Total Pageviews

Federal Court Has HistoryOf Lavish Hawaiian Trips

Federal judges taking heat from Congress for planning a Maui conference later this summer have a long history of holding seminars in the sun. 

The Maui meet-up, scheduled for August, would mark the fourth time in just the past decade the 9th Circuit -- which spans western states -- held its annual conference in Hawaii. 

And they haven't exactly been slumming it the other years. The 9th Circuit's annual conference frequently has been held in upscale resorts and spas across the western states, even as other circuits are now either canceling the conference or scaling back. 

The 2011 9th Circuit conference was held at the ritzy La Costa Resort and Spa in southern California. Their 2009 meeting was held at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey, Calif. As for the Hawaii conferences, the judges set off for the Kaua'i Hyatt Regency in 2003, the Waikiki Sheraton in Honolulu in 2007 and the Maui Hyatt Regency in 2010. 

Now that the justices and their staff are set to return to the Maui Hyatt this year, two U.S. senators are trying to put the brakes on the convention -- or at least convince the circuit to scale things back in tight financial times. 

"This is a big deal," Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., told Fox News Tuesday. "We have too much of this lack of discipline. We do not have the money to waste on these kind of projects." 

He and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, wrote a letter to 9th Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski questioning the conference details. 

Circuit Court Executive Cathy Catterson issued a written response to the complaints Monday afternoon defending the upcoming meeting.   

"As part of the Third Branch of government, the 9th Circuit is fully aware of its responsibilities as a steward of public funds," Catterson said, noting the conference is "authorized by law" for the purposes of considering court business and ways to improve the administration of justice. 

"The conference fully adheres to these goals, providing an exceptional educational program and the opportunity to conduct numerous business meetings that further circuit governance. Judges and other attendees take seriously their obligation to participate fully in the conference," she said. 

"Costs for lodging and air travel to attend the conference are comparative to those found at mainland venues. Any sporting and recreational activities are paid for by individuals and are not reimbursable." 

Other circuits, though, have opted to hold their conferences in less-tropical locations. The 8th Circuit, for instance, has scheduled its conference this year at the Kansas City Marriott, where rates for the conference days are slightly cheaper than in Maui -- as low as $199 a night. 

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported last year that three circuits had also canceled their 2012 conferences. The same article also claimed the 9th Circuit had a "lock-in commitment" this year with the Maui Hyatt. 

Grassley, though, told Fox News on Tuesday there are "cheaper places" than Maui for the 9th Circuit to hold its convention. 

"A place to have it would probably be in Montana someplace," he said. 

The Maui meet-up is scheduled for August under the banner of the 2012 9th Circuit Judicial Conference, and will include judges, attorneys, staff and "special guests" from various federal courts spread across nine western states -- including judges on the California-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. 

While in Hawaii, the guests are scheduled to stay in the upscale Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa. And they'll have the chance to kick back with an array of recreational activities -- sport fishing, golf, paddle-board lessons, yoga, Zumba, even a floral design workshop. 

The official website for the conference stresses that "government funds are not used for any recreational or sporting activities." 

But a statement from Sessions and Grassley estimated the trip could cost more than $1 million -- pegging the cost of accommodations alone at more than $500,000. That factors in room rates of between $230 and $250 per night for four nights. 

The government also provides a per diem -- according to the conference website, this per diem starts at a base level of $289. 

The 9th Circuit has held a handful of recent conferences in less exotic locations -- including the 2005 conference in Spokane, Wash., and the 2008 conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. The 2008 conference was nevertheless held at the picturesque Sun Valley Resort.

Federal Court Has HistoryOf Lavish Hawaiian Trips



Article from FOXNEWS


S.C. AFL-CIO leader videotaped bashing Gov. Haley pinata

Will the Gold ETF recovery last? http://t.co/gCDYbeBH

Article from YAHOO NEWS


Video: \'Fifty Shades of Blue\' with Selena Gomez and Nick Kroll

Some quick-thinking employees thwarted a high-stakes robbery attempt at a Las Vegas casino. The Las Vegas Sun reports that around 11 p.m. on Saturday, the alleged thieves entered the Bellagio wearing wigs and sunglasses. Armed with pepper spray, they attempted to steal 23 high-value chips from a blackjack table. After dousing the dealer with the [...]

Article from YAHOO NEWS


Black pastors bash NAACP for endorsing gay marriage

By Meagan Clark - The Daily Caller | The Daily Caller â€" 

Article from YAHOO NEWS


\'Stroller Brigade\' rolls to Capitol for toxic chemical reform

By Sunlen Miller | ABC OTUS News â€" 

Article from YAHOO NEWS


Ocean\'s 0: Bellagio employees foil attempted robbery

By Eric Pfeiffer | The Sideshow â€" 

Article from YAHOO NEWS


Fastest Race on Earth

Fastest Race on Earth

We appreciate when you send us photos and video of news events in your area. 

If you have something to share, upload it at foxnews.com/ureport.  Make sure you include your name, location and a description of your images. 

MAKE SURE YOU STAY SAFE WHILE GETTING IMAGES



Article from FOXNEWS


Ex-CNN exec filmed putting dog feces in mailbox

  • hln-logo-660.jpg

That just stinks!

Former CNN and HLN executive Bob Furnad was videotaped putting a bag of dog feces into his neighbor's mailbox, the Covington News reports.

Furnad was captured on a surveillance camera walking by with his dog, and then putting a plastic bag of feces into the mailbox of his neighbors Benjamin Dameron and Ralph Miller.

Dameron and Miller called police Saturday after they found the smelly package.

Furnad was ticketed $180 for littering.

"This was an immature act in response to years of malicious rumor mongering that I consider defamation of character," Furnad told the Covington News.

Dameron and Miller did not comment to the paper.

Furnad, 71, was the head of CNN's Headline News until 2001, and, most recently, an associate professor at the University of Georgia, according to his Facebook page.

Covington, Ga. is located 30 miles outside of Atlanta, the corporate home of CNN. It was also reportedly the location of the first five episodes of the "Dukes of Hazzard" television series.



Article from FOXNEWS


Detroit teen called 911 as he was shot by grandma

Michigan police say a 74-year-old grandmother murdered her 17-year-old grandson as he made a frantic 911 call. 

Sandra Layne, a former teacher with no criminal history, is charged in the fatal shooting of Jonathan Hoffman on Friday evening with a Glock semi-automatic handgun.

Police said that when they arrived at Layne's home in Bloomfield Township, she answered the door still holding the weapon and told officers she had just "murdered her grandson."

Detective Brad Boulet told a court hearing Monday that, "At approximately the three-minute mark of the 911 call, the subject screamed and exclaimed that he had just been shot again. Responding officers heard several gunshots inside the house."

Authorities confirmed Hoffman had around eight entry or exit wounds and two bullets in his body. He was pronounced dead at Botsford Hospital.

He moved in with his grandmother six months ago after his parents moved to Scottsdale, Ariz. Police said they had a volatile relationship and that officers were called to the home in another domestic incident in March.

MyFoxDetroit.com reported that Layne's attorney, Mitch Ribitwer, told the court, "This young man's been in trouble and apparently my understanding is there were narcotics apparently in the house and some other drugs."

Hoffman was given a suspended jail sentence after he pleaded guilty to possession of drugs following an arrest on March 17.

Layne has five children and nine grandchildren and has been married for 28 years.

She was charged with murder and felony firearm possession and was held without bond. She is due back in court next week. A funeral for Hoffman will take place on Tuesday.

Newscore contributed to this report. 



Article from FOXNEWS


Obama daughters\' school hit with prank email about sex

A Georgia landscaper is battling flesh-eating disease at the same Augusta hospital as Aimee Copeland, the 24-year-old student who lost her leg to the deadly infection.

Robert Vaughn, 32, contracted necrotizing fasciitis after cutting on his groin while trimming weeds May 4, three days after Aimee Copeland sliced open her calf falling from a homemade zip line near the Little Tallapoosa River.

Vaughn went to a hospital in Cartersville, Ga., where doctors gave him a prescription for antibiotics and recommended he stay for observation, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. But Vaughn, "being the man that I am," went home and watched the painful gash swell from the size of a peanut to that of a grapefruit.

He returned the next day and underwent emergency surgery.

"It was that bad," he told the newspaper, describing how doctors removed some of the infected flesh and sent him to Doctor's Hospital in Augusta for more surgeries. "They told me I was close to death."

It took five surgeries to remove more than two pounds of tissue infected by bacteria that burrowed deep into Vaughn's wound.

"The bacteria produce enzymes that can dissolve muscle deep down," said Dr. William Schaffner, chair of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., and president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. "And because it's so deep, it can be a sneaky infection that's not immediately appreciated by the patient."

The symptom that should ring alarm bells, according to Schaffner, is "serious, unremitting pain."

"An otherwise healthy individual with a seemingly superficial injury who has severe pain should have a much more thorough evaluation," he said.

Indeed Vaughn said the pain was so bad he "could hardly move," the AJC reported.

Vaughn is expected to undergo skin grafts today to replace some of the tissue removed during surgery.

"They have to rebuild my groin area," he told the AJC. "But I'm feeling much better now."

Vaughn was at one point next door to Copeland, who is slowly recovering from the infection that claimed her left leg and threatens to take her right foot and both hands. The two cases occurred 54 miles apart.

"Ironic? I don't know what the right word is," Jeff Buzhardt, Vaughn's brother-in-law, told ABC News.

Copeland's infection was the work of Aeromonas hydrophila, a bacteria that thrives in warm climates and fresh water like the river where Copeland was zip lining with friends. The bacteria that caused Vaughn's infection is unclear. Calls to Doctor's Hospital were not immediately returned.

Vaughn is the third person to contract flesh-eating disease in Georgia in three weeks. Lana Kuykendall, 36, developed necrotizing fasciitis May 11 after giving birth to twins at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. She is reportedly in critical but stable condition.

Doctors say the cases are rare and unrelated.

To reduce the risk of necrotizing fasciitis, all wounds big and small should be immediately cleaned, treated with antimicrobial ointment and covered with sterile bandages, according to the National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation.

Also Read

Article from YAHOO NEWS


Arpaio sends detective to probe Obama birth certificate

  • (LEFT)U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference at the conclusion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit on November 13, 2011 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (RIGHT) Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks to participants at the Border Security Expo on April 29, 2010 in Phoenix, Arizona.AP

Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the self-described toughest sheriff in America, has added a taxpayer-funded deputy to his volunteer team in Hawaii determined to investigate "inconsistencies" in President Barack Obama's birth certificate.

The newest member of Arpaio's volunteer Hawaiian "Cold Case Posse," deputy Mike Zollo, has joined the team in part because the investigation has "progressed," according to Arpaio, and because of "security issues."

"It's one deputy, so what? We have security issues, too, that I can't got into," Arpaio said to the Arizona Republic. "For six months we were not spending any money. When you're doing investigations sometimes things change, you put more resources into it."

Zollo, who is part of the sheriff's threats unit, will continue to work on other cases as while working on the Obama investigation, but his actual mission in Hawaii is still not entirely clear.

"He's not going to make any arrests," Arpaio told the Republic. "I didn't say we're going to keep using him. We're not going to use him constantly. He's not assigned to it. For this trip I feel it's important to have a deputy there. He's just a liaison to give advice if needed. He's not doing anything. The posse's been doing the research. I'm not going to say what other trips they've been taking but they haven't had a deputy with them."

The "birther movement" --  which questions the validity of Obama's birth certificate and eligibility to be president - gained steam after Arpaio launched the investigation last year. The sheriff claims it was started at the request of 250 Tea Party members in Surprise, Arizona. Thus far, Arpaio's Hawaiian posse has spent close to $40,000 of donated money, according to the Republic.

Over two months ago, the Maricopa County Sheriff held a press conference to proclaim the revival of the so-called "birther" controversy at the conclusion of the six-month investigation that found the president's birth certificate, which shows he was born in Hawaii, may have been a "computer-generated forgery," according to Arpaio. His team also found irregularities with Obama's Selective Service card.

The Obama birth certificate controversy has been widely debunked but remains alive in the eyes of some conservatives including, most recently, Donald Trump, who spoke on the issue while entertaining a bid for the presidency last year.  

The Obama campaign has since posted a copy of the "certification of live birth" on the White House website.

Recently,  the U.S. Department of Justice officially filed a lawsuit against Arpaio, claiming his deputies ethnically profiled Latinos. The sheriff has said the investigation was a politically motivated attack by the Obama administration.

Arpaio has built his reputation on jailing inmates in tents and dressing them in pink underwear. He has campaigned as a tough-on-crime candidate who aggressively pushed for a stronger role for local police to confront illegal immigration, launching 20 patrols looking for undocumented immigrants since January 2008, according to the Associated Press.

The revival of the birther controversy can be traced back to Arizona's legislature as well as its controversial sheriff.

Arizona officials endorsed a proposal in March that required presidential candidates to swear that they meet the qualifications of the nation's highest office. The proposal would have made candidates complete a new form asking eligibility questions, including whether they are natural-born U.S. citizens. The proposal was vetoed by Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, who called the measure "a bridge too far."

Follow us on twitter.com/foxnewslatino
Like us at facebook.com/foxnewslatino



Article from FOXNEWS


Hamas attack victims slam US for siding with Iran - Iran claims to deliver homemade fuel to nuke reactor

  • jerusalem_bomb_07.JPG

    Sept. 4, 1997: Shown here is the site at Jerusalem's Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall following a triple explosion during a terror attack.AP

Would the U.S. government ever side with Iran?

Actually, the United States has already done so several times in an ongoing and unusual court battle -- and is likely to do so again when it files a brief with the Supreme Court.

The case involves American survivors of a 1997 Hamas suicide bombing near a Jerusalem cafe. Survivors sued the Iranian government for supporting the terrorists, and won. A D.C. District Court initially awarded them $71.5 million in damages -- to be collected from Iranian government assets held in the United States if Iran refused to pay.

But Iran appealed the ruling, and the 7th Circuit Appeals Court ruled that the plaintiffs should not be allowed to force Iran, and groups that have done business with it, to reveal Iranian assets in America. Without that information, the attack victims cannot collect the damages they were awarded.

So the plaintiffs are now asking the Supreme Court to hear their case. And their attorney, Ted Olson -- who famously represented George W. Bush in the Supreme Court case that determined the 2000 election -- said the biggest roadblock in the way of justice has been the U.S. government.

"The U.S. government is making this more difficult," Olson told FoxNews.com.  "It's frustrating that our own government is taking the side of the terrorists."

Every step of the way in the legal proceedings, so far, the U.S. Justice Department has filed briefs arguing that Iran is legally correct. The department first filed the briefs during the George W. Bush administration, and the case has since fallen into the lap of the Obama administration.

U.S. Justice Department spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle declined to comment on the case for this article, but the agency's past legal filings explained its position, noting that it simply wants to see the law interpreted correctly.

"The United States files this brief because of its significant interest in ensuring that courts correctly interpret the laws," the brief reads, going on to cite the "Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act" of 1976, which makes foreign nations immune to most types of lawsuits.

The Justice Department went on to cite foreign policy reasons for filing the brief on Iran's side.

"Issues such as these ... can have a significant, detrimental impact on the conduct of our foreign relations, as well as on the reciprocal treatment in the courts of other nations," the DOJ notes.

Olson said he didn't buy that rationale.

"They're saying, 'gee whiz, we don't want to disturb relations with foreign states.' But foreign states that are adjudicated as having committed acts of terrorism, or sponsoring acts of terrorism, shouldn't be entitled to protections."

Typically, foreign governments cannot be sued in U.S. court under a principle called "sovereign immunity." But in 1996, U.S. law was amended to allow foreign governments to be sued if a court finds them guilty of supporting terrorism.

Independent legal experts noted that the amendment was passed specifically to deal with cases similar to this.

"It was amended specifically because of Jerusalem bus bombings that occurred," Robert Alford, a Notre Dame law professor who specializes in sovereign immunity law, said.

The case at hand was first filed in 2003.

"It was almost 10 years ago that we started this," plaintiff Dan Miller, who was injured in the café bombing, told FoxNews.com. "It's been a frustrating battle, to be honest. On the one hand the government and Congress gave us the ability to fight back (in court) ... And on the other hand when we go to (court) ... the government has been, I'd say, our biggest enemy."

Miller said that his desire to win the case stemmed partly from a desire to discourage Iran from supporting terror in the future.

"I think every decision -- whether you're a terrorist in Iran, or you're me in Boca Raton -- is influenced by money. And if Iran has to think, 'hey, they're not just giving Hamas $5 million, but they also stand a chance to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in assets around the world' -- I really believe that would influence them."

Miller added that it looked to him like the lawsuits might already be affecting Iran.

"This is the first time in history ... that Iran is representing themselves in court. Which means that we got their attention and they don't want this to happen."

One Iranian asset in the U.S. -- a house in Texas that had once been owned by the Shah of Iran -- was successfully seized for the plaintiffs. Miller said he and his fellow plaintiffs then sold the house back to Iran, and split the proceeds. Miller estimates that he received about $25,000 in compensation as a result.

The lawsuit also sparked controversy when the plaintiffs attempted to get a court to seize ancient Persian artifacts on loan from Iran at several museums in the U.S.

Miller said that he wouldn't feel sorry if Iran were to lose the artifacts.

"There's one simple solution to all this. If you don't want to give up the artifacts -- okay, we are asking where your money is. Pay up," Miller said.

Alford said he thinks the plaintiffs have a shot at getting the Supreme Court to take their case.

"Being optimistic is kind of tough at this point, it's been so long," Miller said. "But our lawyers are working hard. ... I think it's time for the U.S. to stand up and say, 'if you hurt one of our citizens in one of these attacks, you're going to lose your bank accounts, you're going to lose everything.'"

Hamas attack victims slam US for siding with Iran - Iran claims to deliver homemade fuel to nuke reactor



Article from FOXNEWS


SpaceX rocket lifts off for space station trial run

By Irene Klotz | Reuters â€" 

Article from YAHOO NEWS


Celebrity Swine Wars

  • EddieLeannSmile.jpg

    LeAnn Rimes, right, and Eddie Cibrian arrive at the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday, April 1, 2012 in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

LeAnne Rimes wants to go hog wild in the worst way.

The country cutie recently made a porcine plea directed towards her hubby on Twitter. 

"Quote of the day.... 'pigs are not stupid' Trying to convince Eddie to get a mini pig. I want one," Rimes tweeted on May 7. 

Fellow animal lover Tori Spelling chimed in with a very cute picture of her pig, Hank â€" and a pointed warning, “Heres R's but didn't stay mini”

“[A]dorable!!!!!” replied an undeterred Rimes. “How much does he/she weigh [?]”

Spelling never answeredâ€"at least not on Twitter -- but Adria Johnson of Best Friends Animal Society's Piggy Paradise in Kanab, Utah told FoxNews.com that “mini” pigs can grow as large as 200 lbs.

"People go to breeders and are told that the baby pigs will grow up to weigh about 20 lbs.,” explained Johnson. “Well, pigs don't reach their full size until they're close to four years old.”

George Clooney's late pet pig, Max, tipped the scales at 300 lbs. and was “the longest relationship” of the notorious playboy's life. 

"It's strange how animals become a big part of your family,” Clooney told USA Today shortly after Max's death in 2006. “They really become a big issue with you."

Clooney wasn't kidding. 

Tamie Bagley, who recently adopted Daphne, Sprocket and Jack, tells FOXNews.com that her life now revolves around her three not-so-little pigs.

“Sprocket is 100 lbs., Daphne is 150 lbs., and Jack is 175 lbs., so they do get big,” said Bagley. “It gets a little pricey with all of the fruits and vegetables that they eatâ€"and you have to feed them several times a day. They eat apples, dried mangos, broccoli â€" and they'll eat whole bananas, skin and all. I have to get them a case of romaine lettuce every week. The pigs are a lot of work, but they're just adorable. Daphne likes to be brushed and have her belly rubbed.”

Barbara Pierson, who recently adopted a pair of potbellied pigs named Lenny and Squiggy, advised Rimes not to rush into pig parenthood. 

“You should never get an animal on a whim,” declared Pierson. “There are a lot of sanctuaries who have other people's pets because they thought they were cute in red rain boots, too.”

So if Rimes is still determined to swing with some swine, Johnson has some words of advice.

“They're not for everybody,” noted the veteran pig caretaker. “They have a history of rooting up carpet, peeling wallpaper off walls, rooting up an entire yard in one dayâ€"they open cupboards and refrigerators â€" they're just so intelligent that that they get very bored very quickly. A lot of cities and towns consider potbellied pigs to be livestock, so they may not be allowed where LeAnn lives. If you want to become a pig parent, you really have to have the right set up and you have to be aware of what you're getting yourself into.”

And if Rimes and Cibrian want to try a weekend “sleepover” with a potential pet pig, Best Friends Animal Society's Piggy Paradise is happy to help.

“If LeAnne and Eddie would like to come to the sanctuary, they could stay at one of our cottages and could take a pig for a whole weekend,” said Johnson. “We would love for them to come and visit.”



Article from FOXNEWS


Evidence of Ancient Curse

  • black_magic_curse.jpg

    Two ancient curses dating back 1,600 years depict a deity with snakes coming out of its head. This deity may be none other than the goddess Hekate, the Queen of the Crossroads. Invocations in the curses resemble those used for her.Museo Archeologico Civico di Bolonga

At a time when black magic was relatively common, two curses involving snakes were cast, one targeting a senator and the other an animal doctor, says a Spanish researcher who has just deciphered the 1,600-year-old curses.

Both curses feature a depiction of a deity, possibly the Greek goddess Hekate, with serpents coming out of her hair, possibly meant to strike at the victims. Both curses contain Greek invocations similar to examples known to call upon Hekate.

The two curses, mainly written in Latin and inscribed on thin lead tablets, would have been created by two different people late in the life of the Roman Empire. Both tablets were rediscovered in 2009 at the Museo Archeologico Civico di Bolonga, in Italy, and were originally acquired by the museum during the late 19th century. Although scholars aren't sure where the tablets originated, after examining and deciphering the curses, they know who victims of the curses were.

Kill the pig

One of the curses targets a Roman senator named Fistus and appears to be the only known example of a cursed senator. The other curse targets a veterinarian named Porcello. Ironically, Porcello is the Latin word for pig.

Celia Sánchez Natalías, a doctoral student at the University of Zaragoza, explained that Porcello was probably his real name. "In the world of curse tablets, one of the things that you have to do is to try to identify your victim in a very, very, exact way."

Sánchez Natalías added that it isn't certain who cursed Porcello or why. It could be for either personal or professional reasons. "Maybe this person was someone that (had) a horse or an animal killed by Porcello's medicine," said Sánchez Natalías.

"Destroy, crush, kill, strangle Porcello and wife Maurilla. Their soul, heart, buttocks, liver ..." part of it reads. The iconography on the tablet actually shows a mummified Porcello, his arms crossed (as is the deity) and his name written on both of his arms. [See images of the curse tablets]

The fact that both the deity and Porcello have their arms crossed is important. Sánchez Natalías believes that the spell forced the deity, and thus Porcello, to become bound. "This comparison may be understood in two ways: either 'just as the deity is bound, so will Porcello be' or else 'until Porcello is bound the deity will stay bound,'" she writes in a recent edition of the journal Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik.

May all his limbs dissolve …

The case of Fistus, a Roman senator, is also remarkable. The senate in ancient Rome was a place of great wealth and, earlier in Roman history, was a place of considerable power. By the time this curse was written toward the end of the Roman Empire, the influence of the senate had diminished in favor of the emperor, the army and the imperial bureaucracy.

Fistus would still have been a person of some wealth, however, and whoever wrote the curse had it in for him. The Latin expression for "crush" is used at least four times in the curse. "Crush, kill Fistus the senator," part of the curse reads, "May Fistus dilute, languish, sink and may all his limbs dissolve ..."

Again Sánchez Natalías isn't sure of the motives behind the curse; but whatever they were, even by the standard of modern-day political attack ads, this was a nasty senatorial blow.  

Sánchez Natalías' translation and study of the senator curse is detailed in two  recent articles published in the German journal Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik.

Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Related Slideshow

KickStarted: 12 projects funded entirely by you

Related Stories Alien hunter retires after 35-year quest for E.T. SpaceX commercial rocket blasts off for International Space Station $85 million 'Jurassic park' assembled in Houston museum Why ancient origin of man's best friend remains a mystery


Article from FOXNEWS


Taylor Honors Marine\'s Life

  • TaylorSwift660.jpg

    May 20: Taylor Swift at the Billboard Music Awards.AP

Taylor Swift offered condolences to the family of a marine killed in action by sending flowers to his home and calling his parents. 

The country singer reached out to the family of Sgt. Wade Wilson after his best friend Cpl Josh Marreel posted a YouTube video asking Swift to think of Wilson, who was a huge fan of her music.

 “This is a shout out to the one and only Taylor Swift,” Marreel said in the May 15 video. “I know you have no idea who I am, but this video isn't about me. This is about my good buddy, Sergeant Wade D. Wilson, who was killed in action Friday, May 11, 2012 in Afghanistan. Anybody that knew Willy knew that he worshipped you. He even slept with a poster of you in between our beds in Afghanistan.

“This guy was my best friend. I know a lot of people get on here and ask celebrities to go to dances with them … All I'm asking is for you to think about him.”

Texas television station KBTX reports Swift also plans to wear his dog tags in her next video to honor the life of the fallen marine.

The note that accompanied the flowers contained the message, “ Wade, thank you for loving my music. I won't forget it. And I will never forget you. All my love, Taylor Swift.”

A family friend told KBTX “words cannot express what all of this has meant to our family in such a difficult time.”

Related Slideshow

Sneak Peek: Taylor Swift Covers 'Glamour'



Article from FOXNEWS


Paris-US flight diverted due to \'security issue\'

BANGOR, Maine â€"  A US Airways flight flying from Paris to Charlotte, North Carolina, has been diverted to Maine because of what an airline spokesman calls a "security issue."

Spokesman Andrew Christie says the plane with 179 passengers and nine crew members was diverted around noon Tuesday to Bangor International Airport.

He says there was a "security issue" on Flight 787. He says a passenger exhibited suspicious behavior.

There was no immediate word from the airport.



Article from FOXNEWS


Prostate cancer screening report sparks debate among doctors, survivors

By PIERRE THOMAS and JASON RYAN | ABC News â€" 

Article from YAHOO NEWS


US Airways flight diverted because of ‘security issue\'

A US Airways flight from Paris bound for Charlotte was diverted to Maine on Tuesday because of an unspecified "security issue," a spokesman for the airline said. The flight--en route to Charlotte Douglas International from Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport--was rerouted to Bangor, Maine, shortly after noon ET, CNN reported. A Homeland Security official told [...]

Article from YAHOO NEWS


Cure Your Spider Phobia

  • Tarantula

    AP

Getting up close and personal with a furry tarantula is probably the very last thing someone with a spider phobia would opt for, but the encounter may be the ticket to busting the brain's resistance to arachnids.

A tried-and-true exposure therapy, this one lasting just hours, changed activity in the brain's fear regions just minutes after the session was complete, researchers found.

"Before treatment, some of these participants wouldn't walk on grass for fear of spiders or would stay out of their home or dorm room for days if they thought a spider was present," said lead study author Katherina Hauner, postdoctoral fellow in neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in a statement.

After a single therapy session lasting up to three hours, "they were able to walk right up and touch or hold a tarantula. And they could still touch it after six months," Hauner said.

Spider phobia is a type of anxiety disorder called specific phobia, which also includes phobias of blood, needles, snakes, enclosed places and others. About 9.4 percent of the U.S. population has experienced a specific phobia at some point in their lifetime, Hauner said.

Hauner told LiveScience she hopes people who have specific phobias, particularly of spiders, will realize that successful treatments are out there, and that their phobias can take just hours to cure (though some cases can take a couple weeks to cure, she noted). "It's still not easy. It involves being motivated to overcome your fear."

Spider madness

Hauner and her colleagues examined 12 adults, nine women and three men with an average age of 22, who met diagnostic criteria for having a spider phobia; their arachnid fear was so great that, before therapy, they had trouble even looking at photos of spiders. And when they did get a glimpse, each phobic's brain showed increased activity in regions linked to fear response, including the amygdala, insula and cingulated cortex, in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans.

When asked to touch a tarantula in a closed terrarium, participants were also too afraid to go no closer than an average of 10 feet away. [In Photos: Tarantulas Strut Their Stuff]

"They thought the tarantula might be capable of jumping out of the cage and on to them," Hauner said. "Some thought the tarantula was capable of planning something evil to purposefully hurt them."

In therapy, the participants learned about tarantulas in general and that their oversized fears of the creepy crawlies were just that. They were also guided through a multistep process that inched them closer to the enclosed tarantula until they could actually pick up and hold the spider. (At one point they touched the tarantula with a paintbrush, next while wearing a glove and eventually they pet it with their bare hands or held it.)

"I would teach them the tarantula is fragile and more interested in trying to hide herself," Hauner said.

Fearful brain changes

Minutes after therapy, participants were again shown spider photos, but this time, their fMRI scans showed less activity in the fear regions. This fear reduction persisted for six months after treatment, the researchers said.

At that six-month mark, participants were asked again to touch the terrarium-enclosed tarantula. "They walked right up to it and touched it," Hauner said. "It was amazing to see because I remembered how terrified they were initially and so much time had passed since the therapy." [What Scares You? (Infographic)]

The brain area linked to inhibiting emotions or fear, called the prefrontal cortex, showed lots of activity minutes after therapy. However, six months later, that brain area became significantly less active when participants viewed spider photos. "They were still not afraid of spiders, but this particular region of the brain reacted differently," Haunter said during a telephone interview.

The researchers could also predict which participants would gain the most from therapy by looking at the extrastriate cortex, a brain region linked to visual perception and how the brain interprets images. The higher the activity in that area minutes after therapy, the best behavioral progress was seen six months later.

While a lot of people may be at least a little afraid of spiders, to meet the criteria for a specific spider phobia, Hauner says that fear must interfere with your life. For instance, those with a spider phobia may leave a dorm room or other living area for days after spotting a spider there; or they might avoid outdoor activities for fear of contact with a spider.

The results are detailed this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Related Slideshow

Be Very Afraid: Oddest Phobias



Article from FOXNEWS


Iran claims to deliver homemade fuel to nuke reactor

In an apparent attempt to show off nuclear advances, Iran is claiming to have delivered two batches of domestically made nuclear fuel to a research reactor, Reuters reports.

The move comes just days before negotiations with six world powers are set to take place.

"In their latest efforts, experts from Iran's Atomic Energy Organization succeeded in delivering two domestically made nuclear fuel plates to the Tehran research reactor," state television said on its website.

Iran reportedly may exaggerate its progress with nuclear technology in an effort to sway negotiations with world powers, who aim to police the country's efforts, Reuters reports.

If the country's claims are true, that would wipe out a deal requiring Iran to send enriched uranium abroad in exchange for nuclear fuel, which would allow for world powers to continue monitoring the country's supply for a potential nuclear weapon, according to Reuters.

Envoys for Iran and six world powers will meet Wednesday in Baghdad to discuss ways to ease suspicions about Iran's nuclear energy program.

Click for more from Reuters.

Related Stories Israel skeptical of Iranian nuke deal with UN


Article from FOXNEWS


Stuck with Joe: Why Obama won\'t pick Hillary Clinton

Yahoo! News â€" 

Article from YAHOO NEWS


Existing home sales rise to a near 2-year high

U.S. home resales rose in April to their highest annual rate in nearly two years and a falloff in foreclosures pushed prices higher, hopeful signs about the pace of recovery in the still-struggling housing sector.

The National Association of Realtors said on Tuesday that existing home sales increased 3.4 percent to an annual rate of 4.62 million units last month, the highest since May 2010.

Nationwide, the median price for a home resale jumped to $177,400 in April, up 10.1 percent from a year earlier. That was the biggest year-over-year increase since January 2006.

Distressed sales accounted for 28 percent of resales, down from 29 percent in March. NAR economist Lawrence Yun said a drop in foreclosures fueled the decline in distressed sales, which in turn drove the increase in the median sales prices.

March's sales pace was revised marginally lower to 4.47 million units from the previously reported 4.48 million units. Economists polled by Reuters had expected sales at a 4.60 million-unit sales pace last month.

Inventories rose to 2.54 million, which Yun said was largely due to seasonal factors because many homes go on the market in the spring.



Article from FOXNEWS


Maxim Hot 100: Who Won Big?

  • maxim-hot-100-2012-660.jpg

    Brooklyn Decker, JWoww and Bar Refaeli all made the Top 100.Reuters

Maxim's Hot 100 list was revealed on Tuesday, and among the list of the country's sexiest gals are a few surprises!

A cartoon character comes in at #85. Lois Griffin from 'Family Guy" beat out 15 flesh and blood ladies.

Miley Cyrus (#68) beat Sophia Vergara (#71) by three slots. Really?

Stephen Colbert crashed the all-female party, landing at #69. (Thank you, write-in vote.)

And ... not a single Victoria's Secret model made the Top 10.

See who did make the Top 10, Maxim's explanations as to why, and who won the top slot in 2012

Got to Maxim.com for the full Top 100 list and a photo gallery of each.

THE 2012 MAXIM TOP TEN

10... Adrianne Palicki:  "With roles in Friday Night Lights and G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Adrianne is the trifecta of perfection: sexiness, football and huge explosions.”

9... Malin Akerman:  “Whether this stunning Swede is making us laugh, sing, or turn into giant blue godlike beings, Malin has a way of making us do her bidding.”

8... Megan Fox: “Like some kind of shape-shifting car, Megan has transformed from action goddess to comedy cutie.”

7... Emma Stone:  “A super-beautiful Hollywood starlet with actual acting chops and a natural blonde who dyes her hair red, Emma Stone is just one hot mass of contradictions and we love ever one of them.”

6... Jennifer Lawrence: “After being in a movie about a beaver and next to naked for the majority of X-Men: First Class, the Hunger Games star has her sights set on world domination.  Let us all raise a glass in ‘tribute' to the next generation of hotness.”

5... Olivia Wilde:  “Our favorite former TV doctor from House M.D.  and 2009's Hot 100 champ has come a long way from kissing girls on The O.C.  She's now a full-blown movie star thanks to Tron and Cowboys & Aliens-and looks amazing thanks to bikini and beach.”

4... Katy Perry: “Pop music's baddest good girl has been pretty damn busy the past two years, what with seven different number one singles and the top spot on 2010's Hot 100.”

3... Mila Kunis: “Ever since she locked lips with Natalie Portman in Black Swan, our appreciation for this brunette stunner has transformed into a near obsession.”

2... Olivia Munn: “This two-time Maxim cover girl sports a resume that includes senior Asian correspondent for The Daily Show and a body that makes grown men weep.”

1... Bar Refaeli: “Millions of votes were cast and when the polls were closed, a victor was crowned.  She puts the ‘promise' in Promised Land-all hail your No. 1 for 2012, Bar Refaeli.”

Related Stories Mistakes Were Made: YouTube sorry for banning video of Kate Upton dirty dancing 'Jersey Shore's' JWOWW: I got chills when I found out Snooki was pregnant Southwest's Sports Illustrated Plane Featuring Bar Refaeli I


Article from FOXNEWS


POWER PLAY: Obama campaign is all about Bain

“So to repeat, this is not a distraction.  This is what this campaign is going to be about.”

-- President Obama at a press conference in Chicago when asked about the misgivings of his fellow Democrats over attack ads his campaign is running against Republican Mitt Romney's work as the CEO of private equity firm Bain Capital.

President Obama mounted a vigorous defense of his campaign's spring offensive against Republican Mitt Romney's record as the CEO of Bain Capital, a Boston-based firm that specializes in trying to turn around failing companies.

Rather than tacking to the center, as many expected, Obama moved left and started preparing for an intense struggle defined by class conflict and the abiding belief that dominated in the pre-Clinton Democratic Party that great wealth is usually the result of great exploitation.

-

Obama argued at a press conference in Chicago that his escalating attacks on Romney, whom the campaign has dubbed a “vampire” for making profits as workers were being laid off, are not petty politics but part of a larger debate about economic fairness.

That's no doubt true. The relevant question is whether that can work.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus quipped over the weekend in Michigan that Obama was running a “Seinfeld campaign,” saying, “It's the campaign about nothing.” But in Chicago, Obama again laid out what his re-election bid is all about: tearing down the wealthy and powerful individuals whom the president says take advantage of the little people.

It's very much a return to the pre-Clinton era of the Democratic Party and its New Deal roots. It is certainly no change for Obama.

Recall that in the heaviest fighting of the 2008 Democratic primaries, Obama launched very similar attacks against Hillary Clinton over her family's wealth and how she and her husband amassed it. Obama's campaign and a sympathetic press corps hounded the Clintons for more disclosures and suggestions that the post-presidency fortune made by Bill Clinton was ill-gotten.

The argument then, as it is now against Romney, was that the Clintons had gamed the system to profit at the expense of others. And since Obama was running a campaign centered on a repudiation of Clintonian centrism for the party, it was a perfect fit. As Hillary Clinton clawed her way back into contention, Obama escalated the attacks on her wealth and in doing so reminded Democrats of their previous misgivings about Bubba, whom the party's base always found a little too cozy with rich dudes.

She wanted subsidies for private health insurance, he wanted government insurance. She wanted free trade, he wanted trade restrictions. She was friendly with management, he was all for labor.

Obama carried the message into the general election less effectively. The swipes on McCain's wealth and privilege played poorly as did the overall argument about the need to “spread the wealth around.”

But then, the luckiest moment in the political life of a very lucky politician turned it all around. The Panic of 2008 struck and unleashed a frenzy of anti-Wall Street fury as middle-class voters saw their 401(k)s immolated because of absurd speculation abetted by politicians in Washington, D.C.

The panic made Obama's argument for him and, along with McCain's botched response, delivered the election to the unlikeliest victor in the modern political era. So, Obama can hardly be blamed for sticking with the same argument that has propelled him to such success.

Obama clearly expected all along that he would be facing Romney in this fight. Though Democrats expected the Republican process to be longer and bitterer, the expectation was always that Romney would emerge.

When Obama launched his fall offensive starting with a speech to autoworkers in Detroit, he laid out his case against rich dudes like Romney. Obama called for more government protections and higher taxes in a series of campaign speeches, culminating in a pilgrimage to Osawatomie, Kan., site of Theodore Roosevelt's 1910 “new nationalism” speech that launched the former Republican's Progressive Party candidacy.

Rather than tacking to the center, as many expected, Obama moved left and started preparing for an intense struggle defined by class conflict and the abiding belief that dominated in the pre-Clinton Democratic Party that great wealth is usually the result of great exploitation.

But even before Obama started his re-election campaign in earnest, his administration almost always adhered to his central belief in the need to bring the wealthy down a few pegs. There is almost no problem that the president has not sought to address with a proposal to increase taxes on top earners.

Obama moderated some of his policies, at first out of deep concerns among his economic advisers that the pursuit of a “leveling” could send the economy back into freefall and later because of growing resistance inside the Senate Democratic Caucus.

But now, with the economy bad but not spiraling and freed from the constraints of actually having to pass legislation, Obama has returned to his original argument and promises a second term in which he picks up Roosevelt's progressive cause.

This, like almost everything Team Obama does, is massively complicated. Campaigns are usually about simple ideas expressed forcefully. Obama seems more to be running a kind of Gingrichian educational program on American economic history.

But then there are the attack ads, just like the ones the pro-Gingrich political action committee launched against Romney.

And like they did for Gingrich, those attack ads slice through the professorial word clouds and reveal the central argument of Obama's campaign. To make a good ad, you can't just put up plumes of words and historical arguments, you have to evoke feelings. Calling somebody a vampire or a vulture is not about gradient income disparity, it's about tapping into anger at the rich.

Obama might have preferred to wait to reduce the central argument of his campaign into a 2-minute attack on Romney's capitalistic tendencies. But Romney entered the general election in much better condition than expected and Obama felt obliged to start his bombardment early and, more dangerously, maintain it.

Today's Washington Post/ABC News poll tells the tale: 21 percent of voters find Romney's career as a turnaround artist attractive, 21 percent found it a turnoff and 56 percent said it wasn't a major factor. If Obama wants to win, he's got drive that 56 percent way, way down.

But here's the problem: Romney and Bain were widely seen as very good at what they did, not plunderers but responsible corporate citizens. The harder Obama leans on prosecuting private equity, the more Democrats will feel obliged to talk about the necessity of such firms.

Without the Panic of 2008 to boost his argument, Obama may find himself looking too liberal for the liking of moderate suburbanites. In trying to make the election a referendum on Romney's business practices, Obama may turn the race into one about his own economic views.

The Day in Quotes

“Here they are plucking sound bites out of that interview to manipulate them in a cynical manner, to use them for their own purposes ... I'm very upset that I'm being used by the GOP this way.”

-- Mayor Cory Booker on Newark, N.J. in an interview with Rachel Maddow of MSNBC about his comments Sunday that he found President Obama's attack ads against Mitt Romney's career “nauseating.”

"In this particular instance, he was just wrong.”

-- David Axelrod, senior political adviser to President Obama, in an interview with Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC about Newark Mayor Cory Booker's criticism of the Obama campaign's attacks on Mitt Romney's career.

“I've always thought in this state, close elections, presidential elections, it means you probably have to win with at least 53 percent of the vote to account for fraud. One or two points, potentially.”

-- Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wisc., in an interview with Stephen F. Hayes of the Weekly Standard.

“What the federal government did that got our Irish up is define parameters as to how to administer and the motives that should direct our ministry. That is the character, the tone of these straightjacket conditions.”

-- Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, in an interview with FOX News about the lawsuits filed by his archdiocese and 42 other Catholic institutions, including the Archdiocese of Washington and the University of Notre Dame, against the Obama administration over a rule requiring Catholic groups to provide insurance policies that cover contraceptives, abortifacients and sterilizations.

“$20 million”

-- The value of a new government contract for public relations firm Porter Novelli to extol President Obama's 2010 health law.

Chris Stirewalt is digital politics editor for Fox News, and his POWER PLAY column appears Monday-Friday on FoxNews.com.

POWER PLAY: Obama campaign is all about Bain



Article from FOXNEWS


Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)