Bernanke signals Fed to maintain stimulus efforts

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Chairman Ben Bernanke is telling Congress Wednesday that the U.S. job market remains weak and that it is too soon for the Federal Reserve to end its extraordinary stimulus programs.

Reducing the Fed's efforts to keep borrowing rates low would "carry a substantial risk of slowing or ending the economic recovery," Bernanke said in testimony to the Joint Economic Committee.

Bernanke noted that the economy is growing moderately this year and unemployment has fallen to a four-year low of 7.5 percent. Still, unemployment remains well above levels consistent with healthy economies. And Bernanke said higher taxes and deep federal spending cuts are expected to slow economic growth this year.

His comments about the many risks facing the economy, along with the benefits gained so far from the Fed's stimulus, suggest the Fed is not ready to taper bond purchases that have helped lower long-term interest rates to encourage more borrowing and spending.

Stocks surged after Bernanke's comments. The Dow Jones industrial average was up just 40 points before his comments were released at 10 a.m. EDT. Minutes later, the Dow was up 125 points.

The Fed has said it plans to continue its $85 billion-a-month in Treasury and mortgage bond purchases until the job market improves substantially. And after its April 30-May 1 meeting, the Fed said it could increase or decrease the pace depending on how the job market and inflation fare.

Investors have been closely scrutinizing policymakers' comments since then for clues about the pace of the bond purchases.

Bernanke has had solid support for the bond purchases among the voting members of the Fed's interest-rate setting committee. At each of the Fed's three policy meetings this year, the committee has approved the purchases 11-1.

In recent months, the job market and the broader economy have shown renewed vigor. The economy has added an average of 208,000 jobs a month since November. That's up from only 138,000 a month in the previous six months.

The economy has benefited from a resurgent housing market, rising consumer confidence and the Fed's stimulus actions, which have helped ignite a stock market rally. The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index has jumped 17 percent this year to a record high. Higher stock prices tend to make many people feel wealthier and more inclined to spend.

Those gains, in part, are why critics of the bond purchases, including some Fed regional bank presidents, have questioned the need to continue them at their current pace. They argue that keeping interest rates too low for too long could send inflation surging or inflate dangerous bubbles in assets such as stocks or real estate. Such a bubble could burst with the same destabilizing effects that the housing bust caused.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-05-22-US-Bernanke/id-f92a53c5f59d4298a9c0300abfd51a23

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Help wanted: Public needed to uncover clues in bug collections

Public release date: 22-May-2013
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Contact: Sarah Yang
scyang@berkeley.edu
510-643-7741
University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley Like bugs? Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes at natural history museums? Interested in helping scientists understand our changing environment? These are just some of the reasons why people should join a project led by the University of California, Berkeley's Essig Museum of Entomology.

Through Calbug, any volunteer with Internet access can help read and transcribe hand-written field notes accompanying a million insect specimens, many dating back more than 100 years.

Along the way, participants are getting a peek into history and the treasures held in museum collections. Among the many scientifically valuable objects in the Essig collection is at least one -- a ground beetle from Tierra del Fuego, Chile -- that was collected in 1833 by none other than Charles Darwin.

Calbug teamed up with two other natural history collections -- one focused on plants and the other on birds -- to create Notes from Nature, a citizen science project that draws on the public to tame the voluminous records stored in drawers, jars and bookshelves in natural history museums throughout the world. The project was officially launched today (Wednesday, May 22).

"What really turns people on is knowing that they are contributing to science in a meaningful way," said Calbug co-investigator Kipling Will, associate professor at UC Berkeley's Department of Environmental, Science Policy and Management. "These citizen science projects speak to the importance of public engagement in science."

"Without the help of citizen scientists, processing the sheer volume of records held in natural history collections -- estimated to be well over 2 billion worldwide -- would take generations," added Rosemary Gillespie, director of the Essig Museum and principal investigator of the Calbug project.

Notes from Nature is among the many projects that fall under the umbrella of Zooniverse, a highly successful Web-portal where citizens can help answer a diverse array of scientific questions, such as how stars form, what whale calls mean, and what life was like in the ancient Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus.

"Our projects help answer research questions that can only be solved by a significant amount of human attention they require people, not computers," said Arfon Smith, director of citizen science at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago and the technical lead for Zooniverse. "People have responded in a way that is truly great. There is an appetite for contributing to something real."

In addition to insects, Notes from Nature participants can help digitize plant records from the Southeast Regional Network of Expertise and Collections (SERNEC). The SERNEC collections include thousands of specimen images, labels and ledgers from hundreds of herbaria in the Southeast United States.

The Calbug project originally began with support from a 2010 National Science Foundation grant to digitize the first I million -- out of 6.5 million total -- specimens from California's eight major entomological collections. Besides UC Berkeley, Calbug includes insect collections from the California Academy of Sciences, UC Davis, UC Riverside, UC Santa Cruz, the California State Collection of Arthropods, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, San Diego Natural History Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum.

"California has a rich history of insect collecting dating back to around 1900 and earlier," said Gillespie, a professor in UC Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management. "Through Calbug, our goal is to make at least some of those records, which are normally inaccessible to the public, available to people around the world. And by converting those labels into electronic records, it will be possible for us to track any changes in range for different species, and that provides insight into how animals react to changes in the environment."

Calbug is one of the major cornerstones of the Berkeley Initiative in Global Change Biology (BiGCB), an ambitious effort to analyze biological records during ancient and more recent episodes of environmental change to better forecast how plant and animal populations might adapt to our rapidly changing planet.

"We originally thought digitization would have to be done by brute force alone, which meant hiring undergrads to manually enter the data one record at a time," said Will. "Even for a small portion of our collection, this would have taken many years to complete. By joining the Notes from Nature partnership, we expect to meet and exceed our goal, and in the process develop methods that other collections can adopt."

Questions remain about the level of accuracy of the transcriptions entered by the citizen scientists. Researchers from the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History are working with Zooniverse to evaluate the cost, accuracy and speed of volunteer transcriptions from the Notes from Nature site.

Thanks to a beta launch in late April of the first 20,000 images, which included an array of insects like bombardier beetles and skipper butterflies, Calbug is already well on its way to completion. About a third of these records have already been transcribed by more than 2,000 users, including Maggie Sanders, a homemaker from Fruita, Colo., who has completed nearly 400 transcriptions since late April.

"I have no background in science whatsoever, but I love seeing patterns in nature," said Sanders. "I've at least dabbled in about a dozen citizen science projects through Zooniverse. That's the beauty of it all. There are no time requirements, no qualifications, just a few moments of training, and suddenly I'm transcribing ancient Greek papyri or describing galaxies or measuring fish. What I love about Citizen Science is that I feel like I'm part of something important. And then, after I make my daily contribution to science, I just turn off the computer and go back to making dinner or reading with the kids!"

###

---

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?

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: 22-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Sarah Yang
scyang@berkeley.edu
510-643-7741
University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley Like bugs? Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes at natural history museums? Interested in helping scientists understand our changing environment? These are just some of the reasons why people should join a project led by the University of California, Berkeley's Essig Museum of Entomology.

Through Calbug, any volunteer with Internet access can help read and transcribe hand-written field notes accompanying a million insect specimens, many dating back more than 100 years.

Along the way, participants are getting a peek into history and the treasures held in museum collections. Among the many scientifically valuable objects in the Essig collection is at least one -- a ground beetle from Tierra del Fuego, Chile -- that was collected in 1833 by none other than Charles Darwin.

Calbug teamed up with two other natural history collections -- one focused on plants and the other on birds -- to create Notes from Nature, a citizen science project that draws on the public to tame the voluminous records stored in drawers, jars and bookshelves in natural history museums throughout the world. The project was officially launched today (Wednesday, May 22).

"What really turns people on is knowing that they are contributing to science in a meaningful way," said Calbug co-investigator Kipling Will, associate professor at UC Berkeley's Department of Environmental, Science Policy and Management. "These citizen science projects speak to the importance of public engagement in science."

"Without the help of citizen scientists, processing the sheer volume of records held in natural history collections -- estimated to be well over 2 billion worldwide -- would take generations," added Rosemary Gillespie, director of the Essig Museum and principal investigator of the Calbug project.

Notes from Nature is among the many projects that fall under the umbrella of Zooniverse, a highly successful Web-portal where citizens can help answer a diverse array of scientific questions, such as how stars form, what whale calls mean, and what life was like in the ancient Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus.

"Our projects help answer research questions that can only be solved by a significant amount of human attention they require people, not computers," said Arfon Smith, director of citizen science at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago and the technical lead for Zooniverse. "People have responded in a way that is truly great. There is an appetite for contributing to something real."

In addition to insects, Notes from Nature participants can help digitize plant records from the Southeast Regional Network of Expertise and Collections (SERNEC). The SERNEC collections include thousands of specimen images, labels and ledgers from hundreds of herbaria in the Southeast United States.

The Calbug project originally began with support from a 2010 National Science Foundation grant to digitize the first I million -- out of 6.5 million total -- specimens from California's eight major entomological collections. Besides UC Berkeley, Calbug includes insect collections from the California Academy of Sciences, UC Davis, UC Riverside, UC Santa Cruz, the California State Collection of Arthropods, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, San Diego Natural History Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum.

"California has a rich history of insect collecting dating back to around 1900 and earlier," said Gillespie, a professor in UC Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management. "Through Calbug, our goal is to make at least some of those records, which are normally inaccessible to the public, available to people around the world. And by converting those labels into electronic records, it will be possible for us to track any changes in range for different species, and that provides insight into how animals react to changes in the environment."

Calbug is one of the major cornerstones of the Berkeley Initiative in Global Change Biology (BiGCB), an ambitious effort to analyze biological records during ancient and more recent episodes of environmental change to better forecast how plant and animal populations might adapt to our rapidly changing planet.

"We originally thought digitization would have to be done by brute force alone, which meant hiring undergrads to manually enter the data one record at a time," said Will. "Even for a small portion of our collection, this would have taken many years to complete. By joining the Notes from Nature partnership, we expect to meet and exceed our goal, and in the process develop methods that other collections can adopt."

Questions remain about the level of accuracy of the transcriptions entered by the citizen scientists. Researchers from the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History are working with Zooniverse to evaluate the cost, accuracy and speed of volunteer transcriptions from the Notes from Nature site.

Thanks to a beta launch in late April of the first 20,000 images, which included an array of insects like bombardier beetles and skipper butterflies, Calbug is already well on its way to completion. About a third of these records have already been transcribed by more than 2,000 users, including Maggie Sanders, a homemaker from Fruita, Colo., who has completed nearly 400 transcriptions since late April.

"I have no background in science whatsoever, but I love seeing patterns in nature," said Sanders. "I've at least dabbled in about a dozen citizen science projects through Zooniverse. That's the beauty of it all. There are no time requirements, no qualifications, just a few moments of training, and suddenly I'm transcribing ancient Greek papyri or describing galaxies or measuring fish. What I love about Citizen Science is that I feel like I'm part of something important. And then, after I make my daily contribution to science, I just turn off the computer and go back to making dinner or reading with the kids!"

###

---

[ | 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/2013-05/uoc--hwp052213.php

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Fish oil supplements may help fight against type 2 diabetes

May 22, 2013 ? Widely-used fish oil supplements modestly increase amounts of a hormone that is associated with lower risk of diabetes and heart disease, according to a study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

Fish oil supplements, also called omega 3 fatty acid capsules, raise levels of adiponectin in the bloodstream. Adiponectin is an important hormone that has beneficial effects on metabolic processes like glucose regulation and the modulation of inflammation. In long-term human studies, higher levels of adiponectin are associated with lower risks of type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease.

"While prior animal studies found fish oil increased circulating adiponectin, whether similar effects apply in humans is not established," said the study's lead author, Jason Wu, PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health. "By reviewing evidence from existing randomized clinical trials, we found that fish oil supplementation caused modest increases in adiponectin in the blood of humans."

The meta-analysis reviewed and analyzed results from 14 randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials. In total, 682 subjects were treated with fish oil, and 641 were given placebos -- most commonly olive and sunflower oils. In those taking fish oil, adiponectin levels increased by 0.37 ug/mL. The results also suggested the effect of fish oil on adiponectin differed substantially across the trials, suggesting that fish oil supplementation may have stronger influence on adiponectin in some populations and weaker effects in others.

This is the first study to pool data from previous trials to suggest that fish oil consumption increases adiponectin in humans. The findings quantify the potential impact of fish oil on adiponectin level, and highlight the need to further investigate populations that may particularly benefit from fish oil supplementation.

"Although higher levels of adiponectin in the bloodstream have been linked to lower risk of diabetes and coronary heart disease, whether fish oil influences glucose metabolism and development of type 2 diabetes remains unclear," said Wu. "However, results from our study suggest that higher intake of fish oil may moderately increase blood level of adiponectin, and these results support potential benefits of fish oil consumption on glucose control and fat cell metabolism."

Despite the uncertainty about the effectiveness of fish oil on cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, about 37 percent of adults and 31 percent of children nationwide use omega-3 supplements, according to the 2007 National Health Interview Survey from the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM).

Other researchers working on the study include: L. Cahill and D. Mozaffarian of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, MA. The National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute provided grants to support this work.

The article, "Effect of Fish Oil on Circulating Adiponectin: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials," appears in the June 2013 issue of JCEM.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/heart_disease/~3/UJxvykTRPK4/130522130955.htm

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Does France have right plan to revive its economy?

PARIS (AP) ? The man charged with reviving France's shrinking economy and attracting businesses to invest here is gaining a reputation for doing the opposite.

As the country's first-ever minister for industrial renewal, Arnaud Montebourg has told the world's largest steelmaker it is not welcome in France; exchanged angry letters with the head of an American tire company he was supposedly wooing; and scuttled Yahoo's offer to buy the majority of a video-sharing website.

Montebourg, a 50-year-old lawyer from Burgundy, is the public face of President Francois Hollande's plan to revitalize Europe's second-largest economy, which is in recession and grappling with 11 percent unemployment. The plan is to make the French economy more competitive globally ? especially for manufacturers ? by making it easier to fire workers, offering a payroll tax credit and investing in small businesses.

Economists have praised the labor reforms as a step in the right direction. But mostly they say France's economic plan is all wrong: It is too complicated; it favors a top-down approach to innovation; and it ignores some of the most serious problems plaguing France's economy, such as high labor costs.

And then there is Montebourg, whose public spats with international companies and efforts to block layoffs are making France look like an unappealing place to do business.

In fairness to Montebourg, he's not so much the problem as he is the symbol of it, analysts say. Even if Hollande were to replace him ? and that's looking increasingly likely ? it's unclear whether the substance of the industrial renewal strategy would change.

The sheer size of France's economy has cushioned it somewhat from the worst of Europe's debt crisis, which has brought depression-level unemployment to countries like Spain and Greece. It is home to many huge industrial companies, like EADS, parent company to plane-maker Airbus; Total, the world's fifth-largest investor-owned oil company; and Sanofi, the world's fourth-largest pharmaceutical company. France is also a cradle for design, high fashion and fine wine, embodied by world leaders like LVMH and L'Oreal.

But make no mistake, analysts warn: The French economy, which had no growth in 2012 and shrank at an annualized rate of 0.8 percent in the first three months of 2013, is in slow-motion free fall.

Profit margins at French companies are the lowest they have been in 30 years. In the past decade, one in six industrial jobs has been lost. And economists forecast unemployment will rise to 11.6 percent next year.

Hollande says the decline in French manufacturing ? from 16 percent of gross domestic product in 1999 to 10.7 percent a decade later ? is at the heart of his country's stagnation. Many European economies have seen a similar trend, but France's slide has been more pronounced than most. Reverse the decline, Hollande believes, and you reverse the stagnation.

"The goal of reindustrialization is a perfectly legitimate goal. The only question to ask for France is ... whether it's too late," says Elie Cohen, an economist at Sciences Po university in Paris. "It's probably too late."

Serge Lelard, who started a plastics company called Microplast in 1984, feels the same way. Montebourg, who buzzes around France touring businesses on a near-weekly basis, recently visited Microplast's factory outside Paris. He held it up as an example of the kind of small manufacturing businesses that France needs to keep and attract.

But Lelard is dismissive of the government's reindustrialization plan. He says there is too much talk and not enough action that addresses the competitive disadvantages French companies face in the global marketplace.

Microplast, which sells plastic bits that connect the wires in cars, has struggled along with the French auto industry. Lelard is pessimistic about the company's chances of survival.

France's economic challenges are rooted in government policies that protect workers at the expense of their employers. It has the highest payroll taxes in the European Union to fund generous health and retirement benefits. It has the highest tax on capital, which discourages investment. It aggressively fights companies that try to outsource jobs. And it makes firing an employee expensive and difficult.

These problems have existed for decades, but a growing global economy and France's control over its own currency and spending policies masked them. Slowly, however, those masks have been removed.

First, the euro was introduced at the turn of the millennium. Europe's strongest economies, like Germany, gained a competitive advantage: The value of the euro, held down by the weaker nations that used it, made German exports more affordable overseas. By contrast, countries like France suffered because the euro was valued more highly than their own currency, making French exports more expensive for buyers outside the eurozone.

Then the global recession dried up demand for French products at home and around the world. Finally, Europe's debt crisis prompted the government to cut spending and raise some taxes to reduce its budget deficit.

With these crutches pulled away, France's industry was pushed to its breaking point.

But Hollande, a Socialist, came to power last year by promising more of the same: He vowed to spark growth without cutting generous benefits.

There are three main planks to Hollande's reindustrialization plan: up to a 6 percent rebate for companies on some payroll taxes, labor reforms that make it easier to fire employees or cut their salaries during hard times, and a public investment bank with 42 billion euros ($55 billion) to invest in small businesses.

But new programs are announced frequently. Millions in grants and other incentives have been promised for everything from spurring the construction of electric cars to bringing robots to factory floors.

"That's exactly what you should not do. They're ... complicating instead of simplifying," says Anders Aslund, an economist with the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. Aslund says the government should avoid giving grants for specific industries and instead help all industries ? with permanent tax breaks, for example.

Last year, Montebourg unveiled a plan to give several hundred million euros in grants and tax credits to car companies and subcontractors in an effort to encourage the development of electric cars and batteries.

But economists say the French government should not try to invent successful sectors. Never mind that France is an unlikely place to incubate an auto revolution. Its car industry can't compete with global rivals like Volkswagen and Hyundai that have lower labor costs and stronger cultures of innovation. For example, French research institutions lack the strong links to industry that allow entrepreneurs in other countries to quickly convert lab discoveries into products.

The flip side of France's efforts to create booming new industries is its aversion to letting struggling ones die out.

"A saved job is always a victory," Montebourg, who is on the far left of the Socialist party, said at a recent lunch with journalists. He declined to be interviewed for this story.

But that's not how many economists see it. Part of Germany's success is its willingness to let some lower-level manufacturing jobs move to other countries, says Christian Ketels, a researcher at Harvard Business School. That allows German companies to stay competitive and keep high-skilled, higher-paid jobs at home.

"To my knowledge, France is really the only country in Europe that is upset about outsourcing," says Aslund.

One of the most glaring examples of this no-job-left-behind policy has been France's campaign to block steelmaker ArcelorMittal from shuttering the two blast furnaces at its processing plant in Lorraine, eastern France ? in spite of the fact that local mines are used up, it's far from ports and its furnaces are out of date.

That plant is "a perfect example of what you should close down," says Aslund.

Instead, Montebourg took up the cause, threatening to nationalize the plant and declaring that the company wasn't welcome in France. It's unclear how much of this rhetoric was in line with government policy ? the suggestions of nationalization were quickly struck down by the prime minister ? but the affair deeply bruised France's reputation as a serious place for business. In the end, the company will close the furnaces but other steel-processing operations at the plant will continue.

Montebourg also tried to save a Goodyear plant in northern France by asking American tire manufacturer Titan if it was willing to invest. The answer from Titan's CEO mocked France's work practices in an embarrassing public letter ? and Montebourg took the bait, shooting back an equally chest-thumping missive.

There looks to be little hope of saving the Goodyear plant, but litigation could drag on for months if not years.

Just this month, Montebourg vetoed Yahoo's attempt to take a 75 percent stake in video-sharing website, Dailymotion. Citing concerns about Yahoo's health as a company, Montebourg said the government, which owns a stake in Dailymotion's owner, France Telecom, would only approve a 50-50 deal. Yahoo walked away.

Business owners say that the government remains more of a hindrance than a help. There are too many regulations and too much paperwork even for mundane tasks.

But the fundamental problem French manufacturers face is simple: Workers get paid too much to make products that cost too little.

The French government argues that its hourly labor costs are not much higher than Germany's ? 34.20 euros per hour on average in 2012 versus 30.40 euros per hour, according to Eurostat. But France's range of products ? with some notable exceptions, like Chanel handbags or Moet & Chandon champagne ? is generally of a lower quality than Germany's.

In other words, if it costs the same to make a Peugeot as it does a BMW, guess which company is going to have more left over to reinvest in innovation? And investing in innovation is how you make a Peugeot more like a BMW.

And it's not even that France pays top dollar to attract the best workers. Its wages are above average, though not spectacularly so. But its payroll taxes are the highest in Europe.

The government's new "competitiveness tax credit," which will eventually give companies up to 6 percent back on some workers' salaries, is a step toward lessening this burden for a time. Early surveys, however, show few companies are taking advantage of it, according to study by consultancy Lowendalmasai.

How come? The paperwork is too complex.

___

Follow Sarah DiLorenzo at http://twitter.com/sdilorenzo.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/does-france-plan-revive-economy-092441481.html

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Apple's Cook to face Senate questions on taxes

In this Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012 photo, Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during an introduction of the new iPhone 5 in San Francisco. Cook is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill Tuesday May 21, 2013, to explain the company?s tax strategy, which a Senate subcommittee says lets it avoid paying billions of dollars in taxes. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

In this Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012 photo, Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during an introduction of the new iPhone 5 in San Francisco. Cook is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill Tuesday May 21, 2013, to explain the company?s tax strategy, which a Senate subcommittee says lets it avoid paying billions of dollars in taxes. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A Senate panel says Apple Inc. is avoiding paying billions of dollars in U.S. taxes by using a cluster of affiliates located outside the United States and is prepared to question its chief executive Tuesday about the "loopholes."

Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to explain the company's tax strategy to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which released a detailed report Monday on the company's practices.

The world's most valuable company says it is complying with the laws and pays "an extraordinary amount" in U.S. taxes.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the panel's chairman, says Apple's capitalizing on loopholes in the U.S. tax code is unique among multinational corporations.

"Apple is exploiting an absurdity," Levin said at the start of the hearing.

.

.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-05-21-Apple-Untaxed%20Profits/id-1167c178873146619843ef94a469f23e

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Sprint to listen to Dish offer

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) ? Wireless company Sprint Nextel Corp. says it can now let Dish Network Corp. see its books and talk with Dish to see whether its competing offer to buy Sprint is better than its current deal with Japan's SoftBank.

The companies said late Thursday that SoftBank had waived provisions of its deal with Sprint that will allow Sprint to talk with Dish.

SoftBank currently has a $20.1 billion deal with Sprint to buy 70 percent of the company. Dish last month offered $25.5 billion for the whole company.

Softbank says it brings expertise and cash to Sprint. It says it still wants to close its deal by July 1.

Many Wall Street analysts view Dish's bid as superior but risky, as it will result in a combined company with high debt.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-05-21-Sprint-Dish%20Network/id-008bed07271a4ceb988d1727d3c13e82

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Senate to debate crop insurance in farm bill

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Senate is debating cuts to the federally subsidized crop insurance program as it considers a massive farm bill this week.

The Obama administration said Monday it wants to see more cuts to crop insurance and farm subsidies in the legislation, which would cost almost $100 billion a year over five years and would set policy for farm programs and food aid.

The bill would cut about $2.4 billion annually from overall farm spending. But it would still expand federally subsidized crop insurance and raise some subsidies for rice and peanut farmers. The White House did not specify how large a cut it was seeking.

Almost $80 billion of the annual cost of the bill is for domestic food aid, with most of the rest of the money split between farm subsidies, federal help for crop insurance and programs to protect environmentally sensitive land.

The government spent an estimated $15.8 billion on the program for the 2012 crop year after a drought destroyed many crops, up from $9.4 billion in 2011. The government subsidizes about 62 percent of farmers' insurance premiums and also subsidizes the insurance companies that sell the policies. The cost of the program has risen in recent years because of bad weather events and record-high crop prices.

The Senate began debating the bill Monday, with Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., saying she expected several amendments to be offered on the crop insurance program. Stabenow and other farm-state senators have argued that crop insurance should be maintained and even expanded because it protects farmers when they need it most and because farmers contribute some of their own money to the program.

Critics say federal contributions to crop insurance are too generous and subsidize big agricultural businesses.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., offered the first crop insurance amendment Monday, proposing an end to $33 million a year in insurance policies for tobacco farmers. A buyout for tobacco farmers enacted nine years ago is phasing out government payments to tobacco farmers, but many of them still receive crop insurance.

"It turns out Joe Camel's nose has been under the tent this whole time in terms of crop insurance subsidies," McCain said, referring to a character that used to appear on packs of Camel cigarettes.

Cuts to the food stamp program are also expected to be a contentious issue on the Senate floor.

The administration statement did not say whether President Barack Obama supports $400 million in annual cuts to the food stamp program contained in the Senate bill. The statement said it supports the food stamp program, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, but did not specifically mention the cuts.

The Obama administration has been stronger in opposing cuts to SNAP in the House farm bill, which are about five times as much as the cuts in the Senate bill.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday he was "deeply concerned" about the House food stamp cuts, which he said would "deny struggling families and their children access to food assistance."

Though Senate Democrats have generally opposed cutting food stamps, Stabenow included the small cuts in the Senate version of the bill to try to appease House Republicans who say the program is too expensive.

The legislation approved by the House Agriculture Committee last week would cut about $2.5 billion a year, or a little more than 3 percent, from SNAP, which is used by 1 in 7 Americans.

The House legislation would achieve the cuts partly by eliminating what is called categorical eligibility, or giving people automatic food stamp benefits when they sign up for certain other programs. It also would save dollars by targeting states that give people who don't have heating bills very small amounts of heating assistance so they can automatically qualify for higher food stamp benefits.

The Senate bill, also approved in committee last week, saves money in the food stamp program only by targeting the heating assistance dollars.

While calling for deeper cuts to subsidies, the White House also called for Congress to maintain the strong safety net farmers have now. Current farm programs expire Sept. 30.

"It is critical that the Congress pass legislation that provides certainty for rural America and includes needed reforms and savings," the White House said.

The Senate passed a similar bill last year, but the House did not consider it.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-05-21-US-Farm-Bill/id-7f6381555a964fa68c9a194d6b2b8df1

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More severe storms, tornadoes expected in central U.S.

(Reuters) - The central United States braced for violent thunderstorms on Monday that could bring more hail, heavy rain and tornadoes to the region stricken by a deadly twister over the weekend.

The National Weather Service said severe storms would likely pummel the Ozarks and the middle Mississippi Valley, with northwest Arkansas, far southeast Kansas, southern Missouri, most of Oklahoma and northern Texas facing the greatest risk.

"A very moist atmosphere will become quite unstable again today," the forecasters said. "This combined with strong favorable winds aloft will result in a risk of a few strong tornadoes, very large hail and damaging winds in the most intense storms."

A massive storm front hammered the region on Sunday with fist-sized hail, blinding rain and tornadoes, including a half-mile-wide twister that struck near Oklahoma City.

One man was killed at a mobile home park in the town of Bethel Acres near Oklahoma City and 21 people were injured in storms throughout the state, said Keli Cain, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management.

News reports said hundreds of homes and buildings were damaged or destroyed in the Shawnee area east of Oklahoma City.

More than two dozen tornadoes were spotted in Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas and Illinois, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and local news reports. Hail stones, some as large as baseballs, were reported from Georgia to Minnesota, NOAA said.

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin declared 16 counties disaster areas, according to Jerry Lojka, a spokesman for the state emergency management department.

Just after 6 p.m. on Sunday, the National Weather Service's storm prediction center in Norman, Oklahoma, posted a Twitter alert on a tornado about to strike Pink, a town on the edge of Oklahoma City.

"Large tornado west of Pink!" the post read. "Take cover RIGHT NOW in Pink! DO NOT WAIT!"

The storm also prompted an unusually blunt warning from the central region of the National Weather Service, which covers 14 states.

"You could be killed if not underground or in a tornado shelter," it said. "Complete destruction of neighborhoods, businesses and vehicles will occur. Flying debris will be deadly to people and animals."

Pat Slattery, National Weather Service spokesman for the U.S. Central region, said the advisory was part of a new warning system being tested after a tornado killed 158 people in Joplin, Missouri, in May 2011.

A NOAA assessment of the Joplin storm found that "when people heard the first tornado warning, they did not immediately seek shelter. They looked for a secondary source to confirm the tornado," Slattery said. "That got some people killed."

Slattery said the new advisory was reserved for severe tornadoes with the potential to form into "supercell" storms, which produce powerful winds and flash flooding.

(Reporting by Steve Olafson, Jane Sutton, Chris Francescani and Ian Simpson; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Xavier Briand)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/more-storms-tornadoes-expected-central-united-states-115234529.html

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PWR99 ? Advice On How To Get Good Auto Insurance Rates

Protecting your car is not the only reason to have auto insurance. It?s also designed to protect you and other people that are out there driving. You need to make sure your insurance covers all you need it to. You can use your auto insurance policy to its greatest benefit by applying the ideas in this article.

You need to understand the different coverage types offered when you are searching for an auto insurance policy. There is more involved in the cost of your insurance policy, than just the number of cars you have covered. For example, bodily injury coverage is important, as it covers any injury that is your fault in case of an accident.

If you?re insuring a teenager, check what it would cost to add them to a current policy, and then compare that to what their own policy would cost. Depending on the type of car your teenager drives, it might be cheaper to have them on a separate policy.

Most people incorrectly believe that insurance rates will definitely decrease as a person reaches the age of 25. The fact is that insurance rates actually drop as soon as a driver turns eighteen if he or she is a safe driver.

There are optional protections past legal protections that can further protect you. Your premium might be more expensive, but the extra options are often worth it. If you get into an accident with someone who does not have insurance or you are the victim of a hit-and-run, you?ll be sorry if you don?t have uninsured motorists coverage.

The person who drives the car on the car insurance policy is the only one being insured ? you should always remember that. Sometimes, people allow a friend to borrow their vehicle, but if this friend wrecks, your insurance company will not pay for the damage. You can alter your car insurance policy to cover other drivers that use your car, although you will need to pay an additional charge.

Property damage liability coverage is an important feature of your car insurance policy that you must get. This liability will cover damages your car causes during an auto accident. Most states require this sort of coverage, anyway. If you get in a car accident, you will save money on replacing a vehicle or parts if you have damage liability.

To start saving money right away, raise your deductibles. Although your premiums will be lower each month, this action can be chancy if you don?t have the self-control to save money for your deductible. In the event that you are involved in an auto accident, the out-of-pocket cost can be high. The higher you set the deductible, the lower your insurance premiums will be.

Now that you have learned a bit more about auto insurance, use the skills you have learned to examine your existing policy. It is possible that your policy lacks some coverages you need, and has some that you don?t.

Source: http://www.pwr99.com/advice-on-how-to-get-good-auto-insurance-rates/

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Ellen Slams Abercrombie: Fitch, Please!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/ellen-slams-abercrombie-fitch-please/

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Something Wicked Lingerie: Incredible designs by Leanne Brook

It?s no secret that I?m a huge fan of exquisite lingerie. It?s also no secret that unfortunately for me, it?s not always easy to find the most beautiful pieces in my size.

Today, a little piece of my heart chipped off and drifted away as I realised that neither I, or my poor deprived boyfriend would ever get to see me in the incredible creations I?ve just discovered at Something Wicked?Lingerie. This pleasure emporium stocks only the most sensational underwear, designed by the highly acclaimed, award winning British designer Leanne Brook ? alongside a few additional treats and toys to keep you entertained.

Leanne?s designs are breathtaking. Each piece is visually stunning; jaw-dropping lay sexy without being slutty, outrageous or too obvious. The beauty of this collection is in the suggestion of seduction, rather than in your face SEX. Yes, there are cut away panels, zips leading off secure our most secret places and bold design features that leave little to the imagination but ? there?s the key. They do leave something to your imagination. The collection just encourages you to imagine certain things?

This is the kind of underwear that women would love to see gift-wrapped on Valentines Day, and I can?t imagine many complaints from the boys either. However, while its lovely that the men may reap the benefits, Leanne has designed this collection for women ? to encourage us to explore our sensuality, exude confidence and look screaming hot while we do it.

As you can probably tell, I?ve fallen in love with Leanne Brook?s designs and would quite happily snap up the lot IF ONLY THEY DID IT IN MY SIZE!

Perhaps I?ll just have to treat myself to something else a little bit saucy and leave the sexy bras to you lucky lot.

(Follow Something Wicked on Twitter)

---

The header image features Something Wicked?s Annabel Collection, while the lower image features the Savina Bodysuit, 1/2? cuffs and Carina Bodysuit. Severe lingerie lust happening here.

• Would you wear this kind of lingerie?
• Do you already have some in your knicker drawer?
• Or is it a bit too saucy for you?

Let me know what you think of Something Wicked on?twitter,?Facebook?or in the comment box below.

If you enjoyed this post, why not A perfectly packaged daily round up of reviews, events, contests & style news. You can also add us to your RSS feed or chat to us on Facebook or Twitter. We love to hear from you!

Tags: Designer Fashion, Lingerie

Recommended

Source: http://thislittlelady.co.uk/2013/05/something-wicked-incredible-lingerie-by-louise-brook/

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White House insists Obama was not involved in IRS

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A top White House adviser insisted President Barack Obama learned the Internal Revenue Service had targeted tea party groups only "when it came out in the news" while Republicans continued to press the administration for answers on Sunday.

Trying to move past a challenging week that put the White House on the defensive, senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer was scheduled to appear on five Sunday news shows to repeat the administration's position that no senior officials were involved in the decision to give tea party groups extra scrutiny. Pfeiffer's appearances were unlike to quiet GOP critics, who have seized on the revelations as proof that Obama used the IRS to go after his political enemies.

"The deputy secretary of the treasury was made aware of just the fact that the investigation was beginning last year," Pfeiffer said. "But no one in the White House was aware."

Regardless of when the president first learned of the investigations, the longtime Obama confidante said the president wanted to ensure such activities were not repeated.

"The activity was outrageous and inexcusable, and it was stopped and it needs to be fixed to ensure it never happens again," Pfeiffer said.

A Treasury Department inspector's report said this week that conservative and small-government tea party groups that were critical of Obama received extra scrutiny. IRS agents did not flag similar progressive or liberal groups, according to the watchdog.

The report concluded that a regional IRS office in Ohio improperly singled out tea party and other conservative groups for more than 18 months and took no action on many of their applications for tax-exempt status for long periods of time ? hindering their fundraising for the 2010 and 2012 elections.

The new acting IRS commissioner is in the midst of a 30-day top-to-bottom review while Republicans continue to demand answers of Obama and his allies in government.

That's not sufficient, said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.

"I think a special counsel is going to wind up being necessary," he added said.

That move is not needed, said Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.

"I don't see the point," he said of a special counsel to investigate the scandal.

Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said the IRS had stepped so far over its mandate that it asked book groups for reading lists and church groups about their prayers before granting them tax-exempt standing. It's government over-reach, he said, and a reason why Republicans need to have their own investigation into the agency.

"This is about trust," Price said.

But he stopped short of calling for a special counsel.

Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., said Republicans were using the incidents to embarrass the president.

"There is no Republican agenda other than to stop the president of the United States," he said.

Pfeiffer was appearing Sunday on ABC's "This Week," NBC's "Meet the Press," CBS' "Face the Nation," CNN's "State of the Union" and "Fox News Sunday." Portman, Menendez, Price and Rangel were on ABC.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/white-house-insists-obama-not-involved-irs-141138176.html

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Obama focusing on job creation in Baltimore visit

BALTIMORE (AP) ? President Barack Obama is leaving behind scandal-focused Washington to focus on the country's slowly improving jobs picture.

Obama is to fly by helicopter Friday about 40 miles north to Baltimore, which has had its share of tough times in the move from an industrial to service economy. But Maryland has experienced job growth this year as part of a nationwide economic recovery.

The White House said the trip is designed to focus on three areas of needed investment to grow the middle class ? jobs, skills and opportunity.

The president plans to highlight one of the manufacturing companies still thriving in the city by speaking at Ellicott Dredges. It makes equipment for excavation under water and on beachfronts around the world.

Obama also plans to visit a community center that provides job training to parents and an elementary school that provides early childhood education. Obama has proposed that public preschool be available for all 4-year-olds from low-income families.

The focus on Obama's economic agenda comes at the end of a week that has been consumed by a trio of political controversies. They include the targeting of conservative political groups by the Internal Revenue Service, the administration's response to last year's deadly attack on a U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, and the seizure of Associated Press phone records by the Justice Department as part of a leak investigation.

Obama's turn to the economy comes in a state that added 31,200 jobs over a year to climb to a 6.5 percent unemployment rate in April, according to the most recent data by the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics. April saw a downturn, with Maryland losing 6,200 jobs after four consecutive month of job growth.

"Last year, we had the best-rated job creation of any state in our region and we have very nearly recovered 100 percent of the jobs that we lost during the recession," Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said at a bill-signing ceremony on Thursday.

Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland's only Republican congressman, criticized Obama's trip as a photo opportunity, instead of staying in Washington to work on economic problems. For example, Harris said Obama has been dragging his feet on developing the Keystone XL pipeline that would carry oil from western Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast and create jobs. The administration has not yet taken a position on the project, which is opposed by environmentalists but supported by the president of Ellicott Dredges, Peter Bowe, in testimony before Congress Thursday.

"That would boost jobs at Ellicott Dredges, but other than that, it's just going to be another photo op on a campaign-style tour when the president should be in Washington tending to the nation's business and to address the huge scandals that are popping up on a daily basis in Washington," Harris said in a conference call with other Maryland Republicans.

Obama planned to tout another effort to create jobs in his visit to Ellicott Dredges. He signed a memorandum Friday to federal agencies directing them to update infrastructure permit processes with the goal of cutting their timelines in half. The White House said it's an important step in his goal of creating jobs by making urgent repairs to roads, bridges and railways.

"By cutting red tape and shaving months, and even years, off the time it takes to review and approve major infrastructure projects, we will be able to start construction sooner, create jobs earlier, and fix our nation's infrastructure faster," the White House said in a statement. It cited an example of the recently approved replacement of the aging Tappan Zee Bridge across the Hudson River in the suburbs just north of New York City, which saved two to three years on the timeline.

___

Associated Press writer Brian Witte in Baltimore contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-focusing-job-creation-baltimore-visit-080858879.html

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Facebook: Likes Must Have Free-Speech Protection

In a court room in Virginia, Facebook's lawyers are busy arguing that the social network's "Like" feature needs to be recognised with free-speech protection under the US Constitution.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/HbJMIAhvSKc/facebook-likes-must-have-free-speech-protection-508133613

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Ousted IRS chief regrets treatment of tea party

Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, May 17, 2013, before the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the extra scrutiny the IRS gave Tea Party and other conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, May 17, 2013, before the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the extra scrutiny the IRS gave Tea Party and other conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Ousted IRS chief Steve Miller, right, and J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, are sworn in on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Friday, May 17, 2013, prior to testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) practice of targeting applicants for tax-exempt status based on political leanings. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Dave Camp speaks on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Friday, May 17, 2013, prior to ousted IRS chief Steve Miller and J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, testifying before the committee's hearing on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) practice of targeting applicants for tax-exempt status based on political leanings. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Ousted IRS chief Steve Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Friday, May 17, 2013, prior to testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) practice of targeting applicants for tax-exempt status based on political leanings. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller, right, and J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, are sworn in on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Friday, May 17, 2013, prior to testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the extra scrutiny the IRS gave Tea Party and other conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The ousted head of the Internal Revenue Service apologized to Congress on Friday for his agency's tougher treatment of tea party and other conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. He said they resulted from a misguided effort to handle a flood of applications, not political bias.

"I want to apologize on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service for the mistakes that we made and the poor service we provided," Steven Miller, who has been acting IRS commissioner, told the House Ways and Means Committee as the panel held Congress' first hearing on the episode. "The affected organizations and the American public deserve better. Partisanship and even the perception of partisanship have no place at the Internal Revenue Service."

At a hearing that saw lawmakers from both parties harshly criticize his agency, Miller conceded that "foolish mistakes were made" by IRS officials trying to handle a flood of groups seeking tax-exempt status. He said the process that resulted in conservatives being targeted, "while intolerable, was a mistake and not an act of partisanship."

Though Miller and another top IRS official are stepping down, the chairman of the committee said that would not be enough.

"The reality is this is not a personnel problem. This is a problem of the IRS being too large, too powerful, too intrusive and too abusive of honest, hardworking taxpayers," said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich.

Camp also said the tougher examinations that conservative groups encountered seemed to be part of a "culture of cover-ups and intimidation in this administration." He offered no other examples.

Camp's remark about cover-ups drew a sharp retort from the committee's top Democrat, Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan. Levin said if the hearing became a preview of the 2014 political campaigns, "we'll be making a very, very serious mistake."

The administration has been forced on the defensive about last September's terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, and the government's seizure of The Associated Press' telephone records as part of a leaks investigation.

Republicans are hoping to link the issues in an effort to raise questions about President Barack Obama's credibility and make it harder for him to press a second-term agenda.

Friday's hearing is the first of what are expected to be many on the subject by congressional panels. Underscoring the seriousness of the episode, Miller was sworn in as a witness, an unusual step for the Ways and Means panel and one that could put Miller in jeopardy if he is later shown to have misled lawmakers with his testimony.

Levin said that the IRS's mistreatment of conservative groups meant the agency "completely failed the American people." He said Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division that makes decisions about tax-exempt groups, should be "relieved of her duties."

Miller said the IRS struggled to efficiently handle growing numbers of applications for tax-exempt status.

The agency has said between 2008 and 2012, the number of groups applying for tax-exempt status as so-called social welfare groups more than doubled. Along with that was an increase in complaints that such groups were largely engaging in electoral politics, which is not supposed to be their primary activity.

"I do not believe partisanship motivated the people" at the IRS who engaged in the harsher screening for conservative groups, Miller said.

In recent months, Republicans on the Ways and Means panel had repeatedly asked the IRS about complaints from conservative groups that their applications were being treated unfairly.

On Friday, numerous Republicans wanted to know why Miller and others never told them the groups were being targeted, even after May 2012, when the IRS has said Miller was briefed on the practice. Miller was previously a deputy commissioner whose portfolio included the unit that made decisions about tax-exempt status.

"I did not mislead Congress or the American people," Miller told Rep. Charles Boustany Jr., R-La., one of several Republicans who challenged him about why he hadn't mentioned the targeting in the past.

Also testifying Friday was J. Russell George, the Treasury Department's inspector general for tax administration.

In a report he issued this week, George said IRS officials reported they were not politically pressured to target conservative groups. Asked about that conclusion, George said Friday, "We have no evidence at this time to contradict that assertion," but in prepared testimony to the committee he said he is continuing to investigate that question.

George's report concluded that the IRS office in Cincinnati, which screened applications for the tax exemptions, improperly singled out tea party and other conservative groups for tougher treatment. The report says the practice began in March 2010 and lasted more than 18 months.

The report blamed "ineffective management" for letting IRS officials craft "inappropriate criteria" to review applications from tea party and other conservative groups, based on their names or political views. It found that the IRS took no action on many of the conservative groups' applications for tax-exempt status for long periods of time, hindering their fundraising for the 2010 and 2012 elections.

Republicans have spent the past few days trying to link the IRS' improper scrutiny of conservatives to Obama. The president has said he didn't know about the targeting until last Friday, when Lerner acknowledged at a legal conference that conservative groups had been singled out.

Many of the groups were applying for tax-exempt status as social welfare organizations, which are allowed to participate in campaign activity if that is not their primary activity. The IRS judges whether that imprecise standard is met.

Attorney General Eric Holder has said the FBI was investigating whether the IRS may have violated applicants' civil rights.

Obama has rejected the idea of naming a special prosecutor to investigate the episode, saying the investigations by Congress and the Justice Department were sufficient.

Obama has named Daniel Werfel, a top White House budget officer, to replace Miller.

Also Thursday, Joseph Grant, one of Miller's top deputies, announced plans to retire June 3, according to an internal IRS memo. Grant is commissioner of the agency's tax exempt and government entities division, which includes the agents that targeted tea party groups for additional scrutiny.

Grant joined the IRS in 2005 and took over as acting commissioner of the tax exempt and government entities division in December 2010. He was just named the permanent commissioner May 8.

When asked whether Grant was pressured to leave, IRS spokeswoman Michelle Eldridge said Grant had more than 31 years of federal service and it was his personal decision to leave.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-05-17-IRS-Political%20Groups/id-ec0c600b8d3c4109bfa9c5ce98ec2a1e

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Natural Health Source ? Natural Alternatives to HRT For Women ...

By Steven Hutchings

Nightsweats. Dryness. Pain and mood swings. They?re all symptoms of menopause that can make life miserable, affecting roughly 40% of women who?ve been through this milestone. Are there solutions? You can try hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Or you can try their natural alternatives.

HRT is a system of medical treatments designed to mimic the effects of estrogen and progesterone ? two hormones that level off during menopause. They both play a key role in health and sexual functioning during a woman?s reproductive years, which in part explains how HRT can alleviate some menopause symptoms and make the process more comfortable.

So what?s the catch? Well, a 2002 study found that HRT may increase risk of breast cancer and heart disease, among other ailments. Worse, a follow-up British study found that HRT heightened risk of endometrial (womb) and ovarian cancer. The findings were enough to make two prominent American health organizations warn against HRT for menopause symptoms. Sales have yet to recover.

Of course, you?re not without hope during this transitional stage of the female anatomy. Ever heard of black cohosh or red clover? We?ll discuss them shortly, and several other natural alternatives to HRT, that may soften the blow of those dreaded symptoms.

About HRT

Estrogen and progesterone both line the uterus and prepare it for possible implant of a fertilized egg. Estrogen also influences how the body uses calcium, which is important for bone health and healthy cholesterol levels in the blood.

As menopause approaches, the ovaries produce less of these female sex hormones, which can trigger hot flashes, decreased interest in sex, dryness and other symptoms of menopause, including risk of osteoporosis.

Hormone replacement therapy is designed to reduce menopause symptoms with either:

Estrogen Therapy ? In which the patient supplements with estrogen alone, with a daily pill, patch or cream.

Progesterone/Progestin-Estrogen Hormone Therapy ? Sometimes called ?combination therapy?, this option combines estrogen and a synthetic form of progesterone, called progestin. Combination therapy can cause monthly bleeding, in which case, estrogen and a lower dose of progesterone, taken continuously, may be appropriate.

Women who pursue HRT and still have their uterus should use the combination therapy treatment because estrogen without progesterone can increase risk of endometrial cancer.

Don?t Do HRT If?

You have active breast cancer or history of it. The same goes for women linked to endometrial cancer, abnormal vaginal bleeding, blood clots, history of stroke, liver disease or pregnancy.

Smokers should try to quit the habit before doing HRT as well.

Sales of HRT prescriptions plummeted in 2002 when researchers published their findings from the Women?s Health Initiative study, in which they found that women who did the estrogen/progestin treatment were more likely to experience heart attack, stroke, blood clots and breast cancer.

Two subsequent studies, including the Million Women Study, conducted by British researchers in 2006, confirmed these links and added two more cancer risks to this already concerning series of risks from HRT.

Some medical experts take issue with how researchers conducted the studies. They note, for example, that most of the study participants were caucasian, former smokers and slightly overweight. And in March 2013, South African researchers published a review of the three studies?in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care, in which they claimed the link to breast cancer is tenuous.

Women who pursue HRT and still have their uterus should use the combination therapy treatment because?estrogen without progesterone can increase risk of endometrial cancer.

Still, it?s a discerning link. We know that HRT can increase risk of endometrial cancer, blood clots and stroke in some women. Knowing that, it?s not a huge leap from there to conclude the link between HRT and breast cancer is more than noteworthy.

Having reviewed this information, speak with your doctor if you?re still interested in HRT. He knows your medical history and can best recommend your strategy from there. Even then, he?ll likely recommend a low dose and for the shortest time possible.

You?ve got another option too: treat menopause symptoms naturally, without HRT. A wise choice if you?re in this camp, and it starts with the foods that end up on your plate.

The Menopause Diet

Menopause is a biological milestone in a woman?s body. You might alleviate symptoms during and after this momentous occasion with dietary patterns including:

Up your calcium intake ? Calcium tends to trail off during menopause, which in part explains why women are at higher risk of osteoporosis. Aim to eat and/or drink four sources of calcium each day, whether that?s dairy, fish with bones, broccoli or legumes, among others. Women above 51 should aim for 1,200 grams of calcium each day.

Eat more iron ? Like calcium, iron levels fall during menopause, making it important to get at least three iron servings each day. Sources of iron include lean red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts and green leafy vegetables. Your daily target: 8 mg.

Fibre ? It?s hard to go wrong with fibre-rich foods like whole grain breads, cereal, pasta, (brown) rice, fresh fruits and vegetables. Try for 21 grams each day and you?re much less likely to experience digestion problems too.

Read the labels ? Check the labels of packaged foods to help you buy more nutritious foods for a healthy lifestyle.

Drink water ? Aim for eight glasses of water each day. This meets the needs of most adult women while factoring in variables like daily calories consumed, activity levels and climate.

Keep a Body Mass Index (BMI) between 20 and 24 ? This gets more difficult with age, but do try, because it will affect menopause symptoms. Reduce portion size if necessary, or cut back on high fat foods rather than skipping meals. Speak with your doctor or a dietician for more information.

Limit high fat foods ? As a general rule of thumb, fats should comprise 25%-35% of your diet, with saturated fats limited to 7% because they raise unhealthy cholesterol levels and increase risk of heart disease. Try to keep cholesterol to 300 mg daily while you?re at it, and severely limit (or abstain from) trans fats.

Watch the sugar and salt ? Excessive sodium can raise blood pressure. Smoked, salt-cured and charbroiled foods aren?t much better because they contain high levels of nitrates, which are linked to cancer.

Limit alcohol ? Keep alcohol consumption to one drink per day.

Black Cohosh: A Natural Alternative to HRT

The menopause diet is a good place to start and should at least reduce menopause symptoms. Now, do you want natural alternatives to HRT? Try black cohosh root.

You might?ve heard of this tall, flowering plant before. Native to eastern North America, native Americans have used black cohosh for at least 200 years to ease menstrual cramps and symptoms of menopause. Natural health enthusiasts have caught on too; it?s now approved by the German government as a natural menopause treatment, and sales are brisk in the United States.

Research shows a beneficial effect between black cohosh and menopause. Early German studies reveal that it improved both physical and psychological symptoms, including dryness, hot flashes, night sweats and anxiety. In one study, of 120 women, black cohosh was more effective at reducing night sweats and hot flashes than the antidepressant Prozac.

Studies are back and forth with black cohosh. Some have found little benefit, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) claims that many of the early studies were poorly designed and don?t explore use of black cohosh root beyond six months.

Nonetheless, the proof is there. Clinical studies show that black cohosh root can reduce menopause symptoms at least on a short-term basis. Even ACOG, the same organization that criticizes some of the earlier black cohosh studies, recognizes its value as a natural menopause treatment.

You can buy black cohosh root as capsules or tablets, liquid tinctures, extracts or dried root to make a tea. The recommended daily dose for black cohosh root is between 40-80 mg per day. Look for tablets standardized with 1 mg of 27-deoxyactein. Or alternatively, buy it in a natural libido pill for women like Provestra.

To make a black cohosh tea, put 20 g of the dried root in 34 oz of water. Boil the water, then let simmer for 20-30 minutes until the liquid is reduced by a third. Then strain, cover and store it in the refrigerator or a cool place. Drink black cohosh tea three times daily.

Red Clover, Probiotics and a Few Others

As well, red clover might be a good natural remedy for menopause symptoms, according to research published in the Journal of the British Menopause Society, in which researchers found this isoflavone reduced bone loss, improved cardiovascular health and may offer protection from breast and endometrial cancer.

Red clover might also reduce hot flashes in perimenopausal and menopausal women. In one eight week study, women who took a 40 mg red clover supplement each day reported a 58% lower incidence of hot flashes, with reduced severity of night sweats as well.

The red clover supplement, Promensil, is available over the counter and without a prescription.

In one eight week study, women who took a 40 mg red clover supplement each day reported a 58% lower incidence of hot flashes, with reduced severity of night sweats as well.

You can also try probiotics. The Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifido strains are the ?good? bacteria?that live in the intestines. They establish balance in the gut and kill dangerous microflora, but they also assist with metabolism and help the body use estrogen. Some experts believe they also reduce yeast infections. Get probiotics from food and supplements.

Finally, consider a book written by pharmacist Steven G. Ottariano, Medicinal Herbal Therapy: A Pharmacist?s Viewpoint, in which he discusses the many vitamins and minerals he believes can help women treat menopause symptoms. Among his favorites? Vitamin E, Dong Quai, Evening Primrose Oil and Ginseng.

Resources For Menopause

Of course, you?re not alone in this journey. Menopause symptoms ? those severe enough to make women consider HRT ? affect most women at some point during this time of immense change. This being the global village that it is, you might find the following internet resources can help you reduce symptoms, preferably without HRT, for smooth sailing to the next phase of your life:

WebMD ? WebMD has a little something for everyone. Their menopause section is particularly extensive.

Women?s Health Initiative ? The group that championed the first large-scale study of HRT and its health risks, the Women?s Health Initiative remains at the forefront of HRT research and safety. You can learn more about the study and the most recent developments on their website.

Prevention ? We can?t finish an article on natural alternatives to HRT for women without mention of the kings of natural health. Prevention magazine has a great section on menopause. Check out their article, 14 Natural Remedies for Hot Flashes.

+Steven ?Hutchings

Tags: black cohosh, Hormone Replacement, hot flashes, HRT, Menopause, natural alternatives, Provestra, symptoms of menopause, Women's Health Initiative

Source: http://www.naturalhealthsource.com/articles/natural-alternatives-to-hrt-for-women/

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