WASHINGTON (AP) ? Two of the lawmakers negotiating an immigration overhaul in Congress say a final deal is at hand but caution that the bipartisan group working on a proposal hasn't finished its work.
Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona said on Sunday that organized labor and the business leaders have reached an agreement on immigration. But they both told NBC's "Meet the Press" that the so-called Gang of Eight senators hasn't yet signed-off on final legislative language.
Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, is also part of the bipartisan group working on an immigration deal. After reports emerged on Saturday that the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce agreed on a deal, Rubio issued a statement calling a compromise "premature."
Sonia greets her new parents, Kristina and Rich England.
By Jim Maceda, Correspondent, NBC News
BRYANSK, Russia --?Kristi and Rich England of Marshall, Minn., shook with nerves and joy on their fourth and last trip to an orphanage in Bryansk, in?rural Russia. ?
They were finally taking Sonia, a partially blind and hyperactive 3-year-old, home with them.?The tearful Feb. 12 meeting, punctuated by Sonia?s screams of ?mama? and ?dada,? was all the more emotional because the Englands knew that they were the last lucky couple to leave Russia with an adopted child.?
?So many other families have seen their children and have loved their children and can?t bring them home,? said Kristi England, 34, a family doctor. ?It?s so unfair in so many ways.?
Those already undergoing the costly process of adopting a child from Russia found out Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a law barring any future adoptions, canceling the ones in progress. NBC's Kerry Sanders reports.
The process wasn?t easy ? the Englands endured multiple background checks and spent at least $50,000 to ensure that Sonia, now called Sophia, could go home with them.
But the ban signed into law on Dec. 28 barring all U.S. adoptions ? which numbered more than 60,000 over the past two decades ? has marooned hundreds of families in the middle of adopting, and stranded thousands of children in orphanages throughout Russia.??
"We should do all we can so that orphaned children find a family in our country, in Russia," President Vladimir Putin said in defense of the ban.
Fueling the outrage in Russia over the fate of children adopted by Americans, Russian media reported earlier this week that Alexander Abnosov, 18, showed up in the Volga River port town of Cheboksary saying his adoptive family had mistreated him. He had left Russia five years earlier, having been adopted by a family outside Philadelphia, but said he fled after suffering from verbal abuse by his adoptive mother. ?
"She would make any small problem big and always try to find a reason to shout at you," he told Russia?s state-owned Channel 1.
While UNICEF estimates there are about 740,000 children not in parental custody in Russia, only about 18,000 Russians are on the waiting list to adopt.?
But while Putin denies any direct connection, Kremlin-watchers say the ban is really about geopolitics and not about protecting kids.
NBC News
Russian child psychologist Valentina Rakova Valentina (left) stands with Kristina and Richard England and newly adopted Sonia in an orphanage in Bryansk, rural Russia.
They say it was retaliation by Moscow for an American law banning any Russian human rights violators from U.S. soil, enacted after the suspicious death in prison of Sergey Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer working for Heritage Fund, an American private equity firm.?
Russian media didn't hesitate to bolster the official line. ?
Despite the negative reports, child psychologist Valentina Rakova, who has worked in the Bryansk orphanage for 30 years, says the ban is terrible for children.?
?Here in Russia we have many examples of bad parents -- even worse than these American cases -- where kids are just tossed out,? she said as she coiffed Sonia, who requires special medical attention.
?A child like Sonia, no Russian would accept her,? Rakova said. ?Before the ban, orphans were offered to Russian families but no one took them in.??
Rakova's experience confirms the U.N.'s statistics. As far as she has seen, Americans are far more likely to adopt children who are ill or suffer from a disability.
Becky Preece, a housewife from Nampa, Idaho, is one such American. ?
She was finally able to take home 4-year-old Gabe, who has Down syndrome, in February, after years of filling out paperwork and a court battle. ?
Preece, who like the Englands beat the ban by days but was then delayed by red tape, said she saw a complete disconnect between the horrors of Russia?s adoption ban and the kindness and hospitality of the Russians themselves.?
NBC News
Becky Preece from Nampa, Idaho, adopted 4-year-old Gabe just days before the ban on Americans adopting Russian orphans went into force.
?It?s not a matter of the people,? she said while walking with the little boy in the thick Moscow snow.
?It?s politically charged and it?s something that is hard for us to understand because it?s so different from the experience that we?ve had here.?
Preece said she was excited to get Gabe into school back home, and watch him bond with his new brother who also has Down syndrome.?
?They need the infrastructure, they need the kind of support that we get at home for our children,? she said.?
But for the hundreds of American families who missed the cut and are now unable to bring their adoptive children home, the future could mean months -- even years -- of waiting and praying that the two superpower rivals find common ground before more of society?s most vulnerable pay the price.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Jim Maceda is a London-based correspondent who has covered the Soviet Union and Russia since the 1980s.?
Related:
Boy's Christmas wish: Adoption of little brother caught in US-Russia spat
Thousands march in Moscow to protest Russian adoption ban
As you know, I'm fairly excited about the prospect of possibly having baby #2. Whether you're having a little one yourself, or are planning a shower for a friend, I hope you enjoy this guest post by Rachael McAdams. Happy reading! *****************************************
Baby showers are full of absolutely adorable things for both mom and baby. Keeping track of everything however, can be tough. Here are a few lists to help stay organized.Themes, Decorations, and InvitationsBaby shower decorations should reflect the overall theme of the event. Is mommy planning a ?Noah?s Ark? room? Get pairs of small stuffed animals to put on every table. Does she like to garden? Get small potted plants and packages for seeds for each guest to take home with them as favors, such as these Peter Rabbit personalized seed packets from Esty. Find out what mom and dad are planning for their new addition and try to implement it into the shower?s theme and decorations. Consider asking other family members to join in on the planning and for shower ideas. They may be able to provide that one little bit of information that could make the shower extra special!Once you decide on a theme and what type of decorations you would like to have, you need to order invitations. There are plenty of great options for every budget. For example, Tiny Prints has baby shower invitations to match any theme you can dream up and they usually have a coupon code running. Invitations should go out three to four weeks before the shower so everyone has time to respond and find that perfect gift. Also make sure to include if it the shower is a surprise so no one slips about the plans in front of mommy.Once the theme is picked and the invitations have gone out, it is time to plan a menu, Woman?s Day Magazine has a great list of tasty ideas! First it is important to consider any dietary restrictions mommy may be under. For example, many women need to be extra careful of their sodium intake during pregnancy, so make sure to avoid serving nothing but salty snacks. On the flip side, make sure to include food items mommy will enjoy. Does she love chocolate cake? Or a special recipe of her grandma?s? These are the things that will help make the day extra special with that touch of home.Ultimately, a baby shower is all about having fun and celebrating a wonderful event. Make sure your plans include a fun theme and great food, and everyone will have wonderful memories.
CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinea will hold long-delayed parliamentary elections this year, to conclude its transition to civilian rule, with or without the participation of the country's main opposition coalition, a government minister said on Friday.
The mineral-rich country was originally supposed to hold the vote in 2011 - but it was held up amid wrangling over the makeup of the electoral commission and opposition accusations that the government was planning to rig it.
Eight people were killed and hundreds more wounded during two weeks of clashes this month between security forces and opposition protesters demanding reforms before the election, currently scheduled for May 12, could be held.
Guinea's minister for territorial administration, Alhassane Conde, told Reuters the objections would not block the vote.
"Yes, the elections will be held this year, very soon, with or without the opposition," Conde said in an interview at his office in the capital Conakry's administrative district.
"We don't want to do it without them, but if necessary, we will go ahead and hold the election without them," he said.
The vote is meant to be the last step in a drawn-out transition to civilian rule after a coup in late 2008 led to two bloody years with the army in charge.
Conde accused some members of the opposition of making unacceptable conditions to try and delay elections he said they feared losing.
Opposition groups have alleged there were irregularities in awarding a contract to update the electoral register to the South African firm Waymark - and demanded a replacement.
"If we were to bring in a new company to replace Waymark, there is no way we'll be able to organize the election within the next six months," said Conde.
The European Union, a major donor, unblocked about 174 million euros ($223.43 million) in aid after the elections commission proposed a date for the parliamentary polls late last year. But Conde said Guinea risked losing future donor funding if elections were not held by September.
MORE PROTEST
The opposition this week walked out of talks with the government organized in the wake of this month's violence, accusing the ruling coalition of failing to respect the terms of a planned dialogue over election preparations.
The opposition coalition on Friday called for another round of protests and a strike from April 8, saying the government has not contacted them since they abandoned the talks.
Guinea's main opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, who lost to President Alpha Conde in a tight presidential run-off in November 2010, told Reuters last week the opposition would do everything to stop the election if it was held without them. President Conde is not related to the minister.
"We'll not participate in the election with Waymark handling the technical process, and we'll disrupt it. We do not want the election to be held without us," Diallo told Reuters during a visit to Senegal.
Guinea is the world's top supplier of the aluminum ore bauxite and holds rich deposits of iron ore, gold and diamonds. But the political turmoil has unnerved investors.
Behind Guinea's political feuding there is a deep-rooted rivalry between the Malinke and the Peul, its two largest ethnic groups. The Malinke broadly support President Conde, while the opposition draws heavily from the Peul. ($1 = 0.7788 euros)
(Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Joe Bavier and Andrew Heavens)
During a discussion about ongoing challenges to the economy Thursday, Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young referred to Hispanic workers as "wetbacks," an ethnic slur used to describe migrant workers.
?My father had a ranch; we used to have 50-60 wetbacks to pick tomatoes,? Young told Alaska public radio station KRBD. ?It takes two people to pick the same tomatoes now. It?s all done by machine.?
The term "wetback" is a pejorative term that has been used to describe workers from Latin American countries who swim across the Rio Grande to reach the United States.
Young's comments come just weeks after the Republican National Committee called for candidates and lawmakers to soften their tone when discussing Hispanic Americans and immigrants in an effort to engage Latino voters after getting only 30 percent of their vote in the 2012 presidential election. Republicans are currently working with Democrats in Congress to shape a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's immigration system, and comments like Young's could serve as a distraction from those bipartisan efforts.
In a statement to the Anchorage Daily News, Young said he meant "no disrespect" when he used the term.
"I used a term that was commonly used during my days growing up on a farm in Central California," Young said in the statement. "I know that this term is not used in the same way nowadays and I meant no disrespect."
House Speaker John Boehner condemned Young's comments Friday morning and demanded that he apologize.
"Congressman Young?s remarks were offensive and beneath the dignity of the office he holds," Boehner said in a written statement. "I don?t care why he said it ? there?s no excuse and it warrants an immediate apology.?
Smoking immediately upon waking may increase risk of lung and oral cancerPublic release date: 29-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sara LaJeunesse SDL13@psu.edu 814-863-4325 Penn State
The sooner a person smokes a cigarette upon waking in the morning, the more likely he or she is to acquire lung or oral cancer, according to Penn State researchers.
"We found that smokers who consume cigarettes immediately after waking have higher levels of NNAL -- a metabolite of the tobacco-specific carcinogen NNK -- in their blood than smokers who refrain from smoking a half hour or more after waking, regardless of how many cigarettes they smoke per day," said Steven Branstetter, assistant professor of biobehavioral health.
According to Branstetter, other research has shown that NNK (4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-[3-pyridyl]-1-butanone) induces lung tumors in several rodent species. Levels of NNAL (4-(methylnitrosamnino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol) in the blood can therefore predict lung cancer risk in rodents as well as in humans. In addition, NNAL levels are stable in smokers over time, and a single measurement can accurately reflect an individual's exposure.
Branstetter and his colleague Joshua Muscat, professor of public health sciences, examined data on 1,945 smoking adult participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who had provided urine samples for analysis of NNAL. These participants also had provided information about their smoking behavior, including how soon they typically smoked after waking.
The researchers found that around 32 percent of the participants they examined smoked their first cigarette of the day within 5 minutes of waking; 31 percent smoked within 6 to 30 minutes of waking; 18 percent smoked within 31 to 60 minutes of waking; and 19 percent smoked more than one hour after waking. In addition, the researchers found that the NNAL level in the participants' blood was correlated with the participants' age, the age they started smoking, their gender and whether or not another smoker lived in their home, among other factors.
The team published its results in the March 29 issue of the journal Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.
"Most importantly, we found that NNAL level was highest among people who smoked the soonest upon waking, regardless of the frequency of smoking and other factors that predict NNAL concentrations," Branstetter said. "We believe these people who smoke sooner after waking inhale more deeply and more thoroughly, which could explain the higher levels of NNAL in their blood, as well as their higher risk of developing oral or lung cancer. As a result, time to first cigarette might be an important factor in the identification of high-risk smokers and in the development of interventions targeted toward early-morning smokers."
The sooner a person smokes a cigarette upon waking in the morning, the more likely he or she is to acquire lung or oral cancer, according to Penn State researchers.
"We found that smokers who consume cigarettes immediately after waking have higher levels of NNAL -- a metabolite of the tobacco-specific carcinogen NNK -- in their blood than smokers who refrain from smoking a half hour or more after waking, regardless of how many cigarettes they smoke per day," said Steven Branstetter, assistant professor of biobehavioral health.
According to Branstetter, other research has shown that NNK (4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-[3-pyridyl]-1-butanone) induces lung tumors in several rodent species. Levels of NNAL (4-(methylnitrosamnino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol) in the blood can therefore predict lung cancer risk in rodents as well as in humans. In addition, NNAL levels are stable in smokers over time, and a single measurement can accurately reflect an individual's exposure.
Branstetter and his colleague Joshua Muscat, professor of public health sciences, examined data on 1,945 smoking adult participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who had provided urine samples for analysis of NNAL. These participants also had provided information about their smoking behavior, including how soon they typically smoked after waking.
The researchers found that around 32 percent of the participants they examined smoked their first cigarette of the day within 5 minutes of waking; 31 percent smoked within 6 to 30 minutes of waking; 18 percent smoked within 31 to 60 minutes of waking; and 19 percent smoked more than one hour after waking. In addition, the researchers found that the NNAL level in the participants' blood was correlated with the participants' age, the age they started smoking, their gender and whether or not another smoker lived in their home, among other factors.
The team published its results in the March 29 issue of the journal Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.
"Most importantly, we found that NNAL level was highest among people who smoked the soonest upon waking, regardless of the frequency of smoking and other factors that predict NNAL concentrations," Branstetter said. "We believe these people who smoke sooner after waking inhale more deeply and more thoroughly, which could explain the higher levels of NNAL in their blood, as well as their higher risk of developing oral or lung cancer. As a result, time to first cigarette might be an important factor in the identification of high-risk smokers and in the development of interventions targeted toward early-morning smokers."
###
[ | 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.
Smoking immediately upon waking may increase risk of lung and oral cancerPublic release date: 29-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sara LaJeunesse SDL13@psu.edu 814-863-4325 Penn State
The sooner a person smokes a cigarette upon waking in the morning, the more likely he or she is to acquire lung or oral cancer, according to Penn State researchers.
"We found that smokers who consume cigarettes immediately after waking have higher levels of NNAL -- a metabolite of the tobacco-specific carcinogen NNK -- in their blood than smokers who refrain from smoking a half hour or more after waking, regardless of how many cigarettes they smoke per day," said Steven Branstetter, assistant professor of biobehavioral health.
According to Branstetter, other research has shown that NNK (4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-[3-pyridyl]-1-butanone) induces lung tumors in several rodent species. Levels of NNAL (4-(methylnitrosamnino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol) in the blood can therefore predict lung cancer risk in rodents as well as in humans. In addition, NNAL levels are stable in smokers over time, and a single measurement can accurately reflect an individual's exposure.
Branstetter and his colleague Joshua Muscat, professor of public health sciences, examined data on 1,945 smoking adult participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who had provided urine samples for analysis of NNAL. These participants also had provided information about their smoking behavior, including how soon they typically smoked after waking.
The researchers found that around 32 percent of the participants they examined smoked their first cigarette of the day within 5 minutes of waking; 31 percent smoked within 6 to 30 minutes of waking; 18 percent smoked within 31 to 60 minutes of waking; and 19 percent smoked more than one hour after waking. In addition, the researchers found that the NNAL level in the participants' blood was correlated with the participants' age, the age they started smoking, their gender and whether or not another smoker lived in their home, among other factors.
The team published its results in the March 29 issue of the journal Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.
"Most importantly, we found that NNAL level was highest among people who smoked the soonest upon waking, regardless of the frequency of smoking and other factors that predict NNAL concentrations," Branstetter said. "We believe these people who smoke sooner after waking inhale more deeply and more thoroughly, which could explain the higher levels of NNAL in their blood, as well as their higher risk of developing oral or lung cancer. As a result, time to first cigarette might be an important factor in the identification of high-risk smokers and in the development of interventions targeted toward early-morning smokers."
The sooner a person smokes a cigarette upon waking in the morning, the more likely he or she is to acquire lung or oral cancer, according to Penn State researchers.
"We found that smokers who consume cigarettes immediately after waking have higher levels of NNAL -- a metabolite of the tobacco-specific carcinogen NNK -- in their blood than smokers who refrain from smoking a half hour or more after waking, regardless of how many cigarettes they smoke per day," said Steven Branstetter, assistant professor of biobehavioral health.
According to Branstetter, other research has shown that NNK (4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-[3-pyridyl]-1-butanone) induces lung tumors in several rodent species. Levels of NNAL (4-(methylnitrosamnino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol) in the blood can therefore predict lung cancer risk in rodents as well as in humans. In addition, NNAL levels are stable in smokers over time, and a single measurement can accurately reflect an individual's exposure.
Branstetter and his colleague Joshua Muscat, professor of public health sciences, examined data on 1,945 smoking adult participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who had provided urine samples for analysis of NNAL. These participants also had provided information about their smoking behavior, including how soon they typically smoked after waking.
The researchers found that around 32 percent of the participants they examined smoked their first cigarette of the day within 5 minutes of waking; 31 percent smoked within 6 to 30 minutes of waking; 18 percent smoked within 31 to 60 minutes of waking; and 19 percent smoked more than one hour after waking. In addition, the researchers found that the NNAL level in the participants' blood was correlated with the participants' age, the age they started smoking, their gender and whether or not another smoker lived in their home, among other factors.
The team published its results in the March 29 issue of the journal Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.
"Most importantly, we found that NNAL level was highest among people who smoked the soonest upon waking, regardless of the frequency of smoking and other factors that predict NNAL concentrations," Branstetter said. "We believe these people who smoke sooner after waking inhale more deeply and more thoroughly, which could explain the higher levels of NNAL in their blood, as well as their higher risk of developing oral or lung cancer. As a result, time to first cigarette might be an important factor in the identification of high-risk smokers and in the development of interventions targeted toward early-morning smokers."
###
[ | 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.
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The brother of George Zimmerman, the man charged in the 2012 shooting death of unarmed black Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, said on Wednesday he was wrong to tweet a series of racially charged comments about his brother's case.
"I made a mistake," Robert Zimmerman Jr. said during an appearance on CNN's Piers Morgan Live. "It unfortunately may not have helped George."
George Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder for killing Martin, who was 17, after an altercation in a residential neighborhood in Sanford, Florida.
Prosecutors contend George Zimmerman, then a neighborhood watch captain, racially profiled Martin, then pursued and shot him while Martin was returning from a convenience store to a townhouse where he was staying with his father.
Robert Zimmerman this week posted side-by-side photos of Martin and one of two teenagers arrested last week in a fatal shooting of a 13-month-old boy as his mother was pushing his stroller down the street in a coastal Georgia town.
The separate photos showed Martin and the teenager posing while making an obscene gesture.
Robert Zimmerman wrote in a tweet, "a picture is worth a thousand words ... any questions?" In another tweet, he said, "Lib media shld ask if what these2 black teens did 2 a woman&baby is the reason ppl think blacks mightB risky."
Morgan, in his interview with Zimmerman, called the tweets "incendiary" and "bordering on outright racism."
"I understand this was controversial and I apologize," Robert Zimmerman said.
Mark O'Mara, George Zimmerman's lawyer, has criticized Robert Zimmerman's tweets.
Lil Wayne spoke to radio station Power 106, admitting he nearly died following his latest seizure. The rapper has confirmed he is epileptic and says his recent seizures earlier this month nearly killed him. Speaking to radio station Power 106, Lil Wayne, said, “[I'm] prone to seizures. This isn’t my first, second, third, fourth, fifth, ...
Google has always been pretty firm in its stance that "open systems win." Now its going so far as to publicly pledge that it will "not sue any user, distributor or developer of open-source software on specified patents, unless first attacked." The Open Patent Non-Assertion (OPN) Pledge, as the company is calling it, is the latest effort to back open-source software which Mountain View contends is one of the driving sources of innovation in cloud-computing and the internet. The first set of patents that are part of the initiative are related to MapReduce, which is used to process large data sets, though the company will eventually expand it to cover other technologies. The pledge is similar to Twitter's Innovators Patent Agreement which it announced in April of last year. There wont be any immediate benefit to end users, but anything that encourages innovation and minimizes litigation seems like a net positive in our book. For more details hit up the source link.
Sunday will mark the end of the first quarter. It's been a busy three months in MMA, so it's a good time to look back at the past three months and see who rose above the rest.
Biggest upset: Did you expect to see Robbie Lawler walk away with the win over Josh Koscheck at UFC 157? What about Antonio Rogerio Nogueira beating former UFC light heavyweight champ Rashad Evans? But there's no question who scored the biggest upset of the first quarter of 2013. Antonio Silva's TKO of Alistair Overeem at UFC 156 left more than Overeem's jaw on the floor.
Best knockout: Vitor Belfort's knockout of Michael Bisping at the January UFC on FX was memorable, as was Tyron Woodley's 36-second dismantling of Jay Hieron at UFC 156. Wanderlei Silva, Robbie Lawler and a slew of Bellator fighters have posted impressive knockouts. But the one that had everyone talking was on "The Ultimate Fighter." Uriah Hall's knockout of Adam Cella* was perfectly executed, and had the rest of the TUF house worried about Hall's skills. For that, Hall wins knockout of the first quarter.
* The knockout actually occurred last year, but aired in the first quarter of 2013.
Best submission: For the best tapouts of the first three months of 2013, Bellator provided a nominee when Dave Vitkay choked out Jesse Peterson in just 18 seconds. Gabriel Gonzaga's guillotine of Ben Rothwell stands out, as is Ronda Rousey's arm bar of Liz Carmouche at UFC 157. The winner comes from the undercard of UFC 157 as Kenny Robertson managed a weird yet incredibly painful looking kneebar-esque submission of Brock Jardine. It was the kind of submission that left MMA fans wondering what had happened.
Best rising star: There were plenty of candidates for fighters who really made an impressive leap in the MMA world early in 2013. Jordan Mein's UFC debut at UFC 158 included rolling out of an arm bar with Dan Miller, and then knocking him out before the first round ended. Abel Trujillo's TKO win by knees to the body of Marcus Levesseur was pretty fantastic, too. But it's Trujillo's opponent at UFC 160, Khabib Nurmagomedov who is taking home the prize. His TKO of Thiago Tavares in Brazil showed he can fight well under any conditions.
Best fight: Johny Hendricks and Carlos Condit put on a great scrap at UFC 158. Brian Stann and Wanderlei Silva's bout was thrilling before Stann was knocked out. Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson's title fight at UFC on Fox 6 was memorable, as was Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo's title bout at UFC 156. The one fight that stood out above the rest, though, was Dennis Bermudez and Matt Grice's fight from UFC 156. Throughout the bout, both fighters should have given up. Both fighters should have been knocked out. But neither man gave in. Bermudez won the decision, but both fighters will be remembered for this bout.
Do you agree? Speak up in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.
More than 40 years after Watergate, historians are still combing through the more than 2,300 hours of audio from former President Richard Nixon?s secret White House taping system. A paranoid indulgence for a president obsessed with documentation, the tapes ultimately helped drive the 37th president from office in a scandal that still haunts the country today.
But it turns out it wasn?t just Nixon who had a fondness for documentation in his White House. Locked away in the National Archives for decades were more than 200 reels of home movies featuring Nixon shot by the a trio of his former top aides whose names have become synonymous with the Watergate scandal.
The reels of Super 8 film?shot by former Nixon chief of staff H.R. Haldeman, domestic policy adviser John Ehrlichman and Dwight Chapin, Nixon?s personal aide, all of whom were convicted for their roles in the Watergate conspiracy?are the subject of a new documentary, ?Our Nixon.?
The movie, which closes out the New Directors/New Films festival sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Museum of Modern Art on March 31, draws from the roughly 35 hours of Super 8 footage shot by Nixon?s confidants as well as the president?s audio recordings and other archival footage to offer a different side of the Nixon administration as it sunk into scandal.
Fueled in part by the paranoid tone of the so-called Watergate tapes, Nixon?s former aides have long been defined as ruthless political operatives willing to do anything to get their boss re-elected. But the home movies paint a lighter, more complex portrait of Nixon and his staffers, showing they had a lighter, ?almost dorky? side, as Penny Lane, the film?s director puts it.
?There was this idea that everybody working for Nixon was sort of a grim, humorless gray man. That?s how these guys were written about in the news media,? Lane says. ?But that?s so not what we see in the home movies. And the more we got to know them in looking over interviews and reading their memoirs, and I was like, wow, they really weren?t like that.?
Haldeman, Ehrlichman and Chapin filmed their boss and each other during key moments of the Nixon administration, including big events like Nixon?s 1972 trip to China; the 1969 Apollo Moon landing; protests over the Vietnam War and the 1971 wedding of Nixon?s daughter Tricia at the White House.
They also captured more random moments during Nixon?s White House years, including celebrities like Johnny Cash and actress Raquel Welch at the White House and Nixon lounging around poolside with foreign policy adviser Henry Kissinger?footage that is accompanied by audio of the president and his aides fretting about Kissinger?s many girlfriends at the time.
The Super 8 footage was confiscated by the FBI during the Watergate investigation before it was transferred to the Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, Calif., where it remained largely unnoticed until about a decade ago.
Brian L. Frye, a University of Kentucky law professor and producer of ?Our Nixon,? first heard about the footage from an acquaintance who had been hired by the National Archives to help preserve the film. Intrigued by what might be on the home movies, Frye and Lane fronted nearly $20,000 to make a video transfer of the footage with the goal of possibly making an art film.
?We had no idea what we would find, what story these movies wanted to tell,? Frye recalled. ?It was a big risk.?
What they found was hours of never-before-seen silent footage of Nixon and his former aides, whom Frye and Lane knew little about. They quickly began researching the people and sights in the movies, trying to figure out what they were looking at. At the same time, they launched a fundraising drive via Kickstarter to help raise money to complete the film, ultimately bringing in more than $15,000 from supporters all over the country.
The result is a movie that is part nostalgia and part tragedy. While the film is called ?Our Nixon,? the documentary focuses less on Nixon himself and more on the close friendship of Haldeman, Ehrlichman and Chapin as they navigated the bizarre life of being a top White House aide.
There is footage of flights on Air Force One and of motorcades overseas and at home, where Nixon was greeted like a rock star during campaign stops for his 1972 re-election bid. The soundtrack is pure nostalgia, including ?Nixon Now,? a cheesy jingle commissioned for the president?s 1972 campaign.
But the aides? happy faces are soon contrasted with snippets of audio from Nixon?s White House tapes?which reveal their loyalty to a president who was plagued by insecurity and paranoia about his political opponents and who, in the end, seemed willing to do anything to save himself politically, even if that meant sacrificing his loyal aides.
?In a way, (the film) is really not about Nixon. It?s about Nixon through the eyes of the people who supported him, who cared about him, who believed him and who, ultimately, were betrayed by him,? Lane says.
The film is based entirely on ?found footage??including audio of interviews Haldeman, Ehrlichman and Chapin gave after they served time for their Watergate offenses. While Haldeman and Ehrlichman died many years ago, the filmmakers reached out to Chapin to see if he might help clarify what was happening in the Super 8 footage, but he declined.
In an email, Chapin, who is now a business consultant in East Hampton, N.Y., said he has seen the film and told Yahoo News the ?home movie footage brings back many wonderful memories.? But Chapin suggested the film was a hit job because of the decision to blend those home movies with archival footage of interviews and Oval Office tapes that ?have nothing to do with the film we shot.?
?It is like mixing oranges and apples,? Chapin said in an email. ?Taking the Oval Office tapes of President Nixon and mixing that sound with our home movies creates pure fiction. A viewer cannot discern truth when the substance is made in the editing room by people who were not even present for the event.?
But Lane and Frye argue the point of their film wasn?t to make a Watergate movie or to offer judgment on what Nixon and his former aides did four decades ago. Their goal, they say, was to present a more complex picture of Nixon and his aides and to remind the public that, in the end, they were just human beings.
?It?s very easy to have a caricature of someone who becomes a historical villain as a cigar-smoking, bourbon-drinking person conspiring behind the scenes,? Frye said. ?There may have been some of that going on, but? there are no villains in home movies. Everybody is happy and cheerful. They were human beings, and they had lives. Ultimately, they were just people.?
FILE - In this July 21, 2012, file photo, Tim McCarver greets the crowd before accepting the Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in baseball broadcasting as part of the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, N.Y. McCarver says he will step down from his position at Fox after this season. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth, File)
FILE - In this July 21, 2012, file photo, Tim McCarver greets the crowd before accepting the Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in baseball broadcasting as part of the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, N.Y. McCarver says he will step down from his position at Fox after this season. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth, File)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Tim McCarver will make his 55th straight season of Major League Baseball his last.
The two-time champion catcher will call the World Series this year and then retire from his analyst job at Fox.
"I wanted to step down while I know I can still do the job and proud of the job I've done," the 71-year-old McCarver said during a conference call Wednesday.
His health is good, McCarver said. So are his passion and energy for the game.
It was just time.
"It's not a tough call," he said. "It's not a sad thing for me."
McCarver had been thinking about moving on for a couple of years. This winter, Fox executives visited him at his home in Florida to discuss extending his contract, which expires after the 2013 season.
They never even started negotiations. McCarver had already made up his mind.
McCarver has seen other people in various businesses stay at their jobs until their health eventually forced them out, and their quality of life was often not very good after they retired. McCarver didn't want that for himself.
A wine aficionado with a second home in California's Napa Valley, he'd love to travel to Italy for cooking classes.
"I plan on living a very long life, believe me," McCarver said. "I hope Mother Nature cooperates."
McCarver could still appear on Fox or its new cable network, Fox Sports 1, in a different role in the future. But until he tests out retirement, he can't predict whether he'll still want to do a little broadcasting.
McCarver will call a full schedule of games for Fox this season. There was no discussion Wednesday of who might replace him in the booth for 2014.
McCarver has worked 28 consecutive MLB postseasons on network television, providing analysis for a record 23 World Series.
Fox Sports Chairman David Hill recalled how he and then-President Ed Goren "would sit in the truck and look at each other when Tim would say, 'This is going to happen,' and it did."
"We knew it wasn't guessing," Hill said, "because to use the term 'guessing' there's an element of doubt. Tim would know."
McCarver got his start in broadcasting in 1980 with the Philadelphia Phillies and NBC's "Game of the Week." He has also called local games for the New York Mets and Yankees and the San Francisco Giants.
McCarver later worked for ABC and CBS before joining Fox in 1996. Last year, he was honored by baseball's Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award for major contributions to baseball broadcasting.
"You've always been a great symbol of class," Commissioner Bud Selig told McCarver on the conference call.
McCarver spent 21 seasons in the majors between 1959 and 1980, mostly with the Cardinals and Phillies. He was a two-time All-Star and won the World Series in 1964 and 1967 with St. Louis. A career .271 hitter, McCarver had 97 home runs and 645 RBIs.
He missed the start of the 2011 AL championship series because of a minor heart-related procedure, but the test result that necessitated that medical work turned out to be a false positive.
McCarver worked with announcer Jack Buck on CBS from 1990-91, then became broadcast partners with Buck's son, Joe, at Fox in 1996.
"I've learned more from him than anybody I've ever been around in this business," Joe Buck said, "including my father."
Short of a few seconds of homebrewed animations here and there, we've never seen Calvin and Hobbes animated. That's fine—Bill Watterson's panels are more lifelike than a kabillion hours of most shows—but seeing it done right is enough to make your eyes fall out from happiness. More »
(Reuters) - The Indiana Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously upheld the nation's broadest school voucher program, which gives poor and middle-class families public funds to help pay private school tuition.
Opponents, including the state teachers' union, had sued to block the program on grounds that nearly all the voucher money has been directed to religious schools.
Voucher systems have drawn criticism across the United States from critics who say they drain money from public schools and subsidize overtly religious education. Supporters say they offer families greater choice on where to educate their children.
In a 5-0 vote, the Indiana justices said that it did not matter that funds had been directed to religious schools, so long as parents - and not the state - decide where to use the tuition vouchers.
"Whether the Indiana program is wise educational or public policy is not a consideration," Chief Justice Brent Dickson wrote. The program is constitutional, he wrote, because the public funds "do not directly benefit religious schools but rather directly benefit lower-income families with school children."
The U.S. Supreme Court used similar reasoning in a 2002 ruling upholding a voucher program in Cleveland. Since then, voucher programs have been challenged in state, rather than federal, court. But opponents have found it an uphill climb.
Just last month, a state appeals court in Colorado upheld a voucher program that helped parents in one of the wealthiest U.S. counties pay private school tuition. The case is on appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court. Another closely-watched voucher case is pending in the Louisiana Supreme Court; a ruling is expected soon.
The Indiana voucher program is considered the broadest in the United States because it is not limited to low-income students or those attending failing schools - and because it is available to children statewide. A family of four with a household income of $64,000 a year is eligible for vouchers worth up to $4,500 per child.
Though more than half a million students in Indiana are eligible for the vouchers, just 9,000 enrolled this school year. Most are from urban communities with struggling public schools, but a sizeable slice live in rural and suburban neighborhoods as well.
Republican Governor Mike Pence has pushed to expand the program by opening eligibility to special-needs students and children in military families if their household income is as high as $85,000 for a family of four.
The Indiana legislature is also considering a bill that would give vouchers to kindergarten students who meet the income guidelines. The program currently requires students to spend a full year in public schools before they are eligible for a voucher.
Nationwide, vouchers are used by more than 100,000 students in a dozen states, including Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Wisconsin. Several other states use tax credits or education savings accounts to help families pay private school tuition.
Public school advocates have complained that the vouchers subsidize parochial schools that use an explicitly faith-based curriculum.
"Just because the Indiana Supreme Court said it's OK by our constitution doesn't mean this is a good idea," said Teresa Meredith, vice president of the Indiana State Teachers Association and a plaintiff in the case. "I don't believe it's a wise use of public money. It's still, at the end of the day, funding religious instruction" with tax dollars.
Supporters of the voucher program predicted that the ruling would clear the way for a rapid expansion of vouchers in Indiana and nationwide.
"Kids and parents won today," said Robert Enlow, president of the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, which supports voucher programs nationally. "Other states should look at this victory and see that the education establishment's ability to obstruct families' freedom to choose is waning."
(Reporting by Stephanie Simon; Editing by Scott Malone, Andrew Hay and Tim Dobbyn)
Wells Fargo's online banking site was experiencing problems Tuesday, with a denial-of-service attack likely the reason behind the slowdowns for some customers trying to access the site.
"Today we?ve seen an unusually high volume of website traffic which we believe is a denial of service attack," a bank spokesperson told NBC News. "The vast majority of customers are not impacted and customer information is safe."
Customers who are having problems logging on are encouraged to do keep trying, "as the disruption is usually intermittent," the spokesperson said. "We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience."
This isn't the first time the bank site has been under a denial-of-service attack, where hackers inundate a website with traffic to delay or disrupt it.
Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Ally Financial, and regional bank BB&T have also been hit with attacks in the past year. Sources have previously told NBC News and Reuters that the attacks may be part of an effort by Iranian hackers against major U.S. financial institutions and other corporate entities.
Last fall, a financial services industry group, the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, issued an alert about the attacks to members, raising the threat level from "elevated" to high," because of "credible intelligence" about the potential for such attacks.
AAA??Mar. 26, 2013?11:01 AM ET Court grounds packed on first day of marriage case By JESSICA GRESKOBy JESSICA GRESKO, Associated Press??
Actor, director and producer Robert Reiner is interviewed outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Tuesday, March 26, 2013, before the court will hear arguments on California?s voter approved ban on same-sex marriage. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Actor, director and producer Robert Reiner is interviewed outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Tuesday, March 26, 2013, before the court will hear arguments on California?s voter approved ban on same-sex marriage. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Demonstrators stand outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Tuesday, March 26, 2013, where the court will hear arguments on California?s voter approved ban on same-sex marriage, Proposition 8. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Qween Amar from Orlando, Fla., left, dances by Margie Phelps, right, a member of the Westboro Baptist Church, outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Tuesday, March 26, 2013, where the court will hear arguments on California?s voter approved ban on same-sex marriage, Proposition 8. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Demonstrators walk outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Tuesday, March 26, 2013, where the court will hear arguments on California's voter approved ban on same-sex marriage, Proposition 8. The Supreme Court waded into the fight over same-sex marriage Tuesday, at a time when public opinion is shifting rapidly in favor of permitting gay and lesbian couples to wed, but 40 states don't allow it. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Supporters and opponents of gay marriage rallied in front of the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices began the first of two days of arguments in gay marriage cases.
By the time the court began Tuesday the sidewalk outside the court was packed, and supporters spilled over to the other side of the roadway. "Gay, straight, black, white, marriage is a civil right," the crowd chanted at one point, followed by "we honor this moment with love." Many gay marriage supporters came with homemade signs including ones that read "a more perfect union," ''love is love," and "'I do!' want 2 B (equals)"
Opponents marched down the roadway in front of the court, many carrying signs including "Every child deserves a mom & dad" and "vote for holy matrimony."
Associated PressNews Topics: General news, Government and politics, Gays and lesbians, Same sex marriage, Marriage, Supreme courts, Family issues, Social affairs, Gay rights, Human rights and civil liberties, Social issues, National courts, National governments, Courts, Judiciary
Indiana guard Victor Oladipo (4) and forward Cody Zeller celebrate after they defeated Temple 58-52 in a third-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday March 24, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)
Indiana guard Victor Oladipo (4) and forward Cody Zeller celebrate after they defeated Temple 58-52 in a third-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday March 24, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)
Ohio State players LaQuinton Ross (10), Evan Ravenel (30) and Amir Williams (23) celebrate on the bench in the second half of a third-round game against Iowa State in the NCAA college basketball tournament on Sunday, March 24, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. Ohio State defeated Iowa State 78-75. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)
Ohio State guard Aaron Craft (4) shoots the game-winning basket against Iowa State in a third-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament on Sunday, March 24, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. Ohio State won 7-75. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)
Indiana guard Victor Oladipo dunks against Temple in the second half of a third-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 24, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. Oladipo led Indiana to a 58-52 win with 16 points. (AP Photo/Skip Peterson)
Temple guard Will Cummings covers his face after they lost to Indiana 58-52 in a third-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 24, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) ? Khalif Wyatt patted his chest twice, acknowledging that his incredible game wasn't going to be quite enough. Across the court, the Hoosiers' heartbeats could finally slow down.
No. 1 Indiana had barely escaped the big upset.
The Hoosiers finally figured out a way to stop Wyatt ? bump him, shadow him, deny him the ball ? and used a closing 10-0 run to beat Temple 58-52 on Sunday at the University of Dayton Arena, sending them into the round of 16 for the second year in a row.
"That was a relief," Indiana coach Tom Crean said.
Tell Ohio State about it.
The second-seeded Buckeyes also advanced with a pulsating finish, beating Iowa State 78-75 on Aaron Craft's 3-pointer with a half-second left. Ohio State is in the round of 16 for a school-record fourth year in a row, the last high seed remaining in the tournament's most busted bracket ? the Wild West.
"The moment is definitely bigger than me," said Craft, who won it with his only 3-pointer of the game.
Now, the two Big Ten heavyweights go their separate ways. Indiana (29-6) heads to the East Regional to play fourth-seeded Syracuse on Thursday in a rematch of the 1987 title game won by the Hoosiers. Ohio State (28-7) goes to Los Angeles to play sixth-seeded Arizona in the West Regional, which is missing four of its top five seeds.
Ohio State was the lone one to make it past the opening weekend.
"With all that's gone on in college basketball, anything's possible," Craft said. "You can see it with what's gone on in our bracket right now."
Here's what's gone on: No. 3 New Mexico, No. 4 Kansas State and No. 5 Wisconsin were knocked out in their opening games, and No. 1 Gonzaga joined them Saturday night, shocked by ninth-seeded Wichita State 76-70.
Tenth-seeded Iowa State (23-12) tried to make it a clean sweep at the top. The Cyclones trailed for most of the second half and were down by 13 with 6 minutes to go. They caught up with a pair of 3s, a three-point play and some missed free throws by Craft, who also was off-target on a jumper from just inside the arc with 29.9 seconds left.
The Cyclones dominated in rebounds 36-22 but couldn't get that last one, knocking the ball out of bounds after Craft's miss. Ohio State was looking to get the ball to leading scorer Deshaun Thomas for the final shot, but Iowa State switched defenses and left Craft with only one option as the clock ticked down.
The point guard dribbled in place at the top of the key until only a few seconds remained, then shot it over 6-foot-7 freshman Georges Niang.
"Every kid dreams of moments like that," Craft said.
The Cyclones had a tough time coming to terms with the ending. The nation's best 3-point team was beaten by one.
"We played our hearts out," said Will Clyburn, who scored 17 points. "It was a tough game and he made a tough shot. He made a great play."
The Atlantic 10's top scorer made a bunch of great plays in the second game, bringing Temple (24-10) to the verge of a huge upset. Wyatt scored 20 points in the first half even though the Hoosiers made him the focal point of their defense. He finished with 31, two days after also scoring 31 in a win over North Carolina State despite hurting his left thumb.
Victor Oladipo got the job of shutting him down in the final minutes, and pulled it off by staying as close to him as possible wherever he went.
"In the last 6 minutes, they started face-guarding me full-court," Wyatt said. "It was hard for me to get the ball. When I did get the ball, I made a couple nice plays, but they just made it difficult to get the ball."
Wyatt missed a long 3-pointer as the game started to slip away, and Oladipo hit a 3 with 14 seconds left that finished it off and gave the Hoosiers their first chance to relax all game.
"I was just kind of filled with emotion," Oladipo said.
So was Wyatt.
"He did a wonderful, wonderful job," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. "It would have been great for our team to win and celebrate this a little bit."
___
AP Sports Writer Tom Withers contributed to this report.
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 29-Mar-2013
Share ] 
Lil Wayne spoke to radio station Power 106, admitting he nearly died following his latest seizure. The rapper has confirmed he is epileptic and says his recent seizures earlier this month nearly killed him. Speaking to radio station Power 106, Lil Wayne, said, “[I'm] prone to seizures. This isn’t my first, second, third, fourth, fifth, ...
Sunday will mark the end of the first quarter. It's been a busy three months in MMA, so it's a good time to look back at the past three months and see who rose above the rest.
?