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Vaccine Risks Report.

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:55:33 +0000

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Vaccine Risks Report.

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Bay Area groups react to Komen decision to pull breast-screening funds

admin — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:01:36 +0000

The nation’s largest and most widely recognized breast cancer advocacy organization faced a rolling avalanche of criticism and major revolt within its own ranks Thursday after a decision to eliminate all funding to Planned Parenthood.

The decision by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation to halt grants totaling $680,000 last year — used by 19 Planned Parenthood affiliates across the nation for breast exams — has stirred debate across country since it was announced two days ago.

All seven California Susan G. Komen affiliates — including the San Francisco chapter — have come out in opposition to the group’s new national policies, and 26 senators urged the Komen foundation to reconsider its decision.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged $250,000 to help Planned Parenthood, which provides family planning and abortion services, to make up the money it lost.

The furious debate is also a sign of the intense polarization of the nation’s politics in a presidential campaign season during which Planned Parenthood has become a lightning rod for attacks from Republican presidential candidates.

The Dallas-based Komen Foundation, the country’s largest breast cancer charity, released a statement saying the decision was “not about politics.”

In a YouTube video, Komen founder and chief executive, Nancy Brinker, said the group had reviewed its grants and added “more stringent eligibility and performance criteria.”

Her comments directly contradicted those of John Raffaelli, a Komen board member and Washington lobbyist, who told the new York Times on Wednesday that Komen made the changes to its grant-making process specifically to end its relationship with Planned Parenthood. Raffaelli said that Komen had become increasingly worried that an investigation of Planned Parenthood by Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., would damage Komen’s credibility with donors.

While the defunding move does not directly affect Planned Parenthood centers in the Bay Area, which did not receive Komen funds for breast screening, local offices have been flooded with calls of support. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter sizzled with angry comments — although some continued to support Komen, the organization they have come to love.

An online petition hosted by MoveOn.org to “re-establish breast health funding for Planned Parenthood affiliates” is swelling with virtual signatures. and some Bay Area women’s health organizations are holding emergency board meetings on how to address the issue.

“We’re a direct service organization, so this is something that strikes very close to our core values,” said Peggy McGuire, executive director of the Women’s Cancer Resource Center: East Bay Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, which provides target outreach programs for low-income Latinas and African-American women. the group does receive some money from Komen, McGuire said, but it is not directly affected by the funding decision.

“Virtually everyone who has walked in our door today — clients, volunteers — have been talking about this,” McGuire said. “Our board of directors is holding an emergency meeting tonight to determine what our response will be. My question is, how does (the Komen decision) fit in with Komen’s mission?”

Lupe Rodriguez, director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood’s Miramonte affiliate, which serves women and families at 10 health centers in Alameda, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, said they’ve been fielding calls and emails the past couple of days, mostly from people offering support.

“We have felt a really strong response from community members, patients, donors. and we’re really heartened by it,” Rodriguez said. “Many of the people Planned Parenthood serves, here and nationwide, are low-income with no access to other health services. We’re often the first entry point into the health care system for many women and families, not only for reproductive services, but we also offer general health care and primary care and even pediatric care at some sites.”

Nationally, Planned Parenthood already has made up for any reduction in funding through an outpouring of support in response to the cutoff. It has so far received $400,000 in small donations from more than 6,000 people around the country, plus it is getting $250,000 from a family foundation in Dallas in addition to the money pledged from Bloomberg.

Over 30 years, Komen became one of the most successful disease advocacy organizations by bringing pink ribbons and the fight against breast cancer into the national forefront.

Vera Packard, executive director for hers Breast Cancer Foundation in Fremont, which provides women with post-surgical products, emotional support and educational services, said she is disturbed by the Komen decision but hopes some good may come out of it.

Susan G. Komen is “the only brand name people know in regard to breast cancer,” she said. “So people might say, ‘Oh, I donate to breast cancer funds, but now where is my money going?’ and they may pull their support.

“On the other hand,” she said, “it might make people more aware of how these things work. We have lots of small groups in the Bay Area. now people might look at giving support to local agencies instead.”

New York Times contributed to this report.

Sports digest: Legendary boxing trainer Angelo Dundee dies at 90

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It’s déjà vu at moguls finals as Kearney wins 13th straight

admin — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:00:39 +0000

Groundhog Day brought its mystical powers to Deer Valley Resort Thursday night. American Hannah Kearney just kept on winning. Ditto for Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury.

In the debut event of the 2012 Visa Freestyle International World Cup, Kearney, the defending Olympic champion in women’s moguls, won her 13th straight World Cup event under the lights of Deer Valley’s Champion run, defeating teammate and close friend Heather McPhie, who finished second.

Meanwhile, Kingsbury, a 19-year-old up-and-comer, dominated the men’s field, winning his sixth-straight World Cup after unleashing a vicious cork 1080 on his final run.

The story behind Kearney’s lucky No. 13 win didn’t follow its typical narrative. Going into Thursday night’s mogul finals, the Norwich, Vt., native had never trailed in any competition on the World Cup circuit so far this season. then McPhie, a Park City resident, brought her best to her home course, the same course where she qualified for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

The mogul stars are adjusting to a new scoring format on this year’s circuit, which now features a Super Final event, rather than traditional qualifying and final rounds. In the new Super Final format, the top four skiers from the final round advance for a showdown.

No longer do scores carry over from round to round. one mistake and any top athlete could be left out in the cold, watching the Super Final round from the bottom of the hill.

McPhie, the top qualifier going into the Super Final, earned a 24.77 in the showdown. Kearney, in an unfamiliar position, followed in second, and topped McPhie with a score of 25.21. Australia’s Britteny Cox finished third.

“I enjoyed it,” Kearney said. “It was the sort of nerves that I haven’t felt in a while, but in an absolutely positive way. I’m glad I was able to take those nerves and perform well and not buckle under the pressure.”

Asked if the pressure of her winning streak ever crept into the back of her mind, Kearney laughed.

“I guess in some ways,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that I skied well the week before. It’s a different course, a different judging panel, but I do try to build on it, because I do think the streak represents my goal, which is consistency.”

McPhie was all smiles afterward, not the least bit dejected after coming up short against Kearney. the Montana native and Park City resident is the only female moguls athlete who uses the D-spin — an off-axis 720 spin — in competition. She hopes that, the tighter and cleaner her D-spin becomes, the better her chance of standing higher on the podium than Kearney in the near future.

“I think I did push her,” she said. “It’s the first time she’s never been in first in any single run, so I’m stoked. especially because I haven’t competed with the D-spin all that much, and I’m just starting to learn. Every single run I’m getting better.”

So what will it take to beat the vaunted Hannah Kearney?

“Not much more,” McPhie said with a smirk.

The last time Kearney did not emerge victorious was on the very same Champion run at Deer Valley last year when Canada’s Jennifer Heil defeated her in the FIS Freestyle World Championships.

Todd Schirman, freestyle program director for the United States Ski & Snowboard Association, said his mogul star was eyeing redemption and chomping at the bit to come out on top at this venue.

“I think she was challenged, and she always shows up when she’s challenged,” he said.

Next up for Kearney is Saturday evening’s dual mogul’s event at Deer Valley, and make no mistake, she knows she has a target tattooed on her back.

“I guarantee everyone wants to beat me,” she said. “I’m going to have to ski very well for five runs if I want to win that one.”

In the men’s event, American Jeremy Cota, ranked No. 2 in the world heading into Thursday, was a prime example of how the new rules come into play.

The Maine native had qualified first for the finals run, but skied over his pole in his finals run. the pole snapped and he lost control, effectively ending his night in heartbreaking fashion.

Mikael Kingsbury’s in-air style catapulted him past Canadian teammate and defending Olympic champion Alexandre Bilodeau, who finished second behind the youngster. Vinjar Slatten of Norway finished third. American Patrick Deneen was fourth.

Tonight’s dual mogul finals are scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. on the Champion run at Deer Valley.

Mr Trump announced last May that he would not be a candidate for the Republican nomination. But he welcomed other hopefuls to his office at Trump Tower on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue for strategy sessions. mr Romney made the trek, as did former candidates Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain and Rick Perry.

Mr Gingrich visited in December when he was topping polls in Iowa and nationally.

Mr Trump even took Sarah Palin out for a widely publicised pizza dinner in Times Square when she was considering a presidential bid. But the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee ultimately decided against running.

Mr Gingrich’s camp was so confident of Trump’s endorsement that those close to the former House speaker confirmed it Wednesday night for news organisations.

One of those officials said mr Trump had "sent signals" to mr Gingrich that he would support him. Today, that individual declined to elaborate on what those signals were.

Mr Trump is known for being unpredictable and the circus atmosphere surrounding his endorsement almost seemed designed to gin up interest in the event.Asked about the possible endorsement yesterday in Reno, Nevada, mr Gingrich said he had "no idea what the Donald is going to do".

"He is always interesting," mr Gingrich said of mr Trump. "and I don’t know of anybody who does a better job of getting attention by announcing that he will presently announce something."

Mr Gingrich sought mr Trump’s endorsement at a meeting in December at the real estate mogul’s Trump Tower office in Manhattan. there, mr Gingrich told reporters he had persuaded mr Trump to mentor promising children from some of New York’s poorest schools.

The former House speaker had come under fire for suggesting poor children should do janitorial chores in their schools to learn the value of work.

Mr Gingrich also agreed to appear in a Republican debate mr Trump was to host in Iowa in December. But other candidates, including frontrunner mr Romney, turned down the debate, forcing mr Trump to cancel.

Mr Trump had flirted with the idea of jumping in the presidential race as a third-party candidate but ultimately decided not to.

Appearing on CBS political news program "Face The Nation" on Sunday, mr Trump praised mr Gingrich.

"He’s got great ideas. He’s very smart, he’s very tough and he is a great debater," he said.

Mr Gingrich was pounded by mr Romney in Florida in Tuesday’s Republican primary. mr Romney is considered a heavy favourite in Nevada, a state he won when he sought the Republican nomination in 2008.

Alzheimer’s Association.

United Nations resolution on Syria calls for President Bashar Assad to hand power to his deputy and insists there will be no use of foreign forces in the country.

The draft text, seen by the Associated Press, calls on Assad’s regime to immediately put “an end to all human rights violations and attacks against those exercising their rights to freedom of expression.”

It calls on Assad to delegate his “full authority to his deputy” to allow a national unity government to lead transition to a democratic system.

The text, the drafting of which has been led by Morocco, insists it does not compel “states to resort to the use of force, or the threat of force.”

Russia has accused Western and Arab nations of putting Syria on the “path to civil war.”

Hicks: Journey drummer arrested for assault

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Sports digest: U.S. women’s soccer team earns trip to London Olympics with 3-0 win over Costa Rica

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:00:22 +0000

The U.S. women’s soccer team booked its trip to the London Olympics on Friday night with a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in the semifinals of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Tobin Heath’s goal in the 16th minute gave the U.S. all the scoring it needed. Goals by Carli Lloyd (72nd) and former Cal star Alex Morgan (89th) put the game away late at BC place.

The win puts the Americans into Sunday’s final, a bragging-rights-only game against Canada. But the U.S. was less crisp than when it was beating the Dominican Republic and Guatemala by a combined 31-0.

Christine Sinclair scored twice in the Canadians’ Olympic-clinching 3-1 win over Mexico on Friday.

The U.S. won the past two Olympic gold medals.

Landon Donovan set up both goals for Everton, which beat Fulham 2-1 for a berth in FA Cup’s fifth round.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was eliminated from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ ownership sweepstakes, along with former agent Dennis Gilbert, two people familiar with the process told the Los Angeles Times. At least eight bidders advanced to the second round, including a group led by Magic Johnson and Stan Kasten and another headed by Rick Caruso and former Dodgers manager Joe Torre. Hedge fund giant Steven Cohen, former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley and St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke also are believed to have advanced. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt received “more than 10″ offers by Monday’s deadline. He expects the team and Dodger Stadium to sell for at least $1.5 billion.

Infielder Jeff Keppinger, 33, signed to a one-year deal with Tampa Bay. He split last season between Houston and the Giants, hitting .255 in 56 games with San Francisco.

right fielder Hunter Pence and Philadelphia agreed to a $10.4 million, one-year deal, avoiding arbitration. Ex-Chicago White Sox outfielder Juan Pierre agreed to a minor league deal.

Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky asked a Bellefonte state court to change his bail conditions. He’s charged with more than 40 counts stemming from the alleged sexual abuse of 10 boys. He asked permission to visit with his grandchildren in his home with supervision and to leave home to help his attorneys locate potential defense witnesses. He’s under home confinement on $250,000 bail.

The Insight Bowl lost its title sponsor, and game organizers are seeking a replacement for the game in Tempe, Ariz.

College of Charleston basketball coach Bobby Cremins, 64, is taking an indefinite leave of absence for a medical condition and won’t be back this season. Assistant Mark Byington takes over a 12-8 team. The school didn’t specify Cremins’ conditions, but athletic director Joe Hull said it’s not life threatening.

A.J. Foyt was hospitalized in Houston for complications from knee surgery and will skip the Rolex 24 at Daytona, which starts Saturday. He’s the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500, 24 Hours of Daytona and 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Lindsey Vonn won a World Cup super-combined event by 0.41 seconds in St. Moritz, Switzerland. She had a time of 2:28.35 in the downhill and slalom.

Rachel Alexandra and her 6-day-old colt were in an equine hospital in Lexington, Ky., for pain management.

Bloomberg contributed to this report.