did not comment Monday on what happened to cause the explosion. A spokeswoman for Energy
Investors Fund, a private equity fund that indirectly owns a majority share of the power plant, would not
comment.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board, a federal agency that investigates serious chemical accidents, last week
issued urgent recommendations that national fuel gas codes be changed to improve safety when gas pipes
are being purged.
Spokesman Daniel Horowitz said the board's investigators will need to determine which federal safety
standards apply to the Kleen Energy plant. He said the fuel gas code has an exemption for power plants.
Safety board investigators have done extensive work on the issue of gas line purging since an explosion
last year at a Slim Jim factory in North Carolina killed four people. They've identified other explosions
caused by workers who were unsafely venting gas lines inside buildings.
A team from the board on Monday was turned away by local authorities, who said they would have access
once criminal investigators had cleared them.
The town's chief building inspector, John Parker, said there were "a lot of eyes" on the Kleen Energy
project as it was being built. His office conducted numerous building inspections over the years — at
times daily. He said third-party inspectors often were on hand.
Parker said it appears the workers were performing the purge by sending nitrogen through the line
followed by natural gas to clear out any moisture, which he called "an accepted and approved method."
Parker said he could not recall any recorded building code violations involving the project.
Investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were also at the site.
OSHA records show there was a planned inspection on July 28, 2009, for work being performed by O&G
Industries. There was one violation relating to record keeping and reporting. OSHA spokesman John
Chavez said records show O&G settled the matter informally by paying a $1,000 fine.
"Relatively speaking, they do appear to have a pretty clean record," Chavez said.
Also Monday, Gov. M. Jodi Rell ordered a review of state safety codes. She created two panels, one to
identify the cause of the explosion and contributing factors, such as construction problems, worker safety
issues and licensing or permitting matters. The other, a panel of state agencies, local officials and experts,
will be charged with determining whether changes need to be made to Connecticut laws, state or local
regulations or building or fire codes.
O&G said about 114 workers for nine subcontractors were on the site at the time. It said six workers were
still hospitalized Monday.
Middlesex Hospital spokeswoman Melissa Brady said all the injured were expected to survive.
Kleen Energy Systems LLC began construction on the plant in February 2008 on a wooded and hilly
137-acre parcel of land overlooking the Connecticut River, a few miles from Wesleyan University. It had
signed a deal with Connecticut Light and Power for the electricity produced by the plant, which would be
one of the biggest built in New England in the last few years.
The plant would produce energy primarily using natural gas, which accounts for about a fifth of the
nation's electricity.
———
Associated Press writers Susan Haigh and Pat Eaton-Robb in Hartford and Cheryl Wittenauer in St. Louis
contributed to this report.
(This version CORRECTS spelling of hometown to Torrington instead of Torringon, spelling of mayor's
name to Giuliano instead of Guiliano.)

CSI Doodle: Drawings Find Liars http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8794380
Your Doodlings May Be Useful Lie Detectors to Future Police
By EWEN CALLAWAY
Oct. 10, 2009 —
Liars may fear polygraph tests and brain scans, but surely they wouldn't expect a simple drawing to give
them away. It seems that how you draw a scene can help reveal if you really were there or just made the
whole thing up.
No lie detector is anywhere near foolproof, and existing techniques, including polygraph tests and brain
scans, have the added drawback of requiring specialized, expensive equipment, says Aldert Vrij, a forensic
psychologist at the University of Portsmouth, UK.
Vrij wondered whether asking someone to draw a scene might work instead: as liars have not had direct
visual experience of what they are describing, they might draw a scene differently to someone who was
actually there.
Cloak-and-Dagger Mission
To test the idea, his team sent 31 volunteers on a cloak-and-dagger mission in which they had to pick up a
laptop computer from an actor posing as a secret agent, and deliver it to a second agent. The second agent
then asked volunteers to describe how and where they had received the laptop and to sketch the location
in detail. Half of the volunteers were told to answer this question with a lie and half told to tell the truth.
While many of the liars gave convincing verbal accounts to the agents, when their drawings were
compared with those of truth-tellers, there were features that distinguished them.
The first was who they drew: 2 out of 16 liars included the first agent in their drawing, whereas 12 out of
15 of the truth-tellers included that detail. Vrij suggests this is because the liars visualized a place they
knew and simply drew this, neglecting to include the agent.
The second difference was perspective, with liars tending to draw the laptop handover from a bird's-eye
perspective rather than a first-person one. Vrij suggests that while liars are adept at quickly coming up
with a plausible verbal account, they find imagining spatial relationships between conjured-up objects
more difficult from a first person perspective.
Doodles as Lie Detectors
He reckons asking suspects to sketch scenes could help police determine who is telling the truth.
But couldn't savvy criminals learn these giveaways and avoid them? For example, liars in the know might
start taking care to include people in their drawings.
Perhaps, but Maria Hartwig, a forensic social psychologist at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New
York, who was not involved in the new study, points out that liars might be reluctant to add people as they
might trigger further questions from police.
1 of 2 2009/10/12 08:06 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

CSI Doodle: Drawings Find Liars http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8794380
Researchers have yet to test the method on larger groups of volunteers to work out how often it
mistakenly flags up as liars people who are telling the truth.
However, some police already do something similar. The Denver Police Department in Colorado has
electronic white boards in its interview rooms, says spokeswoman Lieutenant Leslie Branch-Wise. The
boards aren't intended to ferret out liars, she says, but if a suspect's drawing doesn't mesh with other
details, investigators take note.
2 of 2 2009/10/12 08:06 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Abraham Shakespeare's Body Was Found Buried at the Woman's Boyfriend's Home
By ANDREA CANNING, SARAH NETTER and DEAN SCHABNER
Feb. 4, 2010—
The chief suspect in the killing of a Florida lottery winner incriminated herself before her Tuesday arrest
by revealing unreleased information about the man's death, police said today.
Dorice "DeeDee" Moore, 37, who was charged as an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, has
denied having anything to do with Abraham Shakespeare's death and told reporters this week, "They are
saying that I took a gun, put it up, and killed another human being, and I would never ever, ever do that."
Moore had yet to be charged at that point, and Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told "Good Morning
America" said today, authorities had never said publicly that Shakespeare had been shot.
"The first one to mention that fact was DeeDee Moore," he said.
Judd called Moore a master manipulator and a con artist who managed to take $1.8 million from
Shakespeare.
"She tried to con the police, and now she's trying to con the media and the public," he said.
Moore's story began to fall apart at the very first interview with the police shortly after Shakespeare was
reported missing in November.
"From the very beginning of our investigation, which started seven months after he went missing, we
found out she still had Abraham Shakespeare's cell phone and was texting his friends as well as her own
cell phone pretending to be Abraham," Judd said.
"She became more desperate and more desperate," he said. "As we put more heat on her in December,
that's when she ... said, "Hey, I have to get rid of this body."
Shakespeare's body was found last week, buried under a cement slab in a wooded area on a rural Florida
property owned by Moore's boyfriend, Shar Krasniqi. Police have said Shakespeare was killed April 6 or
7, 2009, at the house next door to the property where he was buried.
Killing Under Active Investigation
Moore allegedly asked an unnamed witness if he knew anyone awaiting a prison sentence who would be
willing to take the rap for the killing, The Associated Press reported, citing an arrest affidavit.
She also allegedly told an unnamed witness to dig up Shakespeare's body and move it somewhere else, and
showed the person the grave Jan. 25, according to the affidavit.
"It's still very much an active investigation," Judd said. "We'll get to the bottom of it."
Moore had said that the lottery money that had caused so much difficulty for Shakespeare was now
cursing her.
"Abraham went and had a life of drama; a very hard life of drama because of the money," Moore said
after her arrest. "The money was like a curse to him. And now it's become a curse to me."
Moore had said authorities would never be able to find anything improper about her handling of
Shakespeare's money and was confident she'd be acquitted.
"There is no jury that's going to convict me," she said.
No one else has been charged, but investigators believed there were others involved in the killing,
Hillsborough County, Fla., Sheriff David Gee said after Moore's arrest.
"I won't say we have identified all of the players involved," Gee said. "We're going to find out everyone
that was involved. We're going to seek justice."
Shakespeare made headlines in 2006 when he won $31 million in the Florida lottery, only to be sued the
next year by a co-worker who alleged that Shakespeare had stolen the winning tickets from him. A jury
sided with Shakespeare in October 2007, and he took home a lump sum of $17 million.
His remains were found Jan. 28 after days of digging in the woods on the Plant City, Fla., property and
after heavy equipment had been brought in to break through a large piece of concrete. An autopsy the
next day confirmed that the body was that of Shakespeare. The identity was determined through
fingerprints, the sheriff's office said.
Shakespeare's Remains Found Under Concrete Slab
Authorities have not said where the tip came from or even when it came in.
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Debbie Carter declined to comment on what exactly
was found in the grave, only that it was clear the body had been there for a while.
Moore, who befriended Shakespeare in early 2009, when his millions were dwindling, had said throughout
the investigation that she only helped Shakespeare vanish to get away from people asking him for loans.
"I wish, I hate to say this, but I wish I did a lot of things differently, but I've never did anything
unethically, unprofessional, or anything he did not want done," Moore said this week. "Everything he
wanted done, all that stuff that they keep bringing out, that has, all has witnesses to back it up.
Moore had made several attempts to make it look as if Shakespeare had been communicating with his
family -- offering someone a $200,000 house in exchange for reporting a false sighting, sending his son
$5,000 in cash for his birthday and sending text messages -- even though Shakespeare had already
disappeared, Polk County authorities said.
In February 2009, two months before Shakespeare was last confirmed to have been seen, Moore opened
up a limited-liability account with his money and gave herself signing authority, according to the Polk
County Sheriff's Office. She then rewarded herself with $1 million, which she spent on a Corvette, a
Hummer and lavish vacations.
The only previous arrest that had any connection to the case came in late January when Polk County
authorities arrested Lakeland police officer Troy McKay Young, charging him with providing Moore with
confidential information from law enforcement databases in exchange for compensation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Viewers React to Radical Education Method That Shuns Schools, Textbooks, Tests
By JUJU CHANG and KATIE ESCHERICH
April 20, 2010—
A couple who practice "radical unschooling" said their hands-off approach to education and child-rearing
is about exploring the world and living on principles, and is not "anything goes."
Christine Yablonski and Phil Biegler appeared live on "Good Morning America" today to defend their
controversial education method, which prompted an overwhelming response from viewers.
"There's a huge difference between having no rules and having arbitrary rules," Yablonski said. "We live
in a world of principles. The principles of trust, honesty and respect. That's how we make all of our
decisions. It's not anything goes. We are instilling proper values, good values in our children."
Yablonski and Biegler, from Westford, Mass., describe unschooling as living as if the school system
doesn't exist. They don't homeschool their children -- they allow their teen daughter and son to decide
what they want to learn, and when they want to learn it. There are no textbooks, no tests and no formal
instruction.
After their story was featured on "GMA" Monday, viewers wrote in expressing everything from outrage to
confusion to support, raising questions about the differences between homeschooling and unschooling,
and how unschooled children could be prepared to function as adults.
Tarra from California wrote into the "GMA" Facebook page asking, "So who is going to hire these kids
without a high school diploma or a GED? What are they going to do for income when they are adults?"
"There are already unschoolers who are already in college, graduated, in the working world," Yablonski
responded. "This might be a new concept for a lot of people &[ but] it has been in existence for a while."
She also said that her children's "pursuit of whatever kind of higher education they want is going to be
based on what their specific goals are in life."
Indeed, one viewer wrote that because of unschooling, her children were free to pursue and finish
bachelor's degrees by the time they turned 20. Yablonski said that unschooled children "have absolutely
been successful. They are holding jobs, raising their families ... they are productive, positive influences in
their communities."
The couple disagreed with viewers who believed that unschooling limits the children's exposure to new
things.
"We spend a significant amount of our time and energy making sure we're exposing the kids to all kinds of
things," Biegler said. "We bring them to places, and we bring things to them. .. Their world is much, much
larger and much broader."
Children as the 'Center of the Universe'
Out of an estimated 56 million schoolage children, about 1.5 million are homeschooled.
"Homeschooling is doing school at home. Purchasing a curriculum and administering it," explained Pat
Farenga, the president of HOLT Associates. "Unschooling is following the interest of a child and helping
them learn as they learned before they went to school."
At least 100,000 U.S. children are believed to be "unschooled" -- the term coined to describe the
unorthodox approach to homeschooling that does not focus on formal classes, set curriculums or tests.
Many viewers expressed concern about the apparent lack of structure in the Biegler household. The
children make their own decisions, and don't have chores or rules.
"We find that we don't need a whole lot of rules," Biegler said in the segment that aired Monday.
"They might watch television," Yablonski said. "They might play games on the computers."
"They might read," her husband added.
Most children will choose television over reading every time, but Yablonski said that "the key there is that
you've got to trust your kids to ... find their own interests."
Kimberly in Ohio wondered, "How are these children expected to function in society as adults? They don't
seem to have any structure or discipline."
Yablonski said, "There's an intrinsic structure" to their lives.
"If you look at a week or a month, there's absolutely a structure to what they're accomplishing," she said.
Ann Pleshette Murphy, parenting expert and "Good Morning America" contributor, questioned the
unusual approach.
"This to me is putting way too much power in the hands of the kids, something that we know kids can
often find anxiety-producing, and it's also sending a message that they're the center of the universe, which
I do not think is healthy for children," she said.
Dr. Reef Karim, a psychiatrist, agrees.
"The whole concept of cooperating with your kid, it's kind of cool in theory," he said, "and if a child was a
little adult I think it would be great, but he's a child."
Unschooling Father: 'They Will Do What They Need to Do'
This parenting style might raise some eyebrows, but in Massachusetts, it's legal. Unschooling parents in
that state are required to report to local school authorities once a year. The Massachusetts Department of
Education did not respond to calls and e-mails from ABC News seeking comment.
Homeschooling rules vary from state to state. Click here to see the home schooling rules in your state
on the Home School Legal Defense Association Web site.
The Discovery Health cable TV channel chronicled the life of one young unschooling family, detailing a
home in which the children faced no punishment, no judgment and no discipline.
"It's amazing when you broaden the scope of what you see as learning as opposed to worksheets," the
mother said. "There is no hierarchy in our house, so there is no punishment, no judgment, no discipline.
They get what they want for breakfast and eat whatever they want. It's all a matter of what feels right to
them."
But what happens when the kids get older? Shaun Biegler, 13, last went to school when he was in the first
grade.
He doesn't regret not attending anymore, but said, "I wonder what my life would be if I continued going to
school. I was never really into some of the stuff that I had to learn in school."
He added that sports "haven't really been an interest of mine," but he also hasn't been exposed to many
sports because he doesn't participate in a physical education class.
Shaun's sister, 15-year-old Kimi, doesn't even know what grade she'd have been in if she had remained in
school, and doesn't feel prepared for college.
"I haven't done the traditional look at a textbook and learn about such-and-such," she said. "If I wanted to
go to college, then I would pick up a textbook and learn."
Neither child has any plans for college, according to their father. When asked if he felt it was his
responsibility to teach his children to do things that they don't want to do, he said, "they will do what they
need to do, whether or not they enjoy it, because they see the purpose in it."
Though the children's father acknowledged they were growing up in a unique way, he said that "in all
other aspects, they're & living in the mainstream."
"They have experiences and knowledge that other people don't," Yablonski said.

Diane Sawyer Announces Last Week on 'GMA' http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9265083
After 10 Years on 'GMA,' Sawyer Will Anchor 'World News' Starting Dec. 21
By SARAH NETTER
Dec. 7, 2009—
After 10 years on "Good Morning America," Diane Sawyer announced this morning that will step down as
co-anchor this week.
"I've calculated -- 2,881 shows," Sawyer said. "Roughly."
Sawyer, 63, will take over the "World News" anchor chair, starting Dec. 21, succeeding Charles Gibson,
who will retire Dec. 18.
"I hope you celebrate with us this week, laugh with us this week," Sawyer said.
"It is so difficult," co-anchor Robin Roberts said today, calling Sawyer "my Thelma. Thank you, we are
going to do all things just like you this week."
Fox News host Bill O'Reilly commented on Sawyer's departure today during a "GMA" appearance, telling
her that "just for getting up -- you guys get a B+."
After Sawyer's on-air announcement today, her fellow "Good Morning America" anchors promised to
highlight some of her greatest hits in the coming week, including her 2006 interview from North Korea in
which North Korean Gen. Ri Chan Bok warned that war was inevitable.
"It is amazing, I think to all of us, what we've been able to see you do on this show," co-anchor Chris
Cuomo told Sawyer today. "It makes us all proud."
But some of Sawyer's on-camera moments drew some gentle ribbing from her colleagues.
"This is not a perfect person, Diane Sawyer," Cuomo joked, introducing a video clip of Sawyer behind the
wheel of a car, taking red lights as "suggestions. She has her flaws some of them, dangerous flaws."
ABC News President David Westin Praises Diane Sawyer
In a September statement announcing Gibson's retirement and Sawyer's move to "World News," ABC
News President David Westin praised Sawyer's varied and accomplished career.
"Diane Sawyer is the right person to succeed Charlie and build on what he has accomplished," Westin said
in the statement. "She has an outstanding and varied career in television journalism, beginning with her
role as a State Department correspondent and continuing at '60 Minutes,' 'Primetime Live,' and most
recently 'Good Morning America.'"
Sawyer's move to "World News" means two of the three major evening network news broadcasts will be
anchored by women, a first in television history.
1 of 2 2009/12/08 06:17 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Diane Sawyer Announces Last Week on 'GMA' http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9265083
Sawyer joined ABC News in 1989 as co-anchor of "Primetime Live."
2 of 2 2009/12/08 06:17 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

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ABC "World News" anchor Diane Sawyer has a special affection
for the city of Scranton.
The Electric City reminds the Emmy Award-winning journalist of

the place she once called home: Glasgow, Ky.
"It's been a few years (since she's been to Scranton), but I've
always loved the city," she said.
"I feel we are a kind of kindred soul with all of the manufacturing
the place was built on and, there is that pioneering spirit in
Scranton that I grew up with in Kentucky and still want to honor."
donna svennevik/ABC/MCT Ms. Sawyer's friend and
predecessor, Charles Gibson, retired from "World Ms. Sawyer doesn't have much time to chat these days, her
News" in December. producers said.
That's because in the little more than a month since she's taken
Image Gallery for Diane Sawyer talks to over "World News," shown locally on WNEP-TV, Ms. Sawyer has
The Times-Tribune traveled to places like Copenhagen, Afghanistan and Haiti.
She's interviewed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and, most recently, she sat
down for an exclusive interview with President Barack Obama,
just prior to the State of the Union address.
Still, Ms. Sawyer said she would not pass up a chance to chat
this week with The Times-Tribune.
In her words
After an exchange of thoughts on the Super Bowl - she enjoyed

the game but didn't exactly root for anyone - and the death of
Michael Jackson - "how sad, he couldn't sleep"- Ms. Sawyer
waxes poetic about her predecessor and friend at "World News."
"I hope to join Charlie (Gibson) on Golden Pond some day," she
said. "He loves boats and I'm sure he's out there now at his place
on a boat." With a tone of genuiness, Ms. Sawyer heaped praise
on Mr. Gibson and downplayed herself.
She laughs at the mention of being a former America's Junior

Miss winner.
"I've forgotten that I was once in that competition," she said. "You
should see me right now, I'm sitting here in my sweats."
When told she was recently described by a reporter as the Katharine Hepburn of the newsroom, Ms. Sawyer
sounded almost embarrassed. "I'm deeply flattered and mystified," she said.
Perhaps, it is those qualities that have contributed to a better than 8 percentage point increase in the Nielsen
ratings for "World News" since Ms. Sawyer took over from Mr. Gibson at the end of December.
Ms. Sawyer has a broadcasting career that began in 1967 in Louisville, Ky., where she was a reporter for
WLKY-TV.
She joined ABC News in February 1989 as co-anchor of "Primetime." Shortly after that, she was named
co-anchor of "Good Morning America" and held that post until taking over the anchor chair at "World News."
Prior to joining ABC, Ms. Sawyer spent nine years at CBS News and was the first female correspondent at the
popular evening news magazine show, "60 Minutes." She worked in President Richard Nixon's White House and
was part of the Nixon-Gerald Ford transition team from 1974 to 1975.
Ms. Sawyer also assisted Mr. Nixon in writing his autobiography.
The time spent in Mr. Nixon's White House helped prepare her to interview future presidents and other heads of
state, she said.
"The main thing you learn working at the White House is that there is this human impulse of walking up to the
president and thinking he's going to be 10 feet tall," she said. "Presidents are human beings."
Best yet
Despite interviewing some of the most famous people in the world, Ms. Sawyer said her favorite interview was
done just this week when she sat down with ESPN's Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic of Mike & Mike fame.
"That was memorable. It was so much fun with those guys talking sports," she said.
Still, there is one story she holds dear.
"Waiting on the World to Change" was a report on poverty in America done by Ms. Sawyer in 2007. It was tied to
a second story last year.
"It was a companion piece. It was done in Camden, N.J., which at the time was the most dangerous and poorest
city in America," Ms. Sawyer said. "Then, we spent (two years) in the hills of Appalachia reporting on the children
of the mountains. In both reports, we talked about rural poverty, urban survival and urban poverty. The children
were the focus of the piece and the magnificent hope and dignity of these children were not only unforgettable,
but I'm sitting now in front of a couple of pictures of the kids of Camden. Those pictures I keep on my desk."
The team at "World News" has made the transition from mornings to evening easy, Ms. Sawyer said.
"I'm five weeks in now and I really felt that, rather than have a lot of theories, I should come in and let us all
agree," she said. "I didn't come in with a whole lot of preconceptions and this wonderful team here has whipped
me into shape."
With so many stories reporting the demise of traditional journalism, Ms. Sawyer is not the least bit pessimistic
about the future of news and suggests that no journalist should be.
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"I think there is only forward moving, only growth and aspiration. That is what gives us all our vitality," she said.
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"I don't look at ratings as much as one would think. It's sort of like trying to take your own blood pressure twice a
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"I came home from college one day and I didn't know what I wanted to do," she said. "It was the classic case of
not having a clear view, but my dad did this wonderful thing. He sat me down and asked me to answer some
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questions. The questions were, what do you love? Are you absolutely sure that what you love is going to help Now you can access thetimes-tribune.com on
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"If you've got those three things in your life, that's all that matters, my father told me."
Since women were not seen as regular reporters when she had the conversation with her father, Ms. Sawyer Scranton-area Catholic priest
said journalism did appear adventurous.
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16 posted comments
REALESTATE570
HATERS. Wow, disenfranchised people. Would you ask the NY Times why they interviewed her? Jealousy is
a $*&%!
Upstate NY
2 bedroom Blakeky
Marvin, 02/13/10 12:46 Report 1 bedroom Dunmore
Studio 1 bath Scranton
Scranton is Glasgow...without the Bluegrass Scranton is Boston...without the clams Scranton is Cleavland 2 bedroom Scranton S.
...without the Rock&Roll Hall op Fame Scranton is ABC...without Charles Gibson
Samuel Clemens, 02/12/10 11:56 Report More top homes
Space filler? CARS570

JJ, 02/12/10 11:35 Report '89 Buick La Sabre
2005 Cadillac STS
So Diane Sawyer said a few words about Scranton. Where was the interview? Why was there an "interview"? 99 ford f350
As usual the Scranton Times leaves me with more questions than it answers! The Times makes it look like it
2007 Infiniti G35
was some big deal that she talked to a reporter from their organization. This stuff could have been pulled off
the internet .. No dateline on the story either. Very shallow journalism 2000 Starlite Starcraft
R, 02/12/10 10:45 Report
More top autos
I met Ms. Sawyer in 1986 when she gave the commencement address at Wellesley College, her alma mater.
My niece was in the graduating class. I shall never forget her speech, and I often quote her punchline:
"It's not who you know, it's whom you know." FEATURED RECENT STORIES
Dan Wrather, 02/12/10 4:30 Report Scranton police cruiser collides with teen's car
Mellow's sudden retirement news fuels
speculation
I really liked the job Diane did on other shows like 60 Minutes, Primetime Live, 20/20, & GMA. When she was
Doherty waiting and watching on library board
named the anchor of the ABC Evening News, I thought it was a good call. From the start you could see she
veto, budget cuts
wasn't comfortable behind the desk, she mangled names and stammered through stories. I chalked that up to
beginner's jitters. Unfortunately she hasn't gotten any better. Just this week she stumbled through multiple Mellow won't run for re-election
news stories and couldn't pronounce "Stephanopoulos" correctly. It actually makes me uncomfortable watching Couple accused of magic shop burglary
just how uncomfortable she is behind the anchor desk. This is sad, I had hoped she would do well. Scranton council reopens budget, overrides
library veto
News Guy, 02/12/10 3:20 Report
And we care why?
Wildunner, 02/12/10 3:19 Report
Why is everyone beating on Diane Sawyer? I think she's a pretty respectable lady. And not bad on the eyes.
What I do understand is, Stacy Brown is obsessed with Michael Jackson, still. Dude, really, no one cares. I'm
with you Jack.
Jeepster, 02/12/10 2:10 Report
Cannot wait to see how Stacy Brown works Michael Jackson into the Olympics! Also, should Scranton be
flattered with its comparison to Kentucky?
Penelope Von Tussle, 02/12/10 1:19 Report
I was down at the Steamtown Mall the other day. Saw a lady that I had not seen in a quite some time with her
new baby. This baby got hit with the ugly stick! Just to be proper and polite, I said "what a cutie." What else
can you say?
Dr. Pill, 02/12/10 1:18 Report
Did she ask about me?
Reader, crushing on Diane Sawyer., 02/12/10 1:09 Report
I wonder if her home town is bankrupt and has a Mayor that is full of himself?
just askin, 02/12/10 12:43 Report
We get it, Stacy. You did a book on Michael Jackson that was controversial. Stop bringing it up on facebook
and in every story. Nobody cares anymore.
Jack, 02/12/10 11:17 Report
She was very nice to Ahmadinejad. I like how she helped him portray the United States as a global bully.
Maybe she could go there now; after people have died and thousands are going through the streets protesting
the communist leader that she was so nice to.
PLF, 02/12/10 10:06 Report
Diane Sawyer, Queen of the softball interview.
Frank C, 02/12/10 8:29 Report
Great lady.....silly self serving article.
MBM, 02/12/10 7:13 Report
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'Come Together' Dinner Parties Battle Hunger http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8563920
'Come Together' at Dinner Parties to Battle Hunger

Project Brings Friends Together at Dinner Parties for Donations
By JEN PEREIRA and LEE FERRAN
S ept. 14, 2009 —
Right now roughly one out of 10 people -- men, women and children -- do not have enough food, according to
the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But there's a new weapon in the fight against hunger: donation dinner
parties.
"Good M orning America" is teaming with M acy's and Feeding America as part of the "Come Together" food
drive. The goal of the initiative is to feed millions of Americans by encouraging people to throw dinner parties
at which guests are invited to donate to Feeding America. M acy's will match donations dollar for dollar until
the goal of ten million meals is reached.
"So for $1, that will make seven meals," M acy's executive M artine Reardon told "Good M orning America."
"So if you think about that, if you just raise $10 at one of your dinner parties, you will have contributed 70
meals to this campaign."
Already enough money for 449,274 meals has been donated.
Click here to learn the three ways you can participate.
Click here to learn more about the "Come Together" project at the Macy's Web site.
Celebrity starpower like Donald Trump, Jessica Simpson, M artha Stewart and Tommy Hilfiger have been
enlisted for the six-week initiative, which will benefit the 98 percent of food banks nationwide that reported
an increased demand this year.
"Now we're seeing more professional people that are part of the middle class that don't have jobs that have
come to us for help," Feeding America president and CEO Vicki Escarra said.
"We're actually seeing more people standing in line at a soup kitchen and at a food p antry with suits," Lisa
Jakobsberg of a New York City food bank said.
Clinton Payne, a truck driver who helped clean up debris after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, is one of
the new faces.
"I just came to visit the pantry because I need food. I've got to eat, and I've got to survive. This is my first
time -- first time coming to a food bank, first time ever applying for assistance from the state. This is my first
time doing everything," he said.
1 of 2 2009/09/16 06:15 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

'Come Together' Dinner Parties Battle Hunger http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8563920
2 of 2 2009/09/16 06:15 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

More than 2,500 Dogs Will Compete in The Westminster Kennel Club 134th Annual Dog
Show
By EMILY FRIEDMAN
Feb. 12, 2010 —
Vala has a collar full of ribbons, just like the hundreds of other dogs that will be competing next week at
the prestigious Westiminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
But unlike the pampered pooches who will be busy getting their fur styled and their nails clipped before
the competition kicks off Monday, Vala will be focused on only one thing: her handler.
The young man on the other end of Vala's leash is 14-year-old Ethan Miller, who trusts his life to the
instincts of his award-winning dog.
Ethan, who has cerebral palsy, is one of just a couple of disabled handlers who will lead their dogs around
the ring this Monday and Tuesday at New York City's Madison Square Garden. It's expected to be a sold
out show.
His mother, Chris, told ABCNews.com that the 4-year-old Canaan has alerted her to her son's seizures on
"more than one occasion.
"One time, about a minute and a half before the first onset of the seizure, Vala started walking back and
forth between me and Ethan and was clearly trying to indicate that I needed to come help," she said. "I
knew what Vala was trying to tell me."
Miller said that while medication has largely controlled Ethan's symptoms in the past few years, Vala's
early detection allows her son to get in a safe place or position before the seizures occur.
"It helps to prevent him from hurting himself with a fall," said Miller, who said that even though seizures
tend to last only 20 to 50 seconds, they seem like an "eternity when you're a mom."
"It's very comforting for me, as a mother," said Chris Miller, who is coming to New York from the family's
home and kennel in Conyers, Ga. "It also helps Ethan a lot. He is able to relax and lie down when he
knows [the seizures] are coming."
Ethan told ABCNews.com that the bond that he has formed with Vala is more than just a boy and his dog.
"I would consider her more than my best friend," said Ethan. "She's just so nice. Her personality is great,
and she's never mean. She loves me."
Ethan said, "I do believe Vala knows me very well."
The Canaan breed is known for being very attuned and empathetic to their owners. According to Chris
Miller, the breed's natural instincts are often stronger than those of more domesticated breeds.
Vala is not only a lifesaver, she has style. Vala is currently the No. 2 dog of her breed, and if she wins the
Canaan group best in breed award Monday, she will go on to compete in the Herding group later that
evening.
Ethan Miller Heads to Westminster With Vala

Chris Miller said her son had a brain infection in the womb that later caused his cerebral palsy. He had
undergone several surgeries to help improve his motor function but still has limited use of his left side.
Ethan has always responded well to dogs, and especially to Vala.
"Ethan is very shy," his mother, 40, said. "Vala really helps his confidence level. When you get Ethan to a
dog show and he's there with Vala, all of a sudden he's just a social butterfly."
Ethan may not be the most skilled dog handler. Ethan and his mother are both what Westminster Kennel
Club considers "unprofessional handlers," and often have to show with some of the most seasoned
handlers on the circuit.
While Ethan's disability isn't always noticeable at first, his mother said that at times his inability to use his
left hand can land him in a tricky situation with the judges.
"Typically at a dog show, the dog is presented on your left side, so you would hold the leash in the left
hand," said Miller. "But Ethan doesn't have the fine motor skills to do that, so he has to hold the leash in
his right hand."
"Many judges ask him if he could please hold Vala on his left side, and he just says 'no,' and explains
why," said Miller. "He takes it stride, and the judges usually apologize."
Miller said that she and her husband were devastated when they learned Ethan had cerebral palsy, and
worried about the challenges he'd face in life.
"He never crawled. He couldn't use his weight on his left side to crawl," remembers Chris Miller. "But to
watch him, even as a baby, make exceptions for his disability was incredible. He'd scoot on his butt
instead."
"Basically from then on we never treated him like he has a disability and never limited him in trying the
things he wanted to," she said.
Ethan and Vala One of a Handful of Disabled Duos at Dog Show
There are no age limitations for handlers at the dog show, and David Frei, the spokesman for the
competition, said that while there are usually only a few disabled handlers with disabilities who compete,
it's not unheard of.
"We have one or two that we know of every year whose dogs are not only their show dogs and their
loving family dogs, but also their service dogs," said Frei.
"Madison Square Garden presents special challenges for every handler. You're standing in front of a sold
out audience, and it takes some courage," said Frei. "But here's a young man who faces life every day
with a great amount of courage and thanks to this dog he's able to deal with that."
"To be able to come to the dog show and participate in an activity with the dog that he loves and who has
dedicated her life to him, what better way to compete?" said Frei.
Ethan couldn't agree more. Asked what he's hoping for at the competition, Ethan said he just really wants
Vala to win best of breed.
After that, Ethan's ready to enjoy his first trip to New York.
"I'm not necessarily going to be disappointed if we don't win. Going to Westminster is a great
accomplishment," said Ethan.
Ethan also offered advice to other children like him, encouraging them to try things they might otherwise
not think they're capable of doing.
"It hasn't always been easy for me," he said. "But even if you have a disability, it doesn't mean you just
stop and don't try. You keep on trying. I kept going."
A fourth generation dog handler in his family, Ethan was happy to follow in the footsteps of his family and
has actually beome quite competitive, said his mother, who often has to show dogs in the same ring as
Ethan and Vala. In addition to the competition, Ethan had found comfort in the dog show community.
"The fraternity of dog show people is a wonderful place," said Chris Miller, who has been a breeder and a
dog handler for most of her life.
"There are a lot of people who know us and know Ethan's story that when he wins, he's got a cheering
section," she said. "They aren't so much cheering for Vala as they are for him."

Dr. Oz: Save Yourself in Health Emergencies http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8624634
Save Yourself in Health Emergencies

From Heart Attacks to Severe Bleeding, Dr. Oz Shows You How to Survive on Your Own
By LARA NAAMAN and PATTY NEGER
Sept. 21, 2009 —
Medical emergencies like heart attacks or choking are scary enough, but if there were no one around to
help you, would you know what to do to survive?
Luckily, Dr. Mehmet Oz, host of "The Dr. Oz Show," knows the tips and tricks that could save your life
when you find yourself all alone and in danger.
If you're in an emergency, in almost every case Oz advises calling 911 immediately and before attempting
these techniques, even if you can't talk. Somtimes, especially if you have a land line, leaving the line open
will allow rescuers to track your location.
Choking: The Self-Heimlich
Many people know that the Heimlich maneuver can save a choking victim, but what if no one else is there
to wrap their arms around your midsection and help force out whatever is blocking your airway?
Well then, Oz said, you just have to do it yourself.
Start by making a fist and place the thumb below your rib cage and above your navel, right in the soft
upside-down "v" of your ribs, Dr. Oz said. Then, grasp your fist with the other hand and press into that
area with a quick upward movement.
If that doesn't work, you can also use your furniture to your advantage. You can lean over a chair, table or
railing and thrust your upper belly area against the edge.
If you can breathe at all, however, you don't need to do the Heimlich, Oz said.
Severe Burns: Cool It, But No Ice
There are three types of burns to consider, Oz said. First degree burns are the least serious, where only the
outer layer of skin is burned. Such a burn will usually be red with swelling and pain, he said.
Second degree burns occur when the second layer of skin is also burned. In this case the victim gets
blisters and the skin can get intensely red and splotchy, Oz said.
The most severe burns are classified as third degree burns when they burn all the layers of skin, possibly
even reaching, fat, muscle and bone. The most serious burns are painless because the nerves are burned
and there's likely permanent tissue damage.
The best thing to do with a burn, Oz said, is to cool it off by running cold water over it or applying a cold
compress, but do not put ice on the burn.
Aspirin is very important to help control swelling.
1 of 2 2009/09/22 12:20 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Dr. Oz: Save Yourself in Health Emergencies http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8624634
You should also cover the burn with a sterile gauze bandage, but don't use fluffy cotton, which could
irritate the skin. Wrap the gauze loosely to avoid putting pressure on the burned skin. Also, do not pop any
blisters that form.
Minor burns usually heal without further treatment.
Heart Problems: Chew Your Aspirin, Cough
There are a few warning signs for heart problems, Oz said, including crushing chest pain, pain in your left
arm, shortness of breath, nausea and profuse sweating.
If these are happening, you should call 911. Next chew an aspirin so that it gets into your blood stream
faster. Fair warning, Oz said: It may taste awful.
The aspirin will thin your blood, sometimes stopping a heart attack in its tracks. Then you should lie down,
allowing your heart to rest as much as possible.
If you feel yourself passing out, cough. Coughing squeezes your chest to make the blood flow.
Severe Bleeding: No Tourniquet, Direct Pressure Instead
Don't do what Hollywood movies do and tourniquet wounds, Oz said. That can kill off everything that's
below the wound.
Rather, after calling 911, apply direct pressure to the cut. If blood seeps through the material being held
on the wound, do not remove it. Instead, put another cloth over the first one.
You want to keep the pressure up. Don't remove the material to look at the wound. Also, try to keep the
wound elevated above the heart so that gravity helps you slow the bleeding.
If you have it, apply a cold compress of some kind, Oz said. The cold will help constrict your blood
vessels and slow the bleeding. Don't put ice directly on the wound, as frostbite could become a danger. To
make a compress, simply wrap a hand towel around some ice.
2 of 2 2009/09/22 12:20 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Dubai Renames World's Tallest Tower Burj Khalifa http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9473865
Dubai renames world's tallest skyscraper Burj Khalifa, after UAE president, during
ceremony
By ADAM SCHRECK
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
Dubai opened the world's tallest skyscraper Monday, and in a surprise move renamed the gleaming glass-
and-metal tower Burj Khalifa in a nod to the leader of neighboring Abu Dhabi — the oil-rich sheikdom
which came to its rescue during the financial meltdown.
A multimedia presentation witnessed by Dubai's ruler and thousands of onlookers at the base of the tower
said the building was 828 meters, or 2717 feet, tall.
Dubai is opening the tower in the midst of a deep financial crisis. Its oil rich neighbor Abu Dhabi has
pumped billions of dollars in bailout funds into the emirate as it struggles to pay its debts.
Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the ruler of Abu Dhabi and serves as the president of the United
Arab Emirates, the federation of seven small emirates, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Analysts have questioned what Dubai might need to offer in exchange for the financial support it has
received from Abu Dhabi, which controls nearly all of the UAE's oil wealth. Abu Dhabi provided direct
and indirect injections totaling $25 billion last year as Dubai's debt problems deepened.
Dubai's hereditary ruler, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in recent months has increasingly
underscored the close relationship between the two emirates. Sheik Mohammed serves as vice president
and prime minister of the UAE federation.
The developer of the newly opened tower said it cost about $1.5 billion to build the tapering metal-
and-glass spire billed as a "vertical city" of luxury apartments and offices. It boasts four swimming pools,
a private library and a hotel designed by Giorgio Armani.
The Burj's developers say they are confident in the safety of the tower, which is more than twice the
height of New York's Empire State Building's roof.
Greg Sang, Emaar's director of projects, said the Burj has "refuge floors" at 25 to 30 story intervals that
are more fire resistant and have separate air supplies in case of emergency. And its reinforced concrete
structure, he said, makes it stronger than steel-frame skyscrapers.
"It's a lot more robust," he said. "A plane won't be able to slice through the Burj like it did through the
steel columns of the World Trade Center."
Dubai was little more than a sleepy fishing village a generation ago but it boomed into the Middle East's
commercial hub over the past two decades on the back of business-friendly trading policies, relative
security, and vast amounts of overseas investment.
1 of 3 2010/01/10 02:19 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Then property prices in parts of sheikdom collapsed by nearly half over the past year. Now Dubai is mired
in debt and many buildings sit largely empty — the result of overbuilding during a property bubble that
has since burst.
Despite the past year of hardships, the tower's developer and other officials were in a festive mood, trying
to bring the world's focus on Dubai's future potential rather than past mistakes.
"Crises come and go. And cities move on," Mohammed Alabbar, chairman of the tower's developer Emaar
Properties, told reporters before the inauguration. "You have to move on. Because if you stop taking
decisions, you stop growing."
Dubai, which has little oil of its own, relied on cheap loans to pump up its international clout during the
frenzied boom years.
But like many overextended homeowners, the emirate and its state-backed companies borrowed too
heavily and then struggled to keep up with payments as the financial crisis intensified and credit markets
froze up.
Meanwhile, speculators who had fueled Dubai's property bubble disappeared along with the easy money,
revealing a glut of brand-new but empty homes and crippling many of the emirate's property developers
The sheikdom shocked global markets late last year when it unexpectedly announced plans to reorganize
its main state-run conglomerate Dubai World and sought new terms in repaying some $26 billion in debt.
It got some succor from a $10 billion bailout provided by its richer neighbor and UAE capital Abu Dhabi
last month. That was on top of $15 billion in emergency funds provided by Abu Dhabi-based financiers
earlier in the year.
Burj developer Emaar is itself partly owned by the Dubai government, but is not part of struggling Dubai
World, which has investments ranging from Dubai's manmade islands and seaports to luxury retailer
Barneys New York and the oceanliner Queen Elizabeth 2.
Emaar's Alabbar said the landmark Burj is 90 percent sold in a mix of residential units, offices and other
space, offering a counterpoint to Dubai's financial woes.
The developer has only said the spire stands more than 2625 feet (800 meters) tall. Alabbar said Dubai's
ruler will announce the height at the inauguration ceremony.
At a reported height of 2,684 feet (818 meters), the Burj Dubai long ago vanquished its nearest rival, the
Taipei 101 in Taiwan.
But the tower's record-seeking developers didn't stop there.
The building boasts the most stories and highest occupied floor of any building in the world, and ranks as
the world's tallest structure, beating out a television mast in North Dakota.
"We weren't sure how high we could go," said Bill Baker, the building's structural engineer, who is in
Dubai for the inauguration. "It was kind of an exploration ... A learning experience"
Baker, of Chicago-based architecture and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, said early designs
for the Burj had it edging out the world's previous record-holder, the Taipei 101, by about 33 feet (10
meters). The Taiwan tower rises 1,667 feet (508 meters).
Work on Burj Dubai began in 2004 and moved ahead rapidly. At times, new floors were being added
almost every three days, reflecting Dubai's raging push to reshape itself into a cosmopolitan urban giant
packed with skyscrapers.
2 of 3 2010/01/10 02:19 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

During the busiest construction periods, some 12,000 workers labored at the tower each day, according to
Emaar. Low-wage migrant workers from the Indian subcontinent provided much of the muscle for the
Burj and many of Dubai's other building projects.
The tower is more than 50 stories higher than Chicago's Willis Tower, the tallest building in the U.S.
formerly known as the Sears Tower.
At their peak, some apartments in the Burj were selling for more than $1,900 per square foot, though they
now can go for less than half that, said Heather Wipperman Amiji, chief executive of Dubai real estate
consultancy Investment Boutique.
She said some buyers may struggle to find tenants at going rates once the tower's expected high service
charges are factored in.
"The investment community is quite divided," she said. "They're not sure how it's going to play out."
The Burj is the centerpiece of a 500-acre development that officials hope will become a new central
residential and commercial district in this sprawling and often disconnected city. It is flanked by dozens of
smaller but brand-new skyscrapers and the Middle East's largest shopping mall.
That layout — as the core of a lower-rise skyline — lets the Burj stand out prominently against the
horizon. It is visible across dozens of miles of rolling sand dunes outside Dubai. From the air, the spire
appears as an almost solitary, slender needle reaching high into the sky.
An observation deck on the 124th floor opens to the public Tuesday, with adult tickets starting at 100
dirhams, or just over $27 apiece. The ride to the top took just over a minute during a visit for journalists
early Monday morning.
Dubai landmarks like the sail-shaped Burj al-Arab hotel and the manmade Palm Jumeirah island were
visible through the haze.
The Burj itself cast a sundial-like shadow over low-rise houses and empty sand-covered lots stretching
toward the azure Persian Gulf waters. And yes, Dubai is still open for business: there are gift shops at the
base and the top.
———
On the Net:
Burj Dubai: http://www.burjdubai.com
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat: http://www.ctbuh.org
3 of 3 2010/01/10 02:19 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

DWTS Double Elimination: Delay and Debi Out http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8763104
Stress Fractures Drop Delay, DWTS Judges Drop Debi
By KATIE BOSLAND and LEE FERRAN
Oct. 7, 2009—
Tom Delay didn't let twin stress fractures stop him from hitting the dance floor Monday, but they did
cause him to bow out of the competition from now on, the former congressman announced last night on
"Dancing With the Stars."
Delay and his partner, Cheryl Burke, weren't the only ones to see their DWTS dreams dissolve as Debi
Mazar and partner Maksim Chmerkovsky were eliminated from the competition the old fashion way: by
low votes and judges' scores.
All four eliminated dancers appeared on "Good Morning America," where Delay said he regretted
dropping out of the competition.
"I'm really disappointed I can't go any further," Delay said. "[But] you have to practice in order to be in
this competition. It was too hard. I decided it was time to bow out."
Delay's partner, Cheryl Burke, said she urged Delay not to dance on Monday, but he would not be
stopped.
"Tom just wanted to get through it," she said. "I could not have done what he did Monday night."
Mazar, who also slightly injured herself during the Foxtrot by straining a neck muscle, said the
much-hyped drama between her and partner Maksim Chmerkovsky was exaggerated, but her frustration
with dancing often was not.
"They like to build the drama, build the reality," she said. "For me, not being a dancer, it got repetitive and
boring."
'Latin Night' Takes Over DWTS
Week three was "Latin Night" on "Dancing With the Stars," as the 13 remaining couples tried to samba
and rumba their way to the top.
With Len Goodman back at the judges table, former "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul in the audience,
and Tom "The Hammer" DeLay dancing with two stress fractures, the drama and excitement were as high
as ever.
Former house majority leader DeLay earned a mere 15 points, dancing against the advice of both his
doctors and producers.
"What's a little pain when you can party?" DeLay joked, as he and two-time champion Burke danced their
samba to "Why Can't We Be Friends?"
1 of 3 2009/10/10 09:13 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

DeLay -- clad in patriotic stars and stripes complete with elephant and donkey decals, as well as special
hiking boots because of his injuries -- did receive support from the judges. Judge Bruno Tonioli called him
a "Super Trooper" and Goodman said if he "had a stress fracture in both feet, I wouldn't be judging, let
alone dancing."
"GMA" co-anchor Bill Weir asked if, due to his injury, Tom Delay would change his stance and support a
public health care option for ballroom dancers. Delay said "No, I don't think so."
The day after he was announced as a contestant, DeLay told "Good Morning America" co-anchor Chris
Cuomo that he "jumped at the chance" to appear on the show.
"I love dancing ... you've got to love dancing if you're from Texas," DeLay said. "Conservatives can have
fun too. Conservatives can let their hair down ... and put on some dancing shoes."
"My biggest fear is I might embarrass myself," DeLay said during rehearsals.
He and Burke -- who said she didn't know who DeLay was and had to Google him -- danced the Cha Cha
to the song "Wild Thing" during the show's premiere.
"I've got bigger critics than those judges," DeLay said after his debut performance.
Click Here for more information on "Dancing With the Stars" from ABC.com and watch every Monday
and Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.
Mya and Natalie Coughlin Lead the Way on 'Dancing With the Stars' Week Three
Coming in last on Tuesday night with only 14 points were former Dallas Cowboys star Michael Irvin and
his partner, Anna Demidova. Their samba to the Black Crowe's "Hard to Handle" proved a
disappointment.
Tonioli told Irvin "you dance like a tank," and Carrie Ann Inaba chimed in "You're a big man with a
gigantic spirit and you're dancing tiny."
On the winning end of the spectrum were two knock-out rumba's and some of the highest scores the
judges have doled out yet.
Coming in first with 27 points, and the first two 10s of the season, was singer Mya and partner Dmitri
Chaplan's stunning rumba to Shakira's "Underneath Your Clothes." Called "complete fluidity" by Inaba
and "the embodiment of the supreme seductress" by Tonioli, only Goodman was a bit reserved, telling the
couple he "felt it was too crammed with trick after trick."
Close behind by only one point was swimmer Natalie Coughlin and Alec Mazo's tantalizing Rumba to Phil
Collin's "In the Air Tonight," which prompted Tonioli to tell Coughlin, "you've gone to the stratosphere
tonight. Sexy Beast!"
As Abdul watched from the audience, she had some comments of her own.
"I don't know what's going on, Mr. Goodman, you're Mister badman right now," she said in response to
Goodman's harsh criticism.
She then went on to joke that she and Inaba should make out, after contestant Donny Osmond, upon
hearing his dance was a bit like Swan Lake, pretended to kiss judge Tonioli.
Tuesday night's episode was the fourth elimination so far this season for "Dancing with the Stars," from
what began as the biggest cast yet of 16 couples.
Last week Kathy Ireland told "Good Morning America" that even though she was voted off early-on she
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still feels "like a big winner." She was the third contestant voted off this season after singer Macy Gray
and Actor Ashley Hamilton were voted off following the three-day season premiere.
3 of 3 2009/10/10 09:13 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Elizabeth Smart's Father Feels 'Sorry' for Kidnapper, Wants Justice Served
By MARK MOONEY and KATE McCARTHY
Feb. 3, 2010—
Ed Smart feels "sorry" for one of his daughter's kidnappers, but sidestepped whether he has been able to
comply with Barzee plea for forgiveness.
Smart made it clear on "Good Morning America" today that he holds Barzee responsible for helping her
husband Brian David Mitchell kidnap Elizabeth Smart in 2002 when she was 14 and hold her captive for a
nine month ordeal in which Elizabeth was repeatedly raped.
"When I think of Elizabeth being taken, Wanda certainly perpetuated this," Smart said on "Good Morning
America" today.
"[Brian David Mitchell] had built up this idea of what they were going to have and he was going to have
all of these slave wives and she was going to be the queen. And she was very much of the opinion that this
is what she was going to have and this was going to get her there. And she wanted that," Smart said.
When Barzee pleaded guilty to federal charges kidnapping charges in November, she apologized to Smart
and her family, and asked for forgiveness. Her father was asked today whether he has been able to forgive
Barzee.
"I feel sorry for Wanda and that is something someday she will have to answer to. Now does forgiveness
mean we don't [count] on having justice? No, I don't think so. Because justice is going to keep her from
doing it again and from perpetuating the cycle of abuse," Smart said.
Barzee's children detailed that cycle of abuse in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Tuesday.
The children called their mother a "monster" who once served the youngest daughter her pet rabbit for
dinner.
"I asked what's for dinner and she said chicken," LouRee Gayler told Winfrey. She remembered her
mother Wanda Barzee and her second husband Brian David Mitchell just picking at their meals, "but she
had a smile on her face the whole time," Gayler said.
When Gayler went to feed her pet rabbit the next morning, she found the cage empty.
"What happened to Peaches?" she asked her mother, referring to the pet. "You had it for dinner last
night," she said her mother replied.
Gayler, the youngest of Barzee's six children, was 14 at the time and had some of the harshest memories
of her mother and her two husbands. She recalled being so starved for affection that she would turn to her
dog, stay in the doghouse with the pooch and eat dog food out the dog's bowl.
Her older brother Derrick Thompson, who wrote a book about his childhood entitled "Raised By Wolves,"
said he would escape the physical abuse and cold atmosphere in their home by staying in the large back
yard, living there instead of in the house. He would use a pellet gun to shoot birds and cook them over a
spit.
Wanda Barzee's Children Say She Shouldn't See Light of Day

A sister identified only as Andrea remembered "brainwashing" sessions with her mother.
"We would be called up to her room, and she would sit there and drum into us, 'If you weren't a part of
this family, then the family would be fine,'" Andrea said.
"I think the media portrayed my mother as being a victim of Brian David Mitchell, and I think one of the
reasons I wanted to come on this show is to kind of expose her for the monster she is," Andrea said.
Mitchell and Barzee have been charged with kidnapping Smart from her home when she was 14 in June
2002.
Barzee has pleaded guilty to federal charges, but has not yet been sentenced. She is confined to a mental
hospital while awaiting state charges in the Smart case. Mitchell has not yet been tried.
Barzee's children either left home or were thrown out of the house by the time they were 13 or 14, they
told Oprah.
Gayler said she left after the rabbit dinner, but it was the "last straw" after years of abuse. She wasn't
allowed to watch any television except National Geographic programs and was made to kneel and pray for
two or four hours a day.
She recalled one disturbing prayer session.
"My mom was praying and I was kneeling there, and Brian actually nudged me and he pulled out some
photos of some nude women and laid them up on the bed, and it seems that they were trying to get me to
participate with them that day," she said.
Gayler remembered a toy kitchen she was given as a little girl. "It was one of my favorite things," she said.
One day she came home and it was gone, and her mother "got a sense of happiness about it. She had a
smirk," Gayler said.
Rhonda McLeod, the oldest of Barzee's children, said she had the closest relationship with her mother and
keeps in touch with her by mail.
"I've told her that I've forgiven her," McLeod said. She read part of a recent letter from Barzee in which
Barzee said all of her children were "precious" to her.
Gayler shook her head and said the letter "kind of makes me sick."
When asked what punishment they believe their mother deserves, Andrea said her mother should be put
away.
"I don't think she should see the light of day again," she said.
Barzee issued a statement to the show through her lawyer saying she couldn't comment because of her
upcoming trial, but said she hopes to continue to repair relationships despite her "serious and unique
circumstances."

Escaped Schizophrenic Killer Captured http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8624637
Escaped Insane Killer Captured After Four-Day

Manhunt
Cops Had Feared What Would Happen When Phillip Paul's Medication Wore Off
By DEAN SCHABNER
Sept. 20, 2009—
Police in Washington state captured a schizophrenic killer who had escaped during an outing from the
mental hospital where he had been committed to a state fair.
Phillip Allen Paul, 47, was on medication to control the schizophrenia that authorities said led him to
brutally murder an elderly woman when "voices in his head" told him to 22 years ago.
The Spokane County Sheriff's Office said Paul was captured at around 4:30 p.m. local time in a wooded
area near Goldendale, Wash., more than 180 miles from where he escaped.
Police said Paul surrendered without putting up any fight, as dozens of federal, state and local law
enforcement officers searched the area around Goldendale, and a helicopter hovered overhead.
"It appeared that he was going to voluntarily turn himself in because of the pressure of the ground force
we had in the area," Klickitat County Sheriff Rick McComas told The Associated Press. "He chose not to
stay hidden any longer. ...
"He came out of the brush, onto the roadway, as law enforcement officers were going by. His intent was
to voluntarily give himself up because he knew we were going to find him."
His had escape triggered an intense manhunt, involving members of the Spokane County Sheriff's Office,
U.S. Marshals, Yakima County Sheriff's Department, Department of Corrections officials and FBI agents.
It also raised controversy over how someone like Paul could have been allowed to go on an outing to the
Spokane County Interstate Fair, crowded with unsuspecting families, and over how the hospital handled
the escape once officials there learned that Paul had slipped away from the chaperones.
"He's not somebody that has committed a crime out of passion," Spokane County Sheriff's Sgt. Dave
Reagan said. "He's committed a crime because the voices in his head tell him to commit the crime. And
we don't know when those voices are going to start talking to him again."
Paul escaped Thursday when he and other inmates from the Eastern State Hospital in Spokane were taken
on an outing to the Spokane County Interstate Fair. Police said earlier today they believed Paul had been
planning the escape, because he took a backpack and extra money with him on the outing.
Since the field trip to the fair is an annual event, Paul could easily have prepared to go on the lam, Reagan
said. "It could very well be he's been thinking about this for a while," Reagan said. "We don't know what
he had in that backpack. It could've been a change of clothes, it could've been food and supplies, we don't
know."
When investigators searched Paul's room, they found he had left few of his clothes behind, Reagan said.
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Paul was acquitted by reason of insanity in the beating and murder of an elderly Sunnyside, Wash.,
woman in 1987, and he was committed to Eastern State, diagnosed as schizophrenic. After killing the
woman, he soaked her body in gasoline to make it harder for search dogs to find her and then buried her in
her flower garden.
Field Trip First, Frantic Manhunt Next
Besides the fear created by knowing an insane killer is on the loose, Paul's escape also raised anger about
how it could have been allowed to happen, with various agencies and officials pointing fingers at one
another.
Spokane Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said officials from Eastern State Hospital waited a full two hours before
calling police.
"It's very frustrating and surprising that we weren't put on notice immediately," Knezovich said.
The head of the union that represents workers at Eastern State blamed the lag on hospital officials, saying
that the staff overseeing the outing immediately notified their superiors when they realized Paul was
missing.
Greg Davis, president of Washington Federation of State Employees Local 782, also said the hospital had
been warned about allowing patients such as Paul to go on such outings, saying policy changes at the
hospital have become less restrictive about who can go on such field trips.
"Under older policy, a patient [like Paul] would not have been included in that outing," Davis told The
Associated Press. "That outing is for the best of the best ... patients with years of compliance and
excellent behavior, people who the courts agree are ready to re-enter society."
Escaped Killer Review Stated He Was a Threat to the Public
That Paul did not fit that category was indicated just two weeks ago, when according to the Spokane
Spokesman-Review, a Yakima County judge ruled that Paul remained a threat to the public because of his
aggressive behavior and his decreased awareness of his psychosis.
Rich Hartzell, the director of the fair, told ABC News Spokane affiliate KXLY-TV that he never received
a request from the hospital to have a group of patients attend the fair, and if he had known someone with
a violent criminal history such as Paul was being brought to the fair, he would not have approved.
"I just don't understand how this could happen," Hartzell said. "I'm just bewildered by the whole situation,
and I would hope that when I put in a phone call to them that they'll be able to give me some answers as to
what their rationale was for this."
But such field trips involving patients from mental institutions are common, and hospitals are not required
to seek permission, Washington Department of Social and Health Services spokesman Jim Stevenson told
KXLY.
Thursday evening, just hours after Paul's escape, DSHS Secretary Susan Dreyfus ordered an immediate
end to all field trips involving forensic patients such as Paul, and ordered Eastern State to conduct an
immediate review of their procedures to determine what went wrong.
"We have to keep the community safe, and I really appreciate the seriousness of this and we are just very
sorry this has happened," Dreyfus said.
Paul escaped once before, in 1991, when he walked away from a day trip in Medical Lake. He was
captured 15 miles away, but then attacked a sheriff's deputy in the jail booking area, knocking him
unconscious and separating his shoulder. He was convicted of first-degree escape and second-degree
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assault.
"He has a very violent past," Knezovich said. "One of my deputies, when he escaped, was assaulted by
this individual and ended up in surgery."
3 of 3 2009/09/22 12:21 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Medical Examiner: Body in Wall Is Annie Le http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8565647
Evidence in Murder of Yale Student Annie Le May Point to

Suspect
Body in Wall Positively Identified as Missing Grad Student Annie Le
By SHARYN ALFONSI, SARAH NETTER and RUSSELL GOLDMAN
S ept. 14, 2009—
Authorities investigating the murder of Yale graduate student Annie Le have focused their efforts on a suspect
who failed a lie detector test, sources told ABC News.
Investigators zeroed in on a suspect as the medical examiner positively identified the body found stuffed in a
wall in a Yale University lab as the missing grad student. The medical examiner's office listed the cause of
death as homicide, but withheld the exact manner in which Le died.
The body was discovered Sunday, the same day that Le was supposed to get married.
The suspect who police are looking at has what appear to be defensive wounds, a key p iece of circumstantial
evidence. In addition, the suspect, who authorities believe knew Le, failed a lie detector test, sources told
ABC News. Sources also told ABC News that bloody clothing removed from the lab contained evidence that
links the killer to the crime.
Investigators have been looking at everyone from Yale maintenance people to people who worked in the lab
and fellow students.
"We're not believing it's a random act," Officer Joe Avery, a police spokesman, told The Associated Press. He
would not provide further details but said no one else is in danger.
A body believed to be Le's was found Sunday evening, stuffed into a wall in the basement of the Amistad
Street laboratory where she was last seen Tuesday morning.
Though police have seemingly narrowed in on a suspect, the mood around Yale is still one of sadness and
uncertainity. The last on-campus murder was the 1998 stabbing death of 21-year-old Suzanne Jovin. There
has been no arrest in her death.
Reached in Germany, Thomas Jovin told ABCNews.com that he did not wish to comment on Le's murder or
his daughter's.
New Haven Police Officer Joe Avery told ABCNews.com today that authorities didn't start focusing on the
lab until a few days after Le was reported missing. Police were initially unsure, he said, if she had voluntarily
disappeared in advance of her wedding, scheduled for Sunday, or if she had been a crime victim.
1 of 3 2009/09/16 06:18 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

Once video surviellance cameras revealed Le coming into the building on Tuesday, but not leaving. Search
efforts focused on the building. Her body was eventually found, he said, by members of the Connecticut State
Police M ajor Crimes Unit.
Friends and family had insisted for days that Le was not the kind of person to run out on her fiance, the news
that police had found a body was devastating. Le was to be married Sunday.
Vanessa Flores, Le's former roommate, said she heard the news on the Internet about her friend's body likely
being found.
"I had a very tough time just reading the headline," she told "Good M orning America" today. "It was very
difficult."
Le, 24, disappeared Tuesday. She had been seen entering the Amistad Street lab around 10 a.m., but none of
the cameras caught her leaving. The body was found shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday, shoved into a space in the
wall meant to conceal pipes and wiring.
"We did locate the remains of a human. ... We are assuming that it is her at this time," New Haven Assistant
Police Chief Peter Reichard told reporters in a brief news conference Sunday.
Flores said she doesn't know why anyone would want to kill her friend, who earlier this year had written a
piece for the University M agazine questioning the safety of the New Haven campus.
"The only thing I can possibly think of right now is maybe a psychopath, an anti-social person who, I don't
know, maybe got upset about what she wrote back in February about not being safe," she said.
Wedding gifts had been left outside the family home of Le's fiance, Jonathan Widawsky . Their impending
nuptials had led some to believe that Le had gotten cold feet and fled.
But Flores said Widawsky was "perfect" for Le.
He's just so wonderful to her. John was so supportive of her, of her dreams," Flores said. "They would talk
on the cell phone for hours, and they would just be so connected."
The discovery of the body ends a massive search by state and federal authorities that had expanded to a
Connecticut waste-processing facility in Hartford, in addition to the Yale lab, in the hopes of finding clues to
her mysterious disappearance.
Using cadaver-sniffing dogs in round-the-clock shifts, FBI agents and state troopers dressed in hazardous-
material suits began searching the facility in Hartford Saturday night.
Police scanned blueprints of the lab and brought in blood-sniffing dogs, paying particular attention to the
building's basement.
Yale had also offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to Le's whereabouts.
A Prescient Article Written by Le
2 of 3 2009/09/16 06:18 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

After the body was found, Yale president Richard Levin wrote in a letter to the university's staff and
students:
"It is my tragic duty to report that the body of a female was found in the basement of the Amistad Building
late this afternoon. The identity of the woman has not yet been established," Levin's letter said. "Law
enforcement officials remain on the scene; this is an active investigation, and we hope it is resolved quickly."
Adding to the intrigue surrounding the case was an article Le wrote for a campus magazine earlier this year
about how to stay safe on the Ivy League campus.
The article, titled "Crime and Safety in New Haven," was published in February in the magazine produced by
Yale's medical school and compares higher instances of robbery in New Haven to other cities with Ivy League
universities.
"In short, New Haven is a city and all cities have their perils," Le wrote. "But with a little street smarts, one
can avoid becoming yet another statistic."
Le, who is 4 feet 11 and weighs 90 pounds, had left many of her belongings in the lab when she disappeared.
"She left her pocketbook, her cell phone, everything in the lab," Le's co-worker Debbie Apuzzo said.
Le's Facebook page showed her posing in wedding dresses and smiling with fiance Widawsky, a Columbia
University graduate student in physics, whom she described as her best friend.
"He's an amazing kid, just a wonderful, wonderful boy, and he must be heartbroken," Widawsky's friend
Linda M atychack said. "I just can't imagine."
3 of 3 2009/09/16 06:18 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

Excerpt: 'Anticancer' by David Servan-Schreiber http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9502717
Diet, Excercise and Lifestyle Details to Help Battle Cancer
Jan. 8, 2010—
David Servan-Schreiber narrates his personal battle with cancer and how he has held it at bay for more
than seven years.
In "Anticancer," Servan-Schreiber provides the details of his diet, exercise and lifestyle that have helped
him battle this horrible disease.
Read a chapter from the book below, then click here to explore the "GMA" Library for more great reads.
Introduction
Cancer lies dormant in all of us. Like all living organisms, our bodies are making defective cells all the
time. That's how tumors are born. But our bodies are also equipped with a number of mechanisms that
detect and keep such cells in check. In the West, one person in four will die of cancer, but three in four
will not. Their defense mechanisms will hold out, and they will die of other causes.
I have cancer. I was diagnosed for the first time fifteen years ago. I received conventional treatment and
the cancer went into remission, but I relapsed after that. Then I decided to learn everything I could to help
my body defend itself against the illness. As a physicians, established researcher, and former director of
the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, I had access to invaluable information
about natural approaches to prevent or help treat cancer. I've kept cancer at bay for seven years now. In
this book, I'd like to tell you the stories scientific and personal behind what I learned.
After surgery and chemotherapy for cancer, I asked my oncologist for advice. What should I do to lead a
healthy life and what precautions could I take to avoid a relapse? "There is nothing special to do. Lead
your life normally. We'll do MRI scans at regular intervals and if your tumor comes back, we'll detect it
early," replied this leading light of modern medicine.
"But aren't there exercises I could do, a diet to follow or to avoid? Shouldn't I be working on my mental
outlook?" I asked. My colleague's answer bewildered me: "In this domain, do what you like. It can't do
you any harm. But we don't have any scientific evidence that any of these approaches can prevent a
relapse."
In reality, what my doctor meant was the oncology is an extraordinarily complex field that is changing at
breakneck speed. He was already hard pressed to keep up with the most recent diagnostic and therapeutic
procedures. We had used all the drugs and all recognized medical practices relevant to my case. In our
present state of knowledge, we had reached limits. As for more theoretical mind-body or nutritional
approaches, he clearly lacked the time or interest to explore these avenues.
I know this problem as an academic physician myself. Each in our own specialty, we are rarely aware of
fundamental discoveries recently published in prestigious journals such as Science or Nature. Not until
they have been the subject of large-scale human studies do we take note. Still, these major breakthroughs
may sometimes enable us to protect ourselves long before they have led to new drugs or protocols that
will become the mainstream treatments of tomorrow.
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Excerpt: 'Anticancer' by David Servan-Schreiber http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9502717
It took me months of research to begin to understand how I could help my body protect itself from cancer.
I participated in conferences in the United States and in Europe that brought together researchers who
were exploring this type of medicine, which works with the "terrain" at the same time that it addresses the
disease. I scoured medical databases and combed scientific publications. I soon perceived that the
available information was often incomplete and widely dispersed. It only took on its full meaning when it
was brought together and combined.
Taken as a whole, the mass of scientific data reveals an essential role for our natural defenses in the battle
against cancer. Thanks to key encounters with other physicians and practitioners who were already
working in this field, I managed to put all this information into practice along with my treatment.
This is what I learned: If we all have a potential cancer lying dormant in us, each of us also has a body
designed to fight the process of tumor development. It is up to each of us to use of body's natural
defenses. Other cultures do this much better than ours.
The cancers that afflict the West for example, breast, colon and prostate cancer are seven to sixty times
more frequent here than in Asia. Nevertheless, statistics reveal that relative to men in the West, just as
many precancerous microtumors are found in the prostates of Asian men who die before fifty from causes
other than cancer. Something in their way of life prevents these microtumors from developing. On the
other hand, the cancer rate among Japanese people who have settled in the West catches up with ours in
one or two generations. Something about our way of life weakens our defenses against this disease.
We all live with myths that undermine our capacity to fight cancer. For example, many of us are
convinced that cancer is primarily linked to our genetic makeup, rather than our lifestyle. When we look
at the research, however, we can see that the contrary is true.
If cancer was transmitted essentially through genes, the cancer rate among adopted children would be the
same as that among their biological not their adoptive parents. In Denmark, where a detailed genetic
register traces each individual's origins, researchers have found the biological parents of more than a
thousand children adopted at birth. The researchers' conclusion, published in the prestigious New England
Journal of Medicine, forces us to changes all our assumptions about cancer. They found that the genes of
biological parents who died of cancer before fifty had no influence on an adoptee's risk of developing
cancer. On the other hand, death from cancer before the age of fifty of an adoptive parent (who passes on
habits but not genes) increased the rate of mortality from cancer fivefold among the adoptees. This study
shows that lifestyle is fundamentally involved in vulnerability to cancer. All research on cancer concurs:
Genetic factors contribute to at most 15 percent of mortalities from cancer. In short, there is no genetic
fatality. We can all learn to protect ourselves.
Reprinted by arrangement with Viking, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., from Anticancer by
David Servan-Schreiber. Copyright © 2010 by David Servan-Schreiber
2 of 2 2010/01/10 02:16 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

EXCERPT: Helping Teens Declutter Their Lives http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9104719
A Professional Organizer Shows Teens How to Declutter Their Lives
Nov. 19, 2009—
Peter Walsh shows teenagers how to clean up all the junk they've accumlated. His book, "It's All Too
Much, So Get It Together," is filled with summaries, quizzes and stories from teens.
Read the excerpt below, and then head to the "GMA" Library to find more good reads.
introduction
A list of ways You might have Ended up with this book
11. Your boyfriend got it for you as a "joke." Well, at least you thought it was a joke. . . .
10. Your girlfriend gave you that new graphic novel you really wanted, and you found this book tucked
inside the same box. And when you pulled it out and were all, "Oh, what's this?" she opened her eyes very
wide and said very loudly, "OH! WELL, HOW ON EARTH DID THAT GET IN THERE?"
9. You found it shoved into the glove compartment of your car on top of three broken ice scrapers and a
crumpled-up McFlurry cup, with an anonymous note: Thought you could maybe use this.
8. Your best friend tossed it at you and said, "Dude, enough already!" You borrowed his favorite jacket
eight months ago, and for the past eight months whenever he asks for it back, you just motion to that crazy
pile-o'-clutter that was once your bedroom and say, "Well, I know it must be in here somewhere."
7. Your dad came into your room wearing a raincoat and his old football helmet and said, "It's not safe to
come in here without protection!" Then he put the book on your desk on top of those forty-five moldy
music magazines from the eighties that you found at a garage sale. And ran away.
6. You woke up one morning and the book was under your pillow. There was glitter sprinkled around your
bed, and your window was just ever-so-slightly open.
5. Your uncle got it for you as a "very early birthday present" (and your birthday is ten months away).
4. Your mom sent Woofie, the family dog, into your room carrying it in his mouth. She claimed Woofie
bought it for you himself. But that just seems unlikely.
3. Whenever your older sister comes in your room, she pretends to be all upset and screams, "OH, NO!
SOMEONE BROKE INTO YOUR ROOM AND RANSACKED IT!" and then says, "Oh wait, it's just like
that." She gave you this book because she can no longer handle the stress of having to look at your mess.
2. You opened your closet and it just fell out on your head, along with that Best Nap Taker trophy you
won in kindergarten and a half-deflated basketball. You have no idea where it came from. But then again,
you don't know how half of that stuff got in there!
Then again, maybe just maybe . . . 1. You're feeling totally overwhelmed by something in your life. Or
many things in your life. Maybe you were wandering around the bookstore, and when you saw the bright
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yellow cover and the white text popping out at you screaming, IT'S ALL TOO MUCH! you wanted to
high-five the book. Because you can so, so relate. (And trust me, if you feel that way, you're not
alone.)Regardless of whether you got this book for yourself or whether you got it as a gift, chances are the
fact that this book ended up in your hands means you probably have at least a little (and maybe even a
very big) clutter problem. And maybe you are a little (or a lot) (or completely!) overwhelmed. And just
maybe you could use some help getting organized.
People have lots of different thoughts and feelings when it comes to their clutter. Some are aware of their
clutter. Some are too aware of their clutter. For some people their clutter is so overwhelming that they
think it can't be dealt with. Or maybe it's so overwhelming that they can't bear to think about it at all! (I've
known adults who were so overwhelmed by all the clutter they'd collected that they bought an
ENTIRELY NEW HOUSE so that they would not have to clean up the first one. I am not even kidding!)
Some people mistakenly think that only certain types of people can be organized, and that if they're not
organized already, well, then there's no point in even trying! But I am here to tell you that no matter how
bad it is, no matter how unmanageable it seems, it can get done. It will get done. And when it gets done,
your life will be profoundly changed for the better. And I can help. But this book is about a lot more than
just cleaning and about a lot more than just decluttering and about a lot more than just getting organized.
In fact, really, what this book is about is you.
It's about who you are and who you want to be, what you want from your life and how you can best go
about getting it. It's about you and your life and your stuff and how all of those things can work together
more harmoniously. But more on that later. Much more on that later.
Some of the stuff that you're going to be asked to do on the pages that follow might feel like work. I won't
lie. But I also promise it will be fun. I mean, maybe not winning-the-lottery fun, or being-crowned-
prom-queen fun, or bungee-jumping fun (if you're into that sort of thing), but still . . . fun. (Besides, it'll
definitely be better than taking a biology midterm, getting one of your teeth removed, hosting a party for
twenty-five screaming five-year-olds, farting loudly in front of your entire class, farting quietly in front of
someone you have a crush on, or bungee jumping [if you're scared of heights]). And unlike some of the
stuff that you're supposed to learn in school that miiiight not seem like it's going to be super useful for the
future, the stuff you're about to learn will actually help you for the rest of your life. Starting right now . . .
How do I know? Because I've gone into hundreds of people's homes adults, kids, teens and helped them
change their lives. Make no mistake: I don't do it for them. I just give them the tools to do it themselves.
I've seen their smiling faces, and I've heard the relief in their voices as they tell me how by doing things
very similar to what you'll be taught to do in this book, their lives have been changed they've gotten
happier, their relationships have gotten better, they've felt more relaxed and less stressed, and they've
been equipped to reach all the goals they have for their lives.
But first, back up. You're probably wondering who I am, and why exactly it is that so many people have
let me come into their homes and let me poke around in their stuff. Not only let me, but invited me, and
sometimes not only me but entire film crews, so that we could broadcast the most private bits of their
homes on national TV. Why?
Well, that's a very good question. My name is Peter Walsh, and I'm a professional organizer.
I know to some of you that probably sounds like just about the worst job in the world, ranking just above
dog-food taster and toenail clipper to the stars. But the thing is, I love my job. And it's not because I'm a
freak for cleaning, but because I love helping people figure out what they want out of their lives and how
they can go about getting it. I love showing people that buried under all the clutter in their homes is a
better life waiting to be uncovered. I've been a professional organizer for more than a decade. I had a
show on the TLC network called Clean Sweep, in which I helped people declutter their lives. I regularly
appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show and have a regular program on Oprah Radio. I'm a New York Times
bestselling author, and I have written four organizational books in addition to the one you're reading right
now, as well as a decluttering workbook. But I'm not telling you these things to brag. I'm telling you these
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things so that you believe me when I say that I have had a lot, I mean a lot, of decluttering experience. I
have gone into houses where there were tons, literally tons (as in many thousands of pounds), of extra
crap cluttering the place up. And by the time I left, 100 percent of the junk (which equaled 90 percent of
everything that was in the house!) had been removed. So no matter how overwhelming your own personal
clutter might be, trust me that I've seen worse.
How did it get so bad? Why are so many people so cluttered? Well, a lot of reasons really. Some of which
are complicated and one of which is awfully simple: Right now here in America we are all suffering from a
terrible case of over-stuff-itization. To put it another way, we are all obsessed with stuff.
Wanting stuff, buying stuff, getting stuff, having stuff, keeping stuff.
But the thing is, we're so used to being obsessed with stuff, and so used to our friends, parents, and
neighbors being obsessed with stuff too, that it's just become a way of life. And unless we stop and slow
down and look very, very closely, it doesn't seem like an obsession at all. We don't even think about it or
question it. It just seems normal, and we can't imagine it being any other way.
Think about it: When you're driving, walking, or riding the bus through your town, you pass a million
different stores. And what are those stores selling? They're selling stuff. Then maybe you go over to a
friend's house, and you open up a magazine. And what's in between articles? Ads for stuff! And maybe
after that you and your friend sign onto the Internet, and hey, what's that banner flashing there at the top
of the screen? Oh, wait, it's a little message telling us about more stuff we need. Then when you get home,
you might turn on the TV, and at every commercial break people come onto the TV screen and tell you
about all the amazing new products that you're missing out on and that you must go out and buy. Act now!
Act fast! Before it's too late!
Why, sometimes even the shows themselves are all about the stuff you should buy. Like the one that
comes on late at night where that guy tells you that you should definitely invest in some of his giant felt
napkins, because they are just so absorbent and are going to make your life easier and less liquidy. Or that
one where the lady tells you all about how you must, you must, buy this special plastic tube in which a
person can cook spaghetti very easily and quickly (since it's, y'know, so time-consuming and labor-
intensive otherwise?).
Stuff, stuff, stuff, stuff, stuff, stuff,
Well, no wonder you might feel a little cluttered. It's no wonder so many of us do. Wherever we look, we
are told that acquiring new stuff is going to make our lives easier, happier, more exciting, and more fun.
That acquiring new stuff will make us smell better and look better, will make our skin softer and our hair
shinier. That we will be perfectly in shape and smiling big, bright, white-toothed smiles all the time if we
just buy the right combination of appropriate products that will help us achieve all of our goals. But it's not
just about getting the right products; it's about buying the right number of products. And more is always,
always better. If one TV is good, then two TVs are better. And if two TVs are good, then two GIANT TVs
are better. More bigger. More better. It's no surprise that we're running out of room!
But what happens when we find that we have too much stuff and begin to feel overwhelmed by it? We're
told that if we just buy the right plastic boxes, or filing systems, or closet organizers, or special
vacuum-bags that will enable us to pump the air out of our sweaters or better yet a bigger closet in which
to keep our sweaters! then all our problems will be solved. And then we will all drift off into a magical
dreamland where unicorns do our laundry and flying kittens make our beds. And we all live happily ever
after.
The problem is that unicorns can't do laundry. Oh, yeah, and that this dream is not reality.
If having more stuff were the answer, then we'd all be thrilled already! There wouldn't be so many people
suffering from anxiety and feeling overwhelmed by their clutter. But what if all the stuff is in fact causing
some of the crazy problems we're trying to solve with it? What if the answer lies not in having more stuff,
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or even less stuff, but in having a different relationship with our stuff? What if the stuff isn't even about
the stuff?
Confused? Excited? Dubious? Well then, let's get started. . . .
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EXCERPT: 'Lists for Life,' by Rory Tahari http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8782358
You Can Boil Down Major Life Events Into Manageable Tasks, Author Says
Oct. 9, 2009—
In her new book "Lists for Life: The Essential Guide to Getting Organized and Tackling Tough To-Dos,"
Rory Tahari offers checklists and tips for handling major life events, such as traveling overseas, selling a
car, planning a wedding, buying a house, coping with a divorce and planning a funeral.
After reading the excerpt below, head to the "GMA" Library to find more good reads.
INTRODUCTION
I have been a compulsive list maker since I was old enough to write. Some detractors might suggest the
word obsessive, but I like to think that I am highly functioning and efficient. Other list-obsessed women
I'm aware of (Madonna) seem to back up my claim. In any case, from the packing list I compiled for
summer camp as an eleven-year-old to the college application checklist I already have handy for my kids
(who are all under the age of ten), I like to deal with life's challenges one step at a time. For years, I was a
personal resource library for friends and family who needed information. The minute someone got
pregnant, engaged, bought a house, or experienced any other milestone, my phone would start ringing. I
was always happy to dash off a list and was proud that my checklists were helping others navigate life.
When I started getting calls from friends of friends asking me to share my checklists for life's difficult
moments, I realized it was time to go public.
So here it is. This book isn't a beach read; it's not chick lit. Instead, it's more of an owner's manual for
Keep it on the shelf with your reference books, in the kitchen near your day calendar, by your bedside, or
anywhere that's handy. When you find yourself in need of a road map, tear out the appropriate chapter,
tape it to your computer, and let me help you break down an overwhelming or challenging situation, step
by step. I know that sometimes the toughest part of tackling a to-do can be figuring out how to get started,
and I hope that the following checklists, resources, action items, and suggestions will have you on your
way to a more organized and less stressful life.
TRAVEL
I love to travel. I love to see new places, eat new foods, and, of course, shop. However, my love of travel
is almost equal in measure to my aversion to packing. I have often thought that my ideal vacation spot
would be a nudist resort. Sunscreen? Packed! And not much else.
But alas, travel planning and packing are the prices one pays to delight the senses with new experiences.
That being said, nothing can kill a good time like forgetting your antinausea medication or realizing, in
midair, that you never reconfirmed your hotel reservation.
Follow my handy guide to preparing for your trip and, whether you are a senior or taking along Junior, you
will be on the road to fun and adventure! And if you're still not into packing after reading this chapter,
follow the advice of my first boss who always told me that I could forget anything as long as I have my
credit card, passport, and driver's license. You can always buy the rest!
TIMELINE
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Seven to Ten Days Prior to Leaving for a Trip
" Get cash or traveler's checks if necessary.
" Take care of any beauty appointments.
" Cancel any recurring appointments you will miss.
" Type up an itinerary and a list of important phone numbers needed for the trip. Include emergency
phone numbers and the number of the nearest consulate if you are traveling abroad.
" Start thinking about what you want to pack and tie up any loose ends (i.e., pick up items you want to
take from the dry cleaner).
" Alert friends and/or family that you will be out of town.
Two Days Before Departure
" If traveling abroad, alert credit card companies that you are traveling overseas. For all trips, let them
know that you will be charging more than usual so they don't suspend your card due to suspicious activity.
" Put a hold on any delivery services (mail and newspapers) if you're going to be away for more than a
few days.
" Set a timer for the lights in your house so they come on at night and it appears you are home.
" Alert your neighbors that you will be out of town; ask them to be watchful.
" Prepay your bills that might come due in your absence.
" Check the weather report for your destination so you will pack appropriately.
" Refill any medication you will need for travel.
" Pack! (See packing checklist on page 156.)
One Day Before Departure
" Reconfirm all hotel reservation requests.
" Reconfirm your seat assignments with the airline and ask to be added to the standby upgrade lists.
" Set your email on auto-reply.
" Be sure you know how to check your email and voice mail messages from anywhere in the world.
" Give a spare house key to a family member, friend, or neighbor in case of emergency.
" Water your plants.
" Empty your garbage cans.
" Empty the washer and dryer.
" Hide your jewelry, valuables, and important financial documents.
" Charge your cell phone, BlackBerry, and any other electronic devices you want to take.
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" Print out directions to your destination and any phone numbers you may need.
" Give your contact information to family or close friends so they can get in touch with you in case of
emergency.
" Clean out the refrigerator.
" Run the dishwasher.
Day of Departure " Turn off air-conditioning or turn down heat.
" Unplug all major appliances.
" Turn off the washing machine water valve to avoid flooding.
" Check the oven and stove to make sure they're completely off.
" Check all doors and windows to make sure they are closed, locked, and secure.
" Throw out garbage.
" Be sure to pack all of your medication in your carry-on bag in case your luggage gets lost.
" Pack snacks to bring on the plane with you in case there are delays, and especially if you have young
children.
" Check in for your flight online. This will save you time standing in line at the airport.
" Confirm that your flight is on time and what terminal/gate you are departing from.
" Make sure younger kids are wearing Velcroclosure or slip-on shoes. This makes it much easier to go
through airport security.
" Tidy up (it's always nice to come home to a clean house).
" Set the alarm.
" Lock the house.
" Have fun!
After the Trip
" Reinstate all your deliveries.
" Plug in appliances.
" Try to spend the day after your trip as a vacation day or come home on the weekend so you can take
care of everything that needs to be taken care of.
" Schedule a massage (traveling is stressful).
" Make a photo album of your trip.
PHONE NUMBERS TO TRAVEL WITH
If possible, bring email addresses as well, when applicable. Airline (the 800 number); also know your
frequent flier number.
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Car rental company
Cell phone numbers of everyone traveling with you; know their passport numbers as well.
Concierge
Credit card companies, in the event your cards are lost or stolen
Doctors (all family doctors)
Family and friends at destination
Family to call in case of emergency
Friends to call in case of emergency
Hotel phone and fax number
Nearest consulate in case your passport is lost or stolen
Nearest hospital. Have the address, too.
Nearest pharmacy. Have the address and fax number.
Restaurants where you have reservations Travel agent
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EXCERPT: 'Miss O'Dell,' by Chris O'Dell http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8783049
Chris O'Dell Had a Coveted Perch to Some of Music's Most Memorable Moments
ABCNews
Oct. 9, 2009—
Chris O'Dell, who worked as an assistant and tour manager in the music industry from 1968 to 1984,
shares her inside perspective about life with some of our most legendary musicians.
Private photographs illustrate her new book, "Miss O'Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with the
Beatles, the Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved."
After reading the excerpt below, head to the "GMA" Library to find more good reads.
Chapter 1
Derek Taylor February-March 1968
I was sprawled out on the sofa in my Hollywood apartment, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, watching a
game show on the black-and-white, thirteen-inch TV, smoking a joint, and getting really annoyed. My date
was almost two hours late. I was alone in the apartment because my roommates, both high school friends
from Tucson, were out partying. Where the hell was he?
When the phone finally rang around 10:00 p.m., I didn't try to hide the fact that I was upset.
"Chris! It's Allan." He sounded a little out of breath, and from the background noise I guessed he was in a
restaurant somewhere.
"Allan, where have you been?" I said. "You said you'd be here two hours ago."
"I know, I'm sorry, but look, I'm at the La Brea Inn with some friends and there's someone here you have
to meet." Allan was talking fast. "His name is Derek Taylor, he used to work for the Beatles, he's doing
publicity for A&M Records, and, Chris, you just have to come down here and meet him."
"I don't want to go out. I thought you were coming over here." I was still annoyed with Allan, and I didn't
believe that this guy Derek knew the Beatles. The Beatles! Who knew anyone who worked for the
Beatles? He was probably just one of those people hanging out on the periphery who once met someone
who once knew someone who claimed they were once best friends with someone who worked for the
Beatles.
"Chris, you'll really like him." Allan sounded pretty excited, actually. He was almost pleading with me.
"Just jump in your car and come over. Come on!"
I was torn -- should I go or stay? I remember staring at the lamp on the side table, almost as if I thought it
might tell me what to do. Allan seemed sincere about wanting me to join him, and whoever Derek was, he
had certainly impressed Allan. I'd never seen him act this way about anyone before. Oh, what the heck,
whatever happened, it would be better than sitting in my apartment all alone feeling sorry for myself.
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"Okay," I said. "I'll be there in half an hour or so."
"Hurry. I'll be watching for you," he said.
I changed into my yellow-striped bell-bottom jeans and white top with puffy sleeves (Cher in her "Sonny
and" days was my fashion idol), touched up my makeup, and drove to the La Brea Inn on Sunset
Boulevard and North La Brea Avenue. I loved my new beige Mustang, which I'd bought in Tucson for
two thousand dollars. My father cosigned the loan. I'll never forget that feeling of driving off the lot in my
new car, the windows down, the hot desert air blowing through my hair. Oh, that indescribable feeling of
total freedom!
The drive took about fifteen minutes. The streetlights on Sunset Boulevard were so bright it might as well
have been day, and under their glare I began to feel exposed and insecure. Maybe I should have stayed
home. Really, all I'd wanted to do that night was hang out with Allan in my apartment, two friends talking,
no pressure, no stress. I liked it that way. I always tried to take things lightly, not to invest too much,
although I have to admit that even at twenty I fantasized a lot about finding the right guy and a
relationship that would last a lifetime. Maybe this is the one, I'd think when I first became interested in
someone. But when the relationship ended, even though it would hurt like hell, I moved on pretty quickly.
I went with the flow -- one of my great strengths that would also prove, at times in my life, to be a
significant weakness.
I parked my car in the crowded lot and took a few deep breaths, trying to force the anxious thoughts out
of my mind and put a confident smile on my face. I was always uncomfortable walking into a room where
the party was going strong and everyone else seemed to know one another. Never knowing what to
expect, I feared I wouldn't fit in, that no one would talk to me, and if they did, I'd say something stupid or
inappropriate. So I had learned to put on a "face," smiling confidently, walking with a firm stride, my back
straight and head held high while my insides were trembling, whether from fear or excitement I never
quite knew.
The restaurant was dimly lit, and a massive two-sided fireplace in the center of the room separated the bar
from the dining area. A thin fog of cigarette smoke drifted toward the high ceiling, a pleasant hum of
conversation filled the room, and the crackling fire put a pleasant glow over everything. As my eyes
adjusted to the light, I saw Allan waving to me from a table by the fireplace.
"Hey, Chris, glad you made it," he said, giving me a hug and introducing me, first, to the two women at the
table -- a writer named Eve and her friend, whose name I immediately forgot. I wasn't paying attention to
them anyway because I couldn't take my eyes off the handsome man who had pushed back his chair,
waiting for Allan to introduce us. He was so -- well -- so English, dressed in a navy blazer with a silk scarf
tied loosely around his neck and tucked into an open-collared shirt, a drink in one hand and a cigarette in
the other. A well-groomed mustache lined his upper lip, his long hair, layered to look somewhat unkempt,
curled up at the ends, and his eyes drooped in a gentle, lazy way. Just like Paul McCartney's eyes, I
thought.
"Chris O'Dell, meet Derek Taylor," Allan said.
"Lovely to meet you, Chris," Derek said, standing up and taking my hand in his, all the while looking deep
into my eyes. At that moment I felt like the most important person in the world, as if no one else in the
room mattered to him. Dashing -- that was the word for him. He reminded me of the romantic,
swashbuckling Errol Flynn.
I sat down next to Allan and tried not to look like I felt -- out of my element. This was clearly the "in"
crowd. Eve was talking about her latest writing project, and from the sound of it, she was one of those
almost-famous people who really did know a lot of famous people. Dressed in jeans and a flowing silk
blouse, with rings on almost every finger and a huge gaudy necklace that was probably worth a fortune,
she held her head back at a steep angle, eyes slightly narrowed, looking down the steep cliff of her cheek
at me. I'm sure she sensed my insecurity and perhaps that raised the angle of her chin a bit higher.
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"What's your sign?" she asked me, her eyes intent and unsmiling.
"Sign?" I had no idea what she was talking about.
"Astrological," she said, raising her chin a little higher.
I smiled, trying to be friendly. "Pisces," I said. And with that, she turned away and didn't speak another
word to me for the rest of the evening. Like everyone else, she focused her attention on Derek, and who
could blame her? I loved the way his eyebrow lifted in an amused sort of way and how his undulating,
often indecipherable English accent cloaked what I would come to know as a Liverpudlian wit, which
says one thing and means another, poking fun without being blatantly cruel about it. Derek would tell his
stories, spinning his magic with perfectly chosen words, drawing you into his spell, and making you feel as
if there were no better place to be in all the world than sitting right next to him. We drank and talked, and
after three or four glasses of wine, I was feeling much better about everything, especially when Eve and
her friend stood up to leave.
"Deadlines," Eve explained, with a wink at Derek.
Derek, Allan, and I drew our chairs closer together, ordered more drinks, and stayed until the restaurant
closed. Something clicked that night between Derek and me. He told me later that he was attracted to the
fact that I seemed so unaffected by the Hollywood scene and so innocent about the world. I'm not sure
how innocent I was -- I'd been in LA for almost two years, and I'd already had several disastrous love
affairs, I was drinking too much, smoking too much pot, and discovering the joys of amphetamines. But
perhaps it was a sort of youthful naïveté that endeared me to Derek, and later to the Beatles, the Stones,
and all the other rock stars, along with my willingness to withdraw into the shadows and let others take
center stage.
I was always the listener, the eager helper who wanted more than anything to be liked and accepted, the
friend who was content to do what she could to make other people happy. Ever since I was a little girl
growing up in Keota, Oklahoma, I'd learned how to put other people's needs above my own. The
memories are so strong that I can still picture myself, a six-year-old girl with wavy blond hair and blue
eyes who wore plaid dresses with white collars and patent leather Mary Janes with anklets. I'd skip down
the sidewalk of the main street, past the sheriff's office, past the winos sitting on the bench in front of
Burris's grocery story, past the tiny houses where I waved at people sitting on their porches or working in
their yards until I came to my favorite spot, an old oak tree with spreading limbs and acres of grass all
around.
Sitting under the leafy branches, my legs splayed out in front of me, I spent hours searching for four-leaf
clovers. I had a lot of time after school to explore because my younger sister, Vicki, was sick again with
chronic pneumonia -- eventually the doctors would remove part of her right lung -- and my mother was
staying with her in the closest hospital, thirty miles away, across the Oklahoma border in Fort Smith,
Arkansas. My father was always busy at school, teaching or coaching, and I had afternoons to myself. I
was used to being alone. Loneliness was part of me, as familiar as taking a breath. The message I had
internalized was to take care of myself, do the best I could, and no matter what the circumstances, keep a
big smile on my face.
I also learned early on that I was not the center of the universe, but that knowledge did not stop me from
pursuing my dreams. I never stopped looking for the four-leaf clover that would change my life. It was
waiting out there for me, and when I couldn't find it in the shade of the massive oak, I skipped along the
dirt road and looked for it elsewhere. I never stopped dreaming that I would discover something precious
and beautiful, mine alone to keep and treasure.
After we closed down the La Brea Inn, Derek invited Allan and me to continue the party at his rented
home in Laurel Canyon. We sat in the living room, listening, as he rolled a joint and told us stories about
how he'd once worked for a local paper in Liverpool and left that job to work as the personal assistant to
the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein. After touring with the Beatles in 1964, Derek moved to Hollywood to
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become a publicist for Paul Revere and the Raiders and, later, the Beach Boys, Captain Beefheart, the
Byrds, Tiny Tim, and the Doors. But now, he said as he passed the joint around, he was preparing to leave
LA in a few weeks to start his new job in London as press officer for Apple Corps Limited, the Beatles'
new company. His wife and four children (soon to be five and eventually six) were already settled in their
new home in the country outside London.
That was the strongest pot I'd ever had, some Hawaiian stuff that I think Derek called "Icebox." We
listened to the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, playing the Intro and Outro track over and over again, which
cracked us up. Derek continued to regale us with stories about his life with the Beatles, and I sat there
stoned out of my mind, thinking, Wow, so this is how the in-crowd lives in Hollywood. I felt as if I had
stepped into a whole new world. Which, of course, I had.
I look back at that magical evening with one question in mind: What if I had stayed home? We all have
those critical junctures in our lives, when we make a seemingly trivial decision that radically alters the
direction of our lives. It takes only a second, really, and then everything changes.
When I met Derek I was twenty, a high school graduate with a pleasant personality and an eagerness to
please. I didn't have any great ambitions, although I had moved to Los Angeles to get away from Tucson
with the dream of something better happening to me. That was the choice -- stay in Arizona and go to
college (I wanted to major in drama), or leave Tucson with dreams but no plans and see where life took
me. But when I got to LA, I realized I was just a small-town girl in a big city -- lonely, directionless,
insecure, and self-doubting, always waiting, waiting, waiting for a new experience or adventure to come
along. I was free to be whatever I wanted to become, but I had no idea what that was.
That night in the La Brea Inn changed everything. I have lived such a storied life, filled with wild
adventures and unimaginable opportunities, surrounded by rock stars and celebrities, living in times that
were at once magical, thrilling, bewildering, and terrifying. Despite all the craziness and confusion, the bad
(some would say stupid) decisions and the good (I would say lucky) choices, the close friendships and the
bitter betrayals, the drug highs and the inevitable lows, this is my life and I wouldn't change one tiny piece
of it for fear of losing it all. But back then I had no idea that one chance meeting would completely alter
the direction of my life.
"Chris, dear, would you like to join me and some friends for dinner at the La Brea Inn?" I just adored
Derek's voice with its soft, sweet tone and the warmth that seemed to wrap around each word. I had to
admit it -- even though I struggled with the fact that Derek was fourteen years older than me (and married,
with four children) -- I had a huge crush on him. He was attracted to me, too, but the fact that he was
married, with children, stopped anything from happening between us. His conscience got in the way,
which was okay with me because I came to see him as more of a father figure than a boyfriend. A
boyfriend could always dump me, but a father figure would protect me and stand up for me no matter
what.
"I'd love to!" I said. I was sitting at my desk at Ted Randal Enterprises struggling with typing up the latest
tip sheet on the mimeograph paper. Ted programmed radio stations in the US and Australia, picking the
records he thought would be hits and creating playlists for the stations. I hated that mimeograph paper
because it was so unforgiving of typos and so incredibly messy, the blue ink getting all over my hands
every time I touched it.
Derek didn't own a car -- he didn't even know how to drive, which I found sort of strange -- and for the
next three weeks I was his driver, chauffeuring him around Los Angeles as he tied up loose ends and
prepared to move back to London. I drove him to television and radio interviews, sat in on recording
sessions, accompanied him to meetings with lawyers and record producers, and joined him for lunches,
dinners, and drinks with people like folksinger Phil Ochs, screenwriter Carl Gottlieb, film producer Fred
Roos, and actress Teri Garr.
It was all such a frenetic, fantastic whirlwind, with one event following right on the heels of another, that I
didn't have time to go to work. Or so I told myself. For the first few days I phoned in sick, but after a
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while I didn't even bother to call. All I wanted to do was be with Derek for the few short weeks before he
left. When I finally handed in my notice, Ted Randal was clearly irritated with me, but truthfully I didn't
care -- I was young and carefree, Derek was paying for all my gasoline and meals, and he was introducing
me to so many people in the record and entertainment industries that I figured I'd find another job without
a lot of trouble. In the meantime, I was having too much fun to worry about much of anything. I was living
in the moment, and the moment was all about Derek.
One evening, just a few days before Derek left for London, was particularly memorable. I was in my
apartment, getting ready to meet Derek at A&M Records, when he called.
"Chris, dear, tonight we're having dinner with Peter Asher," Derek said.
Peter Asher! I struggled to contain my excitement. Peter Asher, formerly of Peter and Gordon, the British
duo! Peter Asher, brother of Jane Asher, Paul McCartney's girlfriend! Peter Asher! I thought. Wow!
"Okay," I said nonchalantly.
I remember thinking how well-mannered and quintessentially English Peter was as he dabbed at the
corners of his mouth with his white linen napkin and talked to Derek about this new business venture
called Apple. He had much redder hair than I had imagined from his photographs, and he wore black
Buddy Holly-type glasses that might have looked goofy on someone else but made him look cute in a
refined sort of way, if that makes any sense at all. Prim and proper and not one for small talk, Peter
focused most of his attention on Derek. I assumed he was shy because he didn't look at me very often,
even though Derek kept trying to include me in the conversation. When Peter did turn my way, he
swiveled his whole body around at the same time he turned his head, which seemed to me a very polite
gesture and a way of giving me his full attention.
"Yes, my dear," he said to me at one point, and I liked that, having Peter Asher call me "dear." He had a
really sweet smile. I sipped my wine and listened politely as the two men talked about the Beatles' grand
plans for Apple, including separate divisions for publishing, film, electronics, and even an Apple boutique.
Peter was already working as head of A&R, the artists and repertoire division of Apple Records.
After we dropped Peter at the airport for his flight to London, Derek said the most amazing thing.
"You should think about coming to London, Chris."
"London?" I wasn't sure what he meant. Was he inviting me to come visit him?
"Apple is going to be huge," Derek said. "It would be a very good time to appear, you know."
I laughed, delighted by the idea of "appearing" at Apple. Would I just walk in and ask for a job? Was
Derek serious? It seemed so preposterous. I didn't have any savings, and I didn't know a soul in London
except for Derek and now Peter. I couldn't just pack up and move to London without a job or a place to
live -- it was a fabulous fantasy, a scene that I could play out in my mind or in front of my mirror,
picturing myself having tea with Pattie Harrison or chatting with George, Ringo, Paul, or John in a real
English pub. And when I listened to Derek, sometimes I even believed the dream might come true.
Copyright © 2009 by Chris O'Dell and Katherine Ketcham
5 of 5 2009/10/10 09:05 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

South Carolina First Lady's Book Chronicles Marriage to Gov. Mark Sanford
Feb. 8, 2010—
South Carolina's first lady Jenny Sanford was thrust into the national spotlight in June 2009 when her
husband, Gov. Mark Sanford, admitted that he had been unfaithful and had been traveling to Argentina to
visit his lover.
Sanford, who has since filed for divorce, wrote a memoir called "Staying True," a chronicle of her
marriage to the governor.
Read an excerpt of Jenny Sanford's book below, and then head to the "GMA" Library to find more good
reads.
Prologue
I see now that June 24, 2009, was a day that changed forever the trajectory of my life, but it did not
change me.
I woke up early that day, as I have always done during our summers at the beach. The boys and I were at
our house on Sullivan's Island, where we had moved when the school year ended a few weeks earlier. My
mornings there began with a sunrise cup of coffee in the hour before the boys woke. I savored that quiet
time alone as the kitchen filled with light and I wrote in my journal. I jotted thoughts, rarely a narrative of
events, and usually reflected on a passage of scripture. My devotions had become more urgent and
searching in the six months since I discovered that my husband, Mark Sanford, the governor of South
Carolina, was having an affair with a woman in Argentina.
As I sat on a stool at the kitchen island writing, I knew Mark's flight from Buenos Aires was about to
touch down. He had been out of the state (though the world didn't yet know how far he'd wandered) for
several days. The media and his political opponents were asking pointed questions about where he was,
but only a few reporters had called me. Being on Sullivan's -- two hours away from the state capital,
Columbia -- was a blessing on that front. I'd found out only the day before that Mark was in South
America. Within hours, the world would know, and the press would be hovering at the end of our
driveway.
The truth was that Mark and I had been quietly separated and had not spoken for two weeks, at my
request, with clear restrictions on contact with the Argentinean woman he had started an affair with a year
earlier. If he and I were to have a chance at reconciliation, he agreed not to contact her or the boys and
me while he sorted things out. Cut off this way, I hoped, Mark might understand what it would be like to
lose his family in the form he'd always known it. I wanted Mark to ache for what he'd always said
mattered most to him. I thought he got it. Before he left to "get his head right," as he'd explained it to the
boys, he looked me straight in the eye and said, "I will not see her." That morning I knew he had broken
that promise.
My prayers were brief but pointed: "Lord give me strength. Lord let Mark find you. Lord protect our
boys." So many times, I had prayed for the patience to wait this out, or for understanding for him and for
me. I felt the full weight of the day ahead on my shoulders. This time when I clasped my hands and shut
my eyes, I prayed that the Lord would grant me the strength to protect our children in the ugly time ahead,
and I prayed for Mark who was clearly lost.
The only one of the four boys at home that morning was thirteen- year- old Bolton, who was about to
leave for a day of fishing with his uncle and cousin. As he gobbled down his breakfast, I pictured our dear
friend and Mark's longtime aide, Chris Allen, picking up Mark at the Atlanta airport. A loyal young man
who had recently tied his business goals to Mark's political future, Chris had driven through the night to be
there when Mark landed. By now, they were on the road to Columbia. I wondered if Mark understood
that the whole country, it seemed, wanted a full description of his "hiking the Appalachian Trail."
The phone rang. It was Mark calling from the car. "Hey, how are you?" he asked quietly.
"How am I? How do you think I am?" I sighed. "Jenny, be gentle with me," he said in a tired voice.
"Gentle?" I asked incredulously. "Do you know what kind of a storm you are returning to? And where do
we stand?"
"The good news is it's over now," he said of his affair, and then added, "I've already met a reporter at the
airport and told her of my love of adventure travel and so on. I'll call you after I get to Columbia."
I asked again, "What about us?"
"I told you it's all behind us . . . everything's good."
Good?! What part of this did he think was good? I wondered. I had been anticipating this call, searching
for the right way to respond, but everything about his manner caught me off guard, beginning with his
blasé tone. I don't know what he could have said to soothe me, but at least I expected an apology and
some expression of regret. I hadn't detected a note of that in his voice. He was riding down the highway
with Chris arranging for a press conference later that morning and I was one of a number of things he was
dealing with. By the time we hung up, I hoped it was slowly dawning on him that this story about his
"adventure" wasn't going to hold.
There had been many a morning in the six months since I discovered his affair when I had cried about the
state of my marriage, and just as many evenings spent praying with my two girlfriends Frannie and Lalla
Lee. This morning, at least, I wasn't going to cry. I was the one who needed to get my head right. I
grabbed my iPod, smeared on some sunblock, and headed out the back gate to the beach, some two
hundred yards away.
The sun was moving quickly higher in the slate blue sky and the air was hot and sticky, but that thickness
didn't dim the sparkle of the sea. My spirit lifted as soon as I set my flipflops in the sand. Orange and
yellow wildflowers lined the path behind our house that leads to the shore. "His Strength Is Perfect" was
the first tune on my iPod, which helped my spirits too, as I emerged from the corridor of low dunes and
saw the broad beach before me.
This was not in my control, not in my hands, I thought, as the song changed to "I Can Only Imagine."
What my future held was something I, the woman who always thought years ahead, now couldn't imagine.
Could I imagine a life without Mark, the man whose ambitions had been the center of all that we had done
as a family for twenty years? Without him, what was our direction? And how did he feel about me now
that he had seen her? Once we got through this day, both of us had life- changing decisions to make. I
walked more quickly along the shore, smiling when I saw dolphins playing in the surf. At the beach, I feel
wondrously small; my problems are insignificant in this big, beautiful world. This would all sort itself out,
and at some point, I would know what to do next. I felt certain of that and that only. I breathed steadily,
more deeply, and drank in the peace the sea affords, a tremendous luxury in a world and life otherwise
very public.
When I returned, I found that Lalla Lee Campsen, one of my oldest friends in South Carolina, had let
herself in. Of course she was there. I could have guessed that she would be from the moment I turned up
the path home. She sat at the kitchen island with a notepad and a pen, fielding calls. Petite, bright-eyed,
and always smiling, Lalla Lee was the first of Mark's childhood friends to embrace me when this
Midwestern Catholic girl found herself living in the Deep South. In those carefree days before politics
consumed my time, we'd boated together and played many sets of tennis. Our boys had become good
friends, almost as close as Lalla Lee and I had. I was grateful for her steady presence. Whatever this day
brought me, we would face it together.
I heard the door to the carport slam and went to the top of the stairs to see Frannie Reese, my closest
friend on the island, sprinting upstairs toward me, a bundle of energy in her shorts and bathing suit. She
had two cups from Starbucks and handed me one. When we first moved to Sullivan's Island back in 1998,
Frannie's husband, Tim, was away almost as much as Mark had been during his years serving in Congress.
She and I started out as carpool pals, but within months we were picking up each other's kids after school,
taking them to appointments and to practices and eating dinner frequently at each other's homes, herding
our kids around like one big mob. Recently, when my sister Kathy moved to Charleston and had a baby of
her own, she fell seamlessly into Frannie's generosity. Frannie came to see how I was doing that morning.
She said she'd be back before Mark's press conference. I retreated to shower and freshen up.
As I finished getting dressed, I heard Kathy's boisterous voice filling the main room as she came through
the front door. She's an artist with a wicked sense of humor who, like our mom, knows how to make an
entrance. "He wasn't hiking the Appalachian Trail," she announced. "He was getting Argentine tail!" I
laughed. How good it felt to laugh!
Unbidden, my local sisterhood had assembled itself at my house, and my sister Gier was on the plane here
from Chicago. So, too, was my dad, who would be arriving within an hour or two. I thought of Blake and
Landon, ages ten and fifteen, four miles off the coast deep- sea fishing with Lalla Lee's sons and a friend,
and Marshall, our oldest, in the Caribbean, for a two- week summer job. I paused next to the bed that
Mark and I shared, to appreciate how truly I loved and was loved and how nothing that happened that day
could take any of that from me.
Out in the kitchen, Kathy and Lalla Lee urged me to eat, but I had no appetite. We picked at the salads
that Kathy thought to bring. The phone continued to ring, but we were screening the calls. It seemed we
were hunkered down in a safe zone, in our cinder- block fortress by the sea, waiting for the next shoe to
drop.
"So, Jenny, while you were in the shower Mark called again," Lalla Lee told me reluctantly.
"Are you kidding?" Kathy said, grinning at me. "I gave him a piece of my mind when I answered Jenny's
cell. Of course, he thought I was her for a while."
I shook my head, imagining what Kathy had let loose on Mark. Kathy and I have had our sisterly spats,
but we are fiercely protective of each other. I felt safer with her around. After lunch, Chris Allen patched
through Mark, who was polling those he trusted on how much he should reveal. "Should I tell everything?"
he asked, businesslike still.
"Whatever you think is right," I said. "What does Lerner say?" I asked, referring to our longtime media
adviser and friend in DC.
"He says not to get into too much detail," Mark sighed.
I agree with that. But you have to be honest about where you were and why." This was Mark at the
mansion and in work mode. I had long ago come to understand that private talk would have to wait.
The day before, when I knew for certain that Mark was in Argentina, I reached out to my family in
Chicago, and my dad volunteered to fly to Charleston to be at my side, as had Gier. In the coming weeks,
there would be a time when I would need my mom's lively spirit and take- charge attitude, but that day I
needed Dad and his calm. I was folding laundry mindlessly, trying to keep busy, when he pulled into the
driveway. Just the sight of him, tidy in his pressed khakis and golf shirt, made me feel more firmly
anchored to the ground. Yet all I could manage was a weak smile when he walked through the door. Since
Mark confessed his affair to him a few weeks earlier, Dad and I had spoken many times. Now we hugged,
not saying much. Up close, I saw the pain he carried in his eyes. I was not sure what there was to say.
Mark called again, first announcing that the press conference would be later in the afternoon.
"The State has some of our emails," he admitted. I understood that the "our" of that statement did not
refer to me, but to his correspondence with his lover. If they were anything like the racy letter I'd
discovered in Mark's desk that January, I needed to brace myself for another public humiliation.
"How many do they have? How long have they had them?"
"I don't know."
So, my best political, if not spousal, advice: "Well, be honest and get it over with. Whatever you do, don't
talk about your heart."
Then Gier arrived with her boys and mimicked how she had waved as they drove past the reporters and
photographers who slumped, bored, in the driveway. It was time for Mark's press conference, and we all
crammed into my bedroom, some holding hands as we watched Mark enter the Capitol rotunda. He
walked, distracted and guilty, to the podium, squirming, not knowing how to begin. Frannie is the type
who likes to ask questions and she started up. I had to caution her that I wanted to hear every word. We
were somber and a little frightened as Mark started to ramble. He spent considerable time -- it seemed like
an eternity -- apologizing to everyone in his life, every citizen of the state, people of faith all over the
world. Then he revealed the state of his heart. He described days spent crying in Argentina with his lover.
I still don't quite know why I wanted to hear every syllable, but it felt important to bear witness to this in
real time, to hear what the watching public was hearing. That said, I am grateful to this day that I can't
remember much of it. While it was going on, I was in such shock, it felt as though this was happening to
someone else. I wished that were true. Out the bedroom window, I saw a bright orange container ship
heading out to sea on its way to Turkey or China. What I wouldn't have given to be on it!
Finally, no longer able to stand the sight of Mark pining away with tears streaming down his face, Kathy
looked at Lalla Lee and said exactly what all of us were thinking, "Will you call someone and tell them to
please pull him away from that camera?" Lalla Lee called Chris Allen to suggest this, but the press
conference did not end.
As Mark carried on, Kathy moaned, "Let's just end this!" As if taking a cue from his vocal sister- in- law,
Mark did finally finish, but then the commentators began talking about "another politician who cheated on
his wife." Wronged Political Spouses is a list no one wants to be on, but now my name would be featured
there. Immediately my cell phone rang. It was Mark. Lalla returned to the kitchen to handle the house
phone and Frannie went too, to make dinner. I took the call on the porch.
"How'd I do?" he asked.
"Are you kidding me? You cried for her and said little of me or of the boys." I guess he'd forgotten I was
not the one to praise this performance.
We hung up, and I went to the study above my bedroom for some privacy. I wanted to say something, to
respond, to react, even though I knew that was not the usual protocol followed by betrayed political
wives. I'd already missed the part in this ritual where I would stand with head bowed next to him in front
of hundreds of cameras as he made his shameful admission. (If I'd been there, perhaps he'd have gotten off
the stage sooner.) I had never considered myself a traditional political spouse, though, and this wasn't the
moment to start being one. I had been working on a statement.
The night before, over dinner at the Campsens, we had discussed what I could say. Once home, I wrote a
formal onepage statement. Now I reviewed what I'd written to see if it still reflected what I felt. It did. I
wasn't ashamed and I wanted no one's pity. I asked my dad to read my statement and he suggested a few
minor adjustments. Those done, I sent it to my assistant in the First Lady's Office, who emailed it to the
local and national press. I also walked down the driveway and handed it to the reporters gathered there.
Handing over my statement gave me a wonderful sense of release. I knew there would be endless requests
for interviews in the coming days and weeks, and Mark and I would engage in more painful conversations.
For that moment, though, my thinking was complete. I truly believed I would be able to enjoy a relaxed
dinner with my family, and I really couldn't wait to hug the boys as they returned home. I knew in my
heart that whether I reconciled with my husband or not, saying what I truly felt at this time of personal
crisis would begin a new chapter in my life. I did what seemed reasonable to me and it seems to have
opened new doors: doors to sharing, doors to friendship, doors to some kind of peace. Statement from
First Lady Jenny Sanford
(Released 5:19 p.m., June 24, 2009)
I would like to start by saying I love my husband and I believe I have put forth every effort possible to be
the best wife I can be during our almost twenty years of marriage. As well, for the last fifteen years my
husband has been fully engaged in public service to the citizens and taxpayers of this state and I have
faithfully supported him in those efforts to the best of my ability. I have been and remain proud of his
accomplishments and his service to this state.
I personally believe that the greatest legacy I will leave behind in this world is not the job I held on Wall
Street, or the campaigns I managed for Mark, or the work I have done as First Lady or even the
philanthropic activities in which I have been routinely engaged. Instead, the greatest legacy I will leave in
this world is the character of the children I, or we, leave behind. It is for that reason that I deeply regret
the recent actions of my husband Mark and their potential damage to our children.
I believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity, dignity, and importance of the institution of marriage. I believe
that has been consistently reflected in my actions. When I found out about my husband's infidelity I
worked immediately to first seek reconciliation through forgiveness, and then to work diligently to repair
our marriage. We reached a point where I felt it was important to look my sons in the eyes and maintain
my dignity, self- respect, and my basic sense of right and wrong. I therefore asked my husband to leave
two weeks ago.
This trial separation was agreed to with the goal of ultimately strengthening our marriage. During this short
separation it was agreed that Mark would not contact us. I kept this separation quiet out of respect of his
public office and reputation, and in hopes of keeping our children from just this type of public exposure.
Because of this separation, I did not know where he was in the past week.
I believe enduring love is primarily a commitment and an act of will and for a marriage to be successful,
that commitment must be reciprocal. I believe Mark has earned a chance to resurrect our marriage.
Psalm 127 states that sons are a gift from the Lord and children a reward from Him. I will continue to pour
my energy into raising our sons to be honorable young men. I remain willing to forgive Mark completely
for his indiscretions and to welcome him back, in time, if he continues to work toward reconciliation with
a true spirit of humility and repentance.
This is a very painful time for us and I would humbly request now that members of the media respect the
privacy of my boys and me as we struggle together to continue on with our lives and as I seek the wisdom
of Solomon, the strength and patience of Job, and the grace of God in helping to heal my family.

READ EXCERPT: 'On the Line,' by Serena Williams http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8570084
EXCERPT: 'On The Line'

The Tennis Star Reflects on Her Ups and Dow ns
S ept. 15, 2009—
Serena Williams has won every major title in tennis. In her memoir, "On The Line," Williams describes how
she worked her way up to become one of the top women's players worldwide.
For Williams, tennis practice first started in the tough neighborhood of Compton, Calif., where her father
trained her on public tennis courts filled with broken glass. Over the years, she has had to overcome injury
and cope with her sister's tragic shooting. Off the court, she has made her mark in p hilanthropy, fashion,
television and film using her trademark determination.
Read an excerpt of the book below and head to the "GM A" Library for more good reads.
ON THE LINE
Chapter One
Ride a Little, Bump a Little
M y first tennis memory? People always ask about it, but I'm afraid I don't have one. I just remember playing,
all the time. It's like tennis was always there, like going to services at Kingdom Hall. Like breathing. I saw a
picture once of Venus pushing me in a stroller on a tennis court, but I don't actually remember this moment.
I've seen pictures of me holding a racquet taken around the time I started to walk. I don't remember those
moments, either. I've heard all the stories, of course. The ones that have somehow passed into urban tennis
legend, and the ones that still get kicked around in my family. Some of them are even true.
Best anyone can recall: I was three years old. It was a Saturday afternoon, maybe Sunday. M y parents took
us out to the public courts at a park in Lynwood, California, not far from where we lived. It was a total
family affair. There was me, my older sister Venus, and my mom and dad, together with our older sisters
Lyndrea, Isha, and Yetunde. The older girls had been playing for a time, while I had been trudging along, but
then one day my dad announced that I was ready to take my swings, too. He put a standard, regulation-size
racquet in my hand and positioned me a couple feet from the net. Then he climbed to the other side and
started soft-tossing until I managed to hit a couple over.
"Just look at the ball, Serena," he kept saying, in that patient tone and sweet Louisiana drawl I'd come to hear
in my dreams. "Just swing."
Years later, he took to calling me M eeka a variation on my middle name, Jameka. Tunde pinned that
nickname on me when I was about six and it stuck, and I used to love to hear it from my father. He still calls
1 of 11 2009/09/16 06:09 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

me M eeka, and whenever he does it puts me in mind of how things were between us when I was little, when I
was first learning to really play. Say what you will about my dad (and folks have said an awful lot over the
years), he had a gentle demeanor when he wanted to, especially when we were just starting out. He made a
game out of it, encouraging me to swing as hard as I could. Didn't matter to him where I hit the ball, or how I
hit it, just that I hit it.
After every toss, he'd offer a word of encouragement, a point of praise:
"Good job, Serena."
"Way to go."
"That's it."
M y sisters looked on and cheered and chased the balls I missed or hit to the next court. They'd been down
this way before, taking their own first hits Venus, just a year or so before. I'd been around the court long
enough to know what I was supposed to do. It was just my turn, is all. At last. Wasn't any kind of ceremony
to it. Wasn't really any kind of big deal, except when I look back and see how far I've come how far we've all
come, really. M y sister Isha even remembers what I was wearing: a white tennis skirt, with gathers in the
middle, decorated with pink, gray, and purple flowers; my hair braided in cornrows and bunched in a ponytail
at the top of my head. Even then, I was styling. We didn't have money for proper tennis clothes, but I wanted
to look good.
I was tiny. People have a hard time believing this, considering how tall I am now. Venus was always tall for
her age, but I was way on the small side. That regulation racquet was probably bigger than I was, but we
couldn't afford a junior racquet. Over the years, I've wondered if that might have put some kind of stamp on
the way I played, taking my very first swings with a racquet that was too big for me. M aybe that was the
first instance of my dad setting things up so that success was something I had to reach for. It might be there
for the taking, but I would have to rise to meet it.
M y parents taught themselves the game so they could teach it to us. It's one of the first things people
mention when they talk about my career or Venus's and yet for some reason it's not always seen as a
positive. I don't get that, because there's nothing wrong with learning about something and passing it on to
your children. Yes, it was a calculated move. At some point my dad was watching a match on television, and
he couldn't believe how much money these women were making, just for hitting a tennis ball. He's told the
story so often it's been burned into me. He was watching a match being played by Virginia Ruzici, the 1978
French Open champion. The announcer mentioned that Ruzici had just earned $40,000 during one week of
tournament play more than my dad had earned all year. It didn't fi t with how hard he worked for a living,
how hard my mom worked, how hard it was for everyone they knew to get and keep ahead. And so the story
goes that my dad went out the next morning to pick up a newspaper to confirm Ruzici's earnings, to see for
himself if tennis players could actually make so much money in such a short stretch of time. When it turned
out to be true, he came home and said to my mother, "We need to make two more kids and make them into
tennis superstars."
At least that's the line he used to tell reporters after Venus and I started playing on the tour. It became a real
fish-out-of-water story and a symbol of what people can do with a little vision and determination, when they
reach beyond what they know for something new.
2 of 11 2009/09/16 06:09 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

Now, tell me: what's wrong with that? Coming upon some rewarding new path your kids might follow and
pointing them in the right direction? Doesn't seem to me there's anything to criticize here, but people are
certainly quick to criticize, don't you think? In any case, I'm sure the story of how my family came to tennis
has been embellished over the years, but at its core that's just what happened. And there's been some
resentment layered onto it as well, because for whatever reason there's this notion that if you didn't grow up
around the game, if it wasn't in your blood to begin with, you had no real claim on it. Tennis is like that, I'm
afraid. There's a sense of entitlement, of belonging. Like you have to be born to it. Like you have to play it at
a high level, before you can teach it. For the longest time, it was that sense of entitlement that probably kept a
whole group of potentially talented minority and underprivileged kids from taking up the game. It must have
felt to them like a sport of advantage and I guess it was. Indeed, I've always believed that sense of
entitlement is reinforced by the language of the game: advantage me!
No, the doors to the game weren't really closed on anyone, but they were essentially closed. If your parents
didn't play, there was no reason for you to play. If no one in your community played, you'd never think to
reach for a racquet in the first place. If you couldn't afford to be a member of some fancy country club, it
might never occur to you to pick up a tennis racquet and teach yourself the game on some public court. But
my dad saw tennis as a way to open doors for his daughters, probably thinking that the more doors that were
open to us the better, so he ordered some instructional books and videos and taught himself the game. His idea
was to kind of make it up as he went along. He'd do his homework, borrow what he liked from this or that
coach, and find his own way to pass it on to his daughters.
M y mother was pregnant with Venus at the time, and she was out on the court with my dad, working on her
forehand and learning drills, technique, strategy. They were both good athletes, so the tennis came easy. They
were both strong, physical, coordinated. They took to it right away. Before long, they felt like they could hit
well enough to demonstrate proper technique and game strategy. The idea, my dad took to saying, was to
teach his girls to be champions, just like the professional players he saw on television like Virginia Ruzici!
but that really came later. That was part of the lore that attached to my family after we started to have
some success. The mental toughness, the single-minded focus, the positive affirmations, the mind of a
champion . . . all that came later, too, after we took to the sport and started to show some talent for it.
Absolutely, Daddy believed tennis was our ticket up and out of Compton, the rough-and-tumble
neighborhood in Los Angeles where we lived, but he also knew we had to take to it. He knew it wasn't enough
to simply teach us the game and train us to be champions. If that was all it took, then everyone would be
doing it. We had to have some God-given talent and athletic ability. We had to develop a passion for the game
and an iron will to succeed, and all these things would take time presenting themselves. Or not. And so at first
tennis was just something to do, a way for us to be together as a family.
Don't get me wrong: tennis became a real focus for us. Very quickly. It became Daddy's focus, certainly. And
what a lot of people don't realize is my mom was with him every step of the way. This was her deal, too. It
wasn't just that she supported my dad's vision. She saw what he saw; she wanted what he wanted; she
worked for it just as much as he did. She had her own ideas on how we should train and even now, she's one
of the best at helping to break down my game and figure out what's working and what's not. When I was little,
I actually spent more time hitting with my mom than I did with my dad. Venus was usually on the next court
with my dad. And then, when it was time for my older sisters to hit, Venus and I would start picking up balls
for them.
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We all played, all the time. It was our thing. It got to where people would know we'd be out there on those
courts every day after school. There were just two courts at the park in Compton, so the few recreational
players there would know to get their games in during the day, because when three o'clock rolled around
Richard Williams would be pulling up in his Volkswagen minibus, dirty yellow with a white top, with his five
girls spilling out onto those courts like they had their names on them. There were a few more courts at the
park in Lynwood maybe six but we always used the two at the back, and the people there knew we'd be
coming, too. It's not like there were too many people playing tennis on those public courts back then. If it
happened that the courts were occupied when we arrived, we waited our turn. We'd do some drills, or some
stretching off to the side, maybe work on our swings. M y dad never minded the wait. His thing was: no
problem, we'll fill the time.
The courts themselves were in sorry shape. There was broken glass every here and there. Cracks in the
cement. Weeds poking through. Soda cans, beer bottles, fast-food wrappers . . . I've read articles that say
there was drug paraphernalia littering those courts and that we girls had to sweep the syringes and tubes and
plastic bags out of the way before we could play, but I don't remember any of that. When I ask my dad about
this, he says, "Why you want to dwell on the negative, M eeka?" In other articles it says we could hear
gunshots ringing out while we were playing, from all the drive-by shootings. That I remember full well, only
the shots themselves didn't sound all that terrifying until I learned what they were. At first, I just thought
someone was setting off firecrackers or popping some balloons, but once I learned what the sound meant it
would shake me up pretty good. "Never mind the noise, M eeka," Daddy used to say whenever gunfire rang
out. "Just play."
Wasn't exactly Center Court at Roland Garros, but it was all we knew.
We bounced around a lot, from public court to public court. There was one place we used to play that had
these great chain link nets. You'd drill a ball into the net, and you'd rattle the cage and feel like you really
accomplished something even though we were supposed to hit it over the net, of course. M y dad tried to
mix it up for us, but for the most part those courts in Lynwood and Compton were our home base. We
branched out, though and if we didn't like a certain park, or a certain neighborhood, we wouldn't go back.
Once, at Lynwood Park, a group of kids started giving us a hard time. I was probably five or six. Venus and I
were hitting. M y sisters were chasing balls. I don't remember what my parents were doing, but they must
have been there, somewhere. These kids kept taunting us. They called us Blackie One and Blackie Two. It
was so cruel, so arbitrary, but we kept playing. Finally, Tunde stopped chasing balls and chased these kids
instead. She was the oldest, so she felt a responsibility to look after us. She had our backs. I don't know what
she said to these kids when she caught up to them, but they didn't bother us anymore after that.
As kids, I don't think we heard those taunts as racist remarks. They were just taunts. Those kids were just
being mean. If Venus and I had been more typical California golden girls, these kids might have called us
Blondie One and Blondie Two. We were just different; that's how I took it at the time. We stood out. M ight
have been something more to it than that, but I was too young to recognize it. But maybe Tunde heard these
remarks a little differently, and that's why she chased these boys down.
However it happened, and whatever it meant, I looked on and thought, Someday, Serena, you won't need
your sisters to fight your battles for you.
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Over time, Daddy collected all this equipment ball hoppers, carts, cones, whatever he could find to make
our sessions more like the ones in his books and videos. He really tried to create a professional environment
for us on a nothing budget. For a while, the routine was we had to take out the middle seat in our van so my
dad could fit the shopping cart he'd somehow managed to acquire, which he would fill with tennis balls and
wheel out to the court. We must have made an odd picture, crammed into the van like that with a shopping
cart. I'd sit up front with Venus, sharing a seat belt. The big girls sat in back. The cart would be jammed in the
middle, alongside a couple brooms so we could sweep the court. It always felt to me like we were rumbling
along in that van from Scooby Doo, our equipment jammed in so tight we'd have to stick our arms and legs
out the windows to make room.
M y mom would usually meet us at the courts after work. Eventually, it got a little tiresome lugging that cart
back and forth each day with all the rest of our gear, so my father started locking the cart to the rusty fence
surrounding the court. Saved us a lot of time and trouble. This was another example of my parents' approach:
when something worked, they stayed with it; when it no longer made sense, they tried something else. We
still took the balls home with us every night, in buckets and boxes and milk crates and whatever else we could
find to carry them, but now it was much more efficient; now they took up a lot less room.
M an, those balls were precious to us. They were like money in the bank. I don't recall that we ever retired a
ball from our collection. Daddy would take the oldest, baldest, flattest balls and turn them into a drill. He'd
keep them in the mix with all the other balls, but when he pitched one of these special balls to us he said it
would help us with our speed, our footwork, our concentration. I hated going after those balls they just
wouldn't bounce! but Daddy kept them in play.
"At Wimbledon," he'd say, "the balls will bounce low, just like these special balls, so you have to be ready."
Occasionally, we'd hit a ball into the woods or out onto the street beyond the fence, and we'd have to go
looking for it before giving it up for lost. I hit more balls over the fence than my sisters not by accident,
necessarily, but by design. See, I discovered that when Daddy sent me across the street to collect the ball after
one of my errant shots, it meant a break from the hard work he had us doing on the court, so I learned to play
the angles at an early age.
Also occasionally, Daddy would add a new can or two to our collection, and that was always a real treat.
Those fresh balls really popped. You could follow them all afternoon, up against the faded yellow of all those
tired old tennis balls. It always felt like I had to bear down a little harder whenever a fresh ball reached the top
of the pile and was put in play; there was a little more hop to it; it bounced off my racquet with a little more
purpose and authority. Plus, it sounded great the music of the game. I never liked to waste one of those new
balls with a bad shot. It was like a missed opportunity. New balls are like that. To this day, whenever I smell
a can of just-opened balls it puts me in mind of those new cans my dad used to bring out, when those
brand-new balls made me feel like a real tennis player. They were so clean, so yellow, the felt so fine like the
hairs on the back of your head . . . it was almost a shame to get them dirty. Of course, they all got dirty,
eventually. Soon, they'd lose that fresh bounce and they'd get all dirty and there'd be no telling the new balls
from the ones at the bottom of the pile but that didn't mean we stopped playing. No, sir. It only meant
we'd have to get all these other balls to pop with the same purpose and authority, until my father could get us
a couple new cans.
That was the way of things for the first while. We developed our own little routine, our own little family
dynamic, built around this funny little game. We were little girls smacking a ball around inside a box, that's
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what Daddy used to say. And, at first, that's all it was. But then we started showing flashes that we could
really play, when I was about five or six and Venus about six or seven, so my parents changed things up on
us. They went at it harder. They pushed us harder. That might have been their plan all along, but they didn't
go harder until we showed them we were ready. And when we were, we went from playing just a couple
hours a day four or five times a week, to three or four hours a day every day of the week. Some days, we'd
even be out for two-a-day sessions, starting up at six o'clock in the morning before school, and then again after
school, usually until dark. In the morning, we'd sometimes get to the court before the sun was all the way up,
and Daddy would have us stretch or practice our swings until we could see well enough to hit.
I still do that, by the way head out to practice at first light. It's my favorite time to hit, because everything's
so quiet; you've got the whole day in front of you. I hate getting up early really!!! but I push myself. You
can put in a full day's work before your opponent even gets out of bed, and that can give you an incredible
psychological edge to carry into your next match, knowing you're fully prepared, knowing the other girl is
sleeping in while you're out there sweating. And in those moments when I'm waiting for the sun to finish
rising I'll think back to those early mornings on those public courts in Compton and Lynwood, keeping busy
until my dad gave us the nod to start playing.
It got to be a grueling schedule, but none of us really minded it. Or we hardly noticed. We were all together. It
was what we did, that's all. We didn't know any different. We didn't have a whole lot of friends outside of
school. There was only time for each other, for tennis. M y dad tried to make it fun for us. Every session had
a theme, a structure. He'd set up all these creative games, with cones placed around the court, and there'd be a
series of challenges we'd have to meet. Sometimes he'd put up little messages or sayings on the fence around
the court to help motivate us, or maybe just to make us smile. If you fail to plan, y ou plan to fail.
Believe.
You are a winner.
Be humble.
Say "Thank you."
(This last saying was one of his favorites.)
He'd write out these empowering messages on big pieces of paper or oak tag, or sometimes he'd have us write
them out. Then he'd hang them up all around the court. If there was a theme to one of his sessions like
"Focus" all the messages would have to do with the theme. He really put a lot of time and effort into this
part of our training, because he believed it was important. He wanted these messages to resonate, for the
visual image of the word to linger in our minds long after we'd left the court. Years later, when we moved to
Florida, he had some signs made professionally, with his most effective messages and those he put up
permanently.
Basically, he was fooling us into thinking we weren't working, with all those games and messages, but after a
while we caught on. We didn't care, though. We didn't mind working hard. I mean, we were kids, so of course
we grumbled from time to time. Of course we did our little celebration dance whenever it rained, because that
meant we wouldn't have to practice. Of course I hit a ball or two over the fence to buy myself a break while I
went to retrieve it. But it wasn't so bad. Every now and then, my dad would reward us with some time to
6 of 11 2009/09/16 06:09 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

play in the nearby playground, or in the sandbox. That was another great treat for us girls. I used to love
doing cartwheels. Whenever I had a five-minute break, I'd be in the grass alongside the court, flipping around. I
spent a lot of time on the monkey bars, too, as I recall.
Even when we weren't playing tennis, our games were tennis related. One of our very favorite family games
was UNO, which I always thought was fitting for us. We played that game all the time and I mean all the
time! and it really instilled a champion type mind-set. After all, the point of the whole game is right there in
its name to be number one! No, UNO's got nothing to do with tennis, not directly, but it's a great teaching
tool for any individual sport. It instills such a killer mind-set. Every game produces a winner, but UNO is one
of the few games I can think of where you need to announce yourself as the winner just before you actually
win, when you're down to one card, so everyone else around the table has a shot at you. It goes from every-
girl-for-herself to every-girl-gunning-for-the-leader in a flash, and in this way it can really prepare you for the
kind of competition you might face in a crowded tournament field. At first, it's just on you to take care of
your own game, but then everyone is looking to knock you down. I don't know if my parents had this in mind
when they introduced us to the game, but that's the way I always played it.
Sometimes, our competitions were more straightforward. When it was just us girls, playing in the yard at
home, we used to play a game called Grand Slam. Usually it was me and Venus and Lyn. I don't know how
we came up with it. Basically, it was like box ball, or four square. We'd hit a tennis ball back and forth with
our hands. The court was just a square on the sidewalk. If the ball hit the grass, it was out. Sometimes, we
threw some dirt on the sidewalk and it became a clay court the French Open. Then we might throw down
some grass Wimbledon. I won so many majors right there in Compton, all because my dad had us thinking,
breathing, living tennis so much it seeped into our regular childhood games.
It was everywhere and all around. As I look back on those moments playing hand-tennis with my sisters in
front of our house at 1117 East Stockton Street in Compton, California, it puts me in mind of something my
mom used to say when we were kids. "Whatever you become," she always said, "you become in your head
first." That was a real mantra for her. Daddy took to saying it, too. Whatever it was we wanted to do or
become, they'd tell us to see ourselves doing it, becoming it. It's tied in to what my dad was trying to do,
getting us to visualize those words in our minds once we stepped away from his posters and signs. When Isha
came home one day and announced she wanted to be a lawyer, my mom said, "That's great, Isha. Now go and
be a lawyer in your head and the rest will follow." It was the same with tennis even hand-tennis. We
couldn't become champions for real until we became champions in our heads, and here we were, little kids,
winning Wimbledon, winning the French Open, and willing it so.
***
It wasn't long before we sisters started making some serious noise on the local tennis scene. M y father hadn't
known a whole lot about that world going in, but he was a quick study. He always said he had a master plan
for us and that he was "a master planner" and part of that plan was to collect whatever tennis insights he
could find. He moved about by touch and feel; he added to our game plan by borrowing from the game plans
of others; mostly, he watched local pros and picked up ideas and strategies for his sessions with us. By the
time I was seven going on eight, and Venus was eight going on nine, Daddy was scouting area tournaments and
academies, and following the comings and goings of all the young players in and around Los Angeles. It was a
competitive environment and a close-knit community. Everyone knew everyone else, so it's no wonder
people started to pay attention to what he was doing with his girls on these courts all around Los Angeles.
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Our home courts might have been neglected and underused, but as we bounced around we turned a couple
heads, that's for sure.
For one thing, there weren't a whole lot of African-American tennis players on the circuit at any age. That
goes back to the entitlement or privilege that attached to the sport. For another, you didn't see too many
entire families on those public courts. There were seven of us; we couldn't help but turn heads, and over time
Daddy got to talking to all these people and tapping in to whatever was going on in L.A. for kids playing
tennis. This was an important part of our development, and the first time we got any kind of exposure as
players.
He signed us up for all these different events. One day when I was seven he came home and told us we'd be
hitting with Billie Jean King, and of course we all knew who she was. Another big part of Daddy's grand plan
was to get us to learn the game by watching the pros. He had us watching so much tennis on television,
talking all the time about all these great players, that we were terribly excited. We thought Billie Jean would
be hitting with just us, but that's not at all how it happened. There was a clinic, organized by World Team
Tennis, and Billie Jean was one of the featured participants.
Even so, it was a big, big day for us. I remember going through our closet with Venus, trying to pick out just
the right outfit, because even then I was into how I looked on the court. (In Compton, all five of us shared a
closet, so it was always a frenzied time when we were scrambling to find something to wear.) We didn't really
have proper tennis clothes, but we wanted to make a good impression. Lyn and Isha played that day, too. We
all fussed over what to wear, and then, when we finally got to the clinic and started playing, Billie Jean
actually walked over to us during one of the drills. I'm sure she was just being a good ambassador for the
sport, making special time on each court with each group of kids just like I try to do now when I'm asked to
participate in one of these clinics, because of Billie Jean's example but it felt to us like she'd come over just
to watch us play. Like she'd heard about us and wanted to check us out. That was the kind of confidence our
parents instilled in us when it came to tennis; that was how they had us thinking: there were the Williams
sisters, and there was everyone else. Over and over, they kept telling us we were champions, that everyone in
tennis would know who we were, and on and on. After a while, we started to believe them, but here at this
World Team Tennis event it was too soon for all of that. This was just Billie Jean, making the rounds,
working with as many kids as she could. She didn't know us from any other group of sisters out there on that
court.
Unfortunately, the meeting meant more to me when I was looking forward to it than it did when I was in the
middle of it, because I didn't play too well when Billie Jean was hitting to me. Plus, Venus did such a good job
when it was her turn, so that made it even worse. I panicked, I guess. (I was so nervous!) I think I hit every
shot long or into the net, but that's how it goes sometimes. You look ahead to some meaningful moment and
set it up in your mind like it's going to be this huge, consequential deal, and then it just fizzles. The trick,
really, is to find some takeaway moment in the fizzle and carry that with you instead, and here I managed to
shrug off that I'd played so poorly and ended up crying because Venus played so well, and remember instead
that I got to hit with the great Billie Jean King. That alone was pretty huge and consequential.
I think back on that Billie Jean King moment every time I look forward to an event or a milestone or a special
opportunity. Why? Because it grounds me. It reminds me that we can take pleasure and pride in the thrill of
anticipation, but at the same time we must be careful not to invest too heavily into any one situation, in case
it doesn't work out the way we've planned. That's life, right? We get disappointed from time to time. But that
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doesn't mean we shouldn't look forward to anything, or even that we should keep our expectations reasonable.
Not at all. What it means for me is to aim high and to know that if I fall short of the mark it was still worth
doing. Whatever it happens to be, if it's worth looking forward to it, if it's worth taking aim, it's worth doing.
We went to tournaments from time to time. I remember watching Gabriella Sabatini, and thinking she was so
tall and so beautiful, but at the same time thinking, M an, I can beat that girl. That's where my head was at as a
kid. M y parents had me thinking I was invincible. Gabriella wasn't built like the other girls on the tour; she
was big and powerful, almost majestic. I kept staring at her and wondering if I would ever be that tall, that
graceful, that powerful.
Another time, about a year or so after that World Team Tennis event with Billie Jean King, we hit with Zina
Garrison and Lori M cNeil. Here I would have been about eight years old, and these two great players were
pretty much it in terms of role models for African-American girls on the tennis court. They were doubles
partners, so they had a real rapport. This time, it actually was a special opportunity my dad had arranged. It
wasn't any kind of clinic. It was just us, and Zina Garrison and Lori M cNeil. I don't know how Daddy pulled
this off, but he did. There I was, still a tiny little thing, thinking I could take it to these two great players. I
actually thought I could beat them that's how confident Venus and I were in our games. But then we started
hitting and I thought, There's just no way. Oh my God, Zina and Lori were so strong! So quick! We couldn't
hang with them at all, of course, but that was cool. That was just the silent fuel I'd need to put in the tank to
keep me going to the next level.
There was another great program my father found for us in L.A. around the same time: "Youth vs.
Experience." The way it was set up was they paired an older player, usually someone with experience on the
tour, with an up-and-coming kid. Some of the older players were good club players or local teaching pros, and
some were former tour professionals. I'd never heard of the lady I played against, so it wasn't any kind of big
deal, but Venus drew a woman named Dodo Cheney, who'd actually won the Australian Championship back
in 1938. Dodo Cheney was probably in her seventies when she played Venus, and Venus took it to her. She
really did. M y old lady beat me pretty soundly, but Venus beat her.
I mention this because Venus was really the first to make a name for herself, and it was largely through
outings like this one and her usual strong showings in local tournaments. I still remember the very first
article written about Venus. We all remember it, because it set in motion one of our favorite family adventures
or misadventures, I should say. The article was in a local newspaper, the Compton Gazette. Here again, I
was about seven or eight. The article was about Venus, mostly, but it was also about all of us. How we
trained together on the public courts around town. How our parents taught themselves the game. How the
tennis world was expecting great things. And on and on.
Daddy was so proud when the story came out that he wanted to grab as many copies of the paper as he could
for souvenirs. His idea was to drive around to all the houses in our community on the morning the papers
were delivered and swipe them from people's yards. Not the most neighborly solution, to be sure. Not the
most practical, either. I mean, here he was, excited that we were finally getting this positive publicity for our
tennis, and at the same time negating all that publicity by taking away all those newspapers so folks couldn't
read about us. He could have just called the Compton Gazette office and asked for some copies, or gone to the
local drugstore and bought as many as he needed for about twenty cents apiece, but these options never
occurred to him.
9 of 11 2009/09/16 06:09 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

So off we went, on our family paper-grab. It wasn't the most logical operation. Daddy would drive the van up
and down the street, and whenever he spotted one of those rolled-up newspapers on some driveway or front
walk, he'd pull over, get out of the car, and scamper over and swipe the paper. Then he'd race back to the car
and drive off. It was such an absurd scene, and we girls were sitting in the back of the van, giggling about it,
until finally Isha suggested that they could hit a lot more houses if she was the one doing the driving. The rest
of us weren't too happy with this idea, because it meant we'd collect all the papers we needed that much
sooner, and after that we might have to go and practice. As it was, we were missing p ractice for this, and
whenever we missed practice, for the weather or for any other reason, it was something to celebrate.
M y father thought about this awhile and agreed this might be a better approach. At the very least, he might
get us back on the practice court that much sooner. Only trouble was, Isha was just thirteen and couldn't
drive. She said, "How hard can it be, Daddy?"
Daddy said, "Are you sure?"
Isha said, "Yes, Daddy. I can do it. I can do it."
That's how it was with us girls. Nothing was out of reach.
So that was the plan. Wasn't a very good plan, but it was a plan. Isha got behind the wheel. I climbed into the
backseat with Venus and Lyn. Daddy walked alongside the van, and off we went. Only we didn't get very far.
Isha had some idea what she was doing, but not a lot. She didn't have a great concept of space or depth or any
of those things you figure out when you're an experienced driver.
She didn't understand how close she was to the cars parked on the side of the street, and she proceeded to run
right into one of them. And then another. Took off a couple side mirrors along the way. It was crazy!
Daddy had managed to collect a couple papers before Isha started to lose control of the van, but now he was
running alongside and yelling for Isha to step on the brakes. He was yelling, but mostly to be heard.
Underneath the loud voice, he was surprisingly calm. He said, "Hit the brake, Isha." And then, when she did,
he came up to her window and said, "Are you okay?" His tone was soft; he wasn't mad. Anyway, he didn't
sound mad, and that was always one of the nicest, most reassuring things about my dad. We were just kids,
so I'm sure we set him off from time to time, but he would just take a deep breath and let his frustration pass
and then deal with whatever it was in a calm, patient manner.
M eanwhile, in the backseat, the three of us were trying to climb out the window. We were so scared! Isha
was crying, crying, crying. Daddy was more embarrassed than anything else. Frustrated, too, because his plan
had somehow backfired. Now he had to wait out there in the street and talk to all these people whose cars
Isha had hit. Can you imagine! We didn't mention that we took their newspapers, just that we hit their cars,
and then we had to drive over to the ATM to take out money to reimburse them for the damage, money we
didn't really have to spare. I think it cost us over one hundred dollars, when if we had bought the papers at
the newsstand it would have just been five or six dollars.
We laughed about it, though. Right away, we laughed about it.
We sat in the back and turned it into a song. Lyn made it up to poke fun at Isha, but we all joined in soon
enough. We sang: "Ride a little, bump a little, tear the mirror off a little . . ." It came with its own little
10 of 11 2009/09/16 06:09 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

singsong melody. It got to be a long-running joke in our family, one of those Greatest Hits type stories you
take out and tell over and over again. Isha gets all red-faced whenever we bring it up, whenever we start
singing, because it certainly wasn't her finest moment, but even now, all these years later, that little song can
get us going. One of us will fall in to singing, and the others will chime in, and at the other end we'll just laugh
and laugh and remember what it was like out there in Compton, back when we were all still making it up as
we went along, learning the game by touch and feel, on some level knowing our world was about to open up
for us in a big-time way.
11 of 11 2009/09/16 06:09 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

Michelle Obama's Brother, Craig Robinson, Talks About Being Big Brother to First Lady and
Meeting Obama
By JEN WLACH
Feb. 4, 2010 —
On the basketball court at Oregon State University, Coach Craig Robinson was known as the two-time Ivy
League Player of the Year from Princeton and former Brown University coach who had been working
diligently for two years to transform a once-storied program.
But off the court -- and pretty much everywhere else in the world -- Robinson is known by a different
title: big brother of first lady Michelle Obama. Before she took up residence in arguably the most famous
house in America, Robinson recounted when she was just his little sister who was starting to date some
guy named Barack.
"When you meet your sister's boyfriend, he's not the president of the United States, you know what I
mean?" Robinson said. "He's just some guy that you're meeting who likes your sister. And in my sister's
case, I was glad to meet him, because most guys -- they didn't make it that far. They got cut before the
games even started."
After a lifetime of being the older sibling in the spotlight, Robinson said he was glad to step back and
watch his kid sister take center stage on the world stage.
"I think I'm having more fun being her big brother than she had being my little sister. You know, growing
up, it was basketball and Craig. But now, you know, being Michelle Obama's brother is pretty cool."
A little more than a year since watching his family become the first family, Robinson still caught himself
in moments that he said are awesome and humbling.
"When I'm talking to her on the phone, I never think, 'Hmm, she could be sitting in the green room talking
to me.' But then you go to her house. And then you realize you're sitting in the White House. And it's like,
'Oh my goodness, can you believe this?'"
For Robinson, it's all still a bit surreal. He remembered the time when Michelle asked him to test Obama
on the basketball court. It was their father's adage on sportsmanship that led Michelle to ask the favor of
her big brother.
"She called me up and said, 'Hey, listen. Barack fashions himself a basketball player, and I want you to
take him to go play with you and see what kind of guy he really is, because she grew up hearing my dad
and me talk about how you can tell people's personality on the court in sports in -- in stressful situations."
Robinson: Conversations Center Around Family, Not Policy
According to Robinson, Obama stood out immediately, both on and off the court, showing a friendly
demeanor, good sense of humor and some athletic prowess.
"He could play. You know, 80 -- 85 percent of the people out there are pickup basketball players. He
could fit in with all of 'em. & The thing that I liked the most that he did -- was that he did not just pass me
the ball, because he was dating my sister. That was impressive."
It's well known that basketball played a big role in fostering Robinson's close relationship with Obama.
Even now, he said the president kept track of Oregon State's schedule and will call him after big wins.
But when asked whether their phone conversations turned to politics, Robinson said the two don't talk
policy. And though he isn't one to offer political counsel, it didn't mean others weren't soliciting their own
advice free of charge. Robinson said people are always sending him messages, gifts, packages -- even
health care proposals -- for the president.
"There were -- a few people who sent me -- you know, these thick packets with their views on health care
and their idea on how to fix it. & So that kind of stuff I pass along to the right channels."
Robinson said his conversations with the president and first lady center on family, especially the kids. He
and his wife, Kelly, recently added one more to their brood -- son Austin, born last month. He said he is a
hands-on dad, handling some overnight feedings before heading out to daily 5:30 a.m. team practices.
Robinson admitted he was a tough coach -- disciplined but fair. It's all part of his strategy to teach his
players about life beyond the basketball court, to instill in them the lessons he learned from his parents,
Fraser and Marian.
"My parents always had this thing that there is no such thing as peer pressure if there's parental pressure. I
never had to deal with peer pressure. I never had any friends who could talk me into doing something that
my parents would be disappointed in. Never, because it was the ultimate insult to me as a son to
disappoint my mom and dad. I try and do the same thing with my players."
Robinson, who says his parents are his heroes, also mentioned another critical lesson that has become
especially poignant for the first family, who now live under the biggest microscope there is.
"My mom always said, 'Make sure your underwear's clean, 'cause you might get hit by a car.' All that stuff
that you do to make sure you live your life the right way. You never know who's gonna be watching. Well,
who would have ever thought? Everybody's gonna be watching. & It's the same advice that old school
moms gave people. You never know who's watching you. And -- and you never know where you're gonna
end up, especially in this day and age."
Looking back on the first year for the Obamas, Robinson recalled attending the Inauguration, getting to
play basketball with his son at Camp David, even bringing his team to visit the White House. He even had
the chance to stay in the Lincoln bedroom, adding, "I couldn't even sleep, because I was worried about
breaking something in there."
When asked as a coach what advice he would give Obama as a first-year assessment, Robinson said,
"Stick with your game plan ... your overall philosophies and beliefs. Stick with 'em, because that's what got
you to where you are. That's the first thing I'd tell him. And then the second thing I'd tell him is -- go with
your strengths."
As for his sister's job as first lady -- it was no surprise to Robinson that Michelle would outline an initiative
centered on children. Just last week the first lady unveiled her latest program, tackling childhood obesity,
adding another facet to a platform focused on good health and eating habits.
"She has always been -- conscious of being healthy, even before she was in the spotlight. Her kids ate
well. Her family always ate well. And it was something that we sort of took -- kind of took on as a family
-- you know, when you see your dad go through a debilitating disease, it just makes you think about how
you take care of yourself."
As the college basketball season ramps into full gear, Robinson remains focused on coaching. Oregon
State is currently 9-12 and set to play the University of Oregon this Saturday. As for 2010, Robinson said
he looked forward to more family trips and playing some basketball on the White House tennis-turned-
basketball court.
And though he enjoyed playing with Barack back when he was just "Michelle's boyfriend," Robinson may
think twice now about picking teammates. When asked who is the better player between Obama and body
man Reggie Love (a former Duke basketball player), Robinson said with a laugh, "Reggie Love. You
know, if you weighed and averaged them for age, it'd still be Reggie."

First Lady to Launch 'Very Ambitious' Campaign to End Childhood Obesity in One
Generation
By LEE FERRAN
Feb. 9, 2010—
Michelle Obama formally announced today what she called a "very ambitious" program to end the
American plague of childhood obesity in a single generation.
"We want to eliminate this problem of childhood obesity in a generation. We want to get that done," the
first lady told "Good Morning America's" Robin Roberts in an exclusive morning television interview.
"We want our kids to face a different and more optimistic future in terms of their lifespan."
The far-reaching, nationwide campaign called "Let's Move" calls for a myriad initiatives that target what
Obama calls four key pillars: Getting parents more informed about nutrition and exercise, improving the
quality of food in schools, making healthy foods more affordable and accessible for families, and focusing
more on physical education.
"We all know the numbers," Obama said. "I mean, one in three kids are overweight or obese, and we're
spending $150 billion a year treating obesity-related illnesses. So we know this is a problem, and there's a
lot at stake."
While the federal government will play a role in the initiative, Obama said it is a "minor player in a very
big approach.
"There's no expert on this planet who says that the government telling people what to do actually does any
good with this issue," she said. "This is going to require an effort on everyone's part."
Battling Childhood Obesity: The Federal Government's Role
This morning, President Obama signed a presidential memorandum to create the first-ever federal task
force to provide "optimal coordination" between private sector companies, not-for-profits, agencies within
the government and other organizations to address the problem of childhood obesity.
"We think that this has enormous promise in improving the health of our children, in giving support to
parents to make the kinds of healthy choices that oftentimes are very difficult in this kind of environment.
And so I just want to say how proud I am of the first lady for her outstanding work," the president said, as
she looked on.
The task force will be charged with coming up with a "long-term action plan" after an extensive review of
all federal nutrition programs.
"I have set a goal to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation so that children born
today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight," the text of the president's memorandum reads. "The first
lady will lead a national public awareness effort to tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity. She will
encourage involvement by actors from every sector -- the public, nonprofits, and private sectors, as well
as parents and youth -- to help support and amplify the work of the federal government in improving the
health of our children."
President Obama also plans to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act, the first lady said, and is proposing a
$10 billion budget increase -- $1 billion a year for 10 years -- to help provide nutritious school lunches to
those who qualify.
Battling Childhood Obesity: In the Schools
On the front lines in the war against childhood obesity are the nation's schools, where Michelle Obama
said 30 million American children are getting "a majority of their calories."
In addition to the government's effort to support nutritional meals in schools, the first lady said there also
needs to be a focus on physical activity in school.
"Because of budget cuts, we're losing recess, we're losing gym classes," she said.
In some states physical education is not mandatory for students. In Florida, where state law requires
elementary and middle-school students to participate in physical education classes, a waiver option
allowed thousands of students to opt out.
"When we were growing up it wasn't a choice," Obama said. "It wasn't either learn how to read or you
learn how to run. We did both. ... And there are schools, even without additional funding, that are figuring
out ways to do it."
Battling Childhood Obesity: In the Family
The first lady said she can relate to everyday families when it comes to the stresses of life and the effort it
takes to eat healthy.
"Even though I live in the White House today, and I've got a lot of help ... I still relate to the stress and the
challenge of doing what you know is the best thing for your child.
"And parents are hitting up against a brick wall, again, trying to make it all work -- hold down a job, get
kids to activities, cover homework, get them to extracurriculars and then let's shop and cook for meals?"
To help parents, the first lady said she's working with the Food and Drug Administration and major food
manufacturers and retailers to make it easier for parents to identify healthier foods by placing nutrition
labeling on the front of the package.
Also, Obama wants to work with local mayors and governors to create a "tailored approach" to getting
their citizens healthier based on the challenges each community faces. The American Academy of
Pediatricians is partnering with the government to educate pediatricians to work more closely with
families when it comes to weight.
Obama doesn't expect families to make drastic changes, only to balance indulgences with healthy options.
"I love burgers and fries, you know? And I love ice cream and cake. So do most kids. We're not talking
about a lifestyle that excludes all that. That's the fun of being a kid. That's the fun of being a human,"
Obama said.
ABC News' Sunlen Miller contributed to this report.

Aiesha, 15, Asked for an Escort, Warned Guards and Cops About Attackers, Got Beating But
No Help
By LEE FERRAN, SHARYN ALFONSI and EMILY FRIEDMAN
Feb. 15, 2010 —
The victim of a vicious teen beating said security ignored her before, during and after the attack at a
Seattle bus stop that left her unconscious.
"I warned the guards about the situation," Aiesha, 15, told "Good Morning America" in an exclusive
interview. "I still have yet to hear any of their voices. ... After the situation, they told me I had to clear the
area because there are other riders who have to get on the buses."
In addition, before going into the bus tunnel she told two Seattle police officers twice that she was in
danger, but they declined to help her.
At the bus stop, "Nobody even acknowledged that I was in their presence," she said.
In the surveillance video that caught the assault on tape, Aiesha is seen getting jumped from behind by
another girl in front of a trio of uniformed guards.
Click here to watch the raw video of the attack.
As she fell to the curb of the Westlake Center transit terminal, Aiesha is straddled by one of her assailants
and then surrounded by other teens who start to rob her of her belongings. One security guard can be seen
standing directly over Aiesha as she is stomped and then kicked in the head by a teenage girl. After the
beating, the attacker walked away.
"When it actually happened, it happened so quick," Aiesha said. "I can't really describe or explain or tell
you what I remember. ... I didn't know how horrifying it looked. It made me sick to the stomach."
Aiesha said after the attack that no one offered to help her except for one woman who helped her to her
feet. With the assailants still in the area, Aiesha said the officers still refused to call for help or to take her
anywhere where she'd be safe.
Aiesha's mother, Letta, who appeared with her on "GMA," said she had to watch the video in separate
segments, because she would become too emotional in extended viewings.
"I don't know if I was more horrified about the kicking or about the guard standing there," she said. "She
still was passed out once the assailants left. Everybody just resumed ... walking over her."
The family's attorney, James Bible, said it is "certainly" considering further legal action both against the
city and state.
"As a mother, I want to see justice served," Letta said.
According to King County Sheriff's Department spokesman John Urquhart, the security guards at the
terminal did what the job required.
"They are to observe and report," Urquhart told "Good Morning America." "And that means be a good
witness and call 911. And that's exactly what they did."
Seattle Authorities Respond to Criticism
In response to the beating at the Seattle public bus terminal, the King County Sheriff's Department said
last week it had placed sheriff's deputies at each bus stop inside the terminal.
"There have always been deputies assigned to the tunnel, but not enough for each stop. Now we have at
least one on all five platforms," Urquhart said Friday.
"I think there is a general feeling in Seattle that the bus tunnel isn't safe. That wasn't true before the beat
down, and it isn't true now & but is important to reassure the public," Urquhart said.
Urquhart said last week his office had received calls from an outraged public demanding answers as to
how this incident could have happened.
King County Metro Transit hired a private security company, and the company said it had standing orders
to only "observe and report."
"They have policies and mission and rules about what they can and can't do," Urquhart said.
The security system is under review, and the additional force from the Sheriff's Department is only an
interim solution. The private security guards will still remain in the tunnel, Urquhart said.
This is not an unusual case, according to security experts from around the county. Most private security
guards under contract by cities, shopping malls and businesses work under strict rules to retreat, not to
jump in, if something goes wrong.
Yet the video also shows other people standing on the platform who did not break up the teenage fight.
Urquhart said it is easy to "Monday morning quarterback" and say that you would have stopped the
attack.
"Often in these situations people are just so stunned & they don't intervene," Urquhart said.
Some witnesses said they did not do anything because they mistakenly believed that the men with
"Security" written across their backs would actually provide some.
"I went to the security and told them that these kids were trying to jump me," Aiesha said in her statement
to investigators that ABC News obtained. "I know that I am about to get jumped, and I am hanging around
the guards to try and get protection."
"I thought the security guards would defend me," she said.
Victim: Officers Ignored Warnings
The altercation first began at approximately 7:15 p.m. on Jan. 28, inside a Macy's and then later in a
Nordstrom's department store in the Westlake Center, a mall in downtown Seattle.
When an 18-year-old male member of the group got "in the face" of the 15-year-old victim and threatened
to kill her, police asked the group to leave the store.
Those same officers, Aiesha said, refused to escort her to the bus terminal even though she said she'd told
them she feared she was about to be attacked.
"I asked them to take me to the tunnel, and they said they couldn't because they didn't have time for kids
who started trouble," she told investigators. "The same group that wanted to fight me came up to me right
in front of the officers. The officers were just standing there looking around."
Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, a Seattle police spokesman, told ABC News last week that the officers could only do
so much before a crime was actually committed, and had told the victim and her friend to go home and get
away from the assailants at least two times before the attack occurred.
"The officers were aware of several verbal disturbances in the area, some of them that included this victim
and the would-be assailants," said Whitcomb. "The officers separated the groups and instructed all parties
to leave the area, especially making note to the victim that it would be wise to catch a bus and go home so
she'd be free from any harassment."
"Ultimately, had the officers known what the outcome would be, they would have absolutely just called a
cab for the victim," he said. "But when no crime has occurred, officers' abilities to take any further action
are severely curtailed."
During the assault, some of the assailants stole the victim's purse, book bag, cell phone and iPod,
according to police.
Thursday the 15-year-old girl who is accused of the assault pleaded not guilty to attacking and robbing the
victim. If she's convicted, she faces up to 2½ years in juvenile detention, according to ABC News' Seattle
affiliate KOMO-TV.
Three others who have been arrested have also been charged with first-degree robbery and will be tried as
adults in King County Superior Court later this month.

Counterfeit Perfumes May Contain Urine, Bacteria, Antifreeze
By ELISABETH LEAMY and VANESSA WEBER
Jan. 27, 2010—
For most shoppers, getting fancy-looking goods at low prices is a good enough reason to buy counterfeit
products. But a knockoff is not always a great deal, especially when it comes to counterfeit perfume,
because a fake fragrance gets absorbed into the skin.
"Active ingredients found in counterfeit fragrance include things like urine, bacteria, antifreeze," Valerie
Salembier, senior vice president and publisher of Harper's Bazaar, said.
Salembier and her staff have dedicated themselves to exposing counterfeits for more than six years. In the
January issue of Harper's Bazaar, they target fake fragrances. They brought the issue of counterfeit
perfume to "GMA's" attention.
"You're putting something on your face, on your neck, on your wrists. Those are sensitive parts of the
body, so, to have active ingredients that could endanger your life is a very serious health risk," Salembier
said.
Authorities in Britain and Ireland tested fake fragrances they'd seized and detected urine. Experts
speculate it's used as a ph balance stabilizer and for its color
Dermatologist Jeannette Graf, of Great Neck, N.Y., said she had never seen a reaction from real
perfumes, but fake ones can cause contact dermatitis, or an inflammation of the skin.
"They will invariably say that they felt different as soon as they put it on. They felt burning. They saw
redness. It felt uncomfortable, it didn't smell right. And that's almost immediate," Graf said.
Click here for more information on how you can spot a fake perfume.
Graf said she is beginning to see more cases, because counterfeit perfumes are easy to buy on the streets
and the Internet.
"People have access to things ... they would not have necessarily had before," Graf said.
Police are stepping up their raids to get the merchandise off the streets and off the market. But just as one
shop is shut down, another one pops up.
ABC News' undercover cameras documented shelves upon shelves of fragrances that experts said contain
the telltale signs of counterfeits.
"We see it happening every day. I mean, whether it's vendors [selling] out of their trunk at athletic events,
whether it's kiosk-type people at flea markets, sometimes, they actually get into the shopping centers,"
Elaine Marshall, North Carolina's secretary of state, said.
Attempt to Drive Down Demand for Fake Fragrances
Earlier this month, Marshall's team and other federal and county agencies conducted a raid at a liquidation
sale in downtown Durham.
The team seized $3.6 million worth of counterfeits, including fake perfume.
"We want to drive down demand. We want people to realize that it's not a bargain. It's not a bargain
because they're dealing with some bad folks," Marshall said.
So the next time you reach for a fake another word should come to mind: fraud.
Click here for more information on how you can spot a fake perfume.
"It is not a victimless crime. The money spent on counterfeit goods supports terrorism, child labor, drug
cartels," Salembier said.
Click here to read a statement from the Personal Care Products Council.

Father's Day Gifts He'll Actually Enjoy http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=2088190
Forget the Cuff Links This Year
June 17, 2006 —
If you haven't bought your gift yet for Father's Day, you've still got time. Here are some really fun and
original ideas from "Good Morning America" tech guru Becky Worley. So forget the cuff links this year,
because here are some gifts that dad will truly enjoy.
Izod G-Fresh Anti-Fungal Golf Shirts, $55
It's hot, it's muggy, but Dad still manages to play 18 holes of golf in the sweltering heat. Izod has a new
line of good looking golf shirts that do something nice for Dad, and do something nice for those who love
Dad. G-Cool fabric keeps moisture away from your skin and has SPF-40 protection. Not only will Dad be
less smelly, but he will also be protected from damaging sun rays!
Club Champ Kooler Klub, $29.99
Dad must get thirsty out there on the golf course -- not like that would ever stop him from spending hours
out on the green. But he'll thank you for the Club Champ Kooler Klub, which is a drink dispenser and
cooler that looks like a regular gold club. The Kooler Klub holds 48 ounces of any hot or cold beverage
and features an easy-pump dispenser.
The One Minute Drink Chiller by Hammacher Schlemmer, $99.95
This amazingly fast drink chiller, which cools down cans and bottles of beer, soda, and wine 90 times
faster than the fridge and 40 times faster than the freezer, looks like a sleek space-age toaster. Plus, it
comes with a 12-volt car adapter so it's perfect for tailgating or road trips.
Gorilla Pod by Joby, $24.95
Ever notice how Dad isn't in any of the family pictures? That's because he's taking the photos. The
Gorrilla-Pod may help to get Dad in the picture too. It's an incredibly versatile tripod that is easy to carry
and hooks onto almost any surface. Now we just need to teach him how to use the timer on the camera.
Wego Flying Kite from Sports Stuff, $599
Tubing meets parasailing! Tow-behind boat floats are boring compared to this flying tow-behind raft --
which actually leaves the water and lets you fly behind the boat. Some dads will want to ride on it, while
others may have more fun just driving the boat.
S.Beat MP3 Swiss Army Knife by Victorinox, $215
Dad might not be ready for an iPod, but there is a gentler way to introduce him to digital music. This
gadget from Victorinox includes an MP3 player in a traditional Swiss Army knife. So, Dad can file his
nails and listen to music. The player can be removed from the knife body in a single step, so Dad can take
the player on an airplane and enjoy music on the flight.
Personalized Branding Iron by After 5, $49
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Father's Day Gifts He'll Actually Enjoy http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=2088190
If your dad is king of the grill, then he will love branding the meat with his initials. This gadget will make
your dad love grilling even more, if such a thing is even possible.
2 of 2 2009/12/15 06:09 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

FBI Arrests Three Men in Terror Plot that Targeted New York http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8618732
FBI Arrests Three Men in Terror Plot that Targeted

New York
Documents Allege NYPD Informant Went Bad, Tipped Off Subjects to Surveillance
By BRIAN ROSS, RICHARD ESPOSITO and CLAYTON SANDELL
Sept. 20, 2009—
The FBI arrested three men overnight on charges they lied to federal agents during an investigation of a
terror plot against New York City that authorities say was "the real deal."
Agents in Denver arrested Najibullah Zazi, a 24-year old airport shuttle driver, who authorities say
appears to be the ringleader of the alleged plot. Also charged with lying to the FBI was Zazi's father,
Mohammed Zazi.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE NEW YORK TERROR PLOT AND OTHER
TERRORISM STORIES.
In New York, the FBI arrested the leader of a Queens mosque, Ahmad Afzali, who authorities allege had
been a New York police department informant but "went bad" and tipped off Zazi, his father and others to
the investigation.
Afzali's alleged double cross compromised the case and led the FBI to move in on the suspects much
earlier than they had wanted and led to extreme tensions between the Denver office of the FBI and the
NYPD. One law enforcement official said the NYPD had been specifically asked not to reveal the
investigation to its informants, but went ahead anyway.
Click here to watch Zazi denying al Qaeda ties to television cameras.
In affidavits filed in connection with the arrests, agents say they discovered nine pages of handwritten
notes in Zazi's computer with details on how to make a homemade bomb.
According to the affidavit, Zazi initially denied knowing anything about the notes when he was shown
them by the FBI during a three day interrogation.
Click here to watch Zazi returning home after a day of questionning.
Later, Zazi admitted the notes were his and that he attended an al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan and
received instructions on weapons and explosives.
Law enforcement and intelligence officials say the case began in 2008 when the CIA twice picked up on
Zazi's presence in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, a place often used by al Qaeda to arrange meetings with
foreigners.
Zazi maintained publicly that he had no ties to al Qaeda and had gone to Peshawar only to visit his wife.
According to the FBI affidavits, Zazi went to Peshawar in Aug. 2008 and again in Jan. 2009.
Law enforcement officials told ABCNews.com that electronic intercepts revealed Zazi had sent text
1 of 3 2009/09/22 12:21 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

messages suggesting, in code, the plot was nearing the attack stage. "The wedding cake is ready," Zazi
allegedly wrote.
The three men are scheduled to appear in court Monday morning on the charges, which authorities say are
designed to keep them in custody while more serious charges are considered.
At 9:30pm Saturday, six black SUV's with red and blue flashing lights rushed into a suburban housing
complex in Aurora, Colorado, and a group of FBI agents climbed three flights to Zazi's apartment.
The officers remained inside for about five minutes. They first brought out Zazi's father, in handcuffs,
escorted by two agents, and placed him in a waiting vehicle. Next, Najibullah Zazi , in handcuffs,
surrounded by agents, was brought down, placed in a second car and the caravan sped off.
Zazi had been scheduled to spend a fourth day Saturday being questioned by the FBI but his lawyer
canceled the session.
"He has taken the day to consult with his client," Aiello said.
Late Saturday night, Aiello said of Najibullah and Muhommed Zazi's arrests, "Their attorney, Arthur
Folsom, is with them at FBI offices in Denver, Colorado. Specific charges are unavailable at this time."
Zazi's arrival in New York last week triggered a series of raids by the FBI and New York City police
intended to disrupt what authorities described as "a real deal" attempt to attack targets in New York.
Zazi, who initially denied any ties to al Qaeda, later admitted connections to the terror group and told FBI
interrogators he had received explosives training at a terror camp in Pakistan.
Computer Shows NYC Research
A computer belonging to Zazi showed he had researched baseball and football stadiums and sites used in
the recent Fashion Week event in New York City, law enforcement officials tell ABCNews.com. While
officials say they do not know the targets of the alleged plot, the contents of Zazi's computer are
considered a valuable insight into what he might have been planning.
The officials said text messages sent by Zazi suggest the plot was nearing the attack phase. One message
said the "wedding cake is ready," which authorities say may have been code to indicate the attack was
ready. Al Qaeda operatives have frequently used references to weddings to disguise planned terror
attacks.
Zazi's lawyer, Arthur Folsom, said his client was cooperating fully with the FBI during his long
interrogation sessions. Folsom told ABCNews.com "no deal has been offered," but authorities say Zazi is
preparing a "proffer" of information he would be prepared to testify about as part of a plea negotiation.
Zazi's computer was copied, or "mirrored," by FBI agents last weekend without Zazi's knowledge. His
lawyer said the agents probably made the copy after towing away Zazi's car on an purported parking
violation. The computer was in the car, and Zazi told his lawyer he discovered it had been tampered with
when he retrieved the car at a police lot.
Authorities who have been briefed on elements of the alleged plot said it was a "varsity level" plan similar
in scope to the 2005 attacks on London's subways and busses.
Discovery of 14 Backpacks
A recipe for homemade explosives found on Zazi's computer would have produced a bomb of the same
size and type used in London, authorities said.
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The suicide bombers in London used backpacks and plastic containers to carry the explosive mixtures.
Raids in New York led to the discovery of 14 new backpacks.
FBI agents in New York, Denver and other U.S. locations are "working around the clock" on the
investigation, according to Attorney General Eric Holder.
The New York Daily News reported Saturday that seven New York men with ties to Zazi had
unsuccessfully attempted to rent a large rental truck on Sept. 10, the day before Zazi arrived from Denver.
This story has been updated.
3 of 3 2009/09/22 12:21 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Egg Loss Measured for First Time Shows Long Odds for Conception as Women Hit 40
By ROGER FORTUNA and SUZAN CLARKE
Jan. 29, 2010—
By the time a woman hits 30, nearly all of her ovarian eggs are gone for good, according a new study that
says women who put off childbearing for too long could have difficulty ever conceiving.
The study published by the University of St. Andrews and Edinburgh University in Scotland found that
women have lost 90 percent of their eggs by the time they are 30 years old, and only have about 3 percent
remaining by the time they are 40.
It's common knowledge that women have more difficulty conceiving as they age, but this is the very first
study believed to quantify the number of eggs lost and it shows that the decline is more rapid than
previously believed.
Over time, the quality of ovarian eggs also deteriorates, increasing the difficulty of conception and the risk
of having an unhealthy baby.
The study was based on information collected from 325 women of varying ages in the United Kingdom,
the United States and Europe.
Dr. Marie Savard, "Good Morning America" medical contributor, visited "GMA" to discuss the issue and
its implications for moms-to-be.
"Women lose eggs a lot faster than we thought," she said. As you get older, conceiving is "much more
difficult. ...Even all those assisted reproductive techniques are challenges."
"That biological clock does tick," she said, adding that her advice to women who want kids is, "the sooner
the better."
Your Fertility Questions Answered
Q: Is there anything you can do to slow down the loss of fertility?
A: You can't reverse the biological clock, but Savard said there are certain factors within your control that
have an impact upon your fertility.
For example, stopping smoking, keeping your weight down and controlling stress can all slow the loss of
fertility.
Women who have more pregnancies are fertile for longer, and some women are born with more eggs than
others, she said. The more eggs with which a woman is born, the longer she will be fertile and more time
she will have until the onset of menopause.
Falling Fertility: When to Bear Children
Q: If someone takes the pill, does that affect her fertility?
A: No. Savard says birth control pills do not in any way affect a woman's fertility or egg count.
"Even if you'ree on the pill for a long period of time, that doesn't influence your fertility," she said.
The length of a woman's cycle -- whether it is longer or shorter -- does not predict a woman's fertility, she
added.
Q: Should women have children earlier?
A: Savard said women should have children earlier, if possible. Healthy women in their late 30s and early
40s who think they can postpone pregnancy may be jeopardizing their chance of conceiving, she said.
Women who are considering pregnancy should talk to their doctors about their family history.
Savard noted that technology to aid conception is much less successful as women age. Only 10 percent of
women aged 40 will have a successful pregnancy with a single attempt through in vitro fertilization.
Q: Is there a way for women to find out what their egg count is?
A: There's no way to determine an exact number of eggs, Savard said. There are indirect measures
including ultrasound to measure the size and volume in the ovaries -- as well as blood tests to check for
hormone levels.
At the end of the day, Savard said it is important for women to recognize that "time does matter."
"If you're planning a family, don't wait so long," she said. "It's life, it's the truth -- we have all the eggs
we're ever going to have and we'd better take good care of them."

Few ERs Are Equipped To Care For Children http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8615355
Few ERs Are Equipped to Care for Children

Lack of Equipment, Expertise in Many Emergency Rooms
By RADHA CHITALE and COURTNEY HUTCHISON

Sept. 21, 2009 —
As the flu season nears, hospital emergency departments are bracing for a fresh onslaught of patients. But
research shows that the majority of EDs lack the special equipment, supplies, and expertise needed to
treat children.
Out of almost 4,000 EDs in the U.S., only 6 percent are fully prepared to properly care for pediatric
patients, according to a new joint policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the
American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA),
published today in the journal Pediatrics.
Experts said the guidelines for pediatric ED preparedness in the joint policy statement, which updates the
2006 guidelines from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), will spotlight the need for better pediatric care in
hospitals and provide a tool to help lagging EDs get on par with their better-prepared counterparts.
"The original [2006] guidelines had 162 items in it, including various sizes of [equipment]," said Dr.
Marianne Gausche-Hill, a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University
of California at Los Angeles and one of the lead authors of the joint statement.
"Of all these items, only 6 percent [of EDs] had all these items," she said. "On the flip side, around 80
percent have about 90 percent of the equipment... but there are surprising deficiencies, and I think smaller
hospitals need help getting these resources."
Children Require Different Equipment, Expertise
Treating children can require a variety of specialized equipment -- smaller blood pressure cuffs or
narrower tubing, for example. Radiation and medication dosages need to be adjusted for children. Rectal
thermometers should be available for infants.
"People think that pediatric patients are just small adults and they can [treat them] without special
equipment or skill sets when, in fact, they need specialized care," said Dr. Michael Kim, head of the
Pediatric Emergency Department at the American Family Children's Hospital in Madison, Wis. "If you
don't have a champion in the department, these things can get overlooked."
Training Trumps Equipment in Many Cases
According to 2006 data from the IOM, children accounted for 20 percent of the 119 million ED visits.
Still, there are several reasons a hospital may not invest in a full complement of pediatric equipment. Small
or rural hospitals may not see enough pediatric patients to recognize a need for special treatment. A lack
of funding and space could result in neglected pediatric emergency facilities. Pediatric patients are not
always in need of critical emergency care that requires special equipment.
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And according to the joint statement, only 56 percent of emergency care directors were aware that
guidelines for pediatric emergency care were available.
But doctors point out that training is just as important, if not more so, than facilities for a pediatric ED.
"The level of expertise among providers, even more than the equipment available, represents a major
barrier to optimal care delivery," said Dr. David Cornfield, chief of pulmonary, allergy, and immunology
at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif.
Better Expertise Necessary for Pediatric EDs
And pediatric emergency medicine is a relatively new specialty, although it is poised for rapid growth,
according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Currently, there are 758 active
pediatric ED doctors. Almost 100 additional doctors entered training for the specialty in 2008.
Without trained pediatric emergency physicians, patients are subject to delays as equipment is gathered or
as they are stabilized for transfer to a different facility.
"It is crucial that emergency departments of all types be fully capable of handling whatever comes their
way," said Dr. Robert Field, professor of Health Management and Policy at the Drexel University School
of Public Health in Philadelphia, Pa. "It's not like deciding between supermarkets. In a state of crisis, most
people will go wherever is closest, or wherever the ambulance takes them. They should not have to
second-guess whether that is a wise choice."
Although doctors agree that expertise is paramount, some are not convinced that acquiring a cache of
pediatric equipment is the best course of action for every ED.
Physician Coordinators Could Assist EDs
"It depends how you set up the criteria. If one missing minor piece of equipment is the way you "fail" the
test, well then that does not mean you can't treat children," said Dr. Richard O'Brien, an emergency
physician at Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton, Pa. "Only by going piece by piece -- and person by
person -- can any one department come up with a consensus about [the report's] applicability in a single
hospital... I suspect it will be a help, as such, to many EDs."
But with children at increased risk for the novel H1N1 influenza virus, EDs may be more inclined to
embrace guidelines that will help them prepare for a potential influx of pediatric patients.
"Since the ratio of kids infected with H1N1 is higher than other age groups, and the severity of the strain is
still unknown, it is important for emergency facilities treating pediatric patients to be well prepared," said
Dr. Alison Tothy, medical director of pediatric emergency medicine at the University of Chicago Medical
Center.
Tothy pointed out that the number of pediatric ER patients at the University of Chicago's Comer
Children's hospital rose 150 percent over a two-week period during the spring H1N1 outbreak. She added
they expect another significant increase in pediatric patients due to H1N1, seasonal flu, and other winter
respiratory viral outbreaks in the coming months.
More Leadership Crucial for Upgrading EDs
"We shouldn't wait for H1N1 flu, or a similar disaster, to teach us the importance of uniform quality
emergency care," Field said.
According to the joint report, fewer than 20 percent of EDs appoint either a physician or a nurse
coordinator for pediatric emergency care, but those EDs tend to show more compliance with pediatric
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care guidelines established by the ACEP and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Increased trained leadership in pediatric emergency care to oversee general treatment and safety for
patients, disaster preparedness, acquiring proper equipment and continuing education for staff, among
other responsibilities, is one of the primary recommendations from the ACEP and ENA joint report.
"Probably the most important thing that we recommended now is a physician coordinator," Gausche-Hill
said. "There has been an intense effort by professional organizations in the last five years to improve
awareness of EDs of the need to have these [resources], especially in light of... infectious disesases like
H1N1 and the influenza outbreaks and acts of terrorists. Not only do we need these things every day, if
we don't have them for every day, we certainly won't have them for natural or manmade disasters."
3 of 3 2009/09/22 12:19 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Find the Best New Grill for Summer http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=1984428
From the Affordable to Luxurious, Learn About the Newest Trends in Grilling
May 20, 2006 —
With Memorial Day weekend approaching, and in the middle of national barbecue month, some
Americans might want to think about upgrading to some of the season's hottest new grills.
Grill ownership has increased 10 percent since 2003, according to the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue
Association. Eight out of ten households own an outdoor barbecue grill or smoker, 60 percent of
Americans grill year-round and nearly half grill during winter months.
According to the numbers from the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association, 65 percent of men say they
get "a lot" of pleasure from grilling, compared to about half of all women.
Matt Bean, senior editor of "Men's Health Magazine," showed "Good Morning America Weekend
Edition" some of the biggest and baddest new grills on the market.
The perfect portable grill: Weber q100, $149
Weber's super-portable q100 gas grill features 8,500-btus for quickly barbecuing burgers, steaks, poultry
and seafood. Its push-button ignition means easy, reliable lighting on the road or at a remote campsite.
This propane-powered grill comes with built-in tool storage; packs up for easy carting to the park.
With optional rolling cart, $55
The convenient cart is part caddy and part stand. It is designed exclusively for Weber q gas grills but is
sold separately. The cart locks into position to make a grill stand wherever you're barbecuing. It simply
folds down to become a quick and easy pull cart.
The best value stainless steel grill: Ducane three-burner, $699
The Ducane three-burner is loaded with features like v-shaped heat distribution plates to evenly radiate
heat from burners, heavy-duty welded rod cooking grates for perfect sear marks, and a stainless steel side
shelf. Its features include a 624-square-inch total cooking area, a spit-fork rotisserie and a push-and-turn
ignition system. However, before buying a stainless steel grill, make sure you do the "stainless steel
magnet test." Bring a magnet with you when you shop. The cheaper stainless steel is more magnetic and is
more prone to rust. Also, stainless steel does stain, especially when it's outdoors. Stainless steel grills have
become less expensive than ever. They used to cost a few thousand dollars.
The ultimate smoker: Viking c4 cooker $4,850
The ceramic cooking capsule creates the perfect cooking chimney, and this is the ideal grill for anyone
who loves smoked ribs or turkey: Just add wood chips and go. The grill's features include an advanced
ceramic interior, which provides maximum heat retention and cooks food from all angles while locking in
flavor and juices. Dampers at the bottom and top of grill allow air flow through the cooker to be regulated.
You can get this grill at a cheaper price with a less deluxe cart. The smallest, cheapest cart knocks the
price down to $2,825. The smoker itself is about $2,300.
1 of 2 2009/12/15 05:51 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Find the Best New Grill for Summer http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=1984428
Most versatile: Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Steadfast Two Dual-Fuel, $7,090
This grill allows you to cook with gas, charcoal or both. It has a 24-by-18-inch grilling surface. The
Steadfast Two Dual-Fuel is perfect for cooking for the family or entertaining a small- to medium-sized
party.
Best dream grill: Cal spas grill, $27,000
This grill has everything, from built-in televisions, to a beer tap, to a beverage refrigerator. It's the ultimate
outdoor entertaining island and is completely customized. The entertainment system is complete with two
17-inch flat-screen TVs, a DVD player, and a CD stereo system with surround-sound marine-grade
speakers. There is an optional third TV and iPod docking station which comes in place of DVD and CD
stereo system.
2 of 2 2009/12/15 05:51 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Hot New Products Unveiled at 2010 International Toy Fair in New York
By ANI MANDARA
Feb. 13, 2010—
The American International Toy Fair is the place where all the newest toys and games make their official
debut. Some toys will go on to become the hot-ticket items for the following holiday season.
With over 100,000 products on display, 7,000 of which have never been seen before, this is the single
largest toy industry event in the Western Hemisphere, bringing together toy industry professionals to
celebrate "play."
The organization behind the Toy Fair is the Toy Industry Association, the not-for-profit trade association
for retailers, producers and importers of toys and youth entertainment products sold in North America.
This years show starts on Feb. 14, and runs until Feb. 17 at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center in New
York City. It is expected to draw 20,000 attendees, more than 1,200 exhibitors and 1,000 global media
representatives. Unfortunately, all the fun isn't open to the public.
Here's a sneak peak at some of the hottest toys making their debut:
Barbie I Can Be&
For more than five decades, Barbie has inspired girls to play out their dreams and aspirations by giving
them the opportunity to try on different personalities, careers and explore a world of infinite possibilities
without ever having to leave home. This year, Barbie is celebrating her 125th anniversary with the new "I
Can Be" product line. This is the first time that Barbie fans can choose her career path, including
journalism and veterinary medicine. Please note that votes are no longer being tallied for Barbie's 125th
career. The winning votes for Barbie's 125th career are news anchor and computer engineer.
Dance Star Mickey Mouse
Each yeah, Fisher Price brings kids' favorite characters to life and this year the magic is Mickey. The new,
innovative "Dance Star Mickey" doll walks, talks, dances and encourages kids to get up, get active and
dance.
Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear Blaster Disney Pixar's "Toy Story 3" is one of the most highly anticipated
family movies of the year, coming out June 18, 2010. The Buzz Lightyear Blaster combines simple role
play with an actual color LCD video game. Kids can pull the trigger and pretend they are Buzz. When
they run out of blasting power, they just tilt the gun back to reload, just like in the arcades! Disney is the
parent company of ABC News.
Disney Princess Rapunzel Shimmer 'n Shine Wig
The Disney Princess Rapunzel product line is inspired by the upcoming animated feature, Disney's
"Rapunzel," which hits theaters in November 2010. Little girls can look just like Rapunzel with the new
Shimmer 'n Shine Wig with light-up hair clip and comb. At two-feet long, it's the longest wig on the
market.

First Monthly Job Gain in 2 Years? http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9508830
Economy loses 85,000 more jobs in December, suggesting chronic joblessness for 2010
By JEANNINE AVERSA
WASHINGTON
Brace for a year of stubbornly high unemployment.
Gripped by uncertainty over the economic recovery, employers chopped 85,000 jobs last month, and
difficulty finding work helped chase more than half a million people out of the job market.
The unemployment rate held steady at 10 percent. It did not creep higher only because so many people
stopped looking for work and are technically not counted as unemployed.
But the jobless rate is likely to rise in coming months as more people see signs of an improving economy
and start looking for work again. Some economists think it could near 11 percent, which would be the
highest since World War II, by June.
The Labor Department's monthly jobs report suggested employers will remain wary about hiring and
skeptical of the economy recovery. Just Friday, UPS said it would cut nearly 2,000 white-collar jobs.
"It is a wait-and-see attitude," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.
The economy is growing, but too weakly to persuade employers to ramp up hiring. Growth has to be
robust to drive down the jobless rate, especially as more people start looking for work.
Complicating the recovery are remnants of the recession: high debt, a sputtering housing market and the
inability or reluctance of people and businesses to borrow and spend. Most economists think
unemployment will rise this year and stay high into 2012.
That poses a threat to President Barack Obama and Democrats in the fall congressional elections and
escalated pressure on the administration to boost job creation. The "road to recovery is never straight,"
Obama said after Friday's report.
The president pushed for an expanded government program that he said would help create tens of
thousands of new clean-technology jobs. Obama announced the awarding of $2.3 billion in tax credits to
companies that manufacture green technologies. The money will come from last year's $787 billion
stimulus program. He also called on Congress to approve an additional $5 billion to help create more such
jobs.
Analysts had expected the economy to lose just 8,000 jobs in December. The loss of 85,000 was a setback
after November, when, according to revised figures released Friday, the economy actually added 4,000
jobs, the first gains in nearly two years.
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"The labor market is getting better, but it is still a long way from being healthy again," said Paul Ashworth,
economist at Capital Economics Ltd.
Stephen Jankiewicz, who was filling out an online resume Friday at a job center in Milwaukee, said he has
noticed more job listings for welding positions, but potential employers remain reluctant to hire.
Jankiewicz has been without a job since the manufacturing plant where he worked closed nearly two years
ago. One company has expressed interest in him — but not until it's more confident in the recovery. He
was told to call back in a month.
"They didn't want to hire anybody just to lay off anybody again," he said.
The 85,000 lost jobs for the month is based on a government survey of employers. A separate government
survey of households found a much darker picture — nearly 600,000 fewer people said they had jobs in
December than in November.
That gap could reflect layoffs at small businesses that are having trouble getting loans and can't afford to
hire new people. That's something many economists think the employer survey misses because it
undercounts small companies.
It was the second straight month the unemployment rate came in at 10 percent. The only reason it didn't
rise was that 661,000 people stopped looking for jobs and left the work force.
In a normal economic recovery, more people would be entering, not leaving, the job market. If those
people hadn't dropped out, the rate would have hit 10.4 percent in December, according to an estimate by
the Economic Policy Institute.
Counting the people who have given up looking for work and the part-time workers who would rather be
working full-time, the so-called underemployment rate edged up to 17.3 percent in December. The record
high is 17.4 percent, reached in October.
The House has passed a bill intended to generate jobs, extend unemployment benefits and a health
insurance subsidy and provide other aid. But the Senate is reluctant to go along. Republicans say Obama's
first stimulus package hasn't been effective.
The December numbers complete a picture of a disastrous 2009 for American workers. The
unemployment rate averaged 9.3 percent in 2009 — up from average of 5.8 percent in 2008 and the
highest since 1983.
The number of unemployed has hit 15.3 million, up from 7.7 million when the recession started in at the
end of 2007. The recession has wiped out 7.2 million jobs. And the number of people jobless for at least
six months hit a record 6.1 million.
One of them is Debra Winchell, who lost her job last January as an administrative assistant at a health
insurance company and has been looking for work since.
Winchell, of Latham, N.Y., said she is seeing more online job postings, giving her some hope. But the jobs
pay as little as $10 an hour. And when she does apply, no one calls back. Her unemployment benefits are
set to run out this spring, so Winchell, who is single, said she will reluctantly sign up for temporary work.
"I'll be lucky if it pays the bills," she said.
———
AP Business Writers Emily Fredrix in Milwaukee, Christopher Leonard in St. Louis and Associated Press
Writers Philip Elliott and Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington contributed to this report.
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3 of 3 2010/01/10 02:21 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

CDC Says 76 Million are Sickened by Tainted Food Each Year
By BRANDON BODOW and SUZAN CLARKE
April 22, 2010—
There are 76 million cases of foodborne illnesses in the U.S. every year, and 5,000 of them are fatal,
according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But lawmakers are seeking to change that. Last year, the House of Representatives passed a bill that
would enhance food safety rules and strengthen government oversight. The legislation would mean
heightened scrutiny for the nation's food manufacturers.
Unsafe foods often prompt sweeping recalls -- of popular items such as ground beef, spinach, peanut
butter and many others.
While consumers have relatively little control over how their food is processed, there are ways that they
can protect themselves by shopping wisely and taking precautions at home.
Mandy Walker from ShopSmart magazine visited "Good Morning America" to share some food safety
tips:
From the Supermarket ...
Start shopping from the middle of the store and work your way out. The middle of the store has
packaged goods -- boxes and cans -- which aren't perishable, so perishables will spend less time at room
temperature.
If you're shopping for hamburger meat, get it fresh from the butcher's counter rather than
pre-packaged. Packaged hamburger meat can come from a number of different animals, and even from
different countries. When you order it at the butcher's counter, you'll know it all comes from the same
animal.
Don't get the meat tenderized at the supermarket. The tiny needles in the butcher's mallet could get
stuck in the meat. Since the mallet is used frequently, bacteria can be transferred from one meat product
to the other.
Don't judge a meat by its color. Walker said carbon monoxide is sometimes used in packaging to keep
meat looking red and fresh even when it's not. It's essential that shoppers check the "sell by" date on the
packaging. You can use meat up to a day or so after it's "sell by" date. If the package doesn't have a "sell
by" date, do not buy the product. Of course, be sure to cook the meat thoroughly. That's the best way to
kill harmful bacteria.
Supermarket Shopping Tips
Don't touch meat packaging with your hands. That's because the packaging could contain harmful
bacteria. ShopSmart tested fresh, whole broiler chickens and found that two-thirds of them contained
bacteria that cause the most food-borne illnesses. The best way to handle packaged meat is to use a
storage bag like a glove, picking up the package and wrapping it in one motion. Some stores have bags for
this purpose in their meat sections.
Keep raw meat is a separate part of your shopping cart. This will enable you to protect your
groceries from leaks or other harmful contaminants. You also should have your meat, poultry and seafood
bagged separately.
Click HERE to visit ShopSmart magazine.
Do not purchase milk that contains artificial hormones, or rBGH. Injecting cows with rBGH
increases milk output, but it also increases infections in cows, Walker said. It's not clear whether the
substance is harmful to humans, although some studies link a hormone found in cows treated with rBGH
to increased cancer risks. Most stores in the Western world don't sell milk containing artificial hormones.
When you're purchasing plastic food storage containers, be sure to look for recycling codes. Avoid
those containers marked with a number 7 with the letters PC or those made of unmarked, hard opaque
plastic. These could potentially be made with BPA -- a substance used in the production of certain plastic
containers and which could pose a health risk. When you are buying baby's bottles, make sure to buy
those marked with the numbers 1, 2 or 5. The safest bottle would be made of glass, Walker said.
Know when you should use the products you buy. Meat, poultry and seafood should be used or frozen
within a day of their "sell by" date. Deli meat, either from the butcher's counter or pre-packaged, should
be used within 3 to 7 days of the "sell by" date. Prepared salads such as potato salad should be used
between 3 and 5 days of the "sell by" date. Open jars of tomato sauce may be used up to 5 days after, and
milk can be used up to 7 days after the "sell by date."
From the Supermarket ...
Clean the supermarket shopping cart. Before you get to the cart, it will have been used by many other
people, and you can't know when it was last cleaned, Walker said. Researchers at the University of
Arizona found that shopping carts were loaded with more saliva, bacteria and even fecal matter than
escalators, public telephones and public bathrooms.
Walker recommended that shoppers wipe the handles of their shopping cart. Some stores may provide
wipes, but you should carry some of your own, especially if you are taking a child along. It's also not a bad
idea to clean your hands when you leave the supermarket, she said.
... to the Kitchen
Storage: When you put away groceries, do it quickly. Put perishables in the fridge or freezer as soon as
you get home, and put things in their proper place. Don't put food away in a dirty refrigerator or cupboard.
Food prep: Put an appliance thermometer in your refrigerator and freezer to make sure they're at the
right temperature. Use different cutting boards for meat and poultry, seafood and produce. Wash them in
hot, soapy water, then spray them first with vinegar, and then with hydrogen peroxide.
Cooking: Take your food's temperature. Be sure the food you've prepared is at the correct temperature.
Thaw foods properly. Don't wash meat and fish. Don't eat foods raw if they're meant to be cooked.
Kitchen tools: You can kill germs on sponges and non-steel scrubbing pads by microwaving them wet
for two minutes, or put them in the utility basket of the dishwasher and let them dry thoroughly.
Prevent cross-contamination. Don't use the same platter and utensils for raw and cooked foods.
Leftovers: Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of serving them, and throw them out after two or three
days. Don't stack frozen leftovers too tightly. Don't give stale leftovers to your pets they also can get
sick from food-borne illnesses.

The Grammy Award Winners Raise HIV/AIDS Awareness
By KATE McCARTHY
Feb. 10, 2010—
Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper have more than just Grammy awards and a reputation for outrageous
fashion in common. Now the two have joined forces to raise awareness and funding for HIV-AIDS
research.
Appearing on "Good Morning America" this morning, the duo said MAC's Viva Glam program has already
raised more than $150 million to combat the disease.
The "$2.5 million off the top of money that we raise from the Viva Mac lipstick is going to go right to
women right away," Lady Gaga said.
The lipstick and gloss come in eight shades and are sold for $14. MAC said that every cent of the selling
price will go to the MAC AIDS Fund.
"I'm hoping and Cyndi's hoping that mothers and sisters and best friends buy each other this lipstick and
say, 'This lipstick represents you protecting yourself, having safe sex and remembering to have loving,
monogamous relationships to protect you and those around you,'" Lady Gaga said.
The highest new rates of infection are in women between the ages of 17 and 24, and between 39 and 60,
Lauper said.
"It is like Boy Scouts; their motto is my motto. Be prepared. Always be prepared. &. You know the heat
of the moment, I understand that, but it's not worth your life" Lauper said.
Lady Gaga said one reason she is supporting this campaign is because not enough women are educated
about HIV and AIDS, and how quickly it is spreading.
"Everyone has that phone call: 'Oh my gosh, you wouldn't believe what I did last night,' and 'I was so
stupid I didn't use a condom,' and there is all this laughter on the phone, because I have gotten those
phone calls," Lady Gaga said. "And it is our jobs as friends to one another to say, 'I don't know why you
are laughing because it is very serious.'"
Lady Gaga's Rise to Stardom
Only five years out of high school, Lady Gaga has skyrocketed to fame. In addiiton to hits such as "Poker
Face" or "Just Dance," her performances and taste in fashion have always been memorable.
"I've worked so hard, but being here today is sort of a whirlwind," Lady Gaga, who wore a hat made out
of safety pins, said on "GMA." "I'm sitting next to a woman that I've admired my entire life, who is
completely legendary as a fashion icon and as an artist that really really changed music for women. And I
am speaking to you about a cause that affects women all over the world, and I never knew that I would be
allowed to have the responsibility I have today."
Lauper, who refered to Lady Gaga as a 'kid,' had some advice for the young star.
"It is your time, it's time to be really creative. Don't listen if someone says, 'No, you can't do that,'" Lauper
said. "There is no 'You can't,' and in the end, it all evens out. But you know if you get an idea, do it, or
you'll forget about it and it will be frustrating. Just do it."

Just One Thing: Green Your Reads http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8478403
Just One Thing: Green Your Reads

Reducing the Environm ental Im pact in the Book Publishing Industry
By LAURIE BENNER
S ept. 15, 2009—
Greening your fall book list picks is just one thing you can do to help the environment.
The Green Press Initiative, a nonprofit organization that works with publishers to reduce their environmental
impact, reports that the U.S. book industry emits 12.4 million metric tons of carbon-equivalent greenhouse
gases annually. That's 8.85 lbs for every book sold.
Plus, according to Green Press, the industry consumes 1.6 million metric tons of paper, which is the
equivalent of approximately 30 million trees.
But it seems as though the bookmakers are improving. According to the Green Press Initiative, industry
surveys indicate that they are increasing the amount of post-consumer recycled fiber in book paper, from 3.5
percent in 2004 to 13 percent in 2007.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a nonprofit organization that promotes responsible management of
the world's forests. It has a certification system for companies, organizations and communities interested in
responsible forestry.
So the next time you are buying a new book, look for signs on the back cover or inside copywrite page
indicating it is made from recycled paper or contains FSC-certified paper.
Here are a few books on weather and climate that you can enjoy this fall:
"Frozen Fire," by Bill Evans and M arianna Jameson
Green Your Read
"Weather's Greatest M ysteries Solved!" by Randy Cerveny
"Weather M atters: An American Cultural History Since 1900," by Bernard M ergen.
"COLD: Adventures in the World's Frozen Places," by Bill Streever.
1 of 1 2009/09/16 06:12 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

Chronic Health Conditions Can Lead to Heart Disease, the Leading Cause of Death Among
U.S. Adults
By LARA SALAHI and SADIE BASS
April 26, 2010—
Nearly half of adults in the United States have chronic conditions that could lead to heart disease, the
leading cause of death among American adults, according to a CDC report released Monday.
45 percent of adults have diagnosed or undiagnosed high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes, the
report said.
About 3 percent of adults have all three conditions and 13 percent have two of these conditions, according
to the report. Nearly 1 in 7 adults have one or more of these conditions undiagnosed.
"These findings are disturbing and reflect the cumulative effects of the modern American lifestyle," said
Dr. Steve E. Nissen, Chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. "If
we continue on the same course, this problem will grow progressively worse."
According to experts, the cause of these chronic conditions is related to the purported obesity epidemic
that has swept the country over the past few decades.
Nearly 67 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, according to the CDC.
"The toxic environment in which we live with excess access to fast foods does not enable individuals to
choose healthy in many situations, so the problem we face is as much a societal issue as it is a medical
one," said Dr. Lori Mosca, Director of Preventive Cardiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
This study is the first conducted by the CDC to look at the impact of blood pressure, cholesterol, and
diabetes together on Americans, said Dr. Rosemarie Hirsch, Chief of the Analysis Branch at the National
Center for Health Statistics.
The presence of these chronic conditions is most likely due to the change in diet of many Americans from
as early as the 1960s to today, said Hirsch. Diagnoses of diabetes have more than doubled from 1970 to
the mid-2000s, according to a study published in February 2009 by the American Diabetes Association.
Although diabetes and other chronic conditions are irreversible, experts said prevention strategies are
central to reversing the trend.
"The good news is that even a small amount of weight loss, 5-10 pounds in many cases, can lower blood
pressure and also improve cholesterol and blood sugar levels," Mosca said.
Half of U.S. Adults Have Conditions that can Lead to Heart Disease
ABC News Senior Health and Medical Editor Dr. Richard Besser offers some tips to prevent conditions
that could lead to heart disease.
Be aware. Get your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar checked. If they are elevated, take
action. If they are close to being high, check them every year.
Eat no more than you need. If you eat more than your body needs, you pack on pounds. Eat sensibly, and
eat slowly. Be mindful of large portion sizes and watch your salt intake. Variety and moderation are key.
Be on the move. Set small goals for yourself -- your first time out the door for a run doesn't have to be a
marathon. Make a weekly walking date with a friend and try to stick with it.

How Did These People Lose Hundreds of Lbs? http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9503781
Five People Lost Nearly 700 Pounds
By LAURA ZACCARO
Jan. 8, 2010—
They had compelling, deeply-personal reasons for embarking on a life-changing mission to lose weight and
regain their quality of life.
Kim Eidson, Eric Freemyer, Wendi Tillem, Marty Moorehead and Ken Schooltz worked hard --
exercising, dieting, eating well and resisting temptation. And they've lost a total of 696 pounds
Here are their stories:
Eric Freemyer
Freemyer is a Dallas attorney who's married, with 13-year-old twin boys and a 4-year-old daughter.
Freemyer said he wanted to sleep all the time before he started his diet. Before he began to lose weight, he
couldn't play with his children and his wife worried that he would die of a heart attack. He was afraid he
wouldn't be alive to walk his daughter down the aisle.
A trial attorney, Freemyer said his weight affected the way juries perceived him. Now, he runs a mile
every day with his twin 13-year-old sons. Freemyer's brother and sister, who were also overweight, went
on the diet and have dropped pounds.
Current Weight: 185 pounds
Total Weight Loss: 130 pounds
Diet: Medifast. The diet calls for five daily Medifast meal-replacement drinks or foods (available only
through the company), plus one meal of lean meat or fish, plus salad or green vegetables, according to
webmd.com. The high-protein, low-carb plans allow dieters about 800 to 1,000 calories a day, and is
designed to yield a loss of two to five pounds per week while preserving muscle mass. Freemyer started
the diet in March 2009 when he weighed 315 pounds, going down to 185 pounds in October 2009.
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Wendi Tillem
Tillem, a married mother of two, works in fashion retail but, because of her weight, could never wear the
clothes she sold. The Monroe Township, N.J.-woman had lost two uncles and an aunt to Type 2 diabetes.
Her father was dying of complications from the disease, and his doctor told her she, too, would die if she
didn't do something about her weight.
Before her father died last spring, he saw that Wendi was well on her way to a healthy weight and getting
fit. Tillem has put her entire family on her diet, and now runs 3 to 4 miles per day.
Age: 44
Diet: Younger (Thinner) You Diet. The diet is based on a book by Dr. Eric Braverman, who says that
imbalanced brain chemistry is the reason we have trouble losing weight and keeping energy levels up. His
plan explains how different foods, spices and teas can help to bring these chemicals back into their proper
balance. Tillem started out at 270 pounds and lost the weight in 18 months.
Kim Eidson
Eidson, a nurse from Joplin, Md., is a married mother of three and the grandmother of a 3-year-old girl.
She was able to lose 100 pounds twice but gained it all back. She was considering gastric bypass surgery
before she started her diet. She lost 30 pounds in the first month and had more energy than she'd had
before.
Eidson was excited and motivated by her success, and her chronic heartburn stopped when she started to
lose weight. She's now in the best shape of her life.
Age: 43
Total Weight Loss: 159 pounds in about 18 months.
Diet: The Atkins Diet. The regimen restricts refined carbohydrates, according to webmd.com. The diet
recommends eating a balance of saturated fats and proteins, including red meat. Because carbohydrates
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are so limited, the body goes into a state of ketosis - meaning it burns it own fat for fuel. When the body is
in ketosis, you tend to feel less hungry and so you're unlikely to eat as much as you normally would.
Eidson started the diet in March 2007.
Marty Moorehead
Moorehead is a cabinet salesman from Gilbert, Ariz. Since he lost weight, some people no longer
recognize him. One customer who hadn't seen him in more than a year came into his office and asked him
if 'Marty' still worked there, Moorehead said.
Moorehead, who weighed 363 pounds, had been going to doctors for a number of weight-related ailments,
from bad knees to ankles and high blood pressure. On some of the visits, he couldn't fit on the X-ray
tables. Now, he and his wife walk 3 miles per day, three days a week. He also swims, does sit-ups and uses
an elliptical machine. He used to wear a belt that was more than 5 feet long, a belt he still has to remind
him how far he has come.
Age: 55
Diet: Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet. According to webmd.com, the diet replaces meals with cookies that
contain select amino acids -- thought to suppress hunger -- as well as fiber and other ingredients that digest
slowly to help keep you feeling full. Moorehead started the diet in January 2009.
Ken Shooltz
Shooltz, a 56-year-old father and grandfather from Jennings, Fla., is a changed man. In 2001, doctors put
stents into his heart, but that didn't help him to lose weight. He was 315 pounds when he started his diet.
After he lost the weight, his blood sugar and cholesterol levels have dropped. He works out every other
day, and has gone from a size 50 waist to a size 34.
His wife, Christa, also is following his diet, and she has lost significant weight. She went from wearing size
12 clothing to a size 4. Shooltz retired from the U.S. Army in 1992 and now works for the Florida
Department of Transportation.
Age: 56
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Diet: Nutrisystem. The plan uses low-glycemic "good carbs," low fat, healthy protein and high-fiber,
ready-cooked meals, according to webmd.com. Nutrisystem says its meals digest slowly and help you feel
more satisfied. Shooltz lost the weight in 2008, and has kept it off.
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How to Protect Yourself in a Dog Attack http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=2088426
Running Away Is the Wrong Response
June 17, 2006 —
Last week, a pair of loose pit bulls charged into a San Fernando, Calif., school, chasing students into a
restroom and attacking an 11-year-old girl. She's going to be okay, but she's just one of 4.7 million people
who'll be bitten by dogs this year.
Bob Conklin, a professional dog trainer at the Hudson Valley K9 Academy, and his assistant Harry
Lazorda appeared on "Good Morning America Weekend Edition" with a German shepard patrol dog to
give advice on how to protect yourself or your child from a dog attack.
What Not to Do
Take flight. Don't run away from the dog, because it triggers the dog's prey drive. Once that happens, the
dog will want to turn and chase you.
If the dog catches you and starts attacking, don't hit it. The more you fight back, the more the struggle
feeds into the dog's defensive drives and the more he wants to kill that prey and take it home.
What to Do
If you are approached by a vicious dog, relax and be as still as possible.
Drop your head so you don't make eye contact, but maintain an upright position.
Cover you ears and press your elbows to your sides. This way, if the dog bites you, your ears, eyes, rib
cage and vital organs are protected.
If the dog grabs your arm or your leg, try to remain motionless. If the dog thinks you're dead, it should let
go of you.
How to Rescue a Child
Grab an object and start hitting the dog so you can redirect it.
You can also grab the dog's "scruff" -- the area on the sides of the dog's neck. This should control the
dog's head and keep it from swinging around to bite you.
You can go one step further and grab the dog's Adam's apple and choke him.
Do not pull the dog off the child. That can rip the skin right off the child.
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Hypnosis the Secret to Sleep? http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8584312
The 'Golden Rules' of a Good Night's Sleep

Author of the Book 'I Can Make You Sleep' Shares Top Tips
By COLE KAZDIN, THEA TRACHTENBERG and KATIE ESCHERICH
Sept. 18, 2009—
Denise Allen and Patrick Blindauer are two different people, living in two different homes, but they suffer
with the same problem: They can't sleep. And they aren't alone. As many as 70 million Americans suffer
from insomnia, according to a 2007 study by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies for
Sciences.
Allen, 34, is engaged to be married and has a 3-year old son. The vice president of human resources at a
publishing company, her sleep issues include difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. She says she
never sleeps more than two hours at a time without waking up. "I don't remember the last time I went to
bed and woke up in the morning without getting up in the middle of the night," Allen said.
When she wakes up, Allen said, she can't fall back to sleep and is often wide awake, e-mailing, playing on
the computer, and staring at the ceiling. She also suffers from Lupus, so chronic joint pain contributes to
her insomnia. She has tried sleep medications as her primary remedy and, while they've helped her fall
asleep, they don't keep her from waking up.
Blindauer, 33, works as an editor and tester for crossword puzzles, Sudoku and other mid-flexing
activities, and lives with his girlfriend, Rebecca, in New York City.
His sleep problem is waking up in the middle of the night and staying up for an hour or so before going
back to bed, which makes it difficult for him to stay alert throughout the day.
He'd taken over-the-counter sleep aids when he really needed to get a good night's sleep, but essentially
had just gotten used to the idea that he'd always be rest deprived.
The last hope for these two insomniacs is a new book called "I Can Make You Sleep," written by
hypnotist, therapist and best-selling author Paul McKenna. His system for conquering insomnia includes a
guided hypnosis CD that taps into the unconscious mind. The CD calls it a "mind programming process of
trance."
Many sleep problems are related to anxiety, McKenna said on "Good Morning America" today.
"I help people to slow the busy mind, help them to relax the body ... which is conducive to sleep," he said.
McKenna said he isn't opposed to short-term use of sleep medication. "I'm pro-medication," he said. "Any
questions regarding medication, consult your doctor.
"What most will agree is taking massive amounts [of medication] long-term has side effects."
The 14 Golden Rules of Sleep
McKenna's book includes his 14 Golden Rules of Sleep, which, he said, can help everyone set themselves
up for a wonderful night's sleep every night.
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1. Get up regularly half an hour earlier than your usual desired getting-up time.
This may sound counterintuitive but, McKenna said, "the overwhelming evidence [shows] it's one simple
thing that made a huge difference to a lot of people."
2. Go to bed only when you're sleepy.
3. Don't take any naps during the day.

Naps are fine for people without sleep problems, but "if you are having disruptive sleep, [naps aren't]
going to let you sleep so well at night."
4. At least three times a week, exercise for at least 20 minutes.

"Things like the exercise clean out the stress toxins," he said. It makes people tired and "resets the body
clock."
5. Finish eating at least three hours before you go to bed.
6. Don't have any caffeine after 2 p.m.

"A lot of people drink caffeine too late," he said. 7. Cut out alcohol.
8. Switch off the TV one hour before you go to bed.
9. Do only three things in bed: sleep, make love and use the "I Can Make You Sleep" book or CD.
10. If you are lie awake in bed for more than 20 minutes, do one of the exercises in the book or get up and
do something boring.
11. Keep your bedroom dark at night.

"The amount of light in the bedroom affects the quality of sleep," he said.
12. Have a warm, comfortable bed in a room that is not too hot.
13. Don't watch the clock.
14. Use the CD.
By following his plan, "Some people will notice a difference in the first few days," McKenna said. "I say
give it about 28 days.
"When you sleep well, your health is definitely going to improve," he said, along with your mood and
efficiency.
Putting Sleep Method to the Test
Allen and Blindauer each signed on to test McKenna's sleep method, and they recorded video diaries for
one week as they tested the program.
"I'm hoping the techniques are going to work because I'm tired," Allen said as she started the program.
Blindauer said, "Hopefully, I will sleep through the night and, hopefully, I won't be up to record another
message at 3:30 in the morning."
Following the instructions in "I Can Make You Sleep," Blindauer cut out caffeine after 2 p.m., made sure
to have at least three hours between dinner and bedtime, didn't take any naps, wore a nasal strip to
improve his breathing, listened to the audio CD while going to sleep, and put away his laptop to eliminate
middle-of-the-night work sessions. He also made a recommended change to his bedroom, adding curtains
to keep the room dark.
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Allen took similar actions. When she woke up in the middle of the night one night, she listened to the CD
and tried to go back to sleep. She also began exercising more.
"More exercise equals more sleep," Allen said, as she hit the gym. "All right, elliptical [machine], here I
come."
The process can be a struggle. It takes practice and patience and few life changes.
"I just realized it's after 2:00 p.m. which means no more coffee," Blindauer said, pouring out a mug of
coffee. "It makes me sad."
Allen can sympathize.
"I want coffee so bad, but I'm not allowed, because it's after 2 p.m.," she said.
Just a few days into the program, Allen was hopeful that her sleepless nights will be a thing of the past.
"I did wake up in the middle of the night, but used one of the techniques from Paul -- counting backward
from 300 and that worked," she said. "I'm feeling pretty optimistic."
And, after one week, McKenna said they're both showing marked improvement.
"They are both now sleeping seven hours a night," he said. And, more importantly, the quality of their
sleep has improved.
On a scale of one to 10, Blindauer's sleep quality went from a six to an eight, and Allen's from a two to an
eight.
"A good night's sleep equals a happier, healthier life," McKenna said.
CLICK HERE to read an excerpt of "I Can Make You Sleep."
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Airlines Look for Government Support After Massive Losses
By LEE FERRAN
April 21, 2010 —
All European airspace higher than 20,000 feet is open for flying today, a week after a massive volcanic
ash cloud settled over the continent. But the airlines are physically and financially far from home free,
according to scientists and industry officials.
"The best-case scenario is the worst is over, but I have my doubts," author and physicist Michio Kaku told
"Good Morning America" today. "The more likely scenario is that this is a repeat of 1821, where for 14
months that very same volcano sputtered. We'll have to look for windows to shoot airplanes through or
over.
"It's going to sputter for quite a while," Kaku said.
Least likely, the worst-case scenario, Kaku said, was that the eruption in Iceland could set off "Big
Brother," referring to Iceland's Katla volcano, which Kaku said could be 10 times more powerful than the
current eruption. Other scientists in Iceland told "GMA" further eruptions weren't likely to cause a similar
ash cloud since this eruption occurred during unusual wind conditions and the ash was particularly fine,
allowing it to be carried by the wind more easily.
The airline industry has already lost an estimated $1.7 billion, according to the International Air Transport
Association. Eurocontrol, Europe's air safety organization, said the ash cloud caused the cancellation of
more than 100,000 flights since last week, affecting millions of passengers every day.
In response, the IATI requested governments examine ways to compensate airlines for lost revenue,
similar to how the U.S. government did following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"I am the first one to say that this industry does not want or need bailouts. But this crisis is not the result
of running our business badly," said IATI Director General Giovanni Bisignani in a statement. "It is an
extraordinary situation exaggerated with a poor decision-making process by national governments. The
airlines could not do business normally. Governments should help carriers recover the cost of this
disruption. ... This crisis is an act of God -- completely beyond the control of airlines."
If there are more ash cloud plumes, there is not much airplanes can do at the moment to deal with them,
ABC News aviation consultant John Nance told "GMA."
"There's nothing that we're going to do to get airplanes to fly safely through ash clouds. ... We need better
methods to find out where it is," Nance said. "Our radar can't pick this up. ... We were totally unprepared
for this."
More than 75 percent of air traffic is expected to operate today, totaling an estimated 21,000 flights out of
the usual 28,087, Eurocontrol said. But it could still be weeks before airlines catch up to the backlog of
flights from earlier cancellations.
Last Major Hub, London's Heathrow, Reopens
The last major European hub to open, London's Heathrow airport, allowed its first flight to land Tuesday
night.
Airports in Britain had stayed closed longer than other European hubs, due to the threat of more ash
clouds blowing into British airspace.
The volcano in southern Iceland is still spewing smoke and lava, but the ash plume is lower than it
previously was, posing less threat to high-flying aircraft. One of Iceland's top scientists, Magnus
Gudmundsson of Iceland University did note, though, that scientists "cannot be sure" the situation will
continue to improve.
Stranded Passengers Cheer Liftoffs
The sound of jets finally taking off was music to the ears of stranded passengers.
"We were in the hotel having breakfast, and we heard an aircraft take off. Everybody got up and
applauded," said Bob Basso, 81, of San Diego, who has been staying in a hotel near Charles de Gaulle
Airport near Paris since his flight Friday was canceled.
Ash Plume Is Lower, Easing Threat to High Flying Jets
Officials from across Europe agreed on Monday to create three zones for flying over Europe -- a no-fly
zone over the ash cloud, a caution zone in nearby areas "with some contamination," and an open-skies
zone. Planes flying in the caution zone will need to be checked for engine damage.
For those passengers lucky enough to be on the first flights out Monday, elation at finally getting in the air
was only tempered by a fear of what the ash might do.
"I was very nervous," Lufthansa passenger Dominique Burkhard said of her Los Angeles to Frankfurt,
Germany, flight. "One time we had turbulence. This was not so funny."
Britain Suspends 'Titanic' Laws to Help Ferries Carry More, U.S. Offers Emergency
Loans
While it was still unable to take to the skies, the British government hoped to ease waterborne escapes
from the island by suspending the "Titanic Laws," allowing ferries to carry more passengers than would
normally be legal.
It's the first time such a measure has been taken since the laws' implementation nearly 90 years ago after
the Titanic disaster in 1912. Dozens died after the massive ship's fateful run-in with an iceberg partially
because there were far too many passengers for the number of lifeboats on the ship.
For Americans, home is a lot farther than a ferry ride away and the U.S. State Department said it had no
plans to evacuate citizens by air or water, noting that by the time an evacuation could be organized,
commercial flights would likely be available.
For those who have run out of money while stranded abroad, the State Department said it had a "limited
amount of emergency loans that may be made available" under some circumstances and will help people
send money to stranded loved ones.
Click here for more information at the State Department Web site.
ABC News' Maeva Bambuck, Bradley Blackburn, Kirit Radia and the Associated Press contributed to this
report.

Canadian Group Says Polygamy as Moral as Other Lifestyles
By JUJU CHANG and LINDA OWENS
Feb. 5, 2010—
Winston Blackmore, head of Canada's largest polygamist group, has an estimated 25 wives plus 121
children. And despite criticism of plural marriages, the group says polygamy is as moral a lifestyle as any
other, which it's determined to prove to the world.
Blackmore's 11th wife, Zelpha Chatwin, is the mother of his latest child, Jedediah Mike Blackmore. She
defended her fundamentalist community.
"Having a sister-wife, it's like having the same relationship with your husband, but it's just two women, or
three women or four, instead of a man and a woman," said Chatwin, who is the mother of seven children.
"I love these girls. & And I couldn't live without them. I really couldn't."
Chatwin and her extended family will be featured in National Geographic magazine and on the National
Geographic Channel.
"Inside Polygamy" premieres Feb. 10 on the channel. There'll be more on the story in the
magazine's February issue.
Click HERE for the magazine and HERE for the channel.
The tight-knit polygamous community of Bountiful located near Creston, British Columbia, faces a unique
set of challenges.
Realities of Plural Marriage
Blackmore wouldn't confirm how many wives he has but Chatwin's sister, Marsha, is his 10th.
The sisters became his wives on the same day. As for plural marriages, Marsha Chatwin said, there's
"definitely jealousy."
Blackmore's second daughter, Mary Roundy, said her particular family didn't get a lot of time with
Blackmore.
"But whenever he'd do things with us, it would be really special," she said.
Roundy is making her own life choices within the community that's estimated at 500 strong.
She's in a monogamous marriage with a man who was also raised in a polygamous family.
"Even with my father's children, most don't seem particularly interested in living that lifestyle," she said. "I
don't see it dying out right away. Maybe a few generations. Who knows?"
Until 2001, Blackmore's group followed Warren Jeffs, the "prophet" and leader of the Fundamentalist
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or FLDS.
'Prophet' Jailed, Group Renounces Underage Marriages

But Jeffs is now in prison, serving multiple sentences after his conviction connected to underage
marriages, some to girls as young as 12. He is on suicide watch.
Texas Child Protection officials took 439 children into custody from a ranch run by the FLDS in a 2008
raid, saying underage girls were being married off to older men and that the sect's boys were being raised
to become sexual predators.
In the largest child custody case in U.S. history, the Texas Supreme Court ordered hundreds of children
from the sect, who had been held in state custody for a month, to be returned to their parents, agreeing
with a lower-court decision that the state had not proved that the children were in immediate danger of
abuse.
Twelve FLDS men from Texas have been indicted on a variety of sex charges, including assault and
bigamy.
Sect leaders have promised there will be no more underage marriages.
"Inside Polygamy" premieres Feb. 10 on the National Geographic Channel.
You can read more about the story in February's issue of National Geographic magazine.
ABC News' Ryan Owens contributed to this story.
Click HERE to return to the "Good Morning America" Web site.

Skeptic Questions Claims of Filmmaker and Scientists, Says More Studies Needed
By NICK WATT, CHITO ROMANA and SARAH NETTER
April 28, 2010—
A new claim by an evangelical Christian filmmaker and Turkish scientists that Noah's Ark has been found
encased in ice on Mount Ararat has been met with equal parts excitement and skepticism.
Yeung Wing-Cheung of Hong Kong said he is "99 percent" sure the wooden structure he filmed along
with Turkish scientists and archeologists is the remnants of the famed ark God instructed Noah to build to
save himself and the world's animals from an epic flood.
"We are not saying that we are 100 percent certain that what we found is Noah's Ark. No one has ever
seen the ark, no one knows what it looks like," Yeung said. "We are only 99 percent certain that it is
Noah's Ark based on historical accounts, including the Bible and local beliefs of the people in the area, as
well as carbon dating."
It would be a discovery for the ages. But skeptics are already questioning Yeung's find, especially since he
refuses to say exactly where he found the supposed ark with its wooden chambers still intact.
"I'm not quite 99.9 percent sure it's Noah's Ark, but they've got something," George Washington
University's Eric Cline told "Good Morning America." "I'm waiting for them to convince me."
He suggested it could even be a very old shepherd's hut.
"I would want to first of all try to figure out their data, verify it," he said.
Even though the precise location of the latest find has been kept secret, Cline said Yeung and his scientists
would need to "parachute in" a large team of independent experts and archaeologists to study the wood
and surrounding areas.
"In terms of Noah's Ark, I would have suspected it would have perished long ago," he said. "The wood
should just have disintegrated."
Cline said that if Noah's Ark had come to rest atop a remote mountain, as the Bible suggests, it's
reasonable that he would have dismantled his ship to use the wood for shelter.
"Instead of Noah's Ark, I would be looking for Noah's first house or something like that," he said.
Filmmaker Appeals for Help Verifying Ark Discovery, Plans to Go Back for More
Yeung said he filmed inside the structure for about an hour. He brought back samples that were later
tested in Iran.
They say the wood has been tested and carbon dates to around the time Noah was afloat.
Yeung said the Turkish scientists told him there has never been any evidence of human settlement on top
of the mountain.
"We heard from the people living near the mountain that there are remains of a wooden boat on top of the
mountain," Yeung said. "Some of them said they have seen it but we were the first to bring back video of
these wooden remains."
Mount Ararat has long been the favored theory for the ark's final resting place. At 2½ miles up, Yeung's
video shows straw lying on the structure's floor.
"We are sure," one Turkish scientist said with the help of a translator, "these parts belong to the ship of
Noah."
For centuries, every few years people have claimed to have found Noah's Ark. In 2006, American
Christians claimed to have found a rock formation that resembles the ark very close to Yeung's site.
"I'm waiting for them to convince me," Cline said. "But who knows? Stranger things have happened."
Yeung got involved with the project in 2004. He said he used three cameramen. The research and the trip
to Mount Ararat was financed by his Christian organization, but he declined to say how much was shelled
out.
Yeung said he plans to go back to the site again, but first will appeal to scientists throughout the world to
examine their findings.

Spiritual Leader Charged With 3 Counts of Manslaughter for Sedona, Ariz., Sweat Lodge
Deaths
By LEE FERRAN
Feb. 3, 2010 —
Controversial spiritual leader James Arthur Ray was arrested today and charged with three counts of
manslaughter connected to the deaths at a Sedona, Ariz., sweat lodge in October.
The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest in a statement on its Web site.
"With the arrest of James Ray, Sheriff [Steve] Waugh hopes the familes of the three victims will now have
some measure of closure to this tragedy," the post said.
Kirby Brown, James Shore and Liz Neuman died following a ceremony in the sweat lodge led by Ray on
Oct. 9.
Ray was "cooperative" with police and answered routing booking questions, officer Dwight Develyn of
the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office told ABC News. Bond was set for Ray at $5 million, the sheriff's
office said.
Ray's lawyer, Luis Li, called the charges "unjust" and said that Ray would be proven innocent.
"This was a terrible accident -- but it was an accident, not a criminal act," Li said in a statement released
after the arrest. "James Ray cooperated at every step of the way, providing information and witnesses to
the authorities showing that no one could have foreseen this accident. We will now present this evidence
in a court of law, and we are confident that Mr. Ray will be exonerated."
Brown, 38, and Shore, 40, both of whom paid nearly $10,000 to spend the week with Ray, died in the
lodge.
Neuman, 49, spent more than a week in a coma and died Oct. 17. Eighteen others were injured.
Survivor Beverly Bunn told "Good Morning America" that even while people were collapsing, vomiting
and gasping for air, Ray, who was leading the ceremony, urged everyone to stay inside.
More than 60 people were gathered inside the tent hoping to cleanse their bodies. But within the hour
people began to collapse and vomit, Bunn said.
While people were not physically forced to remain in the tent, Bunn said Ray would chide them if they
wanted to leave, saying weakness could be overcome.
James Arthur Ray Charged in Sweat Lodge Deaths
Days after the incident, Ray wrote on his Web site that for the families of the people who died, "the
questions raised by the tragedy" needed to be answered.
"It's now clear I must dedicate all of my physical and emotional energies to helping bring some sort of
closure to this matter," he wrote.
Andrea Puckett, daughter of victim Liz Neuman, told ABC News in October she held Ray accountable.
"I think he should take responsibility for his role in this incident," Puckett said. "Honestly, I think he
deserves to be behind bars. I think that he was completely negligent and I believe that he is responsible for
my mother's death."
Beverly Bunn, a participant who survived the sweat lodge ceremony, said Ray urged participants not to
leave, even when people were passing out and vomiting.
In a statement to ABC News in October, an attorney for Ray called the deaths a "terrible accident" but
distanced the self-help guru from accountability.
"The facts are that Mr. Ray was not the one who was responsible for the design, construction or
maintenance of the sweat lodge," the statement said.
Before his arrest and in response to media reports that Ray's legal team deemed "filled with inaccuracies
and poisonous innuendo," the team posted two documents known as "The White Papers" on Ray's Web
site under a section called "Setting the Record Straight."
"The White Papers," addressed directly to Bill Hughes, the Supervising Deputy County Attorney, presents
in more than 60 pages what amounts to a defense against criminal charges of any kind.
"Criminal charges would compound this tragedy, regardless of outcome," the document says in its
introduction. "Despite the innuendo in various media accounts, Mr. Ray did not lead or pressure
participants into making a choice they otherwise would not have made."
Ray has been criticized for refusing to give investigators a statement concerning the deaths and for hosting
two events after the deaths before he canceled an event in Toronto.
"In the days following the terrible accident, I struggled to respond the right way," Ray said on his Web
site.
It's a rare admission for a man whose meteoric rise in the self-help industry was largely based on knowing
just what to say.
'The Secret' to Self-Help Fame
Ray's self-help star rose dramatically in 2006 with the best-selling book "The Secret," which preaches
"The Law of Attraction," the idea that people can attract anything they want -- money, love, improved
health -- through the power of thoughts.
"In simple terms, if you are constantly thinking, feeling and acting broke, then you're never going to
attract prosperity into your life," Ray told ABC News in a previously unaired 2007 interview with Dan
Harris.
Supporters Call James Arthur Ray's Seminars Life-Changing
In that interview, Ray defended "The Secret" against critics who asked if the victims of 9/11 or the
Holocaust are to blame for simply thinking incorrectly.
"I know people of the Jewish faith and heritage who don't necessarily believe the Holocaust was bad,"
Ray said. "Now that might be shocking to you but I have people on record who have said, hey there's a lot
of good things that came out of that, a lot of lessons, a lot of opportunities for the world. "
In free meetings Ray gives a taste of his teachings -- which include a mix of spirituality, motivational
speaking and quantum physics -- in a pitch that urges attendees to sign up for his multi-day seminars.
These seminars, like the one in Sedona, can cost thousands of dollars.
The seminars are a mix of lecturing based on various self-help teachings and activities such as walking on
coals, breaking wooden boards and the now-infamous sweat lodge, which are meant to push personal
limits, one attendee said.
Donna Fleming, 60, told ABC News in October she felt "taken" after Ray convinced her to pay $6,000 for
two seminars.
"He's good. He's got charisma. He's just an unbelievably charismatic individual that really does sway a lot
of people," Fleming said. "Ray is in it for the money and I have no question whatsoever that he realized he
hit the goldmine when he realized he was the perfect fit for this industry."
Fleming said she walked out of the first of the two seminars she paid for in 2008 after an activity in which
the participants dressed up as homeless people and wandered around downtown San Diego for four hours.
"I was angry, I tried to deal with that. I tried to find what possible theme could this be for me, and I
probably realized flat out that I'd been taken for a substantial amount of money for an absolutely
ridiculous experience," Fleming said.
Fleming filed a lawsuit in an attempt to get her money back but lost.
Supporter Undeterred by Sedona Deaths
But while Fleming said she was dissatisfied, she said she was "among very few people who had a problem
with the experience." Dave Orton, who took part in the same activity during a different seminar in San
Diego, said the "homeless activity" was eye-opening.
"I experienced what it was like to be a homeless person, people looking down on me because of my
appearance," Orton told ABC News. "It does take you outside your comfort zone. It does put you in a
place you're not used to. It's a place where you experience growth pretty rapidly."
Orton said it's thanks to Ray that he lives a life of "near constant gratitude" for what he has and that the
price tag is more than worth it. Undeterred by the recent deaths, as of October, Orton planned to attend
the Sedona event next year.
"The value doesn't even compare," he said. "To the people that say he's a fraud, I haven't actually thought
of what I would say to them, it's so far out of what I see as reality. Have you tried growing yourself?"
For Fleming, the only thing that grew was her distrust of the self-improvement industry.
"I feel cured of self-help groups so that's something," Fleming said. "Maybe that's worth $6,000."
ABC News' Jay Shaylor contributed to this report.

Bidding Starts at $25,000, but Seller Expects Far More
By CHRIS BURY and SUZAN CLARKE
Feb. 15, 2010—
Before John F. Kennedy was president of the United States, he was an ambitious U.S. senator. And before
he married Jacqueline Bouvier, Kennedy began a fleeting but passionate romance with a Swedish woman.
The relationship continued after he was married.
Kennedy's relationship with Gunilla von Post is documented in poignant letters and telegrams. Up until
now, von Post kept the correspondence locked away, so it's never been public.
Today Von Post offers the love letters for auction.
In the letters, Kennedy expresses, in his scrawling longhand, his feelings for von Post.
The two met on the French Riviera in the summer of 1953. He was 36, and she was 21. They danced all
night, and parted with a passionate kiss.
On June 28, 1954, during the summer after he was married, Kennedy wrote to von Post, saying: "I might
get a boat and sail around the Mediterranean for two weeks -- with you as crew."
Kennedy Wrote to Swedish Love From Hospital
But their plans for a secret rendezvous fell apart when Kennedy badly injured his back.
In November 1954, he wrote to her from the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. His letter seemed
full of longing.
"I am still in the hospital after two months. I was terribly disappointed that at the last moment I was not
able to come to Europe, especially when you were going to be in Paris and we could have had such a good
time&" He wrote that he was going to see her without fail if she wasn't "all settled down" by then.
In the same letter, he writes at the end: "Is there any chance you will be coming to the U.S.?"
Von Post, now 78 years old, first revealed the affair in a 1997 book. In an interview that year with ABC
News' "20/20," she described how her heart went "boom-boom-boom-boom."
"I was very happy to hear from him, but I said 'he's a married man,'" she told "20/20."
It wasn't until the following year that the two got together, slipping away to an old castle in Sweden.
"I borrowed him for a week, a beautiful week that no one can take away from me, from that," she told
"20/20."
Bidding for Letters Starts at $25,000
John Reznikoff, president of University Archives, said the correspondence was "seeping with regret &
these two people wanted to be together and it wasn't meant to be."
"We've heard all the rumors, we know that JFK had many mistresses, but here we have proof. But not
tawdry & a sensitive love affair that you can understand through the correspondence."
Von Post has described the feelings between her and Kennedy as "electrical." But it wasn't to last.
In his final letter to von Post in August 1955, Kennedy wrote as though he sensed their destinies were
drifting apart.
"I just got word today -- that my wife and sister are coming here. It will all be complicated the way I feel
now -- my Swedish Flicka. All I have done is sit in the sun and look and the Ocean and think of Gunilla &
All Love, Jack."
The letters are being auctioned to the public by LegendaryAuctions.com. Online bidding begins at
$25,000.
Doug Allen, president of Legendaryauctions.com, believes they'll fetch far more.
"We'll let the market determine the real economic value of this," he said. "My guess is they'll go for
$100,000."

Reverse Outsourcing Means Job Opportunities in U.S.
By TORY JOHNSON
Feb. 15, 2010—
We often hear about Americans' losing jobs as employers send the work overseas to save money. But
have you heard of reverse outsourcing: foreign companies hiring American workers, especially when a
specific skill can only be found among U.S. talent?
I looked at two global Web sites where this is happening: Elance.com and oDesk.com, popular online
marketplaces that connect freelance talent with businesses of all sizes around the globe, both of which say
the growth in non-U.S. companies' hiring Americans is accelerating at a rapid pace.
Sure, companies can -- and do -- hire low-cost workers worldwide to perform technical tasks and other
back-end work. But in many cases, Americans have the edge when it comes to customer service and
support, public relations, Web site content, branding and marketing to a U.S. customer base.
American freelancers earned more than $15 million in 2009 from non-U.S. companies for work performed
through Elance and oDesk, and many of them earned even more money by building relationships with the
same businesses on their own. That figure is expected to double this year as companies in India,
Singapore, Thailand, Germany, Israel and beyond seek U.S. talent for short- and long-term project work.
Here's how to grab some of that money for yourself:
Create a thorough profile. Visit Elance.com and oDesk.com to create profiles. (You can work for one or
both sites. They're free to join, and they take a commission of about 10 percent on earnings.) Just limit
your profile to the basics: Go in-depth instead by adding links to your work history and take the system
assessments to certify your skill level. That gives businesses more confidence in your skills when
considering you for projects.
Don't wait for businesses to find you, start bidding on projects. Just as it's unlikely that an employer
will find and select your resume among thousands submitted to databases, the same is true on these sites.
You're more likely to be hired if you apply -- or bid -- for projects instead of waiting for someone to
discover you.
Reverse Outsource
Consider low-rate projects to get started. This is a common complaint about both sites: The wages are
so low, making it impossible for U.S. workers to compete effectively with overseas talent for jobs. While
not everyone has experienced that challenge, those who do -- and have overcome it -- suggest accepting a
low rate for the first few jobs just to get a foot in the door, so to speak. That helps you build a track-
record, amass positive feedback and develop credibility in the marketplace.
Think globally but small world. When bidding on projects or connecting with companies, find a
connection. Have you ever vacationed in their country? Do you have friends or family from there? Do you
like the cuisine? Have you seen a movie made on their turf? Make it personal, to let the company know
you're interested in where they are and who they are.
Be flexible with hours. Flexibility is never more important than when working with overseas clients who
are likely in a different time zone. You may have to take a conference call at 3 a.m. It won't happen every
day, but don't be surprised if it's required occasionally.
Embrace technology. Instant messaging and Skype make it possible to see and speak to businesses
anywhere and everywhere at anytime, which can eliminate barriers of distance and culture. If you're not
yet comfortable with such programs, ask a friend or family member for a tutorial. You'll pick it up in no
time.
Tory Johnson is the CEO of Women for Hire and the workplace contributor on ABC's "Good Morning
America." Talk to her directly at Twitter.com/ToryJohnson.

Kennedy's Crash Highlights Dangers of Ambien http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=1927026
The Prescription Drug Often Found in Bloodstream of Disoriented Drivers
May 5, 2006 —
After he smashed his Ford Mustang into a barrier near Capitol Hill early Thursday morning, Rhode Island
Rep. Patrick Kennedy released a statement, saying that he had been disoriented by two prescription
medications he had taken.
One of which was Ambien, a prescription sleep aid.
While Kennedy said he was "disoriented" in his statement, police officers described him as "intoxicated."
How could using Ambien, the nation's most widely used sleep aid, explain his behavior?
Kennedy's situation echoes a growing trend, police and toxicologists say. In some states, Ambien has
made it onto the lists of the Top 10 drugs found in impaired motorists.
One doctor questioned Kennedy's decision to get behind the wheel with two prescription drugs in his
system.
"To get in a car in the first place was dangerous," said Domenic Sica, a professor of medicine and
pharmacology at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Kennedy was taking Phenergan, an anti-nausea medication, along with Ambien. The anti-nausea
medication could have had an "amplifier effect" when coupled with Ambien, Sica said.
The behavior it causes among motorists is startling: They smash into parked cars, drive the wrong way
down busy highways, and weave in between lanes. Sometimes they don't have any recollection of getting
behind the wheel when they are pulled over, according to various reports.
"It certainly seems to me that the warnings are not sufficiently clear to the general public," said Laura
Liddicoat, a toxicologist at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene who spoke to "Good Morning
America" in March about the increasing problem of Ambien and drivers.
Liddicoat recently found that 187 drivers arrested in Wisconsin in the last five years had the prescription
sleeping pill Ambien in their bloodstream.
"The driving was not just such that it was weaving within the lane," Liddicoat said. "It was driving on the
entirely wrong side of the road and almost having head-on collisions."
In Washington, there were 78 impaired driving arrests involving Ambien last year, up from 56 the year
before.
Washington State Patrol Sgt. Robert Sharpe pulled over one woman who had taken the prescribed dose of
Ambien, but at the wrong time.
"They took the medication before they left work thinking it would kick in before they got home," Sharpe
said. "Driving is a task that most people need to do every day, but they don't think about how maybe their
medications are going to affect that."
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Kennedy's Crash Highlights Dangers of Ambien http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=1927026
He said that people who took Ambien should read all the information and warnings that come with the
drug.
"Even though it's prescribed medication and it's been OK'd by their doctor to take, it's not actually good to
take that medication and then get behind the wheel of a car," he said. "Ambien is categorized in our
program as a central nervous system depressant and just the same types of effects that are encountered
with alcohol."
Doctors also have reported a few instances of "sleepdriving," when Ambien users got out of their bed, into
their car, and drove, but were asleep the entire time.
Experts say certain groups are more at risk of dangerous drowsiness -- women, people taking high doses of
Ambien, and those who combine Ambien with other medications for anxiety, depression or other
disorders.
Ambien's makers told "Good Morning America": "We are aware of reports of people driving while
sleepwalking and those reports have been provided to the FDA as part of our ongoing post-marketing
evaluation about the safety of our products."
There have been almost 27 million prescriptions of Ambien sold in the United States.
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Friendly Fire Death Kept Secret From Brother Page 1 of 3
Pat Tillman's Ranger Brother Kept in Dark About

Friendly Fire
Tillman's Brother Was With Him to the End
By MARK MOONEY
Sept. 11, 2009 —
Ever since he was a kid, Kevin Tillman was never far from his big brother, Pat.
On April 22, 2002, both were Army Rangers, and Spc. Kevin Tillman pulled up to the scene of his
brother's shooting manning a turret gun on a Humvee just minutes after Pat Tillman was slain in a
hail of friendly fire.
"What's going on?" Kevin Tillman asked his fellow Rangers, having heard the shooting as his
vehicle struggled through a rocky, narrow Afghan canyon that kept its speed below 5 mph.
When a Ranger asked the driver of Kevin Tillman's vehicle if the crew had a litter for carrying
casualties, Tillman asked, "Who got hit?" He was told it was an Afghan.
An Afghan had been killed alongside Pat Tillman.
Watch the story tonight on "Nightline" at 11:35 p.m. ET and watch best-selling author Jon
Krakauer's first live interview about his new book "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of
Pat Tillman" Monday on "Good Morning America."
While standing guard, Kevin Tillman said he became uneasy because his brother's booming voice
and laugh was missing from the scene.
"I started to get a little weird feeling, you know, because my brother's a pretty loud-type guy," Kevin
Tillman told an investigator who looked into the friendly fire incident.
"Where's Pat?" he began asking his colleagues.
"He asked me three times," said Sgt. Jason Parsons.
Finally, the sergeant told Kevin Tillman that his brother was dead.
Tillman was silent for a few minutes. Then he howled and cursed in grief and rage. The platoon's
doctor took his gun away.
But even though it was apparent to most of the platoon members who were present for the shooting's
aftermath that Pat Tillman had been killed by a fellow Ranger, no one told Kevin Tillman.
Later that night, Kevin Tillman was summoned by Maj. David Hodne as Tillman got off a helicopter
that evacuated him from the shooting site to offer Tillman a chance to be counseled by a chaplain.
Tillman declined the offer, and asked Hodne for a promise instead.
"He asked me to promise to exact revenge on the ambushers," Hodne testified to an Army
investigator, according to Krakauer.
Hodne said he promised that whoever killed Pat Tillman would pay dearly, a vow that Krakauer said
was the Army's first lie to the Tillman family.
Kevin Tillman was born 14 months after Pat Tillman, and because his older brother pronounced
"Kevin" as "Nubbin," the name Nubbin or Nub has stuck with Kevin throughout his life.
While Pat Tillman played professional football, Kevin Tillman was signed by the Cleveland Indians
and played professional baseball in the Indians' minor league system.
When Pat Tillman decided to enlist, his wife Marie remembered telling him, "It's not fair to Kevin,
in some ways -- because you know he's going to come with you."
The two Tillmans went through the Army's boot camp together and later the grueling Ranger school.
They were both deployed to Iraq and then sent to Afghanistan together. In their off hours, Kevin
Tillman lived with Pat and Marie Tillman.
Ranger Ordered to Keep Friendly Fire Secret From Kevin Tillman
Kevin Tillman accompanied his brother's body back to the States, but on the day he left he asked
nearly every Ranger he met to find the notebook that his brother was carrying to jot down his
thoughts. All assured Kevin Tillman they would look for it.
Instead, the notebook was burned along with Pat Tillman's uniform and body armor.
Desperate to hear firsthand how his brother died, Kevin Tillman repeatedly called his unit in
Afghanistan trying to reach Pfc. Bryan O'Neal, the youngest Ranger in the platoon who was with Pat
Tillman when he died.
Tillman called eight times before someone agreed to allow O'Neal to talk on the phone, but O'Neal
was ordered to keep the friendly fire a secret from Kevin.
"I was appalled that when I was able to actually speak with Kevin, I was ordered not to tell him what
happened," O'Neal testified, according to the book.
When the unit returned to the United States, Kevin Tillman was there to greet them and in the
ensuing days even worked out with some of the soldiers who had fired on his brother. No one
mentioned to Tillman what really had happened back on that Afghan mountain.
Later that day, a senior officer realized the secret couldn't be kept from Tillman forever, and called
him in to tell him the truth. The news stunned Tillman. He also was stunned at how casually his
comrades had kept the news from him, including those who had killed his brother.
"I did my PT [physical therapy] with two of the people who killed Pat and then went to breakfast
with the P.L. [platoon leader] who eventually got fired, telling him, 'Hey, you did a good job out
there,' not having a clue what really went on," Kevin Tillman later testified at one of the seven
investigations into his brother's death.
Kevin Tillman asked Congress for an investigation into his brother's death because he no longer
trusted the generals he served under.
Recapping the string of lies and official reports that called the military's actions "missteps," Kevin
Tillman testified, "These are intentional falsehoods that meet the legal definition of fraud. ... These
are deliberate acts of deceit."
Despite the betrayal by the Army, Kevin Tillman decided to finish out his enlistment and remained
in the Army until July 2005.
In 2008, he published a book about the Iraq war entitled, "The Transparent Pillage."
Experts Worry About R-Rated Films' Effects on Children's Development
By CLAIRE SHIPMAN and SUZAN CLARKE
April 23, 2010—
The movie ratings system was designed in part to prevent young children from being exposed to
inappropriate content, but nowadays it's easier than ever for kids to watch R-rated movies -- and they
don't even have set foot inside a movie theater.
The advancement of technology has made it simple for children to watch R-rated movies. Those are the
films that have so much sex or violence -- or other adult-themed content -- that those who are 17 and
under may only see them if they're with a parent or adult guardian.
Children can order movies on demand through their home's cable service provider. They can order them
through their video gaming system, or get them through Netflix, YouTube or Hulu.
Some of the services are free. For others, though, they need a credit card.
"The thing is, it doesn't really matter what your age range is," 13-year-old Tyler Lynch, a New Jersey
resident, told "Good Morning America." "It just matters if you have the money."
No Need to Go to the Theater to See a Movie
That way is far easier than the age-old ploy of trying to sneak one's way into an R-rated film at the
multiplex. For the so-called Net Generation, that gambit is old-fashioned.
"It's a lot more to deal with. People still check IDs and stuff like that," said 14-year-old Kathleen
McGrath, also of New Jersey.
While some children may not think twice about ordering up an R-rated film -- and many do so with their
parents' permission -- experts fear that exposing developing minds to certain content may have harmful
effects.
Studies have indicated that showing adult content to children can increase violent behavior, but recent
investigations have also revealed that showing R-rated movies to children can encourage them to
experiment with drinking and smoking.
"Today you can sit in the privacy of your own room, or in a family room, and download something on
your cell phone or over the Internet," said Jim Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, a
national organization that reviews movies for age-appropriateness and which also provides advocacy and
outreach.
"You can be exposed to inappropriate content without ever having to come near a movie theater," Steyer
added.
Parents Fear Movies' Effects on Children
Erna Nalic, 14, says her parents are "pretty lenient," and may let her watched an R-rated movie if they
watch it before she does.
Tyler says he only watches R-rated films if his parents allow it.
Asked if he ever sneaked a film in without their knowledge, he admitted that he had.
"Maybe once or twice, just, you know," he said. "Sometimes my parents are out and I order a movie rated
R and I won't tell them about it. I don't think they've ever caught me."
But an occasional sneak-peek isn't what most parents worry about -- or should worry about, Steyer said.
Rather, it's the constant onslaught of images from sources they often feel they can't control. On the
Common Sense Media website, parents vent about easily available R rated movie previews, for example.
Although theaters don't air them in PG movies, they are all over the internet, and even air routinely on
some cable system's on-demand menu pages. The solution? Do your homework, says Steyer. It will pay
off.
First, know every site and device and internet toy that your child has access to and uses, Steyer said.
Then, put locks on the ones you are worried about. Most On-Demand services allow passcodes to be set
and you can block many internet sites. Second, educate yourself. Really study the content. "You actually
have to go to places like commonsense.org or other places that really rate content and find out what's in it.
You need to get down and do your homework and find out what your kids are surfing or what movies and
video games their interested in. So there's a homework requirement for parents today that's really
important," Steyer said. Third, communicate. Start a dialogue with your children about all of this very
early. Talk to them about what they are watching, or what they want to watch and why. Getting them in
the habit of talking to you will help you understand what your child may be ready for.
Parents who worry about their children's overexposure to certain messages in the media will often air their
concerns on Common Sense Media's website.
"As this 24/7 media and technology world evolves, it just adds a new layer of parenting responsibility, but
the silver lining is it also adds a new layer of open dialogue and helping your kids process the kind of
important lessons that they're going to need to grow up to be healthy adults," Steyer said.
Toni McGrath said that years of open dialogue with her daughter, Kathleen, led her to understand she is
emotionally equipped to see certain R-rated movies.
"I think what I see as my job as a parent is to relinquish control at the right time in the right amounts, so
you have to know your kid enough to know, OK, she can handle this," McGrath said.
Erna said it could be a welcome discussion.
"I think that that helps a lot that my parents are really open. Like I can talk to them about anything," Erna
said. "The fact that I can and when I am watching these rated R movies it's not like I am hiding anything.
It's like this is just what I can talk to my parents about. It makes it a lot easier I think, okay about doing it.
"
Web Extra Tips:
The following organizations rate movies and television programming for content:
Click HERE to visit Common Sense Media's movie ratings page. Common Sense Media, a national
nonprofit, provides media advocacy and outreach, and rates movies for its appropriateness for children.
Click HERE to visit the Parents Television Council. The PTC advocates responsible television
programming.

Reality TV Star Lauren Conrad's Second Book in a Series
Feb. 3, 2010—
Following up on the New York Times bestselling book "L.A. Candy," Lauren Conrad's new novel "Sweet
Little Lies" tells the tale of a girl who finds herself in the spotlight of a Los Angeles reality TV show and
navigates her way through gossip, scheming friends and scandal, all in the public eye.
Read the excerpt below, and then head to the "GMA" Library to find more good reads.
CRAZY GIRL
Just before 9 a.m. on Monday morning, Jane pulled into her usual parking spot behind Fiona Chen's
building. She turned off the engine and carefully searched the entire lot through the window. Good no
photographers. She'd had to fend off two of them outside the apartment earlier. They were so obnoxious,
shouting questions at her about Braden and Jesse "Jane, why did Braden move to New York?" "Jane,
what do you think of Jesse's new girlfriend?" and snapping picture after picture of her while she gritted
her teeth and tried to ignore them. She hadn't heard anything about Braden going to New York or Jesse
having a new girlfriend. But she knew better than to talk to paparazzi.
Still . . . the thought of Braden and Jesse moving on without her, and so quickly, made her heart feel
heavy. Neither had tried to contact her since the Gossip story broke. Obviously she hadn't tried to contact
them, either. She knew she had to at some point. She owed Braden an apology for hooking up with him
when she was so mixed-up about everything, and for inadvertently getting him involved in this whole
mess. And she owed Jesse an even bigger apology. She had no idea how she could possibly make things
right after cheating on him, and in front of the whole world, too.
There was one guy she didn't owe anything and he seemed to have no problem getting in touch with her:
Caleb had texted her yesterday, from Vail something about the awesome powder, and did she remember
when they went to Tahoe during her senior year, and she wiped out on her new snowboard, like, twenty
times? A few minutes later, he had texted her a photo of her lying in a pile of snow and laughing
hysterically. Jane had no idea why he was sending her this stuff. It was nice that he was thinking about
her. But confusing. And she didn't need "confusing" right now, on top of everything else.
Riding up to her office in the crowded elevator, Jane felt butterflies in her stomach. And not the good
kind. She hadn't been to work in over a week, and she was really nervous about facing Fiona. She had sent
her boss a quick email yesterday, saying that she would be back in the office on Monday. Fiona had
responded right away, writing simply: SEE YOU TOMORROW AT 9 SHARP.
So what was in store for Jane at 9 sharp? A furious Fiona waiting with a long lecture? A pink slip, telling
her that she had two weeks to find new employment? Maybe one followed by the other. Can't wait.
To make things worse, the L.A. Candy cameras were up there already, prepared to shoot Jane's return to
work. When Trevor had called Jane yesterday, Jane had felt compelled to pick up after ignoring him for so
long. He asked her if it would be okay for them to shoot her at work the following day. After going MIA
on him, what could she say but yes?
Much to her surprise, Trevor had been really sweet on the phone and didn't sound angry at all about the
Gossip thing or her disappearing to Cabo. Which was weird, since he'd sounded so stressed in his
messages. He told her that he was happy she was back, and that everything was going to be fine. He said
that he'd been thinking about how to present "recent events" on the show, and thought her story line
should be that she had cheated on Jesse (without naming Braden, of course), and that she wasn't sure who
had spilled the news to Jesse. Maybe she could confess to someone, like her coworker and friend Hannah
Stratton, that she felt really bad about the whole thing. It would be Jane's opportunity to tell her side of the
story. He promised her that after people saw her side, everything would be better. And that was that.
Trevor added that he would talk to each of the girls Madison, Gaby, Scarlett, and Hannah to clue them in
on his ideas.
Lauren Conrad's "Sweet Little Lies"
Jane was relieved that Trevor was being so nice about everything. At the same time, she wasn't sure how
she felt about his interpretation of "recent events." Trevor's story line wasn't exactly accurate. On the
other hand, it sounded a lot more PG and more protective of Braden's privacy than what had really
happened.
Jane also didn't like the idea of Trevor talking to Hannah about his ideas. Hannah wasn't one of the main
girls on the show just someone who was lucky or unlucky (depending on your perspective) enough to
have a desk across from Jane, which meant that she was almost always shot as part of the office "scenes."
Hannah wasn't used to dealing with Trevor and Dana. Couldn't he leave her out of this?
Trevor had also emailed Jane some short scripts he wanted her to record later that day, at the recording
studio. They were the voice-overs that Jane always narrated for the show, recapping previous episodes for
each new episode. Months ago, before the series premiere, Dana had told Jane that she had been chosen
for the voice-overs because she was thought to be the most relatable of the four girls. Whatever that
meant.
Jane pulled out her blackberry, opened the e-mail and glanced over the lines briefly as several people got
out on the fourth floor. (The elevator was moving soooo slowly today and Jane didn't want to be late on
her first day back.) One of the lines caught her attention: Last week at the gym, Scarlett and Gaby met a
couple of cute guys from Texas. Will there be a double date in their future?
What? Scar and Gaby were going to the gym together now? Scar couldn't stand Gaby, or at least, that was
what she had always claimed. Jane couldn't picture Scar and Gaby working out together much less going
out on a double date together. Had the world turned upside down while she was in Cabo?
The elevator doors finally opened on the fifth floor, and Jane stepped out. She was disoriented for a
moment when she saw that the waiting area usually so peaceful, with its dark gold walls, soft lighting, and
miniature Zen garden complete with trickling waterfall had been overrun by the PopTV crew. A couple of
guys were running around with equipment, while Dana and Matt, one of the directors, were having a
conversation by the receptionist's desk. Dana snapped to attention when she saw Jane. "Good morning,
Jane! Hope you had a great Christmas. Not to rush you, but we gotta get a mike on you right away."
"Not to rush you"? "Good morning"? Had someone slipped a Prozac into Dana's morning coffee?
"Fiona's all ready for you in her office," Matt added. Matt was a nice guy, even though Jane had been
confused by his presence the first time they met. After all, L.A. Candy was a reality show. Why was a
director necessary? Like someone had to "direct" her getting a cup of coffee or chatting with her friends?
Jane had quickly figured out that he was there to direct the shots, not the girls. His job was to watch all the
cameras at the same time on his portable screen and make sure they got the necessary footage.
Matt frowned into his headset. "Or . . . not. What, Ramon?" he said to the person on the other end. "Well,
fine. Let me know when she's done with hair and makeup." Jane knew that Fiona called in her own hair
and makeup stylist on shooting days. The boss lady pretended not to care about things like her TV image,
but she did.
One of the crew members came over and handed Jane a small silver microphone attached to a wire. "You
wearing a bra under that?" he asked, nodding at her pale blue halter dress. That question used to make
Jane blush. But she was used to it by now.
"No, it's got, like, this built-in bra. But I can tape it onto the dress." "Great. You know the drill."
As Jane worked on the mike (it created a little humpback under her dress, which she covered with her
hair), she saw the receptionist out of the corner of her eye giving her a little wave. Naomi was petite,
blond, stylish, and whispered most of the time, not because she was naturally soft-spoken but because she
was terrified of Fiona and took her philosophy of keeping a calm, tranquil atmosphere very literally.
Which was pretty hilarious, given the chaos Jane and the PopTV crew brought to the office. Jane waved
back. It was nice to see a friendly face.
"Okay, Fiona's ready for you now," Matt called out to Jane. "Let's get a quick shot of you coming out of
the elevators and saying hi to Natalie."
"Naomi," Naomi whispered.
"What?" Matt frowned.
"Her name's Naomi," Jane said helpfully.
"Naomi. And then Naomi will tell you that Fiona wants to see you, and you'll head on back," Matt went
on.
After shooting the exciting scene for twenty minutes they had to let several crowded elevators go by, and
then a FedEx delivery guy wandered into the frame, requiring a retake Jane was ready to go face Fiona.
Well, readyish.
Fiona sat behind her desk, busily typing on her computer. Two camera guys were in opposite corners of
the room, filming. Forty-something and striking, Fiona was wearing one of her trademark all-black
ensembles. Her freshly done hair and makeup looked lovely, especially with the help of the muted
lighting, which Jane knew had taken the crew about two hours to achieve. They always had to go through
this when filming in Fiona's office. The fact that she insisted they leave her office exactly the way they
found it meant they couldn't leave the enormous lights in there and had to bring them in and out every
time they filmed.
"Good morning, Fiona," Jane said with a nervous smile.
Fiona stopped typing and glanced up. "Good morning, Jane," she said simply, nodding toward the chair on
the opposite side of her desk.
Jane sat down on one of Fiona's prized Eames chairs, set her bag on the floor, and waited. She mentally
braced herself for the worst: Your behavior has disgraced this entire company! You've made one mistake
too many! You're fired! You're
"I have a new assignment for you," Fiona announced. "Crazy Girl has hired us to do a Valentine's Day
party to launch their new drink flavor. I'm putting you in charge of it, and Hannah will be helping out.
Ruby Slipper will be doing the PR, so you and Hannah will be coordinating with Gaby Garcia."
Jane was stunned. No chastisement from Fiona for leaving without notice? It was as though nothing had
happened. It was business as usual. And a new assignment? With a major client like Crazy Girl?
Also, how was it that she was going to be working on the assignment with Gaby, who happened to be on
L.A. Candy, too? Had Trevor intervened somehow?
"The budget will be . . . Why aren't you writing this all down?" Fiona demanded sharply.
"What? Oh, I'm sorry!" Flustered, Jane reached into her bag and pulled out a small notebook and pen.
Despite the unanswered questions in her mind, Jane couldn't help but feel kind of excited. Crazy Girl was
a new brand of energy drink designed to appeal to a female market that might be put off by seemingly
macho energy drinks like Katapult and Dragon Fuel. Even though it was new, the Crazy Girl name seemed
to be all over the place. Now it would be all over a Valentine's Day party organized by her, Jane Roberts.
It was pretty amazing.
Fiona proceeded to give Jane more instructions about the assignment, while Jane took notes in her nearly
illegible shorthand. When Fiona was finished, Jane said, "Great. I'm on it. I'm really excited about working
on this project."
"Crazy Girl is a very important new client for us, Jane. I need your full attention here."
"Absolutely."
"I haven't had a chance to discuss this with Hannah, so please fill her in."
"No problem."
As Jane put her notebook away, she remembered something. "Isn't . . . didn't we have another party
scheduled for Valentine's Day? Anna Payne's wedding or recommitment ceremony or something?"
"Recommitment ceremony. And no, that's been canceled. She and her husband split up."
"Really? What happened?"
"Apparently she cheated on him with his best friend while he was in rehab."
Jane felt heat rising to her cheeks. "Okay, well, um . . . is there anything else?"
"No, that will be all," Fiona said without looking up from her computer screen.
As the camera guys started to move their equipment to film in her and Hannah's office, Jane gathered her
stuff and stood up. And sat back down again. She had a few minutes between scenes, and she had
something she wanted to say to Fiona off-camera. She waited as the room slowly emptied.
"Um, Fiona?"
"Yes?" Fiona picked up her cell and began punching in a number.
"I'm . . . well, I wanted to apologize. For everything that happened, and for disappearing last week. It was
really unprofessional of me, and I'm really, really sorry."
Fiona stared at Jane, then clicked her phone shut. Her dark eyes softened. "Apology accepted," she said
gently.
"You've been through a lot. I'm sure it hasn't been easy for you. But you're a strong, smart girl, and you'll
survive this. I have faith in you."
Jane blinked. Had Fiona, the world's scariest boss (in Jane's opinion, anyway), just decided to be human?
"Thank you," Jane gushed. "Thank you so much, it's really nice of you to "
"Yes. Well, sorry, but I've got to take this," Fiona cut in as she brought her phone to her ear. Her voice
was hard again.
Jane scrambled to her feet. She'd better get out of there before Fiona decided not to be so understanding,
after all. No point in pushing her luck!
"I'm so glad you're back. Things haven't been the same without you," Hannah said. She hooked a long
strand of honey-blond hair over her ear. "Did you have a good Christmas?"
"Yeah, it was nice to see my parents and my sisters," Jane said. She glanced briefly at the two camera
guys filming in the corners, then at the top of her desk, which was cluttered as always with files, fabric
swatches, and magazine clippings. There was a vase of frilly peach tulips next to her Mac. "Where'd these
come from?"
"Oh, I picked them up on my way in. I thought they'd cheer you up."
"Wow. That was really sweet. Thank you!"
"You're welcome!"
Jane smiled at Hannah. Hannah had started working at Fiona Chen Events shortly after Jane. She was one
of the nicest people Jane had met in L.A., and she was a good listener, too. In fact, Jane used to confide in
her a lot about Jesse not just because of her listening skills but because she was one of Jane's only friends
who actually liked Jesse. Madison, Gaby, Scar (especially Scar), and even Braden had all advised her to
stay far away from him because he was trouble. Hannah was the only person who had encouraged Jane to
follow her heart. And back then, before everything blew up, Jane's heart had told her that she was falling
for Jesse. That they belonged together.
"So we're gonna be working on the Crazy Girl party together," Jane said. "It's gonna be amazing."
"Definitely," Hannah agreed.
"We need to go over some details, then set up a meeting with Ruby Slipper."
"Yes! Anytime is fine with me. My schedule's pretty clear." Hannah peered at her computer monitor. That
girl was always on IM at work.
Jane felt her phone vibrating and fished it out of her bag. It was a text from Dana.
CAN YOU SAY GABYS NAME WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT RUBY SLIPPER? Dana had written.
Jane ignored the text and shoved the phone back into her bag. Guess that's confirmed, she thought. Trevor
had obviously intervened, convincing Fiona to pair Jane and Gaby up for the Crazy Girl party. The PopTV
cameras would be all over their entire event-planning process from beginning to end.
"Soooo. Have you, um, talked to Jesse lately?" Hannah asked, breaking the silence of the room.
Jane shook her head. "No. I've been meaning to call him, but . . ." Her voice trailed off.
"You really should call him," Hannah told her. "I'm sure he wants to talk to you."
"I'm pretty sure he doesn't," Jane said. "I don't think he'll ever forgive me."
"You made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes."
"Yeah, well, this wasn't just a mistake. I really screwed up, Hannah."
Then, before Jane knew what was happening, her eyes welled with tears. She wiped a tear off her cheek.
"I really screwed up," she repeated, whispering.
Hannah got up from her desk and hurried over to Jane. She wrapped her arms around Jane's shoulders and
gave her a big hug. "We all screw up once in a while," she said. "Call Jesse. Apologize to him. You're
gonna feel so much better if you do."
"I'll think about it," Jane said, wiping away another tear.
Jane remembered then that the cameras were still rolling. She had just confessed to Hannah on-camera
how bad she felt about cheating on Jesse. This was what Trevor had told her to do when they spoke on the
phone last night, wasn't it? Did that mean he'd put those words into her mouth? No, they were her words.
So why did she feel a strange sense of . . . what? Being directed somehow? And had Trevor directed
Hannah, too? No, that's crazy, she told herself. Trevor's suggestions were no different from Dana's
text-messaged requests. They were simply meant to help shape the girls' conversations while they were
on-camera. To make things more interesting for TV. After all, they couldn't just sit there and talk about
nothing, right?
Right?

WKBW - TV | From ABC News: Award Winning Producer Named as L... http://www.wkbw.com/internal?st=print&id=63265352&path=/news/local
- Buffalo, New York

Print this article
Originally printed at http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/63265352.html
New York, NY (ABC News) -- A veteran CBS News producer is allegedly the man who
attempted to blackmail late-night comedian David Letterman for $2 million, threatening
to go public with the information that Letterman had sexual relationships with members
of his staff.
Robert J. Halderman, 51, a longtime Emmy-award winning producer for CBS News' "48
Hours," was arrested Thursday in a sting operation in which Letterman handed over a
phony $2 million check.
Halderman lived until recently with Stephanie Birkitt, who had previously been a personal
assistant to Letterman.
Letterman, 62, confessed during a taping of "The Late Show" for broadcast Thursday
night that he had had sex with members of his staff.
"This morning I did something I've never done in my life," Letterman told his audience. "I
had to go downtown and testify before a grand jury."
Letterman revealed to the studio audience that he received a package three weeks ago
containing a threat to reveal those indiscretions "if Letterman did not pay the individual a
large sum of money" -- specified in a later communication as $2 million.
He said that the package contained a letter that said, "I know that you do some terrible
terrible things, and I can prove that you do these terrible things ... and sure enough what
was contained in the package was proof that I do terrible, terrible things."
Howard Kurtz, a media critic for The Washington Post, said Letterman handled the
situation "reasonably well" but cautioned that late-night comedians have a "delicate"
relationship with their audience, especially because they often point out the infidelities of
others.
"Somebody's going to put together a tape with all the jokes Letterman has done about
womanizing public figures," Kurtz told Robin Roberts on "Good Morning America." "So if
he becomes a punchline himself, I don't think he will lose his job over this, but clearly it
undermines his job as a performer."
The audience laughed nervously as Letterman described how he'd called his attorney and
then set up a meeting with his blackmailer in which the plotter told him he wanted to
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write a screenplay about him that included sordid details of the talk show host's life.
At a third meeting, Letterman, with the assistance of the Manhattan District Attorney's
Office, handed the blackmailer a phony $2 million check. It was then that the extortionist
revealed he also planned to write a book about Letterman's life, also revealing details of
his past sexual infidelities.
"A companion piece to the screenplay," Letterman cracked weakly.
Letterman then acknowledged unspecified sexual relationships with female staff members
to a silent audience.
"My response to that [allegation] is, 'Yes I have.' Would it be embarrassing if it were made
public? Perhaps it would," Letterman said.
"Especially for the women," he managed to joke.
"I feel like I need to protect these people. I need to certainly protect my family," he said.
ABC News could not reach Halderman for comment, but CBS News released a statement
saying that he has been suspended from his job as the investigation continues.
Earlier this year, Letterman announced on his show his marriage to longtime girlfriend
Regina Lasko, who he began dating in the 1980s. The pair have a son, Harry Joseph
Letterman, whose impending arrival Letterman announced on his show in 2003.
He did not mention his wife specifically or any other details of these affairs during his
Thursday taping.
It's unclear from the Worldwide Pants statement when Letterman's sexual relations with
his female staffers occurred.
The comedian went on to thank the Special Prosecution Bureau of the Manhattan District
Attorney's office for its assistance, which culminated in the Halderman's arrest early in
the day Thursday.
CBS issued a statement late Thursday night regarding the investigation and Letterman's
decision to speak out on his show: "Mr. Letterman addressed the issue during the show's
broadcast last night, and we believe his comments speak for themselves."
Colleagues were dumbstruck by the charges against Halderman. "I really can't believe the
charges against him. I don't understand the motivation," said one producer who had
worked with Halderman in the past.
The producer described Halderman not only as a well paid producer but one who was a
"top shelf producer, highly regarded by CBS." Halderman was routinely entrusted with
top stories ranging from the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan, to assignments for "48
Hours."
Halderman has been married and divorced twice, according to public records. He had two
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children with his second wife as well as three step-children.
This is not the first extortion plot alleged to have targeted Letterman. In 2005, Kelly
Frank, who worked as a handyman on Letterman's Rocky Mountain ranch in Montana,
was arrested for allegedly plotting to kidnap Letterman's then-16-month-old son, Harry.
Frank pleaded not guilty but got 10 years in jail for overcharging Letterman.
At the time, the comedian took it all in stride.
"I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing my house on television while I'm in my house
watching television," Letterman said on a March 2005 show.
Letterman was a longtime bachelor after his first marriage ended in divorce in 1977.
He has had at least one relationship with a co-worker in the past. Merrill Markoe, a
comedian and author who was his longtime writer, was his girlfriend in the 1980s.
Even so, Letterman has joked about others' infidelities. Numerous jokes and at least two
of Letterman's famous Top 10 lists highlighted South Carolina Gov. Rick Sanford's
extramarital affair. Letterman included the "Top 10 Surprising Facts About Mark Sanford"
and the "Top 10 Gov. Mark Sanford Excuses" during the days after the governor admitted
to having an affair this June.
Letterman has been a fixture on late night network television since 1982 after a short stint
with a morning show on NBC. As host of "Late Night" on NBC and then "The Late Show"
on CBS, he is second only to Johnny Carson as the longest-running late night host.
ABC News' Eileen Murphy and Emily Friedman contributed to this report.
3 of 3 2009/10/17 09:34 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Linda Evans Reflects on Her 'Dynasty' Days http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8549193
Linda Evans Reflects on Her 'Dynasty' Days

The Form er Actress Traded in Beverly Hills for the Wilderness of Washington State
By ANDREA CANNING and ANNA WILD
S ept. 14, 2009—
Linda Evans traded in her sequins and shoulder pads for 70 acres of wilderness in Washington state, and the
former "Dynasty" star says she has never been happier.
Evans, 66, played iconic trophy wife Krystle Carrington in the hit series that had more than 250 million
viewers worldwide. She said acting in the show was "every woman's dream."
"It gave people an insight into what life could be like if they had everything they wanted," Evans said of
ABC's prime time soap opera that aired from 1981 to 1989. "And yet showed that even if you are rich
doesn't mean that you are happy, because there was a lot of drama."
But Evans decided to escape Hollywood for the woods of Rainier, Wash.
"The pressure [was] too big," Evans said. "I moved up here and within the first year I gained 25 pounds. It
was so much fun not to put on makeup and just to be a regular person."
Although she escaped to the wilderness, her "Dynasty" days are never far away. Her closet still holds dozens
of Nolan M iller gowns -- the dresses that were just as popular as the drama-filled show.
"There were days my shoulder pads were so big and Joan's were so big we couldn't walk through a door,"
Evans said, referring to her on-screen nemesis, Joan Collins.
After the show, Collins and Evans toured together while starring in the play "Legends," but the two ended up
fighting.
"We had some trying times during the play," Evans said. "I don't know exactly what happened. I know that
circumstances played out to where there was a lot of tension. There was more drama backstage than there was
on stage."
Evan's own love life has, at times, resembled a soap opera with two failed marriages and a passionate love
affair with new-age musician Yanni.
Life After 'Dynasty' for Linda Evans
"Nine years, every day, I loved him madly. It was so intense and so unbelievable, I was so happy to know
that at that point in my life, I could experience it," Evans said, adding hat she was devastated when it ended,
1 of 2 2009/09/16 06:19 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

Linda Evans Reflects on Her 'Dynasty' Days http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8549193
the result, in part, of his demanding touring schedule.
Although Evans said she has found happiness, it did not come easy. Her sister was fighting cancer while
Evans battled menopause and depression.
"For the first time in my life, I understood what it was like to not be totally in control of my life," Evans said.
"I am in a downward spiral to hell, it just got worse and worse. ... It was like all the lights were down low."
So Evans turned to bio-identical hormone therapy. "It's just a cream you rub on your arm and I am a new
person," Evans said. "It was a miracle I came out of it. ... It was too much intensity for too long. I want
people to know there is hope."
The former "Dynasty" beauty also opened up about her plastic surgery. Although she called it a "great gift to
women," Evans acknowledged she might have taken it too far.
"I've made some choices where I've gone, 'Whoops,'" Evans said. "I think anyone who looks at me can tell. ...
People know what you should look like and why you don't." Now, Evans is focusing on the simpler things in
life, such as cooking. She won the U.K. version of "Hell's Kitchen" and is working on a cookbook.
"Forget acting, this is what I love. ... I love people and I love food," Evans said."Dream big. & There's nothing
you can't have, there's nothing you can't do."
2 of 2 2009/09/16 06:19 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

Stimulus Program has $300 Million for States; Rebates End When Funds Do
By SUZAN CLARKE
Feb. 12, 2010—
Cash for Appliances is a government program through which consumers can get hundreds of dollars in
rebates for the purchase of new energy-efficient appliances and making certain home improvements.
But the offer of cash back is for a limited time only. The federal government has allocated $300 million
under the 2009 stimulus bill for Cash for Appliances, and the program lasts only as long as the money
does.
Individual U.S. states were allowed to design and administer the various rebate plans, which now total 56,
according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Click HERE to find out more about the programs in your state.
Each state will receive money from the federal government's allotment, the energy department said.
Wendy Bounds, a columnist with the Wall Street Journal, said the Cash for Appliances has already started
in Michigan, New York and other states. The program may be coming to your state very soon, she added.
Bounds answered several questions about the program:
Q: How big are the rebates?
A: The appliance rebates range from $50 to $250, per appliance. Only purchases that replace an existing
appliance are eligible for a rebate, and rebates will be issued only for products that were bought during the
specific time period established for eligibility, she said.
Q: How do I get a rebate?
A: Rules vary by state.Click HERE to find out more about the programs in your state.
Q: How long does it take to receive a rebate?
A: The rebate will arrive in about four to six weeks, Bounds said. The payment will come in the form of a
check or a prepaid card.
Q: Do I have to recycle my old appliance to get rebate?
A: Some states do require that you recycle your old appliance, but many that do so will offer an additional
rebate. Many national chains, such as Sears or Lowe's, will take your old appliances and help you to fill
out rebate forms, Bounds noted.
Be sure to keep your receipts, proof of purchase information and recycling documentation. Your state's
program may require all of those to collect your rebate.
Many Appliances Qualify for Money Back Program
Q: Which appliances are covered?

A: Boilers, central air conditioners, washing machines, dishwashers, freezers, furnaces, heat pumps,
refrigerators, room air conditioners and water heaters are all on the list, but each state will have its own
specific list of qualifying appliances, Bounds said.
In general, though, the appliance you purchase must at least be Energy Star-rated. While such appliances
may cost a little more, they should pay for themselves with savings on your utility bills, she said.
Q: Am I allowed to combine the government rebate with other discounts?
A: Some stores are offering manufacturer rebates or retail promotions on the same appliances that are
covered by the Cash for Appliances program. Typically, you can combine the new appliance rebate with
the other rebates, Bounds said.
She also said there's a federal energy efficiency tax credit, one that gives you a dollar for dollar credit on
your tax bill, for certain energy-efficient heating and cooling equipment, and for water heaters.
There are more details at the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency. To find out
more, click HERE to visit the organization's Web site.

Girdles for Guys: Mirdles Make Men Thinner Page 1 of 2
Mirdles: Making Men Thinner in Seconds

Girdles for Guys: The Compression Shape Wear Has Become Popular Online
By IMAEYEN IBANGA
July 31, 2009 —
Attention men: Is your belly more beer than buff? Is the gym not your thing yet? You want to look
trim? The "mirdle" may be the answer for that mushy midsection.
With the arrival of the male version of the girdle, the battle of the sexes just evened up at least
when it comes to slimming shape wear. The mirdle is used to suck, bind, restrain and hide love
handles, muffin tops, moobs and other fatty areas of your torso.
One 201-pound editor, Frank Stamper, at ABC affiliate WHAS in Louisville, Ky., volunteered to test
out the torso enhancing article of clothing.
Stamper's normal waistline is 36 inches, but with the compression garment, it quickly shrinks inches.
Stamper's waist becomes slims down to 34 and one quarter inches in mere seconds.
"I lost two inches. Where can you go and in 30 seconds loose two inches?" Stamper said.
A smaller stomach is fine and dandy but it's the comfort factor that may matter most for some
consumers.
"It was tight, but there was not discomfort," Stamper said. "The waistline was great. There really was
no discomfort. You could walk around a full day of work and nobody would probably notice you had
the body shaper on."
Stamper was so pleased with his instant tummy tuck that he took the body sculpting tank top home.
He is now sold on the compression concept. And if the Internet is any indication, he isn't the only
happy customer.
Several Web sites now sell "waist eliminators," chest compressors, mirdles and manziers.
According to Underworks.com, "business is very, very good" and customers are happy.
Mirdles on the Market
One mirdle brand is the Equmen Core Precision Undershirt, which gently pulls the shoulders back
while compressing the core. It also claims to improve posture, increase energy and control body
temperature.
The undershirts, which are 73 percent polyester, 13 percent nylon and 14 percent spandex, retail for
$89.
Girdles for Guys: Mirdles Make Men Thinner Page 2 of 2
Then there's the Ript Fusion, which bills itself as a revolutionary torso enhancing undershirt.
It's selling point: It's a "classic men's undershirt injected with steroids." Priced at $58, garment says it
can take at least two to five inches off.
And least you can't figure out how to use your mirdle, this shirt even comes with directions.
Martha Stewart Dishes on Rachael Ray http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9106551
'Living' Queen Dishes on Her Giant Company, Rachael Ray's Faults and Her Own 'Legal
Mess'
By CYNTHIA McFADDEN and STEVEN BAKER
Nov. 18, 2009 —
Martha Stewart often rises before her roosters; she confessed on a recent "Nightline" visit that she sleeps
only three or four hours a night. And getting sick? Nonsense. "I'm never sick," said Stewart. "Why get
sick? It's a waste of time."
Stewart seems to have only one speed: fast forward. And that, to use the phrase she made famous, may be
a "very good thing."
In her most-revealing television interview since serving five months in prison in 2004 for lying to
investigators about a well-timed stock trade, Stewart gave "Nightline" unprecedented access to her daily
life and her business empire, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, (MSLO). It is a critical moment in the
company's evolution. The world's most famous homemaker gamely agreed to answer all questions and had
some surprising reflections on her legal troubles and on one of her TV competitors, Rachael Ray.
The interview came at a particularly sensitive time for Stewart, as business analysts say the next eight
months are crucial to her company's long-term success. Does she agree?
"[It's] fair to say that this is our growth period, that's what it's fair to say, we are growing," said Stewart.
"We are, I think, going to do very very well."
And that is more than a wish; it's a necessity. The company lost nearly $16 million last year and has
posted a $35 million loss so far this year. If this is a make-or-break moment, Stewart is facing it with a
flourish. She claims 37 million people follow her various enterprises, from her cooking show (in its fifth
year) to her books -- all 69 of them, and counting.
Stewart's latest publication, "Dinner at Home," hit the bestseller list the first week it was out. Her fans
can't get enough of all things Martha, and legions of them show up at book signings around the country. A
few weeks ago she signed 600 books at a Williams-Sonoma in Philadelphia.
There are also, of course, the magazines -- a variety of titles, led by Living. But most important to the
bottom line is the "stuff" -- the products Stewart sells in more than 5,000 retail stores in the United States
and overseas: everything from dog dishes to glitter kits. She told us she sold three million jars of glitter
after she taught Jay Leno how to "glitter by number."
'I Plan to Be No.1'
This is Stewart's second year selling crafting products, including crafting tools, stickers and paper goods.
It's a business she sees as important to her company's future.
"Crafts are a $32 billion industry," said Stewart. "There is no one standout brand in crafting, and we are
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aiming to be that brand with this amazing assortment of fantastic crafts. And I plan to be No. 1."
Of course, Stewart herself is a famous "crafter," and says she gets a kick out of creating things that
eventually end up in her books, magazines and television shows. So is there any difference between the
woman, Martha Stewart, and the brand? Does she try to separate the two?
"No," she replied, laughing. "I don't try to separate it all. I -- I try to do as much as I can, wherever I am.
So, at the farm, I'm always thinking of some new project, some new thing I can do."
We pushed: Is there nothing she keeps just for herself?
"There are pieces, but they're concealed at work. And they're concealed at home. Does that make you feel
better?" she asked, with the merest hint of annoyance.
Stewart is not particularly warm and fuzzy. Nor, she says, is she lonely or unhappy. She is passionate
about what she is interested in: both engaged and engaging. She can be funny. Even about herself. She
says she is a teacher and there is nothing she seems to enjoy quite so much as explaining how to do
something. But one does get the feeling there is only one way to accomplish most tasks: her way. She is
rarely still.
An early-morning visit to Stewart's immaculate, 150-acre working farm in Bedford, N.Y., (Ralph Lauren
lives next-door), with its three donkeys, five horses, three geese and 200 chickens, including egg-layers,
establishes her dedication to all things domestic. She's planning to add cows to her stable as she has an
idea about a cheese she wants to produce. She proudly showed off her mulching piles. Her gardens. There
seems to be no end to her projects or her enthusiasms.
But there are rules. No outdoor shoes are permitted inside, lest the hardwood floors be damaged. That
includes the home gym (although sneakers are permitted for the workout). Martha keeps five pairs of
sneakers neatly lined up at the gym door. It takes 12 staffers to work the farm, and her morning meeting
with them the day we were there included her instruction that every single tree on the property --
remember it's 150 acres -- needed to be tied, just so, before the winter. "You get the stake, cross it and go
around the stake twice and tie it so that if the tree starts to grow it will not get choked."
She didn't say, "or else" but she didn't need to.
Philanthropy Inspired by Mother
Her kitchen is just what you'd expect -- bright, well-organized (she let us poke through all the drawers!)
and welcoming. There are two bowls of farm eggs on the counter, a large bowl of fruit, little onions from
the garden.
We were invited to a breakfast of scrambled farm eggs and fruit prepared by Laura Acuna, who told us
she has worked for Stewart for 22 years. She is clearly devoted. In fact, despite Stewart's reputation for
being tough on those who work for her, there are many among her staff who have been with her for
decades, including her publicist, Susan Magrino, who has worked with Stewart since her first book was
published 27 years ago.
Last year Stewart committed herself to a new venture. Not a business venture, but a philanthropic one: the
Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mount Sinai Hospital. It is a facility devoted to helping those who are
getting old and those who care for them. It was inspired by Stewart's mother, Martha Kostyra, a favorite
guest on her television show, who was 93 when she died two years ago.
"It is a place where -- about 2,700 patients come on an outpatient basis, from the neighborhood -- to get
both medical advice, examinations, advice about diet, nutrition and exercise. It is kind of a home away
from home for many, many of the patients," Stewart said.
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We asked whether Stewart knew her mother was proud of her. She paused.
"About a year after she died," Stewart said, "I was cleaning my shelf where I keep my pocketbooks. And I
remember being handed this brown pocketbook. I looked inside, and written in gold inside was a beautiful
message from my mother telling me how proud she was of my accomplishments. I'd never seen it before. I
'd never thanked her."
Stewart said she sat on the floor and cried.
But tears are not shed often or easily, despite tough times. Like most media companies, Stewart's has been
hard hit by the nation's economic woes. But the economic hit that Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has
taken in the recession is only the second daunting obstacle Stewart has faced in the past five years. You
may have heard of the first.
Her high-profile trial and eventual imprisonment for lying under oath was hard to miss. At the time, she
was adamant it wouldn't destroy her, declaring on the court house steps, "I'll be back." But in the wake of
what she refers to as her "legal mess," the company's losses topped $59 million in 2004 and a whopping
$75 million the next year.
'I Was Pissed'
Did she ever think there was a danger that her company would go under?
"Not really," she said, "'cause I'm an optimist. I knew we had a really good thing going. And I really knew
that I was not guilty of anything that could possibly harm my company."
But wasn't she scared, after all the hard work she had put in to create her business empire?
"Well, I was pissed. OK," Stewart said. "Pissed that something could actually affect that. The company
had nothing to do with anything. But yet, because I am the face and the brand, my person -- it certainly
had a -- harmful effect.
"When you are prosecuted in such a way, and a great portion of wealth is dissipated, all I can think, so
much, is what I could've done with all of that for the good of mankind. And -- and I hope I can continue."
Stewart said she couldn't put a precise figure on her personal financial losses but contends they were huge.
"It's inestimable actually. Personally, oh, I'm sure -- probably more than a billion dollars, of course. ... And
if you add in what the company was worth -- absolutely. And I'm a major shareholder in the company.
Did she kick herself, just a little bit, we wondered?
"How could I kick myself? There are other people to be kicked," Stewart said, laughing. "Enough. Let's
get on with-- with the future."
It's that kind of can-do attitude that has helped her steer the company out of danger. By 2007, with
Stewart fully engaged, the company turned a profit for the first time since she'd faced her legal woes. But
then the world financial crisis hit. Stewart, however, seems remarkably undaunted by the stalled economy,
saying the company is poised for major growth.
In fact the company's offices in an old factory building on Manhattan's West Side -- where all her
operations have now been centralized -- pulses with activity. Taking up a full city block, the space is
bright, white and abuzz. There's the Martha Stewart retail and design operation, the magazines (four of
them), the television editing facilities, the test kitchens and the crafting section, the online operation -- and
that's just for starters.
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The key to further growth -- the company now has sales in the $200 million range -- lies in selling more
products. The company took a serious blow with the end of a lucrative deal with Kmart, which guaranteed
tens of millions of dollars in sales annually.
But MSLO has responded by finding a new partner in Home Depot. That deal will begin in January as the
Kmart deal ends. The company has also signed a new partnership with PetSmart and will continue to
partner with Macy's. MSLO is also about to launch a new line of green cleaning products, and this spring
will launch a new line of Martha Stewart brownie and cookie mixes.
How Can a Teacher Be Too Perfect?
Of course, Martha Stewart is involved in each product and every deal. Though she dismisses the notion
that there wouldn't be a company without her.
"Oh, no, no, that's not true at all," she said. "That is not true at all... We now... own Emeril. Emeril
Lagasse. A very strong brand. Emeril is working again as hard as I am, as far as I know, to create
complementary product.
But in her heart of hearts, does she believe that if she got hit by a bus tomorrow the company could go on
without her?
"Yes, it would. Definitely," she said. "But I'm not gonna get hit by a bus tomorrow... I've already been hit
by the bus. Once is enough!"
The bus may have bruised her, but it did not change her in a fundamental way. She remains ever the
exacting, impossibly perfect homemaker. This fall on her television show she explained to viewers how
she collects the pink gravel from her mile-long driveway in Maine every winter, and stores it for the next
year so it doesn't get muddy.
"That beautiful gravel -- expensive gravel I might add -- would disappear in to the Maine mud," she said.
"That's a Maine tradition." It is clear she sees herself as a trustee of what is beautiful and refuses to
compromise her vision.
It's that kind of over-the top perfectionism that makes Stewart's fans adore her and her critics go crazy -- a
criticism, by the way, she doesn't understand.
"Well, how can a teacher be too perfect?" she said. "Oh, I've just -- I can't even -- if I had a teacher who
was imperfect, or couldn't speak French when they were a French teacher, or mispronounced things, or --
spoke bad grammar if she were teaching, or he were teaching English, that would not have been a good
thing."
Rachael Ray: 'That's Not Good Enough for Me'
This approach to homemaking -- cooking in particular -- lies in stark contrast to a rival domestic diva,
Rachael Ray, whose style is far more laid-back. The two appeared on each other's programs recently, and
Stewart doesn't mince words when it comes to Ray's cooking skills.
"Well, to me, she professed that she could -- cannot bake," said Stewart. "She -- just did a new cookbook
which is just a re-edit of a lot of her old recipes. She -- and that's not good enough for me. I mean, I really
want to write a book that is a unique and lasting thing. Something that will really fulfill a need in
someone's library. So, she's different. She's -- she's more of an entertainer than she is, with her bubbly
personality, than she is a teacher, like me. That's not what she's professing to be."
We asked Rachael Ray for her reaction to Stewart's comments. Does it make her mad?
"Why would it make me mad?" said Ray. "Her skill set is far beyond mine. That's simply the reality of it.
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That doesn't mean that what I do isn't important too... I don't consider it needling. I really just think she's
being honest. She does have a better skill set than I do when it comes to producing a beautiful, perfect,
high-quality meal. I'd rather eat Martha's than mine, too."
And that is part of what Martha Stewart still has going for her. She is, even in the eyes of her competitors,
the queen. And yet she is a queen who cannot officially rule her own company -- not until 2011, anyway,
per an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission stemming from her conviction.
So who runs the company? Stewart said Charles Koppleman, the executive chairman, and Robin Marino,
CEO and president of merchandising, are in charge. But she is the one with the corner office, and the one
who sits at the head of the table during meetings.
"It's actually my table," she joked. "I bought it for the company."
Do they let her sit of the head of the table because they feel sorry for her?
"Nobody feels sorry for me. Believe me."
We read her something Maureen Dowd wrote in the New York Times a few years ago about Hillary
Clinton and Stewart.
"Americans like to see women who wear the pants be beaten up and humiliated," Dowd wrote. "People
liked Hillary and Martha a lot more once they were broken ... melted into puddles of vulnerability."
Stewart objected.
"I don't think either Hillary, who is the secretary of state of the United States of America, is a broken
woman, and I don't think I was a broken woman," Stewart said. "I did what I had to do. And came back
right into a company that had not failed. Despite the wishes of some that it would.
Was it humiliating?
"No," said Stewart, "I was never humiliated. I was hurt, and I was sad, but I was never, never broken."
And now she intends to make sure her company isn't broken either.
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From Unemployment Benefits, to Health Care or Retirement, Mellody Answers Your
Questions
By MAUREEN WHITE and LAURA ZACCARO
April 28, 2010—
There are 15 million Americans looking for work and trying to find ways to pay their bills. So "GMA"
financial contributor Mellody Hobson hit the streets of Chicago to give financial advice and answer your
questions about unemployment.
I'm Unemployed, What Do I Do About My Retirement Accounts?
Hobson said that it is "very very important" to consolidate all of your retirement accounts because as you
get older you may forget where they are.
"The average American has 11 jobs in their lifetime. So, a lot of people leave their company and they end
up with all of these separate IRAs and 401(k)s. And what happens is terribly disappointing, is that many
people forget about them," Hobson said.
If you are still looking for work, 25 states have passed legislation to extend unemployment benefits,
Hobson said.
CLICK HERE to find out if you can apply.
Hobson also suggested taking advantage of the COBRA subsidy that the government has extended to May
31. This credit allows people to only pay 35 percent of their premium and their employer pays 65 percent,
but your employer claim a tax credit for the amount they paid.
If you are eligible, Hobson said you can receive this subsidy for up to 15 months. This credit decreased the
average family bill from $1,100 a month to $389.
How Do I Manage My Financial Priorities?
Carol, whose husband was out of work for six months, asked Hobson about how to prioritize her financial
obligations. She has two children in college and her daughter's wedding is approaching.
"This is not going to sound very charitable of me, so I'll put this right up front, but your priority is you and
specifically making sure that you are financially sound," Hobson said.
Hobson encouraged Carol to make sure her and her husband were financially secure in their own life and
retirement before worrying about their other obligations.
"You have to be supportive without hurting yourself. That means continuing to contribute to your
retirement before loaning money to your kids," Hobson said. "If you can spare the money, share it with
them but be clear that it is a loan. If they move in charge them rent and expenses, even if they can't pay it
now. It will make them more responsible with the money they do have."
I'm in School Now, But How Can I Secure a Summer Job?
The summer job environment for students is very difficult, so Hobson recommends reaching out to friends,
family and neighbors for job opportunities, such as babysitting.
Hobson suggested offering them a better deal to keep yourself employed.

"You might cut them a better rate&'Normally I charge you $10 an hour but if you employ me X number of
hours a week, I can drop that down,'" Hobson said.
Hobson said there are a lot of "takeaways" for high school and college students looking for summer jobs.
Because the economy is challenging, they are going to learn excellent negotiating skills to secure
employment.
What Protections Do I Need to Self-Fund My Own Entrepreneurial Venture?
"One of the things about entrepreneurial endeavors is that people tend to be very passionate about them.
And as a result of that they pour lots and lots of money into making them work, and of course most small
businesses don't make it," Hobson said. "So, the one thing that you want to do is be extraordinarily
disciplined on the front end about how much money you will commit."
Hobson said that on the front-end you should be extraordinarily disciplined about how much you are
willing to commit to the business.
Web Extra Tips from Hobson
President Obama's healthcare bill is going to help the unemployed immediately because young adults can
now remain on their parents' plan until they are 26. In the past they were dropped at 19 or when they
finished college. Additionally six months after the law is enacted, every state is required to set up a
temporary high-risk pool for individuals who are unemployed, very sick, and cannot get a policy. Finally
in 2014, each state will be required to establish a healthcare exchange, which will provide government-
subsidized insurance to everyone.
With tax day just having passed, this is a good time to remember that job hunting expenses are tax
deductible. If you are looking for a job in the same field, you can deduct some of your expenses such as
resume prep and employment agency fees. You can claim these expenses as long as your miscellaneous
itemized deductions exceed 2 percent of your adjusted gross income.
Do not hide financial difficulties from your family. Have them suggest cost-cutting measures and job
hunting strategies. This will help them understand your situation, and they will feel like they are pitching
in.

Memories of a Genealogical Journey http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=1927650
'GMA' Weekend Anchor Learned of Ashanti Ancestors From DNA Test
By RON CLAIBORNE
July 11, 2009—
This week, I am reporting on an African-American woman, Kalimah Johnson, a social worker and hair
stylist from Detroit who is on a personal pilgrimage to Ghana.
After years of wondering where her ancestors came from, Johnson, 40, took a DNA test last November.
The test result was that her maternal ancestry could be traced to the Akan people of Ghana. Last week,
she and a few friends flew to Ghana, her first trip ever to Africa.
When I met her in Accra this week, she told me, "I wanted to see the land. I wanted to feel the air, small
the grass. I wanted to just experience this land as my ancestor experienced it." She traveled around Ghana
and took a brief side trip to Senegal. In Ghana, she visited the notorious Elmina Castle, a one-time
Portugese fort that was later used as a station where African slaves were held in brutal conditions waiting
shipment to the Americas.
"I felt the ancestral spirits," she said. "I heard the drums. I smelled the blood. The sweat, the tears. History
classes and discussions will never do it justice. You have to stand in it if you can and experience it."
The next day, I got a text message from her. She was in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashante region.
"I love Ghana," she wrote.
Her experience is similar to mine several years ago. For a story on the DNA tests that purport to be able to
tell African-Americans where their distant African ancestors came from, I took a DNA test -- though there
are critics who question the accuracy of such tests.
My resullt was that my maternal ancestry was Ashante. From that, I was inspired to take a trip in 2005
much like Kalimah Johnson's. Below is what I wrote then about my experience:
May 6, 2006 -- In a sense, my journey to Ghana began last fall, months before I actually traveled to the
tiny West African nation. It began in my mind and heart when "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin
Roberts disclosed the results of a DNA test tracing my maternal ancestry.
"Ashanti people in Ghana," Robin said. I was overwhelmed with emotion, only dimly aware that I was on
live television. I felt exhilarated.
"I felt like a door that has been closed all my life has been open," I said, and as I said it I had that literal
image in my mind: an enormous door creaking open slowly to reveal an ancestry that all my life had been
unknown and, I thought, unknowable. I want to note here that the accuracy of this kind of DNA test,
which can cost hundreds of dollars, has been challenged by some geneticists. They say that it is possible to
generally locate where one's ancestors came from, but that databases are insufficiently large to give 100
percent pinpoint results of a specific tribe or people. Having reported on this subject, I was aware of the
controversies behind the science. And yet none of that mattered to me at that moment. It was something,
where before I'd had nothing.
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The next day, I used my British Airways frequent flier miles to get a ticket from New York to London to
Accra, the capital of Ghana.
Landing in Ghana's Capital
Months later -- on March 6 -- the BA flight descended in the darkness. Out the window, I could see a
scattering of lights. With a touch of nervousness that I had not expected, I thought, "This is it."
On my first day in Accra, the sprawling, congested capital of 2 million, I was taken to lunch by the
daughter of Harruna Atta, editor of the Accra Daily Mail. I had met his older daughter, a grad student at
the Columbia University School of Journalism, by chance and she had urged me to look up her family.
We grabbed a cab. The driver was a man named Isaac, an Ashanti. I told him about my DNA test result.
He'd never heard of such a thing.
"I took the test," I explained. "On my mother's side, it said Ashanti."
He glanced over at me. "Is that right?"
"Do I look like I could be Ashanti?"
He took a second look, smiling. "Well, because of your color."
I prompted him: "Many, many years ago?"
"Many, many years ago," he said thoughtfully, still concentrating on the road. "Mixed brown. I think it's
OK. So far as you're about to discover, I think it's right."
"So Ashantis are very proud?"
"Yes, because Ashantis are very great people."
In the coming days I would hear variations of that boast, but it always seemed prideful, not arrogant.
I spent two days under the wing of Harruna Atta. he patiently explained the politics, social customs and
culture of Ghana and Ghanaians. He took me to meet the tourism minister who told me -- to my shock --
that many Ghanaians are only dimly aware of the slave trade that thrived on their shores centuries ago. He
said some might not even connect visiting black Americans to Africa. They would assume that there were
indigenous dark-skinned people in America just as there are in Africa. I was told that when "Roots" was
broadcast on national television, some people learned for the first time that black Americans originally
came from Africa. Ghanaians were stunned and outraged, he said, by the depicted cruelty of the slave
traders and slave masters.
Experiencing Ashanti History
I took a night bus to Kumasi, the major city in the Ashanti region. It is a bustling, modern city of about 1
million people. For hours, I walked around the packed streets. I found myself looking into people's faces
looking for a resemblance to myself. Did I see it? Or did I imagine it? I wandered and wandered, imagining
my distant relative here or somewhere near here. I wondered: What had happened to her that she ended
up a slave, deported to the Americas? What had she thought when she was taken into bondage? Surely she
was afraid. And as I peered into the faces, I thought: This person or maybe this person could be my
relative.
I visited the palace of the Asantehene, the Ashanti king, whose royal lineage goes back centuries. Every
sixth Sunday there is a ceremony at which the Ashantis' dead ancestors are honored in what I was told
was a colorful ritual. If you are lucky, you may also have an audience with the king afterward. I wanted to
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meet him and tell him about why I had come there. I had been advised to bring a bottle of schnapps -- a
tradition dating back to when Scandinavians occupied coastal Ghana and presented the liquor as a gift. I
had brought none, risking the disfavor of the king, I was told. The ceremony was delayed, then delayed
again. Then came word: The king would not perform the ceremony today because his sister-in-law had
died the night before. It was a huge disappointment.
My trip ended at Cape Coast. I wanted to see St. George's Castle, the 15th-century Portuguese fortress
just up the coast at Elmina. For more than 300 years, countless numbers of slaves were taken there, held
there, beaten, the women often raped, men and women killed. It is the best preserved -- and therefore
probably most haunting -- of dozens of such slave transit posts along the coast of Ghana. It survives as a
fearful, disturbing monument to man's cruelty to other men.
A small group of us, led by a Ghanaian guide, passed through dark passages and narrow portals to the
Room of No Return. This was the place from where the slaves -- maybe my relative -- departed to the
slave ships waiting outside. In a corner, there were flowers and a wreath left recently. So many thoughts.
So many emotions.
In the courtyard at the castle, there is a plaque affixed to a wall, not far from where, ironically, stood the
Catholic Church where the slave traders worshipped. The plaque reads: "In everlasting memory of the
anguish of our ancestors ... may those who died rest in peace ... may those who return find their roots."
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Oscar-Winning Actor Michael Douglas Asked Judge for Mercy in Son's Drug Sentencing
By SHEILA MARIKAR
April 20, 2010 —
Michael Douglas got his wish: less jail time for his son. Today, Manhattan Federal Judge Richard Berman
sentenced Cameron Douglas to five years in prison on drug charges.
The occasional actor and DJ had faced 10 years in prison for pleading guilty to selling bulk quantities of
methamphetamine and cocaine at Manhattan's upscale Hotel Gansevoort in 2009. Berman said he wasn't
convinced that Cameron Douglas would stay away from drugs when he pleaded guilty in January, and
called the five-year prison sentence the 31-year-old's "last chance to make it."
In a bid to keep his son from a long stint in jail, 65-year-old "Wall Street" actor Michael Douglas
hand-wrote an impassioned, five-page letter to Berman, which was made public Monday. In his letter,
Michael Douglas referred to his family's history of drug abuse.
"Dear Judge Berman," he wrote, "I don't want to burden you with a litany of my son, Cameron's rehab
history, beginning at 13. He's an adult and responsible for his own life. We do know, however, that genes,
family, and peer pressure are all a strong influence on a substance abuser.
"For the past eight months, I have cherished my two hr. a week in person conversation with Cameron at
the MCC [Metropolitan Correctional Center]. He's sober!," he continued. "I get to witness the wonderful
young man he can be. He maintains his spirit, blames no one but himself, and recognizes his criminal
activity began with his heroin use."
Michael Douglas suggested that his family's fame -- he's won an Oscar; his father is the veteran actor and
"Spartacus" star Kirk Douglas -- could be to blame for his son's dependence on drugs.
"I have some idea of the pressure of finding your own identity with a famous father," he wrote. "I'm not
sure I can comprehend it with two generations to deal with."
On top of that, he cited Cameron Douglas' upbringing as a source of problems.
"Cameron grew up a single child in a bad marriage," Michael Douglas wrote.
Kirk Douglas, and Michael Douglas' actress wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, also submitted letters to the judge.
Zeta-Jones called Cameron a "caring, considerate, worthy human being" despite his heroin addiction but
conceded that he ought to make amends for his crime, writing that she hopes he ends up in a facility that
"will help rehabilitate him."
In his letter, Kirk Douglas, 93, asked the judge to spare his grandson from years in prison, saying he hopes
to see him rebound from his troubles "before I die.
"I'm convinced Cameron could be a fine actor," Kirk Douglas wrote. "I hope I can see that happen before
I die. I love Cameron."
Still, Berman was not that impressed with the letters he received from Cameron's friends and family,
reports online entertainment columnist Roger Friedman. Mostly the letters -- from a range of others
outside his immediate circle, including a 1st grade teacher -- Berman observed, stressed that Cameron had
had a tough childhood and shouldn't be made an example.
The judge said, "We must get over the theme that Cameron Douglas is a victim." The judge said the letters
"paid lip service," were "misguided."
Cameron Douglas' life has been clouded by addiction and legal woes. In 2007, Michael Douglas' only child
from his 22-year marriage to Diandra Douglas was arrested in California on cocaine possession charges.
Cameron pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct.
In 2009, Cameron Douglas was evicted from his $4,200 a month home after falling behind on his rent. His
landlord told Star magazine that he left behind a mess of drug paraphernalia.
Cameron Douglas' drug problems, while sad, are not surprising, considering his family's history of drug
abuse.
In 1992, Michael Douglas went to rehab for alcoholism. In 2004, his half-brother, Eric Douglas, died of a
drug and alcohol overdose at the age of 46.

Legal Expert Says Murray May Have Difficult Time Gett Fair Trial in Los Angeles
By RUSSELL GOLDMAN and SARAH NETTER
Feb. 9, 2010—
The California attorney general has moved to revoke the medical license of Michael Jackson's personal
physician, one day after he appeared in court to face manslaughter charges in the King of Pop's death.
Dr. Conrad Murray is expected to head back to Texas until his next court appearance in April, but legal
experts say he's got a tough and emotionally charged trial ahead of him.
Nevertheless, the case could have been worse, noted defense attorney and former Jackson lawyer Mark
Geragos told "Good Morning America." Murray could have easily faced more severe charges that could
have sent him to prison for life, Geragos said.
"I think that Dr. Murray caught a break when they did not file second-degree, what's called implied malice
murder," he said.
The doctor still faces a difficult legal situation.
"The fight here is going to be on the territory as to whether or not he was doing something that was so
outside the realm of what was approved by giving the anesthetic in a home setting," Geragos told "GMA."
Murray pleaded not guilty Monday, capping an eight-month investigation and kicking off what is expected
to be a closely watched celebrity trial. Los Angeles prosecutors have said the Houston-based cardiologist
allegedly administered a lethal cocktail of painkillers and anesthetics to Jackson hours before he died on
June 25.
It's won't be a simple case for either the defense or the prosecution, experts warned.
"It's not going to be an easy case for the prosecution and it's not going to be an easy case for Dr. Murray,"
ABC News legal consultant Dana Cole said.
Even just finding impartial jurors will likely be difficult.
"He's infamous because of the death of a celebrity," Geragos said of Murray. "It's going to be tough to get
a fair trial in Los Angeles."
Jackson's family and his fans seemed pleased Murray had finally been charged.
"Nobody was there but him, so he's guilty," Katherine Jackson, MJ's mother, said. "He's just trying to save
his own behind."
Jackson fans who came to the courthouse to show support for the Gloved One agreed.
"He should spend the rest of his life in prison, absolutely," one fan said.
New Details of Michael Jackson Autopsy Released
An investigator's narrative released Monday by the L.A. County's coroner's office included new details of
the June evening Jackson's body was found. Jackson's bedroom is described as outfitted with the usual
furnishings: a queen-sized bed, chairs, a dresser and a television.
There was also "a green oxygen tank" beside the bed and bottles of prescription medication scattered over
several tables, along with medical supplies such as latex gloves, a box of catheters, disposable needles and
alcohol pads.
The 51-page coroner's report also described Jackson's vitiligo, the pigmentation-lightening disease the
singer was said to have suffered with. His skin had "patches of light and dark pigmented area. His hair
"was sparse" and woven into a wig. His lips and eyebrows had been permanently tattooed.
The autopsy report concludes that "the cause of death is acute propofol intoxication" and that "the
standard care for administering propofol was not met ... Recommended equipment for patient monitoring,
precision dosing, and resuscitation were not present."
Murray appeared in court Monday in a gray suit. Seated behind the prosecution were several of Jackson's
family members including his father Joe, mother Katherine, and sibling Jermaine, Tito, Jackie, Randy and
LaToya.
A judge set bail at $75,000 and Murray was ordered to stop administering sedatives in his medical
practice.
"I don't want you sedating people," Judge Keith Schwartz told Murray who will be permitted to continue
practicing cardiology and write some prescriptions.
Murray, 56, has been in Los Angeles for the past two weeks, meeting with his defense team and waiting
for the District Attorney to formally charge him.
Earlier this month, Murray hired J. Michael Flanagan, an L.A.-based defense attorney, who is reportedly
the only attorney in California to have ever won an acquittal on an involuntary manslaughter case
involving propofol.
In 2004, Flanagan successfully defended a nurse, Amy Brunner, accused and ultimately acquitted of
involuntary manslaughter.
Brunner was accused of leaving a syringe full of propofol out for another nurse to administer to an
80-year-old cancer patient who died within minutes of receiving the shot.
"I'm probably the only attorney in town that has successfully tried a propofol case involving death,"
Flanagan told TMZ earlier this month.
According to police reports, Murray found Jackson dead in the singer's Los Angeles rental home before
administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation and requesting that a Jackson employee call 911.
The coroner also cited the powerful sedative benzodiazepine as contributing to the singer's death. A
toxicology screen and search of Jackson's home found several other drugs in the singer's body and
bedroom.
ABC News' Jim Vojtech and Kaitlyn Folmer contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

Mothers of Held U.S. Hikers Plead With Iran http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8596522
Mothers of U.S. Hikers Held in Iran Plead for Release

Three Americans in Custody Without Charges, Accused of Crossing Iranian Border
By SARAH NETTER, MEREDITH BLAKE and JASON STINE
Sept. 17, 2009—
The mothers of three U.S. hikers held in Iran without charges for nearly two months have written a letter
to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, asking him to bring their children with him when the United Nations
General Assembly convenes in New York City this month.
Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Laura Fattal were captured by Iranian authorities July 31, accused of
illegally crossing the border while on a hiking trip in the picturesque mountains in Iraq.
"We respectfully ask with humility to bring our children back. We miss them," Bauer's mother, Cindy
Hickey, told "Good Morning America" today. "We know he's a father, too, so he can understand the
absence and the hole this has left in our heart."
In the letter, delivered to the Iranian mission to the United Nations, they wrote: "Mr. President, we
implore you to bring Shane, Sarah and Josh with you when you visit our country next week to address the
General Assembly of the United Nations. Nothing would delight us more than to embrace our children and
to express to you, in person, our profound gratitude for the kindness of the Iranian people."
Hickey, Shourd's mother, Nora Shourd, and Fattal's mother, Laura Fattal, reiterated that if their children
crossed into Iran, they did so accidentally and with no malice.
"Please accept our regrets for any inconvenience or misunderstanding this unfortunate incident may have
caused," they wrote in the letter.
"It just feels like Sarah's a million miles away," Nora Should told "Good Morning America."
"Our lives are on hold."
The mothers said the United Nations' General Assembly would be the perfect time for Ahmadinejad to
show compassion for their children.
"It is a time where we applaud the peace and friendship among nations," Laura Fattal said.
The three hikers -- Bauer, 27, a freelance journalist; Shourd, 30, a writer and teacher; and Fattal, 27, an
environmental worker -- were last seen July 31 as they set out for a hike in the mountains in the Kurdistan
region of the country.
"It was inadvertent if they did stray into Iran," Nora Shourd said. "They're good hikers. They usually know
where they're going."
Although the State Department has warned Americans about the risks of visiting that part of the world,
Fattal's brother Alex said the Kurdistan area actually has a burgeoning tourist economy: The region is
famous for its pistachio trees and stunning waterfalls.
Fattal originally traveled to the area to learn more about his family's roots. His father, Jacob Fattal, was
1 of 3 2009/09/19 05:17 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

born in Iraq. His mother said she worries about his day-to-day activities and how he's faring in captivity.
"Are they being fed? Does he shower?" Laura Fattal asked. "Where is he sleeping?"
Shourd, although originally from California, had spent time working in the Middle East.
"They're meticulous planners," Chris Rapp, Shourd's brother, said last month. "Typically, they're very
careful about where they are and what they're doing."
Nevertheless, the hikers unknowingly strayed into Iran, near the Iraqi border town of Ahman Awah, and
were taken into custody.
State Department Calls Notion Hikers Were Spying in Iran 'Ridiculous'
Family members of the hikers told "Good Morning America" last month that the area is heavily wooded
with few markings that would indicate the exact location of the border.
"There's not like a big sign saying, 'You're about to go into Iran,'" Shannon Bauer, Shane Bauer's sister,
said.
A fourth hiker, Son Mockfessel, had made the fateful decision to stay at the hotel because of a cold.
As his friends were being apprehended, Mockfessel received an urgent phone call from them, saying,
"We're surrounded."
At the time of their arrest, Iran's state TV said that the Americans were arrested for "illegal entry into Iran
from Iraq's Kurdistan region."
Iranian authorities said the hikers ignored warnings from Iranian guards.
The fate of the three Americans may have been complicated by a report by the Iranian Fars News Agency
quoting an Iraqi police commander, Anwar Haji Omar, as saying that the captured Americans are CIA
agents.
A State Department official called the spying suggestion ridiculous.
In early August, the hikers were moved to Tehran and the Iranian foreign ministry blocked Swiss
diplomatic efforts being made on behalf of the United States, refusing to allow consular access to the
hikers or even to disclose their location.
Throughout the ordeal, family and friends have remained optimistic, creating a Web site to tell the story of
Bauer, Shourd and Fattal and to keep the world informed of their situation.
"Every day when I wake up, it's the first thing I think about, but nothing yet," Shannon Bauer told "Good
Morning America" last month.
Custody of Hikers Compared to Imprisonment of Journalists in North Korea
The arrests prompted comparisons to the two U.S. journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, captured by
North Korea earlier this year after walking across the border from China. It also comes on the heels of the
detention of U.S. journalist Roxana Saberi earlier this year. Saberi was accused of spying but was later
released.
As with Saberi's case, this incident highlights the troublesome relationship between Iran and the United
States. The two countries haven't had diplomatic ties in the past 30 years and while President Barack
Obama has said his administration is open to talks with his counterpart, Ahmadinejad, the relationship has
2 of 3 2009/09/19 05:17 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

yet to progress.
In July, Iran's outspoken leader pointed the finger at the West and the U.S. government for fomenting
unrest following its contested election, which created a series of violent protests and clashes. Iran has also
accused the United States of fostering unrest in Iranian Kurdistan, just across the border from northern
Iraq.
Some say that the hikers' arrest and accusations of spying are clear indications of Iranian attitude to the
United States.
"How the Iranians treat them is going to be a message to President Obama and the U.S.," Elliot Abrams, a
senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told ABC News last month. "If they start talking about
spying and start talking about needing to investigate and this thing runs into days and then weeks, that's a
very serious message that they don't want better relations with us."
3 of 3 2009/09/19 05:17 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Neil Patrick Harris Sublime as Emmy Host http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8626597
Neil Patrick Harris Sublime as Emmy Host

Other Big Winners Include Alec Baldwin and Toni Collette
By LUCHINA FISHER
Sept. 20, 2009—
Neil Patrick Harris is having a banner year and it continued Sunday night, when he hosted the 61st
primetime Emmy Awards.
Clearly Doogie Howser has grown up and come a long way from his first role on television as a boy genius
doctor. And we have watched it happen.
As Harris pointed out in his opening monologue: "I grew up on television. I love infomercials. I'm a reality
show junkie. The news, not so much. I love award shows."
And the "How I Met Your Mother" star proved that he's good at hosting them, too. With an opening
song-and-dance number admonishing viewers to "put down the remote," he showed off his singing chops
by scatting the call letters to a couple dozen networks and drawing applause from the audience.
Harris, who was producing as well as hosting the show, kept it moving along. But it's not clear whether
he'll be able to boost ratings, which have been sagging over the years for all the awards show.
One thing is for sure, though, his fellow performers agreed that he was a hit.
For a list of the Emmy Winners, click HERE.
"Survivor" host Jeff Probst, one of the five reality show hosts to helm the Emmys last year, even
complimented Harris while accepting his award for best host of a reality show.
Later, backstage Probst said last year's experiment in hosting was a "failure."
"I couldn't be happier for Neil," he added. "Watching him, I'm thinking, 'This is how you host a show.'"
Jon Stewart also gave kudos to Harris while accepting his award for best variety show.
"You're doing a wonderful job," he said to Harris. "These shows usually suck."
Some of the night's funnier moments came from the women of comedy. When the names of the best
supporting actress in a comedy series were read, each woman wore a different pair of eyeglasses. Amy
Poehler wore an eye patch. But Vanessa Williams shook her head as if to say, "No way."
Kristin Chenoweth, the winner, gave a tearful speech then made a plug for a new job, since her show
"Pushing Daises" had been cancelled.
Backstage, she said she and Poehler had conspired to come up with the glasses gag. "We're the funny
girls. We have to do something," she said.
Emmy Award Show Gets Makeover From Neil Patrick Harris
1 of 2 2009/09/22 12:22 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Neil Patrick Harris Sublime as Emmy Host http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8626597
Another funny girl, Sarah Silverman wore a mustache and a slightly deranged expression when her name
was announced as a nominee for best actress in a comedy series. Toni Collette was the surprise winner for
her dark role in the Showtime series, "The United States of Tara."
Naturally, there were a couple Kanye West jokes. Harris said, "Here's hoping Kanye likes '30 Rock.'"
And Ken Howard, the erstwhile star of "The White Shadow," made a Kanye reference when he won best
supporting actor in a movie for "Grey Gardens."
"This is very encouraging," said the actor who won his first Emmy. "I'll make it as short as possible in the
hope that I won't be interrupted by congressman or rapper."
Predictably, Tina Fey and her show "30 Rock" were big winners. Alec Baldwin picked up an Emmy for
his role in the show. And there were lots of thanks given to Lorne Michaels, including from singer Justin
Timberlake, who won an Emmy for guest hosting "Saturday Night Live."
When Fey accepted the award for best comedy series, she thanked NBC for keeping the show on the air,
even though "we are so much more expensive than a talk show."
Other big winners for the night: Jessica Lange for best actress in a movie for "Grey Gardens;" Glenn Close
for best actress in a dramatic series for "Damages;" Bryan Cranston for best actor in a dramatic series for
"Breaking Bad."
"Mad Men," for the second year in a row, took home the trophy for best dramatic series.
And in a testament to Harris, the host and producer, the show only ran long by four minutes.
2 of 2 2009/09/22 12:22 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Praise, Criticism for Missile Shield About-Face http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8609952
New U.S. Missile Shield Strategy Praised by Russia,

Criticized by Some U.S. Lawmakers
Obama Team's Announcement Came Amid New Reports About Iran's Nuclear Program
By JAKE TAPPER and HUMA KHAN
Sept. 18, 2009—
President Obama's domestic agenda has met with hurdles on Capitol Hill, but his plans to shift the missile-
defense system in Europe have also met with increasing apprehension as reports emerge that Iran has the
capability to make a nuclear bomb.
Hours after the president announced a dramatically different focus for missile defense, one of his top
allies, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., expressed concern about what she called an "abrupt decision" and
noted that in July, the Senate unanimously stated that the U.S. missile defense system in Europe should be
capable of protecting the United States as well as Europe.
The president's announcement came at the same time The Associated Press reported that a study drafted
by the International Atomic Energy Agency concluded that Tehran had sufficient information to develop a
bomb and is likely to overcome problems it faced in creating a delivery system. Officials at the world's top
nuclear watchdog believe, according to the AP, that Iran is on its way to developing a missile system
capable of carrying an atomic warhead.
The agency said in a statement that it has no concrete proof of a nuclear weapons program in Iran, and
that "continuing allegations that the IAEA was withholding information on Iran are politically motivated
and totally baseless."
But the report is in line with what Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the United States
knows about Iran's nuclear capabilities.
"Iran is developing nuclear capacity at a fairly rapid clip; they have been doing so for quite some time,"
the president said in June at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"Iran's possession of nuclear weapons would trigger an arms race in the Middle East that would be bad not
just for U.S. security, it would be bad for the security of the entire region, including, by the way, Iranian
security."
Obama said Thursday one of the reasons for the change in the Eastern European missile-defense program
is new intelligence about Iran's missile programs, which shows that the country is more capable creating
short- and medium-range missiles that can reach Europe than long-range missiles.
"This new ballistic missile defense program will best address the threat posed by Iran's ongoing ballistic
missile defense program," Obama told reporters in a hastily arranged news conference, as the news of the
shift took many by surprise.
Iranian leadership said it is only working on an enriched uranium program for peaceful reasons but has
failed to divulge anymore details. In an interview with NBC this week, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
said, "We don't need such a weapon," adding that the uranium enrichment program will never be closed
1 of 3 2009/09/19 05:07 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

down here in Iran."
A Shift in Missile Defense Policy
Thursday's announcement is a dramatic departure from the Bush administration's proposal for permanent
land-based interceptors in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic. Instead, Obama, acting on
what he said was the "unanimous" advice of Defense Secretary Gates and the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff,
said the new system would be replaced by more mobile missiles on ships in the sea and around Europe.
The White House said new technology supports such a shift, and it would be more cost-effective and
provide more security to U.S. interests and allies.
The second reason for this change is Iran. The Pentagon said the decision was based on intelligence
indicating Iran was struggling in its intercontinental missile program but building many more short- and
medium-range missiles.
The changes will slowly be phased in -- with the first phase under way by 2011. Gates said Thursday that
one kind of smaller missiles has already been equipped on 20 Aegis cruisers and destroyers. The
land-based missiles won't be dependent on location, and they can be placed anywhere on the continent.
The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Marine Gen. James "Hoss" Cartwright, said they could be placed in
northern/central Europe, southern Europe and in the vicinity of the Black Sea and Caucuses.
"I believe this new approach provides a better missile defense capability for our forces in Europe, for our
European allies and, eventually, for our homeland than the program I recommended almost three years
ago," Gates told reporters. "It is more adapted to the threat we see developing and takes advantage of new
technical capabilities available to us today. As long as the Iranian threat persists, we will pursue proven
and cost-effective missile defenses."
The administration insists this is a better way to protect their allies, but critics are skeptical.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the leading Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said
lawmakers were not properly informed of the change and that it would hurt U.S. allies in the region.
"How many times have the intelligence estimates been wrong? As many times as they have been right,"
the former presidential candidate said on the Senate floor Thursday. "This is not the way to do business. I
think it sends the wrong signal, to the Russians, and our friends and allies."
Others called the decision ill-advised.
"I think it shows willful determination to continue ignoring the threat posed by some of the most
dangerous regimes in the world while taking one of the most important defenses against Iran off the table,"
House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Thursday. "The president should reconsider this
decision and stand with our allies and do what's right for the safety of the American people."
The issue is likely to stay in the headlines next week as Obama heads to New York to chair a Security
Council Summit on nonproliferation. Meanwhile, the State Department has sent a high-level delegation to
Europe to brief allies on the change in the missile-defense shield policy.
Russians may be happy about the change -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin today praised the
decision as correct and brave -- but U.S. delegates will have their work cut out for them when they face
their European counterparts.
In some quarters, the Obama administration's move received a harsh response.
"Betrayal! The U.S. sold us to Russia and stabbed us in the back," the Polish tabloid Fakt declared on its
front page, according to the AP. An editorial in Czech newspaper Hospodarske Novine said: "An ally we
2 of 3 2009/09/19 05:07 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

rely on has betrayed us and exchanged us for its own, better relations with Russia, of which we are rightly
afraid."
The AP also reported that Polish President Lech Kaczynski expressed concern that the new strategy
leaves Poland in a dangerous "gray zone" between Western Europe and the old Soviet sphere.
3 of 3 2009/09/19 05:07 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Now the Young Seek Fountain of Youth http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=2038207
As Plastic Surgery Becomes Less Invasive, It's Becoming More Popular
July 9, 2006 —
Everyone is looking for a fountain of youth and more women are finding it in little tweaks rather than
drastic plastic surgery. As the more minimally invasive techniques are growing in popularity, cosmetic
procedures no longer carry the same stigma.
Jacqueline Silvers is 24 years old. As a teen, acne left her face a little scarred and she desperately wanted
to change her skin.
"Your face -- it's what they first see when they meet you and talk to you," she said.
Silvers met with Dr. Sam Assassa, who recommended intense pulse light laser treatments or IPL's. The
total cost was $500.
"I've noticed a lot more clarity," she said. "I've noticed some of the marks have faded."
So-called lunchtime lifts are popular because they're minimally invasive and recovery is quick. In the past
eight years, more than 2.3 million have had similar procedures.
"A lot of these things are skin maintenance procedures," plastic surgeon Alan Matarasso told "Good
Morning America Weekend Edition." "The best analogy is to think of your skin like your teeth: You start
brushing your teeth at a very young age. Your skin is the same way."
"You don't want to wait until you see visible signs of aging to treat your skin," he added. "I don't think it's
unreasonable for young women in their late teens and early 20s to treat their skin. The lasers and the peels
and the IPL-- those procedures can be done a couple of times a year when you're young. "
Most 20- and 30-year-olds who undergo plastic surgery get liposuction and breast implants, Matarasso
said. Eye-lifts come in at a close third. Most lifts, he said, are only semi-permanent, unlike nose jobs and
liposuction, which last forever.
Undo Old Damage
Some young people like former model Chrissy Albice want to undo damage they did in previous years.
Albice, 34, felt she damaged her skin from smoking and years in the sun.
"I don't want my eyes cut, I don't want a face lift, but I always think if you maintain your skin and you
take really good care of your skin then that's the best way of maintaining that youthful look," she said.
Albice and her doctor came up with an aggressive $2,000 regimen, consisting of a few IPLs, botox, and
mesoface lifts where her doctor injects a solution of retin-a, vitamins and minerals into her skin. Assassa
said injections trigger collagen growth.
The procedure left Albice slightly bruised and bloody, but she said fighting the aging process is worth it.
"As long as I look young, it doesn't matter what my age is," she said. "And you wake up one day, and
1 of 2 2009/12/15 06:01 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Now the Young Seek Fountain of Youth http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=2038207
you're like, 'Oh my god,' you know, 'I'm 45, I'm 50, and I didn't take care of myself,' "
While 2005 was the biggest year ever for the use of botox, dermatologist Jessica Wu said the big shocker
is that botox and chemical peels are now being requested commonly by people as young as 25 to 35 years
old.
Strike Early
"If a woman comes in who is in their early 20s and she wants to look 12, I'm the first one to send her
home and say, 'There is nothing I can do for you; come back in 10 to 15 years,' " Wu said.
Matarasso said botox actually works better on younger skin because, "You want to get those lines early
rather than later. We wouldn't necessarily start a 13-year-old on these treatments. But if you're 28 and you
have wrinkles around your eyes, it's fine to get some botox."
Matarasso cautioned that mesotherapy, like the mesoface lift Albice had, is not always effective.
Mesotherapy usually is done on the body to promote fat loss.
"Some people think it's for cellulite, some people think it's a substitute for liposuction," he said. "People
usually inject it into the middle layer of the skin & to get rid of fat. And while it's good to not undergo
surgery, I don't think it's as effective as liposuction. Also, it's not regulated, so from therapist to therapist
you could get different results."
2 of 2 2009/12/15 06:01 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Texas Nurse Fired After Sheriff Seizes Computer and Finds Letter of Complaint
By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES
Feb. 9, 2010—
When veteran nurse Anne Mitchell wrote a confidential letter last year to the Texas Medical Board,
complaining about a doctor she thought practiced shoddy medicine, she assumed it would be anonymous.
Instead, Dr. Rolando Arafiles Jr. fired her after reporting her to the local sheriff -- a former patient and
admirer of the doctor -- for maliciously ruining his reputation.
Police in Kermit, Texas, searched Mitchell's computer and found the letter, then charged her with "misuse
of official information" in her role at Winkler Memorial Hospital, a third-degree felony in Texas under an
abuse-of-power statute.
Today, 52 and out of work, Mitchell could face 10 years in prison for doing what she believed was her
obligation under the law -- to report unsafe medical practices.
"She's devastated," Mitchell's lawyer Brian Carney told "Good Morning America." "It has hurt her
financially. Personally, it's hard on her family to say that she has done something wrong when, in fact, she
has done nothing but do her duty."
"It's simply a matter, as you will see in the trial, of whether or not this reporting was made in good faith,"
he told "GMA."
The case has been so contentious, setting off friends against each other in this oil and cow town of 5,200
near the New Mexico border, that the trial was moved miles away to a state court in Andrew, Texas,
where jury selection was under way Monday.
But it has also sent shock waves around the country, particularly among the state and national nursing
associations, which have raised $40,000 for Mitchell's defense. They say they're afraid that if she is found
guilty, there will be no watchdogs for unsound or unsafe medicine.
"This would be a true implosion for the nursing profession because nurses may think twice about what
they report," said Gwen Agabatekwe, a nurse who flew from St. David Medical Center in Austin, Texas,
to sit in on the pre-trial hearings on the case.
"If they see something that's not right or unsound or unsafe, it's our obligation to report it," said the
54-year-old who is a member of the National Nurses Organizing Committee-Texas, which is sponsoring
whistle blower legislation.
"We are here to protect and serve, much like policemen and firefighters," she told ABCNews.com. "If a
professional person is not acting [safely], they need to be called on it."
Charges against Vickilyn Galle, a nurse who helped Mitchell write the letter and was also fired, were
dropped by the prosecution last week.
All along, Arafiles has said he was the victim in the case, even though he had been reprimanded several
times by the hospital. "I'm the first one to testify today," was all he would say as he entered the courtroom
Monday.
Fired Nurses File Civil Lawsuit

Mitchell and Galle, who both now live in New Mexico, have fired back in a civil lawsuit against the
county, hospital, sheriff, doctor and prosecutor, accusing them of vindictive prosecution and denial of the
nurses' First Amendment rights.
According to the Texas Occupations Code, "a nurse may report a licensed health care practitioner,
agency, or facility that the nurse has reasonable cause to believe has exposed a patient to substantial risk
of harm as a result of failing to provide patient care."
Mitchell alleges that Arafiles had improperly prescribed herbal medicines he sold on the side and
performed unauthorized surgical procedures.
In her letter to the medical board, she cited a skin graft she said he botched in the emergency room, where
he did not have surgical privileges. She said Arafiles sutured a rubber tip to a patient's crushed finger for
protection, an unconventional remedy that was later flagged as inappropriate by the Texas Department of
State Health Services.
When the medical board notified Arafiles of the anonymous letter in April 2009, he went to Winkler
County Sheriff Robert Roberts -- his former heart patient -- claiming he was being harassed.
Roberts ordered the search warrant to seize the nurses' computers and found Mitchell's letter
The sheriff, who has served the city for 18 years, has told reporters that Arafiles was "the most sincerely
caring person I have ever met."
Two months later in June, the nurses were fired without explanation, according to Mitchell's civil suit.
Mitchell said in her suit that she and Galle began to worry about Arafiles in 2008, just after he was hired
by the hospital, but administrators did not pay attention to their concerns.
They cited six cases "of concern," including recommending to patients that they use an herbal supplement
he sold on the side.
But the prosecution insists that Mitchell had a history of "inflammatory" remarks that slandered Arafiles.
To get a conviction, prosecutors must prove that Mitchell used her position to spread information for a
"nongovernmental purpose" with intent to harm the doctor.
Arafiles, 47, received his medical degree in his native Philippines and trained in Baltimore and Buffalo
and now practices family medicine at Winkler Medical Center.
The state medical board, which licenses and regulates doctors, had its own sharp words for the legal
action.
"Our mission at the Texas Medical Board is to protect patients through the regulation of doctors," said
spokeswoman Leigh Hopper. "That said, we are a complaint-driven agency and the only way that we
learn that something may be amiss with doctors is when it comes from co-workers, doctors, peers in the
hospital, patients and patients' families.
"We take it very seriously, it's our job," she told ABCNews.com. "It's sort of an alarming idea that
somebody reporting a doctor of concern has to be afraid of criminal charges."
Texas Medical Board Chastised Doctor
The board gets 6,000 complaints and investigates about 2,800 of them a year -- at least one of them about
Arafiles, who had a contract to oversee medical care at a local weight-loss clinic.
A year before Mitchell's letter in April 2007, the Texas board slapped the doctor with a $1,000 fine and
ordered him to complete additional "continuing medical education in the area of ethics, medical records
and the treatment of obesity."
Arafiles was also prohibited from supervising physician assistants or advanced nurse practitioners.
According to that order, Arafiles supervised a physician assistant and oversaw the protocol for using
phentermine -- an appetite suppressant and amphetamine -- for treatment of obesity that can cause
hypertension.
The board said that he only spent 5 percent of his professional time at the clinic and did not "adequately
document the physician assistant's efforts to counsel patients, regarding other, healthier treatments for
obesity, other than medicine."
But, Arafiles' lawyer insisted, "The town has not heard the whole story."
"The only side of the story that the town has heard is that these are sisters of mercy, missionaries of
peace," prosecutor Scott M. Tidwell told the New York Times.
But his father, Jack Tidwell, who practices law with his son in Odessa, Texas, told ABCNews.com, "My
son won't be talking to anybody while that trial is going on."
Meanwhile, the Texas Nursing Association TNA insists that all nurses in the state currently have whistle-
blower protection.
"Nurses cannot be retaliated against for reporting concerns about another practitioner, staffing, and
patient care/safety, or refusing to engage in reportable conduct," said TNA spokesman Joyce
Cunningham.
The group has so far contributed $20,000 to the nurses' defense. The money was raised from 23
individuals and organizations.
"These are concerned nurses who want to help and they are outraged about this," she told ABCNews.
"Nobody really understands how it got to this point."
But the California Nursing Association CNA, which is keeping a close eye on the trial, said the law as it
exists in Texas is not enough.
The group has introduced a national bill sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D- Calif,. that it hopes will
offer full whistle-blower protection.
"If their safe harbor law was adequate or we wouldn't have this outrageous trial," said CNA spokesman
Charles Idelson. "We need very specific protections for nurses and other healthcare workers to report
unsafe conditions. Clearly, the law in Texas is not working."
Idelson the TNA and "its allies who profit from lax standards" have opposed reform efforts.
Under a more specific law, Mitchell's letter to the Texas Medical Board would be a protected activity -- if
disclosure met statute standards -- that could not be deemed an act with intent to gain personal benefit or
harm or defraud another, according to Idelson.
National Nurses United will re-introduce a bill in the Texas legislature in 2011.
"If you look at every Gallup Poll, nurses come out number one in public trust and ethics every year except
2001, when it was the fire fighters," Idelson told ABCNews.com. "The reason for that is when you are in a
hospital bed and vulnerable, you can count on a nurse to the advocate for you."

Nurses Warned Against 'Insane' Killer's Outing http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8627522
Nurses Warned Against 'Criminally Insane' Killer's

Field Trip
Cops Frustrated Killer Allowed out in Public, Nurses Said He Was 'Not Stable'
By DEAN SCHABNER and LEE FERRAN
Sept. 21, 2009—
Nurses at that psychiatric hospital that held schizophrenic killer Phillip Allen Paul said they'd warned
against the field trip that allowed the murderer to mingle with residents at the state fair before blending
into the crowd and escaping, ABC News has learned.
"My members who work directly with Mr. Paul came to me and said he is not stable," said Greg Davis,
president of Washington Federation of State Employees Local 782, the union to which the nurses belong.
Paul, 47, was recaptured after a massive four-day manhunt Sunday, coincidentally by the same police
officers that captured him after a previous escape attempt in 1991. Paul seemed to have planned the
escape for months and was captured carrying a sickle with a 9-inch blade, a backpack and a guitar, police
said.
Authorities were in a race against time to capture Paul, whose medication would have worn off in a matter
of hours. Some 22 years ago, schizophrenia led him to brutally murder an elderly woman when "voices in
his head" told him to, said Spokane County Sheriff's Sgt. Dave Reagan.
Word of the nurses' unheeded warning against the field trip came following frustrated statements by
police, many of whom are stunned that the psychiatric hospital gave Paul the opportunity to mingle with
families and escape at a Washington state fair.
"I can tell you there is an extreme amount of anger throughout the law enforcement community that this
event even took place," Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said in a press conference.
Hospital officials did not report the criminally insane killer missing for more than two hours after he
disappeared. Overnight, the Department of Social and Health Services promised action.
"If indeed disciplinary action up to termination is necessary, I can assure the state of Washington I will
make the necessary changes there to make sure this cannot happen again," DSHS secretary Susan Dreyfus
said.
Union president Davis said the hospital had been warned about allowing patients such as Paul to go on
such outings, saying policy changes at the hospital have become less restrictive about who can go on such
field trips.
"Under older policy, a patient [like Paul] would not have been included in that outing," Davis told The
Associated Press. "That outing is for the best of the best ... patients with years of compliance and
excellent behavior, people who the courts agree are ready to re-enter society."
Schizophrenic Killer Captured
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The Spokane County Sheriff's Office said Paul was captured at around 4:30 p.m. local time in a wooded
area near Goldendale, Wash., more than 180 miles from where he'd escaped.
Police said Paul surrendered without putting up a fight, as dozens of federal, state and local law
enforcement officers searched the area around Goldendale, and a helicopter hovered overhead.
"It appeared that he was going to voluntarily turn himself in because of the pressure of the ground force
we had in the area," Klickitat County Sheriff Rick McComas told The Associated Press. "He chose not to
stay hidden any longer.
"He came out of the brush, onto the roadway, as law enforcement officers were going by. His intent was
to voluntarily give himself up, because he knew we were going to find him."
His escape triggered an intense manhunt, involving members of the Spokane County Sheriff's Office, U.S.
Marshals, Yakima County Sheriff's Department, Department of Corrections officials and FBI agents.
It also raised controversy over how a patient like Paul could have been allowed to go on an outing to the
Spokane County Interstate Fair, crowded with unsuspecting families, and over how the hospital handled
the escape once officials there learned that Paul had slipped away from the chaperones.
"He's not somebody that has committed a crime out of passion," said Reagan, of the Spokan County
Sheriff's Office. "He's committed a crime because the voices in his head tell him to commit the crime. And
we don't know when those voices are going to start talking to him again."
Paul escaped Thursday when he and other inmates from the Eastern State Hospital in Spokane were taken
on the outing. Police said earlier today they believed Paul had been planning the escape, because he took
a backpack and extra money with him.
Since the field trip to the fair is an annual event, Paul could easily have prepared to go on the lam, Reagan
said. "It could very well be he's been thinking about this for a while," Reagan said. "We don't know what
he had in that backpack. It could've been a change of clothes, it could've been food and supplies, we don't
know."
When investigators searched Paul's room, they found he had left few of his clothes behind, Reagan said.
Paul was acquitted by reason of insanity in the beating and murder of an elderly Sunnyside, Wash.,
woman in 1987, and he was committed to Eastern State, diagnosed as schizophrenic. After killing the
woman, he soaked her body in gasoline to make it harder for search dogs to find her and then buried her in
her flower garden.
Field Trip First, Frantic Manhunt Next
Besides the fear created by knowing an insane killer is on the loose, Paul's escape also raised anger about
how it could have been allowed to happen, with various agencies and officials pointing fingers at one
another.
Spokane Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said officials from Eastern State Hospital waited a full two hours before
calling police.
"It's very frustrating and surprising that we weren't put on notice immediately," Knezovich said.
The head of the union that represents workers at Eastern State blamed the lag on hospital officials, saying
that the staff members overseeing the outing immediately notified their superiors when they realized Paul
was missing.
Escaped Killer Review Stated He Was a Threat to the Public
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Two weeks ago a Yakima County judge ruled that Paul remained a threat to the public because of his
aggressive behavior and his decreased awareness of his psychosis, according to the Spokane Spokesman-
Review.
Rich Hartzell, the director of the fair, told ABC News Spokane affiliate KXLY-TV that he never received
a request from the hospital to have a group of patients attend the fair, and if he had known someone with
a violent criminal history such as Paul was being brought to the fair, he would not have approved.
"I just don't understand how this could happen," Hartzell said. "I'm just bewildered by the whole situation,
and I would hope that when I put in a phone call to them that they'll be able to give me some answers as to
what their rationale was for this."
But such field trips involving patients from mental institutions are common, and hospitals are not required
to seek permission, Washington Department of Social and Health Services spokesman Jim Stevenson told
KXLY.
Thursday evening, just hours after Paul's escape, DSHS Secretary Susan Dreyfus ordered an immediate
end to all field trips involving forensic patients such as Paul, and ordered Eastern State to conduct an
immediate review of their procedures to determine what went wrong.
"We have to keep the community safe, and I really appreciate the seriousness of this and we are just very
sorry this has happened," Dreyfus said.
Paul escaped once before, in 1991, when he walked away from a day trip in Medical Lake. He was
captured 15 miles away, but then attacked a sheriff's deputy in the jail booking area, knocking him
unconscious and separating his shoulder. He was convicted of first-degree escape and second-degree
assault.
"He has a very violent past," Knezovich said. "One of my deputies, when he escaped, was assaulted by
this individual and ended up in surgery."
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Roger Troy Went to Alissa Blanton's Home, Sent the Ex-Hooters Waitress Demeaning
E-Mails
By ANDREA CANNING and SUZAN CLARKE
Feb. 11, 2010—
The Florida woman killed by a man who had allegedly stalked her since her Hooters waitressing days had
tried to get an order of protection against him, but a judge refused the request.
Alissa Blanton, 23, of Cocoa, Fla., was shot and killed Monday in the parking lot near her new job at an
AT&T call center in Orange County, Fla. Police said her killer, 61-year-old Roger Troy, fatally shot
himself immediately afterward.
About a week before she died, Blanton asked a judge for an order of protection against Troy, whom she
said had been stalking her for two years. Despite the evidence she presented -- her petition contained
more than 70 pages of harassing e-mails Troy sent to her -- Brevard County Circuit Court Judge Dean
Moxley said he didn't have enough information to rule on the petition.
According to ABC News' Orlando affiliate WFTV, Moxley ordered a hearing for Feb. 16 to gather more
information on the request.
Click HERE to learn how to protect yourself from being harassed or stalked.
In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel newspaper, Moxley said he couldn't determine if Troy's actions
met the legal definition of stalking based on the information presented by Blanton.
"As a judge you have to follow the law. You're not omniscient. God bless her soul," he told the
newspaper.
A top forensic psychologist, Michael Welner, said that while we rely on the court system to protect
victims, it is also important to remember that the stalker is fixated on someone else.
"So what is going to happen after a court hearing? If he is a predator he is still going to prey. If he is
locked up for a few months, he is still going to target her. In my professional experience, separation is the
best solution," Welner said on "Good Morning America" this morning. Welner suggested that if you
cannot immediately escape to a location where the stalker can't find you, ask your neighbors and your
workplace security to be your eyes and ears.
"Get yourself escorted to the parking lot, or escorted [into work] until the courts can make a difference or
until laws change to allow civil commitment of people who are a danger to someone in the community.
But the key thing is [to] limit your communication. Be very specific. Get separation, and until you can get
separation, don't allow yourself to be alone," Welner said.
Stalker Harassed Woman, Sent Disparaging E-mails
In the court papers she filed, Blanton said she met Troy when she was working at Hooters in Brevard
County and he was a customer.
Blanton said she quit the job because Troy began to stalk her, but the harassment continued.
He would drive past her house, visit her at her new job and call her, Blanton said in her court filing.
She reported him to the police in an effort to get him to stop contacting her, she said.
In e-mails Troy sent Blanton, he repeatedly calls her a "tramp" and a "whore" and disparages her apparent
weight gain. He also makes demeaning comment about her marriage in August.
"You are the poster girl for 'beauty is only skin deep,'" Troy, a Cocoa Beach, Fla., businessman, wrote in
one of the emails that were part of Blanton's request for an order of protection.
Blanton and her husband, Brent, were co-workers, the Sentinel said.
On Monday they had lunch, returned to work, then headed in separate directions, Alissa Blanton's mother,
Connie Hassell of Festus, Mo., told the Sentinel. Moments later, Hassell said, Brent Blanton received a
phone call from his wife and she told him Troy was there.
A witness told police that Troy shot Blanton multiple times.
Stalkers Neighbor's Say He Was a 'Good Friend'
Her husband's 911 call to authorities reveals his anguish.
"Baby I love you," Brent Blanton could be heard saying to his bleeding wife. "Keep breathing. Oh my
God, come on, baby."
He also told 911 operators, "This guy's been stalking my wife."
Blanton's death has domestic violence advocates questioning the legal system, saying it failed to protect
her.
Troy's friends say they never suspected he was less than the person he appeared to be.
"We had no reason to think there was anything duplicitous about Roger, great sense of humor," Margo
Gould, Troy's neighbor, told WFTV. "Sometimes the people that have these problems hide them the best,
because he was just a good friend and neighbor to me and my husband."

Scientists Say Carbon Dioxide in Oceans Could Mean Curtains for Shellfish
By DARCY BONFILS
April 22, 2010 —
Mark Wiegardt and Sue Cudd have each dedicated about 30 years of their lives to bringing oysters to our
tables. Now the two have found themselves in the forefront of one of the newest, most pressing
environmental issues of our time: ocean acidification.
It all began with the oyster larvae at their Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery in Tilamook, Ore.
"It first started in 2007. We had a situation here when all of a sudden, our larvae started dying," said
Wiegardt.
"At first we started wondering, what is wrong? Bacterial problems? What are we doing wrong?" Cudd
said.
Desperate, Wiegardt and Cudd turned to expert oceanographer Burke Hales and his team from Oregon
State University to study the new and alarming enigma. They learned that the Pacific waters piped into
their hatchery from nearby Netarts Bay were the cause of the dying larvae.
Dying Larvae Depleting Oysters and Other Shellfish
Whiskey Creek's 8,000 gallon water tanks take in water from the Pacific Ocean and Netarts Bay. The
water used in the hatchery is rough-filtered and heated, and pumped into the tanks that house roughly 48
million swimming larvae. If the larvae stop swimming, that's a problem.
The scientists went to work and learned that something was making the oceans too acidic and preventing
the oyster larvae from growing shells. No shells means certain death.
When winds blew the ocean's deep carbon-rich waters onto the surface, hatcheries up and down the
Northwest Pacific Coast began to suffer the same fate as Whiskey Creek.
"The chemistry is very simple. It is 101. Carbon dioxide makes the water more acidic, that is irrefutable,"
said Burke Hales, Oregon State University professor of oceanography.
Oceans act as sponges. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the oceans soak up
one-quarter to one-third of all CO2 from fossil fuels. About 500 billion tons have been absorbed by the
seas. Close to 22 million tons of C02 a day mix with the natural carbon of the ocean. But too much carbon
and water makes the ocean too acidic.
Plants need carbon to grow, and animals exhale it with every breath. But too much carbon creates a
problem. Where will it be stored, and how will it affect the chemistry of the planet?
Carbon Dioxide -- CO2 -- a Mixed Blessing
"At first, scientists thought, Oh, isn't this great, the ocean's taking up carbon dioxide that's resulting in less
greenhouse warming. And it's only later that scientists realize this carbon dioxide in the oceans forms
carbonic acid, and that attacks the shells of marine organisms," said Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist at
the Carnegie Institute at Stanford University.
According to the NRDC, ocean acidity has increased by 30 percent since the Industrial Revolution of the
18th and 19th centuries. Scientists have used mathematical models to demonstrate that if we continue to
pollute, ocean acidity will double by the end of the century, compared with what it was in preindustrial
times.
"While the effects are just beginning to be seen in our hatcheries, the oceans are now changing faster than
they have ever changed over the last 200 million years," said Richard Freely of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, who has been studying ocean acidification for 20 years.
"The effects can be seen in the weaker shells of oysters, clams, mussels, lobsters and shrimp. Smaller-
shelled creatures, such as those at the bottom of the food chain, which most fish eat, are also dwindling
away," said Freely. "Corals have a hard time forming too." Ocean acidity, said Freely, threatens the entire
$2 billion U.S. shellfish industry.
According to the United Nations Environmental Program, if carbon emissions continue on a path of
business as usual, scientists predict vast areas of the Pacific, Arctic and Antarctic Oceans will become so
corrosive that shellfish will dissolve, causing ripple effects throughout the food web.
"We're risking something that will really change the way the oceans are for the rest of human civilization,"
said Standord's Caldeira.
Click here for more resources on ocean acidification.

Coast Guard 'Holding Out Hope' for 11 Missing Workers
By LEE FERRAN and JEFFREY KOFMAN
April 23, 2010 —
There is no crude oil spilling from the sunken oil rig off the Louisiana coast, an official told "Good
Morning America" today, easing fears of a massive environmental disaster.
"We've been able to determine there is nothing emanating from the well-head," Coast Guard Rear Admiral
Mary Landry said. "That being said, we have positioned resources to be ready to respond should a spill
occur... We will continue to monitor 24/7 for the next several days."
Though Landry said the Coast Guard is "holding out hope" of finding the 11 oil rig workers that have been
missing since an explosion ignited the Deepwater Horizon rig Tuesday, a slick of oil that initially spread
from the rig shifted focus from the search to ominous environmental concerns.
On Thursday, oil officials feared the worst. "I think it could have the potential to be a major spill," David
Raine, vice president of British Petroleum, the company who had the rig under contract, said Thursday.
Landry, however, said today that by using underwater remotely operated vehicles and sonar, the Coast
Guard determined that what oil is in the water -- a light sheen about 5 miles long and a mile wide -- was
"residual from the explosion" and not the product of an opened well. The Coast Guard launched vessels
with "skimming" capabilities Thursday to help clean up that spill.
"Our hope is it will stay off shore," Landry said.
BP and the company that owns the rig, Transocean Ltd., have other worries as several wrongful death
suits have already been filed against the companies.
Search for Survivors Continues After Rig Slips Underwater
Landry said the Coast Guard will continue to search for the 11 missing workers.
"Our sympathies go out to the families," Landry said. "We're going to continue to search throughout the
day today... But from the debriefing of the survivors, it appears that these 11 people may have been on the
rig when the incident occurred."
Nearly 100 survivors of Tuesday's explosion, which sent several workers diving off the 75-foot high
platform, arrived in a New Orleans port early Thursday. Seventeen others were taken to area hospitals,
some with critical injuries.
"My heart goes out to them, it really does," said Carol Moss, the wife of one survivor. "I couldn't imagine
... I just hope and pray that they find them."
After the Coast Guard fought an unwieldly fire on the top of the rig for days, a series of explosions rocked
the rig on Thursday before it eventually slipped below the water's surface.
"We were hoping to see the rig or any remnants, but it is completely gone," Coast Guard Ensign Mike
Yanez said.
Official: 'Blowout' Possible Cause of Explosion

The Coast Guard said it is using underwater robots and working with survivors, BP and Transocean in the
hope of determining the cause of the explosion.
"We have an active investigation that commenced with the start of this explosion," Landry said.
The rig was finishing work on a new well at the floor of the Gulf when it was rattled by an explosion late
Tuesday night. The 115 survivors that have been accounted for said they scrambled from the burning rig,
some piling into lifeboats, others jumping into the gulf, risking the more than 75-foot dive into the sea.
The rig is about twice the size of a football field and can drill up to 30,000 feet deep, according to
Transocean's website.
Transocean's vice president, Adrian Rose, told the Associated Press Thursday the explosion appeared to
be a blowout, meaning natural gas or oil forced its way up a well pipe and damaged equipment.

Oprah's Out: Winfrey to Quit Talk Show http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9131633
Harpo President Announces Oprah Winfrey's Plans to Step Down From Iconic Show
By SHEILA MARIKAR
Nov. 19, 2009 —
After more than 20 years at the top of the daytime talk show game, Oprah Winfrey's calling it quits.
According to insiders, Winfrey informed her staff of her decision late this afternoon in a company
meeting, described as "emotional, supportive and respectful."
This afternoon, Tim Bennett, president of Winfrey's Harpo production house, announced that the media
mogul will step off the "Oprah" set in September 2011. He said Winfrey will confirm the news on Friday's
edition of her show.
"The Oprah Winfrey Show" will not move on to the cable Oprah Winfrey Network or OWN.
Since "Oprah's" 1986 inception, Winfrey's grown to be far more than a shoulder to cry on for scandal-
scarred stars. Her empire -- which includes films, books, magazines and Web sites, in addition to her TV
show -- influences people the world over, and her wealth -- at one point, she was the world's only African-
American billionaire, according to Forbes magazine -- grants her access to people, places and things few
others can conceive.
What's next for Winfrey? Perhaps she'll drop a hint on her show Friday.
Below, read the full text of Bennett's statement to stations across the country that carry Winfrey's show.
Dear Friends:
Over the past several weeks, my team and I have had conversations with many of you to help address
your questions about the future of "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Of course, the one question we couldn't
answer was the one that only Oprah could. And tomorrow, she will do just that.
But before she speaks to her loyal viewers, we wanted to share her decision first with you -- our valued
partners for more than two decades.
Tomorrow, Oprah will announce live on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that she has decided to end what is
arguably one of the most popular, influential and enduring programs in television history. The sun will set
on the "Oprah" show as its 25th season draws to a close on September 9, 2011.
We welcome you to share this news this evening with your colleagues and viewers. As we all know,
Oprah's personal comments about this on tomorrow's live show will mark an historic television moment
that we will all be talking about for years to come.
We want to thank you for the partnership and friendship we have shared over the years. Your invaluable
support has helped us to create the phenomenon of the "Oprah Show" that we've all been so proud to be a
part of for the last 24 years. My staff and I will be calling all of you directly tonight and tomorrow. We
look forward to speaking with you.
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Oprah's Out: Winfrey to Quit Talk Show http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9131633
And, if you think the last quarter century has been something, then "don't touch that dial" as together we
plan to make history in the next 20 months ... and beyond.
Yours sincerely,
Tim Bennett
President, Harpo, Inc.
Oprah's production company Harpo says that while it has projects in development, they are not
announcing anything at this time.
2 of 2 2009/11/22 02:09 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

'Persons of Interest' Named in Missing Baby Case http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9507718
Police: Couple who wanted to adopt may have information on whereabouts of missing
Arizona baby
PHOENIX
A couple from Scottsdale, Ariz., who wanted to adopt a woman's baby may know more about the missing
child's whereabouts than they're telling investigators, police said Thursday.
Jack and Terri Smith are now "persons of interest" in the investigation into the disappearance of
8-month-old Gabriel Johnson, according to Tempe police spokesman Sgt. Steve Carbajal.
The baby was last seen in San Antonio in late December with his 23-year-old mother, Elizabeth Johnson.
Johnson was arrested last week in Florida on suspicion of custodial interference after she didn't show up
for a custody hearing in Arizona. Her car was later found by the FBI in San Antonio.
She has since told a Phoenix television station that she gave the boy away in San Antonio. She made the
statement after she sent a text message to her ex-boyfriend telling him she had killed the baby.
Police believe the baby has not been harmed.
"We are getting some indications that Gabriel is alive," Carbajal said Thursday. "We can't say specifically
just what those are, but we are getting some indications that those are correct."
The Smiths have given numerous media interviews in recent days where they said they met Johnson at an
airport during a long layover and befriended her. Terri Smith said the young mother wanted to give up her
baby for adoption but the ex-boyfriend wouldn't go along.
Terri Smith told KTVK-TV in Phoenix on Thursday that the couple has cooperated fully with police and
have nothing to hide.
The baby's father, Logan McQueary, has said Johnson tried several times to get him to sign away his
parental rights but that he refused.
Tempe police have been inundated with tips and are now directing callers to the National Center for
Missing or Exploited Children.
Carbajal urged anyone who has the baby to bring him to a safe place like a fire station or a hospital if they
are afraid to come forward.
"Our focus has always been the same, and that is locating Gabriel," he said.
———
On the Net:
1 of 2 2010/01/10 02:14 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

'Persons of Interest' Named in Missing Baby Case http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9507718
National Center for Missing or Exploited Children, http://www.missingkids.com/
2 of 2 2010/01/10 02:14 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Peterson Fires Back Against Abuse Claims http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8733359
Drew Peterson's Attorney Claims Stepdaughter Lisa Ward's Decade-Long Abuse Claims
'Absolutely' Wrong
By SARAH NETTER, LEE FERRAN and SANTINA LEUCI
Oct. 5, 2009—
The stepdaughter of Drew Peterson said today that she endured years of abuse at the hands of a man
accused of killing his third wife, but hours later Peterson denied that he abused his stepdaughter and said
instead he raised a "nice well adjusted woman."
Peterson spoke up after Lisa Ward, the daughter of Peterson's second wife, Vicky Connolly, told "Good
Morning America" today that the near decade she spent under Peterson's roof were filled with physical,
mental and emotional abuse that ended only when Connolly confronted him about his cheating.
Ward said that the years of alleged abuse at the hands of a man now accused of killing his third wife had
made her realize that "anything is possible with him."
"I always thought he was a jerk," Ward said.
When Ward heard about the 2004 death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, although she didn't
immediately suspect her former stepfather, said, "That thought kind of goes through your mind."
Hours later, ABC News was contacted by Peterson's lawyer to deny any wrongdoing in the nearly 10
years he raised the girl.
"His reaction [to Ward's allegations] was that he raised this girl. He gave her a moral basis. He was a strict
father," Peterson's attorney Joel Brodsky told ABC News after consulting with Peterson. "There were no
black eyes, no broken bones, no guns, no knives, no physical abuse absolutely... He thinks he did a good
job with her. She seems to be a nice, well adjusted woman now."
Brodsky said that Peterson categorically denied Ward's allegations of abuse, but said corporal punishment
was not unheard of when Ward was a child, including spankings. He said it is suspicous the abuse claims
only came out after Ward landed a book deal for a story that reportedly will detail the years of alleged
abuse and bullying under Peterson.
"This has nothing to do with the truth. This is all about money, all about the book deal. There'd be no
money if they came out and said that Drew [Peterson] was a good dad... that wouldn't make a story,"
Brodsky said. "Suffice it to say, if Vicki Connolly or Lisa Ward took the stand and said the things they're
saying now, I would have a field day cross examining them."
Peterson, 55, has been charged in Savio's death and is a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of his fourth
wife, Stacy Peterson.
Ward described Peterson, who married her mother when Ward was 8, as "very strict" and controlling.
Although she did not learn about the threat until after Peterson was arrested, Ward said her mother had
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said that he'd threatened to kill her.
Co-author Michelle Lefort said Peterson's abuse of Ward's mother had started almost immediately.
"Within a month of being married, at that point he put a gun to her head after she informed him she would
not love him more than she loved Lisa," she said.
Brodsky claimed Lefort's involvement is suspect as well, saying she recently broke up a deal to write a
book that cast a "fairly positive" light on Peterson, and says that the incident with the gun "absolutely did
not happen."
Peterson, a former cop, was also so jealous of Ward's relationship with her biological father that he would
try to thwart their visits, Ward said.
"Drew did not want me to have anything do to with my father," she said. "He wanted to be my father. He
would pull my father over when he was coming into town and delay his visitation with me."
Ward said she's speaking out now, for the first time to let other abuse victims know that they need to get
out of unhealthy relationships.
"I think that all these people, all these men and women that are being abused, need to stop that violence,"
she said.
Peterson, who has gained about 20 pounds since entering prison, was in court Friday when a judge ruled
that the statements Savio wrote before her death would be admissible in court.
Attorneys for Peterson, a former police officer in Bolingbrook, Ill., had sought to exclude from the trial
Savio's writings in which she expressed fear for herself and her children.
Peterson is being held on $20 million bail after he was accused of murdering Savio, his third wife. The
woman was found face-down in an empty bathtub in March 2004, her hair soaked with blood from an
apparent head wound.
The medical examiner had initially ruled Savio's death a drowning incident but after the October 2007
disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, Savio's body was exhumed and reclassified a homicide
after a new autopsy was performed.
Peterson was arrested in May and pleaded not guilty to the first degree murder charge.
Stacy Peterson Is Still Missing
Peterson's defense team has argued that he could not receive a fair trial in Will County because he is a
30-year local law enforcement veteran and because of the intense media exposure, according to the
Chicago Daily Herald.
As Peterson sits in jail on murder charges for his third wife's death, his stepbrother could provide
important information regarding the disappearance of Stacy Peterson.
Thomas Morphey, his stepbrother, said he helped Peterson move a large blue barrel from Peterson's home
on the last day Stacy Peterson was seen alive.
The day before he helped move the barrel, Morphey said, Peterson confronted him. "He said, 'How much
do you love me?'" Morphey told "Good Morning America" in March. "I said, 'I do.' And he said, 'Enough
to kill for me?'"
Neither Stacy Peterson nor her body has ever been found, nor has the mysterious blue barrel.
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The Associated Press contributed to this story.
3 of 3 2009/10/17 09:27 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Ahead of Midterms, Doubts About Obama, Economic Discontent Lead to GOP Rise
ANALYSIS By GARY LANGER
Feb. 10, 2010
The Republican Party has grown dramatically more competitive in public trust to handle the country's
most pressing issues, capitalizing on seething economic discontent and doubt about President Obama's
performance to challenge the Democrats in midterm election preferences.
Among registered voters in this ABC News/Washington Post poll, 48 percent say they'd support the
Republican candidate in their congressional district if the midterm elections were today, 45 percent the
Democrat. That's a rare level of GOP support in nearly three decades of polls.
Click here for a PDF with charts and questionnaire.
Other measures also have tightened sharply since fall. Among all Americans, the Democrats' lead in trust
to handle the country's main problems has dwindled to a slim 6 points, 43-37 percent, down from 33
points a record in a generation of polls after Barack Obama's election.
Disapproval of Congress, at 71 percent, matches its highest since 1994, when the GOP swept to control in
a midterm rout of the Democrats. Americans by a 20-point margin say they're inclined to look around for
someone new to support for Congress. And by a 13-point margin, 48 to 35 percent, Americans call
themselves anti-incumbent rather than pro-incumbent not quite the levels in 1994 or 2006 (when the
Democrats regained control) but broad nonetheless.
Economy Drives Anti-Incumbent Sentiment
A main mover in these sentiments is the public's longstanding economic discontent. Eighty-eight percent
say the recession is not over. More than half don't think the economy's even begun to recover, and most of
them don't think it'll start improving for more than a year. Among those who do say a recovery has begun,
three-quarters say it's a weak one.
Negative economic views are closely associated with anti-incumbency and a preference for Republican
candidates alike. With 9.7 percent unemployment, Obama and the Democrats are rediscovering the
maxim that in politics, absent an unpopular war, there's nothing as bad for the party in power as a bad
economy.
OBAMA The president himself is down to scant 5-point leads over the Republicans in Congress in trust
to handle the economy, health care reform and the threat of terrorism down, respectively, from 37-, 28-
and 21-point advantages on these issues in the spring and summer. His lead on the economy, now near
naught, had been a record in ABC/Post polls since 1991.
The president and the opposition party score about evenly, 45-43 percent, in trust to handle the deficit, an
especially weak issue for Obama. He does slightly better, but hardly well, in trust to create jobs, an issue
he's newly (critics would say belatedly) stressed a 7-point advantage over the Republicans, but below
majority preference, 48 to 41 percent.
Obama's Job Approval Rating Marked By Shift Among Independents
Obama's job approval rating overall is just 51 percent, essentially flat since December; 46 percent
disapprove. Among independents, the keystone of national politics, 46 percent approve of Obama's work
overall and 49 percent disapprove. The shift among independents shows as well in their trust to handle
top issues away from Obama, and toward the Republicans in Congress.
The president's rated negatively for his handling of four out of five individual issues tested in this poll: the
deficit (56 percent disapprove), health care and the economy (53 percent apiece) and creating jobs (51
percent). His only positive is for handling terrorism.
His opponents, moreover, are fired up. On health care 43 percent "strongly" disapprove of his
performance, while far fewer, 24 percent, strongly approve. On the economy strong disapprovers
outnumber strong approvers by 16 points, 38 percent to 22 percent. And on the deficit it's a 23-point
margin; 40 percent strongly disapprove while just 17 percent approve strongly.
On top of all this, Obama faces growing second-guessing about trials of accused terrorists. In a shift from
November, 55 percent of Americans now say such trials should be held in special military tribunals rather
than in the existing federal court system. With handling terrorism one of Obama's last redoubts, that
disagreement with his policy poses a threat.
POWER and PARTISANSHIP In another slap at the party in power, 57 percent of Americans say it's a
good thing the Republicans have broken the Democratic supermajority in the Senate, because it'll force
the Democrats to cooperate more with GOP leaders to get things done.
But therein lies a challenge for the Republicans the risk of being seen as obstructionist. They're far more
likely than Obama to be seen as not doing enough to compromise on important issues; 58 percent say the
Republicans are doing too little to compromise, vs. 44 percent who say that about Obama. (See Feb. 9
analysis.) And more than two-thirds, 68 percent, say the GOP should use its newly regained power to
block legislation in the Senate only infrequently.
Indeed, while the GOP is well-positioned to compete this fall, its task in the months ahead is to focus and
channel the public's frustration to work in its favor. The risk otherwise is that anti-incumbency could work
against Republican incumbents as well as against Democratic ones.
Currently, 48 percent of Americans describe themselves as anti-incumbent, vs. 35 percent pro-incumbent,

the 13-point margin noted above. While that presents plenty of raw material for challengers, it compares a
bit meekly to the 24-point margin, 53-29 percent, for anti-incumbency in summer 2006, and an almost
identical 54-29 percent in 1994.
Public Divided on Health Care Reform Bill
HEALTH Health care may be a test case. Views on the overall plan as it currently stands are at a
near-even division 46 percent in favor, 49 percent opposed. Equally important, though, is that the public
does not want to see the issue abandoned. Americans by a broad 63-34 percent say lawmakers in
Washington should keep trying to pass a comprehensive health care reform plan, rather than giving up on
it.
That doesn't mean they think it'll happen: The public divides evenly, 48-46 percent, on whether
comprehensive reform has a chance of becoming law this year, or is dead.
An evaluation of the charms vs. the flaws in reform, from the public's perspective, is instructive. Several
main elements remain broadly popular: Eighty percent of Americans support banning limits on
pre-existing conditions. Seventy-two percent favor an employer mandate, requiring employers to offer
health insurance to their full-time employees. And fewer but still 56 percent support a personal mandate
requiring all Americans to have health insurance, either from work or another source, with assistance to
help low-income people foot the bill.
But those attractions are balanced by unpopular aspects of reform. Sixty percent of Americans say the
proposed changes to the health care system are too complicated; just 35 percent say it has to be this
complex to accomplish the desired goals. And the division is about the same on costs: Fifty-nine percent
say the plan as it stands simply is too expensive.
Another barrier to reform is ongoing satisfaction with existing insurers. Whatever their concerns about
future costs, coverage and the health system overall, among Americans who have private health
insurance, a substantial majority, 74 percent, say they trust their insurance company to handle their claims
fairly. And people who trust their insurer are much more likely to oppose the reform plan as it now stands.
PROFILE and PARTY ID The Democrats, then, have potential pushback against the GOP both in broad
support for some sort of comprehensive health care reform, and in its related effort to tag the Republicans
with the obstructionist label. The Democrats also have two other resources: A somewhat better general
public profile, and a slight advantage in partisan affiliation. Both, though, have thinned considerably.
On the latter, 32 percent of Americans in this poll identify themselves as Democrats, 26 percent as
Republicans, 39 percent as independents. While that produces a 6-point Democratic edge in affiliation, it
compares with an 11-point Democratic margin on average in 2009. Moreover, asking independents which
party they lean toward produces a close 49-45 percent Democratic-Republican division overall, compared
with a 2009 average of 52-39 percent.
The edge in favorability basic popularity tells a similar story. Fifty percent of Americans see the
Democratic Party favorably, 46 percent unfavorably. The Republican Party's ratings are weaker 44
percent favorable, 52 percent unfavorable. But just since June, unfavorable ratings of the Democrats have
gained 6 points and favorable views of the GOP have gained 8.
Elections 2010: Republicans Hold Advantage in Midterm Preferences
NOVEMBER It should be noted that vote preferences today don't predict those in November, and
generic congressional preferences, in particular, don't reflect the idiosyncrasies of individual races across
the country. That said, the current 48-45 percent split toward Republican candidates among registered
voters, while not a statistically significant advantage, is unusual. Republicans have held a numerical
advantage just six times in scores of ABC/Post polls since 1981.
The economy clearly hurts the in-party. Among Americans who see no sign of recovery yet, 55 percent
describe themselves as generally anti-incumbent, 63 percent are disinclined to re-elect their own
representative and, among those who are registered to vote, Republican candidates hold a 58-33 percent
advantage in midterm election preferences.
Chilling for the Democrats, too, is the position of often swing-voting independents. They prefer the
Republican over the Democrat in their congressional district by 51-35 percent (again, among those who
are registered to vote). Sixty-seven percent of independents say they're inclined to look around for
someone else rather than voting for the incumbent; it's nearly as high among Republicans, 60 percent, vs.
just 41 percent among Democrats.
Similarly, 56 percent of independents call themselves anti-incumbent, about the same as its level among
Republicans (55 percent), vs. just 34 percent of Democrats. And it cuts to vote: Anti-incumbents who are
registered to vote favor the Republican over the Democrat in their congressional district by 58-33 percent.
Pro-incumbents favor the Democrats by a similar margin. But there are fewer of them.
METHODOLOGY This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone Feb. 4-8, 2010,
among a random national sample of 1,004 adults, including landline and cell-phone-only respondents.
Results for the full sample have a 3.5-point error margin. Click here for a detailed description of sampling
error. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by TNS of Horsham, PA.

Radiation Risk From Your Cell Phone? http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8564740
Senate Committee Talks of Potential Cell Phone Danger

Study by Environm ental Group Says Cell Phones Em it Different Levels of Radiation
By YUNJI DE NIES
S ept. 14, 2009 —
A Senate committee will take up in a hearing today the potential health risks cell phones pose, following a
new, controversial report by the Environmental Working Group that warns of varying levels of radiation the
different cell phones emit.
Using a cell phone for 10 years or more can significantly increase a person's risk for certain kinds of brain
cancer, according to the report.
"These studies are showing 50 to 90 percent increased risk for those rare tumors," Jane Houlihan of the
Environmental Working Group told "Good M orning America."
But the link between cell phone use and cancer has not been proved, ABC News senior health and medical
editor Dr. Richard Besser said.
"The best science doesn't show a link between cell phone use and cancer of any kind. No link whatsoever,"
Besser said. "We've seen expert panels in the U.S. and around the world. The conclusions are the same: no
link."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, on its Web site, said, "The weight of scientific evidence has not
linked cell phones with any health problems."
According to the Environmental Working Group's report, however, different cell phones emit different levels
of radiation, and children are especially vulnerable.
"Their skulls are thinner," Houlihan said. "They absorb about twice the radiation of an adult."
Her organization, which released its report last week, is a nonprofit, environmental research group based in
Washington, D.C.
Click here for the group's 10 best and 10 worst cell phones for radiation.
T-M obile, whose Touch 3G is listed among the worst radiation offenders, said their devices "more than meet
the strict federal safety guidelines."
FDA Can 'Take Action' If Cell Phones Prove Hazardous
1 of 2 2009/09/16 06:17 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

Radiation Risk From Your Cell Phone? http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8564740
The International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry contests the new study, saying
"scientific evidence has overwhelmingly indicated that wireless devices do not pose a public health risk."
The FDA does not review safety for wireless devices before they're sold but does "have the authority to take
action if cell phones are shown to emit radio frequency energy at a level that is hazardous to the user,"
according to the FDA Web site.
If cell phone users are concerned, Besser said they can limit their exposure by limiting their time on the phone
and use hands-free devices.
2 of 2 2009/09/16 06:17 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

kaisernetwork.org http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/print_report.cfm?DR_ID=...
Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy

Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Public Health & Education
Consumer Reports Magazine Recommends Pregnant

Women Limit Tuna Consumption
The not-for-profit group Consumers Union in the July issue of Consumer Reports magazine
recommends a tuna-free diet for pregnant women, the Chicago Tribune reports. The
recommendations are based on data released by FDA and a Tribune investigative series
published last year on the amount of mercury in fish (Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 6/5). The
testing, conducted by FDA, indicated that 6% of the samples taken from canned light tuna
between 2001 and 2005 contained high levels of mercury, which can increase risks of health
problems in pregnant women and in children. High levels of mercury -- which accumulates in
the environment, as well as in the flesh of fish and the bodies of those who eat fish -- have
been shown to contribute to birth defects and other health problems, and several studies have
demonstrated a subtle loss of mental acuity in the offspring of women who consume fish
during pregnancy. FDA and Environmental Protection Agency issued warnings in 2005 that
advise young children, pregnant women, nursing mothers and women of childbearing age to
avoid consuming swordfish, king mackerel, shark and tilefish because of high mercury levels.
The warning also recommends that those groups eat no more than 12 ounces of fish weekly
and eat no more than six ounces of canned albacore tuna weekly (Kaiser Daily Women's
Health Policy Report, 1/30). Because of mercury concerns, Consumers Union also advises
pregnant women not to consume Chilean sea bass, halibut, American lobster and Spanish
mackerel.
Comments
The Consumers Union's recommendations might be bad for public health, Louis Sullivan,
former HHS secretary and now a consultant for the U.S. Tuna Foundation, said, adding, "I
don't know of any science that supports what [Consumers Union is] saying." FDA officials said
the agency does not plan to warn people that some cans of light tuna contain high amounts of
mercury because the average level of mercury in canned light tuna is low. "What we're
striving to do is strike a balance between the benefits of eating fish and the harmful effects of
mercury," David Acheson, FDA's chief medical officer, said. However, Jean Halloran, the
director of food policy at Consumers Union and a member of an FDA advisory panel on
mercury in seafood, said, "This is important information that women need to hear," adding,
"We think that high exposures, even for a day or two, could be too much of a risk" (Chicago
Tribune, 6/5).
ABCNews' "Good Morning America" on Tuesday reported on the study. The segment
includes comments from Joshua Cohen, senior research associate at the Institute for Clinical
Research and Health Policy Studies at Tufts-New England Medical Center; Eli Saddler, public
health analyst for GotMercury.org; and Daphne Zuniga, an actor who is receiving treatment
for mercury poisoning (Leamy, "Good Morning America," ABCNews, 6/6). Video of the
segment is available online.
In addition, NPR's "All Things Considered" on Tuesday included an interview with Urvashi
Rangan, senior scientist with Consumer Reports and toxicologist for the study (Block, "All
Things Considered," NPR, 6/6). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
1 of 1 2009/12/15 06:07 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Progress for Some, Hopelessness for Many http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=2038048
Today is the 25th Anniversary of First Reported Cases of AIDS
By KATE SNOW
June 5, 2006 —
A person in the United States can live with AIDS for decades using a drug cocktail that effectively
suppresses the virus that once meant almost certain death. But the same person, if they lived in
sub-Saharan Africa, probably would not stand a chance.
Today is the 25th anniversary of first reported cases of AIDS. Nearly 1 million Americans and 40 million
people around the world are living with the disease, according to the U.N. report on AIDS.
When the antiviral drug cocktail was unveiled in 1996, there was hope for those who could afford the
medication. People got out of bed and began living their lives again. But AIDS continues to be a problem,
and 40,000 new infections occur in America each year.
"It isn't an immediate death sentence," Dr. Anthony Fauci, immunologist and director of the Infectious
Diseases Institute at the National Institute of Health, told "Good Morning America Weekend Edition."
"The bad news is that & people think it's not a threat. But the drugs, the therapies that are available, they
have changed this illness. People who get the drugs have a very good chance of living a very normal life
for a very long time."
Every Day Is a Struggle
As a little girl, Hydeia Broadbent touched the world when she talked publicly about her battle with the
AIDS virus. She became a child activist and trumpeted her cause on virtually every media outlet.
Broadbent contracted the disease through her biological mother, a drug-abuser. Doctors told her adoptive
parents that she would not live past the age of five when she was diagnosed with AIDS at age three.
Today, she is 21, a college student and has a good life, but it is not easy.
"I want people to know is that living with AIDS, every day is a struggle," she said. "You don't have a day
off -- whether it's dealing with symptoms, or dealing with medications or how you're going to pay for
medications. But you can't get stressed about it, because stress makes your symptoms worse. Still you
have to try to live positive so you can be healthy. And that's all anyone with AIDS is trying to do."
Despite the progress, especially in affluent countries, AIDS continues to be a great divider between the
haves and the have-nots; the rich and the poor. AIDS has infected people of every race, religion, age and
sexual orientation.
Since it first appeared in five young homosexual men living in Los Angeles who contracted an unusual
form of pneumonia because of their ravaged immune systems, half a million people have died in the
United States and 25 million people have died worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
Last year alone, AIDS claimed the lives of 2.8 to 3.6 million people, over half a million of whom were
children.
At first, the disease was a mystery considered the "gay plague." Its first technical name was GRID or
1 of 4 2009/12/15 06:02 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

gay-related immunodeficiency syndrome.
An Unimaginable Epidemic
"We never imagined that we were on the cusp of an epidemic, especially one of this proportion," said Dr.
Michael Gottlieb, who treated the first AIDS patients.
The people who contracted the illness literally wasted away. They lost weight, developed lesions and
many died a painful, lonely death.
"When I started treating AIDS patients, literally 100 percent of my patients died," said Fauci. "That was
hard. We were the miracle workers. If you came to the NIH you got better. That's why we were there. But
that wasn't the case back then. In 1981, no one got better."
No one understood what was happening and what it meant. It was only half-way through the 1980s that
the syndrome got its official name, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS.
"I thought I was a pretty good looking guy -- average but happy," said AIDS patient Ken Ramsaur in an
interview with "20/20" more than 20 years ago. "And now, I actually see myself fading away."
In 1985, actor Rock Hudson's death showed even movie stars were not immune -- and that star power
could make a difference. Actress Elizabeth Taylor picked up the banner and made AIDS her primary
cause.
"We will not be defeated by this illness, this disease," she said in 1985. "In the American tradition, we will
fight the odds and win, because it is right to do so."
In the face of all the death and fear surrounding AIDS and HIV, the name for the virus before it begins to
attack the body's immune system, public health officials were remarkably optimistic.
In 1984, President Reagan's health and human services secretary, Margaret Heckler, predicted that a
vaccine was just around the corner.
"We hope to have such a vaccine ready for testing in approximately two years," she said.
There is still no vaccine, and Fauci said that because of the nature of the virus, a vaccine will be very
difficult to develop.
"This virus has a unique ability to evade the body's natural defenses, and that's how we build vaccines --
by looking at how the body naturally defends itself from that virus," he said. "And what we have done
with polio and smallpox vaccines are to look at how the body gets rid of those diseases on its own and
mimic the body's own response -- putting that in a shot form. We can't do that with AIDS, because there is
no natural biological response to mimic. So we have a scientific barrier. We have to somehow get around
the body's lack of response to this disease and try to invent one ourselves. And we've never had to do that
with a vaccine before."
Twenty years ago, researchers were not yet aware of how tenacious the virus was. It can mutate and
become resistant to drugs, making it very difficult to cure.
"Thus far, it has been completely impossible to eliminate the virus from the body," Fauci said. "We can
suppress it, but we can't eliminate it. And I don't know that we ever will be able to do that. There are no
documented cases of eradication of the virus."
Fauci said that it is conceivable AIDS could be eradicated like polio because it is relatively hard to
contract. It is not spread through casual contact, but only when bodily fluids are transferred.
2 of 4 2009/12/15 06:02 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

"The bad news is that specific type of behavior is one that everyone does in life," he said. "So it would be
hard to get rid of. And you'd have to do it through prevention. You would have to have a sustained
educational prevention program for decades and decades and decades to get rid of it. And really, even
then, I think AIDS will always be smoldering around."
Changing Face of AIDS
In 1987, President Ronald Reagan, who had been hesitant to discuss the topic, delivered his first and only
speech about AIDS.
"AIDS affects all of us," he said. "We'll supply help and hope as quickly as we can."
Initially, AIDS was considered a disease for those with questionable lifestyles -- homosexual men and
intravenous drug users. But when the disease contaminated the nation's blood supply and subsequently
infected people like 13-year-old hemophilic Ryan White and the wife of actor Paul Glaser, Elizabeth
Glaser, the face of the disease began to change.
In 1992, Elizabeth Glaser, the founder of the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, spoke at the Democratic
National Convention.
"We are just real people wanting a more hopeful life," she said.
In 1991, basketball star Magic Johnson contracted the disease through unprotected sex.
"Because of my HIV virus I have attained, I will have to announce my retirement from the Lakers today,"
he said then, although he did return to play professional basketball once more.
Two years later, a prominent athlete was struck down with the disease. Tennis great Arthur Ashe
announced that he had AIDS in 1992 and died the next year.
Johnson later appeared on a TV talk show for kids about AIDS. It featured a breakthrough moment when
Broadbent, just seven at the time, made a desperate plea for acceptance.
"I want people to know we're just normal people," said Broadbent, who contracted the disease when she
was four.
Today, much of the fear surrounding AIDS and HIV has dissipated in the United States due to the miracle
drugs that allow patients to live relatively normal lives.
"I plan on finishing school, getting married, having kids and living my life," Broadbent said. "The same
dreams as everyone else. And I just want to have the same opportunities as everyone else and not let
AIDS get in the way."
Huge Disparities
But opportunities for normalcy are few and far between for people in Africa and Asia.
"When you think that there are 4 to 5 million infections a year and 3 million people dying, and the
southern part of Africa still an apocalypse, and the virus moving around the world inexorably, it's just
awful," said Stephen Lewis, the U.N. envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. "In the context of 25 years, I don't
think there's been a historical precedent for working on a communicable disease for 25 years and making
so little progress."
AIDS is the fourth-leading cause of death in the world, and there are countries in Africa where one third
of the adults are HIV positive. Furthermore, those who do not have access to antiviral drugs usually
survive less than 10 months after the HIV virus becomes AIDS.
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President Bush has committed an unprecedented amount of money to fighting AIDS in the third world.
"I ask the Congress to commit $15 billion over the next five years," he said at the 2003 State of the Union.
Activists like U2 singer Bono -- who even convinced staunchly conservative former Sen. Jesse Helms to
support AIDS funding -- are still pushing for more funding and more help to get drugs to the poorest and
most vulnerable. More stars are picking up the mantle.
"It's not a cause, and to me it long ago surpassed being just a pandemic," said actress Ashley Judd. "All of
this is preventable. Every single bit of it is preventable."
To learn more about the AIDS virus and what you can do to help fight it, visit these sites: aidsaction.org,
aidsquilt.org, pedaids.org, aidsfund.org, the Office of AIDS Research at the National Institutes of
Health and redribboncoalition.org
External links are provided for reference purposes. ABC News is not responsible for the content of
external Internet sites.
4 of 4 2009/12/15 06:02 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Home Opinion
Public mood: Anger, frustration, impatience

STORY UPDATED AT 1:20 AM ON SATURDAY, FEB. 13, 2010
To paraphrase a line from a movie, Americans are mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore.
Letters from Readers
Want to submit a letter to the editor? As a result, the tea party movement is attacking just about anything that moves in government.
Letters of about 200 words are preferred. Longer letters will And a little more than a year after Americans elected a Democratic president and gave him large majorities in both houses of
be edited for space. Congress, patience has run out.
Letters with a clear, concise message have the best change Those are the clear signals from new scientific opinion polls.
of being published.
Americans are "restless and dissatisfied," according to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll.
You may submit letters using our submission form, or by
e-mailing letters@jacksonville.com. Our full policy about President Barack Obama has his lowest job approval rating on dealing with the economy (36 percent approve), according to a
letters is available here. new Gallup poll.
» Subscribe to our opinion section's RSS feed
» See all of our RSS feeds But one his biggest critics, Sarah Palin, isn't doing so well, either. She is widely considered unqualified to be president, even b
a majority of Republicans, reports the Washington Post/ABC News poll.
Morning Headlines by E-Mail So what is going on?
Sign up to receive e-mail updates every weekday morning of
Jacksonville.com's top stories. Frustration over the economy will turn just about anybody sour. If you have lost your job, had your pay and benefits cut, see
your retirement savings shrink, are burdened with loans you can't pay - there are good reasons for frustration.
Sign Up
Some of the gridlock in Washington is based on deep philosophical differences. The main one is belief and confidence in
» Sign up for our other newsletters
government.
Eight in 10 conservative Republicans hold negative views about the way government works. Yet, six in 10 liberal Democrats ar
at least satisfied with government.
Get this: On average, the public believes that 53 cents of every dollar is wasted by Washington.
So cut useless federal programs, attack waste and the American people might regain more trust in their government.
User Comments
Here's a quick laugher.

Submitted by Morgan Orlins on Sat. 2/13/2010 at 6:22 am
"She is widely considered unqualified to be president, even by a majority of Republicans, reports the Washington Post/ABC News poll."
A Governor with an ACTUAL track record of leadership and accomplishment, who can give a long speech WITHOUT a teleprompter and without long "uhhh" "ahhhh" an
pregnant pauses ISN'T considered qualified.
BUT those same voters saw fit to elect a first term Senator, largely without any achievement on his legislative resume' (other than voting "present"), who cut his teeth as an A.C.O.R.N.
activist lawyer and trained his ghetto commie students in the fine art of voter fraud?
I don't know if that's called mass hysteria, mass stupidity, or a plain old-fashioned national brain ****, but America screwed up HUGE in the 2008 general election and it's biting us in the
*** now!
Login Or Register To Post Comments Flag As Offensive
The Tea Party movement is a

Submitted by John Galt on Sat. 2/13/2010 at 7:00 am
The Tea Party movement is a spontaneous movement that is not even headed by any group or individual. It is the PEOPLE rising up and saying ENOUGH! It started
as a protest over outrageous spending in the latter part of the Bush years.
It was never really directed at Obama until he proved what he is: a big government statist/socialist.
Although Palin is infinitely more qualified than Obama, I hope she is not the GOP candidate in 2012. If anything, she is a little too mainstream. She's proved that she can "go along to
get along". And that's not what WE THE PEOPLE are looking for.
"Shrug"
Dedicated to seeing the RINO Charlie Crist returned to private life where he can do the least amount of damage.
"The government cannot give to anyone anything that it does not first take from someone else." "Si vis pacem, para bellum."
Which Tea Party JohnGalt?

Submitted by ElJefe on Sat. 2/13/2010 at 7:58 am
Tea Party Express or Tea Party Patriots? I could go with the latter, but the former shows how a good idea can be corrupted in the quest for money.
Spoken like a true leftist.

Submitted by Morgan Orlins on Sat. 2/13/2010 at 8:31 am
It must be hard work to hide who you are politically. Haven't you called them "Teabaggers" in the past? I'm pretty sure that I've read that from you. They are PATRIOT
through and through! Jefe wrote:
"Tea Party Express or Tea Party Patriots? I could go with the latter, but the former shows how a good idea can be corrupted in the quest for
money."
Funny, but those of us who are free market oriented have never considered the "quest for money" to be corrupting. It leads to the accumulation of wealth and the creation of jobs. Last I
checked, we Americans considered these to be good things. We've always thought of the quest for power to be far more insidious and dangerous to our way of life.
Rare snowflakes start falling from Miss. to Fla.; some cities seeing biggest snowfall in years
By MELISSA NELSON
PENSACOLA, Fla.
It took back-to-back blizzards to paralyze the nation's capital, but in the Deep South it only takes a couple
inches of snow.
Flakes were falling — or threatened — Friday from Texas to the Florida Panhandle and then up along the
coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, bringing a rare white landscape to spots that haven't seen snow in a
decade or longer. The storm crawled out of Texas, where it left the Dallas area with more than a foot of
snow, nearly 200 traffic accidents, thousands without power and hundreds of canceled flights.
Children in cities better known for stifling humidity took to throwing snowballs and building snowmen,
while snow dusted the kudzu vines so prevalent in warm Southern climates.
Just the anticipation of an inch of snow was enough to close schools in the Florida Panhandle, while
classes also were canceled in parts of Alabama and Georgia. Districts in Louisiana and Mississippi, also
closed.
In Century, about 40 miles north of Pensacola, 44-year-old Steve Pace scraped some snow from the hood
of his truck and formed a snowball to throw at his 6-year-old grandson, Kaleb. It only snowed for about
10 minutes before giving way to rain again, but it was enough for Kaleb to enjoy a family snowball fight.
"I've only ever seen snow on TV till now," Kaleb said, smiling.
The southern Alabama city of Andalusia had recorded its largest snowfall since 1973 — 2 inches as of
Friday morning. The city of 8,800 near the Florida line was getting ready to close its streets because of
snow, which no one could remember happening before, said city building inspector Micah Blair.
Lawyer Clay Benson, on his daily Starbucks run, said a lot of clients had understandably canceled
appointments at his office in downtown Montgomery, Ala. However, he didn't really think all state offices
needed to close down, as most did.
"People from up North laugh at us," he said. "We act like it's Armageddon coming down here when it
snows."
In the northwestern Louisiana city of Shreveport, Lamar Methvin, who ran a hardware store for many
years and now works at a Home Depot, said the chain ran out of winter supplies before the snowfall
because of a recent deep freeze.
"Snow shovels? They don't even know what they are down here," he said, laughing.
Rafael Williams, 8, was walking in the snow through a Jackson, Miss., neighborhood and posing for
pictures.
"I love it. It's never been this way before since I've been alive," the 8-year-old said.
Several oceanside communities in South Carolina including Charleston — which hasn't seen recorded
snowfall since January 2000 — could see between 2 and 4 inches of snow, said Jonathan Lamb, a
National Weather Service meteorologist based in Charleston.
And as much as 3 inches could hit Savannah, Ga., where snow was last traced in February 1996 — only
0.2 inches, Lamb said. It's been two decades since Georgia's oldest city had any notable accumulation,
with 3.6 inches falling in December 1989. Normally, temperatures in February don't dip below 41 degrees.
American Airlines canceled about 240 flights Friday, mainly at its hub at Dallas-Fort Worth International
Airport, airline spokesman Steve Schlachter said.
The snowfall made this the snowiest winter in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in 32 seasons.
In Atlanta, Delta Air Lines canceled 1,100 flights for Friday in anticipation of as much as 2 inches of snow
expected in the region. AirTran also said Friday that it was canceling more than 60 flights in or out of
Atlanta. Snow had begun falling downtown by early afternoon.
Brian Segars, a 45-year-old salesman from Dallas, arrived at the Atlanta airport at 1 p.m. Thursday for a
9:30 p.m. flight, only to head back to his hotel eight hours later because of heavy snowfall in Dallas. He
finally managed to get a flight to Oklahoma City on Friday and planned to rent a car there and drive six
hours in the snow to get home.
"I feel like I am Steve Martin in 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles,'" he said. "Other than John Candy's
underwear in my face, it's almost that bad."
The snow hitting the Deep South comes just a week after the first of back-to-back blizzards hit
Washington, D.C. — which ended up with about 28 inches of snow — and along the Eastern Seaboard.
Residents are still digging out from those storms, which forced the federal government to shut down for
about a week.
———
Associated Press writers Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Ala., Desiree Hunter in Montgomery, Ala., Shelia
Byrd in Jackson, Miss., Kate Brumback in Atlanta and Cain Burdeau in New Orleans contributed to this
story.

SEC Employees Exposed Downloading, Uploading Pornography at Work
By JONATHAN KARL
April 23, 2010—
The Securities and Exchange Commission is the sheriff of the financial industry, looking for crimes such
as Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, but a new government report obtained by ABC News has concluded
that some senior employees spent hours on the agency's computers looking at sites such as naughty.com,
skankwire and youporn as the financial crisis was unfolding.
"These guys in the middle of a financial crisis are spending their time looking at prurient material on the
Internet," said Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland and former director of the Office of
Economics at the U.S. International Trade Commission.
"It's reckless, and indicates a contempt for the taxpayer and the taxpayer's interest in monitoring financial
markets," Morici said.
The investigation, which was conducted by the SEC's internal watchdog at the request of Sen. Chuck
Grassley, R-Iowa, found 31 serious offenders during the past two and a half years. That's less than 1
percent of the agency's 3,500 employees but 17 of the alleged offenders were senior SEC officers whose
salaries ranged from $100,000 to $222,000 per year.
The SEC would not comment on any specific cases, but said it takes inappropriate use of government
resources seriously and deals with abuses on a case-by-case basis.
Some of the big offenders are still on the job, according to sources.
Eight Hours a Day Spent on Porn Sites
One senior attorney at SEC headquarters in Washington spent up to eight hours a day accessing Internet
porn, according to the report, which has yet to be released. When he filled all the space on his government
computer with pornographic images, he downloaded more to CDs and DVDs that accumulated in boxes in
his offices.
An SEC accountant attempted to access porn websites 1,800 times in a two-week period and had 600
pornographic images on her computer hard drive.
Another SEC accountant used his SEC-issued computer to upload his own sexually explicit videos onto
porn websites he joined.
And another SEC accountant attempted to access porn sites 16,000 times in a single month.
In one case, the report noted, an employee tried hundreds of times to access pornographic sites and was
denied access. When he used a flash drive, he successfully bypassed the filter to visit a "significant
number" of porn sites.
The employee also said he deliberately disabled a filter in Google to access inappropriate sites. After
management informed him that he would lose his job, the employee resigned.
A similar SEC report for October 2008 to March 2009 said that a regional supervisor in Los Angeles
accessed and attempted to access pornographic and sexually explicit Web sites up to twice a day from his
SEC computer during work hours.
Porn Problem Began as Economy Collapsed
The report concluded that most of the cases began in 2008, just as the financial system began to collapse,
and the problem hasn't stopped.
The most recent case cited in the report occurred four weeks ago.
"Trust me, these guys are addicts," said Mike Leahy, author of the book "Porn Nation."
"This isn't going to end until you know someone really puts a stop to it."
ABC's Ki Mae Heussner contributed to this report.

52-Year-Old Man Slid 1,500 Feet Into Crater, Not Moving at Last Sighting
By LEE FERRAN
Feb. 16, 2010 —
Rescuers have resumed efforts to save a man trapped in the crater at Washington's Mount St. Helens but
are battling imposing weather conditions, authorities said.
Despite early reports that the man, 52-year-old Joseph Bohlig of Kelso, Wash., was blowing an emergency
whistle, at last sighting he was not moving, according to one rescuer.
"The pilot did a reconnaissance flight, got up relatively close, could not see any movement," chief Tom
McDowell of the North Coast EMS Rescue Team told "Good Morning America" Monday. "He didn't
make any effort to signal the helicopter."
This morning officials requested air support from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, but high
winds, snow, rain and low cloud cover are expected to hamper rescue efforts today, according to a
statement from the Skamania County Sheriff's Office.
According to authorities, Bohlig was an experienced hiker who had climbed the mountain as many as 68
times. Rescuers believe he was hiking with a partner and was posing for a picture on a ledge of snow when
it gave way and he slid 1,500 feet into the crater. The other hiker did not fall.
"It would have been a very significant, injurious fall on the way down," McDowell said.
A Coast Guard helicopter could not lower a hoist Monday due to high winds. A mountain medic dropped
onto the crater floor could not fight his way up to the stranded climber before dark.
Expert: Beyond Weather, Falling Rocks Could Be Danger
The volcano at Mount St. Helens killed 57 people and leveled miles of forest when it erupted in 1980.
Though it is now dormant, experts said it could still be a dangerous area.
"There's nothing going on there aside from mostly rock fall activity and some steaming," said Bill Burton,
associate program coordinator for the U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program. "His main
hazard as far as the volcano goes, I would say is falling rock from the crater walls."
Harsh weather conditions could also prove a hazard for the man. Authorities believe that due to mild
weather Monday, it's unlikely he was wearing warm clothing and rain overnight dropped temperatures.

Burned 5-Year-Old Boy Recovering After Dramatic Rescue http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8586599
5-Year-Old Boy Recovering After Rescue From Burning

Car
A Com m unity Com es Together to Help a Fam ily Heal
By BARBARA PINTO, ANDREW FIES and KATE McCARTHY
S ept. 16, 2009—
D.J. Harper was nearly killed in a fiery car crash two months ago. But the 5-year-old boy was finally well
enough to leave the hospital Tuesday, something his family says is nothing short of a miracle.
The Harper family was visiting Wisconsin from Tennessee in July when their SUV ran off the road and burst
into flames.
An entire neighborhood raced to the rescue and pulled D.J.'s mother and sister from the burning car. One
neighbor ran to the scene and began breaking the car's window with a baseball bat, but D.J. remained trapped
in a booster seat.
John Rechlitz and brother Joel saw the crash and did not think twice about jumping into the melting car to try
to rescue the young boy.
"As soon as you crawl in you see the boy screaming and reaching for help," said John Rechlitz, a M ilwaukee
fireman.
The two men later said they saw the faces of their own children as they desperately tried to rescue D.J.
It wasn't until a police officer arrived with a fire extinguisher and a pocket knife that the team was able to cut
D.J. loose from his seat belt.
Another neighbor grabbed a garden hose and spayed D.J.'s burns with water after he was removed from the
vehicle.
D.J. suffered burns across his body and, although he can still hear, he lost his ears because of the burns.
"He knows that he was in a car accident and that the fire burnt him and that he no longer has ears," D.J.'s
mother, Angela Harper, said. "That's one of the things he's looking forward to, is getting new ears."
A Community Comes Together to Help the Harper Family
Since the tragic car accident, the Rechlitz brothers have raised money for the family , including setting up a
registry to replace items that were lost in the crash. Because the Harpers were planning to stay in Wisconsin
1 of 2 2009/09/16 06:05 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

Burned 5-Year-Old Boy Recovering After Dramatic Rescue http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8586599
for a few months, they lost most of their belongings in the fire.
The Rechlitzs also found the Harpers a temporary place to live with one of their relatives while the family
looks for another house with a bathtub to help D.J.'s recovery and without stairs so it is easier for him to
maneuver.
"A community came together for one common goal to save this little boy's life," John Rechlitz said.
The Harpers now consider the Rechlitz brothers part of the family and D.J. refers to his rescuers as "Uncle
John" and "Uncle Joel," and says he wants to ride in a fire truck as soon as he is better.
It could take years for D.J. to recover from his burns and get the necessary skin grafts. The family decided
they want to spend that time living in the same city in which he was rescued.
"We just want to be able to give back to a community that has given us so much," Angela Harper said.
2 of 2 2009/09/16 06:05 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

www.mydesert.com | Printer-friendly article page http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091004/LIF...
October 4, 2009
Barrett to receive star on Palm Canyon Drive this week

Bruce Fessier
The Desert Sun
Most of Rona Barrett's time these days is spent running a lavender farm in Santa Ynez and her
foundation for the elderly poor.
But Coachella Valley residents remember when the former TV personality had a Palm Springs home
and wielded more power than any entertainment broadcaster in America during the 1960s and '70s.
“She had a lot of power,” said Dick Taylor, a Palm Springs resident who ran a major Los Angeles PR
firm during Barrett's peak years of influence. “If Rona said things were good about a star or about a
movie or a TV show, everybody agreed. She had great humor, even about herself sometimes. But she
was a powerful lady.”
Barrett, who did the first national entertainment news segment for “Good Morning America” starting in
1975, will be honored Friday on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.
One can argue she helped create the cult of celebrity in show biz. Her career started in 1950, when, at
age 13, she organized fan clubs for pop singer Eddie Fisher, becoming perhaps the first person to turn
such groups into a marketing tool. She withdrew from her high-profile perch as a contributor to
“Entertainment Tonight” in 1986 after making that show possible with her pioneering journalism efforts.
“I feel very maternal toward ‘Entertainment Tonight,'” Barrett said in a recent telephone interview. “I
believe without me, there would not have been an ‘Entertainment Tonight.'”
She actually paved the way for many entertainment broadcasters, including desert icon Gloria Greer,
who began covering stars for local television after having written about them since 1961.
“I was on the former ABC affiliate, KPLM,” Greer recalled. “The program director had hired me to do
interviews and he said, ‘Gloria, what about, in addition to the interviews, doing what Rona Barrett does
— only doing it with all the Hollywood celebs and entertainment people here in the desert?' That was
how ‘Stars in the Desert' was born.”
Barrett owns a place in journalism history as a link between the powerful Hollywood gossip columnists
of the movie studio era and today's plethora of “ET”-type news programs.
The journalism of Louella Parsons, who began covering Hollywood for the Hearst chain in 1926 after
recovering from tuberculosis in Palm Springs, and Hedda Hopper, whose column was continued after
her 1966 death by the late Palm Springs resident Norma Lee Browning, bore little similarity to modern
show biz shows.
“Those ladies protected Hollywood, protected the stars,” said Taylor. “They wrote what the press
agents prepared more than reporting the reality of what was going on. With the transition to television,
more and more got exposed.
“Rona was a major transition in the way entertainment was covered. She did it with great style, a little
bit of teasing. She really would be the transition to an ‘ET.'”
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Barrett introduced the entertainment news segment on ABC's Los Angeles affiliate and brought it to
the nation on “Good Morning America.”
“When I knew (ABC was) going to revamp their morning show opposite ‘The Today Show,' I came up
with an idea and I passed it on to them,” said Barrett. “I said, ‘I'd like to join under those
circumstances.'”
Her idea was to report on the entertainment industry and do more in-depth interviews. “I think a lot of
the things I reported on were things you often found more in the trade papers,” she said. “People were
very interested in learning about the business of show business — how it really worked and who were
the people behind the scenes. I thought it was equally important for the public to get to know those
people because they were the ones who were really responsible for what we got to see.”
Barbara Walters was already doing in-depth TV interviews.
“Barbara was first,” said Barrett, “but she was first mainly with the political people. I was first with the
celebrities of both television and Hollywood and the music industry.
“Forty years ago people never asked questions about who they really were. My interest was always
about what made a person tick? How did they get to be who they are and what were the motives,
what were the reasons and what were their attitudes towards the things that people really wanted to
know? That is what it was all about. A lot of people after that began doing those kinds of celebrity
interviews.”
Barrett started working for Fisher in New York, despite a crippling degenerative disease that she
overcame by building leg muscles to compensate for a weakness that one doctor said would kill her.
She soon began promoting his records.
“I used to take Eddie Fisher's records to all the disc jockeys in the Manhattan area,” she said. “At that
time, everybody hung out at the Brill Building in Manhattan. That's where I got to meet Tony (Bennett,
also from Astoria) and many people. The music business is basically where I started.”
Barrett, who turns 73 this week, also handled fan clubs for singer Steve Lawrence before writing for
fan magazines.
“I came in at a moment in time when a major shift of the culture shift of our country was occurring - the
big teenage revolution, Elvis, Fabian, Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell and eventually the Beatles,” she
said. “We were pretty much the same age and we were all growing up together.”
She moved to Los Angeles because “almost everybody I ever knew began to move to California” and
sought to take over Hopper's column. She instead was hired to report on entertainment for KABC-TV.
She employed some of the Hopper-Parsons broadcast style, but also plied the trade-style journalism
of Variety columnist Army Archerd.
“It was easy to say, because I was a woman, I was more like Hedda and Louella,” she said. “I would
say I was much more in line with Army Archerd.”
Taylor disagrees.
“Rona was more of the gossip columnist,” he said. “She would get dirt sometimes, but she also would
report good news. Army was sort of loving in his reporting. Everything was not always 100 percent
positive, but it had a style that just felt warm and fuzzy. With Rona, she could be biting.”
She so irritated the Sinatra family with her interview with Frank Sinatra's daughter, Tina, she was cut
off from Nancy Sinatra, who Barrett said in her 1974 autobiography, “Miss Rona,” “had been closer to
me than my own sister.”
By 1967, Barrett had her own Palm Springs home. She was staying there when she and her reporters
observed some unusual activity at the local flower shops. That confirmed in her mind the story she had
2 of 4 2009/10/17 09:31 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

already broken that Elvis and Priscilla Presley were getting married in Palm Springs. The fact that they
actually wed in Las Vegas was a detail she called “not crucial.”
She sold her Palm Springs house in 1981, one year after leaving “Good Morning America” to co-host
“Tomorrow” with the late Tom Snyder. She left that talk show after a year when NBC offered her some
prime-time specials. When that didn't happen, she joined the new “Entertainment Tonight.”
By 1986, however, Barrett had had enough. She announced her resignation and bought her ranch in
Santa Ynez. By 1991, she was a full-time rancher.
But her friends remember her as a TV pioneer.
“Rona was the first,” said Greer. “She brought the concept to ABC News of having an entertainment
segment. No one had ever done that.”
Star induction
What: Rona Barrett will receive the 323rd star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars
When: 2 p.m. Friday
Where: 111 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs
Information: Barrett is selling the DVD, “Rona Barrett's Hollywood: Nothing but the Truth,” including
some of her favorite interviews. A dollar for each DVD sold will go to the Rona Barrett Foundation,
supporting the emotional, financial, physical well-being and dignity of low-income elderly adults.
Information: (760) 416-5811.
Rona in Palm Springs
Rona Barrett has fond memories of living in Palm Springs when it really was a movie star colony.
“In those days, people respected your privacy,” the former entertainment broadcast journalist said. “A
celebrity or big star could walk down Palm Canyon and no one would really bother them. It was very
easy for celebrities to find peace and quiet coming to the desert.”
Barrett was known across the country for the scoops she broke about stars. But, when she was in
Palm Springs in the 1960s and ‘70s, even she respected the local code to not bother the celebrities.
“When I came down there I really came to think and to rest and to read,” she said. “I would go out to
dinner or people would invite us to dinner. One of my closest friends was also one of my interior
designers, Steve Chase. Steve would always have me over to cocktail parties and there were always
a number of celebrities. So you got to meet people on a different level.
“I'm not saying they weren't concerned about what I was going to say or report. Out in public, if I did
see it, yes (it was fair game). But I always made it a policy, when I went to someone's home, they had
to know I wasn't there to write about the dinner. I was there as a dinner guest. Only if it was for a very
special occasion and they wanted me to do something, did I say anything.”
Barrett fell in love with Palm Springs almost immediately after friends brought her there in the early
1960s.
“The minute I crossed over the pass, my heart just leaped,” she said. “I said, ‘Oh my gosh, what a
gorgeous, wonderful place.' I just found such peace and security living in the desert. “
When I went on television, I worked out a schedule where I could leave late Thursday night unless
there was a story that was breaking, and I was there Friday, Saturday and left on Sunday afternoon to
prepare for my broadcast on Monday morning.”
Her primary residence was in Beverly Hills, right behind her friends Kirk and Anne Douglas. She said
Palm Springs had a similar small town charm.
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“When you walked down the street in Beverly Hills, every shop keeper knew who lived in Beverly Hills,”
she said. “In the desert, it was very much the same way.”
But, despite the small desert population, people had their own cliques.
“If you played tennis, (there was) a whole group that knew one another,” she said. “If you played golf,
the guys played golf. If you played cards — and there were a lot of people who played cards for very
heavy stakes — those people were always together. The Racquet Club was, in the Palm Springs
village area, the place where you would find most celebrities who didn't have homes down there.”
Barrett still has family in the Coachella Valley, but, living five hours away in Santa Ynez, she just
doesn't get to the desert very often.
4 of 4 2009/10/17 09:31 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Americans Say Goodbye to Famous Pandas Mei Lan and Tai Shan
By STEVE OSUNSAMI and KAREN TRAVERS
WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2010 —
It's a sad goodbye this morning for the many, many admirers of four-year-old Tai Shan and three-year-old
Mei Lan, two pandas born at zoos in the United States
This morning, they left on a charter plane for a roughly 14-hour flight to China. It's a heartbreaking deal:
Every panda living in the U.S., even those born here, must eventually be returned to their motherland.
Tai Shan is a native Washingtonian, born at the National Zoo in 2005.
"My two daughters are very devastated the panda is leaving," Pam Gaston of Stafford, Va., told ABC
News. "So they said they had to come and see him before he leaves."
Pam's daughters, Sydney and Lexi, said that Tai Shan was the cutest animal at the zoo and their favorite.
"He's special, he's really cute," Sydney said. "I think it's sad but it's good that he's going back to make
more pandas."
Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty once called Tai Shan the city's most important citizen -- a distinguished
title given the power brokers that call the District of Columbia home.
His parents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, arrived in December 2000 and reside at the zoo as part of a $10
million, 10-year loan from China. The zoo is hoping to start negotiating for an extension this spring to keep
the two adult pandas in the United States.
Tai Shan was scheduled to move to China when he turned two in 2007, but China granted the National
Zoo two extensions that allowed the animal to remain in Washington three extra years.
The zoo asked if he could stay for another year, but the Chinese said no, that it was time for him to come
to China and start to procreate.
The overwhelming consensus this week among panda watchers, adults and children, has been that Tai
Shan's departure for China is bittersweet -- sad, of course, because of the loss of the beloved animal, but
happy because if he is successful in this next stage of his life, there will be more pandas in the future.
Don Moore, the acting director of the National Zoo, said Tai Shan was like family.
"It's kind of like sending your kid off to college and knowing that your child is going to be a human
breeder eventually, too," he said. "We'll miss him, but we know he is going on to something more
important, another phase in his life, to get a girlfriend, have babies of his own."
Yasmin Helpeling, an eight-year-old from Bethesda, Md., said she has seen Tai Shan 12 times at the zoo
because "they're cool and they're fun to see."
She was taking the imminent departure in stride.
"It's sort of happy because he's really from China. It's OK for him to go back," she told ABC News on
Saturday.
"We're all very sad to see him go," said Brandie Smith, senior curator of the Smithsonian National Zoo.
"But we're so excited he's going to China to be part of the breeding program and to fill the world with
more pandas."
In Atlanta, the reaction was no less melancholy.
"Of course I'm sad," Atlanta zookeeper Heather Roberts told ABC News. "It's our first cub, our first baby,
so of course it's hard to see her leave."
Chinese scientists at the China Conservation and Research Center's Wulong Nature Reserve in Sichuan,
China, are busy preparing new food and the pandas' new home.
They're even hiring a language tutor to teach the pandas Chinese. Right now, they only respond to words
and phrases in English.
But the trainers say the pandas will adapt easily.
The Chinese are hoping the pandas will reproduce. To improve the odds, Mei Lan has her pick of
boyfriends. Chinese citizens actually are voting for the suitors online.
On one Web site, each bear has its own video and dreamy music. One of them is named "Superman
Kobe," and another, "Handsome Yong Yong."
America's fascination with pandas began in 1972, when the Chinese sent President Nixon and the first
lady two pandas as a gift, after their historic visit to China. Americans loved the animals, and the phrase
"panda diplomacy" was born.
"The giant pandas are the most adorable," Pat Nixon cooed.
Conservationists estimate that there are currently only 1,600 pandas remaining in the wild worldwide and
about 200 in captivity. Only three other zoos in the United States have giant pandas -- San Diego, Atlanta
and Memphis.
Tai Shan and Mei Lan are now on a mission to save their species -- important work that many wish they
could have done here.
ABC News' Stephanie Sy and John Hendren contributed to this report.

Transcript: Diane Sawyer Interviews Timothy Geithner http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8569713
Transcript: Diane Sawyer Interviews Treasury Secretary

Timothy Geithner
S ept. 15, 2009—
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sat down for an exclusive interview with "Good M orning America"
co-anchor Diane Sawyer Sept. 14, 2009. Geithner discussed the economic crisis of the past year and said he
sees progress in the economy, but that "it's just the beginning" and "there's no recovery yet."
The following transcript of their interview has been edited for clarity.
DIANE S AWYER: M r. Secretary, welcome to our morning.
TIMOTHY GEITHNER:
Nice to be here.
S AWYER:
What's the difference in the way you woke up today and the way you woke up a year ago?
GEITHNER:
It's -- it's dramatically different. You know, a year ago we really were on the verge of a full-scale run, a classic
panic. People were starting to think about taking their money out of banks. Hadn't happened in a century. It
was a remarkable thing.
S AWYER:
Did you --
GEITHNER:
I think there --
S AWYER:
Did you feel that people were going to be in a situation where their credit cards would not --
GEITHNER:
We -- we --
S AWYER:
-- be of any use anymore?
GEITHNER:
We were --
1 of 14 2009/09/16 06:13 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

S AWYER:
G.E. was going to fail.
GEITHNER:
We were never going to let it get to that point. But there was just real fear. Fear -- just dramatic fear. And
what happened is the market stopped. And economic activity effectively stopped around the world. Things
just came to a grinding halt, because there was so much fear.
S AWYER:
And waking up this morning? What's the biggest fear?
GEITHNER:
Well, I think the -- the biggest fear now -- let's say the biggest challenge, is to make sure we change the rules of
the game so this doesn't happen again. That's the biggest challenge. That's the hardest challenge.
S AWYER:
But a lot of people are saying -- you take a look at what's happening right now. The banks are doing a lot of
high risk activity already. The percentage of corporate profits that is still in the financial industry, same as it
was a year ago. Toxic assets still on the book. That it hasn't changed.
GEITHNER:
Actually, I think a lot of things have changed. But you can't let the -- go back to where it was. And you can --
Congress is going to have to legislate comprehensive reforms if we're going to be able to prevent a crisis like
this from happening again. But some important things have happened. Banks are in a much stronger position
to withstand the pressures of this recession or this -- this -- broader challenge. Than maybe they were two
years ago, a year ago, six months ago, three months ago.
We've had a lot of capital come into the financial system, which is good. These markets are starting to thaw
and unfreeze. People can borrow again more easily. The cost of credit has come down for businesses and
families quite significantly. And those are because of the actions the president took, the Congress authorized.
S AWYER:
So, you're saying you can guarantee that it will not happen again?
GEITHNER:
No, we can't -- we can't do that. But what we have an obligation to do is to make sure that we put in place
rules here and around the world to make that much less likely. Rules that'll protect consumers better. M ake
the system much more stable. That's the obligation of governments.
S AWYER:
I want to ask about a couple of things. And I'll get back to the -- to the mortgage and the lending in a moment.
But as you've seen, a lot of people are expressing terror. There were tens of thousands of people in the streets
in Washington over the weekend. And however you may see them as politically motivated some of them,
there were a lot of people there saying things like, "Just look at the reality if you're facing a $1.6 trillion
deficit. If you're facing IOUs to other countries. Where suddenly they own America. Our children are
imperiled." One woman said, "By the time my children grow up, they won't have a discretionary dime."
2 of 14 2009/09/16 06:13 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

GEITHNER:
We got into this because we borrowed too much. We lived beyond our means. Both as a country, many
businesses did it, many families did it. Obviously, the financial sector did that. And part of what's going to
make this so hard to get out of this is we have to go back to a point where we're saving more. It's starting to
happen.
Savings rates have gone up from about one to five percent, which is good. We're borrowing less from the rest
of the world now. That's a healthy sign of change. And it's -- it'll make us strong in the future, if we, if we
keep that up. But our first challenge is to make sure we get this economy growing. This -- this quarter, this
month, we probably have for the first time in 18 months or two years, an economy that's really growing now
for the first time. But it's very early still. And our first challenge is to make sure we get this economy back on
the path to actual growing. So people are back into -- back to work. So businesses will take a chance again --
on America.
S AWYER:
So, do the people who say, "We just don't recognize our country right now. A country in which we seem to
be owning insurance companies and auto companies. And the mortgages themselves. And we're in this kind of
debt."
GEITHNER:
Those were --
S AWYER:
"With no prospect of getting out." What do you say to them about their essential fear? Our new poll shows
enormous stress --
GEITHNER:
No, I think --
S AWYER:
-- about where the country's headed.
GEITHNER:
I think you're absolutely right. People are very uncertain, and they're very concerned about the future. But
those things you described, the actions we did take, you'd never ever want a government to have to do. But in
a crisis, in a fire that that was that powerful, the government had to do some deeply offensive things to help
contain the damage. And we will get out of that as quickly as we can.
You're already seeing banks starting to repay. The government's earning a reasonably good return on its -- the
investments it made in some financial institutions. We're not going to keep a penny in the financial system or
in the U.S. economy longer than we think is absolutely necessary.
S AWYER:
By next year, will we be out of the auto business?
GEITHNER:
I -- I think it's going to take longer than that. Just to be honest and realistic.
3 of 14 2009/09/16 06:13 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

S AWYER:
Two years? Three? Four?
GEITHNER:
We're going to get out as soon as we can. And again, in the -- if you look at the financial system, where what
the government had to do was very dramatic. You're already seeing the government unwind, walk back,
reverse a lot of the exceptional things that we had to do. And that's what have to do in a crisis.
I mean, look what happened to the country last year. You had -- you saw, again, economic activity stop. You
saw people's pension values fall by 30 to 40 percent. You saw deep fear and uncertainty. Unemployment
rose dramatically. A huge amount of damage to the economy because this government didn't do enough soon
enough to try to bring the crisis -- to an end. Try to end the panic. But -- and things are better today because
of that. But you are exactly right. And I think people in America are right. That when we have the economy
growing again. We're going to have to bring these deficits down.
S AWYER:
Back to that a second. A couple of specifics. TARP expires at the end of the year. Extending it?
GEITHNER:
We're -- haven't made that judgment yet. But I think people need to understand, we're going to do what it
takes to make sure we repair this damaged system. And we get growth back in track. But we haven't made
that judgment yet.
S AWYER:
And tax credits for first time home buyers? Extending?
GEITHNER:
The -- the range of things in the recovery act that were very important, very helpful in bringing growth back.
And we'll take a careful look at which of those deserve some temporary extension.
S AWYER:
Again, one of the things people say looking forward is they understand the intention is to get out of this.
GEITHNER:
Right.
S AWYER:
They don't see a possible way out without tax raises.
GEITHNER:
But -- but look what we've already done. It's just an important sign of credibility and people should take
some confidence from that. Even though we only started growing as an economy this quarter, again, we're
already winding down, dialing back, pulling back from the things we did in the emergency. So, you need to
take -- people should take that as a sign of the commitment of this president, and this Federal Reserve, again,
to walk back the emergency stuff as the emergency fades. Then we start to focus on repair.
Now, on the -- on the -- on the budget deficits, I think Americans understand that we have an unsustainable --
4 of 14 2009/09/16 06:13 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

fiscal position. That we're going to have to bring those deficits down over time. And the president's
committed to doing that. I think the American people understand that's necessary. And that's going to be
important to do, because if we don't do that, make people confident in that, then growth won't be as strong as
we need it to be. And you'll see investment crowded out. And that's why it's so important to do.
S AWYER:
I know that you have said that we're not at the point where we need to make judgments about what specific
tax measures we would need to take. Are -- are you still guaranteeing that no one in America will have their
taxes raised unless they make more than $250,000 a year?
GEITHNER:
The president committed to that in the campaign. He feels very, very strongly about that. And we can get out
fiscal house in order. We can go back as a country to the point where we're living within our means without
violating that basic commitment.
S AWYER:
That's your promise. It will not happen.
GEITHNER:
That's his commitment. And he's very committed to that. And if you look at what we've done, again, he put
in place as part of the recovery plan a tax cut that went to 95 percent of working Americans. And those basic
values, that basic commitment to the middle class of America is going to shape the strategy -- he brings to the
economy.
S AWYER:
Perhaps the most bruising part of all of this for individual families, of course, jobs. And we have a new poll
out that shows that 47 percent of Americans say that either a job loss or a cut in pay has affected their
household. That's half of America. Looking at a Christmas they believe is going to be very different from the
Christmas on Wall Street, where salaries are still sky high.
GEITHNER:
Well, that's the --
S AWYER:
Is that fair?
GEITHNER:
No, it's not fair. And that's the tragedy of financial crises. Is that the people who were responsible, they were
careful, had nothing to do with the cause of the crisis, bear a huge amount of the burden -- for the crisis itself.
And that's why it's so important in a crisis that governments do extraordinary things the contain the damage
and bring growth back. And that's why it's so important that we reform this financial system so that these
kind of things don't happen again. And that's why the president moved so early to propose sweeping,
comprehensive new stronger rules of the road -- for the financial -- because, again, the -- the damage is so
indiscriminate. And it's so unfair.
S AWYER:
We are told that at the G20, [French] President Sarkozy, [German Chancellor] M erkel, [British Prime
5 of 14 2009/09/16 06:13 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

M inister] Gordon Brown are all going to say, "Okay, let's just tackle the bonus issue and say that no bonuses
are -- all bonuses should be limited to some proportion of actual earnings. Just get it done." Will you agree to
that?
GEITHNER:
The president was ahead of those countries. Ahead of countries around the world in moving very quickly to
propose strong reforms of compensation practice. He did so on February 4th. And the Congress has already
legislated very tough conditions on compensation. But not enough has been done yet. It's very important
these practices change now. And we're going to support, not just in the United States, but across the other
major economies, because this is a very competitive world. If you don't do it everywhere then you won't be
effective.
So, we're com -- we're committed to strong reforms of compensation practices. But that's only one part,
Diane, of what it's going to take to make the system more stable, more fair in the future. So, we proposed,
again, sweeping changes to bring derivative markets under oversight, stronger constraints on leverage and risk
taking, and we're -- we expect to have broad support around the world for those proposals.
S AWYER:
What do you say to your friends on Wall Street about this? What do you say to them personally about the
prospect of institutions taking $45 billion in taxpayer money and paying out huge amounts in bonuses to
themselves?
GEITHNER:
Well -- well, we're -- we're not going to let that happen. We can't let that happen. And the Congress of the
United States has legislated conditions on what companies that took exceptional assistance from the
government can actually do in terms of compensation for senior executives. And that's a very important thing.
It goes to the basic values of America. You know, in the United States, I think people don't mind rewarding
success. But what they don't want to see is -- is individuals or companies rewarded for failure. And that's
why we want to change the -- the system.
S AWYER:
Do you agree with what Elizabeth Warren of the Congressional Oversight Panel said, namely, that public fear
has turned to anger. That the public feels that it was stuck with the bill, but didn't get the benefits.
GEITHNER:
Yeah -- yeah, absolutely. I think that she's absolutely right about the level of frustration and fear. But again,
that's the tragic thing about financial crises is that you -- they cause so much damage that you have to do
extraordinary things to arrest the panic, fix the problem, pull the economy back from abyss. And you can say
today, for the first time in not just -- six, eight, 12, 18 months. You can say that this economy is now growing
again, which is the beginning. It's just the beginning. Unemployment is still extraordinarily high. There's still a
huge amount of uncertainty and concern about the future. But we're starting to make some progress.
S AWYER:
When Larry Summers of the Council of Economic Advisors says that we're going to have unacceptable
unemployment for years. How high is it going to go?
GEITHNER:
6 of 14 2009/09/16 06:13 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

M ost economists -- I'm not -- this is not a forecast. But I think most private economists think
unemployment's going to peak close to where it currently is, maybe slightly higher. And -- and I think the
reason why this is -- this is -- we're in this position is because again --
S AWYER:
To where?
GEITHNER:
Economists, Diane, aren't very good about forecasting the future. If we learned one thing in this crisis, it was
that. They don't know so much about the future. But the reason why we're going to be in a position where
unemployment is so high and could stay high for a long time is because, again, it's going to take us a while as a
country to dig out of a long period where we were borrowing too much. We allowed too much risk and levers
to build up. That's why it's going to be -- relatively -- it could be a relatively slow recovery. But that's why
it's so important that we get the rest of the world to move with us to get growth back on track.
S AWYER:
There is a movement afoot, either to have a new stimulus or a retooled stimulus that only targets jobs. Is it
going to happen?
GEITHNER:
Well, again, we're -- we're looking at a range of things to help reinforce this initial progress we've seen to get
growth back on track. And the president is -- as he said, you know, we're not going to be done until we have
every American who wants to find a job can find a job. And we have unemployment back to it's level that --
that you can reasonably expect (UNINTEL) economy.
S AWYER:
But how quickly -- how quickly can you assure people out there what we have two million people -- we have
-- we have 15 million people looking for two million jobs, available jobs.
GEITHNER:
What we can say is that we will do everything sensible, everything we think is effective, to help get growth
back on track. Help bring unemployment down.
S AWYER:
Number one among them?
GEITHNER:
And we're going to -- and we're going to stick with it until we achieve this. And that's why there's such a
powerful program of stimulus in place now. And why we've been so aggressive in helping fix this financial
system.
S AWYER:
One question about foreclosures and mortgages. This is just a small example which contains a greater truth in
it, as people experience it. Bank of America, which has the no -- most number of -- mortgages -- that could
potentially be modified, has only helped seven percent. And again, taxpayers gave them what? $45 billion.
And after all this time, they've only helped seven percent?
7 of 14 2009/09/16 06:13 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

GEITHNER:
You're -- you're exactly right. And some -- some banks have been relatively slow to get this going. And they're
going to have to substantially step up their efforts, because we want this program to reach people who are
eligible for the benefits of the program. But we -- we expect to see half a million families in -- with mortgages
have -- allow for substantially lower monthly payments. In place by November 1st. And we're going to see, I
think, much st -- much more rapid progress by those institutions who are a little slow and late. And it's very
important we see that.
S AWYER:
Do you think government has been at all responsible for the fact that they didn't -- they didn't feel an urgent
need to move more quickly?
GEITHNER:
Oh, of course. And that's why -- that's why the president put in place the program he did at the -- at the
beginning of this year. I mean, the president moved very early to do extraordinary things to bring down
mortgage interest rates so that people across the country are able to borrow at lower rates than would have
been possible. You're seeing the housing market now start to show signs of stability, because of the effect of
that program.
And as I said, about half a million families by November 1st, perhaps earlier than that, are going to be in -- in
modified mortgages, allow them to stay in their homes, and pay much less on their mortgage than they were
paying before. That's -- that's a very important program. And again, we're seeing some -- some signs of
stability in housing markets.
S AWYER:
So, for the people out there again, who -- who have been -- who still believe there are two recoveries. One for
M ain Street and one for Wall Street. One in peoples homes, where they're just reeling from job loss. And
another -- on M ain Street. You say it's true?
GEITHNER:
I would say there's no recovery yet. We -- we don't have in place yet a real recovery . We define recovery, and
the president will define recovery, as -- as -- as people back to work. People able to get a job again.
Businesses investing again. And we are not at the point where we can say that yet.
S AWYER:
Any regret on your part you want to express to them? That you think you could have done differently? That
the government should have done differently to make it better for them today?
GEITHNER:
I have said this many times and I think it's absolutely true. The government of the United States, along with
governments around the world, did not move early enough, did not move soon enough, to address this crisis.
It underestimated the strength of the recession, underestimated the damage it was going to -- do. And
underestimate what it was going to take. And did not see things start to improve until really the beginning of
this year when there was overwhelming force put behind a strong recovery program. Strong housing program.
Effort to fix this financial system.
S AWYER:
8 of 14 2009/09/16 06:13 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

So, if you have --
GEITHNER:
And --
S AWYER:
-- one thing you say to yourself, "I wish I'd -- I wish I'd -- "
GEITHNER:
Well -- well, again, two -- two failings. The government didn't move early enough to help contain the damage.
And -- and we're two years into this. You know, this thing really did start two years ago. And a more forceful
response earlier would have made it less damaging. And I think that's -- that -- that was the tragic failure of
policy in this crisis. But to fix this going forward, we've got to reform this financial system. You know, you
said, Diane, at the beginning, people are -- are worried we did too much. And some people are worried we
haven't done enough yet.
S AWYER:
Yes.
GEITHNER:
We're going to --
S AWYER:
Warren Buffet said that it's like taking half a Viagra.
GEITHNER:
(LAUGH) Yeah. But what the president said, and what's important, is we're going to do what it takes to get
this economy growing again. To help make sure people can get back to work. People are taking -- are investing
again for the future. And that's the ultimate test of --
S AWYER:
And if it means another stimulus, another half of Viagra, you'll do it?
GEITHNER:
Well, we're going to look carefully, any sensible program. And if it offers the prosp ect of getting growth back
to a stronger position sooner, then we'll take a hard look at it.
S AWYER:
Are there banks still too big to fail? Is that a peril?
GEITHNER:
It is -- it is -- a huge peril for the country and for the global financial system. And that's why reform is so
important. And we've proposed the most sweeping set of changes to the financial system this country's
considered in decades. But it requires Congress to legislate. And it requires countries around the world moving
with us. 'Cause if we just do it here, then the risk will just go somewhere else.
S AWYER:
A lot of attention paid recently to the bundling and securitizing of insurance policies. Life insurance policies,
9 of 14 2009/09/16 06:13 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

which seems to be gambling that someone will actually die earlier. What? Three trillion out there. Is this
another potential -- time bomb? If this is allowed to happen?
GEITHNER:
And one reason why reform is important and soon is because you don't want to see a return to the sort of
innovation of complex products that can be damaging to the --
S AWYER:
Will you prevent this? Will you specifically intervene to prevent this?
GEITHNER:
We're proposing to establish in one place responsibility to write strong rules to protect consumers and
investors and to enforce those rules. That responsibility was spread across a whole bunch of entities, they
didn't do an adequate job. They left large parts of the system with no oversight and discipline, no
enforcement. And that's something that has to change.
S AWYER:
But a lot of people just think in -- on principle, you should not be allowed to profit from this. Do you think
in principle you shouldn't be allowed to profit on it?
GEITHNER:
See, I don't know about principles. But the reality is we need a system that does a better job, again, of
protecting consumers and investors. And provides for a more stable system. Less prone to these big bubble
and bust cycles. They're just enormously damaging as we've seen.
S AWYER:
At this point, this morning, after one year or two years, if we look at the reality, is it a v-shape or a
w-shaped, double dip recovery? Is there another wave coming?
GEITHNER:
It's likely to be slower than a typical recovery, again, because it's going to take us a while to grow out of this.
To sort of earn our way out of this. To save more, de-lever, repair the things that were broken. That's going to
make it a slower, more gradual recovery than normal. But -- we have a very good chance, working with
countries around the world to make sure that we achieve -- we achieve that relatively soon. And -- and people
are worried still about whether things will fade, growth will fade as stimulus fades.
S AWYER:
Your instincts say it's a v and not a w? However slow --
GEITHNER:
I don't --
S AWYER:
-- a v?
GEITHNER:
I don't -- Diane, I don't do the letters. And again, as I said, economists -- I'm not an economist. Economists
10 of 14 2009/09/16 06:13 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

don't know so much about the future. What we do know is that it's going to take a sustained commitment
from your government, from this government, governments around the world, to fix this -- the cause of this
crisis and to get growth back on track. We're at the beginning. A lot of progress so far. We're gettin' money
back from the financial system. We're starting to unwind these exceptional things. We're not going to be
involved in the auto industry, the financial industry,any -- a day longer than we need to. And we're seeing the
first signs of a path to exit.
S AWYER:
Going to -- extend unemployment benefits?
GEITHNER:
Very likely the Congress will do that. And they should.
S AWYER:
What about the concern a lot of people have about the commercial real estate and foreclosures, defaults?
GEITHNER:
Still -- still a lot of -- pressure ahead for the financial system, even in real estate. Again, people made a lot of
bets on a -- on a future that was more stable than was realistic.
S AWYER:
But is that the next big potential bomb to detonate?
GEITHNER:
No, I think that the U.S. economy can weather those pressures ahead. Because of the scale of support we
provided to the financial system, and that the government's committed to provide. I think we can manage and
weather those challenges, we just got a lot of challenges ahead still. And, you know -- you had -- just had a lot
of people in a lot of industries, particularly in real estate -- just take too much risk.
S AWYER:
Flash forward a year from now, again, talk to somebody sitting out in their kitchen this morning and making
breakfast and terrified ...
GEITHNER:
A year from now, those -- growth will be stronger, unemployment will be lower, it'll be easier to find a job,
incomes will be growing more rapidly, people will able to be more confident in the value of their savings.
They'll be more likely to put their kids through college. Things will be getting better. But again, it's important
for people to understand, it took a while to get into this. It's still going to take a while to get us out. There's
no easy, quick, immediate fix to these things. It's going to require a long period of change in behavior. The
government has to help that transition. Help that transition. And we're making some p rogress.
S AWYER:
A couple of personal questions. You -- you -- did you know people who've lost their jobs? In your family?
GEITHNER:
I -- I do. I have -- I know a lot of people who have lost their jobs. I think we all know people who've been
touched by this. And again, that's why these crises are so tragic. And so unfair. Is because they cause just
11 of 14 2009/09/16 06:13 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

indiscriminate damage. People, again, who were careful, thoughtful, were doing important things. I mean, get --
get caught up in these things. And that's why, again, governments have to do forceful, exceptional things to fix
the problem.
S AWYER:
And I come back to it. Is there something new you can tell people about that will stimulate jobs? Whether it
is n -- a new kind of tax incentive to companies to hire?
GEITHNER:
Diane, the -- the Recovery Act was designed as a two year program. So, a large part of its initial effects, in
terms of the tax cuts, money for states, unemployment benefits happened right away. But a large part of the
benefits that'll be helpful for employment are only starting, only started the last two months.
So, the programs to improve infrastructure, for example, are just getting underway. And you're going to see a
sustained period of time where those add to growth. And that's why economists now, many economists,
although as I said, they don't know that much about the future. M any economists now think the economy's d
-- going to be growing -- at a significantly positive rate next year.
S AWYER:
In all of this, what's been the bleakest moment for you?
GEITHNER:
August of 2007 was very dark, but without a doubt, a year ago today, was the -- was the darkest moment. As
I said, when -- when we began, at that time, for the first time, really, in -- in almost a century, Americans were
wondering whether banks were safe. Whether they could keep their savings in banks. And I think those fears
today no longer exist, because of the strength of the actions that both my predecessor and this President have
-- have helped put in motion.
S AWYER:
What do you do when you're afraid?
GEITHNER:
Diane, what I do -- is -- I figure out what we can do to fix it. M y view is our job, and that's for people in jobs
like this, our job is to figure out what can we do to help protect the future of financial security of the
American People. How can we move as quickly as possible to repair the damage, get things better? That's
what I do.
S AWYER:
Part of this anxiety, sincere and genuine anxiety as you look at the dollar, which has your name on it now.
And -- that the climb of the dollar internationally is terrify --
GEITHNER:
It's not -- it's not -- we have a strong dollar. We're going to have a strong dollar. I think the dollar's going to be
-- remain the principle reserve asset in the count -- in the -- in the globe for a long -- for a long tie to come.
S AWYER:
But when China is right now holding our IOUs. When we are looking to the Chinese to be nice to us --
12 of 14 2009/09/16 06:13 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

GEITHNER:
We're not -- we're not --
S AWYER:
-- on credit.
GEITHNER:
-- looking to the Chinese to be nice to us.
< b>SAWYER:
To be --
GEITHNER:
We're --
S AWYER:
-- steadfast, anyway.
GEITHNER:
No, to do what's in their interest. And what's in their interest, largely, is what's in our interest. Because -- we
need as a country, and no one should care more about this than the average American, again, need to make sure
we're fixing this economy. Getting growth back on track. Fixing our financial system. And we make
Americans confident just like investors around the world that we're going to go back to living within our
means. That's something that Americans have to feel strongly about. And no one's going to feel more strongly
about than me.
S AWYER:
No question in your mind that the Chinese are going to -- not going to back away? They have expressed
concern about the enormous --
GEITHNER:
I spend a lot of my time talking to people around the world. Talking to countries around the world,
governments, people in business, financial institutions. And I think if you look at what's happened to our
financial system over the last six months in particular, you're seeing a lot of confidence in this country. A lot
of confidence in our ability to get ourself back to the point where we're growing again. And you're seeing --
American investors -- foreign investors -- vote with us in that basic sense. Again, because I think they see this
country doing what it has to do. Which is to move to fix the problems we inherited.
S AWYER:
Going to be a trade war? We read the paper this morning.
GEITHNER:
Not -- not going to happen. I think -- you know, this is just a relatively small example of a basic principle.
Which is rules are rules. The system requires that we enforce the rules of the game. I think China understands
that. And -- there's no reason why this has to be a big deal.
S AWYER:
13 of 14 2009/09/16 06:13 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

You -- you really think -- I seem to be hearing that you really think this is it. That you are -- that you're not
hedging on this. Whatever your 60 indicators are that you --
GEITHNER:
Diane, we're growing again now. That's the most important -- that's the beginning. Now, until unemployment
starts to come down. Until you see great confidence, less uncertainty, investments start to rise again, you
won't have a recovery. And for recovery to work, it's got to be led by private demand, not by the government.
But growth is the beginning. It's the necessary condition. And we now -- growth has now started. And that's
the critical change.
S AWYER:
Thank you.
GEITHNER:
Nice to see you.
14 of 14 2009/09/16 06:13 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

Search Begins for Lost Woman Pilot of WWII http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8776928
WASP Pilot Gertrude Tomkins Silver Crashed off California Coast in 1944
By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
Oct. 8, 2009 —
The fog rolled in from Santa Monica Bay just after noon on Oct. 26, 1944, just three hours before
Gertrude Tomkins Silver opened the hatch of her fighter plane, a P-51 Mustang.
The plane left from a little strip called Mines Field, today known as the Los Angeles International Airport,
bound for a three-day journey to New Jersey, where it would be placed on a cargo vessel and shipped to
Great Britain to fight World War II's final battles in Europe.
The pilot, Silver, a 34-year-old New Jersey native nicknamed Tommy, had spent more than 500 hours in
the air and had a reputation for being able to handle fighters like the P-51s, some of the Army's fastest
aircraft.
It would be four days -- as the other two members of her squad landed in New Jersey -- before anyone
realized Silver's plane went down somewhere off the coast of California just minutes after takeoff.
On Tuesday, a crew of archeologists, divers, sonar technicians and volunteers began a search 65 years
overdue, to find the wreckage of the plane that carried Silver, the only missing and unaccounted for
member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, an elite, all-female flight squadron formed at
the height of World War II.
"Of the 38 WASPs who lost their lives, she's the only one unaccounted for," said Pat Macha, a retired
teacher-turned-aviation archaeologist who is leading the search, from aboard a search vessel in Santa
Monica Bay.
"That's a big motivator," he added. "These women played an important role in our history and their next of
kin still want resolution."
Three boats are searching for the downed fighter. One carries sophisticated sonar equipment. The others
have teams of 10 divers.
The sonar crew, helmed by Gene Ralston, who has conducted undersea searches for high-profile murder
victims like Laci Peterson and Natalie Holloway, marks a spot on the surface with a buoy.
Search for Gertrude Tomkins Silver
Divers then swim down to search the sea floor at the spots where the sonar detected something.
Among those onboard one of the boats is Silver's grand-niece, Laura Whittall-Scherfee.
"For us, it's amazing that this many people are willing to donate their time and equipment, their expertise,"
Whittall-Scherfee told ABC News affiliate KABC-TV in Los Angeles.
In an initial search of the area, the team earlier this year discovered the wreck of another plane, a a T-33
1 of 2 2009/10/12 08:11 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Search Begins for Lost Woman Pilot of WWII http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8776928
Air Force jet that disappeared on Oct. 15, 1955, carrying two crewman.
Macha said searchers were not expecting to find Silver's intact aircraft.
"Aluminum doesn't hold up well. What we'll probably find is some stainless steel, Plexiglas, the 50 caliber
machine guns and tires," said Macha.
He doubted, too, that any remains of Silver's body would be discovered.
If discovered, the remnants of the plane will not initially be brought to the surface.
"When we find a site, we document, photograph it, mark the GPS coordinates and then call L.A. County
sheriff, who take control of the site," he said.
The P-51 had a reputation for stalling at low altitudes when the nose was pulled up too quickly, and
Macha believes that may have been the cause of the crash.
The WASPs were founded in 1943 in an effort to relieve the burden of male pilots flying combat missions.
Women were used to transport planes around the country, delivering them from factories to bases and
ports for overseas shipping.
Of 1,834 women accepted to become WASP pilots and begin the six months of requisite training at
Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas -- today the home of the National WASP World War II Museum --
just 1,074 graduated.
Silver became interested in flying when a boyfriend joined the Royal Canadian Air Force to fight with the
Allies before the U.S. entered the war in late 1941.
"WASP pilots flew every kind of plane the military had in the sky, from little PT trainers to the B-29 super
fortress," said Sharron Davis, executive director of the museum.
Women Pilots: World War II Call of Duty
"Thirty-eight women died in training or in service," Davis said. "The percentage of fatal crashes among
WASPs in training or service was significantly less than men."
The WASP program was dismantled just two years after it began, when male pilots returning from combat
needed jobs.
Female pilots were not recognized as full-fledged members of the military, Davis said.
"They received no military benefits," she added. "They paid their way in and paid their way home. Many
left husbands and children at home. They answered the call of duty and there was a loyal patriotic streak
that ran among all of them."
If Silver's plane is discovered, Macha said, the family plans to hold a ceremony on a boat above the wreck
and sprinkle flowers in the sea.
2 of 2 2009/10/12 08:11 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Sebelius: Vaccination Is the Best Defense http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8769784
Health and Human Services Secretary Tells 'GMA' Fears About the New Vaccine Stem From
Myths
By HUMA KHAN and JOSEPH BROWNSTEIN
Oct. 7, 2009—
As hospitals and clinics begin administrating doses of H1N1 flu vaccine to children, some parents and
even doctors are unsure whether the dosage will have any effect -- fears that health officials say are
unfounded.
"The vaccination is being made exactly the same way seasonal flu vaccine has been made year in and year
out," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on "Good Morning America" Tuesday.
"We have the right vaccine for this virus. We have years of clinical data for seasonal flu vaccine. ... It's
the best defense against the flu."
The administration has attempted to alleviate fears by enlisting "Sesame Street" character Elmo to
demonstrate how to sneeze properly and to educate children -- one of the groups most at risk -- about the
H1N1 flu.
Have concerns about the H1N1 vaccine and your children? CLICK HERE and "GMA" might ask
medical experts to answer your question.
Children started receiving doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine Tuesday in what is likely to be the largest
flu-vaccination campaign in U.S. history.
The other group most at risk is pregnant women. Sebelius encouraged pregnant women to get the
vaccination to protect themselves and their babies.
"Vaccination is the best defense against a disease like this," the former Kansas governor told "GMA's"
Robin Roberts. "We would like people to take this seriously. ... We are hoping that people take advantage
of the fact that the vaccine is going to be available. It's going to be easy; we know its safe."
The H1N1 vaccine is different from the regular seasonal flu vaccine, and officials are encouraging
Americans to get both to keep themselves fully protected. Sebelius encouraged people to get the vaccine
not just for themselves but to keep others protected as well.
"I hear that all the time, 'This is just the flu.' Just the flu kills people," she said. "We now have over 600
deaths reported. Taking the chance that you or your roommate or your child may be one of those rare but
serious cases may have underlying impact may expose someone else."
Shipments of the vaccine, which were initially expected to start rolling in on Oct. 15, began arriving early
in 14 states. Health officials Tuesday said 2.2 million vaccine doses -- more than 90 percent of the 2.4
million doses available -- were ordered for all states. The total cost, officials estimate, will likely top $2
billion.
1 of 3 2009/10/17 09:26 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

These early doses of swine flu vaccine -- so far all given as the nasal spray FluMist -- have been
administered at hospitals in Chicago, Georgia and Nebraska, among other places.
Doctors, nurses and other health professionals received the vaccine first Monday so they could safely care
for others.
Sebelius said more are on the way.
"We are going to continue to push it out as fast as we can from the production line," she said, encouraging
people to get the latest information on vaccinations at flu.gov.
ABC News senior health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser said Tuesday that about 20 million doses
every week will start arriving within the next few weeks.
Doctors Inundated by Phone Calls
Despite concerns about the vaccination, phones have begun ringing in doctor's offices across the country.
"As many people who can grab calls have been," said Kathy Paterno, a registered nurse at Westchester
Pediatrics near New York City.
Some of those callers will have to wait.
"It will be many, many weeks before all of the demand for vaccine catches up with the supply," Besser
said. "The supply will not be there for quite a while."
On Monday, hospitals began receiving the first shipments of FluMist, with some doses being administered
in tents originally put up to screen children with potential swine flu.
Le Bonheur Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., and Wishard Health Services in Indiana were among the very
first hospitals in the nation to receive vaccines on Monday. They vaccinated about 150 and 100 staffers
respectively.
Both reported that so far at least, the deployment of immunizations has gone smoothly.
"This has been a shining example of no delay," said Susan Cooper, commissioner of the Tennessee
Department of Health, after Le Bonheur's shipment arrived. "The vaccine has come out. It's come out a
little bit earlier than expected. It hit the ground, and we were able to very quickly start the immunization
process, and that's something I think that we should be very proud of."
While she was not certain why Le Bonheur got the H1N1 vaccination early, Cooper said she suspected it
was because the Memphis area has been particularly hard hit. More than 6,000 cases have been reported
there, and more than 100 children have been hospitalized, so people in the region are more likely to seek
the vaccine.
"Since Le Bonheur is the premier pediatric hospital in that area, it would make sense to make sure their
work force is protected," she said.
For Wishard, based in Indianapolis, it may have been a matter of good homework.
"Indiana was one of the first states selected because they were one of the first states that had their
paperwork in very quickly," said Collette Duvalle, director of communications for the health department
in Marion County, which includes Indianapolis.
Jockeying For Position
2 of 3 2009/10/17 09:26 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Both Wishard and Le Bonheur hospitals said that so far, people have been understanding of the priority
given to health care workers for the vaccine.
"My sense is people understand that health care professionals will be the ones taking care of people, so it's
important for them to be immunized," said Michelle O'Keefe, director of public affairs for Wishard. "We
want our employees to be here and be well, and I get the sense that people understand that."
Hospital officials said they could not predict what might happen as vaccines become available to members
of the general public.
Sara Burnett, a spokeswoman for Le Bonheur, said that while hospital workers have begun to receive the
vaccine, they have also received inquiries from people who cannot yet get vaccinated but want to.
"We've had questions about when is it available," she said. "We've referred those back to the Tennessee
Department of Health."
And some primary care doctors, responding to an ABC News inquiry, said they have not yet received the
vaccine, but they have gotten plenty of inquiries.
"I'm getting pounded," said Dr. Randy Wexler, assistant professor of clinical family medicine at Ohio
State University Medical Center. "People want to know when they can get it, and they want to be placed
at the top' of the waiting list."
A similar rush is taking place in Washington, D.C.
"Yes, patients are asking when the H1N1 flu vaccine will be available," said Geeta Nayyar, an assistant
clinical professor of medicine at George Washington University. "So much so, that they are trying to
coordinate their office visits with when the vaccine is available, so they can make one office visit."
But while many people may be asking for vaccinations now, Tennessee's Cooper said she has chosen to
look on the bright side.
"This is just the beginning," she said. "So again, we will continue to see vaccine being delivered to our
state and hopefully within a very few weeks there will be enough vaccine for any Tennessean who wants
it to get it."
Doctors nationwide are hoping for the same thing.
3 of 3 2009/10/17 09:26 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Secret Drives Model's Ex to Plot Acid Attack http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9490538
Ex-Boyfriend Behind Hideous Attack on Model Katie Piper; 'He Said He'd Destroy Me,' She
Says
By JUSTIN STURKEN, RICHARD GERDAU and

JESSICA HORNIG
Jan. 7, 2010—
Katie Piper, 26, was a model and aspiring television presenter when she was splashed in the face with
sulfuric acid by a stranger on the London streets in March 2008. Police moved quickly on the trail of her
assailant.
At least three separate security cameras captured the vicious incident and the hunt led to 19-year-old
Stefan Sylvestre -- who they found with acid burns on his hands.
Sylvestre eventually told authorities he'd been commissioned to throw the acid at Piper by Danny Lynch
-- a man Piper had started dating just two weeks before the attack.
Lynch was a 33-year-old martial arts enthusiast who likely first saw Piper when she was working at
martial arts matches as a ring girl. Piper said they initially met online.
"The first initial contact was on Facebook, where he messaged me...his profile picture was him in a martial
arts outfit. And then, the next few days we carried on, talking online, and eventually swapped numbers,"
she said. "I really sort of quite fancied him, and the whole image he portrayed to me I really liked."
A night out led to another and the relationship moved very quickly. "One minute, you know, she's single,
the next minute she's met this guy. And, you know, that's the first I heard about Danny," said Piper's best
friend Kay Little.
"It was an intense relationship in that he was very affectionate, and...whenever I wasn't with him...he was
calling me or texting me or e-mailing me and wanted to see me," Piper said.
But one night, Piper learned just how terrifying her new boyfriend was.
"I remember thinking about my mom and dad and all my friends, thinking I'm never gonna see them
again," she recalled about the tormenting incident with Lynch. "I genuinely didn't think I would live& he
was just unhinged, unstable, and extremely violent."
After a frightening incident, Lynch made Piper promise to keep what had happened between them a
secret. Scared for her life, she agreed.
Find out what secret Lynch wanted forever hidden on "20/20" Friday at 10 p.m. ET
Click here to see photos of Katie Piper before the attack and through her miraculous recovery
Piper on Lynch: 'He Was Very Jekyll-and-Hyde'
Afraid to go to the police, Piper returned to her apartment and called Little.
1 of 3 2010/01/09 08:52 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

"I mean, she was petrified. She was so scared and ...it was almost like she was in a whirlwind of not
knowing what to do because he had been so violent and he had threatened to kill her if, if she sort of
brought it up with anyone," Little said.
Traumatized, Piper stayed in her apartment for a few days, but was bombarded by Lynch with messages.
"He was very Jekyll-and-Hyde. He was so emotionally unstable," she said. "He would be, 'I love you,' and
this is how strange he was, you know, 'have -- have I ruined things between us?'"
After three days of harassment, Katie finally agreed to go to a local Internet cafe to read a message Lynch
had posted on her Facebook page.
"He said, 'If you just go read this last message...I promise, you'll never, ever speak to me again, and I will
stop contacting you,'" Piper recalled. "And I think at this time I was kind of delirious, you know, I was
broken, and& [an] opportunity somebody would've given me to get this man out of my life, I just wanted
him gone."
Model's Face Melts in Vicious Attack
Still on the phone with Lynch, Piper headed out to pick up the message. He asked her to describe what
she was wearing and to tell him when she walked out the front door of her building.
"He was like, 'OK, and, and what about your hair,' I said, 'It's up, I haven't showered,' you know... 'why
are you asking me these strange questions now?'" she told "20/20."
At least three separate security cameras captured what happened next, but Piper remembers the fateful
day all too well.
"This guy starts walking towards me, crosses the road, and he's coming right towards me, and his eye
contact, he's so focused on my eyes," she said.
She was still on the phone with Lynch when she was attacked.
"Danny was on the phone listening to me screaming ...It's so painful and...So bad, and, and I knew
straightaway that it was to do with Danny, he said he'd get me. He said he'd destroy me, and, and he'd
done it," Piper said.
Click here for more on the acid attack.
Police Investigation Reveals Attacker's Violent Past
Piper's doctors began a series of reconstructive surgeries, including a revolutionary skin graft on her face.
Beyond a forest of medical concerns, Piper also obsessively worried about the legal proceedings against
her short-lived boyfriend and his henchman who threw the acid.
Click here to see photos of Katie Piper before the attack and through her miraculous recovery.
An ongoing police investigation revealed that Lynch had a long history of violence. He had even served a
prison sentence for throwing boiling water into a man's face.
"I don't think anger even begins to cover the word of what I felt, really," Piper's father David Piper said.
"I try not to think about him, because I can't, I can't believe he is a human being," her mother Diane Piper
added.
Six months after the attack, Piper testified at Lynch's trial for her disfigurement. She faced her attacker
2 of 3 2010/01/09 08:52 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

from just a few feet away and spoke out about the terrible role his attacks had taken on her mind and
body.
"She was wearing a full plastic mask all over her face...We were feeding her through a bag and a pump
because she couldn't swallow solid food. ...And the judge looked at her and said, 'Are you sure you're fit
enough for this?'" Piper's father recalled. "And I looked at her and she looked pathetic. And I thought,
'After all you've been through, fighting for your life, now you gotta go through this.'"
A jury found Stefan Sylvestre, the man who threw the acid, guilty of causing bodily harm. He received a
life sentence, with a minimum of 12 years in prison. Lynch received two life sentences, and will serve at
least 16 years in jail.
With Attacker Behind Bars, Piper Rebuilds Her Life
Knowing that Lynch would be behind bars was an important milestone for Piper.
"She was very scared that he would come back and hurt her again," said Dr. Mohammad Jawad, who
spearheaded Piper's treatment. "So when that thing happened, and, and they had given [the] sentence, I
could see a huge change in Katie's world."
"I feel safer," she said. "Unfortunately, the life sentence I have imposed on me, really is till the day I die."
Visit the "20/20" Web site tomorrow for more on Piper's emotional recovery. Watch the full story
on "20/20" Friday at 10 p.m. ET.
Katie Piper's Foundation: http://www.katiepiperfoundation.org.uk/
3 of 3 2010/01/09 08:52 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

See the 2006 'Mothers of Invention' Finalists http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=1950392
May 13, 2006 —
For the second year in a row, "Good Morning America Weekend Edition" has put moms all over America
to the test with the "Mothers of Invention Challenge."
People have until midnight tonight to vote on who they think should be this year's winner.
The finalists are Joyce Gomez, whose family struggled to get through Hurricane Katrina; Michelle Meert
from Gainesville, Fla.; and Mary DiCarlo from Pittsburgh.
Gomez invented a storage shelf for hair bands and accessories.
"It was very frustrating digging through my drawer looking for that perfect barrette," Gomez said in her
application tape. "Here it is. No more disorganized drawers. This is the ultimate hair accessory organizer."
DiCarlo created a diaper with extra storage for many of the things moms need when changing their babies
on the go.
Meert invented a colorful, fun tablecloth to help teach her son how to set the table.
"It's time to set the table," she said on her entry tape. "Look what I've created to help make table-setting
more fun."
The competition is stiff, but the winner will be presented with a check for $5,000 by Tamara Monosoff,
president of Mom Inventors Inc. and author of "The Mom Inventors Handbook."
"We'll meet with our team of engineers and develop the product, and then we'll work with our graphics
department to design a retail-ready package," Monosoff said. "I'm thrilled to announce that
Babycenter.com will be selling the invention through their Web site."
Monosoff, who says that a great invention "solves a common problem in a simple way," offered three tips
for would-be inventors:
Gain knowledge: Don't throw a lot of money at this until you know what you're doing. So often people
just jump in without really investigating. Make sure you know what you're doing before you invest a lot of
cash.
Set realistic expectations: People think it's a get-rich-quick scheme and they can make $1 million fast,
which isn't true.
Take action: If you have a great idea, chances are someone else has had it, too. So start now.
Monosoff said that last year's winner, the beverage barricade, was launched at a trade show, and it's
"selling like gangbusters."
You can learn how you, too, can become a mom inventor by visiting the Mom Inventors Incorporated
Web site and to see where you can purchase the winning invention, visit BabyCenter.com.
1 of 1 2009/12/15 05:53 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Ray Clark Sent to Max Security Jail to Await Trial For Murder of Annie Le http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8598755
Raymond Clark Sent to Max Security Prison for Annie

Le Murder
Ray Clark Was Brought to Court in Chains
By LEE FERRAN
Sept. 17, 2009——
Accused Yale murderer Ray Clark was arrested early today, brought into court in chains where he was
ordered held on $3 million bail, and then sent to a maximum security prison to await trial for allegedly
killing graduate student Annie Le.
The rapid chain of events brought to a climax the investigation into Le's disappearance in a Yale lab
where both she and Clark worked more than a week ago. Her strangled body was discovered crammed
into a wall on Sunday, the day she was supposed to get married.
A couple hours after the arrest, Clark, who has tattoos on both forearms, was brought into court to be
arraigned on a murder charge. He wore khaki pants without a belt and a striped loose polo. His hands were
cuffed behind his back and there were chains around his ankles.
When asked if his rights had been read to him, Clark answered "Yes" in a clear voice, but he made no
other statement. Bail was set at $3 million.
Sources told ABC News that Clark refused to be interviewed by authorities.
By the afternoon, Clark was moved to the MacDougal-Walker Correctional Institution, a massive prison
in South Suffield, Conn., reserved for 2,100 inmates who are considered to be high or maximum security
risks.
Investigators have gathered more than 250 pieces of evidence in the case, sources told ABC News,
including text messages exchanged between Clark and Le arranging to meet on the day she disappeared.
Clark was taken into custody by police early today after investigators stood vigil all night outside a Super
8 motel in Cromwell, Conn., where the suspect had retreated to room 214 on Wednesday. Earlier
Wednesday, police had taken DNA samples from Clark, searched his apartment and then let him go.
A convoy of police and FBI cars pulled into the motel parking lot with lights flashing about 8:20 a.m.,
while others blocked off the intersection. FBI agents ran up stairs at the back of the motel. Clark was
arrested minutes later without incident.
Police held a news conference almost simultaneously with the arrest, and New Haven Police Chief James
Lewis said, "There were no issues with the arrest. It went smoothly."
Lewis refused to say whether there was a DNA match that linked Clark to Le, and he dismissed printed
rumors of a romantic relationship between Clark and Le.
The chief hinted at the tragedy of Le's murder.
1 of 3 2009/09/19 05:19 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

"Annie Le was a young woman of unlimited potential," he said.
Lewis said Le's murder was part of a growing wave of workplace crime.
"This is not about urban crime, university crime, or campus crime. It's about workplace violence, a
growing concern across the country," he said.
Yale University President Richard C. Levin released a statement that said in part, "Mr. Clark has been a
lab technician at Yale since December 2004. His supervisor reports that nothing in the history of his
employment at the university gave an indication that his involvement in such a crime might be possible."
He added, "This incident could have happened in any city, in any university, or in any workplace. It says
more about the dark side of the human soul than it does about the extent of security measures."
Suspect's, Victim's Lab Movements Tracked by I.D. Cards
Clark has wounds on his chest, arms and back, sources told ABC News, suggesting a violent struggle. A
bead from Le's necklace was found on the floor of the basement lab where Le's body and blood spots
were found on a laundry cart there.
Sources told the Hartford Courant that Clark's Yale swipe card indicated he was the last person to see Le
alive. The electronic trail left by his card indicated he had entered the same lab where Le was last seen.
Clark also reportedly swiped his identification card at least 10 times in the hours surrounding Le's
disappearance, the paper reported.
The deep scratches on Clark's body came to light as the Connecticut medical examiner released Le's cause
of death as strangulation, or as it was officially described, "traumatic asphyxia due to neck compression."
Police also found a pair of bloody surgical gloves.
ABC News has also learned that Clark sent a text message to Le at some point, requesting a meeting to
discuss the cleanliness of the cages of the research mice.
Le, a 24-year-old Ph.D. candidate, used the mice for her research. Clark, also 24-years-old, is not a
student at the university and had more of a custodial role in the lab.
Police could track Clark's movements by reviewing the data from his digital key card, which shows he
entered the building no fewer than 10 times, including after hours, on the day Le went missing, according
to law enforcement sources.
The medical examiner's report came just hours after police took DNA samples from Clark and searched
his apartment looking for clues.
Clark was taken into custody by police about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant that allowed detectives to
take DNA samples. Clark cooperated and was released around 3 a.m. Wednesday, said New Haven Police
Department spokesman Joe Avery.
Police confirmed Wednesday that an additional warrant to search Clark's Ford Mustang was also served.
Law enforcement sources said Clark failed a polygraph test when he was first brought in for questioning.
At a press conference Wednesday evening, Lewis said Clark has retained an attorney and therefore could
not be questioned further.
Lewis said Wednesday that a DNA match would be key.
"One match of a person at that location, we'd be going for an arrest warrant," he said.
2 of 3 2009/09/19 05:19 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Attorney David Dworski has confirmed he was representing Clark, but he was replaced today by public
defenders.
Investigators tailed Clark for several days, officials said.
Police said Clark had no criminal record but his name was mentioned in a police report from Branford,
Conn., in 2003, reportedly connected to an alleged sexual assault.
Clark's sister, brother-in-law and fiancee, Jennifer Hromadka, also worked in the lab building but did not
go to work this week.
In a blog entry last year, Hromadka denied rumors that Clark was having "a fling" with a woman at work.
"He is a bit naive, doesn't always use the best judgment, definitely is not the best judge of character, but
he is a good guy," Hromadka, 23, blogged.
Clark's landlord told ABC News that she wants Clark out of the apartment complex and has served an
eviction notice to his lawyer.
Video Surveillance Aids Search
Friends and family had insisted for days that Le was not the kind of person to run out on her fiance, and
the news that police had found a body was devastating. Le was to be married Sunday.
Wedding gifts had been left outside the family home of Le's fiance, Jonathan Widawsky. Their impending
nuptials had led some to believe that Le had gotten cold feet and fled.
Adding to the intrigue surrounding the case was an article Le wrote for a campus magazine earlier this
year about how to stay safe on the Ivy League campus.
The article, titled "Crime and Safety in New Haven," was published in February in the magazine produced
by Yale's medical school and compares higher instances of robbery in New Haven to other cities with Ivy
League universities.
"In short, New Haven is a city and all cities have their perils," Le wrote. "But with a little street smarts,
one can avoid becoming yet another statistic."
Le's Facebook page showed her posing in wedding dresses and smiling with Widawsky, a Columbia
University graduate student in physics, whom she described as her best friend.
"He's an amazing kid, just a wonderful, wonderful boy, and he must be heartbroken," Widawsky's friend
Linda Matychack said. "I just can't imagine."
ABC News' Don Ennis and Brian Cohen contributed to this report
3 of 3 2009/09/19 05:19 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Serena Williams Fined After On Court Tirade http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8564635
Serena Williams Fined After On Court Tirade

Rant Cost William s $10,000, Match Point in Open Sem ifinals
By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Tennis Writer
S ept. 13, 2009 —
Serena Williams was fined $10,000 Sunday for a profanity-laced tirade directed at a U.S. Open line judge, and
an investigation is under way to determine whether there should be additional punishment.
The $10,000 penalty not quite 3 percent of the $350,000 in prize money Williams earned by reaching the
semifinals at Flushing M eadows is the maximum on-site fine that can be issued for unsportsmanlike
conduct at a Grand Slam tournament.
The U.S. Open said in a statement that the Grand Slam Committee Administrator will "determine if the
behavior of M s. Williams warrants consideration as a major offense for which additional penalties can be
imposed."
Williams, who was the defending champion, also was docked $500 for smashing her racket after the first set
of what became a 6-4, 7-5 loss to Kim Clijsters on Saturday night.
Two points from losing in the second set, Williams faulted at 5-6, 15-30. On her second serve there, the line
judge called a foot fault, making it 15-40 and giving Clijsters a match point. Williams began berating the line
judge and a penalty point was awarded to Clijsters; because it happened to come on match point, it ended the
semifinal.
"Last night, everyone could truly see the passion I have for my job. Now that I have had time to gain my
composure, I can see that while I don't agree with the unfair line call, in the heat of battle I let my passion and
emotion get the better of me and as a result handled the situation poorly," Williams said in a statement
released Sunday by a public relations firm.
"I would like to thank my fans and supporters for understanding that I am human and I look forward to
continuing the journey, both professionally and personally, with you all as I move forward and grow from
this experience."
The chairman and CEO of the women's tennis tour, Stacey Allaster, issued a statement calling Williams'
conduct Saturday "inappropriate and unprofessional."
"No matter what the circumstances, no player should be allowed to engage in such behavior without suffering
consequences. I have spoken with the USTA about this matter and I agree with the action they have taken,"
1 of 2 2009/09/16 06:21 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

Serena Williams Fined After On Court Tirade http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8564635
Allaster said.
Williams and her older sister Venus are scheduled to play in the women's doubles final M onday. Venus got in
some work on a U.S. Open practice court Sunday; Serena wasn't with her.
2 of 2 2009/09/16 06:21 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

Belgian train speeds through red signal, plows into 2nd commuter train, killing at least 18
By ARTHUR MAX
BRUSSELS
A rush-hour commuter train sped through a red signal and slammed into an oncoming train as it left a
suburban Brussels station, killing at least 18 people and disrupting rail traffic in northern Europe.
Investigations into one the worst accidents on the Belgian rails were likely to focus on whether human
error was responsible or if it could have been influenced by the persistently freezing temperatures that
have iced up the European capital.
Officials said 80 people were injured, 20 of them seriously in Monday's crash. The death toll — 15 men
and three women — was not considered final.
The fate of the two drivers was not immediately known, and officials said they were having difficulty
identifying some of the victims.
The trains, carrying a total of about 300 passengers, collided in light snow just outside of the station at
Buizingen about 9 miles (15 kilometers) from Brussels around 8:30 a.m. (0730 GMT).
The impact peeled away the front of one train car and threw at least one other off the tracks, severing the
limbs of some passengers, witnesses and officials said. One engine was thrust high into the air and snapped
overhead power lines.
"When we came out we saw dead bodies lying next to the tracks, some mutilated," said Patricia
Lallemand, 40, who was in a middle car of one train and was unhurt.
Lodewijk De Witte, the governor of the province of Flemish Brabant, told reporters one train "apparently
did not heed a stop light."
One of the front cars appeared to have careened across the tracks, demolishing a small maintenance shed
next to the rail line. A high concrete wall around the train yard seemed to have kept debris from hitting
nearby houses.
Herman van Rompuy, president of the European Council, expressed his "shock and sorrow" over the
accident. King Baudouin and Prime Minister Leterme, who canceled a trip to Kosovo moments after
landing in Pristina, visited the crash site.
It was the first serious Belgian train accident since March 28, 2001, when eight people died when a
crowded train plowed into an empty train driving on the wrong tracks. The worst European crash in recent
history was near the German town of Eschede in 1998 when around 100 people were killed when a
cracked wheel hurled a train off the tracks.
Belgian National Railways spokesman Jochen Goovaerts said his agency was awaiting the outcome of the
investigation before discussing the cause of Monday's accident.
Eurostar canceled its service from London to Brussels for Monday and advised passengers the line was
likely to remain closed Tuesday. The high-speed Thalys train suspended dozens of trains from Paris to the
Netherlands and Germany for two days.
At least four Thalys trains were stopped en route, and the railway operator deployed staffers to stations
where they were rerouted to provide assistance to travelers on board, said spokeswoman Patricia Baars.
"It was a nightmare," Christian Wampach, 47, told The Associated Press after medical workers bandaged
his head at a sports complex where the less seriously injured were treated. Badly hurt victims were taken
to 14 hospitals in the Brussels area, and the Red Cross appealed for blood donations.
"We were thrown about for about 15 seconds. There were a number of people injured in my car, but I
think all the dead were in the first car," said Wampach, who was in the third car of a Brussels-bound train.
Wira Leire, 20, said he was woken by a loud crashing sound and leapt to his bedroom window to see two
cars jackknifed directly in front of his home.
"There were people lying on the ground next to the train, so I grabbed some blankets and ran into the back
garden," he said. "But I but couldn't climb over the concrete wall, so I just threw the blankets to the
rescuers who were already gathering."
————
Associated Press writer Slobodan Lekic contributed to this report.

Fatal Shark Attack Was The 14th in Florida Since 1986
By EMILY FRIEDMAN
Feb. 4, 2010 —
Wind surfer Stephen Schafer, who was killed Wednesday by a swarm of sharks off the coast of Florida,
had bruises on his arms that indicate he tried to fight off the feeding predators during his final moments.
In a report released today by the Martin County Sheriff's Office, the 38-year-old surfer had 8 to 10 inch
bite wounds on his right thigh and "numerous teeth marks" on his right and left buttocks.
Schafer also had bruising on the inside of his right arm and wounds on his hand that appeared to be
"defensive wounds" he suffered while he tried fend off the sharks.
The surfer was just 500 yards off shore at Stuart Beach in Florida when lifeguard Daniel Lund, looking
through binoculars, noticed he was in trouble and was lying on his board's large sail.
"He was just hanging onto his board -- not normal activity for a kite surfer," Daniel Wouters of Martin
County Fire Rescue told ABC News' West Palm Beach affiliate WPBF. "Normally, the wind comes and
they pick back up and they go off, but he had been hanging onto his board."
Lund, 47, told the Associated Press that he grabbed his long surfboard and paddled 20 minutes through 4
to 6 feet tall waves to get to Schafer. When Lund got close to Schafer, he could see the danger.
"I get to him, I'm probably within 20 yards or so from him, and there's just a lot of blood in the water,"
Lund told the AP. He could see several sharks circling nearby.
According to the incident report, Schafer was screaming that a shark had bit him.
Lund said he pulled Schafer onto his board and headed back to the beach. The lifeguard declined to
describe Schafer's injuries, but said he was conscious and speaking when they got to the beach and
paramedics began treating him.
Witnesses who saw the drama unfold said that the paramedics were powerless to save Schafer.
"I can't emphasize enough that they did their best. The guy just wasn't moving. It was very heartbreaking
in a way," witness Jim Smith told ABC News.
Schafer's Death Highlights Rarity of Fatal Shark Attacks
Schafer's death is the first fatal shark attack on record in Martin County, Fla., and just the 14th killer shark
attack in the state's history.
The last time a swimmer was fatally attacked by a shark was in 2005 when 14-year-old Jamie Marie
Daigle was killed by a bull shark while playing on a boogie board just a few hundred yards off the sand in
Walton County, according to WPBF.
Yesterday's attack comes at the height of Florida's busy winter tourist season.
Friends of the victim who say Schafer was an experienced kiteboarder are in shock today, mourning a
friend they say had no enemies.
"I've never heard of multiple sharks in this area surrounding someone and fatally wounding him," the
victim's childhood friend, Teague Taylor, told the Palm Beach Post. "He was the nicest person ever."
"You always think in the back of your mind that they (sharks) are out there," said Taylor.
According to the International Shark Attack File, surfers and wind surfers made up approximately 57
percent of shark attacks worldwide in 2008.
Despite reports of deaths like Schafer's, the number of fatal shark attacks has actually decreased in recent
years, averaging 63 per year worldwide since a high in 2000, when sharks claimed 79 lives.
Experts attribute the decline to the decrease in the number of sharks in the ocean and fewer circumstances
of humans putting themselves in water that could be shark-infested.
ABC News' Jeremy Hubbard contributed to this report.

Shoot the Moon: NASA to 'Bomb' the Moon in Hunt for Ice http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8775640
Rocket Sent to Kick Up Debris From Shadowed Crater
By NED POTTER
Oct. 8, 2009 —
By Friday morning, we can expect that any aliens on the moon will be really ticked off at us.
But if we're really lucky, the drinks they pour to toast our demise will be, er, on the rocks.
Friday is the day NASA's LCROSS mission (short for Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite)
sends a spent booster rocket crashing into a crater near the lunar south pole, looking to see if there is ice
mixed in the soil of the crater's floor. Scientists think there may be billions of gallons of it, but so far they
haven't been able to prove it.
So the LCROSS booster will go plowing into the moon's surface at 5,600 miles per hour. It is expected to
make a crater about 60 feet across -- and send 350 tons of rock and soil flying in all directions, creating a
plume several miles high. If there is ice mixed in, a small satellite, flying on the same path less than 400
miles behind the rocket, should be able to detect it before it crashes too, about four minutes later.
"We can directly measure water ice, and then we can fly right through the plume," said LCROSS project
manager Daniel Andrews.
The whole thing is set to happen at 7:31 a.m. ET on Friday, and telescopes on earth (plus the Hubble
telescope in orbit) will be watching.
At best, mission managers say, they will see a small flash at the impact point. But many will be equipped
with spectrometers, instruments that measure the chemical composition of the plume. And if they see
water...
"If we find water there, it will change the course of exploration," said Rusty Hunt of NASA's Ames
Research Center in Mountain View, Calif. "If there's water near the south pole, we'd go there. The people
who settled the Old West were able to live off the land, so to speak, and we'd do the same."
Hunt is a flight director for LCROSS, which was launched from Florida in June. The plan is for him to be
in charge when the flight comes to its violent end, and the measurements begin.
Was Apollo Wrong?
In 1972 the last Apollo astronauts came home from the moon, and that was that. The consensus was that
the rocks they had found were dry as dust -- even more so, in fact.
But the conventional wisdom has changed.
In 1994 a military space probe called Clementine, sent to map the moon as a way of testing sensors for
possible Defense Department use, found evidence of ice in the shadowed corners of craters near the
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Shoot the Moon: NASA to 'Bomb' the Moon in Hunt for Ice http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8775640
moon's south pole.
In 1998 a NASA probe called Lunar Prospector was sent to confirm Clementine's findings, and as it
orbited the moon it found evidence of large amounts of ice in the lunar soil.
The working theory is that comets, crashing into the moon over the eons, left tons of ice. In most places it
would have vaporized quickly. But some craters near the moon's south pole are so deep -- and the angle of
sunlight is always so shallow -- that ice could have remained frozen.
Crashing on the Moon: NASA Probe Looks for Ice
The earlier probes only took indirect measurements to suggest lunar ice. But could they be right?
Engineers on Earth almost salivate at the thought.
That is because NASA's current mandate, laid out by President Bush and so far backed by President
Obama, is to use the moon as a base for human exploration of Mars and beyond. As part of Project
Constellation, they would set up camp in their Altair landing ships.
If there is frozen water there -- H2O -- it could be used for drinking, or broken down into its components
of hydrogen and oxygen for fuel, air to breathe, and myriad other uses.
Exploring on a Budget
LCROSS, by NASA standards, is a low-cost mission, with a fixed budget of $79 million -- a good chunk of
money, but remember that the movie "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" has grossed about $400
million since its release in June.
There has been long debate over the merits of sending astronauts back to the moon, but if LCROSS finds
water, it will make the lives of future astronauts much simpler.
"It's a pretty simple mission with profound implications," said Hunt, the flight director. He added that
Friday, impact day, is his birthday.
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Radical Muslim group warns `South Park' creators that episode could bring violent
retribution
By DAVID BAUDER
NEW YORK
A radical Muslim group has warned the creators of "South Park" that they could face violent retribution
for depicting the prophet Muhammad in a bear suit during last week's episode.
The website RevolutionMuslim.com has since been taken down, but a cached version shows the message
to "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The article's author, Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee of
New York, said the men "outright insulted" the religious leader.
The posting showed a gruesome picture of Theo Van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker who was shot and stabbed
to death in an Amsterdam street in 2004 by a fanatic angered by his film about Muslim women. The film
was written by a Muslim woman who rejected the Prophet Muhammad as a guide for today's morality.
"We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like
Theo Van Gogh for airing this show," Al-Amrikee wrote. "This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality
of what will likely happen to them."
The posting listed the addresses of Comedy Central's New York office and Parker and Stone's California
production office. It also linked to a Huffington Post article that described a Colorado retreat owned by
the two men.
CNN, which first reported the posting, said the New York-based website is known for postings in support
of Osama bin Laden and jihad, or holy war, against the West.
Al-Amrikee told The Associated Press in a phone call Wednesday that the posting was made to raise
awareness of the issue and to see that it does not happen again. Asked if Parker and Stone should feel
threatened by it, he said "they should feel threatened by what they did."
He said he was disappointed that publicity about the posting focused more on the potential danger to the
producers but admitted, "I could shoulder some blame" for it.
He said he "can't answer that legally" when asked if his group favored jihad. But he praised bin Laden.
"We look up to him and admire him for the sacrifices he has given for the religion," he said.
Last week's episode, the 200th for the cheeky and often vulgar cartoon, was intended to feature many of
the personalities and groups that Parker and Stone insulted during the series' run.
In 2006, Comedy Central banned the men from showing an image of Muhammad on their show. They had
intended to comment on the controversy created by a Danish newspaper's publishing of caricatures of the
Islamic leader. Muslims consider any physical representation of their prophet to be blasphemous.
Instead, "South Park" showed an image of Jesus Christ defecating on President George W. Bush and the
American flag.
Comedy Central and the show's producers would not comment.


Watchdogs Worry Over Two Different Kinds of Health Insurance Plans
By ELISABETH LEAMY, VANESSA WEBER and SHEILA EVANS
Feb. 2, 2010 —
Health care overhaul is stalled, resulting in a proliferation of plans that don't fully protect people, officials
said.
Watchdogs worry about two kinds of plans in particular. First, are health discount cards that say they get
you cut rates on medical services but are not widely accepted. Second, are limited-benefit plans that offer
such skimpy coverage that a serious medical problem could still leave you stuck with enormous bills.
Click here for the tell-tale signs that you could be dealing with a questionable insurance plan.
As Tony Lloyd hit golf balls, pain seared across his shoulders making him weak. It was a textbook heart
attack. But what happened next wasn't in any textbook.
"We never suspected anything," wife Mary Lloyd said.
As Lloyd lay in intensive care, his wife pulled out the card for a brand-new health plan she had purchased
two months before. She hadn't realized it was not traditional health care coverage.
"The person in the patient accounting office said it was not insurance, and I was shocked," she said.
It was a United Service Association Healthcare discount card with limited medical benefits. You pay your
own medical bills, but the card is supposed to get you a price break.
Critics said it's hard to find providers that participate in these programs, and that the discounts are tiny.
The Lloyds said the hospital didn't accept their discount card, and they were left with a bill for $67,000.
"I have a hard time sleeping at night sometimes because I'm always thinking about how am I going to pay
this bill?" Tony Lloyd said. "Are they going to take my house, or are they going to take my car? You
know, I just don't know where it is going to end."
Limited-Benefit Plans
There's another kind of health coverage that confuses consumers: the limited benefit plan, which offers
minor coverage for basic care. But you wouldn't know it by watching the TV ads.
One ad states the company can provide health insurance for "a little more than $5 a day."
The announcer shouts "real health insurance" but the fine print at the end of the ad notes "not major
medical insurance and not meant to replace catastrophic ... coverage."
That's because the commercial is advertosomg for a limited-benefit plan, offered by American Medical
and Life Insurance, or AMLI.
The state of New York called the ads misleading, fined AMLI $700,000 and forced it to pull the ads off
the air nationwide.
"The average person wants coverage, and many times they can't afford coverage so they are vulnerable to
these types of ads," New York Insurance Superintendent James J. Wrynn said.
New York went on to hold hearings about limited benefit plans that are marketed as something more.
The AMLI plan paid $1,000 a day toward hospital costs, when hospital stays cost more like $5,000 a day,
and $100 toward high-tech tests, when they cost between $500 and $4,000, officials said.
"It really is totally inadequate," Wrynn said. "They just receive a small fraction of the cost. And most
people who purchase these policies don't realize this until it's too late."
United Service Association told "Good Morning America" that the Lloyds membership packet and ID
cards explained what kind of plan they were getting and that they had 30 days to cancel and get their
money back.
American Medical and Life Insurance told us limited benefit plans provided valuable assistance for people
who can't get more comprehensive coverage, and that they encourage all consumers to review product
information carefully before making a decision.
To protect themselves, consumers can check with their state insurance commissioners to see if the health
plans they're considering are properly licensed, and whether there have been complaints about the plans.
They can also search for complaints about the companies online, keeping in mind that troubled companies
often change their names.
They should also insist on reading the policy paperwork before signing or sending any money.
Click here to see a list of telltale signs that you may be dealing with a disreputable health plan.

Added Sugar May Be Where You Least Expect It
By ANTHONY UNDERWOOD and LARA NAAMAN
April 21, 2010—
The average American consumes about 156 pounds of added sugar each year per capita, according to the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
That's troubling, especially when those statistics are coupled with the results of a new study in the Journal
of the American Medical Association which says there's a significant correlation between dietary added
sugars and an increased risk for diabetes, heart attack and stroke, "Good Morning America's" medical
contributor Dr. Marie Savard said this morning on the show.
Published this week, this is the first major study to look at sugar and blood fats. It found that added sugar
has adverse effects on the level of blood fats and therefore, on the heart.
Natural vs. Added Sugar
Sugars occur naturally in foods such as fruits, vegetables and milk, but manufacturers add extra sugar
during processing, to boost the flavor or aid with preservation. Consumers may also add sugar to foods on
their own.
American adults eat about 104 grams of sugar per day, but the American Heart Association recommends
limiting added sugars to 25 grams per day for women and to 37.5 grams a day for men, Savard said.
Savard pointed out that teens were getting more than six times their recommended sugar intake -- or 161
grams per day.
Savard reviewed certain foods that have naturally occurring sugars:
Grapes: 1 cup has 15 grams of sugar.
Raisins: ¼ cup has 29 grams of sugar.
Grape juice: One cup has 41 grams of sugar.
Whole milk: One cup has about 12 grams of sugar. Milk sugar isn't very sweet, Savard said.
Plain full fat yogurt: Six ounces has 12 grams of sugar.
Fruit- or vanilla-flavored yogurt: About 25 grams.
When fruit is dried, though, the sugar becomes more concentrated, so consumers may be tempted to eat
more to feel fuller.
Surprising Sugary Foods
Added sugars may lurk in food where they are least expected.
For example, a 16-ounce latte may have about 17 grams of sugar, but a Starbucks Frappucino of the same
size has about three times the amount of added sugar.
Fruit smoothies may also contain surprising amounts of sugar. One Odwalla Original Superfood bottled
smoothie has about 50 grams of sugar -- the rough equivalent of about the amount of sugar found in five
donuts.
Sugars may also be found in another surprising place: sandwiches.
A 6-inch chicken submarine sandwich has have 17 grams of sugar. However, Lunchables, a popular
packed school lunch, may have 36 grams -- or twice that of the sandwich.
The sub may have 17 grams of sugar, a Lunchables package may have 36 grams or twice that of the
sandwich.
A typical school lunch -- which could contain a glass of Welch's grape juice and six ounces of vanilla
yogurt -- would have 101 grams of sugar, Savard said.
Click HERE for tips on how you can reduce the amount of added sugar in your diet.
To avoid the risk of added sugars, some people turn to artificial sweeteners, but Savard urged caution.
Artificial sweeteners don't add calories, but they do create a craving for more sweets, she noted.
Splenda is about 600 times as sweet as table sugar, Sweet'N Low is about 300 times as sweet and Equal is
about 200 times as sweet, she explained.
Consumers are now also being offered agave, a sweetener promoted as natural but which is all fructose,
she said. Agave is processed and has calories. This kind of sugar gets packed on as fat in the liver, she
added.

S. African wins N. Calif. surfing contest marred by big waves that swept spectators to beach
By PAUL ELIAS
HALF MOON BAY, Calif.
The Mavericks Surf Contest was no day at the beach for participants or spectators.
Unexpected waves breaking on shore Saturday swept dozens of spectators from their perches on the
manmade jetty at the southern tip of Mavericks beach.
Most escaped with minor injuries but three were hospitalized with broken bones. Others needed plucking
from the water. The near tragedy stood as a reminder of how dangerous the sea can be.
Authorities spent the rest of the day warning the thousands attending the event about the dangers of the
ocean. They closed off vast portions of the beach, ushered people from the edges of nearby cliffs and
shook their heads at what might have been.
While the debate over spectator safety raged on shore, South African Chris Bertish beat 23 other surfers
and carried home the $50,000 first-place prize.
"It's hard to explain how much water was moving around out there," said Bertish, who spent 36 hours
traveling from South Africa to Half Moon Bay. "I took the worst beating of my life out there."
He said he will spend part of the prize money paying back his brother and two friends, who loaned him
money to buy his airplane ticket.
Many of the spectators brought their children, pets and coolers with plans to pass a sunny Saturday
watching elite surfers compete atop monster waves one-half mile from shore.
"We were very lucky that nobody was swept out to sea," said California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection Battalion Chief Scott Jalbert, whose department tended to most of the wounded.
A shaky and wet Pamela Massette left the contest almost immediately after arriving from her Corte
Madera home 50 miles away.
"It just came out of nowhere and wiped us all out," she said, showing her bloody left hand and left knee.
Her Nikon camera was destroyed. Many other spectators lost cameras, cell phones and backpacks as the
waves swept the seawall.
Attendees and some competitors questioned the wisdom of allowing people so close to the waterline when
high tides and epic surf were predicted.
"It was stupid," said Grant Washburn, a big-wave veteran and an original Mavericks surfer. "It was totally
predictable and anyone who knows the spot knows not to put anything on the jetty.
Keir Beadling, chief executive of the company that manages the event, did not return several telephone
and e-mail messages Saturday seeking comment.
Others said that no one could have predicted that several waves would have jumped over the jetty and
injured people.
"It's a force of nature that can't be predicted," said the fire chief Jalbert.
The dangerous situation was recognized, but too late. Additional firefighters were on the way to clear the
beach when the waves washed over spectators, he said.
Only after the unexpected large waves swept in during high tide did the National Weather Service post a
high surf warning until 10 p.m. Saturday. The agency previously posted a less severe high surf advisory.
The surfing contest offers a $150,000 purse, making it the most lucrative big-wave contest in the world,
even though it is held only when conditions are prime.
Competitors voted to schedule it because forecasts called for record-breaking waves, despite warnings
that strong winds could make those breakers dangerously unpredictable.
Finishing behind Bertish were: Shane Desmond, Santa Cruz, second place; Anthony Tashnick, Santa Cruz;
third place; Dave Wessel, Kailua, Hawaii, fourth; Carlos Burle, Brazil, fifth; and Kenny Collins, Santa
Cruz, sixth.
The surf in the lineup reached 40-foot faces, and a shore-break of five to six feet washed over the beach
and a seawall.
Two surprise waves knocked out barricades, a spectator platform and a large scaffold holding speakers
broadcasting the contest, held in this tiny harbor town 25 miles south of San Francisco along Highway 1.
Marsha Poulin, of nearby El Granada, was at the water's edge minutes before the first rogue wave struck.
She said she was concerned that organizers were letting spectators get so close to the ocean, given the
conditions.
"Just because they were letting us be here doesn't mean it was safe," said Poulin, who left for higher
ground just in time.
————
Associated Press Writer Don Thompson contributed to this report from Sacramento.

Swine Flu Activity Down in Many States http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9130239
States Report a Calm After the Storm; CDC Notes Bout With Flu May Not Be Over
By COURTNEY HUTCHISON
Nov. 20, 2009—
It's not time to breathe easy yet, officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn --
but the fact remains that flu-like illness accounted for fewer doctor visits this week than it did last week.
This past week represented the third consecutive week of national decreases in flu reports after four
consecutive weeks of sharp increases. As health officials note that nearly all of the influenza that is
currently circulating is the novel H1N1 swine flu strain, the downturn has offered hope for some that the
country may have turned the corner on this wave of the pandemic illness.
"We might actually be beyond the peak," Dr. Pascal James Imperato, dean of the School of Public Health
at SUNY Downstate in New York, told ABC News' David Muir. Imperato, who has studied influenza for
37 years, said the decline in flu activity may indicate "the beginning of a downswing."
Still, Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases,
said Friday that even though reports of the flu may be at a nationwide lull for now, it does not necessarily
mean we're out of the woods yet.
"The national average looking lower doesn't mean that in every state or community that it's a little better
this week than before," Schuchat said during a press conference. "I wish I knew if we had hit the peak ...
even when a peak has occurred, half of the people who are going to get ill haven't gotten ill yet. A peak in
outpatient activity is not the same as a peak in hospitalizations and deaths, which often lag."
Forty-three states still have geographically widespread flu activity; 21 flu pediatric deaths were reported
this week, 15 of which were confirmed to be due to H1N1. According to the CDC, influenza levels are
still well above what is expected for this time of year, and they could surge again.
Meanwhile, health officials and health care providers in many areas of the country are breathing a sigh of
relief -- albeit a cautious one -- as the number of confirmed cases of H1N1, as well as flu-related
emergency room visits and ICU cases, begins to decline.
In addition to reports from health departments across the country of a decrease in flu activity, ABC News
heard from 30 hospitals throughout the country that say flu activity is down.
"The wave has crested in our region. The real question now is how long the wave will continue to roll
ashore," said Frank James, health officer for San Juan County, Wash. "We could still be seeing cases into
the winter months."
In Maryland, health officials have reported declining levels of hospitalization for swine flu since a spike
last month.
"In the last several weeks we are noticing a downturn [and] it appears we have reached a peak in this
outbreak," Maryland's secretary of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, John Colmers told
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ABC News.
Two months ago, Dell's Children's Medical Center in Austin, Tex. had to set up tents outside the hospital
to handle the influx of as many as 280 flu patients a day, doctors at the hospital told Muir. But as of
Thursday, most of these tents are down, as are the numbers of flu cases; the hospital is seeing about 70 flu
patients a day now -- one quarter of what they were seeing before.
State data for Pennsylvania also indicate that the fall wave of H1N1 appears to have peaked in late
October, says state health department spokeswoman Stacy Kriedeman. Though current activity far
exceeds levels seen during normal influenza seasons, the department reports that since the beginning of
November, there have been "clear declines in overall reporting from all areas of the state."
In Colorado, state officials also reported in a recent press release that surveillance data indicates that flu
levels "peaked" in early October for the Denver metropolitan area. At Denver Health medical center, a
hospital spokesperson reports that flu activity has seen a steady decline over the last few weeks and is
now at the level one would expect for a normal flu season.
Additionally, health officials in Wyoming, Minnesota, and Nebraska, have all publically noted a decline in
flu activity for their regions, according to the AP, and state data released by North Carolina and Rhode
Island show a decline in overall flu activity.
The number of flu patients at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence peaked
at the beginning of November and is now dropping off, according to a spokesperson there.
In Kentucky's Barren River district, the district director, Dennis Chaney, said they are seeing a "gradual
decline" in confirmed H1N1 cases, including numbers of ICU patients hospitalized with flu complications.
More People Treating Swine Flu at Home
Chaney said, "I really feel that, in general, the community is taking personal responsibility for their
behaviors as it relates to staying home if they're sick. Those campaigns for personal responsibility are
being effective."
In Hillsborough County, Fla., however, a decline in emergency room visits doesn't necessarily indicate an
overall decline in flu cases, according to health department spokesman Steve Huard. The increase in
over-the-counter medicine sales tracked by the state suggests that many who come down with a less
severe case of flu are "getting the message," Huard said, and treating themselves from home.
Widespread levels of flu in the state are still "chugging along," he said, but there may not be as many
people going to the ER.
"We do believe our messages have been heeded by the public," said Kriedeman. " [The Pennsylvania
Department of Health] has repeatedly emphasized&that most persons with the flu who&do not have
danger signs of illness can generally remain at home and not seek health care."
Antiviral prescriptions, over the counter medicine use, and reports from "sentinel" health providers such
as physicians, university medical centers and local health departments, are all additional measures that
some states use to gauge the levels of flu activity among those who are not sick enough to merit a trip to
the emergency room, or even a visit to their physician.
"Our most effective tracking tool [for San Juan County, Wash.] was real time school reporting of absent
students&because most people do not seek medical evaluation with flu symptoms, this is an earlier
indication of influenza than physician reporting, and much earlier that ER visits or ICU care," says James.
In Pennsylvania, statewide surveillance includes, among other things, absenteeism for 300 sentinel schools
and reports from 150 sentinel health care providers. These systems provide a sense of less-severe flu cases
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in the state and are showing similar declines to those seen in ER visits and flu hospitalizations, Kriedeman
says.
But even with a real decline or leveling out of flu activity, the battle's not over, said Doc Kokol, director
of communications for the Florida Department of Health. The state tracks visits to the emergency room
and gauges physicians' visits from reports of 100 sentinel physicians throughout the state, and in a press
release Tuesday, state officials reported 1,082 lab-confirmed cases of H1N1, and 167 deaths.
"We are beginning to see somewhat of a plateau, but that doesn't mean that flu has leveled off&.H1N1
flu, like other [kinds of] flu, goes in waves; this [report] is really only a snapshot in time."
In Maryland, Colmers voices a similar caution: "Why [it's declining], or whether it will be sustained, we
don't know&[so] we are all saying that we are not out of the woods yet."
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Swine Flu: Your Questions Answered http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8787019
ABC News' Drs. Tim Johnson and Richard Besser Say Vaccine Is Critical
By SARAH NETTER
Oct. 9, 2009—
With the arrival of the swine flu vaccine this week has come a fresh round of worries about the virus and
how to prevent it.
"Good Morning America" took a look Thursday inside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at
the men and women charged with slowing the spread of the flu and preventing as many deaths as possible.
Viewer response was so overwhelming that ABC News' chief medical editor Dr. Tim Johnson and senior
health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser took time to answer several questions that came into "Good
Morning America."
Q: A CDC report showed that 25 percent of patients who were hospitalized for swine flu went into
intensive care and 45 percent of those were 18 years old or younger. What do those numbers mean?
A: "What it says is we really need to take this seriously," Besser said. "Pandemic hits children very hard."
Johnson said the reason older people don't seem to be as susceptible to the H1N1 virus is that previous
viral disease has likely provided them with some natural immunity.
Q: How many children have been tested for swine flu?
A: Besser said the good news about all the children who have been tested is that previous flu vaccines
have proved successful for the "tens of millions" of young patients who have received them.
When it comes to the swine flu, he said, "children under 10 need two doses."
Doctors: Vitamins Won't Give Same Protection as Vaccine
Q: My doctor is advising me to take supplements for vitamin D and vitamin C in lieu of the swine flu
vaccine. Will that work?
A: "Both of those vitamins have a reputation for boosting the immune system ... but neither one of them
should be substituted for the vaccine," Johnson said.
Q: If I've already had the swine flu, or if I have it now, should I get the H1N1 vaccine?
A: "If you didn't have specific testing [for swine flu], then you really need to get vaccinated," Besser said.
Q: Will you get the swine flu shot?
A: Johnson said that he will get the seasonal flu vaccine, but wait until everyone else gets his or her swine
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Swine Flu: Your Questions Answered http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8787019
flu vaccine first. And Besser said he would get the swine flu vaccine, but only after his children do.
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Tanning Beds: Lifetime of Regrets for Some Page 1 of 2
For Some, Tanning Beds Bring a Lifetime of

Regrets
Experts: Tanning Beds, UV Radiation a Carcinogen, Akin to Cigarettes, Arsenic
By YUNJI DE NIES and LINDSAY GOLDWERT
July 30, 2009 —
For Mary Ann Gerber, every glance in the mirror is a reminder of the hours she spent tanning and
their heartbreaking consequences.
"The worst part is I know all the damage I did to my skin in all those years tanning," says Gerber, a
24-year-old skin cancer survivor. "It doesn't matter. I've done the damage."
Gerber, a self-described "tan-a-holic" started her trips to the tanning salon as a teenager.
"I loved tanning," she says. "I was happy, I felt skinny, it was good."
Mallory Hughes, 23, also loved the glow of the UV lamp.
She says she limited her tanning to special events, like prom and homecoming.
"It was popular to have the vacation glow at those events," she says.
Both women, diagnosed with skin cancer before their 25th birthdays, believe their love of tanning,
especially tanning beds, played a major role.
"You think you're immune, you're not going to be the one who gets melanoma, but looking back its
definitely not worth it," says Hughes.
Study Says Cancer Risk From Tanning Beds High
Gerber has been diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma.
"I have a 50 percent chance of survival. I almost killed myself over a stupid tan," she says.
Cancer researchers say their stories are all too common.
After analyzing nearly two dozen studies, researchers concluded that people under 30 who use
tanning beds increase their cancer risk by 75 percent. The experts put tanning beds and ultraviolet
radiation in the same category as cigarettes, arsenic and the sun itself.
The study was conducted by International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, part of
the World Health Organization. It was published this week in the British journal Lancet.
Like the sun, tanning bulbs deliver UV radiation -- only these lights are much more concentrated.
Tanning Beds: Lifetime of Regrets for Some Page 2 of 2
The American Cancer Society says 15 to 30 minutes on a sunbed, is equivalent to an entire day at the
beach.
CLICK HERE for more information about skin cancer.
Study Cites Skin Cancer Risks of Tanning Beds
Hughes said she practiced moderation.
"I'd always say I'm going to do 10 [minutes] and I thought I was being safe about it," she says.
"But any amount of time in there is very dangerous," she claims.
Yet the indoor tanning industry has repeatedly stated that its products are not only safe but if used
correctly they're good for you, citing the health benefits of vitamin D, which is absorbed when the
skin is exposed to sunlight.
An industry group has hit back. In a full-page ad released today, it calls the comparisons between
indoor tanning and cigarettes "outrageously overhyped" and accuse the media of using scare tactics.
But Gerber says she believes knows better now.
"No matter what they say and how many times they say there are health benefits, it's not true,"
Gerber says.
Both of these young women must cope with the reality of cancer and will have to undergo screenings
and tests for the rest of their lives.
"It's something I regret," says Hughes. "I'll have to live with it my whole life."
Sons Reveal Personal Side of Ted Kennedy http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8566533
Ted Kennedy Memoir: Sons Share Personal Side of Their

Father
Ted Kennedy Mem oir an Em otional Revelation for Sons Patrick and Teddy Jr.
By LEE FERRAN, PATTY NEGER and DAVID GERLACH
S ept. 14, 2009 —
Ted Kennedy's sons, Patrick and Teddy Jr., are well-versed in the governmental achievements of their father,
but they said they were taken aback by his more personal, vulnerable side shown in the final years of his life
and in his memoir, "True Compass."
"What I found so revealing was his deep emotional side and his deep spiritual side," Ted Kennedy Jr. said
today on "Good M orning America."
"There were a lot of times he could feel like he could depend on us," an emotional Patrick Kennedy, 42, said
as he sat alongside his older brother. "It was unlike him to actually want to lean on someone else. He was such
a towering figure in our lives. ...The fact that he could express that vulnerability to us was really a big thing
for all of us."
Click here to read an excerpt from Teddy Kennedy's memoir, "True Compass."
Click here to visit TwelveBooks.com to see one of the last video interviews the late Ted Kennedy
gave for the memoirs as well as an exclusive Q and A.
The memoir, written in the last five years of Kennedy's life, examines Kennedy's storied life and his
relationship with his famous brothers.
"They were his heroes," Teddy Jr., 47, said. "In the book, it was amazing to me to realize how much he
worshipped and adored not just his older brothers but all of his brothers and sisters. He did feel in many
ways like he was catching up."
The book recounts Kennedy's painful struggle to tell his own father about Jack Kennedy's assassination in
Dallas in 1963.
"I never understood how emotionally difficult it was to tell his father that Jack had died in Dallas," Teddy Jr.
said. "I think he felt like he had to be the strong guy in our family. So many people were standing on his
shoulders, he really felt like he needed to be solid."
But the essence of their father's life, the sons said, was in the name of the book's final chapter,
"Perseverance."
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Sons Reveal Personal Side of Ted Kennedy http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8566533
"There isn't anyone that worked harder than my father," Teddy Jr., a lawyer and investment banker in New
York City, said. "He really respected people and stuck at it and kept going."
Patrick, a Rhode Island congressman, said, "M y dad was one who never took on adversity without a lot of
hope and a sense of determination to overcome whatever obstacles were in his way."
Living in Danger but Living, Nonetheless
One section of the book notes that while most people have coats in their closets, the Kennedy home had
bullet-proof vests.
"We were always mindful when he went out in public," Teddy Jr. said. "What if there is this person that
wants to become instantly famous? We weren't in denial about the reality, about how easy it would be for
someone to do that."
But Ted Kennedy refused to hide, Teddy Jr. said.
"He just said, 'I can't sit here and worry about this my whole life, otherwise I'll live in a cage,'" he said.
But on the campaign trail in 1980, Teddy Jr. said, his father was stabbed in the hand by someone with the pin
of a campaign button. Luckily, the tip was not poisoned, as Teddy's bodyguards feared.
"It was the first time I remember ever feeling that this was something that was a daily part of his life that he
had to worry about," Teddy Jr. said.
In one of Ted Kennedy's last interviews, he half-joked about his father telling him about the public service call
that dominated his family.
"I had a sit-down with my dad," Kennedy said. "He said, 'Now Teddy, you have to make up your mind
whether you want to have a constructive and positive influence on your time and if you're not interested in a
purposeful, useful, constructive life, I just want you to know that I have other children that are out there that
intend to have a purposeful and constructive life."
As Teddy Jr. took the stage to eulogize his father at a memorial service last month, it seemed obvious by the
turnout which turn Kennedy took.
"It always made him proud," Teddy Jr. said.
Kennedy always told him "a successful political life was where you can have the respect of your sometimes
political adversaries and the accolades of your supporters."
2 of 2 2009/09/16 06:16 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

The mystery grows: What's in 'Catcher in the Rye' author J.D. Salinger's safe?
By HILLEL ITALIE
NEW YORK
So what about the safe? The death this week of J.D. Salinger ends one of literature's most mysterious lives
and intensifies one of its greatest mysteries: Was the author of "The Catcher in the Rye" keeping a stack
of finished, unpublished manuscripts in a safe in his house in Cornish, N.H? Are they masterpieces,
curiosities or random scribbles?
And if there are publishable works, will the author's estate release them?
The Salinger camp isn't talking.
No comment, says his literary representative, Phyllis Westberg, of Harold Ober Associates Inc.
No plans for any new Salinger books, reports his publisher, Little, Brown & Co.
Marcia B. Paul, an attorney for Salinger when the author sued last year to stop publication of a "Catcher"
sequel, would not get on the phone Thursday.
His son, Matt Salinger, referred questions about the safe to Westberg.
Stories about a possible Salinger trove have been around for a long time. In 1999, New Hampshire
neighbor Jerry Burt said the author had told him years earlier that he had written at least 15 unpublished
books kept locked in a safe at his home. A year earlier, author and former Salinger girlfriend Joyce
Maynard had written that Salinger used to write daily and had at least two novels stored away.
Salinger, who died Wednesday at age 91, began publishing short stories in the 1940s and became a
sensation in the 1950s after the release of "Catcher," a novel that helped drive the already wary author
into near-total seclusion. His last book, "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour," came out
in 1963 and his last published work of any kind, the short story "Hapworth 16, 1924," appeared in The
New Yorker in 1965.
Jay McInerney, a young star in the 1980s thanks to the novel "Bright Lights, Big City," is not a fan of
Hapworth and skeptical about the contents of the safe.
"I think there's probably a lot in there, but I'm not sure if it's necessarily what we hope it is," McInerney
said Thursday. "`Hapworth' was not a traditional or terribly satisfying work of fiction. It was an insane
epistolary monologue, virtually shapeless and formless. I have a feeling that his later work is in that vein."
Author-editor Gordon Lish, who in the 1970s wrote an anonymous story that convinced some readers it
was a Salinger original, said he was "certain" that good work was locked up in Cornish. Novelist Curtis
Sittenfeld, frequently compared to Salinger because of her novel "Prep," was simply enjoying the
adventure.
"I can't wait to find out!" she said. "In our age of shameless self-promotion, it's extraordinary, and kind of
great, to think of someone really and truly writing for writing's sake."
Some of the great works of literature have been published after the author's death, and even against the
author's will, including such Franz Kafka novels as "The Trial" and "The Castle," which Kafka had
requested be destroyed.
Because so little is known about what Salinger was doing, it's so easy to guess. McInernay said he has an
old girlfriend who met Salinger and was told that the author was mostly writing about health and nutrition.
Lish said Salinger told him back in the 1960s that he was still writing about the Glass family, featured in
much of Salinger's work.
But the Salinger papers might exist only in our dreams, like the second volume of Nikolai Gogol's "Dead
Souls," which the Russian author burned near the end of his life. The Salinger safe also could turn into a
version of Henry James' novella "The Aspern Papers," in which the narrator's pursuit of a late poet's
letters ends with his being told that they were destroyed.
Margaret Salinger, the author's daughter, wrote in a memoir published in 2000 that J.D. Salinger had a
precise filing system for his papers: A red mark meant the book could be released "as is," should the
author die. A blue mark meant that the manuscript had to be edited.
"There is a marvelous peace in not publishing," J.D. Salinger told The New York Times in 1974.
"Publishing is a terrible invasion of my privacy. I like to write. I love to write. But I write just for myself
and my own pleasure."

Zara Hartshorn, 13, Has a Condition That Makes Her Appear Much Older
By NICK WATT
LONDON, Feb. 1, 2010 —
Zara Hartshorn has been robbed of her childhood. Her mom took her out of school because the bullying
was so bad. A bus driver laughed in her face recently when she tried to pay the child's fare. Strangers stare
and point in the street. Kids call her "grandma," "monkey" and "baggy face."
Zara is 13 but has a rare genetic condition that makes her look much, much older than her years. She has
the face of a grown woman, gaunt and wrinkled. But she's a frightened teen inside.
"It feels like people are looking down their noses at me and staring," she said at her home in northern
England. "You know when you get that feeling you're being watched? I feel that everywhere I go."
Zara's mother, Tracey Pollard, feels her pain: She, too, was born with lipodystrophy.
Pollard, 41, noticed the tell-tale signs in Zara's face at birth. "I was grieving for a child that's got to go
through the same things in life that I've had to go through," she said. "I was angry at myself for actually
having Zara."
Lipodystrophy is a genetic disease. It is hereditary. It robs the body of the ability to produce fat cells
beneath the skin.
"Fatty tissue doesn't grow right," Dr. Donald Kotler of St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in New York City
said. "Normal fatty tissues shrink, making people look sort of old and wrinkled and abnormal."
Lipodystrophy can also bring on diabetes and, later in life, heart disease, stroke and liver problems.
There is no cure for lipodystrophy. "What you're left trying to do is to manage it," Kotler said. "It's bad
enough in an adult, but I would think for a child it would be devastating."
Pollard's first child, Gareth, was born healthy. So Tracey thought her kids would be safe. Two of her
younger children showed only very mild symptoms. Then Zara, the youngest, was born.
When asked what she feels when she sees her own face in the mirror, Zara said, "I don't like it. Sometimes
I'll sit in my room and start pulling my skin back, stuff like that. Most teenagers worry about getting spots.
... I'm worried about surgery and stuff like that and when's bullying going to stop."
Zara: 'I Want a Face-Lift'
Zara lives at home with her mom, sisters and a brother. There is, of course, the usual rough-and-tumble
and sibling bickering one would expect in a large family. But, Zara said, she feels safe and loved. No one
makes fun of her, unlike every time she steps outside her front door, where she's scared.
Zara was, she said, a confident little girl. Then at age 5, the bullying started. "The kids started calling me
names," she said.
Zara went home in tears. "I asked my mom why I was different," she said.
As she grows older, Zara's anxiety has increased. She lives in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, in a
hardscrabble, deprived neighborhood. Life here is tough. For her, it's tougher.
"I want a face-lift," she said.
Her mother had surgery when she was a teenager in an effort to smooth her wrinkled face. But, Pollard
said, it didn't help much. "My expectations were too high," she said. "I thought I would look like a normal
kid ... but I didn't."
Her appearance has had a huge impact on her life, she said. She has low self-esteem, has never had a
career and has suffered a string of abusive relationships.
"I don't want [Zara] ending up like me," she said. "Surrounding herself with seven, eight or however many
kids just to feel loved. ... And she doesn't need to go from one man to another looking for something she'll
never find."
When she's older, Zara said, she wants to be a beauty therapist. Her mother, a single parent who lives on
benefits, is supportive.
"You always have hope and your dreams," Pollard said. "No one can take that away from you no matter
how bad they treat you."
For now, Zara's dream, she said, is to walk down the street without people staring at her, to feel young
again.

Top Tips to Keep Your Turkey Safe http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9132762
It's Safer Not to Stuff Turkey, Sara Moulton Says
By RAQUEL HECKER
Nov. 20, 2009—
Thanksgiving is less than a week away and turkey is on everyone's mind. Americans eat more than 45
million turkeys at Thanksgiving, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
But, as with all other poultry, careful preparation in the handling of your Thanksgiving bird is vital to
diners' safety.
Chef and author Sara Moulton dropped by "Good Morning America" to give some quick tips on how to
prepare a delicious -- and safe -- Thanksgiving turkey.
Thawing the Turkey
It's best to thaw your turkey in a refrigerator that's 40 degrees or cooler, Moulton said. A good rule of
thumb is to allow 24 hours of thawing time for every 4 to 5 pounds of turkey.
If you've run out of time, you can defrost the turkey in cold water, allowing 30 minutes for every pound of
bird. Be sure to change the water frequently.
Tip: Have an ice chest with plenty of ice on hand. Put your beverages in the chest in order to free up
room for the components of your meal, all of which should remain at 40 degrees until they're cooked.
Should the Turkey Be Rinsed?
Raw poultry shouldn't be rinsed, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The reason is that when
you rinse, you risk contaminating the sink and everything around it with salmonella bacteria.
But, if you'd rather rinse off the juices, you can, Moulton said. You must clean the sink, countertop --
everything else that has come into contact with the raw turkey -- with soap and hot water, and then follow
that with a little bleach.
To Stuff or Not to Stuff?
It's safer not to stuff the turkey, Moulton said. The internal temperature of turkey and stuffing should both
reach at least 165 degrees. So, if you let the stuffing get to that temperature inside the turkey, the bird
would already be up to 175 degrees.
Some people really prefer the taste of stuffing that has been cooked inside the turkey. If you're one of
them, just scoop the stuffing out, cover it and put it in the oven.
Tip: Do not purchase prestuffed turkeys. You should stuff the bird right before it's cooked, and stuffing
1 of 2 2009/11/22 02:07 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Top Tips to Keep Your Turkey Safe http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9132762
ingredients should be mostly precooked.
How Can You Tell When the Turkey Is Done?
Turkey must be cooked to 165 degrees. The temperature will rise to 175 degrees with resting time.
Here's a guide, by weight, of turkey cooking times (at 325 degrees):
Eight to 12 lbs: 2 ¾ to 3 hours (unstuffed); 3 to 3 ½ hours (stuffed).
Twelve to 14 lbs: 3 to 3 ¾ hours (unstuffed); 3 ½ to 4 hours (stuffed).
Fourteen to 18 lbs: 3 ¾ to 4 ¼ hours (unstuffed); 4 to 4 ¼ hours (stuffed).
Eighteen to 20 lbs: 4 ¼ to 4 ½ hours (unstuffed); 4 ¼ to 4 ¾ hours (stuffed).
Twenty to 24 lbs: 4 ½ to 5 hours (stuffed); 4 ¾ hours to 5 ¼ hours (stuffed).
Tip: Use an instant-read thermometer to test the internal temperature of your turkey.
Turkey should rest for 20 to 30 minutes. If you loosely cover the turkey with foil, it will remain hot for up
to one hour.
Resting allows the turkey to finish cooking. If you carve the turkey right after it's cooked, without
allowing it to rest, the juices will run out and the bird will be dry.
2 of 2 2009/11/22 02:07 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

Toyota Says Problem With the Antibrake Locking System Behind the Recall
By MARGARET CONLEY
TOKYO, Feb. 9, 2010
Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda, in his second press conference since Friday, announced the company recalled
an additional 437,000 vehicles worldwide.
The recall related to a software problem that controls the antilock braking system includes the 2010 model
Prius and Lexus HS250h in North America.
Toyota spokesperson Ririko Takeuchi told ABC News 155,000 vehicles will be recalled in North America
including 139,000 3rd generation Prius and 16,000 Lexus models.
"Let me assure everyone," Toyoda said from the company's global headquarters, "that we will re-double
our commitment to quality as a lifeline of our company with myself taking the lead."
In Japan, four hybrid models will be recalled the 2010 Prius, the Prius Plug-in Hybrid, the Sai model
sold in Japan and the Lexus HS250h. The latter three models were introduced in the country last year.
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) will notify hybrid owners of the recall in Japan beginning today.
Corrective programming to fix the ABS software program is expected to start Feb 10 in Japan. The fix
process is estimated to take about 40 minutes per vehicle.
Details to notify owners in the US were not yet available.
Toyota Executive Vice President Shinichi Sasaki presented a detailed technical explanation of the brake
problem during the press conference that lasted about two hours.
The executives advised customers with cars not already fixed to brake firmly as they said the problems
have been from customers braking too softly.
"If you are riding on a vehicle before the counter measure," Toyoda said as translated, "and experience
this release feeling, in that case, please apply further force on the brakes and it's safe."
TMC has repeatedly denied withholding information from the public about the global recalls.
When asked by ABC News when, specifically, Toyoda first heard of the Prius problem he said as
translated, "I cannot recall the exact month and day when we were notified first. I constantly receive all
sorts of information. The department of quality control closely reviews each aspect to guarantee the
quality. If you ask when, the answer is this year."
Toyoda Strives to Gain Back Customer Loyalty
Toyoda, who plans to visit the US to address Toyota employees about the situation, said he has not yet
fixed his own Prius.
When asked by ABC News if any Toyota officials would be held responsible for the global recall Toyoda
said, "In regards to responsibility, Toyota's responsibility is that we have to truly cooperate together to
regain the trust of our customers."
"I don't personally believe Toyota is failure proof," Toyoda said as translated, " But when we receive
inquires or reports from customers we make sure that all of those things are corrected and modified, (we)
implement improvement so that we can provide better products for our customers. We have done that in
the past and we will continue to do so in the future as well."
"We will do everything in our power," Toyoda said in English, "to gain the confidence of our customers."
Miki Toda contributed to this report.

A Little Bargaining Can Save Thousands on Your Next Home
By ELISABETH LEAMY
Feb. 16, 2010—
A slow real estate market for sellers means real opportunity for buyers.
"Good Morning America" teamed up with real estate Web site Zillow.com to identify the best places to
bargain for a house.
Here's how we determined the best places to bargain list.
"GMA" asked Zillow.com to identify the cities and towns where buyers are able to negotiate the biggest
discount off the asking price. The resulting list is a really interesting mix. Keep in mind, buyers have
succeeded in bargaining at every price range.
One such buyer is Helena Sturnick. When she moved from Massachusetts to Florida, she was prepared to
pay as much as $375,000 for a house. So she was surprised when she found one that she liked -- listed for
$365,000 and elated when she bargained it down to $290,000.
"We said to our Realtors that this is the bottom line for us on this house, and if we can't get it there we will
move on to the next house. So he called us with jubilation and said we got it," Sturnick said.
Her new hometown of Naples, Fla., is Zillow's No. 1 place to bargain, with most buyers wrangling about a
7 percent discount. Home values in Naples have already fallen far, but Zillow's statistics show there's still
additional room to haggle.
"The fact that this was a buyer's market made a tremendous difference," Sturnick said.
The No. 2 best bargaining spot is Cape Cod, Mass. Buyers in this charming vacation area are routinely
knocking 5 percent off the asking price. One house on a beautiful lot was listed for $340,000 and sold for
$295,000.
Charleston, S.C., comes in at No. 3. Right now, buyers are negotiating an average 5 percent discount off
list prices in Charleston. One four-bedroom split level home was listed for $370,000 and sold for $293,000
-- a $77,000 reduction. Plus, the sellers kicked in $5,000 toward the buyers' closing costs.
The No. 4 best place to bargain for a home is Merced, Calif. Merced has been hit hard by the foreclosure
crisis. One house sold for $337,000 five years ago, yet the current buyers got it for $80,000, and that was
$6,000 less than the asking price. Zillow says discounts in the lower price ranges are particularly
aggressive because of the all the foreclosures nationwide.
"You really want to think about staying in that home five, seven, even 10 years, because when home
values hit the bottom it doesn't mean they're going to shoot back up," said Amy Bohutinsky of Zillow.com.
"They will likely languish for a couple of years."
Finally, Chicago -- the only big city near the top of the list. Windy City homes are languishing on the
market for four months on average, so buyers can whittle away at asking prices an average of 5 percent.
Check out this solid brick bungalow. List price: $300,000. Selling price: $170,000, close to half-price.
Discounts like that are what make Chicago the No. 5 fifth-best place to bargain for a house.
While these are the top five places to bargain for a home, the entire country is a buyer's market.
That may sound depressing for sellers, but there's a silver lining: When buyers start to perceive that homes
are great deals, more people jump in, the competition revs up and prices start to rise.
How can buyers gauge when they have a golden opportunity to bargain for a lower price?
Comparables -- what similar houses in like neighborhoods have sold for -- are the key, but don't just look
at selling prices. Also look at the average gap between the asking price and the final price, and the number
of days the property was on the market. The longer a home has been for sale, the better your opportunity
to bargain.
Click HERE to see numbers 6 through 10 on the best places to bargain list.

Phone Apps, Notebooks, Personalized Golf Balls Among Gifts Easy on Your Budget
By KATIE CWAYNA
Feb. 8, 2010—
Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and you may be thinking about what to get your sweetheart for
the holiday.
In this economy, chances are that you are on a budget. Don't despair.
Trend and lifestyle expert Jane Buckingham visited "Good Morning America" to show you how to enjoy
Valentine's Day without breaking the bank -- with a range of creative and romantic gifts that cost $25 or
less. Some are even free!
These gifts come in several different categories, so there's definitely something for your valentine.
Personalized Gifts
When it comes to Valentine's Day, personalized gifts are a good way to show someone you really thought
about them, Buckingham said.
Gift: Personalized Heart Puzzle from Personalization Mall.com:
Price: $15.95
Why: This gift is great because it looks like candy, and children can give it to their parents, or vice-versa.
Gift: Loveopoly Game.
Price: $19.95
Why: This is a personalized and romantic version of the game Monopoly. Couples can put their pictures
on the board.
Click HERE for 5 extra gifts that will spice up your Valentine's Day.
Gift: Personalized Golf Balls at Golfballs.com.
Price: $19
Why: This gift is great gift for a man, and may be particularly suitable for the woman who is in a new
relationship and doesn't want to get too romantic. Buckingham said the gift shows thoughtfulness without
going overboard.
Gift: Personalized Books from Amazon.
Price: $9.95 to $12.95
Why: These are the equivalent of baby books for adults, Buckingham said. The books have specific areas
for couples to detail when they first met, their first date and other milestones of a relationship.
The man who gives this book as a gift is showing his partner that he really thinks about her, Buckingham
said, adding that it can be fun for a couple to use the book to capture their memories.
Technology Gifts
Tech-inspired gifts including unique phone applications, or apps are great gifts for younger people and
those looking for something fun and funky.
Gift: Video from Animoto.com.
Cost: Free!
Why: The app produces completely unique video montages from all of your photos. You can create a
30-second video and send it to your valentine. If you'd like to send a longer video the spot the length of
a song costs about $3.
Buckingham said Animoto is one of her favorites. Anyone can use it to create a valentine for a child, for a
50th wedding anniversary or any other occasion.
Gift: Text gift from Giiv.com
Cost: $10 to $20
From your cellphone , you can use Giiv.com to text gifts immediately. Buckingham said you can use
Giiv.com to send your valentine everything from movie tickets to an Amazon.com gift certificate.
Gift: Love Poem generator app.
Cost: Free.
The generator is available features love poem templates in which senders fill in the blanks to create their
own work. Buckingham said it's a sweet and fun way to let someone know that they are in your thoughts.
Romantic Gifts For those for whom the personalized or tech gifts may not be right, there are classic,
romantic gifts to be had for less than $25.
Gift: Personalized glassware.
Cost: $3 to $20 from Pier 1 Imports.
Gift: Speaker sets.
Cost: iPod speaker set, $7.99 from Amazon.com; Heart speaker, $14, from Urban Outfitters.
Gift-givers can create a personalized playlist of favorite love songs, then make a gift of the playlist along
with the speakers.
Gift: Notebooks.
Cost: $10 to $20. Available at Barnes and Noble Books and Bed Bath and Beyond.
Gift: Box of chocolates.
Cost: $14, from Sugar Factory Chocolates.
These chocolates come in uniquely shaped boxes you can get one shaped like boxer shorts or a biker
jacket. Their uniqueness will let your valentine know you didn't just pick them up at the drug store.

Don't Smoke, Limit Drinking and Be Mentally and Physically Active, Experts Say
By LAURA ZACCARO
Feb. 15, 2010—
For a growing number of Americans, 100 is the new 80.
There are about 84,000 centenarians living in the United States, a number that is expected to increase 10
times by the year 2050, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The secrets of longevity have been a source of fascination for millenniums. Over the course of human
history, numerous diets, lifestyle regimens and supplements have been touted.
In a special section called "The Science of Living Longer," Time magazine explores what experts have
found out through the study of the genes and lifestyles of those who have lived to be 100 years old and
older.
While most centenarians seem almost hard-wired to live beyond the average life expectancy, Time senior
editor Jeffrey Kluger said there's no reason the rest of the population can't strive for the same longevity.
"They key here is the cause and effect," he said. "It's not that they just live to 100 and get lucky."
Researchers are now studying people who live to be 100 in hopes they can find away to reproduce in
everyone else what comes naturally to the centenarians.
Time's research found that today's centenarians are mostly very healthy people. The Long Life Family
Study from the National Institute on Aging has determined that there is a 70 to 30 percent split in the
reasons for longevity.
Many centenarians aren't able to avoid the diseases that typically plague people as they get older,
including cancer and heart disease, Kluger said, but they can bounce back faster and more effectively.
Click HERE to read more from Time magazine.
Genetics Play Role in Longevity
For some people, genetics plays a 70 percent role in determining longevity, with the remaining role
attributed to lifestyle. For others, though, it's the reverse.
"Lifestyle plays a much bigger role on the larger part of the population that isn't genetically hard-wired,"
Kluger said.
People's life expectancy has gone up 30 percent since the 1900s, in part because of vaccines, preventive
care and antibiotics, Kluger said.
While most people would love to be born with genes that favor longer life, Kluger said those who arent's
so blessed do have some control, and that some simple changes can have a favorable impact.
One of the best ways for people to improve their life expectancy is to exercise regularly. Thirty minutes of
exercise, at least three times per week and breaking a sweat is a good routine. Add 30 minutes of
weight lifting and 30 minutes of stretching to that weekly routine, and joint strength and muscle tone
improves, he said.
Purpose, Community Help Elderly Remain Vital
The secret to living longer, Kluger said, isn't a secret at all. Keeping weight down, not smoking, not
drinking to excess -- "all of the things we know. It's just a matter of putting those things into play."
Keeping mentally fit, Kluger said, can be just as important as being physically active.
Doing a crossword puzzle or Sudoku helps keep cognitive processes sharp. Talking, engaging in
conversation and reading are also good ways to help a person's mind remain agile, Kluger said. Research
has found that staying mentally active and engaged reduces the symptoms of dementia.
Research has also found that centenarians who engage with other people are likely to live longer, and
that's because community and purpose make for healthier lives. Sometimes people who have outlived their
loved ones, or who have all their basic needs catered to, may awake without a purpose. Those people
don't live as long, Kluger said.
Elderly people may find a great sense of purpose and lots of physical activity when they care for their
grandchildren.
Having faith is enough to help some people remain vital. For others, being part of a larger whole, and
being able to help others who are in need, gives them goals upon which they can focus their energies and
from which they derive great satisfaction.
Of course, no matter how mentally and physically active a person may be, diet is critical.
Keeping blood pressure and cholesterol down are important and so is avoiding tobacco, limiting alcohol
consumption and eating right, Kluger noted.

'We Never Want to Be Associated with That' http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=2038382
Gen. Caldwell: Most Marines and Soldiers Behave Ethically
June 4, 2006 —
The military continues to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by Marines in the Iraqi town of Haditha,
said Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell -- as he stressed that the majority of Marines and soldiers in Iraq
are acting ethically.
"They're obviously extremely disappointed these allegations have surfaced, and if they are true they'll be
even more disappointed," Caldwell said. "It's like our chairman said the other day, Gen. Pace: Ninety-nine
percent, or 99.99 percent, of our men and women are doing an absolutely incredible job over here. [They
are] dedicated, committed, adhere to core values and believe in doing the best they can."
In an exclusive appearance on "Good Morning America Weekend Edition," Caldwell offered little news
on investigations into alleged atrocities committed by Marines against Iraqi civilians, including women and
children.
"I think, as you know, any time we have an ongoing investigation, we don't talk about that at the time," he
told ABC News's Bill Weir. "But obviously, as you know, we do have the one going on in Haditha, with
two separate investigations going on, and one in Ishaqi."
The military found that there was no wrongdoing in Ishaqi, where 13 civilians were killed by Marines in
March. A spokesman for Iraq's prime minister said Iraq will launch its own investigation.
The investigation of atrocities in Haditha, where 24 civilians were killed by Marines in November, is
ongoing. There is also a parallel investigation into whether the military covered up the killings.
As a response to the allegations, Caldwell, the deputy chief of staff for strategic effects for the multi-
national forces in Iraq, is overseeing ethics training for all 150,000 military personnel on the ground.
"Everybody went through all of that training before they ever deployed over here to Iraq," Caldwell said.
"All 150,000 airmen, marines, Army, sailors and this is a refresher training. We're going back and
re-emphasizing the core values that they were all taught before they came."
The New York Times reported Saturday that senior commanders learned the original Marine account of
what happened in Haditha was wrong two days after the incident -- but failed to act. The paper quoted an
anonymous Marine general close to the investigation as saying, "It's impossible to believe they didn't
know. You'd have to know this thing stunk."
Three Marine officers have already been relieved of their commands because of the Haditha incident, and
more senior officers may be disciplined even before the investigation is complete.
A larger concern is that the alleged atrocities will undermine the already faltering war effort both at home
and in Iraq. Caldwell stressed that injustice and murder is not the way of the U.S. military.
"We mourn the loss of any innocent life, and we never want to be associated with that," Caldwell said.
1 of 1 2009/12/15 06:05 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

How to Give a Beautiful Arrangement Without Breaking the Bank
BY SUZAN CLARKE
Feb. 12, 2010—
Sunday is Valentine's Day, and even if you're doing it on a budget, your gift need not be a box of bargain
candy. You can express your love with flowers. Or course, great flowers don't come cheap.
A dozen roses costs about an average of $50. But you can create your own arrangements for less than
$25.
Not only will you save money, but your gift will be so much more personal if you do it yourself.
Sarah Gray Miller, the editor-in-chief of Country Living magazine, visited "Good Morning America" to
discuss how you can make your loved one happy with flowers on the most romantic day of the year.
Here are her tips for creating your own floral Valentine's Day present:
Say It With Flowers
1. Choose your valentine's favorite flower. Attach a note card with a special message, or maybe just
draw a heart or write "XO." Trim the stem, and stick it through a hole in the card. You can prevent wilting
by attaching a small tube filled with water to the end of the stem. The tubes are available at florists' shops.
Cost: $5 for flower, $1 for note card. For $6, you've got a very special gift.
2. You can also showcase a few blooms in a low-cost vase. Urban Outfitters has a special vase with five
test tubes, perfect to hold one stem each. The vases may be used long after the flowers wilt, either for new
flowers or as candle holders.
Cost: $3.25 for five tulips; $15 for the container. For a total of $18.25, you'll have a great gift.
Click HERE to visit Country Living magazine.
3. For a special gift that will last longer, Miller suggests that you get a plant in a fun container. For
example, you can buy a single, small orchid at a garden center. Re-pot the orchid in a mug that's beautiful
or with a special message. The orchid will brighten up your loved one's day for years to come. And when
it's time to transplant it into a bigger pot, the mug will be a reminder of your special Valentine's gift.
Cost: $13 for the orchid; $11 for the mug. Total cost: $24.
Roses Aren't the Only Options
4. For a loved one who spends a lot of time at work, you can consider a desktop garden, Miller says.
You can create the garden easily, allowing your valentine to bring the calm of the outdoors into the office.
Purchase some wheatgrass at a health, hardware store or garden center. Put it into a small, lined box and
add some daisy buds.
Cost: About $10 for the wheatgrass. About $7 for the box, and daisy buds should cost about no more than
$5. Total cost: $22.
5. Rethink filler flowers and bud. Roses have long been the star of Valentine's Day's floral arrangements
but don't forget about the flowers that complement them.
Miller says baby's breath -- the profusion of tiny white flowers that often accompany a bouquet of roses --
really stand out when they're arranged on their own and tucked inside a cone. Wrap the cone in bright-
colored paper or in the sheet music of your favorite love song.
Cost: Bunch of filler flowers, $4. Special wrapping paper, $2.25. Total cost: $6.25.
6. In the same way you can create a bouquet using baby's breath, you can make an arrangement
featuring carnations. Prove flower snobs wrong by gathering the oft-maligned blossoms en masse to create
a lush, elegant arrangement, Miller said. Wrap the flowers in colorful tissue paper and use metallic straight
pins to add shine for an unexpected bouquet.
Cost: Carnations are $4 a bunch, tissue paper is about $2 per pack, and pins are $4 a box. Total cost: $10

What's On Board the Oasis of the Seas? http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9130740
The 16-Deck Ship Can Accommodate 6,360 Passengers
By MORGAN ZALKIN and ARI PINKUS
Nov. 20, 2009—
In the cruise industry these days, many believe that bigger is better. The world's largest and newest cruise
ship, Oasis of the Seas, is proof of that.
Royal Caribbean's latest vessel has been a true game-changer, according to industry experts. And with the
cruise liner's sister ship, Allure of the Seas, scheduled to make its debut in November 2010, the industry
has acknowledged that size does matter -- when it comes to luring new business.
"These really big, huge ships, the market they're going after is not your Aunt Elma," said Carolyn Spencer-
Brown, editor in chief of CruiseCritic.com. "What they're going after is an untapped market, and these are
people who haven't cruised."
The Oasis of the Seas has plenty of room for them, with 2,700 staterooms and more guest rooms than the
average Las Vegas hotel. The 16-passenger-deck ship consists of seven themed neighborhoods, including
Central Park, Entertainment Place, the Royal Promenade, Boardwalk, the Pool and Sports Zone, Youth
Zone and Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center. The small city at sea accommodates 6,360 passengers.
Feeding this floating community on a seven-day cruise requires 50 tons of food, including 8,000 pounds of
lettuce, 12,000 pounds of potatoes and more than 3,000 pounds of onions.
Aside from food, this behemoth boat is chock full of novel entertainment. Its Central Park is the first-ever
park at sea, it boasts the longest-running track on an ocean liner, and its AquaTheater houses the largest
and deepest pool on the high seas, at nearly 18 feet deep.
The vessel is also an engineering marvel in terms of height, length, width and weight.
From bow to stern, it measures 1,187 feet, or about three football fields long.
The ship's size required that the captain undergo simulation training to learn how to navigate it before he
even set one foot on board.
Cruise Lines Keep Building Bigger Ships
Every port where the Oasis docks needed to be enlarged to fit its 208-foot width.
"We've had to build the largest cruise terminal in the world to support the biggest cruise ship in the world,"
said Phil Allen, director of Port Everglades.
It took Royal Caribbean International more than three years to build the Oasis at a cost of $1.4 billion.
While its fleet won't be matched anytime soon, competitors are trying to keep up. This year, Carnival
Cruise introduced The Dream, its biggest ship ever, and Celebrity Cruises joined the pack, launching its
largest.
1 of 2 2009/11/22 02:05 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

What's On Board the Oasis of the Seas? http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9130740
Not to be outdone, next year Norwegian Cruise Lines plans to unveil its megaship, The Epic. In 2011,
Disney, "Good Morning America's" parent company, plans to launch the biggest in its Disney cruise fleet.
Cruise Ships Survive Troubled Economy
All these cruise lines have found a way to survive so far in these tight economic times. After a sharp
downturn late last year, cruise bookings are picking up, partly because of deep fare discounts. Some of
these are as low as $50 a day.
"The ship makes the most money when the ship sails full, because people do spend money when they are
on board," said Robin Farley, a senior leisure analyst. "And so the ships are priced in a way that they're
always going to sail full."
The cruise lines are betting that on-board spending will help turn a profit, and that these new supersized
ships can benefit, too.
2 of 2 2009/11/22 02:05 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

People Considered Average Weight May Still Be 'Normal Weight Obese'
By ANGELA ELLIS
Jan. 27, 2010—
Monika Sumpter did what many women dream of -- she set a goal to lose weight and dropped 50 pounds.
Despite losing all of that weight, her ratio of fat to muscle was around 25 percent, 5 percent from where
she started and dangerously close to what some researchers say is an unhealthy situation.
"I was just shocked. I thought that it was a lot lower, and I thought that I was healthy," Sumpter said.
There are others like Sumpter. As many as 30 million Americans who are considered average weight may
actually have what scientists call normal weight obesity, according to a recent study by the Mayo Clinic.
Are you a healthy weight? Click here to measure your body mass index.
The study, which followed 6,171 Americans over nine years, found 20 percent to 30 percent of people
considered normal weight still have an alarmingly high percentage of body fat.
The Mayo Clinic says that generally, women should have a body fat percentage below 30 percent, while
men should have a fat to muscle ratio of less than 20 percent to 25 percent.
Sumpter, a 34-year-old mother of one, is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs about 140 pounds, which is in the
normal weight range for her height.
However, if 42 of those pounds -- or 30 percent of her weight -- are made up of fat, Sumpter would
actually be considered normal weight obese.
That diagnosis means a higher risk of obesity-related diseases, such diabetes, high cholesterol and heart
disease, which is the No. 1 killer of women.
"Women with normal weight obesity, meaning those who have high fat and a normal weight have a two
times increased risk for death or dying from heart problems or a stroke," said Dr. Francisco Lopez
Jimenez, who led the Mayo Clinic study.
Sumpter changed her workout routine, adding more weight-bearing exercises to build lean muscle mass
instead of only doing calorie-burning cardio.
"Resistance training is the key," said Sumpter, who is now certified as a personal trainer and works at
Equinox in New York. "There are three key components to a healthy lifestyle, which is healthy eating
habits, resistance training to build muscle and of course cardio to burn calories and for a healthy heart, but
it's a combination of all three."
Today she weighs 20 pounds more than her lowest weight, but her body fat percentage is down to 14
percent.
Doctors Suggest Looking at Your Waistline
Inspired by Sumpter's story, ABC News' Juju Chang asked researchers at the Human Body Composition
Laboratory at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City to measure her body fat.
Chang's body mass index measured between normal and overweight but was far from obese.
According to the World Health Organization, 23 to 35 percentage of body fat for a woman her age is
acceptable. But she measured 37 percent, putting her at risk.
"So on some level this study points to people like me who need to be aware of their body fat," Chang said.
"I didn't need a full body scan to know that I'm out of shape and I need to exercise."
Doctors said they do not recommend people getting their body fat tested because of this study. Instead
they ask that people look at their waistline.
Because belly fat is considered more dangerous than fat in the butt or thighs, doctors say if you have fat
around the waist or love handles, that is an indication that you could be over your normal, healthy weight.

California's Largest Health Insurer Defends Premium Increases of Up to 39 Percent
By JAKE TAPPER
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2010—
The Obama administration is demanding answers from California's largest insurance firm, Anthem Blue
Cross, about why the company is suddenly raising premiums on some customers by up to 39 percent;
more than 10 times the rate of inflation.
Nearly a million Californians with individual insurance plans have received letters from the company
notifying them of the rate hike, which, some customers said, makes their insurance unaffordable.
"I really can't afford to spend $9,000 a year on health insurance," San Francisco attorney Pamela Fasick
said of her policy premiums scheduled to increase 28 percent March 1.
"I would hate to give up insurance at this point in my life, but I wouldn't be able to pay that money out of
my income without going into debt," she said.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has insisted that the company justify the rate
increase in detail to her agency. "We need to make sure that companies are spending their money on
health claims, not on overhead costs," she said.
Anthem Blue Cross's parent company, Wellpoint Inc., earned a record $2.7 billion in profits for the last
quarter of 2009. Its quarterly sales grew to $19 billion, up 26 percent from $15.1 billion in the comparable
2008 period, Sebelius pointed out.
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department and the California are investigating the rate increase,
although their ability to reverse the company's decision is unclear.
In a statement, Anthem Blue Cross attributed the increased premiums to a bad economy and rising health
care costs, forcing members to drop coverage, which "leaves fewer people, often with significantly greater
medical needs, in the insured pool."
Company, Administration: Rate Hikes Show Need for Overhaul
Anthem Blue Cross' premium hikes are just another example of why health care overhaul is needed,
Sebelius and the White House said.
The company said an overhaul is needed but that the president and Congress need to begin anew to craft
the legislation.
"People are scared to death," said Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif. "They're losing their jobs, they know
they're going to lose their group plans. ... they're nervous and they're upset."
The news comes on the heels of a new government estimate that health care consumed a record 17.3
percent of all spending in the U.S. economy last year.
ABC News' Devin Dwyer contributed to this report.

'Kell on Earth' Star on Fashion, Motherhood and Powerful Women
By SHEILA MARIKAR
Feb. 15, 2010 —
There are the oh-so-thin models, the open bar fiestas, the fabulously frenzied designers, and of course, the
really expensive clothes.
But this New York Fashion Week, going on now, try to catch a glimpse of the woman running the show
behind the scenes: Kelly Cutrone.
Maybe you recognize her from MTV's "The Hills" and "The City," in which she served as Lauren Conrad
and Whitney Port's hard driving boss. Perhaps you've heard of her new Bravo series, "Kell on Earth," or
her just-published book, "If You Have to Cry, Go Outside."
Why should you care about Cutrone and her myriad endeavors? Well, if you wear clothes, parent a child,
or are a member of the female sex, she's got things to say that might interest you. Let us break it down
thusly:
Cutrone on Clothes
"Kell on Earth," which airs Monday nights on Bravo, chronicles Cutrone at work, ruling the fashion PR
firm she founded, People's Revolution. Her company all but runs this town during New York Fashion
Week, orchestrating runway shows for clients who include "Sex and the City" designer Patricia Field and
jeans giant Sass & Bide. On Sept. 11, 2002, People's Revolution broke the record for the most shows
produced on a single day during New York Fashion Week because Cutrone was the only person willing to
put on shows on the first anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. For her, fashion isn't frivolous -- it may
not be God's work, but it has a purpose.
"There are a bunch of different ways to look at the fashion industy. Is it shallow to work in fashion? Yes,
it can be. But does fashion transform a woman who might feel like nothing and unimportant to glamorous
and gorgeous? Yes, it does," Cutrone told ABCNews.com in a recent interview. "Does it employ a huge
sector of America? Yes, it does."
That doesn't mean it can't be fun.
"We see women who go out and want to look like Jennifer Aniston and they're wearing an ill-fitting red
dress and ugly gold shoes and they've got flat hair and they can't walk," she said. "People should just
express themselves and not worry about trends -- try to use fashion like a compass, an indicator, examples
of things that you can be. It's not to be taken so seriously. It's just clothes."
Her goal with "Kell on Earth" is to show the public what actually happens in the fashion world -- the fun,
the clothes, the fights, the craziness. (In the first episode of "Kell on Earth," one People's Revolution
staffer offers another prescription drugs to deal with a particularly hectic day.)
"There's been a lot of debate over whether the fashion industry has ever really been on TV," Cutrone said.
"I think 'The Rachel Zoe Proejct' is very accurate; the rest of them, I think, the game shows, the
contestant driven series -- none of these people go on to show in Paris. But we're really allowing people to
go right inside this industry that forever used to be on top of a hill where no one could see into it. When
we go in to go to work [on a fashion show], there's a full bar, free food -- it's like the seven deadly sins."
Cutrone on Motherhood
But it's not all about work. "Kell on Earth" also spotlights Cutrone's relationship with Ava, her 7-year-old
daughter. As a single mom (Cutrone, 44, had Ava with an Italian model who she left three months into her
pregnancy), Cutrone has been forced to think creatively about how to raise a child while running a
company. Her solution: to literally live at work. Cutrone bought the downtown Manhattan building that
houses People's Revolution and turned one floor into her apartment.
"I couldn't do this if that wasn't the case," she said of living and working in the same place. "It is really
important to me to let my daughter know that I love her and that I see her every day. That's my upstate
New York upbringing coming back."
Along with Ava, Cutrone lives with an astrologist friend from India. She has an on-again, off-again
years-long relationship with music producer Jimmy Boyle. (Fittingly, Cutrone said Boyle coined the name
of her show when they last "broke up" in July. He said "Kell on Earth" was the perfect title for a show
about someone who can be, well, hell.) And she's still on good terms with her first husband, artist Ronnie
Cutrone, who ran in the same circle as pop artist Andy Warhol. Cutrone calls it a "very tribal lifestyle,"
one with which she's happy. But if push came to shove, she'd give up the lifestyle, New York and fashion
for Ava.
"I don't take it lightly that I brought a life into this world," she said. "They're waiting for you every day,
these sweet little angels. You have to have time for them to interact on a daily basis. I always ask her,
'Ava, do you want to move to India? Mommy would never have to work and we could spend every day
together.' And she's like, 'Mommy, I like Target. I like New York. I don't want to move to India.'"
Cutrone on Powerful Women
So until Ava ups and joins an ashram, Cutrone's presiding over the New York fashion world, and she's
doing so on her own terms. For someone who works in a business obsessed with the superficial, Cutrone
could care less about conforming to anyone's standard of beauty but her own.
"I wear all black because I don't like to dress up and I don't like makeup," she said. "I'm not going to get
my teeth capped or get hair extensions. I'm not going to have 11 surgeries like Heidi Montag. I'm just not."
And she has a bit of advice for any woman attempting to conquer her own domain: Forge ahead, as
fiercely as the models scheduled to strut through New York Fashion Week.
"I learned quickly that people have strong conceptions about powerful women, and powerful women are
not viewed the way powerful men are viewed," she said. "When people see a powerful woman, they start
to attack them. And that's fine with me. If you can hold your own and withstand all that firing, they
celebrate you. It's like a gladiator sport."

Wife Cracks Case From an Ocean Away http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8774031
Woman in Philippines Spots Thieves in Oklahoma on Web Cam, Police ID Robbers After Tip
By LEE FERRAN
Oct. 8, 2009 —
Thieves may have gotten away with robbing an Oklahoma home last weekend if it hadn't been for an
eyewitness who saw the whole thing from more than 8,000 miles away in a bizarre case police said "CSI"
couldn't have scripted better.
Maribel Chouinard was at her computer in the Philippines when she spotted three burglars on the Web
cam that she leaves on 24 hours a day to keep in touch with her husband back home in Oklahoma City,
Okla., police said.
Chouinard's husband, Air Force Master Sgt. Jim Choinard, was not at home at the time. But the Web cam
was apparently on when the would-be robbers "jerry rigged the window and came through," Jim Choinard
told ABC's Oklahoma affiliate KOCO. Maribel Choinard was asleep near the computer, when a loud noise
from the computer woke her up, Jim said.
She watched the thieves enter the home before the screen went dead, when apparently they nabbed the
Web camera as part of the loot.
Maribel immediately called Jim who then relayed the report to the police, including a description of the
thieves.
When Jim told emergency dispatchers that his wife was reporting the crime, dispatchers asked if she was
in the home.
"No, she's watching it over the Web cam from a different country," Jim responded according to Midwest
City Police Chief Brandon Clabes.
Before Jim got home 10 minutes later, police had apprehended two teenage suspects, one of whom was
"shocked" to see police, Clabes said. Police caught up to another suspect who fled the scene to a nearby
neighborhood.
'CSI' Coudn't have Scripted It Better
Maribel's crucial role in solving the crime wasn't over. Police organized a virtual line-up in which they
e-mailed mugshots of the teenage suspects to Maribel who positively identified them as the ones who
broke into the home.
"It's really wild," Clabes told ABC News. "Obviously she's 8,000 miles away. It's pretty amazing she
solves a crime in progress in Oklahoma... There was no doubt we would not have solved this crime most
likely without her."
"I don't think a Hollywood writer for one of the popular CSI shows could have script it better than this,"
Clabes said.
1 of 2 2009/10/10 09:11 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Wife Cracks Case From an Ocean Away http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8774031
Police told ABC News the three suspects, two 16-year-olds and one 15-year-old, also were in possession
of items from two other robberies.
The three were charged with second degree burglary and will appear in juvenile court.
2 of 2 2009/10/10 09:11 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

Questions to Ask Your Doctor, Tests to Take and Information About Your Risk Factors
Feb. 1, 2010—
When it comes to heart health, many women are confused about their risk factors. What's the difference
between good cholesterol and bad cholesterol? What are the normal ranges for my test results? What
about blood sugar and diabetes? What changes can I make to my diet to improve my heart health?
If you want to learn more about heart health and your individual risk factors, the National Heart Lung and
Blood Institute says there are important questions to ask your doctor, risk factors you should be aware of
and things you can do to lower them.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Heart Health
1. What is my risk for heart disease?
2. What is my blood pressure? What does it mean for me, and what do I need to do about it?
3. What are my cholesterol numbers? (These include total cholesterol, LDL or "bad" cholesterol, HDL or
"good" cholesterol, and triglycerides.) What do they mean for me, and what do I need to do about them?
4. What is my "body mass index" and waist measurement? Do they indicate that I need to lose weight for
my health?
5. What is my blood sugar level, and does it mean I'm at risk for diabetes?
6. What other screening tests for heart disease do I need? How often should I return for checkups for my
heart health?
7. What can you do to help me quit smoking?
8. How much physical activity do I need to help protect my heart?
9. What is a heart-healthy eating plan for me? Should I see a registered dietitian or qualified nutritionist to
learn more about healthy eating?
10. How can I tell if I'm having a heart attack?
CLICK HERE to download a PDF of tests you can ask your doctor about.
Know Your Numbers: What are the Risk Factors for Heart Disease?
There are important risk factors for heart disease that you should be aware of, according to the NHLBI.
Those include:
High blood pressure.

High blood cholesterol.
Diabetes.
Smoking.
Being overweight.
Being physically inactive.
Having a family history of early heart disease.
Age (55 or older for women).
CLICK HERE for heart-healthy recipes.
CLICK HERE to download a wallet card that you can take to your doctor that includes questions to
ask and important information about all your heart health numbers and risk factors.
CLICK HERE for more on risk factors.
CLICK HERE for a risk assessment tool to estimate your 10-year risk of having a heart attack:
CLICK HERE to visit the Heart Truth Web site for much more the national awareness campaign
for women about heart disease, and to learn about National Wear Red day on Friday, Feb. 5, 2010.

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11-Year-Old One of Youngest Breast Cancer Survivors http://abcnews.go.com/print?

By KATIE BOSLAND and KATE McCARTHY

It was devastating news to the 10-year-old girl.

1 of 2 2009/10/10 09:01 ‫ظ‬.‫ق‬

of the National Breast Cancer Coalition.

Friends Band Together Behind Hannah

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Concession Stands May Be Expanding America's Waistline, CSPI Report Contends

Nov. 19, 2009—

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Movie Popcorn: Traditional Treat or Calorie Nightmare?

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Reese's Pieces or a Porterhouse? It May Be All the Same to Your Waistline

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out of snacks mid movie?

Fruity Options May Not Be Guilt-Free

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Plan for the Peckish Patron

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6 of 6 2009/11/22 02:12 ‫ظ‬.‫ب‬

5-Year-Old Max Gomez Dies From Swine Flu, Leaving

S ept. 15, 2009—

It all began on a Friday.

His parents suspected routine illness and gave him an an analgesic.

1 of 2 2009/09/16 06:07 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

Less than three hours later, he died.

Parents Do Everything Right but Son Dies: Could an Underlying Infection Be to

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2 of 2 2009/09/16 06:07 ‫ﻅ‬. ‫ﺏ‬

By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES

Feb. 16, 2010—

"I just don't want to alienate them," she told ABCNews.com.

"Nobody understands what happened. Nobody knew," he said.

Amy Bishop Known as 'Odd Ball'

Many of her current students have praised her.

Psychosis, Schizophrenia Can Cause Violence

"Brilliant scientists are supposed to be crazy," he told ABCNews.com.

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By KATIE BOSLAND and KATE McCARTHY

Aerialist Determined to Come Back Strong

Click here to see the video of Romanowsky's fall.

Air Acrobat Survives 3-Story Fall

Click here to see the video of Romanowsky's fall.

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By CHRIS CUOMO, LAUREN PEARLE, FELICIA PATINKIN and SUZAN CLARKE

Feb. 16, 2010—

Man Baptized Daughter Without Informing Estranged Wife

Woman's Lawyer Accuses Reyes of 'Power Play' With Baptism

Reyes: Conversion Wasn't 'Voluntary'

Reyes said his faith is important to him.

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By CHRIS CUOMO, JOSH GAYNOR and SUZAN CLARKE

Eight Anniversary of War's Start

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ABC News' Lee Ferran contributed to this report.

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