A Wildlife Vet, A Pigeon, A Groundbreaking Discovery

One of the reasons I love my job as a wildlife veterinarian so much is the variety of my days. No two days are the same; each is filled with different animals with different problems, and I love the anticipation of what my day may bring. I never know what kind of animal will come through the door, what challenges I?ll face, and what skills I?ll get to use ? it?s very unpredictable and that makes it so fun and exciting! My job is very fast-paced, keeps me on my toes, and there?s never a dull moment ? emergency medicine at its finest! It is also full of new discoveries, as I found out last spring.

A wild pigeon with S. calchasi. Note the characteristic head tilt (torticollis). Photo by WRC

Last April I was examining a wild male adult Rock Pigeon that couldn?t fly. The person who found the pigeon suspected a broken wing. On the initial physical exam, I didn?t find any broken bones but the bird was exhibiting odd neurologic behaviors, including ataxia (lack of coordination) and torticollis (head tilt).

My differential diagnoses included head trauma, aberrant parasite migration (a parasite that?s normally found in the gastro-intestinal system migrates to other parts of the body, like the central nervous system), and a viral or bacterial infection causing encephalitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain).

I started the bird on anti-inflammatories and moved it into our isolation ward in case he was potentially contagious to other birds. Over the next five to seven days, the bird?s neurological symptoms progressively worsened. He literally started standing on his head and spinning in circles (see video). The torticollis also worsened. Because of his decreasing status and poor prognosis I humanely euthanized him.

Normally, when we euthanize an animal or when an animal dies, it?s disposed of or saved under a salvage permit for a licensed organization to use in their collections, for research, etc. Sometimes though, we send animals out for additional testing to help pinpoint the cause of the animal?s illness or death. This is done via a necropsy (just like an autopsy but for animals).

Since Paramyxovirus, a highly contagious viral disease in pigeons that manifests as neurological symptoms, including ataxia and torticollis, was high on my list of possible diagnoses, I sent this bird to the University of Minnesota (UMN) Diagnostic Lab (D-Lab) where they would do a necropsy and test for the virus.

In the past WRC has had several pigeons showing similar signs and Paramyxovirus was always suspected. To my knowledge, however, none had ever been sent in for necropsy. A pattern was there, but what was it? What is going on with these neurologic pigeons, I wondered.

Sarcocystis calchasi in the brain of the pigeon. Photo by Dr. Arno Wuenschmann, Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, University of Minnesota

Well, the bird tested negative for Paramyxovirus. However, what the D-Lab did find was shocking. A parasite, named Sarcocystis calchasi, was found in cysts in the bird?s skeletal muscles. The really neat thing? This parasite had never been identified in the United States! It actually hadn?t been identified anywhere outside of Germany (where it was identified in 2009)!

When the pathologists contacted me to tell me this news, I was very excited (as were they!). Tissue samples were sent to Germany to confirm identification of the parasite, and sure enough it was S. calchasi.

The parasite is passed from bird to bird via infected feces, likely from the Northern Goshawk or Cooper?s hawk, which acts as final host in the lifestage of the parasite (does not cause symptoms in those birds). The parasite then migrates from the GI tract into the muscles of the bird. The aforementioned bird had a severe case of meningoencephalitis (inflammation in the brain); however, the parasite was not found there. The parasite?s role in causing neurologic symptoms is still unknown but the UMN?s pathologists are busy researching other birds.

Sarcocystis calchasi in the muscle of the pigeon. Photo by Dr. Arno Wuenschmann, Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, University of Minnesota

With these amazing results, we promptly collaborated and published the findings in ?Transboundary and Emerging Diseases.? My first paper as a wildlife veterinarian has been published!

Dr. Arno Wunschmann, a veterinary diagnostician at UMN who discovered the S. calchasi cysts, speaks of what impact this discovery has on the global transmission of diseases:

?This case demonstrates that diseases can spread very quickly and how the use of modern diagnostic tools can help diagnose diseases (in this case PCR). The disease was first described in 2009 in Germany and showed up 2 years later already in Minnesota.

?I was only to able to put the pieces together because somebody in Germany had worked hard to get his cases published in a timely fashion (because the first cases were only seen two years before the paper was in print) and I used the literature resources (including the internet). It is a beautiful example of how the scientific community as a whole is meant to function and can function. Alternatively, one can speculate that the disease went undiagnosed for some period of time but that seems unlikely because the lesion is very obvious (if a pathologist examines the muscle).?

S. calchasi is now recognized as an important differential diagnosis in neurologic pigeons.

Sarcocystis calchasi in the muscle of the pigeon. Photo by Dr. Arno Wuenschmann, Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, University of Minnesota

How many pigeons possibly have it and have been misdiagnosed? That?s hard to say, but since S. calchasi was discovered, we?ve submitted every pigeon (all wild birds, not domestic) that dies while in our care or is euthanized. Nearly 20% have tested positive for this parasitic infection. This is huge news in the tracking of wildlife diseases on a global level.

One of the best parts of this discovery? My curiosity paid off! Wunschmann states: ?The case demonstrates nicely how important it is that curious clinicians do not just accept the status quo and submit animals for necropsy. Compliments to you!?

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Obama plays up auto industry success story

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama wears his decision to rescue General Motors and Chrysler three years ago as a badge of honor, a move to save jobs in an industry that helped create the backbone of the middle class more than a half-century ago.

For Obama, the auto bailout is a case study for his efforts to revive the economy and a potential point of contrast with Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney, who opposed Obama's decision to pour billions of dollars into the auto companies. If Romney wins the Republican nomination, expect to hear a lot about the car industry.

"The American auto industry was on the verge of collapse. And some politicians were willing to let it just die. We said no," Obama told college students last week in Ann Arbor, Michigan. "We believe in the workers of this state."

Obama was expected to visit the Washington Auto Show on Tuesday, giving him another forum to talk about GM and Chrysler, along with the administration's attention to manufacturers and efforts to boost fuel efficiency standards. The White House has taken every opportunity to highlight its efforts to rebuild the auto industry, pointing to GM's reemergence as the world's largest automaker and job growth and profitability in the U.S. auto industry.

The president's campaign views the auto storyline as a potent argument against Romney ? who, even though he is the son of a Detroit auto executive, opposed the bailout. As the industry was collapsing in the fall of 2008, the former Massachusetts governor predicted in a New York Times op-ed that if the companies received a federal bailout, "you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye." Romney said the companies should have undergone a "managed bankruptcy" that would have avoided a government bailout.

"Whether it was by President Bush or by President Obama, it was the wrong way to go," Romney said at a Republican presidential debate in Michigan in November. Romney said the nation has "capital markets and bankruptcy ? it works in the U.S. The idea of billions of dollars being wasted initially, then finally they adopted the managed bankruptcy. I was among others that said we ought to do that."

Both the Bush and Obama administrations found themselves in uncharted territory in the fall of 2008 and early 2009. GM and Chrysler were on the verge of collapse when Congress failed to approve emergency loans in late 2008. Bush stepped in and signed off on $17.4 billion in loans, requiring the companies to develop restructuring plans under Obama's watch.

The following spring, Obama pumped billions more into GM and Chrysler but forced concessions from industry stakeholders, enabling the companies to go through swift bankruptcies. Obama aides said billions in aid ? about $85 billion for the industry in total ? was necessary because capital markets were essentially frozen at the time, meaning there was no way for GM and Chrysler to fund their bankruptcies privately.

Without any private financing or government support, they argued, the companies would have been forced to liquidate.

Three years later, Obama is trying to turn the tough decision into a political advantage in Ohio and Michigan, which Obama carried in 2008 and where unemployment has fallen of late. During last week's State of the Union address, Obama said the auto industry had hired tens of thousands of workers, and he predicted the Detroit turnaround could take root elsewhere.

Yet Obama's poll numbers in places like Ohio and Michigan remain in dangerous territory, under 50 percent, and the auto industry argument carries some inherent risks.

A Quinnipiac University poll in Ohio released Jan. 18 found Obama locked in a virtual tie with Romney in a hypothetical matchup, with about half the voters disapproving of Obama's performance as president. A poll in Michigan released last week by Lansing-based EPIC-MRA found 48 percent supporting Obama and 40 percent backing Romney in a potential matchup.

Republicans say the bailout still remains unpopular and the government intervention was hardly a cure-all. "The industry was bailed out but a lot of people lost their jobs," said David Doyle, a Michigan-based Republican strategist.

In a nation still soured on bailouts, the government owns more than a quarter of GM. The Treasury Department estimates the government will lose more than $23 billion on the auto bailout: GM is trading at $24 a share, well below the $53-per-share mark needed for the government to recoup its investment in the company.

Romney, facing attacks from Democrats on his work at private equity firm Bain Capital, has tried to use the GM and Chrysler cases to insulate himself against charges his firm gutted companies and fired workers. "How did you do when you were running General Motors as the president?" Romney said in a December debate. "Gee, you closed down factories. You closed down dealerships. And he'll say, well I did that to save the business. Same thing with us, Mr. President."

Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and others say the decision, while unpopular, saved an estimated 1 million jobs throughout the Midwest and say the industry is coming back.

As a result of the restructuring, the companies can make money at far lower U.S. sales volumes than in the past. Industry analysts predict U.S. sales will grow by at least 1 million this year over last year's 12.8 million units as people replace aging cars and trucks. And North American operations at GM, Chrysler and Ford are thriving, boosting their companies' earnings ? all signs that Democrats say will make the difference in the Midwest.

"I don't know how any reasonable person can fail to acknowledge that this rescue plan worked and the country has benefited," said former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat.

___

AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-31-Obama-Autos/id-034491f0da734980b6d54dcbf49e1015

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UN nuclear team arrives in Iran (AP)

TEHRAN, Iran ? A U.N. nuclear team arrived in Tehran early Sunday for a mission expected to focus on Iran's alleged attempt to develop nuclear weapons.

The U.N. nuclear agency delegation includes two senior weapons experts ? Jacques Baute of France and Neville Whiting of South Africa ? suggesting that Iran may be prepared to address some issues related to the allegations.

The delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency is led by Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts, who is in charge of the Iran nuclear file. Also on the team is Rafael Grossi, IAEA chief Yukiya Amano's right-hand man.

In unusually blunt comments ahead of his arrival in Tehran, Nackaerts urged Iran to work with his mission on probing the allegations about Iran's alleged attempts to develop nuclear weapons, reflecting the importance the IAEA is attaching to the issue.

Tehran has refused to discuss the alleged weapons experiments for three years, saying they are based on "fabricated documents" provided by a "few arrogant countries" ? a phrase authorities in Iran often use to refer to the United States and its allies.

Ahead of his departure, Nackaerts told reporters at Vienna airport he hopes Iran "will engage with us on all concerns."

"So we're looking forward to the start of a dialogue," he said: "A dialogue that is overdue since very long."

In a sign of the difficulties the team faces and the tensions that surround Iran's disputed nuclear program, a dozen Iranian hard-liners carrying photos of slain nuclear expert Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan were waiting at Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport early Sunday to challenge the team upon arrival.

That prompted security officials to whisk the IAEA team away from the tarmac to avoid any confrontation with the hard-liners.

Iran's official IRNA news agency confirmed the team's arrival and said the IAEA experts are likely to visit the underground Fordo uranium enrichment site near the holy city of Qom, 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of the capital, Tehran.

During their three-day visit, the IAEA team will be looking for permission to talk to key Iranian scientists suspected of working on a weapons program, inspect documents related to such suspected work and secure commitments from Iranian authorities to allow future visits to sites linked to such allegations. But even a decision to enter a discussion over the allegations would be a major departure from Iran's frequent simple refusal to talk about them.

The United States and its allies want Iran to halt its enrichment of uranium, which they worry could eventually lead to weapons-grade material and the production of nuclear weapons. Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes, such as generating electricity and producing medical radioisotopes to treat cancer patients.

Iran has accused the IAEA in the past of security leaks that expose its scientists and their families to the threat of assassination by the U.S. and Israel.

Iranian state media say Roshan, a chemistry expert and director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, was interviewed by IAEA inspectors before being killed in a brazen bomb attack in Tehran earlier this month.

Iranian media have urged the government to be vigil, saying some IAEA inspectors are "spies," reflecting the deep suspicion many in Iran have for the U.N. experts sent to inspect Iran's nuclear sites.

___

AP writer George Jahn contributed to this report from Vienna.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_nuclear

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Peru: 27 killed in fire at rehabilitation center (AP)

LIMA, Peru ? A fire swept through a two-story private rehabilitation center for addicts in a poor part of Peru's capital Saturday, killing 27 people and critically injuring five as firefighters punched holes through walls to rescue residents locked inside.

The "Christ is Love" center for drug and alcohol addicts was unlicensed and overcrowded and its residents were apparently kept inside "like prisoners," Health Minister Alberto Tejada told The Associated Press.

Authorities said 26 people died at the scene, and prosecutors spokesman Raul Sanchez said Saturday night that one of six men hospitalized in critical condition died later.

Peru's fire chief, Antonio Zavala, said most of the victims died of asphyxiation. All the victims appeared to be male.

The local police chief, Clever Zegarra, said the cause of the 9 a.m. fire was under investigation.

"There has been talk of the burning of an object, of a mattress, but also of a fight that resulted in a fire. All of this is speculation," he told the AP. "I've been here at the scene from morning to evening but for the moment the exact cause of the fire is not known."

One resident of the center on a narrow dead-end street in Lima's teeming San Juan de Lurigancho district said he was eating breakfast on the second floor of the center when he saw flames coming from the first floor, where the blaze apparently began.

Gianfranco Huerta told local RPP news radio station that he leaped from a window to safety.

"The doors were locked; there was no way to get out," he told the station.

AP journalists at scene said all the windows of the building they were able to see were barred. Journalists were not allowed inside as police cordoned off the block. By early afternoon, all the dead had been removed from the center.

Most of the bodies seen by reporters were shirtless, their faces blackened. Many were also shoeless.

"This rehabilitation center wasn't authorized. It was a house that they had taken over ... for patients with addictions and they had the habit of leaving people locked up with no medical supervision," Tejada, the health minister, said.

Authorities said they did not know how many people were inside the center at the time of the fire. They said they were looking for the center's owners and staff, some of whom apparently fled the scene.

The local police chief, Zegarra, identified the owner as Raul Garcia.

Zoila Chea, an aunt of one victim, said families paid Garcia $37 to treat an addicted relative and $15 a week thereafter.

She said that neighbors had constantly complained about the center and that it had been closed twice by authorities.

Chea, 45, said relatives were prohibited from seeing interned patients during the first three months of treatment, which she added consisted mainly of reading the Bible.

Her nephew, Luis Chea, was at the center for a month, she said.

Zavala, the national fire chief, said the blaze was of "Dantesque proportions." Firefighters had to punch a hole through a wall with an adjoining building to help people trapped inside the rehabilitation center.

"We've had to use electric saws to cut through the metal bars of the doors to be able to work," Zavala said.

Relatives of residents of the center gathered near the building weeping and seeking word of their loved ones. As the day wore on, nearby sidewalks filled with relatives mourning and trying to console one another.

One of them was Maria Benitez, aunt of 18-year-old Carlos Benitez, who she said was being treated at the center.

"I want to know if he is OK or not," she told ATV television.

___

Associated Press journalists Mauricio Munoz, Cesar Barreto and Frank Bajak contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_peru_fire

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Keystone to be linked to U.S. highway bill: Boehner (reuters)

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Etta James remembered as triumphant trailblazer

Stevie Wonder performs at the funeral of singer Etta James, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, at Greater Bethany Community Church City of Refuge in Gardena, Calif. James died last Friday at age 73 after battling leukemia and other ailments, including dementia. She was most famous for her classic "At Last," but over her decades-long career, she became revered for her passionate singing voice. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Stevie Wonder performs at the funeral of singer Etta James, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, at Greater Bethany Community Church City of Refuge in Gardena, Calif. James died last Friday at age 73 after battling leukemia and other ailments, including dementia. She was most famous for her classic "At Last," but over her decades-long career, she became revered for her passionate singing voice. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Stevie Wonder performs at the funeral of singer Etta James, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, at Greater Bethany Community Church City of Refuge in Gardena, Calif. James died last Friday at age 73 after battling leukemia and other ailments, including dementia. She was most famous for her classic "At Last," but over her decades-long career, she became revered for her passionate singing voice. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Donto James, son singer Etta James speaks at his mother's funeral, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, at Greater Bethany Community Church City of Refuge in Gardena, Calif. James died last Friday at age 73 after battling leukemia and other ailments, including dementia. She was most famous for her classic "At Last," but over her decades-long career, she became revered for her passionate singing voice. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Christina Aguilera performs at the funeral of singer Etta James, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, at Greater Bethany Community Church City of Refuge in Gardena, Calif. James died last Friday at age 73 after battling leukemia and other ailments, including dementia. She was most famous for her classic "At Last," but over her decades-long career, she became revered for her passionate singing voice. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Christina Aguilera performs at the funeral of singer Etta James, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, at Greater Bethany Community Church City of Refuge in Gardena, Calif. James died last Friday at age 73 after battling leukemia and other ailments, including dementia. She was most famous for her classic "At Last," but over her decades-long career, she became revered for her passionate singing voice. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

GARDENA, California (AP) ? Rhythm & blues legend Etta James was remembered at a service Saturday attended by hundreds of friends, family and fans as a woman who triumphed against all odds to break down cultural and musical barriers in a style that was unfailingly honest.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist, eulogized James in a rousing speech, describing her remarkable rise from poverty and pain to become a woman whose music became an enduring anthem for weddings and commercials.

Perhaps most famously, President Barack Obama and the first lady shared their first inaugural ball dance to a version of the song sung by Beyonce, who portrayed James in the film "Cadillac Records." Sharpton on Saturday opened his remarks by reading a statement from the president.

"Etta will be remembered for her legendary voice and her contributions to our nation's musical heritage," Obama's statement read.

The Grammy-winning singer died Jan. 20 after battling leukemia and other ailments, including dementia. She had retreated from public life in recent years, but on Saturday her legacy was on display as mourners of all ages and races converged on the City of Refuge church in Gardena, south of downtown Los Angeles.

Among the stars performing tributes to James were Stevie Wonder and Christina Aguilera, who told the gathering that she has included "At Last" in every concert she's performed as a tribute to her musical inspiration.

Wonder performed three songs, including "Shelter In the Rain" and a harmonica solo. James' rose-draped casket was on display, surrounded by wreaths and floral arrangements and pictures of the singer.

Sharpton, who met James when he was an up-and-coming preacher, credited her with helping break down racial barriers through her music.

"She was able to get us on the same rhythms and humming the same ballads and understanding each other's melodies way before we could even use the same hotels," Sharpton said, referring to the era when racial segregation was the law in many U.S. states.

He said James' fame and influence would have been unthinkable to a woman with James' background ? growing up in a broken home during segregation and at times battling her own demons.

"The genius of Etta James is she flipped the script," Sharpton said, alluding to her struggles with addiction, which she eventually overcame.

"She waited until she turned her pain into power," he said, adding that it turned her story away from being a tragic one into one of triumph.

"You beat 'em Etta," Sharpton said in concluding his eulogy. "At last. At last. At last!"

The assembly roared to their feet, and would again stand to applaud performances by Wonder and Aguilera, who filled the sanctuary with their voices.

"Out of all the singers that I've ever heard, she was the one that cut right to my soul and spoke to me," Aguilera said before her performance.

Throughout the service, a portrait of James as a woman who beat the odds in pursuit of her dreams repeatedly emerged.

"Etta is special to me and for me, because she represents the life, the triumphs, the tribulations of a lot of black women all over this world," said U.S. Rep Maxine Waters, a California Democrat.

"It does not matter who sang 'At Last' before or after Etta. It does not matter when it was sung, or where it was sung. 'At Last' was branded by Etta, the raunchy diva ? that's her signature and we will always remember her."

James won four Grammy Awards, including a lifetime achievement honor, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. In her decades-long career, she became revered for her passionate, soulful singing voice.

She scored her first hit when she was just a teenager with the suggestive "Roll With Me, Henry," which had to be changed to "The Wallflower" in order to get airplay. Her 1967 album, "Tell Mama," became one of the most highly regarded soul albums of all time, a mix of rock and gospel music.

She rebounded from a heroin addiction to see her career surge after performing the national anthem at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. She won her first Grammy Award a decade later, and two more in 2003 and 2004.

James is survived by her husband of 42 years, Artis Mills, and two sons, Donto and Sametto James.

"Mom, I love you," Donto James said during brief remarks. "When I get to the gates, can you please be there for me?"

___

Follow Anthony McCartney at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Associated Press

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Poll ruling sparks street clashes in Senegal (Reuters)

DAKAR (Reuters) ? Protesters hurled rocks at police who retaliated with tear gas in Senegal's capital Dakar on Friday after a top legal body said President Abdoulaye Wade had the right to run for a third term in elections next month.

Reuters reporters saw youths set fire to tires in the street and overturn cars after a late-night ruling of the West African country's Constitutional Council.

Rivals to 85-year-old Wade say the constitution sets an upper limit of two terms on the president. Wade, who came to power in 2000 and was re-elected in 2007, has argued his first term pre-dated the 2001 amendment establishing the limit.

"Stop these displays of petulance which will lead to nothing," Wade, 85, told state television in an appeal for calm.

"The electoral campaign will be open. There will be no restrictions on freedom," said Wade, who faces 13 rivals in the February 26 election.

The Council validated 13 other candidates but rejected the presidential bid of world music star Youssou N'Dour, determining he had not gathered the necessary 10,000 valid signatures backing his candidacy.

It said authorities had been unable to identify around 4,000 of some 12,000 signatures gathered by N'Dour.

"The decision of the Constitutional Council has nothing to do with the law," said N'Dour campaign manager Alioune N'Diaye.

"It is purely political. Youssou N'Dour was a problem and they wanted to be shot of him," he told Reuters, adding that N'Dour planned an appeal.

All of the five judges on the Council are by law appointed by the president.

THREAT TO PEACE

The centrist Wade will face rivals including Socialist Party leader Ousmane Tanor Dieng and three ex-prime ministers - Idrissa Seck, Macky Sall and Moustapha Niasse.

Senegal is the only country in mainland West Africa to have not had a coup since the end of the colonial era. February's poll, and a possible run-off a few weeks later, are seen as major test of social peace in the predominantly Muslim country.

"We are here to protest against Wade," Yero Toure, a 26-year-old student at an opposition rally of a couple of thousand people in central Dakar. "If they don't reject him the people will rise up against him."

Critics say that Wade, who spent 26 years in opposition to Socialist rule, has done nothing during his 12 years in power to alleviate poverty in a country where formal employment is scarce, while dragging his heels on tackling official graft.

Wade points to increased spending on education and infrastructure projects such as roadbuilding as proof of his aim of turning Senegal into an emerging market country and a regional trade hub.

His candidacy has been controversial from the start, with rivals suspecting him of seeking to secure a new seven-year mandate only to hand over mid-term to his financier son Karim - who already has a "superministry" in the government. Both father and son have denied such a plan.

Wade backed down last June on planned changes to election rules after clashes between security forces and protesters who alleged the reforms were an attempt to ensure his victory.

His candidacy has raised eyebrows abroad. The senior U.S. State Department official for Africa, William Fitzgerald, told French RFI radio this month Washington viewed it as "a bit regrettable".

"From our point of view it was the right moment to go into retirement, to protect and support a good transition - democratically, peacefully, safely," Fitzgerald said.

(Writing and additional reporting by Mark John Editing by Maria Golovnina and Angus MacSwan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/wl_nm/us_senegal_election

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Nokia loss tempered by Windows phone launch (AP)

HELSINKI ? Mobile phone maker Nokia Corp. on Thursday posted a fourth-quarter net loss of euro1.07 billion ($1.38 billion) as sales slumped 21 percent even as the company's first Windows smartphones hit markets in Europe and Asia.

The loss, widened by a euro1 billion loss booked on Nokia's navigation systems unit, compares with a profit of euro745 million in the same period a year earlier.

Nokia said net revenue ? including both its mobile phones and its network divisions ? fell from euro12.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010 to euro10 billion, with smartphone sales plunging 23 percent.

Nokia has lost its once-dominant position in the global cellphone market, with Android phones and iPhones overtaking it in the growing smartphone segment.

The Finnish company is attempting a comeback with smartphones using Microsoft's Windows software, a struggle that Nokia CEO Stephen Elop characterized as a "war of ecosystems."

He said Nokia has sold "well over" 1 million such devices since the launch of the Lumia line in the fourth quarter, in line with expectations.

Including other models, Nokia sold 19.6 million smartphones in the quarter, down from 28 million a year earlier. By comparison, Apple sold 37 million iPhones.

The Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 hit stores in Europe and Asia in November, while T-Mobile started offering the 710 in the U.S. in January. Nokia hopes to boost its poor presence in the U.S. with the higher-end Lumia 900, which AT&T will offer later this year.

Elop said Nokia would be shipping Lumia phones to Canada next month and China and South America during the first half of this year.

"With Lumia, our specific intent has been to establish a beachhead in this war of ecosystems, and country by country that is what we are now accomplishing," Elop said in a conference call.

Nokia shares were up about 1.5 percent at euro4.12 ($5.33) in late trading in Helsinki.

Michael Schroeder, analyst at FIM bank in Helsinki, said markets had welcomed Elop's comments on Lumia sales.

"It definitely alleviated concerns about a horror scenario, expected by some. Although a million is not a lot in the market, it was better than expected," Schroeder said.

The company said it would not provide annual targets for 2012 since it was in a "year of transition" but added that it expects operating margins in the first quarter of this year to be "about break-even, ranging either above or below by approximately 2 percentage points."

It repeated the target of cutting costs by more than euro1 billion by 2013.

Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics in London said Nokia "was not out of the woods yet," but its quarterly result was in line with expectations.

"Nokia is not necessarily dead in the water. Profit margins were a bit higher than expected and Nokia has not lost its third position in smartphones, although it is suffering in North America and western Europe," Mawston said.

Nokia proposed a dividend of euro0.20 per share for 2011 and said that chairman and former CEO Jorma Ollila will step down at the annual meeting in May. A nomination committee proposed board member Risto Siilasmaa as the new chairman.

The average selling price of a Nokia handset rose by euro2 from the previous quarter to euro53 but was down from euro69 a year earlier, reflecting a higher proportion of cheaper mobile phones in Nokia's product mix.

The company also reported a 4 percent drop in sales for Nokia Siemens Networks, its joint network equipment unit with Siemens AG of Germany.

After selling four in 10 smartphones worldwide in 2010, Nokia has steadily lost market share to competitors, including Apple and Samsung. It didn't give any market share estimates in the report Thursday, but said its net revenue fell 9 percent to euro38.6 billion in the full year 2011, with smartphone sales plunging 27 percent and total mobile phone sales down 18 percent.

Nokia, based in Espoo near the Finnish capital, employs 130,000 people ? down from more than 132,000 a year earlier.

___

Ritter reported from Stockholm.

(This version CORRECTS Updates with CEO comment, share price, details. Corrects 18 percent drop was for all mobile phones, not just low-end ones. This story is part of AP's general news and financial services.)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_hi_te/eu_finland_earns_nokia

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Too Few Americans Getting Screened for Common Cancers: CDC (HealthDay)

THURSDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) -- The number of Americans being screened for colon, breast and cervical cancers still fall below national targets, federal health officials said Thursday.

In 2010, 72.4 percent of women were being screened for breast cancer, below the target of 81 percent, for cervical cancer it was 83 percent of women, while the target is 93 percent, and for colon cancer 58.6 percent of Americans were screened, missing the target of 70.5 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Not all Americans are getting the recommended screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer," said report co-author Mary C. White, branch chief of the CDC's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. "There continue to be disparities for certain populations."

The screening rates are particularly low among Asians and Hispanics, according to the report in the Jan. 27 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Among Asians, the screening rate for breast cancer was 64.1 percent, for cervical cancer it was 75.4 percent, and for colon cancer it was 46.9 percent.

Hispanics were less likely than non-Hispanics to have screening for cervical and colon cancer (78.7 percent and 46.5 percent, respectively), the researchers found.

Screening is important, said Dr. Stephanie Bernik, chief of surgical oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

"Screening saves lives," she said. "When you catch a cancer at a smaller size it does affect outcome."

Some people may be confused about screening, because different medical groups have different screening protocols, Bernik said.

"It's hard to get people to do screening in general. People look for any excuse not to get screened. When they see there is a controversy about when to start screening, they look at it as an opportunity to not do the test," she said.

Bernik also admits that screening can result in some over-treatment.

"With screening comes that risk," she said. "Unfortunately, we are not at a point where we can select the patients that are not going to have a problem, so we treat everyone equally. So, there is a little bit of over-treatment but, overall, you are improving survival for many people."

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that women aged 50 to 74 get a mammogram every two years to screen for breast cancer.

Women aged 21 to 65, or those who have been sexually active for three years, should have a Pap test to screen for cervical cancer at least every three years, the task force recommends.

For colorectal cancer, men and women aged 50 to 75 should be screened with a yearly fecal occult blood test or sigmoidoscopy every five years, or have a colonoscopy every 10 years.

Other highlights of the report include:

• Breast cancer screening rates remained stable from 2000-2010, varying only about 3 percent.
• Colon cancer screening rates increased from 2000-2010, to more than 58 percent for both men and women.
• Cervical cancer screening rates dipped 3.3 percent from 2000-2010.
• Screening rates for all these cancers was much lower among the uninsured or those who didn't have a regular doctor.

The Affordable Care Act is expected to lower these barriers to access by expanding insurance coverage, the authors said.

"Other efforts are needed, such as developing systems that identify persons eligible for cancer screening tests, actively encouraging the use of screening tests, and monitoring participation to improve screening rates," the authors added.

More information

For more on cancer screening, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120127/hl_hsn/toofewamericansgettingscreenedforcommoncancerscdc

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Research finds newer radiation therapy technology improves patients' quality of life

Public release date: 26-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dorsey Griffith
dorsey.griffith@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
916-734-9118
University of California - Davis Health System

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- Patients with head and neck cancers who have been treated with newer, more sophisticated radiation therapy technology enjoy a better quality of life than those treated with older radiation therapy equipment, a study by UC Davis researchers has found.

The findings, presented today at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium in Phoenix, is the first of its kind to measure long-term quality of life among cancer patients who have undergone radiation therapy for advanced cancers of the throat, tongue, vocal cords, and other structures in the head and neck.

Allen Chen, assistant professor and director of the residency and fellowship training program in the UC Davis Department of Radiation Oncology, reported that the use of intensity-modulated radiation therapy, or IMRT, was associated with fewer long-term side effects, which led to a better quality of life. Standard radiation therapy to the head and neck has been known to affect a patient's ability to produce saliva, taste, and even chew food. These side effects historically have resulted in permanent disabilities.

"With the newer machines using IMRT, physicians are skillfully able to deliver higher doses of radiation to the tumor and lower doses to surrounding normal tissues than ever before," Chen said. "I wanted to see if this theoretical advantage resulted in any tangible improvements in quality of life for patients."

For the study, Chen used the University of Washington Quality of Life instrument, a standardized, previously validated questionnaire that patients complete after radiation therapy. The survey was administered prospectively to 155 patients at UC Davis Cancer Center diagnosed with head and neck cancers, 54 percent of whom were initially treated with IMRT and 46 percent of whom were treated with other radiation therapy technologies. All of the patients receiving IMRT also underwent image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), which has been available at UC Davis since 2006 and is used to increase accuracy by taking a high-quality scan of the tumor daily.

Chen and his colleagues found that the early gains observed in quality of life became magnified over time for those who received IMRT treatment. For example, one year after treatment, 51 percent of the IMRT patients rated their quality of life as very good or outstanding, compared to 41 percent of non-IMRT patients. But two years after treatment, the percentages changed to 73 percent and 49 percent respectively.

John Torres of Sacramento was diagnosed in early 2010 with a large tumor at the base of his tongue on the right side of his throat. Fearing that surgery might result in the loss of his voice box, Torres opted for IMRT with IGRT and had 33 treatments.

Torres, now 73 and in remission, points out that the treatments were "no walk in the park," but said he is faring much better than he expected. Although his mouth is often dry and he has lost some taste sensation, he is enjoying an active life.

"I golf a couple of time a week," he said. "My wife and I like to socialize. We go out, and we dance. And we are planning to take a cruise through the Panama Canal in next two or three months. Life has gotten back to pretty much exactly what it was."

Chen acknowledged that quality of life is difficult to measure because of its subjective nature. Nonetheless, he said the findings support the more widespread use of IMRT in radiation clinics throughout the country.

"There has been some reluctance to utilize it because it is expensive, resource intensive, and takes on average 10 to 12 hours to prepare a single patient's treatment," he said. "I think this is further evidence that our investment in developing newer technologies is really paying off."

###

Chen, whose findings will be highlighted at a symposium press briefing on Friday, Jan. 27, received no outside funding for the research. Other investigators who collaborated on the study were Gregory Farwell, Quang Luu, Esther Vazquez, Derick Lau, and James Purdy, all from the UC Davis Cancer Center.

UC Davis Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute- designated center serving the Central Valley and inland Northern California, a region of more than 6 million people. Its top specialists provide compassionate, comprehensive care for more than 9,000 adults and children every year, and offer patients access to more than 150 clinical trials at any given time. Its innovative research program includes more than 280 scientists at UC Davis and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The unique partnership, the first between a major cancer center and national laboratory, has resulted in the discovery of new tools to diagnose and treat cancer. Through the Cancer Care Network, UC Davis is collaborating with a number of hospitals and clinical centers throughout the Central Valley and Northern California regions to offer the latest cancer-care services. For more information, visit http://www.cancer.ucdavis.edu.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 26-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dorsey Griffith
dorsey.griffith@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
916-734-9118
University of California - Davis Health System

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- Patients with head and neck cancers who have been treated with newer, more sophisticated radiation therapy technology enjoy a better quality of life than those treated with older radiation therapy equipment, a study by UC Davis researchers has found.

The findings, presented today at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium in Phoenix, is the first of its kind to measure long-term quality of life among cancer patients who have undergone radiation therapy for advanced cancers of the throat, tongue, vocal cords, and other structures in the head and neck.

Allen Chen, assistant professor and director of the residency and fellowship training program in the UC Davis Department of Radiation Oncology, reported that the use of intensity-modulated radiation therapy, or IMRT, was associated with fewer long-term side effects, which led to a better quality of life. Standard radiation therapy to the head and neck has been known to affect a patient's ability to produce saliva, taste, and even chew food. These side effects historically have resulted in permanent disabilities.

"With the newer machines using IMRT, physicians are skillfully able to deliver higher doses of radiation to the tumor and lower doses to surrounding normal tissues than ever before," Chen said. "I wanted to see if this theoretical advantage resulted in any tangible improvements in quality of life for patients."

For the study, Chen used the University of Washington Quality of Life instrument, a standardized, previously validated questionnaire that patients complete after radiation therapy. The survey was administered prospectively to 155 patients at UC Davis Cancer Center diagnosed with head and neck cancers, 54 percent of whom were initially treated with IMRT and 46 percent of whom were treated with other radiation therapy technologies. All of the patients receiving IMRT also underwent image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), which has been available at UC Davis since 2006 and is used to increase accuracy by taking a high-quality scan of the tumor daily.

Chen and his colleagues found that the early gains observed in quality of life became magnified over time for those who received IMRT treatment. For example, one year after treatment, 51 percent of the IMRT patients rated their quality of life as very good or outstanding, compared to 41 percent of non-IMRT patients. But two years after treatment, the percentages changed to 73 percent and 49 percent respectively.

John Torres of Sacramento was diagnosed in early 2010 with a large tumor at the base of his tongue on the right side of his throat. Fearing that surgery might result in the loss of his voice box, Torres opted for IMRT with IGRT and had 33 treatments.

Torres, now 73 and in remission, points out that the treatments were "no walk in the park," but said he is faring much better than he expected. Although his mouth is often dry and he has lost some taste sensation, he is enjoying an active life.

"I golf a couple of time a week," he said. "My wife and I like to socialize. We go out, and we dance. And we are planning to take a cruise through the Panama Canal in next two or three months. Life has gotten back to pretty much exactly what it was."

Chen acknowledged that quality of life is difficult to measure because of its subjective nature. Nonetheless, he said the findings support the more widespread use of IMRT in radiation clinics throughout the country.

"There has been some reluctance to utilize it because it is expensive, resource intensive, and takes on average 10 to 12 hours to prepare a single patient's treatment," he said. "I think this is further evidence that our investment in developing newer technologies is really paying off."

###

Chen, whose findings will be highlighted at a symposium press briefing on Friday, Jan. 27, received no outside funding for the research. Other investigators who collaborated on the study were Gregory Farwell, Quang Luu, Esther Vazquez, Derick Lau, and James Purdy, all from the UC Davis Cancer Center.

UC Davis Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute- designated center serving the Central Valley and inland Northern California, a region of more than 6 million people. Its top specialists provide compassionate, comprehensive care for more than 9,000 adults and children every year, and offer patients access to more than 150 clinical trials at any given time. Its innovative research program includes more than 280 scientists at UC Davis and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The unique partnership, the first between a major cancer center and national laboratory, has resulted in the discovery of new tools to diagnose and treat cancer. Through the Cancer Care Network, UC Davis is collaborating with a number of hospitals and clinical centers throughout the Central Valley and Northern California regions to offer the latest cancer-care services. For more information, visit http://www.cancer.ucdavis.edu.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/uoc--rfn012612.php

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Greek director Angelopoulos dies after accident during shooting (Reuters)

ATHENS (Reuters) ? Greek award-winning director Theo Angelopoulos died at the age of 77 in an Athens hospital on Tuesday, hours after a motorbike ran him over while he was filming a movie on the debt crisis rocking the country.

Winner of awards including the prestigious Cannes Palme D'Or prize in 1998 for "Eternity and a day" and the Cannes Grand Jury Prize in 1995 for "Ulysses' Gaze", Angelopoulos had started shooting his new film "The other sea" earlier this month.

The film was about the impact of the crisis in everyday life in Greece.

Angelopoulos was crossing a road when he was hit by the motorcycle. He was immediately transferred to hospital.

"He was in the middle of a shooting when the motorcycle hit him. He suffered multiple brain injuries and internal bleeding," said a police official who declined to be named. The motorcycle belonged to a policeman who was off duty, the official said.

(Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Ingrid Melander)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/people_nm/us_greek_film_director

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Boxee Box Live TV starts shipping, Boxee 1.5 software update now rolling out

Both have been promised as coming soon in recent weeks, and now Boxee has confirmed that two fairly big new rollouts are underway. The first is the Boxee Box Live TV dongle, which is now shipping and will let you augment your Boxee Box with some OTA TV channels for $50. You can get a closer look at it in our hands-on from CES earlier this month. Alongside it, Boxee is also rolling out its Boxee 1.5 software update, which boasts a new UI and a number of other refinements including better search, new library screens and filtering options, browser pop-up management, and the addition of Rotten Tomatoes listings. Boxee says it's staggering the release over the next 72 hours, but those eager to check it out can find instructions for a manual update at the support link below.

Boxee Box Live TV starts shipping, Boxee 1.5 software update now rolling out originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Boxee Blog, Boxee Support  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/LBs81vFe3tc/

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Asthma rate and costs from traffic-related air pollution are much higher than once believed

Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Janet Lathrop
jlathrop@admin.umass.edu
413-545-0444
University of Massachusetts at Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. A research team led by University of Massachusetts Amherst resource economist Sylvia Brandt, with colleagues in California and Switzerland, have revised the cost burden sharply upward for childhood asthma and for the first time include the number of cases attributable to air pollution, in a study released this week in the early online version of the European Respiratory Journal.

The total cost of asthma due to pollution is much higher than past traditional risk assessments have indicated and there is growing evidence that exposure to traffic-related air pollution is a cause of asthma and a trigger for attacks, so it should be included, say the authors. They conducted the study in Long Beach and Riverside, Calif., communities with high regional air pollution levels and large roads near residential neighborhoods.

Total additional asthma-specific costs there due to traffic-related pollution is about $18 million per year, almost half of which is due to new asthma cases caused by pollution, they report. Brandt worked with researchers at the University of Basel, Switzerland, Sonoma Technology, Inc. and the University of Southern California.

Using updated techniques that count asthma cases attributable to air pollution for the first time and including a broader range of health care costs such as parents' missed work days, extra doctor visits and travel time along with prescriptions, the researchers found that a single episode of bronchitic symptoms cost an average $972 in Riverside and $915 in Long Beach. Bronchitic symptoms (daily cough, congestion or phlegm, or bronchitis for three months in a row) are a critical outcome for children with asthma.

Further, people who live in cities with high traffic-related air pollution bear a higher burden of these costs than those in less polluted areas, they say.

Brandt and colleagues say the total annual cost for a typical asthma case was $3,819 in Long Beach and $4,063 in Riverside, and "the largest share of the cost of an asthma case was the indirect cost of asthma-related school absences." School absences are an important economic consequence, they add, because "they often lead to parents or caregivers missing work."

Overall, Brandt points out that the results are relevant and applicable to many settings and "families with children who have asthma are bearing a high cost. The total annual estimate between $3,800 and $4,000 represents 7 percent of median household income in our study in these two communities. This is troublesome because that is higher than the 5 percent considered to be a bearable or sustainable level of health care costs for a family."

Riverside and Long Beach account for about 7 percent of the total population of California, the authors say, which suggests that state-wide costs of asthma related to air pollution are "truly substantial."

For this work, Brandt and colleagues analyzed several surveys on health care visits by children with asthma and their previous estimates of the number of asthma cases attributable to pollution to estimate the annual costs of childhood asthma. They also estimated the cost of asthma exacerbation due to regional air pollutants. They feel the new method does a better job of accounting for the full impact of traffic-related pollution and will be widely applicable in urban areas.

She points out, "Traditional risk assessment methods for air pollution have underestimated both the overall burden of asthma and the cost of the disease associated with air pollution. Our findings suggest the cost has been substantially underestimated and steps must be taken to reduce the burden of traffic-related pollution."

###

This work was supported by California's South Coast Air Quality Management District and its settlement funds from BP, as well as by the U.S. National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Hastings Foundation.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Janet Lathrop
jlathrop@admin.umass.edu
413-545-0444
University of Massachusetts at Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. A research team led by University of Massachusetts Amherst resource economist Sylvia Brandt, with colleagues in California and Switzerland, have revised the cost burden sharply upward for childhood asthma and for the first time include the number of cases attributable to air pollution, in a study released this week in the early online version of the European Respiratory Journal.

The total cost of asthma due to pollution is much higher than past traditional risk assessments have indicated and there is growing evidence that exposure to traffic-related air pollution is a cause of asthma and a trigger for attacks, so it should be included, say the authors. They conducted the study in Long Beach and Riverside, Calif., communities with high regional air pollution levels and large roads near residential neighborhoods.

Total additional asthma-specific costs there due to traffic-related pollution is about $18 million per year, almost half of which is due to new asthma cases caused by pollution, they report. Brandt worked with researchers at the University of Basel, Switzerland, Sonoma Technology, Inc. and the University of Southern California.

Using updated techniques that count asthma cases attributable to air pollution for the first time and including a broader range of health care costs such as parents' missed work days, extra doctor visits and travel time along with prescriptions, the researchers found that a single episode of bronchitic symptoms cost an average $972 in Riverside and $915 in Long Beach. Bronchitic symptoms (daily cough, congestion or phlegm, or bronchitis for three months in a row) are a critical outcome for children with asthma.

Further, people who live in cities with high traffic-related air pollution bear a higher burden of these costs than those in less polluted areas, they say.

Brandt and colleagues say the total annual cost for a typical asthma case was $3,819 in Long Beach and $4,063 in Riverside, and "the largest share of the cost of an asthma case was the indirect cost of asthma-related school absences." School absences are an important economic consequence, they add, because "they often lead to parents or caregivers missing work."

Overall, Brandt points out that the results are relevant and applicable to many settings and "families with children who have asthma are bearing a high cost. The total annual estimate between $3,800 and $4,000 represents 7 percent of median household income in our study in these two communities. This is troublesome because that is higher than the 5 percent considered to be a bearable or sustainable level of health care costs for a family."

Riverside and Long Beach account for about 7 percent of the total population of California, the authors say, which suggests that state-wide costs of asthma related to air pollution are "truly substantial."

For this work, Brandt and colleagues analyzed several surveys on health care visits by children with asthma and their previous estimates of the number of asthma cases attributable to pollution to estimate the annual costs of childhood asthma. They also estimated the cost of asthma exacerbation due to regional air pollutants. They feel the new method does a better job of accounting for the full impact of traffic-related pollution and will be widely applicable in urban areas.

She points out, "Traditional risk assessment methods for air pollution have underestimated both the overall burden of asthma and the cost of the disease associated with air pollution. Our findings suggest the cost has been substantially underestimated and steps must be taken to reduce the burden of traffic-related pollution."

###

This work was supported by California's South Coast Air Quality Management District and its settlement funds from BP, as well as by the U.S. National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Hastings Foundation.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/uoma-ara012512.php

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Video: GOP's Prepare for Florida, President's State of the Union

Insight on Newt Gingrich's momentum in the GOP race, and a look ahead to President Obama's state of the union address, with Edward Lazear, Stanford University economics professor and CNBC's John Harwood.

Related Links:

Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46099396/

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US aircraft carrier sails through Strait of Hormuz (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Amid heightened tensions with Iran, an American aircraft carrier has sailed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf. The Navy says it's a routine maneuver.

Cmdr. Amy Derrick-Frost said the USS Abraham Lincoln entered the Gulf on Sunday without incident to conduct scheduled maritime security operations. Derrick-Frost is a spokeswoman for the Navy's 5th Fleet, based in the Gulf state of Bahrain.

U.S. warships frequently operate in the Gulf. But when the carrier USS John Stennis departed the Gulf in late December, Iranian officials warned the U.S. not to return. On Saturday, however, Iran indicated that it viewed U.S. naval operations in the Gulf as normal.

Iran recently suggested it might use military force to close the Strait in retaliation for new international economic sanctions.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_re_us/us_us_iran

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Santorum says voters will liken Romney to boss

Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, second from left, and his wife Karen, second from right, talk with supporters before Santorum takes the stage for a campaign town hall meeting Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, second from left, and his wife Karen, second from right, talk with supporters before Santorum takes the stage for a campaign town hall meeting Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) ? Stepping up his criticism of Mitt Romney, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said Friday that Romney comes across too much like voters' bosses to capture the GOP nomination.

While acknowledging that the former Massachusetts governor and wealthy venture capitalist is a strong businessman, Santorum said: "It doesn't necessarily mean that you want your boss running for president, right?"

Santorum, who finished eight votes behind Romney in the first contest in Iowa and placed fifth New Hampshire, is hoping for a come-from-behind win in South Carolina's primary on Jan. 21.

He continued Friday to criticize Romney's record, his proposals and even his talent as a salesman. At a town hall-style meeting, he cited Romney's 59-point economic plan and said: "It is impossible to communicate."

A favorite of social conservatives, Santorum shied away from other candidates' criticism of Romney's time heading Bain Capital, a private equity firm that took over companies and made them profitable ? sometimes at the expense of employees. Santorum said he is a fan of capitalism and questioned his rivals for piling on on Romney for his record at Bain.

Santorum said there a lot of other reasons to criticize Romney.

"While he was a successful businessman, he is a Massachusetts moderate to liberal governor who has changed his opinion on just about every issue out there," Santorum said. "He ran as a liberal the first time. He ran as a moderate the second time. He ran as a conservative the third time. It is just a fact."

Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, also sharpened his appeal to voters who want, more than anything, to defeat President Barack Obama.

He described Romney as "someone who, I think, has had a difficult time relating to the type of voters we're going to need if we're going to win this election." Romney, at times, appears awkward when interacting with voters.

Romney and others argue that he is best positioned to deny Obama a second term. Santorum said Romney wouldn't take conservative values to Washington. If Romney wins the nomination and gets elected, Santorum said it would be "a victory without any kind of meaning."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-13-Santorum/id-f16696d8f0ee4235b91d5638ba99cf70

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