Marine in hazing suicide case goes to trial

KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii?? A U.S. Marine accused of hazing a colleague who committed suicide at their remote outpost in Afghanistan is appearing in court after agreeing to a plea bargain.

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Lance Cpl. Jacob D. Jacoby was referred to a general court-martial in October on charges that he assaulted, threatened, and humiliated Lance Cpl. Harry Lew, who killed himself on April 3.

Jacoby will appear Monday before a special court martial ? a venue for less serious crimes than a general court-martial? at a Marine base in Hawaii after reaching a plea agreement. The Marines didn't release details of the agreement ahead of the trial.

Two other Marines have also been accused of hazing Lew, 21, a nephew of U.S. Rep. Judy Chu of California, before Lew shot himself with his machine gun. Sgt. Benjamin Johns and Lance Cpl. Carlos Orozco III will have separate courts-martial at later dates.

In a separate but similar case, eight U.S. soldiers are charged in the death of a 19-year-old private, Danny Chen, who shot himself on Oct. 3 after what investigators say were weeks of physical abuse, humiliation and racial slurs.

Related: Soldier may not face manslaughter charge

At an Article 32 hearing ? the equivalent of a grand jury hearing in the civilian world ? in September, Marines testified Lew had repeatedly fallen asleep while he was on duty. Squad members and officers had tried referring him up the chain of command for discipline and taking him off patrols for more rest.

But on Lew's last night, those efforts escalated, according to charges outlined at the hearing. The Marines were accused of punching and kicking him, making him do push-ups and pouring sand in his face.

Most of the questions raised at the hearing focused on whether the fellow Marines intended to humiliate and harm Lew or discipline him so he would stop falling asleep while on duty.

Before Lew shot himself, he scrawled a note on his arm: "May hate me now, but in the long run this was the right choice I'm sorry my mom deserves the truth."

A Marine commander in retrospect speculated Lew may have been falling asleep because he suffered from depression or some other medical condition.

Chu has issued a statement saying no one deserves being "hazed and tortured" like her nephew was, and the military justice system must hold "any wrongdoers accountable."

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46188830/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

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Jury finds Afghan family guilty in honor killings (AP)

KINGSTON, Ontario ? A jury on Sunday found an Afghan father, his wife and their son guilty of killing three teenage sisters and a co-wife in what the judge described as "cold-blooded, shameful murders" resulting from a "twisted concept of honor."

The jury took 15 hours to find Mohammad Shafia, 58; his wife Tooba Yahya, 42; and their son Hamed, 21, each guilty of four counts of first-degree murder in a case that shocked and riveted Canadians from coast to coast. First-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.

After the verdict was read, the three defendants again declared their innocence in the killings of sisters Zainab, 19, Sahar 17, and Geeti, 13, as well as Rona Amir Mohammad, 52, Shafia's childless first wife in a polygamous marriage.

Their bodies were found June 30, 2009, in a car submerged in a canal in Kingston, Ontario, where the family had stopped for the night on their way home to Montreal from Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Prosecutors said the defendants allegedly killed the three teenage sisters because they dishonored the family by defying its disciplinarian rules on dress, dating, socializing and going online. Shafia's first wife was living with him and his second wife. The polygamous relationship, if revealed, could have resulted in their deportation.

The prosecution alleged it was a case of premeditated murder, staged to look like an accident after it was carried out. Prosecutors said the defendants drowned their victims elsewhere on the site, placed their bodies in the car and pushed it into the canal.

Defense lawyers said the deaths were accidental. They said the Nissan car accidentally plunged into the canal after the eldest daughter, Zainab, took it for a joy ride with her sisters and her father's first wife. Hamed said he watched the accident, although he didn't call police from the scene.

After the jury returned the verdicts, Mohammad Shafia, speaking through a translator, said, "We are not criminal, we are not murderer, we didn't commit the murder and this is unjust."

His weeping wife, Tooba, also declared the verdict unjust, saying, "I am not a murderer, and I am a mother, a mother."

Their son, Hamed, speaking in English said, "I did not drown my sisters anywhere."

But Judge Robert Maranger was unmoved, saying the evidence clearly supported their conviction for "the planned and deliberate murder of four members of your family."

"It is difficult to conceive of a more despicable, more heinous crime ... the apparent reason behind these cold-blooded, shameful murders was that the four completely innocent victims offended your completely twisted concept of honor ... that has absolutely no place in any civilized society."

Hamed's lawyer, Patrick McCann, said he was disappointed with the verdict, but said his client will appeal and he believes the other two defendants will as well.

But prosecutor Gerard Laarhuis welcomed the verdict.

"This jury found that four strong, vivacious and freedom-loving women were murdered by their own family in the most troubling of circumstances," Laarhuis said outside court.

"This verdict sends a very clear message about our Canadian values and the core principles in a free and democratic society that all Canadians enjoy and even visitors to Canada enjoy," he said to cheers of approval from onlookers.

The family had left Afghanistan in 1992 and lived in Pakistan, Australia and Dubai before settling in Canada in 2007. Shafia, a wealthy businessman, married Yahya because his first wife could not have children.

The prosecution painted a picture of a household controlled by a domineering Shafia, with Hamed keeping his sisters in line and doling out discipline when his father was away on frequent business trips to Dubai.

The months leading up to the deaths were not happy ones in the Shafia household, according to evidence presented at trial. Zainab, the oldest daughter, was forbidden to attend school for a year because she had a young Pakistani-Canadian boyfriend, and she fled to a shelter, terrified of her father, the court was told.

The prosecution said her parents found condoms in Sahar's room as well as photos of her wearing short skirts and hugging her Christian boyfriend, a relationship she had kept secret. Geeti was becoming almost impossible to control: skipping school, failing classes, being sent home for wearing revealing clothes and stealing, while declaring to authority figures that she wanted to be placed in foster care, according to the prosecution.

Shafia's first wife wrote in a diary that her husband beat her and "made life a torture," while his second wife called her a servant.

The prosecution presented wire taps and cell phone records from the Shafia family in court to support their honor killing theory. The wiretaps, which capture Shafia spewing vitriol about his dead daughters, calling them treacherous and whores and invoking the devil to defecate on their graves, were a focal point of the trial.

"There can be no betrayal, no treachery, no violation more than this," Shafia said on one recording. "Even if they hoist me up onto the gallows ... nothing is more dear to me than my honor."

Defense lawyers argued that at no point in the intercepts do the accused say they drowned the victims.

Shafia's lawyer, Peter Kemp, said after the verdicts that he believes the comments his client made on the wiretaps may have weighed more heavily on the jury's minds than the physical evidence in the case.

"He wasn't convicted for what he did," Kemp said. "He was convicted for what he said."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_ca/cn_canada_honor_killing

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Accounting and Finance Profession Preparation Applications ...

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1. Don?t spend the next 25 years paying off your mortgage before creating wealth ? invest as soon as you can afford it.
1. Do something ? do anything, but do something!
2. Let time erode the value of your mortgage.
3. Surround yourself with experts.
4. 1. Knowledge is power ? especially with wealth creation
   2. Hear as many opinions as possible but make your own informed decisions.
   3. Count as part of your close friends an accountant, financial advisor, mortgage broker, real estate agent and stock broker.
5. Balance immediate needs and long-term goals

?Live for today and tomorrow.?

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Completing a degree program in accounting prepares students to step into various careers that involve accounting and finance. Students learn to work with businesses, organizations, individuals, and government groups on their finances. Accounting programs are available to students at the associate?s, bachelor?s, master?s, and doctorate?s degree level. The student?s career goals will determine which degree program to complete. Other possible accounting and finance career preparation programs can include:

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Source: http://www.icasm2009.org/accounting-and-finance-profession-preparation-applications

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Police fire tear gas at Oakland, 200 arrested (Reuters)

OAKLAND, California (Reuters) ? Riot police fought running skirmishes with anti-Wall Street protesters on Saturday, firing tear gas and bean bag projectiles and arresting more than 200 people in clashes that injured three officers and at least one demonstrator.

Three police officers and one protester were injured during the clashes, the city said, without detailing their conditions. Internet broadcasts by activists showed several demonstrators being treated by paramedics or loaded into ambulances.

The scuffles erupted in the afternoon as activists from the Occupy movement sought to take over a shuttered downtown convention center, sparking cat-and-mouse battles that lasted well into the night in a city that has seen tensions between police and protesters boil over repeatedly.

"Occupy Oakland has got to stop using Oakland as its playground," Mayor Jean Quan, who has come under criticism for the city's handling of the Occupy movement, said at a late evening press conference.

"Once again, a violent splinter group of the Occupy movement is engaging in violent actions against Oakland," she said, speaking as officers in riot gear were still lined up against demonstrators in downtown intersections.

City Council President Larry Reid said a group of protesters broke into City Hall, damaging exhibits and burning a U.S. flag.

Occupy Oakland organizers had earlier vowed to take over the apparently empty downtown convention center to establish a headquarters, hoping to revitalize a movement against economic inequality that lost momentum after police cleared protest camps from cities across the country late last year.

They also hoped to draw attention to homelessness in the attempted building takeover, seen as a challenge to authorities who have blocked similar efforts before.

A police spokesman said more than 200 people had been arrested during the day following altercations that began when activists tried to tear down a chain-link fence surrounding the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.

"The 1 percent have all these empty buildings, and meanwhile there are all these homeless people," protester Omar Yassin said.

'IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICES'

Police in riot gear moved in, firing smoke grenades, tear gas and bean-bag projectiles to drive the crowd back.

"Officers were pelted with bottles, metal pipe, rocks, spray cans, improvised explosive devices and burning flares," the Oakland Police Department said in a statement. "Oakland Police Department deployed smoke and tear gas."

Some activists, carrying shields made of plastic garbage cans and corrugated metal, tried to circumvent the police line, and surged toward police on another side of the building as more smoke canisters were fired.

"The city of Oakland welcomes peaceful forms of assembly and freedom of speech but acts of violence, property destruction and overnight lodging will not be tolerated," police said in a statement.

Hundreds of demonstrators regrouped and marched through downtown Oakland, where they were repeatedly confronted by police in riot gear. Police at several points fired flash-bang grenades into the crowd and swung batons at protesters.

A group of demonstrators ultimately made their way to City Hall, where they brought out a U.S. flag and set it on fire before scattering ahead of advancing officers.

Several hundred people remained in the streets well after dark, facing off against lines of riot police holding batons who demonstrators sometimes taunted as "pigs."

Protesters in Oakland loosely affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York last year have repeatedly clashed with police during a series of marches and demonstrations.

Elsewhere, the National Park Service said on Friday it would bar Occupy protesters in the nation's capital, one of the few big cities where Occupy encampments survive, from camping in two parks where they have been living since October.

That order, which takes effect on Monday, was seen as a blow to one of the highest-profile chapters of the movement.

(Writing by Dan Whitcomb and Mary Slosson; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Bill Trott)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/us_nm/us_oakland_protests

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Strong quake jolts eastern Japan, no tsunami warning (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) ? A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5 jolted eastern Japan on Saturday morning, but there were no immediate reports of injury or damage and no tsunami warning was issued.

The focus of the tremor was 20 km (12 miles) below the surface of the earth, in Yamanashi prefecture, west of Tokyo, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The quake, at 7:43 a.m., was also felt in the capital.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

On March 11, 2011, the northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest quake in Japan on record, and a massive tsunami, which triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years since Chernobyl. The disaster left up to 23,000 dead or missing.

(Reporting by Chris Gallagher, editing by Matthew Lewis)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/wl_nm/us_japan_quake

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Genetic Tests On Lung Cancer May Someday Guide Treatment ...

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ? Lung cancers are not all the same. Part of the difference is in the cancer?s genetics.

?There can be genes that predict that you?re more likely to respond to chemotherapy. Genes that predict a greater risk of spread to other parts of the body,? explains Dr. Jane Raymond, a cancer specialist at Allegheny General Hospital.

Of the two major types of lung cancer, small cell and non-small cell, the more common is non-small cell. Surgical removal of the tumor is often standard, but what about chemotherapy and radiation?

In some cases it?s clear cut.

?If the tumor is larger, if the lymph nodes are positive, we know those patients benefit from having adjuvent chemotherapy, which is chemotherapy after surgery,? Dr. Raymond says.

In cases where the tumor is still small with no spread, it?s not so clear.

The problem is, in half of the patients, the cancer will come back. This group would benefit from chemotherapy. The other half, if they took the powerful cancer-killing medicine, they would get no benefit and perhaps only side effects.

A new test, studied in the United states and China, analyzes the DNA of the lung cancer cells. Specific genes are thought to be associated with an increased likelihood of the cancer returning.

Two studies of more than a thousand people with non-small cell lung cancer, published in the journal The Lancet, shows this test outperforms traditional tests.

?Right now we go by looking at the tumor under the microscope, size of the tumor, and the number of lymph nodes,? Dr. Raymond says.

But it?s not quite ready for widespread use. Further research has to show that these genes really do make a tumor more risky, and that chemotherapy really does keep the cancer from recurring.

?I think it?s the wave of the future. Certainly, we?re doing that in breast cancer, and we?re looking at it in colon cancer, prostate cancer; so, I think this is the next step,? Dr. Raymond says.

RELATED LINKS:
More Health News

Source: http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012/01/27/genetic-tests-on-lung-cancer-may-someday-guide-treatment/

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China says EU ban on Iran oil not "constructive" (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) ? China on Thursday criticized the European Union for banning oil imports from Iran, Beijing's third biggest crude supplier and a major trading partner.

The European Union agreed on Monday to ban imports of oil from Iran and imposed a number of other economic sanctions, joining the United States in a new round of measures aimed at pushing Iran into reining in its nuclear activities that Tehran says are for peaceful purposes.

China, the world's second largest crude consumer, has long opposed unilateral sanctions that target Iran's energy sector and has tried to reduce tensions that could threaten its oil supply.

Last week, Beijing told a visiting Iranian delegation that returning to nuclear talks was a "top priority." During a tour to Arab states earlier this month, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao also made a strong statement opposing Iran developing and possessing nuclear weapons, but defended China's right to buy Iranian crude oil as normal trade activity.

Asked about the EU embargo, China's Foreign Ministry said in a faxed statement: "It is not a constructive approach to simply pile up the pressure and impose sanctions."

"China hopes relevant parties to resort to measures conducive to regional peace and stability," the statement added.

China is the largest buyer of Iranian crude oil, importing 30 percent more from Iran in 2011 compared to the previous year. But China halved its purchases from Iran in January and February, following a dispute over the terms of payment.

(Reporting by Chen Aizhu and Tracy Zheng; editing by Miral Fahmy)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/wl_nm/us_china_iran

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AfricaNews - Kenya's finance minister resigns - The AfricaNews ...

LAWRENCE NZUVE, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya

Kenyan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Uhuru Kenyatta has resigned on Thursday together with the Secretary to the Cabinet and head of the Public Service Ambassador Francis Muthaura. The two alongside Eldoret Member of Parliament William Ruto and radio journalist Joshua Sang were on Monday ordered to stand for trial by the International Criminal Court based at The Hague, Netherlands.

President Kibaki has in the meantime appointed Njeru Githae and Francis Kimemia in acting capacity to the ministry of finance and head of public service respectively.

The two top Kenyan officials had been suspected of masterminding the blood bath that was the disputed 2007 general elections in Kenya and where more than 1000 people were killed and thousands displaced.

The ruling by the ICC which also acquitted a former Police Commissioner (Rtd Major General) Hussein Ali and Tinderet member of parliament Henry Kosgey had divided the country sharply with the civil society filing a case in court to compel them to resign from their positions while Uhuru's colleague in the Cabinet and senior lawyer Mutula Kilonzo had openly called for their resignation citing the constitution.

---

Source: http://www.africanews.com/site/Kenyas_finance_minister_resigns/list_messages/40979

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Stock index futures signal mixed Wall Street open (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open for equities on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.2 percent, the Dow Jones futures down 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.6 percent.

The U.S. Federal Reserve looks set to keep monetary policy on hold on Wednesday, even as it releases forecasts expected to show interest rates will be near zero for at least two more years.

Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX) is offering $5.7 billion in cash to buy U.S. gene sequencing company Illumina Inc (ILMN.O) in a hostile takeover bid that marks a major play by the Swiss drugmaker into the gene technology field.

Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) quarterly results blew past Wall Street's expectations after U.S. consumers snapped up near-unprecedented numbers of iPhones and iPads, sending its shares up 8 percent into record territory. Apple shares listed in Frankfurt (AAPL.F) rose 6.6 percent.

U.S. President Barack Obama used his last State of the Union speech before the November election to paint himself as the champion of the middle class, by demanding higher taxes for millionaires and tight reins on Wall Street.

The Mortgage Bankers Association releases at 7 a.m. ET Weekly Mortgage Market Index for the week ended January 20, versus the prior week. The mortgage market index read 816.1 and the refinancing index was 4,500.6 in the previous week.

National Association of Realtors issues at 10 a.m. ET Pending Home Sales for December. Economists expect a 1.0 percent fall compared with a 7.3 percent rise in the previous month.

Nordic budget carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle (NWC.OL) ordered 222 narrow-body aircraft worth a total of $21.5 billion at list prices on Wednesday. It split its order between Boeing Corp (BA.N) and Airbus, part of EADS (EAD.PA).

U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) resumed work on Wednesday at its $15.7 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Papua New Guinea, a spokeswoman said, a day after a landslide swept through two nearby villages killing at least four people.

United Technologies (UTX.N) announces results, which Wall Street expects will show profit rose to $1.46 per share from $1.31 per share. Textron (TXT.L) , the world's top maker of corporate aircraft, is expected to post a 3 percent rise in earnings, factoring out one-time items.

Boeing (BA.N), the world's largest aerospace and defense company, is set to report a sharp decline in fourth-quarter profit. Other companies announcing results include Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N), Automatic Data Processing (ADP.O) and Xerox (XRX.N).

European shares (.FTEU3) fell 0.6 percent on Wednesday, weighed by the tech sector after a sharp post-results decline for mobile telecoms network gear maker Ericsson (ERICb.ST).

U.S. stocks edged lower on Tuesday, ending a five-day rally for the S&P 500 (.SPX), as talks to resolve Greece's debt crisis hit a snag and earnings from a number of blue-chips disappointed investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) finished down 33.07 points, or 0.26 percent, at 12,675.75. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 1.37 points, or 0.10 percent, at 1,314.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) rose 2.47 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,786.64.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Erica Billingham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/bs_nm/us_markets_stocks

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Newt Bashes Mitt (TIME)

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Defense: Stanford's business empire was real (AP)

HOUSTON ? Defense attorneys for R. Allen Stanford say the Texas financier's business empire was real and not built on lying and stealing as prosecutors have alleged.

Robert Scardino, one of Stanford's attorneys, told jurors during opening statements Tuesday in the fraud trial that the financier was a resourceful businessman who for 22 years paid investors every penny that he promised them.

Stanford is accused of bilking investors out of $7 billion in a massive Ponzi scheme through the sale of certificates of deposit from an Antiguan bank he owned. He's charged with 14 counts, including mail and wire fraud, and could face up to 20 years if convicted.

Prosecutors told jurors earlier that Stanford lied and stole from investors and his financial empire was built on fraud.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

R. Allen Stanford lied to investors and stole their hard-earned savings so he could live the lavish lifestyle of a billionaire, a prosecutor said Tuesday at the Texas financier's trial.

Prosecutor Gregg Costa told jurors in Houston federal court that Stanford used investors' money to buy homes and yachts and fund cricket matches.

"He treated depositors' savings like it was his own personal piggy bank," Costa said.

The prosecution says the business empire was built on smoke and mirrors and he bilked investors out of more than $7 billion over 20 years as part of a massive Ponzi scheme centered on sales of certificates of deposit from an Antiguan bank he owned.

Stanford, who denies the claims and says his businesses were legitimate, is charged with 14 counts, including wire and mail fraud, and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

His attorneys were to make their opening statements later Tuesday to the panel of 12 jurors and three alternates. Stanford, 61, is expected to testify during the trial, which will likely last at least six weeks.

Once considered one of the U.S.'s wealthiest people, with an estimated net worth of more than $2 billion, Stanford snatched up luxury homes and cars, private jets and yachts, and became so prominent in his adopted country of Antigua, where he took on dual citizenship, that he was knighted by the Caribbean island's government and became known as "Sir Allen."

Stanford's business empire was run through the Houston-based Stanford Financial Group, but at its heart was Antiguan-based Stanford International Bank. The bank mainly sold certificates of deposit, or CDs, that promised substantially higher rates of return than U.S. banks and promised investors their money was safe.

Prosecutors say Stanford used money from the sale of the CDs, which were sold to clients from more than 100 countries, to pay off those purchased earlier once they matured and to support his other businesses, which included other banks, a brokerage firm that sold the CDs, an airline, cricket grounds and restaurants. They say Stanford used up to $2 billion of investor funds as personal loans to support his lifestyle, and that he and three former executives at his companies who also face charges covered up their misdeeds by fabricating the bank's records and bribing Antiguan regulators.

"He used it (investors' money) to fund his own pet businesses, to the tune of $2 billion," Costa said Tuesday.

The prosecutor said that included more than $300 million of depositors' saving to two airlines Stanford ran in the Caribbean, $20 million to an entity whose purpose was to pay expenses related to Stanford's yacht and $37 million to a company whose purpose was to promote cricket tournaments in which Stanford gave out million-dollar prizes.

In court documents filed earlier this month, Stanford's attorneys argued that he intended to pay CD investors through his other companies if authorities hadn't seized them and begun selling them off.

"This fraud (theory by the government) is just wrong," Ali Fazel, one of Stanford's attorneys, said at that hearing. "Our defense is we didn't do anything wrong."

A gag order bars lawyers from publicly discussing the case.

Stanford has been in jail since his arrest 2 1/2 years ago because he was deemed a flight risk. His trial was delayed after he was declared incompetent due to an addiction he developed in jail to an anti-anxiety drug and underwent treatment for eight months last year. He was also evaluated for any long-term effects from being injured in a September 2009 jail fight.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner declared Stanford fit for trial last month.

Once Antigua's richest citizen, primary banker and its largest private employer, Stanford had his assets seized and now has court-appointed attorneys after an insurance policy that had been paying for his defense was revoked.

Stanford is on his fifth set of lawyers since being indicted. Previous attorneys accused him of being difficult.

The three other indicted former executives are to be tried in June. A former Antiguan financial regulator was also indicted and he awaits extradition to the U.S.

Stanford and the former executives are also fighting a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit filed in Dallas that makes similar allegations.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_re_us/us_stanford_trial

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Annie Leibovitz opens new art show at Smithsonian (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Photographer Annie Leibovitz says she has come back from some dark days and revived her creativity with a new photography project now on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum that marks a departure from her popular celebrity portraits.

Two years ago, Leibovitz was facing millions in debt and a mismanaged fortune that nearly cost her legal rights to some of pop culture's most memorable images she created. The ordeal was a good lesson in managing her business, Leibovitz said, but left her "emotionally and mentally depleted."

On Tuesday, she led a tour through the photographs she says renewed her inspiration with a few road trips through U.S. history. The idea grew out of a book she had wanted to make with her partner, Susan Sontag, with a list of destinations and an excuse to visit them. After Sontag died, she eventually revived the idea with her young children.

It began with a six-hour drive to Niagara Falls during her financial troubles only to find out her credit card had been rejected at a hotel and their rooms had been given away. While they found another place to stay, Leibovitz was upset wanted to go home. But she agreed to go to a lookout point over the waterfalls with her kids.

"I was sitting off to the side, feeling a little down, and I saw my children mesmerized, studying the falls," she said. "And I walked over, stood behind them ... and I took this picture."

It's a snapshot anyone could have taken, she said: an image that captures the blue-green water before it plunges over the falls. Soon she began thinking of other places to visit.

The images that would become "Annie Leibovitz: Pilgrimage" include depictions of landscapes and people, but no faces. Instead, Leibovitz photographed historic objects and scenes, including the homes of "Little Women" author Louisa May Alcott, essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson, entertainer Elvis Presley and others.

"I was swept away when I walked into these places," she said. "I found myself taking pictures and not thinking about any consequences. I was seduced."

There were obstacles, though. One was coming to terms with photographing objects, she said, and finding a way to give them some emotion. She began creating close-up images, as with a nightdress worn by Emily Dickinson when she was known for roaming around her house in a nightgown. Leibovitz zoomed in on the intricate detail.

"That is not my kind of picture. I mean, I don't ever come in tight like that," Leibovitz said. "It's not me."

It's also her first all-digital photography show. Leibovitz said she is still learning about new technology and about herself.

"This is an amazing time to be a photographer," she said. "I discovered things about myself which were really comforting, that the work had a deep well, that it wasn't going to go away."

She also learned it was a mistake to leave her business affairs to others to manage.

"I mean, I had a great ride," she said. "I was like a girl who went out and took pictures, and everyone else took care of everything else. Now I really do need to take care of everything."

Leibovitz didn't discuss the status of her debt but said she has good business advisers. "I'm back, for all intents and purposes," she said.

Her travels for "Pilgrimage" produced images of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud's couch, sharpshooter Annie Oakley's heart-shaped shooting target, Presley's Harley-Davidson and a TV he once shot with a gun at Graceland.

As a nod to Sontag, Leibovitz visited the home of Virginia Woolf, one of her partner's favorite writers, where she was happy to learn such a brilliant person could have such a messy studio, she said.

Andy Grundberg, guest curator for the show and a dean at the Corcoran College of Art and Design, said Leibovitz is presenting cultural history in a new way.

"She's trying to convey a sense of people without the people actually being there in front of the camera," he said of Leibovitz' travels. "She was kind of bushwhacking through our cultural legacy and figuring it out as she went along."

In some cases, one destination would lead to several others. Leibovitz was fascinated with the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, which led her to find Lincoln's top hat at the Smithsonian, models for Lincoln's statue in the studio of sculptor Daniel Chester French, and to a concert gown of Marian Anderson, who sang at the memorial when she was shut out of a segregated concert hall.

Leibovitz eventually compiled the project into a book that evolved into the new exhibit. The show is on view in Washington through May 20 and then will travel to U.S. museums through 2014.

Leibovitz said she pursued her new project to protect her lucrative portrait work and to go back to it revived.

"It's a project I did for myself. I wanted to be seduced into a photograph and not make it up," she said. "And I wanted to take my time."

___

Smithsonian American Art Museum: http://americanart.si.edu

___

Brett Zongker can be reached at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_en_ot/us_art_annie_leibovitz

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Arsenic cancer risk still high decades later in Chile region (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? People exposed to very high levels of arsenic in Chilean drinking water back in the 1950s and 60s are still showing a higher-than-normal risk of bladder cancer -- years after the arsenic problem was brought under control, a new study shows.

The findings are not surprising, researchers say, since the cancer would take decades to emerge.

But the results underscore the importance of continuing to screen high-risk people for bladder cancer, according to lead researcher Dr. Fernando Coz, a professor of urology at the Universidad de Los Andes in Santiago de Chile.

The study, reported in the Journal of Urology, focused on people in the Antofagasta region of Chile. In the 1950s and 60s, drinking water in the region became contaminated with high levels of arsenic.

Arsenic is semi-metallic element found in rock, soil, water and air. It is also released into the environment through industrial activities, and can be found in products like paints, dyes and fertilizers. High exposure has been linked to several cancers, including tumors of the bladder, liver and lungs.

In Antofagasta, a combination of factors led to a huge increase in drinking-water arsenic by the late-1950s: naturally high arsenic levels in the environment, heavy mining and a move to make two rivers the area's main drinking-water sources.

Arsenic concentrations reached 800 to 900 micrograms per liter (mcg/L) -- far above the current allowable limit of 10 micrograms per liter recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA).

The arsenic problem was first reported in 1971, which prompted the first water treatment plants to be set up in the area. Arsenic levels dropped sharply, though it took until about 1990 for levels to fall in line with WHO standards (which at the time allowed for more arsenic than the current standard).

But even two decades after the arsenic problem came under control, people in Antofagasta are showing high bladder cancer rates, Coz and his colleagues found.

Among the region's men in 2009, the rate was about 16 cases per 100,000. That compared with just under six per 100,000 for the rest of Chile.

There was a similar gap seen among women. In Antofagasta, the bladder cancer rate was 13.5 cases for every 100,000 women -- versus just 2.5 per 100,000 in the rest of Chile.

"Our observation shows that bladder cancer appears in high rates in the population that was exposed to arsenic during childhood" in the 50s and 60s, Coz told Reuters Health in an email.

On top of that, he said, they are developing bladder cancer earlier -- in their 50s and 60s, on average, rather than the typical age range of 60s and 70s.

None of that is surprising, according to Coz. High arsenic exposure in childhood or in the womb would lead to cancer decades down the road -- though possibly, as seen in Antofagasta, at an earlier-than-average age.

It's possible to screen for bladder cancer through urine tests, though routine screening is not recommended for the general public -- since there's not enough evidence that the possible benefits would outweigh the risks (like false-positive results).

But Coz said that people from Antofagasta known to have had high arsenic exposures as children should be screened.

He added, however, that the current findings apply only to that Chilean region. "We have no data regarding the risk of cancer if exposed to lower levels of arsenic," Coz said.

Potentially dangerous arsenic levels in drinking water are major problem globally.

Researchers have estimated that about 140 million people worldwide drink water with arsenic levels above 10 micrograms per liter. Bangladesh has been among the hardest hit, with millions exposed to high levels of naturally occurring arsenic in well water.

But no one is sure if arsenic levels below the 10-microgram threshold are completely "safe." And researchers are still studying whether there could be health effects at those concentrations.

In the U.S., most public drinking-water supplies are well below the 10-microgram level.

Still, it's estimated that 13 million Americans live in areas where the public water supply exceeds that threshold. And unregulated private wells might also contain too much arsenic -- particularly in certain areas of the West, Midwest and New England where the groundwater contains high concentrations of the toxic metal.

Experts suggest that people have private well water tested for arsenic. If the level exceeds 10 micrograms per liter, it can be treated with special filtration systems.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/x9wGvy Journal of Urology, online January 16, 2012.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/cancer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/hl_nm/us_chile_cancer

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Oscar nominations announced for supporting actress

BEVERLY HILLS, California (AP) ? The 84th annual Academy Award nominations for supporting actress in a motion picture have been announced in Beverly Hills, California, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The nominees announced Tuesday morning are Octavia Spencer, "The Help"; Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"; Jessica Chastain, "The Help"; Janet McTeer ("Albert Nobbs"); and Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids."

The Oscars will be presented Feb. 26 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, hosted by Billy Crystal and broadcast live on ABC.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-24-Oscar%20Nominations-Supporting%20Actress/id-12d657665bbe40968e971408047fa644

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2 dead, 100 hurt in Ala. as storms pound South

Residents walk around through the debris of their neighborhood after a severe storm ripped through the Trussville, Ala., area in the early hours of Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Randy Christian said the storm produced a possible tornado that moved across northern Jefferson County around 3:30 a.m., causing damage in Oak Grove, Graysville, Fultondale, Center Point, Clay and Trussville. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Residents walk around through the debris of their neighborhood after a severe storm ripped through the Trussville, Ala., area in the early hours of Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Randy Christian said the storm produced a possible tornado that moved across northern Jefferson County around 3:30 a.m., causing damage in Oak Grove, Graysville, Fultondale, Center Point, Clay and Trussville. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Rescue workers help a family out of their neighborhood after a severe storm ripped through the Trussville, Ala. area early Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Tornado warnings were issued in parts of central and northern Alabama in the early morning hours Monday as powerful storms rolled across the state. There were several reports of severe damage to homes. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Residents walk around through the debris of their neighborhood after a tornado ripped through the Trussville, Ala. area in the early hours of Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Randy Christian said the storm produced a possible tornado that moved across northern Jefferson County around 3:30 a.m., causing damage in Oak Grove, Graysville, Fultondale, Center Point, Clay and Trussville. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Residents walk around through the debris of their neighborhood after a tornado ripped through the Trussville, Ala. area in the early hours of Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Randy Christian said the storm produced a possible tornado that moved across northern Jefferson County around 3:30 a.m., causing damage in Oak Grove, Graysville, Fultondale, Center Point, Clay and Trussville. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Residents walk around through the debris of their neighborhood after a tornado ripped through the Trussville, Ala. area in the early hours of Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Randy Christian said the storm produced a possible tornado that moved across northern Jefferson County around 3:30 a.m., causing damage in Oak Grove, Graysville, Fultondale, Center Point, Clay and Trussville. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

CLAY, Ala. (AP) ? Severe storms and possible tornadoes pounded the South on Monday, injuring more than 100 people and killing at least two in Alabama, including a man who lived in an area devastated by a deadly twister outbreak in the spring.

Homes were flattened, windows were blown out of cars and roofs were peeled back in the middle of the night in the rural community of Oak Grove near Birmingham. As dawn broke, residents surveyed the damage and officials used chainsaws to clear fallen trees.

Oak Grove was hit hard in April when tornadoes ravaged Alabama, killing about 240 people, though officials said none of the same neighborhoods was struck again. Officials had to reschedule a meeting Monday to receive a study on Alabama's response to the spring tornadoes.

"Some roads are impassable, there are a number of county roads where you have either debris down, trees down, damage from homes," said Yasamie Richardson, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.

An 82-year-old man died in Oak Grove and a 16-year-old girl was killed in Clay, Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Randy Christian said.

The storm system stretched from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, producing a possible tornado that moved across northern Jefferson County around 3:30 a.m., causing damage in Oak Grove and other communities, Christian said.

As day broke, searchers went door-to-door calling out to residents, many of whom were trapped by trees that crisscrossed their driveways.

In Clay, northeast of Birmingham, Stevie Sanders woke up around 3:30 a.m. and realized bad weather was on the way. She, her parents and sister hid in the laundry room of their brick home as the wind howled and trees started cracking outside.

"You could feel the walls shaking and you could hear a loud crash. After that it got quiet, and the tree had fallen through my sister's roof," said Sanders.

The family was OK, and her father, Greg Sanders, spent the next hours raking his roof and pulling away pieces of broken lumber.

"It could have been so much worse," he said. "It's like they say, we were just blessed."

In Clanton, about 50 miles south of Birmingham, rescuers were responding to reports of a trailer turned over with people trapped, City Clerk Debbie Orange said.

Also south of Birmingham, Maplesville town clerk Sheila Haigler said high winds damaged many buildings and knocked down several trees. One tree fell on a storm shelter, but no one was injured, Haigler said. Police had not been able to search some areas because trees and power lines were blocking roads.

In Arkansas, there were possible tornadoes in several areas Sunday night. The storms also brought hail and strong winds as they moved through parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois and Mississippi.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-23-Severe%20Weather/id-14750f164fad444c8eb06b03c04f307c

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Richard Gere attends his first Sundance Festival (omg!)

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) ? Richard Gere once saw Utah from horseback while moving cattle, but his trip to the Sundance Film Festival to premiere "Arbitrage" is his first actual visit to the state.

The 62-year-old actor says "it sounds ridiculous," but he was moving cattle through Nevada with some friends and "we rode up to a ridgeline and they pointed up, 'That's Utah there.'"

Gere says it was a seven-day cattle-moving trip on horseback.

He was in Park City Saturday to promote "Arbitrage," a thriller about the lure of money and power and how it affects one's personal values.

Directed by Nicholas Jarecki, the film also stars Susan Sarandon, Nate Roth and Laetitia Casta.

The Sundance Film Festival continues through Jan. 29.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_richard_gere_attends_first_sundance_festival003942433/44258500/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/richard-gere-attends-first-sundance-festival-003942433.html

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PSU trustees: No timetable for internal probe

Penn State Board of Trustees Chairman Steve Garban, right, looks on as Penn State President Rodney Erickson, left, answers a Board of Trustees member's question during the board's regularly scheduled meeting in State College, Pa., Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. Erickson is using the meeting as an opportunity to address the perception that the university isn't being as open and honest as it could be in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. (AP Photo/Andy Colwell)

Penn State Board of Trustees Chairman Steve Garban, right, looks on as Penn State President Rodney Erickson, left, answers a Board of Trustees member's question during the board's regularly scheduled meeting in State College, Pa., Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. Erickson is using the meeting as an opportunity to address the perception that the university isn't being as open and honest as it could be in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. (AP Photo/Andy Colwell)

FILE - In this Oct. 15, 2011, file photo, Penn State head coach Joe Paterno watches warm ups before an NCAA college football game against Purdue in State College, Pa. In his first public comments since being fired two months ago, former Penn State coach Paterno told the Washington Post he "didn't know which way to go" after an assistant coach came to him in 2002 saying he had seen retired defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abusing a boy, the Post reported on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Former Penn State football player Franco Harris listens to remarks by Penn State President Rodney Erickson during the regularly scheduled Penn State Board of Trustees meeting in State College, Pa., Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. Erickson is using the meeting as an opportunity to address the perception that the university isn't being as open and honest as it could be in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. (AP Photo/Andy Colwell)

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, left, speaks with governor's office communication director Kevin Harley before the start of the regularly scheduled Penn State Board of Trustees meeting in State College, Pa., Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. Penn State President Rodney Erickson is using the meeting as an opportunity to address the perception that the university isn't being as open and honest as it could be in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. (AP Photo/Andy Colwell)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) ? The Penn State trustee overseeing the school's internal investigation into child sexual abuse allegations against a former assistant coach says there's no timetable for results of the probe.

Ken Frazier had said last month he hoped to have the results by May. But he told trustees at a meeting Friday that results may not come now until next fall.

Frazier then added there was no "artificial timetable" ? he wants to give investigators ample time for thorough questioning.

Trustees are meeting for the first time since the chaotic week in November after dozens of child sex abuse charges were filed against Jerry Sandusky.

Trustees have tabbed former FBI director Louis Freeh as their lead investigator.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-20-Penn%20State-Trustees/id-c42095c20b6449848bd0db5392b772ed

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CDC: Many teen moms didn't think it could happen

[unable to retrieve full-text content]ATLANTA (AP) ? A new government study suggests a lot of teenage girls are clueless about their chances of getting pregnant.

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2012-01-19-Pregnant%20Teens/id-8bc32afb2b844627ac13bf22cfc5dda0

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Exclusive: Former Bachelorette Winner Jesse Csincsak?s Thoughts on Emily Maynard as the Next Bachelorette

Former Bachelor winner Emily Maynard, 25, is looking for love on TV ? for the second time! Production for the ABC show is heading to her hometown for filming to accommodate the mother of 6-year-old Ricki.

One former Bachelorette winner tells In Touch he firmly believes Emily is in it for the fame. ?Is it me, or do you remember Emily [Maynard] going on-camera with Chris Harrison, saying how much she hated the limelight and all of its attention after her stint on The Bachelor with Brad?? Jesse Csincsak asks. ?I guess everyone really does have their price.?

Rumors circulated that the blond Southern belle was dating Carolina Panthers player Jeremy Shockey following her split from Bachelor Brad Womack.

?Since Brad, she has been on dates with lots of high-profile athletes and TV guys,? claims Jesse, calling Emily a ?stage 5 jersey-chaser.?

What are your thoughts on Emily as the next Bachelorette? Is she in it for the right reasons?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/InTouchWeekly/~3/PNNI2V4Muds/jesse_csinksak.php

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