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Thursday, February 28, 2013
Invisible Motion Captured in Video by Scientists
Green Home, Green Business ? Perfect Home Improvement Tips ...
TIP! While wood fireplaces can keep your house toasty warm, consider other heating sources first. Besides any consideration of the looks (and smells) of such a fireplace, you need to know that it is never that efficient.
When you don?t have a good knowledge base, home-improvement projects can prove difficult to complete. If you do not know exactly where to start on your project, take a look at these tips and see if you can find the assistance you need to get them done right.
TIP! Upgrade your windows! Revamp the windows! Make use of double glazed windows. These are not cheap but can add a great deal of value to your home and save you money.
Try adding a pergola to your home if you think the exterior looks bland. The beloved garden structure adds shade, visual interest and a sense of peacefulness. A bit of help from friends and a pergola kit can make it easy to install your pergola in as little as a weekend.
TIP! Hurricane socks are a sensible investment if your home is located in a region that?s at risk for hurricanes or other potential flooding dangers. They are designed to soak up as much as one gallon of water each.
Utilize wallpaper to make an attractive bookcase. Choose a design that is unusual and interesting. Place the wallpaper behind your bookcase, then you will see the design as you stack books. This will improve the appearance of the bookcase and add a unique focal point to whatever room it is in.
TIP! If you can afford it, go for hard wood floors and stay away from laminate. Although laminate looks like the real thing, you can refinish it.
When installing cabinets, lots of home builders keep construction costs down by installing just cabinets with no attached hardware. Thankfully, you can easily purchase cabinet handles, knobs and drawer pulls online or at a local hardware store. If you want something that you can install in only a few minutes, you can select modern knobs, designer-made accents, and pulls with a vintage look.
TIP! It?s a good idea to have an outlet put in the cabinets above where your microwave will go. This will allow you to plug your microwave in without having to see the cord.
Never allow a contractor to push the limits of your budget by offering expedited time frames. They usually have legit reasons for wanting to finish quicker. They might hurry the workers so they get to their next assignment. On the other hand, they may stay late and charge you overtime unnecessarily.
TIP! An old toothbrush is as good a tool as any for cleaning jobs. They are great for cleaning grout and any area that has crevices.
You?ll know what?s coming during your projects if you take these tips into consideration. Concurrently, you might also discover that these tips provide you with the information you need to determine whether to do the project yourself or get a pro to help.
Source: http://greenhomegreenbusinessplanet.com/perfect-home-improvement-tips-tricks-and-treats/
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MintLife Blog | Personal Finance News & Advice | Are You in the 45 ...
Yes, that ?minimum payment due? box on your credit card statement looks so enticing. Pay a small amount, and you?re off the hook ? for a month, anyway.
But as the nearly 45% of Americans who carry a balance every month know, that rotating charge usually comes back to bite you. According to the credit-card comparison site CreditCards.com, a cardholder who owes $16,000 (the average amount of debt per household) will end up shelling out an additional $11,000 in total interest by paying only the minimum each month.
Credit card companies prefer you maintain a balance on your cards, of course, because they make their money charging you fees and interest. The higher your card?s interest rate, the more income your card balance generates.
Negative Effects of Debt
However, credit card issuers don?t intend for you to use your entire credit limit. If you do start charging high enough to reach that amount, you?ll kick off a bad chain reaction of events, including:
A drop in your credit score. Thirty percent of your credit score is based on how much of your available credit you?re using. This ratio of credit card balances to credit limits is known as your credit utilization, so the higher that ratio is ? meaning the closer you are to your credit limit ? the more your credit score takes a hit. Maxing out one credit card is bad for your credit score, maxing out all of them is a disaster.
Lenders won?t like you. Whether you apply for a car loan or a mortgage, the lender wants to see how much of your available credit you?re using. If your credit card balances are too high, banks assume you have more debt than you can handle, and will put a big ?denied? stamp on your application.
The risk of going over your credit limit. Even if you think you?re safely below your credit limit, you could still end up going over once finance charges are applied to your balance. If your balance does exceed the magic number, it can be difficult to go back because you?ll be charged an over-limit fee each month your balance is over the line.
Triggering the default rate. Credit card companies have the right to raise your card interest rate if you default on your credit card terms by maxing out your credit card. The default rate is the highest interest your card company can charge and, it?s typically a minimum of 30%.
A balance you may never be able to repay. A maxed-out credit card, with a default rate on top of that, could take years to pay, especially if you only pay the minimum. Even though you want to pay the balance in full, parting with that much cash may be hard to do by the time the payment due date rolls around.
So that those horrific events don?t happen to you, it?s wise to keep a low to no balance on your credit card. Having a balance below 10% of your credit limit won?t wreak havoc on your credit score, and it?s acceptable to lenders.
Debt Elimination Plan
And, of course, making monthly payments above the minimum is important; according to credit-scoring agency FICO, your payment history counts for 35 percent of your credit score.
Ultimately, you want to be one of the 54 percent of Americans who pay off their credit cards every month. But until then, ridding yourself of your current balance should be your top financial priority.
?You need an action plan to help you work at reducing?and eventually eliminating what you owe,? says Gail Cunningham, a spokesperson for the nonprofit National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
Here?s how to put that pay-down plan into place:
Target just one card first.
If you?re carrying balances on multiple cards, it?s a long slog to wipe out all those debts. But there are three methods you can choose from to do so.
To give yourself a boost of instant gratification, put as much money as you can toward the card with the lowest balance first. Do this even if you need to pay only the minimum on your other cards in the meantime.
If you want to boost your credit score, then tackle the card with the highest utilization rate (figure that out by dividing your credit card balance by the card?s limit). Bringing the utilization rate down just 20% could significantly increase your score.
Or, if you want to pay less in interest overall, then pay off the card with the highest interest rate first.
Cancel your credit cards ? but not all at once.
Each time you close a credit card account, it temporarily lowers your credit score, so avoid canceling more than one card in a nine-month period. The longer your credit accounts have been open, the higher your credit score.
But, ultimately, having the highest available credit line with the fewest number of cards is the best position to be in.
Transfer your balance ?? cautiously.
It?s tempting to move a balance from a card with a high interest rate to a card with a much lower one because you can end up saving hundreds of dollars a year.
However, you should only transfer a balance if you?re committed to paying off the debt within the introductory low -rate window, typically 12 to 18 months, and to making monthly payments on time. Otherwise, your rate could skyrocket, possibly ending up higher than the one you just got rid of.
Try not to make any new purchases with the card ? the low interest rate often doesn?t apply to them. Also, know that you may be charged a balance-transfer fee, which is usually about 3% to 4% of the total amount you transfer over.
If you must make minimum payments, do it twice a month.
Card issuers typically charge interest on a daily basis, so the sooner you make a payment, the faster your average daily balance is reduced ? and that translates into less interest that you?ll ultimately pay.
If you?re on a tight budget, go ahead and pay the minimum due each month, but try to make the same payment again two weeks later. Keep putting that twice-monthly minimum payment on your To-Do list until your debt is paid off.
To put it in perspective, say you charged $2,000 on a card with a 17% interest rate. If you make only the minimum monthly payment, which is about 2% of the balance, it will take more than 21 years to pay it off. But if you make an additional payment two weeks later, you?ll be debt-free in less than three years.
Quite a difference, right?
The Bottom Line
Because maintaining a positive payment history is critical to a high credit score, pay off your cards monthly. Keeping that balance down to a big fat zero translates into a glowing credit report.
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OMG! Kristen Bell Bares Her Huge Baby Belly!
Kristen Bell shows off her huge baby belly! Check out more pics of your favorite stars on the scene
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Knicks overcome Curry's 54 to beat Warriors
NEW YORK (AP) ? Stephen Curry rose for another jumper, and by then even the Knicks probably figured it would go in.
Curry had hardly missed in a scintillating second half of the NBA's most electric performance this season, the crowd cheering even before the ball left his hands.
This time, Raymond Felton jumped with him, making the play New York needed to finally withstand Curry.
Felton's blocked shot led to J.R. Smith's tiebreaking basket with 1:10 left, and the Knicks overcame Curry's NBA season-high 54 points to beat the Golden State Warriors 109-105 on Wednesday night.
Curry was 18 of 28 from the field, finishing one shy of the NBA record with 11 3-pointers in 13 attempts, in a performance that had the crowd hanging on his every shot. But the Knicks and Felton finally stopped him with 1:28 to play and the score tied at 105.
"My main thing is to keep playing. Like I said, once a guy gets it going like that, there's nothing I can really do. I've still got to stay in my mindset, still play my game, and I was still able to come up with some big plays at the end," Felton said. "We all came up with some big plays to get that win."
Carmelo Anthony followed Smith's basket with another one and the Knicks hung on to spoil former Knicks star and Warriors coach Mark Jackson's homecoming.
Anthony finished with 35 points and Smith had 26.
"We made the defensive stops we needed to make down the stretch," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said.
Playing all 48 minutes, Curry finished with seven assists and six rebounds while passing his previous career best of 42 points, and Kevin Durant's 52-point performance that had been the best in the NBA this season.
"I felt good all night. Obviously played the whole game, so was just trying to keep my legs underneath me on the offensive end, and you know, just stick to the game on the defensive end," Curry said. "Once I started seeing that 3-ball go down in transition, all sorts of spots on the floor, I knew it was going to be a good night."
But he had little help without All-Star forward David Lee, who was suspended one game for his role in an altercation Tuesday night in Indiana.
Tyson Chandler had 16 points and a career-best 28 rebounds for the Knicks, who won their second straight after a season-high, four-game losing streak. Amare Stoudemire had 14 points and Anthony added eight assists on the day the Knicks learned they could be without reserve forward Rasheed Wallace for the rest of the season because he needs surgery to repair a broken bone in his left foot.
Strutting all over the court whenever one of his 3s swished easily through the nets, Curry easily blew past the 38 points he scored Tuesday in Indiana, which had been his best of the season. That was spoiled when he was fined $35,000 for his role in the skirmish, which was essentially getting thrown to the ground by Roy Hibbert when he tried to intervene.
This performance ? the most points by an NBA player in a loss since Kobe Bryant had 58 in a loss to Charlotte on Dec. 29, 2006 ? was spoiled along with Jackson's trip back to his old home because of a few mistakes down the stretch.
Curry threw away a pass on the break with 3:13 left, and Jarrett Jack was called for a travel following Smith's go-ahead basket.
Plus, Klay Thompson finished 3 of 13 from the field, missing two straight from deep in the final minute.
Jackson, who grew up in Brooklyn and starred at St. John's before being drafted by the Knicks in 1987, didn't get a chance to coach here last season as an NBA rookie on the bench because of the lockout. He brought his wife, Desiree, to a road game for the first time this season, had his mother in the stands, and got a chance to see people he remembered from playing here years earlier.
He said he hadn't gotten to look ahead much to the game because of the schedule, but clearly enjoyed being back in Madison Square Garden once the day did arrive.
"This is a special place and it was part of my dreams as a kid," he said.
His night turned into Curry's, fans cheering even before the ball left his hand in the second half.
"We were short-handed and we needed a performance like that to have a chance," Jackson said. "He put on a clinic. Knocked down shots. Made plays. Carried us. Led us in rebounding. He did it all. I've seen a lot of great performances in this building and his goes up there. I've seen a lot. I've seen a lot, but that shooting performance was a thing of beauty."
The Knicks, who hadn't played since Sunday, looked ready to blow the Warriors out early, taking a 25-11 lead that the Warriors trimmed to 27-18 at the end of the first period before surging ahead behind Curry.
He scored 12 straight Golden State points, cutting it to 35-34 with his third 3-pointer of the second quarter. He followed Richard Jefferson's 3 with another one, giving the Warriors a 40-37 advantage. The Knicks recovered and went back ahead by nine late in the period before Curry answered with six consecutive points, and New York's lead was 58-55 at the break.
"He's a special young player with a very unique talent," Chandler said. "We ran everything at him. He just got hot. There was some shots that he couldn't have seen the rim."
Curry's drive gave the Warriors a two-point lead three minutes into the third quarter, but he didn't score again until hitting a turnaround 3 from 27 feet with 5 seconds left in the period, giving him 38 points again and cutting New York's lead to 84-81.
Already without Andrew Bogut because of a back injury, the Warriors had little size without Lee. Their lineup at one point in the second quarter had nobody taller than 6-foot-9 and Chandler simply climbed over them all night.
He came in leading the league with 4.4 offensive rebounds per game, and grabbed 13 boards in the first quarter alone.
Notes: Chandler was also the last NBA player to grab 13 rebounds in one quarter, hauling in 14 in the third quarter for Dallas on Dec. 1, 2010. ... Wallace, who hasn't played since December, will have surgery this week and the expected recovery time is eight weeks. Woodson said he didn't plan to waive the 38-year-old forward and create a roster spot, instead hoping he could be able to play in the postseason. ... Kenyon Martin, signed last week in part because of the uncertainty around Wallace, made his Knicks debut and was scoreless in 5 first-half minutes.
___
Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/knicks-overcome-currys-54-beat-warriors-035233874--spt.html
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Using Facebook app may be cheaper than texting
Facebook has sweet-talked 18 cellphone operators in 14 countries to get discounted or free data for Facebookers who text and chat on Facebook's Messenger app.
When the details are ironed out and the deal kicks in, messaging via Facebook?s messenger service may turn out to be cheaper than texting in some countries. The feature will work on the Messenger app for Android or iPhone and the Every Phone service for basic phones.
While Facebook doesn't mention this in its announcement of the deal, The Atlantic brings up the possibility that the feature may make calling cheaper too.
That's an intriguing possibility. Facebook does have a calling service tucked within the Messenger app. But for now, this feature is limited to the Messenger app on iPhones. And, it's only available in the US and Canada--two countries that are absent from the Facebook's list of new mobile operator partners.
If the calling feature did roll out to non-iPhone phones globally, it could make Facebook an attractive mobile tool. In places like India, for example, mobile users go to elaborate lengths to avoid paying call fees on their cell phone, spawning a convoluted but surprisingly functional "missed call ecosystem." It's reasonable to assume that any free mobile service that carried a free (or discounted) calling feature tucked in could become a popular one among mobile phone owners.
Of course, this would depend on what price the "discounted" data plans were fixed at, and if, if ever, Facebook took its voice calling global. If we got that far, would mobile operators be willing to let Facebook up their data-based calling feature and let it benefit from a discounted data scheme? A Facebook spokesperson told NBC News Digital that "the length of the free/discounted data [would be established] at the discretion of the mobile operator." As to the nitty-gritty of the deals, they have no other details to share, so we'll just to wait and see. In the meanwhile, here are the operators involved:
- TMN in Portugal, Tre in Italy, Three in Ireland, Vivacom in Bulgaria, Backcell in Azerbaydzhan
- Airtel and Reliance in India
- Indosat, Smartfren, AXIS and XL Axiata in Indonesia, SMART in Philippines, DiGi in Malaysia, DTAC in Thailand
- Etisalat in Egypt , Viva in Bahrain, STC in Saudi Arabia
- Oi in Brazil
Nidhi Subbaraman writes about science and technology. Follow on Twitter, Google+.
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DGA Awards date set for 2014
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Clamoring for more awards-show news after the Oscars? Yeah, us neither, but here's some anyway: The 66th Annual DGA Awards will take place January 25, 2014, the Directors Guild of America, which holds the ceremony, said Wednesday.
The ceremony will again take place at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at the Hollywood & Highland complex in Los Angeles.
The most recent ceremony, which was hosted by "Boss" star Kelsey Grammer, took place on February 2. A host for next year's ceremony was not named in Wednesday's announcement, but maybe Seth MacFarlane will be available to class things up a little.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dga-awards-date-set-2014-215537878.html
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Best Way for Toddlers to Learn New Words Is ...
When it comes to learning words, a hands-off approach may be in order. New research suggests toddlers pick up words better when they figure out their meanings rather than being told.
Kids have a hard time learning when they are given too much information, but sometimes having a bit of context makes things easier. When children come across vocabulary for things they don't know, they use what they already know to infer what a new word might signify.?Researchers found that toddlers retained new words better when they had to compare a known word and a new word than when simply given the meaning of a new word, according to a study published Jan. 23 in the journal Applied Developmental Science.
"One of the big questions that adults have is how kids learn new words," lead study author Jennifer Zosh, a developmental psychologist at Penn State Brandywine, told LiveScience. "What I was really interested in are the circumstances in which kids learn new words better."
Zosh and her colleagues studied 48 children ages 3 to 3 1/2 whose primary language was English. The children were shown pictures of familiar and unfamiliar objects on a screen, and learned new, made-up names for the unfamiliar objects either by instruction or by inference.
During instruction periods, a child was shown only the unknown object and told what it was called. During inference periods, the child was shown a known object and an unknown one and told to point to the unknown object (called by its new name). In this case, the child had to use their prior knowledge of one object to determine what the unknown word referred to. [That's Incredible! 9 Brainy Baby Abilities]
Then the scientists tested the children's memory of the new words and objects. Real versions of four of the six new objects were presented to the kids, and the researchers tested the kids' recall by asking them to point to the objects by name. The experimenters also measured the amount of time the children spent looking at each object.
What they found was that the toddlers' vocabulary recall was better for the words learned by inference instead of direct instruction, even though they spent a longer time looking at the new object during instruction trials. In other words, when children had to figure out new words for themselves, they showed better retention, Zosh said.
The findings aren't totally unsurprising to developmental psychologist Jessica Horst of the University of Sussex in England, who was not involved in the study. "When children are learning words and categories, it's important not only to learn what something is, but what it is not," Horst told LiveScience.
For example, imagine you have a perfectly clean coffee table with a remote control on it, and you tell a child to bring you the remote. The child doesn't need to learn what the remote is called, because it's the only thing on the table. But if the table contains other familiar items, the child will learn which one is the remote by process of elimination.
Of course, having too many distractions can make it hard to learn new words, as previous studies have shown. "Finding the sweet spot is a challenge," Zosh said. You need enough challenge to keep kids engaged and interested, she said, but not so much that it's too difficult.
The results of the study don't mean that kids can only learn new objects by inference, Zosh said. But they may be more engaged when it's more of a game. Zosh plans to do a follow-up study on younger children, who might find learning by inference more of a challenge.
Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook?& Google+.?
Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Source: http://news.yahoo.com/best-way-toddlers-learn-words-130052105.html
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Youth's addiction recovery predicted with AA-related helping tool
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Public release date: 27-Feb-2013[ | E-mail |
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jessica.studeny@case.edu
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Case Western Reserve University
'Service to Others in Sobriety (SOS)' questionnaire validated by researchers at Case Western Reserve
A Case Western Reserve University professor has found that young people addicted to alcohol and drugs can increase their chances of recovery by helping others.
In 2010, Maria Pagano, PhD, found that adults who became involved in Alcoholics Anonymous-related service-type work were more likely to stay sober 10 years following treatment and have increased interest in others, a positive health outcome.
Now, new research by Pagano finds that youths in AA respond the same way. In a study of nearly 200 juvenile offenders, she found that youth who became active in AA-related helping (AAH) during treatment were less likely to test positive for alcohol and drugs during treatment and had greater psychosocial improvement.
The study, "Assessing Youth Participation in AA-Related Helping: Validity of the Service to Others in Sobriety (SOS) Questionnaire in an Adolescent Sample," is published in the January-February issue of The American Journal on Addictions. The questionnaire, which Pagano created, can help clinicians identify youths low in service participation and suggest AAH activities to promote their recovery.
AAH includes acts of good citizenship, formal service positions, public outreach and sharing personal experience to another fellow addict. The SOS tool lists service activities in the 12-step program that are free, available seven days a week and do not require long-term commitment, special skills, prior experience or length of time sober.
Using the adult-validated SOS questionnaire from her first study, Pagano sampled juvenile offenders that had been court-referred to residential treatment in Northeast Ohio. Her investigation developed the first brief assessment of adolescent participation in AAH.
"The SOS tool provides a snapshot of a patient's level of service participation. An SOS score of 40 or higher is associated with greater abstinence as measured by urine toxicology screens," Pagano said. "Given AAH participation during treatment significantly improves the likelihood of long-term abstinence, interventions that facilitate early engagement in service are critical during the few weeks of treatment when motivation to change behavior is the highest."
Pagano is continuing to follow the cohort of juvenile offenders to examine the impact of AAH on long-term recidivism outcomes.
###
The research was funded by the John Templeton Foundation and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, award K01 AA015137.
About Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Founded in 1843, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is the largest medical research institution in Ohio and is among the nation's top medical schools for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. The School of Medicine is recognized throughout the international medical community for outstanding achievements in teaching. The School's innovative and pioneering Western Reserve2 curriculum interweaves four themes--research and scholarship, clinical mastery, leadership, and civic professionalism--to prepare students for the practice of evidence-based medicine in the rapidly changing health care environment of the 21st century. Nine Nobel Laureates have been affiliated with the School of Medicine.
Annually, the School of Medicine trains more than 800 MD and MD/PhD students and ranks in the top 25 among U.S. research-oriented medical schools as designated by U.S. News & World Report's "Guide to Graduate Education."
The School of Medicine's primary affiliate is University Hospitals Case Medical Center and is additionally affiliated with MetroHealth Medical Center, the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Cleveland Clinic, with which it established the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University in 2002. http://casemed.case.edu
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 27-Feb-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Jessica Studeny
jessica.studeny@case.edu
216-368-4692
Case Western Reserve University
'Service to Others in Sobriety (SOS)' questionnaire validated by researchers at Case Western Reserve
A Case Western Reserve University professor has found that young people addicted to alcohol and drugs can increase their chances of recovery by helping others.
In 2010, Maria Pagano, PhD, found that adults who became involved in Alcoholics Anonymous-related service-type work were more likely to stay sober 10 years following treatment and have increased interest in others, a positive health outcome.
Now, new research by Pagano finds that youths in AA respond the same way. In a study of nearly 200 juvenile offenders, she found that youth who became active in AA-related helping (AAH) during treatment were less likely to test positive for alcohol and drugs during treatment and had greater psychosocial improvement.
The study, "Assessing Youth Participation in AA-Related Helping: Validity of the Service to Others in Sobriety (SOS) Questionnaire in an Adolescent Sample," is published in the January-February issue of The American Journal on Addictions. The questionnaire, which Pagano created, can help clinicians identify youths low in service participation and suggest AAH activities to promote their recovery.
AAH includes acts of good citizenship, formal service positions, public outreach and sharing personal experience to another fellow addict. The SOS tool lists service activities in the 12-step program that are free, available seven days a week and do not require long-term commitment, special skills, prior experience or length of time sober.
Using the adult-validated SOS questionnaire from her first study, Pagano sampled juvenile offenders that had been court-referred to residential treatment in Northeast Ohio. Her investigation developed the first brief assessment of adolescent participation in AAH.
"The SOS tool provides a snapshot of a patient's level of service participation. An SOS score of 40 or higher is associated with greater abstinence as measured by urine toxicology screens," Pagano said. "Given AAH participation during treatment significantly improves the likelihood of long-term abstinence, interventions that facilitate early engagement in service are critical during the few weeks of treatment when motivation to change behavior is the highest."
Pagano is continuing to follow the cohort of juvenile offenders to examine the impact of AAH on long-term recidivism outcomes.
###
The research was funded by the John Templeton Foundation and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, award K01 AA015137.
About Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Founded in 1843, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is the largest medical research institution in Ohio and is among the nation's top medical schools for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. The School of Medicine is recognized throughout the international medical community for outstanding achievements in teaching. The School's innovative and pioneering Western Reserve2 curriculum interweaves four themes--research and scholarship, clinical mastery, leadership, and civic professionalism--to prepare students for the practice of evidence-based medicine in the rapidly changing health care environment of the 21st century. Nine Nobel Laureates have been affiliated with the School of Medicine.
Annually, the School of Medicine trains more than 800 MD and MD/PhD students and ranks in the top 25 among U.S. research-oriented medical schools as designated by U.S. News & World Report's "Guide to Graduate Education."
The School of Medicine's primary affiliate is University Hospitals Case Medical Center and is additionally affiliated with MetroHealth Medical Center, the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Cleveland Clinic, with which it established the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University in 2002. http://casemed.case.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/2013-02/cwru-yar022713.php
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Singer Scott Weiland responds to STP firing
FILE - This April 30, 2010 file photo shows the Stone Temple Pilots, from left, Dean Deleo, Eric Kretz, Robert Deleo, and Scott Weiland from the band Stone Temple Pilots, pose for a portrait in Santa Monica, Calif. In a one-sentence news release on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, publicist Kymm Britton said: "Stone Temple Pilots have announced they have officially terminated Scott Weiland." No other information was provided. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)
FILE - This April 30, 2010 file photo shows the Stone Temple Pilots, from left, Dean Deleo, Eric Kretz, Robert Deleo, and Scott Weiland from the band Stone Temple Pilots, pose for a portrait in Santa Monica, Calif. In a one-sentence news release on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, publicist Kymm Britton said: "Stone Temple Pilots have announced they have officially terminated Scott Weiland." No other information was provided. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Singer Scott Weiland said he learned that he'd been fired by the Stone Temple Pilots when the band released a one-sentence statement to the media Wednesday.
"I learned of my supposed 'termination' from Stone Temple Pilots this morning by reading about it in the press," he wrote in a statement. "Not sure how I can be 'terminated' from a band that I founded, fronted and co-wrote many of its biggest hits, but that's something for the lawyers to figure out."
The statement by the band said: "Stone Temple Pilots have announced they have officially terminated Scott Weiland." No other information was provided.
Weiland said he's focusing on his solo tour, which kicks off Friday in Flint, Mich.
Stone Temple Pilots' 1992 debut, "Core," has sold more than 8 million units in the United States. Their hits include "Vasoline," ''Interstate Love Song" and "Plush," which won a Grammy in 1993 for best hard rock performance with vocal.
Weiland was also in the supergroup Velvet Revolver with Slash and other musicians. The 45-year-old has dealt with drug addiction, run-ins with the law and two failed marriages. He released his memoir, "Not Dead & Not for Sale," in 2011.
The Stone Temple Pilots' latest album is their self-titled 2010 release.
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Online:
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Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Japan's Abe to advance reforms with free trade decision
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears poised to raise the curtain on Act Three of his "Abenomics" drama with a decision to join talks on a U.S.-led free trade pact, seen by some as a test of his appetite for vital economic reform.
Abe's first two acts - big spending and a push for hyper-easy monetary policy aimed at reviving the economy - have met little political opposition, since few vested interests are harmed.
The next installment on structural reform - or as Abe prefers to call it, the "Third Arrow" in his policy quiver - now looks likely to begin with a decision in coming weeks to join talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Japanese media say.
Financial markets are taking the expected decision as a sign that Abe - not known as an economic reformer in the past - is committed to opening Japan's economy, even at the expense of supporters of his conservative party, including those in the powerful farming lobby.
"I think it is sort of a test case whether Abe can push through reforms against certain interests in favor of others," said Robert Feldman, chief economist at Morgan Stanley MUFG in Tokyo. "He's delivered on monetary policy, now he'll have delivered on a politically difficult reform."
Echoing that sentiment, Nomura Securities this week raised its forecast for the Nikkei share average to 14,500 by the end of this year from an earlier 12,500, mostly on TPP hopes. That suggests a rise of 28 percent from current levels.
Skeptics, however, questioned whether joining the trade talks would really signal Abe's commitment to economic reform.
"He wants to tick the right boxes politically. He wants to project the image of a reformer," said Aurelia George Mulgan, a professor of Japanese politics at the University of New South Wales. "Whether he has the convictions, beliefs and ability to deliver in the areas that are required for economic growth is a big question mark. My answer is 'No'," Mulgan said.
Abe's government is to unveil a growth and competitiveness strategy including deregulation steps in June, and optimists see a decision on TPP as a harbinger of further reforms needed to unlock growth in Japan's long-stagnant economy.
The International Monetary Fund has urged Japan to join the TPP and carry out other economic reforms, including cutting Japan's huge public debt, relaxing regulations that stifle growth in sectors such as healthcare, and changes in the labor market to allow more immigration and older-age employment.
CHINA STRATEGY?
Abe, 58, returned to Japan's top job after his Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) big election win in December.
Three months later, his voter ratings have risen to about 70 percent, a rare feat for a Japanese leader but a welcome sign for his party ahead of a poll in July for the upper house, where the ruling bloc lacks a majority. An election win would smooth the passage of legislation in parliament for Abe and keep him from becoming just one more revolving-door leader.
The 11 countries involved in the TPP talks, including the United States, Canada and Australia, which together account for 20 percent of global exports, have pledged to clinch a deal scrapping as many tariffs as possible. If Japan joins, it will face pressure not only to open up its agriculture market but service sectors such as insurance.
Abe's LDP had promised not to join the three-year-old TPP talks if that meant promising beforehand to scrap all tariffs.
That was never a real prerequisite. But Abe got political cover to join the talks at last week's summit with U.S. President Barack Obama, when the two leaders agreed that while all goods would be on the table for discussion, a prior pledge to scrap all tariffs was not needed just to start talking.
The joint statement referred to "trade sensitivities, such as certain agricultural products for Japan and certain manufactured products of the United States".
Japanese media said Abe had been expected to announce a decision as early as Thursday but will now take more time to soothe LDP worries about angering their supporters.
"The longer he leaves the decision, the more opposition will build," Mulgan said, noting Abe's two predecessors from the Democratic Party, now in opposition, had tried to join the talks but failed in the face of a rift in their own fractious party.
Japan's biggest business group, the Keidanren, has lobbied hard for TPP out of fear a failure to join would mean exporters fall further behind regional rivals, such as South Korea and China, while the country's powerful farm lobby is opposed.
Some experts, though, suggest a strategic desire to bolster the U.S.-Japan alliance in the face of a rising China may have more to do with Abe's motivation that any commitment to reform.
"This is Abe's way of spiting the Chinese without going to a war shrine," said Simon Evenett, a professor of international trade at St Gallen University in Switzerland.
During his 2001-2006 term, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi angered Beijing by visiting Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine for war dead, seen by China as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.
Others echoed that view. "I think the main goal is not what TPP could do to open Japan's economy ... The main goal is a strategic one of countering the Chinese," said Daniel Sneider at Stanford University's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center.
How much economic impact joining TPP would have is unclear, and for sure, any effect will take time. "TPP alone may have a limited impact on GDP but it is significant taking into account (the positive impact on progress toward) other trade deals," said Yorizumi Watanabe, a professor at Keio University in Tokyo.
(Additional reporting by Alan Wheatley in London; Editing by Neil Fullick)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japans-abe-aims-polish-reform-credentials-tpp-trade-071317090--business.html
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Survey: Most Developers Now Prefer HTML5 For Cross-Platform Development
According to a new survey commissioned by Telerik’s Kendo UI, the majority of developers now prefer to work with HTML5 instead of native apps for their cross-platform development. Half of the 5,000 developers surveyed in the company’s 2013 Global Developer Survey also said that they developed apps using HTML5 in 2012 and 90% of them plan to do so in 2013. Only 15% of developers said they would prefer to use a native-only approach. The idea behind the survey, Kendo UI’s VP of the company’s HTML5 web and mobile division Todd Anglin told me last week, was to understand how developers are working with HTML5 and what kinds of apps they are developing. The company, however, also looked at the larger HTML5 ecosystem and found, for example, that most developers said they were interested in developing for Windows 8 (66%) – something Microsoft will likely be happy to hear – and ChromeOS (47%), but weren’t all that interested in Blackberry 10 (13%) and Tizen (8%). It’s worth noting that this preference doesn’t always result in actual products getting shipped. Many of these developers are probably working for larger corporations that don’t give them the flexibility to develop in the languages they would like to. Kendo UI surveyed about 5,000 developers from around the world for this survey over the course of January 2013. Most of the developers worked for small and medium businesses (51%) , 29% worked for startups and 20% for enterprises. Given that these developers were likely already interested in HTML5 before they took the survey, chances are the results are somewhat biased toward HTML5. Interestingly, the developers surveyed by Kendo UI also said that Blackberry and iOS are the most?difficult?platforms to develop for. Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 ranked as the easiest with Android falling in the middle. As Anglin noted, the reason for this could be the fact that developers can use HTML5 to write apps for the Windows platforms, but also that Microsoft provides a very robust set of tools for its developer ecosystem. As for the kinds of HTML5 apps developers are working on, the survey found a clear emphasis on productivity apps (54%) and utilities (38%). Entertainment, lifestyle, travel apps and games ranked at the bottom of the list. Given these results, it’s no surprise that most developers also told the researchers that they thought the most important modern web technologies rightSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/dtLq4lHETpI/
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/wvfeoVtf2u8/
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Sign-ups start for roller hockey - Bainbridge Island Review
Registration has started for the new season for the Bainbridge Island Roller Hockey League.
Sign-ups continue online at www.bihockey.org through Friday, March 8.
The league will host a gear swap, open house and information night from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 5 at in the library at Sonoji Sakai Intermediate School. The annual general meeting will be held after the gear swap from 8 to 8:15 p.m.
At the open house, new and returning players can get information on the upcoming season, which will include a "Battle for the Point" week-long clinic and mini-tournament, summer camps, fewer Sunday games, an optional Memorial Weekend tournament in Portland, and Friday night adult pick-up games (through the Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park & Recreation District).
For more information, visit www.bihockey.org.
Source: http://www.bainbridgereview.com/sports/193317841.html
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Amp up your health and fitness routine this spring!
As Winter slowly (and I mean sloooooooowly) turns toward Spring, a lot of people out there are suddenly realizing that Summer, hot weather and less layers of clothing to hide under are quickly approaching. I?m stoked to be teaming up with Vitamin Water Canada to present you with a series of posts full of tips and tools to help you (and to help myself) get started toward your goals and keep on the straight and narrow until you reach them.
With spring just around the corner, personal trainer Trina Lambe and registered dietitian Stefanie Senior have also joined in to provide tips on how to start and stick to a fitness and health regime. Whether your goal is to lose some winter pounds, train for your first 5K or simply to feel better, there?s something for everyone.
1) Be realistic and healthy with your goals ? this will set you up for long-term success. As overtraining can lead to injury and burn out, the average Canadian should aim to complete 30 minutes of exercise four times a week. As you get stronger, increase the intensity and frequency of your workouts. When setting nutrition goals, be sure to focus on lean protein sources, low fat dairy, whole grains, fruits and vegetables but occasional small indulgences can actually help you stay on track with your weight loss goals.
2) Buddy up. Encourage your bestie to hit the gym with you, cook a healthy recipe together or swap a wine date for a long walk. Staying on track is a lot easier (and more fun!) with a friend by your side.
3) Stay fueled and hydrated. Try to eat every 3-4 hours to keep your energy levels up and drink fluids throughout the day, especially before, during and after your workouts. Dietitian Stefanie Senior suggests drinking a variety of fluids throughout the day to keep the body hydrated, including sparkling water, herbal teas and glac?au vitaminwater zero. It is important to note that exercise, heat, humidity and other factors can increase your water needs. Water is the best choice to stay hydrated (especially in the summer heat) but for a nice treat, a vitamin zero water (sweetened with Stevia) is a great option to choose over a soda. I know I like to have one when I need something a bit different.
4) Strength in numbers. Friends and partners can be the best form of motivation and accountability. If your bff isn?t into fitness, personal trainer Trina Lambe advises swapping solo workouts for group fitness classes such as spinning, zumba and crossfit ? these group sessions encourage participation and you may even make a new friend! Same goes for your healthy eating ambitions; registered dietitian Stefanie Senior suggests that you share your nutrition goals with your friends and family as they can help encourage and motivate you.
For more fitness and healthy eating tips from Trina and Stefanie check out vitaminwatercanada.ca
Disclosure: I am being compensated for partnering with Vitamin Water Canada on this campaign and was also provided with a personal supply of Vitamin Water Zero to sample. All content is reviewed and approved prior to publishing. All options are those of the contributing author.
I am a mom to 2 beautiful boys and love everything health and fitness. I am dedicated to improving my own health, setting a good example for healthy living for my family and hopefully inspiring and educating others to do the same in their lives.
Source: http://www.fitmomintraining.com/2013/02/26/amp-up-your-health-and-fitness-routine-this-spring/
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Marlins owner says he didn't renege on promises
JUPITER, Fla. (AP) ? A cluster of media stood outside the Miami Marlins clubhouse, awaiting the arrival of owner Jeffrey Loria, when outfielder Bryan Petersen walked past.
"Somebody getting married?" Petersen said.
It was more like somebody trying to salvage a relationship. Loria's three-day public relations campaign to patch things up with angry fans brought him to spring training Tuesday for an interview session that included several testy exchanges before the owner cut it short.
Loria reiterated many of his previous comments regarding the 2012 payroll purge, saying it wasn't about money but about improving the farm system. Ten minutes into the news conference, he bristled when asked why fans should believe him.
"You've said that question in four different ways," Loria said. "My response to you is we have put together some championship-caliber players. We're going to field an excellent team in the next two or three years that you're going to be proud of."
Fans are upset that after only one season of big spending in a new ballpark built mostly with tax money, the Marlins have reverted to their tight budgets of the past. Loria was asked about trying to change the impression the ballpark project was "a con job."
"A con job? I'm not even going to answer that," Loria said.
Many project the Marlins to lose 100 games only a year after they were the talk of baseball and touted as playoff contenders. This year's payroll is expected to be less than $45 million, compared with $90 million in 2012.
Loria denied he reneged on any promise, noting the Marlins finished last in the NL East with their biggest payroll ever.
"I fulfilled my promise in the new ballpark last year," he said. "It didn't work. So what do you do? Go back again and lose more games? We needed to do something to beef up the organization."
A blockbuster trade in November sent to Toronto three of the Marlins' highest-paid players ? shortstop Jose Reyes and pitchers Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson. In exchange Miami acquired mostly prospects.
"We have some very exciting young players here," Loria said. "We need to bring them along and develop our own stars, or else we're going to be a last-place team forever."
As he stepped away from the TV cameras after 15 minutes, a PR aide said the owner would take more questions. Instead, Loria disappeared through a clubhouse door and didn't return.
At some point the team's play will have to speak for itself.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/marlins-owner-says-didnt-renege-promises-180146430--mlb.html
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Lawmaker wears blackface costume to Jewish party
A state assemblyman from Brooklyn, N.Y., wore blackface paint and an Afro wig to a costume party over the weekend, and says he "can't imagine anyone getting offended." ?
The party was for the Jewish holiday Purim, a festive celebration often commemorated by dressing up. ?
According to?Politicker, Assemblyman Dov Hikind?hosted a Purim party at his home over the weekend. ?
A photo posted on Facebook by Hikind's 32-year-old son, Yoni Hikind, shows the lawmaker with a darkened face, wearing a black wig, sunglasses and what appears to be an orange jersey over a white t-shirt. The assemblyman's wife wore a devil costume.
The caption reads: "How cool are my folks... Lol"?
See the controversial photo at NBCNewYork.com
Dov Hikind told Politicker that he was "trying to emulate, you know, maybe some of these basketball players."
"Someone gave me a uniform, someone gave me the hair of the actual, you know, sort of a black basketball player,? Hikind said. ?It was just a lot of fun. Everybody just had a very, very good time and every year I do something else. ? The fun for me is when people come in and don?t recognize me.? ?
Hikind said he couldn't imagine the costume bothering anyone.
?Purim, you know, everything goes and it?s all done with respect. No one is laughing, no one is mocking. No one walked in today and said, ?Oh my God.? ? It?s all just in good fun with respect always, whatever anyone does it?s done with tremendous amounts of respect and with dignity, of course.?
By NBCNewYork.com staff
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Include video in your PR strategy | Public Relations Sydney
YouTube is currently the second largest search engine, after Google, with 800 million unique users per month. This means there is a large number of people watching and engaging with videos every day, which your business should be taking advantage of.?
It?s then a great idea to include video in your PR strategy to communicate a message in a different way and increase engagement with your audience.
Here are some tips on how you can make the most of video for PR.
Get more people to see your website
You can put videos on your website to increase your search engine optimisation.
Research has shown that a web page with a video on it is 53 times more likely to appear on the first page of Google results. This means if you want more people to see your messages you should include a video on your website. This will help to attract more potential customers to your website and enhance the effectiveness of your communication.
Engagement
Videos are a great way to increase your engagement with your target audience. Often people would rather watch a video then read through a block of text as it allows them to receive information faster. Studies have also shown people will spend more time on a website with a video on it then one with text.
You can include videos on your website, social media sites or blog to encourage people to spend more time on your site and look at your content. This is a great way to communicate in a different way and encourage your target audience to respond.
When communicating with your target audience, rather than describing something with words you can show them with a video. This can increase your target audience?s interest in your communication and make it easier for them to receive your message. This is especially beneficial if you have a complicated message to communicate.?
Speaking pitches
When pitching for a speaking opportunity it?s a good idea to include a video of the speaker. This could be a link to a video on YouTube or by providing event organisers with a USB full of videos of the speaker.
Videos are a great way to showcase the presentation style of the speaker, their presence on stage and their ability to engage an audience. This can often be more effective than trying to describe their presentation style in writing.
Event organisers can also see real evidence of the speaker?s skills and may be more likely to choose them for the event.
Media pitches
Many media publications and online news sites now use video to communicate. It?s then a great idea to include video in your pitches to journalists to take advantage of this medium. For example, you could include a video with a media release or with an email pitch to a journalist.
Video is great when launching a new product as you can use it to show a journalist how the product works. You can also use video to document a press conference or a major event for the business and then send this video to a journalist to use.?
Social media
Using video on social media is an effective way to communicate a message in a different and engaging way.? As videos are easy to share online your social media followers may share your video with their networks. This can help to spread your message to a wider audience and increase your brand awareness.
Create a YouTube channel
You can create a YouTube Channel to publish your videos. As YouTube is the second largest search engine, publishing your videos on this channel is a great way to get more people to see them. This can increase your brand awareness or improve your communication.
Once you?ve posted videos on YouTube it?s then easier to share them on other sites such as your website or social media channels.
Creating videos for your business is a great way to communicate a message, increase engagement with your target audience and improve your website?s SEO.
How does your business use video to communicate?
?
Source: http://publicrelationssydney.com.au/?p=2642
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Washington braces for whirlwind week
By Michael O'Brien, Political Reporter, NBC News
?
A vote on President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the Defense Department, Supreme Court arguments about the future of a key provision of the Voting Rights Act and?the expected onset of automatic spending cuts known as the "sequester" mean the nation's capital is bracing for a politically consequential week ahead.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood discusses how the looming spending cuts will affect air travel and calls on Congress to act.
After a weeklong recess, Congress returns to Washington with a full agenda of business that needs handling. Topping that list is an item which lawmakers are arguably unlikely to resolve over the course of the week: the sequester, about $85 billion in automatic spending cuts set to begin taking effect on Friday, the first day of March.
Lawmakers left town before the President's Day holiday no closer to resolving the sequester, the second part of the so-called "fiscal cliff," which was delayed for two months by the New Year's Day deal on taxes.
Last week's recess was more full of posturing and blame-placing by Obama and Republicans in Congress ? who each blame the other for the sequester's creation ??than any substantive progress toward a deal to address the cuts, which both sides agree would be perilous.
"So now Republicans in Congress face a simple choice: Are they willing to compromise to protect vital investments in education and health care and national security and all the jobs that depend on them?" Obama said last Tuesday at the White House. "Or would they rather put hundreds of thousands of jobs and our entire economy at risk just to protect a few special-interest tax loopholes that benefit only the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations? That's the choice."
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, responded in the pages of the 'Wall Street Journal': "The president's sequester is the wrong way to reduce the deficit, but it is here to stay until Washington Democrats get serious about cutting spending."?
The administration has been warning of the potential consequences to the spending cuts, including military readiness and even delays and inconveniences in air travel.
Related:?Why Obama has the PR upper hand in sequestration battle
"We're not making this up in order to put pain on the American people," outgoing Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "We are required to cut a billion dollars and we are going to do that unless Congress gets together and works together and compromises on this."?
Former Democratic Congressman Harold Ford Jr.; Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan; Host of NPR's Morning Edition, Steve Inskeep; CNBC's Maria Bartiromo and Jim Cramer weigh in on how the looming budget cuts could be avoided with better leadership.
With both sides still so far apart, an agreement to delay or soften the blow of the automatic cuts before Friday seems unlikely.
That legislative showdown would normally suffice to consume all the political oxygen in Washington. But this week also features several other major events worth noting.
One such item is another holdover from before recess. The Senate is set to vote Tuesday on final confirmation for former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., to become the next defense secretary. The vote follows tenacious efforts by some Republican senators to block their former colleague from joining the Obama administration.
Senate Democrats had hoped to formally vote to confirm Hagel before last week's recess, but Senate Republicans ??even some GOP senators who said they'll support final confirmation for Hagel ??joined together to sustain a filibuster, and delay the confirmation vote until this week. For their part, Democrats decried the filibuster as unprecedented against a Pentagon chief's nomination.
Former Democratic Congressman Harold Ford Jr.; Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan; Host of NPR's Morning Edition, Steve Inskeep; CNBC's Maria Bartiromo and Jim Cramer discuss what happens if Washington can't agree on an alternative plan.
Still, Hagel appears to be headed toward confirmation. Some of his most vociferous critics?? Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., among them ? said they would support moving toward a final vote on confirmation, which would only require a simple majority of the Senate's support. Even still, several GOP senators have said they intend to support Hagel, which only boosts his prospects for confirmation, barring some sort of development.
Hagel isn't the only member of Obama's prospective national security team left hanging over the recess.
After facing a grilling earlier this month before the Senate Intelligence Committee, John O. Brennan's nomination to become the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency faces an uncertain future. Senators are looking for more information about the Obama administration's secretive drone strikes program ??and Brennan's role in crafting that strategy ??before moving forward with his nomination.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has threatened to filibuster Brennan's nomination before the whole Senate until he's received a satisfactory answer. The concerns about Brennan aren't isolated to Republicans, either; Democrats like Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon have voiced similar misgivings about the secretive use of drone strikes to target suspected terrorists and the process behind them.
Joshua Roberts / Reuters file photo
Capitol Hill in Washington, DC
Also this week, the Supreme Court will hear potentially consequential oral arguments challenging a section of the historic Voting Right Acts. The justices will hear a challenge to a section of the law requiring nine states with a history of racial discrimination to seek Justice Department approval for any change in their voting procedures before those changes can take effect.
Obama, speaking Thursday in a radio interview, sought to calm fears that African American or other minority voters would face greater challenges to voting if the Supreme Court were to strike down that section of the law.
"I know in the past some folks have worried that if the Supreme Court strikes down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, they're going to lose their right to vote. That?s not the case," Obama said on "The Black Eagle" radio show. "People will still have the same rights not to be discriminated against when it comes to voting, you just won't have this mechanism, this tool, that allows you to kind of stay ahead of certain practices."
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