Are Arizona Schools Racist? (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Arizona education officials are being accused of racism for cutting courses and banning textbooks from the Mexican-American Studies program, according to Yahoo! Shine. If the class truly supported ethnic diversity by teaching unbiased material about another culture, the courses should be reinstated. But if the course encourages racism and fosters bigotry, it violates the law and should not be a part of a public school curriculum.

The Arizona state superintendent of schools determined last week that the Chicano history and literature classes encouraged racial unrest and violated a state law prohibiting courses promoting resentment or are designed solely for a specific ethnic group. While protestors outside the school waving banners are angry about the elimination of the Latino instructional classes, they are dismissing a valuable part of the curriculum debate. The law protects students of all races from attending classes in an educational environment which allows one race to be placed above another.

A class only about white history should be equally offensive to those who believe in an ethical and well-rounded education. Unless the school district also offers history courses specifically designed to teach black history, Asian history and women's studies, there is an inherent bias in permitting the Chicano history and literature courses to continue at the Tucson Unified School District. One books used in the class, "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" by Paolo Freire notes a racial solidarity tone prohibited by state law.

Tucson's director of Mexican American Studies program feels that the school district caved into pressure from a racist state legislature, according to the Los Angeles Times. If the school continued to violate the anti-discrimination state law, they would face a penalty of $15 million. The school district appealed the Arizona Superintendent of school John Huppenthal's mandate to terminate the classes, but the decision was upheld in court, according to Shine.

Terminating the Chicano specific courses does not mean an end to educating students about local, state and national achievements by Mexican Americans. Traditional history classes or short courses focusing on specific historic periods or topics could include detailed lessons about a variety or minority groups. For decades history textbooks were very lax in relaying anything about the contributions of women and minorities. Supplemental reading material and research assignments can enhance the formal text and offer a deeper appreciation for all minority groups which help build and shape this great nation.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/education/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120121/en_ac/10865773_are_arizona_schools_racist

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Rep. Giffords to resign Monday from Congress, focus on recovering from shooting injuries (Star Tribune)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/190060689?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Why bats, rats and cats store different amounts of fat

Friday, January 20, 2012

Animals differ in the amount of fat they carry around depending on their species, status and sex. However, the causes of much of this variation have been a mystery. The Bristol study shows that many differences can be understood by considering the strategies animals employ to avoid two causes of death: starvation and being killed by predators.

These causes of death often exert opposite pressures on animals, for example, storing lots of fat helps animals survive periods without food but also slows their running and so makes getting caught by a predator more likely. Animals can be stronger to compensate, but the energetic costs of extra muscle mean that the animal would starve quicker during a food shortage.

Led by Dr Andrew Higginson of Bristol's School of Biological Sciences, the researchers used mathematical models to explore how much muscle and fat animals should have in their body to give themselves the best chance of survival. They showed that an important consideration was how much carrying fat increases the energetic costs of movement. The models revealed that the size of this cost influenced whether larger animals should have more fat than smaller animals, or vice versa.

Dr Higginson said: "Our results explain differences between different families of mammal. For example, larger bats carry proportionally less fat than small bats but larger carnivores carry more fat than small carnivores. Among rodents, it's the medium-sized species that carry around the most fat! These differences agree with the models predictions if you consider the costs of carrying fat for these three groups. Bats fly and so have high costs of carrying extra weight, whilst carnivores spend much of their time resting and so will use less energy than busy scurrying rodents."

The work, published in The American Naturalist, also shows that much of the variation between animals in their amounts of fat and muscle can be explained by differences between the sexes, how much animals have to fight to get food, and the climate in which they live.

The researchers plan to put the theory to the test by looking in more detail at the amounts of fat stored by different animals. If their theory is correct, much of the mystery in how species and sexes differ in their amount of fat will have been solved.

###

University of Bristol: http://www.bristol.ac.uk

Thanks to University of Bristol for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116911/Why_bats__rats_and_cats_store_different_amounts_of_fat

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Lisa Belkin: Announcing Your Divorce Online

Divorce lawyers have long known that the holiday season leads to an uptick in business. There's nothing like being surrounded by messages of love and joy to realize that those things are missing from your life. As more of us live out loud and online, it would follow that more of life's bumps and bruises would appear there, too, and over the past few weeks a number of well-followed bloggers, who write often about their families, have used those blogs to announce trouble in their marriages.

First Ali Edwards, who writes about parenting an autistic child, had this to say on December 15: "It's always been my goal to authentically share my story...in this online space. As many of you have noticed, and some have commented and emailed, Chris has been mostly absent for some time from the stories and photos. He has decided that he wants something different with his life and we are in the process of getting a divorce."

Next, on January 1, financial blogger JD Roth wrote on his personal website, Folded Space: "... the last six weeks have been very difficult. In fact, they've been the darkest days of my life. And the start of 2012 is going to be a challenge. Why? Six weeks ago, I asked my wife for a divorce. I'm not going to discuss the whys and wherefores of this decision on the internet. Kris and I are both experiencing enough stress as it is. I'll only say that there's no acute crisis here: nobody's cheating on anyone, and nobody's doing anything rash."

Then, on Tuesday, Heather Armstrong, the Queen of the Mom-Bloggers -- possibly the most trafficked personal blogger on the internet -- told her her 100,000 daily readers at dooce.com that she and her husband, Jon, had agreed to a trial separation.

Actually she did't use that phrase. Jon did, on his blog, Blurbomat (which he also used to explain that he would be leaving work at the company the couple own together, and that he would appreciate leads on a new job and a new place to live).

This is a chance for me to work on some stuff. That's how I'm approaching this. I'm also approaching this as a time for therapy, for recovery and for stopping the codependency. As I've written before, living with someone with depression & anxiety means some gymnastics for any partner. Lest you think this is solely about that lone issue or issues stemming from Heather's mental health, I am plenty to blame for this state of things.

For those who are not regular readers, Heather became an internet sensation in part because of the depression and anxiety her husband mentions; in 2004 she admitted herself into a psychiatric facility to be treated for post-partum depression and she blogged through her downward spiral.

As is her way -- the blogosphere's way -- Heather also shared other exquisitely personal thoughts, including some very specific thoughts of suicide:

I had put Leta to bed, and then somehow I was standing in the garage with a dog leash in my hand looking up at a pipe running along the ceiling. I don't remember walking from her room down the stairs, but I looked around at all of this, all of this that I hold together -- all of this that is supposed to be perfect and satisfying and perhaps even enviable -- and the dog leash made sense. The only way out of my unhappiness was to take myself out of it. The only way out. The only way.

I was sane enough to walk away from that moment, one that occurred a while ago, and standing up to that hopelessness has only made me stronger. But I'm still trying to figure out how I got to the garage in the first place. Because this isn't a chemical issue. I wish a pill would make all this ongoing, unbearable pain go away.

My first thought while reading was concern for Heather. With her history of depression it is frightening to hear that she is thinking like that.

On the heels of that was the feeling that I shouldn't be reading this. It is none of my business. It is too intimate, too personal, too raw, too...much.

And yet, the very fact that these bloggers have a community with which to share the bad things is a measure of the reality that the meaning of the word intimate has been redefined. They've shared everything else with us about their marriage, it is only logical that they should also share the end.

How much is more than you want to know? Is the blogosphere at its best when it serves as a group therapy session? Or at its worst?

?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-belkin/internet-divorce_b_1217353.html

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Wisconsin judge agrees to hear challenge to voter ID law (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? A Wisconsin judge agreed on Thursday to hear a challenge to the state's new voter ID law, passed last year by lawmakers concerned about ballot-box fraud but which critics say suppresses voting by the elderly and poor.

The decision clears the way for arguments to be heard on March 9 in the suit, which attempts to overturn the law on the grounds it violates the state constitution.

Dane County Judge Richard Neiss said he believed constitutional concerns raised by the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, which filed the suit, deserved to be heard.

But Neiss also agreed to hear an objection raised by the state Department of Justice, which is defending the law and contends the League lacks standing to bring the action.

The Republican-controlled legislature passed the voter ID law last year, requiring voters to present identification such as a driver's license, state ID or passport at polling places when they vote.

The voter ID measure was part of a raft of legislation backed by Republican Governor Scott Walker that set off mass protests in Madison last winter and triggered a fierce political backlash from Democrats and union supporters last summer. Walker now faces a campaign to recall him from office.

Supporters of the law, which would be in full effect in time for November's presidential vote, say it is necessary to ensure the integrity of elections.

Scott Fitzgerald, the majority leader in the state Senate, has repeatedly defended the measure as a "common sense reform" that assures people their vote "isn't getting cancelled out by someone else's fraud."

Critics say it discriminates against the elderly and the poor, who may not have a valid ID.

In its brief, the League of Women Voters contends the legislature overstepped its bounds when it passed the measure last year and says arguments that identification is required for other everyday transactions are off the mark.

"When people say you need an ID to board an airplane or cash a check, they are talking about a privilege, not a constitutionally protected right," said Melanie Ramey, president of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.

Thirty states require voters to show some form of ID before voting, according to the National Council of State Legislatures website.

In 14 of those, including Wisconsin, the ID must include a photo of the voter.

(Editing by Daniel Trotta)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120119/us_nm/us_wisconsin_lawsuit_voter_id

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VCU study suggests antimicrobial scrubs may reduce bacteria

Public release date: 19-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Malorie Burkett
mgburkett@vcu.edu
804-827-0889
Virginia Commonwealth University

May also help decrease risk of MRSA transmission to patients

RICHMOND, Va. (Jan. 19, 2012) The use of antimicrobial impregnated scrubs combined with good hand hygiene is effective in reducing the burden of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) on healthcare workers' apparel and may potentially play a role in decreasing the risk of MRSA transmission to patients, according to a new study from Virginia Commonwealth University researchers.

Previous findings have shown that hospital textiles may contribute to the transmission of pathogens through indirect contact via the hands of hospital staff and that antimicrobial textiles may reduce the bioburden, or the number of bacteria living on a surface before sterilization in clinical settings.

Led by Gonzalo Bearman, M.D.,M.P.H., associate professor of internal medicine in the VCU School of Medicine and associate hospital epidemiologist at the VCU Medical Center, the study "A Crossover Trial of Antimicrobial Scrubs to Reduce Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Burden on Healthcare Worker Apparel," is currently available online and will appear in the March issue of the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the official publication of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

"We strive to study infection prevention interventions that are simple yet effective for the reduction of healthcare associated infections," said Bearman. "The goal is to affect change or implement risk reduction by methods that are both easily implemented and sustained."

In the study, 32 healthcare workers wore four pairs of identically appearing control scrubs and study scrubs impregnated with an antimicrobial, or germ-killing, compound over the course of four months, washing them regularly. Participants also received identical hand hygiene educational sessions every four weeks, and researchers assessed compliance with hand hygiene practices.

Researchers conducted once weekly, unannounced, garment and hand cultures of participants at the start and end of each shift where they obtained two samples from the garment's abdominal area and cargo pant pocket two areas of high touch and high bacterial colonization.

According to Bearman, although the scrubs did not impact the degree of MRSA on the healthcare workers' hands, the antimicrobial scrubs were effective in reducing the burden of MRSA on healthcare worker apparel.

"It is critical for healthcare workers and patients to understand that the environmentincluding inanimate surfaces and apparel is not sterile, and is frequently a reservoir of drug resistant bacteria," said Bearman. "Meticulous hand hygiene at the point of patient care is critical for reducing the risk of a hospital acquired infection.

"If widespread antimicrobial scrub use were added to existing infection prevention strategies, a further decrease in hospital acquired infections may occur by limiting the cross transmission of pathogens via apparel. The actual impact of antimicrobial scrubs on hospital acquired infections needs further study," he said.

###

The scrubs tested in the study were manufactured by Vestagen Technical Textiles.

Bearman collaborated with VCU researchers Kakotan Sanogo, Michael P. Stevens, M.D., Curtis Sessler, M.D., Richard Wenzel, M.D., along with Adriana Rosato, Ph.D., Methodist Hospital Research Institute and Kara Elam, doctoral student, University of Mississippi.

To view the complete study, visit http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/664045.

About VCU and the VCU Medical Center: Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban public research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located on two downtown campuses in Richmond, VCU enrolls more than 31,000 students in 211 certificate and degree programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. Sixty-nine of the programs are unique in Virginia, many of them crossing the disciplines of VCU's 13 schools and one college. MCV Hospitals and the health sciences schools of Virginia Commonwealth University compose the VCU Medical Center, one of the nation's leading academic medical centers. For more, see http://www.vcu.edu.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 19-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Malorie Burkett
mgburkett@vcu.edu
804-827-0889
Virginia Commonwealth University

May also help decrease risk of MRSA transmission to patients

RICHMOND, Va. (Jan. 19, 2012) The use of antimicrobial impregnated scrubs combined with good hand hygiene is effective in reducing the burden of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) on healthcare workers' apparel and may potentially play a role in decreasing the risk of MRSA transmission to patients, according to a new study from Virginia Commonwealth University researchers.

Previous findings have shown that hospital textiles may contribute to the transmission of pathogens through indirect contact via the hands of hospital staff and that antimicrobial textiles may reduce the bioburden, or the number of bacteria living on a surface before sterilization in clinical settings.

Led by Gonzalo Bearman, M.D.,M.P.H., associate professor of internal medicine in the VCU School of Medicine and associate hospital epidemiologist at the VCU Medical Center, the study "A Crossover Trial of Antimicrobial Scrubs to Reduce Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Burden on Healthcare Worker Apparel," is currently available online and will appear in the March issue of the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the official publication of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

"We strive to study infection prevention interventions that are simple yet effective for the reduction of healthcare associated infections," said Bearman. "The goal is to affect change or implement risk reduction by methods that are both easily implemented and sustained."

In the study, 32 healthcare workers wore four pairs of identically appearing control scrubs and study scrubs impregnated with an antimicrobial, or germ-killing, compound over the course of four months, washing them regularly. Participants also received identical hand hygiene educational sessions every four weeks, and researchers assessed compliance with hand hygiene practices.

Researchers conducted once weekly, unannounced, garment and hand cultures of participants at the start and end of each shift where they obtained two samples from the garment's abdominal area and cargo pant pocket two areas of high touch and high bacterial colonization.

According to Bearman, although the scrubs did not impact the degree of MRSA on the healthcare workers' hands, the antimicrobial scrubs were effective in reducing the burden of MRSA on healthcare worker apparel.

"It is critical for healthcare workers and patients to understand that the environmentincluding inanimate surfaces and apparel is not sterile, and is frequently a reservoir of drug resistant bacteria," said Bearman. "Meticulous hand hygiene at the point of patient care is critical for reducing the risk of a hospital acquired infection.

"If widespread antimicrobial scrub use were added to existing infection prevention strategies, a further decrease in hospital acquired infections may occur by limiting the cross transmission of pathogens via apparel. The actual impact of antimicrobial scrubs on hospital acquired infections needs further study," he said.

###

The scrubs tested in the study were manufactured by Vestagen Technical Textiles.

Bearman collaborated with VCU researchers Kakotan Sanogo, Michael P. Stevens, M.D., Curtis Sessler, M.D., Richard Wenzel, M.D., along with Adriana Rosato, Ph.D., Methodist Hospital Research Institute and Kara Elam, doctoral student, University of Mississippi.

To view the complete study, visit http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/664045.

About VCU and the VCU Medical Center: Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban public research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located on two downtown campuses in Richmond, VCU enrolls more than 31,000 students in 211 certificate and degree programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. Sixty-nine of the programs are unique in Virginia, many of them crossing the disciplines of VCU's 13 schools and one college. MCV Hospitals and the health sciences schools of Virginia Commonwealth University compose the VCU Medical Center, one of the nation's leading academic medical centers. For more, see http://www.vcu.edu.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/vcu-vss011912.php

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Widespread snowstorm wallops Pacific Northwest (AP)

OLYMPIA, Wash. ? A winter storm that packed winds of 100 mph and dumped more than a foot of snow in the Pacific Northwest could soon give way to another threat: warmer weather and the potential for flooding.

On Wednesday, at least, some residents in Washington state's capital tried to find a way to enjoy the abundance of snow in a region not used to huge snowfalls.

"I love it," said teenager Emily Hansen, who had the day off from high school and spent the morning with her mother taking photos of the growing piles of snow outside the Capitol.

Her mother, however, was more measured, mindful of what the days ahead could bring. "A day or two it's fun, but after a while you start looking at accidents and slush and flooding," Pat Hansen said.

From Olympia to the Oregon coast, the storm closed schools, caused dozens of flight cancellations and clogged roads with snow and hundreds of accidents.

Olympia had nearly a foot of new snow on the ground by late morning. Nearly 11 inches was measured at the airport Wednesday. The record is 14.2 inches on Jan. 24, 1972.

Lewis County, south of Olympia, had the highest snowfall amounts, ranging from 12 to 17 inches.

"It's unusual to get this much snow for western Washington, especially in this amount," said Dennis D'Amico, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Seattle.

"A storm that that may drop upward of a foot on Olympia, that's pretty significant," he said. "Whether it's over 12 hours or six hours, it's still a lot of snow to deal with."

By mid-afternoon, only a light snow or freezing rain fell in the southern part of the state.

"The storm is gradually winding down," said Carl Cerniglia, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle. "What's been left behind is just a really light snow."

Thursday's forecast was for a mix of snow and rain, and the National Weather Service warned that urban and small stream flooding was possible Friday, when another storm was expected to hit the state.

Rain and temperatures in the 40s would start melting snow on the ground.

Also, forecasters warned that heavy rain combined with snow melt could lead to some river flooding, especially in the Chehalis River Basin, an area that has been hit by significant floods in recent years.

A flooding forecast issued by the weather service on Wednesday said that there was a lot of uncertainty "in how much snow water there is and how fast that snow will melt."

Officials in Lewis County said they didn't have yet have concerns about flooding in the Chehalis River, but were monitoring the amount of snow they receive.

Washington residents had plenty of warning as snow showers started over the weekend.

With the heavy snow in sight, Seattle and other school districts canceled classes in advance. Alaska Airlines announced late Tuesday that it canceled 38 flights into and out of Seattle and Portland, Ore.

Washington State University announced late Wednesday it was cancelling all classes Thursday at its Pullman campus in southeastern Washington as significant snowfall was expected overnight.

Many courts and government offices and libraries closed. Garbage collection was postponed. Several Seattle hotels reported all their rooms were booked. Elsewhere, shoppers stocked up on groceries.

Over a 24-hour period ending at 9 a.m. Wednesday, the Washington State Patrol responded to nearly 500 collisions on western Washington roads, spokesman Bob Calkins said.

"I saw a guy in my rear mirror," said State Trooper Guy Gill. "I saw headlights and taillights and headlights and taillights again as he spun around off the road."

In Oregon, high winds hammered parts of the coast and caused power outages to tens of thousands of customers, with reports of gusts of 110 mph and more. There were no immediate reports of serious damage.

At the Capitol in Washington state, it was business as usual.

Some state employees drove into work, but others walked in, and at least one employee was seen cross-country skiing to the campus. The 60-day legislative session began Jan. 9.

In Tacoma, which had about 7 inches of snow for the morning rush hour, a kilt-clad, barelegged Charles Hetrick frolicked with his dog in a park.

"I've worn nothing but kilts for the last six years, so I didn't even think about it when I put it on this morning," Hetrick said.

In Seattle, a fleet of 30 plows, de-icing trucks and graders were deployed to remove snow from main city streets. It had stopped snowing in Seattle Wednesday afternoon, but several inches of snow were still on the ground.

Hundreds of people careened down Queen Anne Hill, one of Seattle's steepest, on skis, sleds and laundry baskets ? narrowly missing cars that crossed the intersection at the bottom.

Jake Munson, an 18-year-old student at the Art Institute of Seattle, joined two friends in sliding down on an air mattress covered with a clear plastic bag.

"I've done the whole tubing thing, but I had more fun doing this," he said. "It's way faster and riskier. There's fear ? you don't want to run into a pole or something."

___

Associated Press writers Doug Esser and Gene Johnson in Seattle, Ted Warren in Tacoma, Wash., and Jonathan J. Cooper in Portland, Ore., contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_re_us/us_washington_snow

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Amelia Rivera, Girl With Disability, Allegedly Denied Kidney Transplant By Philadelphia Hospital (VIDEO)

Three-year-old Amelia Rivera suffers from a rare genetic disorder called Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, and she needs a kidney transplant to survive.

But her mother, Chrissy, says a doctor at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) refused to give her daughter the operation because Amelia was "mentally retarded."

Doctors have to weigh factors, such as life expectancy and health conditions, before placing anyone on organ waiting lists. But Rivera and her husband told NBC Philadelphia that they planned to find a donor for Amelia on their own and weren't requesting she be added to the waiting list.

However, according to Rivera, the doctor allegedly said he still would not perform the operation, even if the couple found their own donor.

Rivera took to a Wolf-Hirschhorn blog to write about the experience, a story that has sparked conversation among supporters and critics who've taken to blogs and social media to debate the hospital's controversial decision.

In her blog post, Rivera expressed outrage at the doctor's response to her concerns, writing:

So you mean to tell me that as a doctor, you are not recommending the transplant, and when her kidneys fail in six months to a year, you want me to let her die because she is mentally retarded? There is no other medical reason for her not to have this transplant other than she is MENTALLY RETARDED!

CHOP soon released a statement on its Facebook page addressing the Riveras' story. It reads:

We hear you.

We feel and understand your frustration, but we are unable to comment publicly on individual cases...

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia does not disqualify potential transplant candidates on the basis of intellectual abilities. We have transplanted many children with a wide range of disabilities, including physical and intellectual disabilities. We at CHOP are deeply committed to providing the best possible medical care to all children, including those with any form of disability.

HuffPost columnist and writer Lisa Belkin spoke with pediatrician and geneticist Dr. Kurt Hirschhorn, who was among the first to identify Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome in the 1960s.

Hirschhorn said that while the hospital was right not to place Amelia on a waiting list, he didn't see anything wrong with letting Amelia use a "living designated donor" who would understand that "Amelia's life would be prolonged, but not saved, by the transplant."

But author and Huffpost blogger Susan Senator, who has a son with autism, is less forgiving of the doctor's decision not to allow Amelia on the transplant waiting list. She writes:

Yes, that is the reality: to think of the greater good. And yet, it also feels a bit like Social Darwinism, or even eugenics. Why does a team of doctors get to decide that Amelia is less deserving than someone else? Are doctors always right? History is full of mistakes in the medical profession.

Amelia's story has prompted an outpouring of support, with parents organizing petitions to urge the hospital to allow the transplant, according to USA Today.

The petition had garnered just over 21,000 signatures as of Jan. 17.

On Monday, Rivera said the hospital contacted the family to talk about the operation, according to CBS Philadelphia.

For more on the story, watch the video report by NBC Philadelphia included below.

WATCH:

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/17/amelia-rivera-disability-kidney-transplant_n_1210714.html

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Financials, Europe debt auctions lift Wall Street (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? U.S. stocks rose early Thursday, putting the S&P on track for its third straight advance after Bank of America and Morgan Stanley earnings lifted financials and strong demand at European bond auctions eased euro zone debt concerns.

Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) climbed 4.4 percent to $7.10 as the top boost to the benchmark S&P. The bank reported a fourth-quarter profit, reversing a year-earlier loss, boosted by one-time items and lower expenses for bad loans.

Fellow financial Morgan Stanley (MS.N) jumped 4.6 percent to $18.15 after the Wall Street bank posted a quarterly loss but still managed to top analysts' expectations.

"It's the reaction to Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, to their earnings reports. People were expecting absolute disaster, it wasn't an absolute disaster and people looked at those numbers and walked away thinking both those companies wouldn't need to raise more capital," said Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.

Financial shares have rallied since the start of the year. The S&P financial index (.GSPF) is up 8 percent for 2012, helping to push the S&P 500 up more than 4 percent. The financial index was up 0.8 percent for the session.

But gains were muted as investors showed some cautiousness after a rally that has sent the S&P 500 to levels not seen since late July.

"We are due for at least some consolidation. We had a pretty good rally here and we broke out above the old October high so it's only natural that we get some backing and filling here," said Massocca.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) rose 28.91 points, or 0.23 percent, at 12,607.86. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) was up 5.33 points, or 0.41 percent, at 1,313.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) put on 18.74 points, or 0.68 percent, at 2,788.45.

In a sign that investor nervousness over the euro zone's debt crisis was easing, Spain and France both drew strong demand at government debt auctions.

The Nasdaq got a boost from eBay Inc (EBAY.O), which reported better-than-expected results after the close on Wednesday. The stock was up 4.8 percent to $31.80.

Transportation stocks moved higher after Union Pacific Corp (UNP.N) reported higher quarterly profit and revenue that beat estimates. Union Pacific was up 3.8 percent to $114.02, while the Dow Jones Transportation Average (.DJT) gained 1.4 percent.

New data generally supported the view the U.S. economy continued to improve at a moderate pace. Weekly jobless claims dropped to a near four-year low, consumer prices showed inflation remained in check, while factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region edged up, but less than expected.

However, housing starts dipped, suggesting the sector was still a ways from strengthening.

After the close, quarterly reports are due from technology bellwethers Google Inc (GOOG.O), International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N), Intel Corp (INTC.O) as well as Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O).

(Reporting By Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120119/bs_nm/us_markets_stocks

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Britney Spears, Jason Trawick Wedding: Details Revealed!

Detail number one: there will be lap dancing. Lots and lots of lap dancing.

Jason Trawick popped the question to Britney Spears just before Christmas, kicking off that whole slew of celebrity holiday engagements. And now, we have some details on the impending wedding.

"It's going to be a very intimate wedding with only immediate family and very, very close friends," a source told RadarOnline.com. "It will probably be a destination wedding in a very warm, tropical location."

And apparently, Britney wants everything to be as simple as possible. The source continued:

"There is absolutely no drama with the planning of the wedding and Britney will probably wear an off-white dress that will show off her killer bod."

When I hear quotes like this, mentally I squint and think, "okay, who is this?"

"Britney's sons are absolutely going to be a part of the ceremony as ring bearers, and Jason has something very special planned for the boys that will take place during the wedding," the source said.

Meanwhile, one of Spears' ex-handlers wants to write a tell-all book about the singer, namely it's about "orgies and hot tub sessions." Fernando Flores, the same dude who filed a lawsuit against Spears for sexual harassment, is now saying:

"Her tours were an anything goes environment. I heard stories of threesomes, orgies, girls making out - things that would make your hair stand on end."

Dude, we've all seen Jersey Shore. I'm pretty sure were completely desensitized to any kind of wild sex acts that could've gone on during a Britney Spears concert.

"I was in her bathroom and saw this picture of her in a tub with some girls. It was very sexual. She told me, 'That was on tour and s**t got crazy.' I asked what she meant and she said they all got it on. Her and the girls."

Big deal. Deena went down on Snooki after making out in front of everyone. Try again, buddy.

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Source: http://feeds.revnewmedia.com/~r/hollyscoop/news/~3/Gy0Qm141KDI/britney-spears--jason-trawick-wedding-details-revealed.html

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'Star Trek 2' Production Begins: Our Hopes, Dream And Fears

After script delays and even more casting rumors, we are finally on the road to a second trip to the final frontier: the long-awaited follow-up to J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" reboot has officially started production.
With still so much longer to go until May 17, 2013, there is an endless list of details we don't know [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/01/17/star-trek-2-begins-production/

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Romney rivals fight for South Carolina coast

Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks to members of the media after a GOP forum at Byrnes High School, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, in Duncan, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks to members of the media after a GOP forum at Byrnes High School, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, in Duncan, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum meets with audience members at a GOP forum at Byrnes High School, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, in Duncan, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Between the sand sculpted faces of Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry, Team Sandtastic's Patrick Harsch steps back to look at Mt. Myrtle as it takes shape with the Republican presidential candidates' faces and parts of their torsos nearly complete Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.. (AP Photo/The Sun News, Janet Blackmon Morgan)

Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry waits to be introduced at a campaign stop Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, campaigns with, from left to right: former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in Hilton Head, S.C., Friday, Jan. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ? Call it the fight for the coast.

Mitt Romney's presidential challengers were to campaign up and down the South Carolina shoreline on Sunday as they worked to stymie the GOP front-runner one week before this state's pivotal GOP primary. The former Massachusetts governor was taking a rare day off the campaign trail ahead of a jam-packed week that includes a pair of debates ? one in Myrtle Beach on Monday and another in Charleston on Thursday.

The South Carolina coast is a heavily populated area that's home to many veterans, active military personnel, moderates and fiscal conservatives whose support Romney and his rivals are counting on as they work to cobble together the diverse voting coalition needed to win the state on Jan. 21.

Florida votes just 10 days later, putting pressure on Romney's opponents to dramatically shift the trajectory of the race over the next week.

Three of Romney's challengers ? former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry ? were appearing on national Sunday morning talk shows before making the rounds of churches and prayer breakfasts. The state has a large segment of church-goers and candidates are trying to woo evangelicals who make up a significant number of GOP primary voters.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman also was attending religious services, while another contender ? Texas Rep. Ron Paul ? was returning to the campaign trail for the first time since Wednesday. He has spent several days at home in Texas after his second-place finish in the New Hampshire primary last week. He was set to unveil what his campaign said was a big endorsement.

A week before the primary, polls show Romney leading as he works to capitalize on back-to-back victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states to hold contests in the march to the GOP nomination.

The stakes are high in South Carolina, a state that historically has voted for the Republican candidate who eventually won the party's nomination.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-15-GOP%20Campaign/id-74cc5a6a43c142948ba5d257d4ce0d75

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More snow in store for Midwest, Northeast

Much of the country is in a deep freeze after unseasonably warm weather. The Weather Channel's Mike Seidel reports.

By Jonathan Erdman, weather.com

As we kick off a new week, we may have a sense of deja vu from the Upper Midwest to northern New England.

"We're beginning to see the pattern across the northern United States become a bit more active now," says Tom Niziol, Winter Weather Expert for The Weather Channel. "There's a combination of more storm tracks going across the northern U.S. and Great Lakes and cold air being pulled down from Canada. That combination spells the return of winter."

---

Niziol has been tracking winter weather, and lake effect snow in particular, for decades. He was formerly the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in Buffalo.

So, let's lay out what we know about this next wintry threat.

Monday, the system will just be in its "organizing stages".

Light rain and drizzle will spread northward from the Lower Mississippi Valley into the Ohio Valley. By afternoon and evening, light rain (mainly south) or snow (north) will spread into the interior Northeast.

Meanwhile, light snow may swing out of the Rockies Monday into the Plains and Upper Midwest by Monday night.

Tuesday, it gets a bit more interesting.

Low pressure then tracks into the Great Lakes. With cold air in place, we expect a swath of accumulating snow in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes into northern New England and Upstate New York. Sound familiar?

5-Day Forecasts: Chicago | Milwaukee | Burlington, Vt. | Your location

At this time, here is the latest thinking on rough snowfall accumulation potential:

6"+ potential	Lake Ontario snowbelt to northern Vt., northern N.H., northwest Maine
2-4"	Lake Erie snowbelt, Mohawk Valley of N.Y., central/northeast Maine
1-2"	western Great Lakes

Strong winds may lead to reduced visibility and blowing snow by Wednesday morning in northern New England, creating difficult driving conditions.

For the I-95 urban corridor, you may see some wet snowflakes fall Monday night, but by Tuesday, that should change to rain. Only spotty slushy accumulations over a trace are possible in southern New England. Some light freezing drizzle or freezing rain may fall for a period of time in valley locations from northeast Pennsylvania to western Massachusetts, as well.

5-Day Forecasts: Boston | Hartford | New York | Your location

One other concern may be another "flash freeze" event in parts of the Ohio Valley, then interior Northeast Tuesday into early Wednesday, whereby wet pavement from earlier rain freezes after the Arctic cold front sweeps through. You can see this potential by comparing the Tuesday forecast highs to the Wednesday forecast lows below.

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/15/10160837-more-snow-and-rain-in-store-for-midwest-northeast

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UN chief says Syrian president must stop violence

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, right, speaks during the opening session of a conference on democracy in the Arab world, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday Jan. 15, 2012. Ban demanded Sunday that Syria's president stop killing his own people, and said the "old order" of one-man rule and family dynasties is over in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, right, speaks during the opening session of a conference on democracy in the Arab world, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday Jan. 15, 2012. Ban demanded Sunday that Syria's president stop killing his own people, and said the "old order" of one-man rule and family dynasties is over in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, left, and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati attend the opening session of a conference on democracy in the Arab world, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday Jan. 15, 2012. Ban demanded Sunday that Syria's president stop killing his own people, and said the "old order" of one-man rule and family dynasties is over in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

This image from amateur video made available by Shaam News Network on Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, purports to show a rally in support of the Free Syrian Army in Daraa, Syria.(AP Photo/Shaam News Network via APTN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL. TV OUT

This image from amateur video made available by Shaam News Network on Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, purports to show a rally in support of the Free Syrian Army in Hama, Syria. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via APTN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL. TV OUT

BEIRUT (AP) ? The U.N. chief demanded Sunday that Syria's president stop killing his own people and said the "old order" of one-man rule and family dynasties is over in the Middle East on a day when activists said 27 people died.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, delivering the keynote address at a conference in Beirut on democracy in the Arab world, said the revolutions of the Arab Spring show people will no longer accept tyranny.

"Today, I say again to President (Bashar) Assad of Syria: Stop the violence. Stop killing your people," Ban said.

Ban has been highly critical of the Assad government's deadly crackdown on civilian protesters since the killings began ? unlike the U.N. Security Council. That body is deeply divided. The U.S. and European nations demand strong condemnation and possible sanctions against Assad, but Russia and China are opposed.

Ban's speech Sunday was his toughest against the continued survival of authoritarian regimes in the face of the growing international clamor for democracy.

Thousands of people have been killed in the government's crackdown on a 10-month-old uprising, which has turned increasingly militarized in recent months with a growing risk of civil war.

Syria agreed last month to an Arab League plan that calls for a halt to the crackdown, the withdrawal of heavy weaponry, such as tanks, from cities, the release of all political prisoners, and allowing foreign journalists and human rights workers in. About 200 Arab League observers are working in Syria to verify whether the government is abiding by its agreement to end the military crackdown on dissent.

Observers visited the coastal city of Banias and the restive town of Maaret al-Numan in northern Syria Sunday, where they were met with thousands of anti-Assad protesters chanting for his downfall.

Amateur video posted by activists on the Internet showed the monitors watching and filming from a balcony as a large protest unfolded on the streets below. "Victory for our revolution!" the protesters shouted.

The monitors also visited the Damascus suburb of Zabadani, which activists say has come under an intense crackdown in the past few days.

"The authorities pulled out tanks and stopped firing just before the observers arrived," said one activist in Zabadani, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals. "But they saw with their own eyes the destruction and fear," he said, adding people took to the streets in huge protests while the monitors were there.

The presence of the observers has not put a stop to bloodshed and the U.S. and many in the Syrian opposition say killings have accelerated. The U.N. says about 400 people have been killed in the last three weeks alone, on top of an earlier estimate of more than 5,000 killed since March.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syria's state-run news agency SANA reported Sunday that at least five factory workers were killed when a roadside bomb detonated near the bus they were traveling in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in northern Syria.

The Observatory said 16 other people died in Syria Sunday, 11 of them in the restive central city of Homs.

The Local Coordination Committees activist network said 27 people were killed Sunday. The differing numbers could not be immediately reconciled.

Syria bans most foreign correspondents and limits movement.

"The killings still continue and still there are people arrested," said Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby in Bahrain. He said there will be a meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the end of the week in Cairo to decide on the next steps.

Syria's state news agency reported that Assad granted a general amnesty for "crimes" committed during the uprising and officials said authorities have begun granting local and foreign media outlets approvals to work in Syria. It was not clear how many prisoners would be released.

Information Minister Adnan Mahmoud said the level of "incitement and distortion of facts" has doubled since some reporters were allowed in along with the Arab League observers who started work late last month.

Ban acknowledged challenges facing Arab states in the wake of the uprisings sweeping the Arab world, in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria.

"It is sometimes said that authoritarian regimes, whatever else their faults, at least kept a lid on sectarian conflict. This is a cruel canard," Ban said in Beirut. "Yet it would be equally mistaken to assume that all of the new regimes now emerging will automatically uphold universal human rights," he said.

"Democracy is not easy," he added. "It takes time and effort to build. It does not come into being with one or two elections. Yet there is no going back."

He encouraged Arab countries to usher in real reforms and dialogue, and to respect the role of women and youth.

"The old way, the old order, is crumbling," Ban said. "One-man rule and the perpetuation of family dynasties, monopolies of wealth and power, the silencing of the media, the deprivation of fundamental freedoms that are the birthright of every man, woman and child on this planet ? to all of this, the people say: Enough!"

The U.N. chief also urged an end to Israeli occupation of Arab and Palestinian territories.

"Settlements, new and old, are illegal. They work against the emergence of a viable Palestinian state."

The foreign minister of Tunisia, which became the first Arab country to oust a dictator through a peaceful revolution one year ago, said there is no escape from the process of democratization and freedoms in the Arab world.

"My message (to the Syrian regime) is to hear and to listen to the will of the people," Rafik Abdessalem told APTN in an interview in Beirut Sunday.

On Saturday, the leader of Qatar was quoted as saying that Arab troops should be sent to Syria to stop a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests. Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani's comments to CBS' "60 Minutes," which will be aired Sunday, are the first statements by an Arab leader calling for the deployment of troops inside Syria.

Excerpts of the interview were sent to The Associated Press by CBS on Saturday.

Qatar, which once had close relations with Damascus, has been a harsh critic of the crackdown by Assad's regime. The wealthy and influential Gulf state withdrew its ambassador to Syria in the summer.

___

Reem Khalifa In Manama, Bahrain and Edith M. Lederer at the U.N. contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-15-ML-Syria/id-2d49c863a50848ed938a9ba7c5af2e0b

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Speeds top 200 mph at Daytona test session

Cars led by Trevor Bayne (21) work on running in a pack on the track during NASCAR auto racing testing at the Daytona International Speedway, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Cars led by Trevor Bayne (21) work on running in a pack on the track during NASCAR auto racing testing at the Daytona International Speedway, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Jimmie Johnson removes his gloves after driving on the track during NASCAR auto racing testing at the Daytona International Speedway, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Danica Patrick leaves her garage after a session of NASCAR auto racing testing at the Daytona International Speedway, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. waves to fans on a deck above the garages during NASCAR auto racing testing at the Daytona International Speedway, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Tony Stewart waits in his car as his crew makes adjustments in the garage during NASCAR auto racing testing at the Daytona International Speedway, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) ? NASCAR is making gains toward breaking up the two-car tandem racing that has taken over at Daytona and Talladega, but the fix sent speeds soaring over 200 mph Friday in a test session.

Kurt Busch posted the fastest lap of the day at 206.058 mph, but was being pushed around Daytona International Speedway in a two-car tandem by Regan Smith. Kyle Busch was clocked at 205.813 while pack racing.

NASCAR has traditionally shied away from the 200 mph mark, and four-time series champion Jeff Gordon said he approached series officials about the speeds because he was certain the cars would be slowed. He said he was surprised when NASCAR indicated it was comfortable over 200 mph.

"It's embedded in our minds we can't go out there over 200 mph in race conditions," he said. "Somehow it's become accepted and I think that's a good thing. It's very comfortable. It's extremely comfortable."

But it's unclear what the racing will actually look like when the season opens with the Daytona 500 ? NASCAR's version of the Super Bowl ? on Feb. 26.

Fans are clear that they want pack racing at Daytona and Talladega, NASCAR's two biggest and fastest tracks. Drivers figured out about three years ago that hooking up in two-car tandems was the fastest way around the track, and the style evolved so quickly, NASCAR couldn't stop it.

The end result was a two-car hookup in which the trailing driver was pushing the lead car around the track. Only one spotter worked for both cars, as the pushing driver was unable to see anything ahead. Overheating issues forced the cars to swap positions every few laps, and that maneuver added an element of danger because separating slowed the two cars dramatically.

NASCAR Chairman Brian France vowed to move away from the two-car tandems in November, and a series of aerodynamic rules changes have done just that.

NASCAR also banned driver-to-driver communications over their scanners.

It's all part of a continuous process, that could go all the way up to race day. NASCAR has changed specifications during each of the first two days of testing, and officials summoned the drivers to a Friday meeting during the lunch break to strongly urge them to pack race during the afternoon session. Based on the data gleaned from the two drafting sessions, NASCAR made yet another series of technical changes that will be applied Saturday in the final day of testing.

Last year, NASCAR made changes during actual Speedweeks in an effort to break up the tandems. More changes were made before the other three restrictor-plate races on the schedule, too.

Earlier Friday, NASCAR President Mike Helton indicated speeds will likely be much different when teams return for the Daytona 500.

"(Speed) is one of those things that we have to kind of monitor," Helton said. "It is a test, so we may be a little bit more lenient at a test than we would be on race weekend. But we'll see how everything settles out and what kind of rules package we come back with ... 204 is OK for a test. It's OK for now.

"But we'll have to take back everything we learn and then make a decision after that."

But Sprint Cup Series director John Darby said after the drafting sessions that the final product will likely be right around the 200 mph mark.

"We'll still be over 200 mph. We'd like to stay as close to that mark as we can," said Darby, adding that NASCAR's confidence of keeping cars from going airborne at those speed has improved through wind tunnel testing.

"If we were to put a target mark, it would be right around 200, which the drivers like, the excitement level of 200 mph is always present for the fans."

The drivers seemed comfortable over 200 mph, and most were thankful to run in packs again. Gordon said it was "just reminds me of the good 'ol days."

But, most of the drivers admitted the two-car tandem will never go away completely.

"Everybody was really having a good time, and trying to get everything they could out of it before we went back to pushing around each other," said Dale Earnhardt Jr., who pushed teammate Jimmie Johnson to a win at Talladega last year.

"Maybe, just maybe, you don't have to be in a two-car tandem to stay with the lead pack. The two-car tandem is probably the preferred way to go as far as speed. But maybe you don't have to do it for 500 miles. Maybe you can just kind of save your car, save the tail and the nose of your car and yourself.

"That might be the way to go just to get through the race, and be there at the end. But that tandem stuff is what is going to win the race."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-13-CAR-NASCAR-Daytona%20Testing/id-ea3b9093c37a4214a70cdec03d95ddeb

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Obama takes on big government: `It has to change' (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Seeking more power to shrink the government, President Barack Obama on Friday suggested smashing six economic agencies into one, an election-year idea intended to halt bureaucratic nightmares and force Republicans to back him on one of their own favorite issues.

"The government we have is not the government we need," Obama told business owners he'd gathered at the White House.

Sounding like a manager of a disorganized company, and looking like one by pointing to slides as he spoke, Obama asked Congress to give him a kind of reorganization power no president has had since Ronald Reagan. It would guarantee Obama a vote, within 90 days, on any idea he offers to consolidate agencies, provided it saves money and cuts the government.

His first target: Merging six major trade and commerce agencies into a one-stop-shopping department for American businesses. The Commerce Department would be among those that would seek to exist.

Congress would keep the final say, but Obama would have a stronger hand to skip much of the outside lobbying and fighting and get right to a vote.

Attacking senseless duplication across the executive branch he runs, Obama said: "Why is it OK for our government? It's not. It has to change."

Politically, Obama is seeking advantage on the turf often owned by Republicans: Smaller government. He is attempting to directly counter Republican arguments that he has presided over the kind of regulation, spending and debt that can undermine the economy ? a dominant theme of this year's debate and one often cited by his potential re-election rival, Republican Mitt Romney.

Obama put himself on the side of business people who deal with the government as part of their daily life and are exasperated by a maze of agencies, permits and Web sites.

"We can do this better," he told them. "So much of the argument out there all the time is up in 40,000 feet, these abstract arguments about who's conservative or who's liberal. ...You guys are just trying to figure out, how do we make things work? How do we apply common sense? And that's what this is about."

In making his case, the president sought to target the design of the bureaucracy as the problem, not the employees who serve it.

Congressional reaction seemed generally favorable, but cautious.

Republicans skeptically pointed to Obama's past promises as the size of the nation's debt keeps growing.

"It's not often that we see real proposals from this administration to make government smaller," said Rep. Fred Upton, the Michigan Republican who is chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "I look forward to reviewing the proposal, and hope that it will be the first of many to unravel the red tape."

Indeed, Obama promised more plans to shrink things if given more power, citing inefficiencies all across the government.

Obama had an imperative to deliver. He made the promise to come up with a smart reorganization of the government in his State of the Union speech last January.

He made some waves at the time by pointing out the absurdity of government inefficiency, noting fresh water and saltwater salmon were regulated by different agencies.

The White House said the problem is serious for consumers who turn to their government for help and often do not know where to begin.

Not in decades has the government undergone a sustained reorganization of itself. Presidents have tried from time to time, but each part of the bureaucracy has its own defenders inside and outside the government, which can make merger ideas politically impossible. That's particularly true because "efficiency" is often another way of saying people will lose their jobs.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she hoped Congress would quickly approve Obama's proposal, which she said tracked with worries Democrats have been hearing from small business owners. Many lawmakers of both parties expressed support in principle but wariness about how programs and the prerogatives of Congress may be affected.

Beyond the politics, the merger Obama offered would have big implications for trade and commerce in America.

Presidents held a fast-track reorganizational authority for about 50 years until it ran out during Reagan's presidency in 1984, the White House argued.

Obama wants to merge: the Commerce Department's core business and trade functions; the Small Business Administration; the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; the Export-Import Bank; the Overseas Private Investment Corporation; and the Trade and Development Agency.

The White House says 1,000 to 2,000 jobs would be cut, but the administration would do so through attrition. The administration says the consolidation would save $3 billion over 10 years by getting rid of duplicative overhead and programs, although it has yet to spell out any plan in detail.

Obama's announcement treads on ground that Romney, the Republican front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, frequently stakes out on the campaign trail. Romney often says he would try to shrink government by eliminating offices that duplicate functions performed somewhere else, citing as examples more than 80 different workforce training programs.

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said streamlining government was always a potentially good idea but expressed suspicion about whether the plan by Obama would really help business. Don Stewart, spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, pledged Obama's plan would get a careful review.

But he added: "It's interesting to see the president finally acknowledge that Washington is out of control."

__

Associated Press writers Kasie Hunt, Alan Fram, Erica Werner and Ken Thomas contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120113/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_trimming_government

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Beijing Apple store egged after new iPhone delayed (AP)

BEIJING ? Angry customers and gangs of scalpers threw eggs at Apple Inc.'s Beijing store Friday after the iPhone 4S launch there was canceled due to concerns over the crowd's size.

Apple reacted to the outburst by postponing iPhone 4S sales in its mainland China stores to protect customers and employees. The phone still will be sold online and through its local carrier.

The incident highlighted Apple's huge popularity in China and the role of middlemen who buy up limited supplies of iPhones and other products or smuggle them from abroad for resale to Chinese gadget fans at a big markup.

Hundreds of customers including migrant workers hired by scalpers in teams of 20 to 30 waited overnight in freezing weather at the Apple store in a shopping mall in Beijing's east side Sanlitun district.

The crowd erupted after the store failed to open on schedule at 7 a.m. Some threw eggs and shouted at employees through the windows.

A person with a megaphone announced the sale was canceled. Police ordered the crowd to leave and sealed off the area with yellow tape. Employees posted a sign saying the iPhone 4S was out of stock.

"We were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd, and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, iPhone will not be available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being," said Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu.

The iPhone 4S quickly sold out at other Apple stores in China, Wu said. She said the phone still will be sold in China through Apple's online store, its local carrier China Unicom Ltd. and authorized resellers.

Wu declined to comment on what Apple might know about scalpers buying iPhones for resale.

China is Apple's fastest-growing market and "an area of enormous opportunity," CEO Tim Cook said in October. He said quarterly sales were up nearly four times over a year earlier and accounted for one-sixth of Apple's global sales.

Apple's China stores are routinely mobbed for the release of new products.

The company has its own stores only in Beijing and Shanghai, with a handful of authorized retailers in other cities, so middlemen who buy iPhones and resell them in other areas can make big profits, said Wang Ying, who follows the mobile phone market for Analysys International, a research firm in Beijing.

"Apple is making a lot of money, so it is not too concerned about the scalpers," Wang said.

Wang and other industry analysts said the size of the underground trade and price markups are unclear.

In Shanghai, stores limited iPhone 4S sales to two per customer. Several hundred people were waiting when the stores opened, bundled up against the cold. Some passed the time playing mahjong.

Buyers included 500 older people from neighboring Jiangsu province who were hired by the boss of a mobile phone market, the newspaper Oriental Morning Post said. They arrived aboard an 11-bus convoy and were paid 150 yuan ($15) each.

Online bulletin boards were filled with comments about Friday's buying frenzy, many complaining about or ridiculing the scalpers.

An Apple contractor manufactures iPhones in China, but new models are released in other countries first. That has fueled a thriving "gray market" in China for phones smuggled in from Hong Kong and other markets.

Last May, the Sanlitun store was closed for several hours after a scuffle between an employee and a customer during the release of the iPhone 4, the previous model in the series.

Customers began gathering Thursday afternoon outside the Sanlitun store. People in the crowd said the number grew to as many as 2,000 overnight but many left when word spread the store would not open. About 350 people remained when the protest erupted after 7 a.m.

"On the one hand there is poor organization and on the other there were just too many people," said a man outside the Sanlitun store Friday, who would give only his surname, Miao. "I don't think they prepared well enough."

Another man who refused to give his name said he was a migrant laborer who was paid 100 yuan ($15) to wait in line overnight.

Others in the crowd said scalpers had organized groups of 20 to 30 migrant workers to buy phones or hold places in line. Organizers held colored balloons aloft to identify themselves to their workers.

Others said they were waiting to buy the phone for themselves.

"I just like the 4S," said Zhu Xiaodong, a Beijing resident. He said he was upgrading from the previous iPhone 4 model.

Sales in China began three months after the iPhone 4S had its global debut Oct. 14 in the United States and six other countries.

The delay between the release of Apple products in the United States and in China has yet to affect its reputation with Chinese customers, said Ted Dean, managing director of BDA China Ltd., a research firm in Beijing.

For other products, such a delay "sort of gives the impression here that you're not giving the Chinese consumer a fair shake," Dean said. "But demand and that `cool factor' is so huge for Apple products that you don't hear that about them."

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Associated Press writer David Wivell, researchers Zhao Liang and Yu Bing, all in Beijing, and AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach in Shanghai contributed to this report.

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Online:

Apple Inc.: http:://http://www.apple.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120113/ap_on_hi_te/as_china_apple

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