FRESNO, Calif. (AP) ? Three of four reptiles that were swiped from a science museum and thrown together into a garbage bag during a heist were recovered Friday, though a 3-foot-long ball python remained at large, officials said.
The 3?-foot savannah monitor lizard, a 7-foot-long red-tailed boa constrictor and another 3-foot-long ball python were in good condition, said Mary Ellen Wright, the director of the Fresno Discovery Center. Authorities were searching for the missing python in an area frequented by a suspect, who has been arrested.
Wright had been worried about the reptiles' confinement together in the bag "because they are mortal enemies," she said.
"It would be like throwing two pit bulls in a locked room," she added, noting that the monitor lizard has sharp, 2-inch claws.
The reptiles were taken in a robbery that has perplexed museum officials and authorities, who have not released a motive.
Fresno Police Lt. Donald Gross said Friday Devin Michael Madej, 20, was arrested on suspicion of burglary and possession of stolen property.
The museum's education coordinator, Ian Goudelock, said the burglar didn't appear to be out to intentionally hurt the animals though the museum planned to have the reptiles checked by a veterinarian.
"It's just a strange theft. We're still trying to figure out why," he said. "It does kind of more or less have a happy ending."
Surveillance video showed the burglar broke into the Central California museum sometime late Wednesday or early Thursday, smashed the tanks that held the four reptiles ? worth hundreds of dollars ? and popped them into a garbage bag.
He also went into the center's gift shop and stole children's toys, the phone system and the security monitor, the Fresno Bee reported.
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Information from: The Fresno Bee, http://www.fresnobee.com
INDIA NEWS NETWORK: Is Sonianomics An ?Occult? Form Of Economics?
Is Sonianomics An ?Occult? Form Of Economics?
Instead of economics, are Congress president Sonia Gandhi?s pet welfare schemes drawn from the occult? In an Indian Express column that evaluates 15 years of Sonia Gandhi?s leadership, Chairman of Oxus Investments Surjit S Bhalla says that the Congress chief?s economic policies, which were aimed at helping the poor, but ended up hurting them the most, defy ?pure reason? and dubs them ?occult economics?. Her policies have their origin in the creation of the Congress in 1885 by the Theosophical Society, an occultist movement, he says. ?Sonia UPA?s alchemy raised procurement prices of food grains beyond reason, helped a few rich farmers (say 20 million) and massively hurt ten times as many landless agricultural workers. And by generating super-inflation for four years, transformed the Indian economy beyond recognition,? says Bhalla. Bhalla also analyses the economics of MGNREGA, a UPA pet scheme aimed at giving employment to the rural poor. According to Bhalla, as per the NSS data of 2009-10, of the Rs 1,70,000 crore spent on MGNREGA, only a fifth reached the intended beneficiaries. In other words, about Rs 1,40,000 crore went to the non-poor. The scheme has helped nothing but corruption, says Bhalla. Another example of ?occult economics? is the 2013-14 budget, in which the government aims at 13 percent GDP growth and 16 percent expenditure growth, which is to be financed with a 19 percent growth in tax revenue. A third example of this brand of economics is the Food Security Bill, which is slated to be presented in the current Budget session of Parliament. The bill seeks to provide subsidised food grains to 67 percent of the country?s population. According to a recent report in The Hindu, the bill would burden the government with a subsidy bill of about Rs 1.35 lakh crore. Such economic policies have already halved the GDP growth, doubled inflation, depreciated the rupee by 20 percent and widened the current account deficit to 6.7 percent of GDP. For the country to come out of the economic rot, Sonia has to change her occult spots by resorting to economic reforms, the Bhalla says. Otherwise, the Congress?and with it the country?will perish.
NASA's Swift sizes up comet ISONPublic release date: 29-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Francis Reddy francis.j.reddy@nasa.gov 301-286-4453 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Astronomers from the University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP) and Lowell Observatory have used NASA's Swift satellite to check out comet C/2012 S1 (ISON), which may become one of the most dazzling in decades when it rounds the sun later this year.
Using images acquired over the last two months from Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT), the team has made initial estimates of the comet's water and dust production and used them to infer the size of its icy nucleus.
"Comet ISON has the potential to be among the brightest comets of the last 50 years, which gives us a rare opportunity to observe its changes in great detail and over an extended period," said Lead Investigator Dennis Bodewits, an astronomer at UMCP.
Additional factors, including an encounter with Mars followed by a scorching close approach to the sun, make comet ISON an object of special interest. In late February, at NASA's request, a team of comet experts initiated the Comet ISON Observing Campaign (CIOC) to assist ground- and space-based facilities in obtaining the most scientifically useful data.
Like all comets, ISON is a clump of frozen gases mixed with dust. Often described as "dirty snowballs," comets emit gas and dust whenever they venture near enough to the sun that the icy material transforms from a solid to gas, a process called sublimation. Jets powered by sublimating ice also release dust, which reflects sunlight and brightens the comet.
Typically, a comet's water content remains frozen until it comes within about three times Earth's distance to the sun. While Swift's UVOT cannot detect water directly, the molecule quickly breaks into hydrogen atoms and hydroxyl (OH) molecules when exposed to ultraviolet sunlight. The UVOT detects light emitted by hydroxyl and other important molecular fragments as well as sunlight reflected from dust.
The Jan. 30 UVOT observations reveal that ISON was shedding about 112,000 pounds (51,000 kg) of dust, or about two-thirds the mass of an unfueled space shuttle, every minute. By contrast, the comet was producing only about 130 pounds (60 kg) of water every minute, or about four times the amount flowing out of a residential sprinkler system.
"The mismatch we detect between the amount of dust and water produced tells us that ISON's water sublimation is not yet powering its jets because the comet is still too far from the sun," Bodewits said. "Other more volatile materials, such as carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide ice, evaporate at greater distances and are now fueling ISON's activity."
At the time, the comet was 375 million miles (604 million km) from Earth and 460 million miles (740 million km) from the sun. ISON was at magnitude 15.7 on the astronomical brightness scale, or about 5,000 times fainter that the threshold of human vision.
Similar levels of activity were observed in February, and the team plans additional UVOT observations.
While the water and dust production rates are relatively uncertain because of the comet's faintness, they can be used to estimate the size of ISON's icy body. Comparing the amount of gas needed for a normal comet to blow off dust at the rate observed for ISON, the scientists estimate that the nucleus is roughly 3 miles (5 km) across, a typical size for a comet. This assumes that only the fraction of the surface most directly exposed to the sun, about 10 percent of the total, is actively producing jets.
An important question is whether ISON will continue to brighten at the same pace once water evaporation becomes the dominant source for its jets. Will the comet sizzle or fizzle?
"It looks promising, but that's all we can say for sure now," said Matthew Knight, an astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz., and a member of the Swift and CIOC teams. "Past comets have failed to live up to expectations once they reached the inner solar system, and only observations over the next few months will improve our knowledge of how ISON will perform."
Based on ISON's orbit, astronomers think the comet is making its first-ever trip through the inner solar system. Before beginning its long fall toward the sun, the comet resided in the Oort comet cloud, a vast shell of perhaps a trillion icy bodies that extends from the outer reaches of the planetary system to about a third of the distance to the star nearest the sun.
Formally designated C/2012 S1 (ISON), the comet was discovered on Sept. 21, 2012, by Russian astronomers Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok using a telescope of the International Scientific Optical Network located near Kislovodsk.
The first of several intriguing observing opportunities occurs on Oct. 1, when the inbound comet passes about 6.7 million miles (10.8 million km) from Mars.
"During this close encounter, comet ISON may be observable to NASA and ESA spacecraft now working at Mars," said Michael Kelley, an astronomer at UMCP and also a Swift and CIOC team member. "Personally, I'm hoping we'll see a dramatic postcard image taken by NASA's latest Mars explorer, the Curiosity rover."
Fifty-eight days later, on Nov. 28, ISON will make a sweltering passage around the sun. The comet will approach within about 730,000 miles (1.2 million km) of its visible surface, which classifies ISON as a sungrazing comet. In late November, its icy material will furiously sublimate and release torrents of dust as the surface erodes under the sun's fierce heat, all as sun-monitoring satellites look on. Around this time, the comet may become bright enough to glimpse just by holding up a hand to block the sun's glare.
Sungrazing comets often shed large fragments or even completely disrupt following close encounters with the sun, but for ISON neither fate is a forgone conclusion.
"We estimate that as much as 10 percent of the comet's diameter may erode away, but this probably won't devastate it," explained Knight. Nearly all of the energy reaching the comet acts to sublimate its ice, an evaporative process that cools the comet's surface and keeps it from reaching extreme temperatures despite its proximity to the sun.
Following ISON's solar encounter, the comet will depart the sun and move toward Earth, appearing in evening twilight through December. It will swing past Earth on Dec. 26, approaching within 39.9 million miles (64.2 million km) or about 167 times farther than the moon.
Whether we'll look back on ISON as a "comet of the century" or as an overhyped cosmic dud remains to be seen, but astronomers are planning to learn the most they can about this unusual visitor no matter what happens.
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NASA's Swift sizes up comet ISONPublic release date: 29-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Francis Reddy francis.j.reddy@nasa.gov 301-286-4453 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Astronomers from the University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP) and Lowell Observatory have used NASA's Swift satellite to check out comet C/2012 S1 (ISON), which may become one of the most dazzling in decades when it rounds the sun later this year.
Using images acquired over the last two months from Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT), the team has made initial estimates of the comet's water and dust production and used them to infer the size of its icy nucleus.
"Comet ISON has the potential to be among the brightest comets of the last 50 years, which gives us a rare opportunity to observe its changes in great detail and over an extended period," said Lead Investigator Dennis Bodewits, an astronomer at UMCP.
Additional factors, including an encounter with Mars followed by a scorching close approach to the sun, make comet ISON an object of special interest. In late February, at NASA's request, a team of comet experts initiated the Comet ISON Observing Campaign (CIOC) to assist ground- and space-based facilities in obtaining the most scientifically useful data.
Like all comets, ISON is a clump of frozen gases mixed with dust. Often described as "dirty snowballs," comets emit gas and dust whenever they venture near enough to the sun that the icy material transforms from a solid to gas, a process called sublimation. Jets powered by sublimating ice also release dust, which reflects sunlight and brightens the comet.
Typically, a comet's water content remains frozen until it comes within about three times Earth's distance to the sun. While Swift's UVOT cannot detect water directly, the molecule quickly breaks into hydrogen atoms and hydroxyl (OH) molecules when exposed to ultraviolet sunlight. The UVOT detects light emitted by hydroxyl and other important molecular fragments as well as sunlight reflected from dust.
The Jan. 30 UVOT observations reveal that ISON was shedding about 112,000 pounds (51,000 kg) of dust, or about two-thirds the mass of an unfueled space shuttle, every minute. By contrast, the comet was producing only about 130 pounds (60 kg) of water every minute, or about four times the amount flowing out of a residential sprinkler system.
"The mismatch we detect between the amount of dust and water produced tells us that ISON's water sublimation is not yet powering its jets because the comet is still too far from the sun," Bodewits said. "Other more volatile materials, such as carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide ice, evaporate at greater distances and are now fueling ISON's activity."
At the time, the comet was 375 million miles (604 million km) from Earth and 460 million miles (740 million km) from the sun. ISON was at magnitude 15.7 on the astronomical brightness scale, or about 5,000 times fainter that the threshold of human vision.
Similar levels of activity were observed in February, and the team plans additional UVOT observations.
While the water and dust production rates are relatively uncertain because of the comet's faintness, they can be used to estimate the size of ISON's icy body. Comparing the amount of gas needed for a normal comet to blow off dust at the rate observed for ISON, the scientists estimate that the nucleus is roughly 3 miles (5 km) across, a typical size for a comet. This assumes that only the fraction of the surface most directly exposed to the sun, about 10 percent of the total, is actively producing jets.
An important question is whether ISON will continue to brighten at the same pace once water evaporation becomes the dominant source for its jets. Will the comet sizzle or fizzle?
"It looks promising, but that's all we can say for sure now," said Matthew Knight, an astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz., and a member of the Swift and CIOC teams. "Past comets have failed to live up to expectations once they reached the inner solar system, and only observations over the next few months will improve our knowledge of how ISON will perform."
Based on ISON's orbit, astronomers think the comet is making its first-ever trip through the inner solar system. Before beginning its long fall toward the sun, the comet resided in the Oort comet cloud, a vast shell of perhaps a trillion icy bodies that extends from the outer reaches of the planetary system to about a third of the distance to the star nearest the sun.
Formally designated C/2012 S1 (ISON), the comet was discovered on Sept. 21, 2012, by Russian astronomers Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok using a telescope of the International Scientific Optical Network located near Kislovodsk.
The first of several intriguing observing opportunities occurs on Oct. 1, when the inbound comet passes about 6.7 million miles (10.8 million km) from Mars.
"During this close encounter, comet ISON may be observable to NASA and ESA spacecraft now working at Mars," said Michael Kelley, an astronomer at UMCP and also a Swift and CIOC team member. "Personally, I'm hoping we'll see a dramatic postcard image taken by NASA's latest Mars explorer, the Curiosity rover."
Fifty-eight days later, on Nov. 28, ISON will make a sweltering passage around the sun. The comet will approach within about 730,000 miles (1.2 million km) of its visible surface, which classifies ISON as a sungrazing comet. In late November, its icy material will furiously sublimate and release torrents of dust as the surface erodes under the sun's fierce heat, all as sun-monitoring satellites look on. Around this time, the comet may become bright enough to glimpse just by holding up a hand to block the sun's glare.
Sungrazing comets often shed large fragments or even completely disrupt following close encounters with the sun, but for ISON neither fate is a forgone conclusion.
"We estimate that as much as 10 percent of the comet's diameter may erode away, but this probably won't devastate it," explained Knight. Nearly all of the energy reaching the comet acts to sublimate its ice, an evaporative process that cools the comet's surface and keeps it from reaching extreme temperatures despite its proximity to the sun.
Following ISON's solar encounter, the comet will depart the sun and move toward Earth, appearing in evening twilight through December. It will swing past Earth on Dec. 26, approaching within 39.9 million miles (64.2 million km) or about 167 times farther than the moon.
Whether we'll look back on ISON as a "comet of the century" or as an overhyped cosmic dud remains to be seen, but astronomers are planning to learn the most they can about this unusual visitor no matter what happens.
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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.
The first quarter won?t close till Sunday, but an early look finds the soft venture-investment environment continued.
Venture capitalists in the United States put $6.2 billion to work in the quarter fueling 707 deals, according to a tally by PitchBook. This is largely unchanged from the fourth quarter in dollars terms, when PitchBook says $6.3 billion was invested. It is down 11% in number of deals.
PitchBook?s numbers for past quarters diverge quite noticeably from those in the MoneyTree Report, issued by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Reuters. So a final pronouncement on the quarter will likely have to wait for several weeks until all the various investment studies come out.
Still, the early peek suggests an industry still consolidating as a weak fundraising environment makes investment capital more precious.
In its early look at the quarter, PitchBook says median early stage and late stage pre-money valuations slipped compared to the fourth quarter?a result that appears consistent with chatter about a Series A crunch facing entrepreneurs. But they rose for seed and angel deals.
The median pre-money valuation for early stage transactions was $14.33 million?while for late stage deals it was $66.69 million, according to PitchBook. The number for seed and angel deals was $5.38 million.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela is comfortable and able to breathe without problems as he continues to respond to treatment in hospital for a recurrence of pneumonia, President Jacob Zuma's office said on Saturday.
After the 94-year-old anti-apartheid legend spent a third night in hospital, the presidency cited doctors as saying they had drained excess fluid from his lungs to tackle the infection.
"This has resulted in him now being able to breathe without difficulty. He continues to respond to treatment and is comfortable," the statement added.
In the first detailed mention of his medical condition since his hospitalization, the statement said he had "developed a pleural effusion which was tapped".
Previous medical reports since he was taken to hospital late on Wednesday have said he was responding well and that he was in "good spirits".
The successive bulletins have appeared to indicate that the recurrence of the lung infection afflicting the revered statesman and Nobel Peace Prize laureate is being successfully treated.
Global figures such as U.S. President Barack Obama have sent get well messages and South Africans have included Mandela in their prayers on the Easter weekend, one of the most important dates of the Christian calendar.
Mandela became South Africa's first black president after winning the country's first all-race election in 1994.
A former lawyer, he is revered at home and abroad for leading the struggle against white minority rule - including spending 27 years on Robben Island and other prisons - and then promoting the cause of racial reconciliation.
This photo taken Thursday, March 28, 2013 shows the office of oral surgeon W. Scott Harrington in Tulsa, Okla. Health officials have urged Harrington?s patients to undergo hepatitis and HIV testing, saying filthy conditions at his office posed a threat to his 7,000 clients and made him a "menace to the public health." (AP Photo/Justin Juozapavicius)
This photo taken Thursday, March 28, 2013 shows the office of oral surgeon W. Scott Harrington in Tulsa, Okla. Health officials have urged Harrington?s patients to undergo hepatitis and HIV testing, saying filthy conditions at his office posed a threat to his 7,000 clients and made him a "menace to the public health." (AP Photo/Justin Juozapavicius)
Susan Rogers, executive director of the Oklahoma Board of Dentistry, speaks during a news conference regarding the practices of Tulsa oral surgeon Wayne Harrington, at the Tulsa Health Department's James O. Goodwin Health Center in Tulsa, Okla., on Thursday, March 28, 2013. Health officials said that thousands of Harrington's patients should undergo testing for HIV and hepatitis after officials looking into the source of a patient's viruses discovered the dentist's instruments weren't being cleaned properly. (AP Photo/Tulsa World, Cory Young) ONLINE OUT; TV OUT; TULSA OUT
Map locates city where health officials are urging 7000 patients of Oklahoma dentist Dr. W. Scott Harrington to seek testing for hepatitis or HIV.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) ? The crisp, stucco exterior of an Oklahoma dental clinic concealed what health inspectors say they found inside: rusty instruments used on patients with infectious diseases and a pattern of unsanitary practices that put thousands of people at risk for hepatitis and the virus that causes AIDS.
State and local health officials planned to mail notices Friday urging 7,000 patients of Dr. W. Scott Harrington to seek medical screenings for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. Inspectors allege workers at his two clinics used dirty equipment and risked cross-contamination to the point that the state Dentistry Board branded Harrington a "menace to the public health."
"The office looked clean," said Joyce Baylor, who had a tooth pulled at Harrington's Tulsa office 1? years ago. In an interview, Baylor, 69, said she'll be tested next week to determine whether she contracted any infection.
"I'm sure he's not suffering financially that he can't afford instruments," Baylor said of Harrington.
Health officials opened their investigation after a patient with no known risk factors tested positive for both hepatitis C and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. After determining the "index patient" had a dental procedure about the likely time of exposure, investigators visited Harrington's office and found a number of unsafe practices, state epidemiologist Kristy Bradley said.
"I want to stress that this is not an outbreak. The investigation is still very much in its early stages," Bradley said.
Harrington voluntarily gave up his license, closed his offices in Tulsa and suburban Owasso, and is cooperating with investigators, said Kaitlin Snider, a spokeswoman for the Tulsa Health Department. He faces a hearing April 19, when his license could be permanently revoked.
"It's uncertain how long those practices have been in place," Snider said. "He's been practicing for 36 years."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is consulting on the case, and agency spokeswoman Abbigail Tumpey said such situations involving dental clinics are rare. Last year a Colorado oral surgeon was accused of reusing needles and syringes, prompting letters to 8,000 patients, Tumpey said. It wasn't clear whether anyone was actually infected.
"We've only had a handful of dental facilities where we've had notifications in the last decade," Tumpey said.
The Oklahoma Dentistry Board lodged a 17-count complaint against Harrington, saying he was a "menace to the public health by reasons of practicing dentistry in an unsafe or unsanitary manner." Among the claims was one detailing the use of rusty instruments in patients known to have infectious diseases.
"The CDC has determined that rusted instruments are porous and cannot be properly sterilized," the board said.
Health officials are sending letters to 7,000 known patients but cautioned that they don't know who visited his clinics before 2007. The letters urge the patients to be tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV ? viruses typically spread through intravenous drug use or unprotected sex, not occupational settings.
Harrington could not be reached for comment Thursday. A message at his Tulsa office said it was closed, and the doctor's answering service referred callers to the Tulsa Health Department. Phone numbers listed for Harrington were disconnected. A message left with Harrington's malpractice attorney in Tulsa, Jim Secrest II, was not immediately returned.
Harrington's Tulsa practice is in a tony part of town, on a row of some of the city's most upscale medical practices. The white-and-green stucco, two-story dental clinic has the doctor's name in letters on the facade.
According to the complaint, the clinic had varying cleaning procedures for its equipment, needles were re-inserted in drug vials after their initial use and the office had no written infection-protection procedure.
Harrington told officials he left questions about sterilization and drug procedures to his employees.
"They take care of that, I don't," the dentistry board quoted him as saying.
The doctor also is accused of letting his assistants perform tasks only a licensed dentist should have done, including administering IV sedation. Also, the complaint says the doctor's staff could not produce permits for the assistants when asked.
Susan Rogers, executive director of the state Dentistry Board, said that as an oral surgeon Harrington regularly did invasive procedures involving "pulling teeth, open wounds, open blood vessels." The board's complaint also noted Harrington and his staff told investigators a "high population of known infectious disease carrier patients" received dental care from him.
Despite the high-risk clientele, a device used to sterilize instruments wasn't being properly used and hadn't been tested in six years, the board complaint said. Tests are required monthly.
Also, a drug vial found at a clinic this year had an expiration date of 1993 and one assistant's drug log said morphine had been used in the clinic last year despite its not receiving any morphine shipments since 2009.
Officials said patients will be offered free medical testing at the Tulsa Health Department's North Regional Health and Wellness Center.
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Associated Press reporter Jeannie Nuss in Little Rock, Ark., contributed to this report.
ROME (AP) ? Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of a dozen inmates at a juvenile detention center in a Holy Thursday ritual that he celebrated for years as archbishop and is continuing now that he is pope. Two of the 12 were young women, a remarkable choice given that the church's current liturgical law says only men should participate.
The Mass was held in the Casal del Marmo facility in Rome, where 46 young men and women currently are detained. Many of them are Gypsies or North African migrants, and the 12 selected for the foot-washing rite included Orthodox and Muslim detainees, news reports said.
Because the inmates were mostly minors ? the facility houses inmates aged 14-to-21 ? the Vatican and Italian Justice Ministry limited media access inside. But Vatican Radio carried the Mass live, and Francis told the detainees that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion in a gesture of love and service.
"This is a symbol, it is a sign ? washing your feet means I am at your service," Francis told the youngsters. "Help one another. This is what Jesus teaches us. This is what I do. And I do it with my heart. I do this with my heart because it is my duty, as a priest and bishop I must be at your service."
Later, the Vatican released a limited video of the ritual, showing Francis washing black feet, white feet, male feet, female feet and even a foot with tattoos. Kneeling on the stone floor as the 12 youngsters sat above him, the 76-year-old Francis poured water from a silver chalice over each foot, dried it with a simple cotton towel and then bent over to kiss each one.
As archbishop of Buenos Aires, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio would celebrate the ritual foot-washing in jails, hospitals or hospices ? part of his ministry to the poorest and most marginalized of society. It's a message that he is continuing now that he is pope, saying he wants a church "for the poor."
Previous popes would carry out the foot-washing ritual on Holy Thursday in Rome's grand St. John Lateran basilica. The 12 people chosen for the ritual would always be priests to represent Christ's 12 apostles.
That Francis would include women in this re-enactment is remarkable given current liturgical rules that restrict the ritual to men.
Canon lawyer Edward Peters, who is an adviser to the Holy See's top court, noted in a blog that the Congregation for Divine Worship in 1988 said in a letter to bishops that "The washing of the feet of chosen men ... represents the service and charity of Christ who came 'not to be served, but to serve.'"
Peters noted that bishops over the years have successfully petitioned Rome for an exemption to allow women to participate, but that the law on the issue is clear.
"By disregarding his own law in this matter, Francis violates, of course, no divine directive," Peters wrote Thursday. "What he does do, I fear, is set a questionable example."
Others welcomed the example he set.
"The pope's washing the feet of women is hugely significant because including women in this part of the Holy Thursday Mass has been frowned on ? and even banned ? in some dioceses," said the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author of "The Jesuit Guide."
"It shows the all-embracing love of Christ, who ministered to all he met: man or woman, slave or free, Jew or Gentile," he said.
After the Mass, Francis greeted each of the inmates and gave each one an Easter egg.
"Don't lose hope," he said. "Understand? With hope you can always go on."
One of the inmates then asked him why he had come to visit them. Francis said it was to "help me to be humble, as a bishop should be." He said he wanted to come "from my heart. Things from the heart don't have an explanation," he said.
Italian Justice Minister Paola Severino, who has made easing Italy's woefully overcrowded prisons a priority, attended the Mass.
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Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield
LONDON (Reuters) - British oil group BP is pressing ahead with a $500 million-plus investment in the Shetland Islands, a shot in the arm for the government's efforts to revive the North Sea oil industry to help kickstart a flagging economy.
Though North Sea output has fallen by about two thirds since 2000 and a surprise tax increase in 2011 led to dire predictions about its future, industry body Oil & Gas UK in February forecast a pick-up in production from 2014, fuelled by renewed government support and a surge in investment.
BP's investment, which could pave the way for a big add-on project at its Clair field, coincided on Thursday with a government effort to boost investment in the oil and gas sector.
Business Minister Vince Cable and Energy Secretary Ed Davey will travel to Aberdeen, known as the oil capital of Europe, where they will pledge government commitment to a stable tax regime for the industry, and announce plans to develop Britain's supply chain further and try to plug an engineering skills gap.
Under BP's plans, it will drill at least five appraisal wells in the giant Clair field off the west coast of the Shetland Islands, north of Scotland, to discover whether it is worth further development.
BP and its Clair partners, Shell , ConocoPhillips and Chevron , in 2011 said they were investing 4.5 billion pounds in a second phase of development for the field, which first started pumping oil in 2005.
"If successful, the appraisal program could pave the way for a third phase of development at Clair - this is now a real possibility," BP's North Sea regional president Trevor Garlick said in a statement.
Big oil companies have tended to look beyond the North Sea in recent years, favoring new oil provinces with more potential, but the rich geology of the areas around the Shetland Islands has kept them hooked.
The British government has been at pains to reclaim the trust of oil and gas industry after the 2011 shock tax rise.
New tax breaks, for older oil fields, heavy oil fields, deep-water fields and clarity over field abandonment tax relief have over the last two years helped give companies the confidence to move ahead with new plans.
BP's plan for Clair follows other recent new investments in the North Sea, including a $7 billion project announced by Norway's Statoil in December and a 1.6 billion pound ($2.4 billion) investment by Canada's Talisman Energy two months earlier.
"This is an expanding industry. We can either help create more jobs and opportunities across the UK if we get this right or see work going overseas if not," Business Minister Vince Cable, who once worked for Shell, said in a statement.
Britain's oil and gas industry contributes more to government coffers than any other sector and paid over one fifth of total corporation taxes in 2012. It also employs over 400,000 people including its supply chain.
The government said it will invest 7 million pounds to establish a new centre for subsea engineering and help the industry by establishing a program to retrain ex-military personnel to work in oil and gas.
BP, which has the biggest stake in Clair at nearly 29 percent, said that it had already started drilling the first appraisal well and it could complete up to 12 wells over two years, depending on the results of the first wells.
Light leaks create some of the most serendipitous moments in photography. But in digital, they're usually created by faking it in post production. For this week's Shooting Challenge, you'll use a 2-cent sandwich bag to recreate the effect. More »
Hon Hai Precision, also known as Foxconn Technology, has reported its earnings for the year and notched a net income of $3.2 billion according to the Financial Times. Most familiar as the manufacturing muscle behind Apple's iPhones, iPads and the like, the Taiwan-based manufacturer beat analyst predictions on high margins for those products. Its subsidiary, Foxconn International Holdings, is the world's largest cellphone maker and produces devices for companies including Nokia and Motorola, but suffered a net loss of $316.4 million. As a result, some are concerned about Foxconn's heavy reliance on Apple as a customer going forward.Still, the company is reportedly continuing a plan to increase vertical integration, by manufacturing the parts for devices and not just putting them together -- we'll see if anyone notices changes in the final product anytime soon.
Hello, I am trying something new. I have such a hard time picking a few favorites from my Wow Us Wednesday link up that I decided to devote a whole post to my favs. There are so many really wonderful post that they all deserve some attention!
4 recipes, DIY for your home, and 3 something new from something old projects! Keep reading for more!
I will start with the food. Looks so good!
Grits get a bad rap, but you know, they are really good! They just don't have a very?appealing?name. Yesterfood has a wonderful recipe, Down Home Grits Muffins that I think you should try. The recipe kinda reminds me of an old Malt O Meal muffin recipe I use to have. Remember Malt 'O Meal? My kids loved it. Give these Grits Muffins a try, I think you will love them!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie......I don't need to say anything else?because?that says it all! Be still my heart! Stop over at Your Home Based Mom for her recipe.
Don't you just love Marinated Artichoke Hearts? Let??Housewife How To's show you how easy it is to make your own. This would be a great hostess gift; and won't you look smart giving them! Check it out :)
Here's another great home made yummy food; Jam Butter from Caramel Potatoes. It would be a wonderful gift also. It doesn't get any easier than this to make; come on you know you want to taste it! It looks so great!
Look at this beautiful entry way from Carissa Miss. She created a beautiful and functional space and you need to click over there and see how she?accomplished?it all. ?A great DIY project. Callie's Crafts had me laughing while I read her post about painting this headboard! She did something I have been known to do to cleaning it up! I love that! Great job on refinishing it too :)
Denise on a Whim?is a creative gal! Look what she made out of a piece of wood most of us would throw out! Head over there to see how she did it. Ellen at?Creative Passage?took at thrift store find and made something beautiful to decorate her home with. Look what you can do with paint, it didn't look like that before! So great! Thanks everyone who linked up! Here's a button if you want one. See you on Wednesday!
If you have been featured, please choose the button you like best. If you are reading this post anywhere else but at www.FamilyHomeandLife.com then it was used without permission! Please report it! Copyright ? Family Home and Life 2010-2013 All Rights Reserved
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Have a heart problem? If it's fixable, there's a good chance it can be done without surgery, using tiny tools and devices that are pushed through tubes into blood vessels.
Heart care is in the midst of a transformation. Many problems that once required sawing through the breastbone and opening up the chest for open heart surgery now can be treated with a nip, twist or patch through a tube.
These minimal procedures used to be done just to unclog arteries and correct less common heart rhythm problems. Now some patients are getting such repairs for valves, irregular heartbeats, holes in the heart and other defects ? without major surgery. Doctors even are testing ways to treat high blood pressure with some of these new approaches.
All rely on catheters ? hollow tubes that let doctors burn away and reshape heart tissue or correct defects through small holes in blood vessels.
"This is the replacement for the surgeon's knife. Instead of opening the chest, we're able to put catheters in through the leg, sometimes through the arm," said Dr. Spencer King of St. Joseph's Heart and Vascular Institute in Atlanta. He is former president of the American College of Cardiology. Its conference earlier this month featured research on these novel devices.
"Many patients after having this kind of procedure in a day or two can go home" rather than staying in the hospital while a big wound heals, he said. It may lead to cheaper treatment, although the initial cost of the novel devices often offsets the savings from shorter hospital stays.
Not everyone can have catheter treatment, and some promising devices have hit snags in testing. Others on the market now are so new that it will take several years to see if their results last as long as the benefits from surgery do.
But already, these procedures have allowed many people too old or frail for an operation to get help for problems that otherwise would likely kill them.
"You can do these on 90-year-old patients," King said.
These methods also offer an option for people who cannot tolerate long-term use of blood thinners or other drugs to manage their conditions, or who don't get enough help from these medicines and are getting worse.
"It's opened up a whole new field," said Dr. Hadley Wilson, cardiology chief at Carolinas HealthCare System in Charlotte. "We can hopefully treat more patients more definitively, with better results."
For patients, this is crucial: Make sure you are evaluated by a "heart team" that includes a surgeon as well as other specialists who do less invasive treatments. Many patients now get whatever treatment is offered by whatever specialist they are sent to, and those specialists sometimes are rivals.
"We want to get away from that" and do whatever is best for the patient, said Dr. Timothy Gardner, a surgeon at Christiana Care Health System in Newark, Del., and an American Heart Association spokesman. "There shouldn't be a rivalry in the field."
Here are some common problems and newer treatments for them:
HEART VALVES
Millions of people have leaky heart valves. Each year, more than 100,000 people in the United States alone have surgery for them. A common one is the aortic valve, the heart's main gate. It can stiffen and narrow, making the heart strain to push blood through it. Without a valve replacement operation, half of these patients die within two years, yet many are too weak to have one.
"Essentially, this was a death sentence," said Dr. John Harold, a Los Angeles heart specialist who is president of the College of Cardiology.
That changed just over a year ago, when Edwards Lifesciences Corp. won approval to sell an artificial aortic valve flexible and small enough to fit into a catheter and wedged inside the bad one. At first it was just for inoperable patients. Last fall, use was expanded to include people able to have surgery but at high risk of complications.
Gary Verwer, 76, of Napa, Calif., had a bypass operation in 1988 that made surgery too risky when he later developed trouble with his aortic valve.
"It was getting worse every day. I couldn't walk from my bed to my bathroom without having to sit down and rest," he said. After getting a new valve through a catheter last April at Stanford University, "everything changed; it was almost immediate," he said. "Now I can walk almost three miles a day and enjoy it. I'm not tired at all."
"The chest cracking part is not the most fun," he said of his earlier bypass surgery. "It was a great relief not to have to go through that recovery again."
Catheter-based treatments for other valves also are in testing. One for the mitral valve ? Abbott Laboratories' MitraClip ? had a mixed review by federal Food and Drug Administration advisers this week; whether it will win FDA approval is unclear. It is already sold in Europe.
HEART RHYTHM PROBLEMS
Catheters can contain tools to vaporize or "ablate" bits of heart tissue that cause abnormal signals that control the heartbeat. This used to be done only for some serious or relatively rare problems, or surgically if a patient was having an operation for another heart issue.
Now catheter ablation is being used for the most common rhythm problem ? atrial fibrillation, which plagues about 3 million Americans and 15 million people worldwide. The upper chambers of the heart quiver or beat too fast or too slow. That lets blood pool in a small pouch off one of these chambers. Clots can form in the pouch and travel to the brain, causing a stroke.
Ablation addresses the underlying rhythm problem. To address the stroke risk from pooled blood, several novel devices aim to plug or seal off the pouch. Only one has approval in the U.S. now ? SentreHeart Inc.'s Lariat, a tiny lasso to cinch the pouch shut. It uses two catheters that act like chopsticks. One goes through a blood vessel and into the pouch to help guide placement of the device, which is contained in a second catheter poked under the ribs to the outside of the heart. A loop is released to circle the top of the pouch where it meets the heart, sealing off the pouch.
A different kind of device ? Boston Scientific Corp.'s Watchman ? is sold in Europe and parts of Asia, but is pending before the FDA in the U.S. It's like a tiny umbrella pushed through a vein and then opened inside the heart to plug the troublesome pouch. Early results from a pivotal study released by the company suggested it would miss a key goal, making its future in the U.S. uncertain.
HEART DEFECTS
Some people have a hole in a heart wall called an atrial septal defect that causes abnormal blood flow. St. Jude Medical Inc.'s Amplatzer is a fabric-mesh patch threaded through catheters to plug the hole.
The patch is also being tested for a more common defect ? PFO, a hole that results when the heart wall doesn't seal the way it should after birth. This can raise the risk of stroke. In two new studies, the device did not meet the main goal of lowering the risk of repeat strokes in people who had already suffered one, but some doctors were encouraged by other results.
CLOGGED ARTERIES
The original catheter-based treatment ? balloon angioplasty ? is still used hundreds of thousands of times each year in the U.S. alone. A Japanese company, Terumo Corp., is one of the leaders of a new way to do it that is easier on patients ? through a catheter in the arm rather than the groin.
Newer stents that prop arteries open and then dissolve over time, aimed at reducing the risk of blood clots, also are in late-stage testing.
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
About 75 million Americans and 1 billion people worldwide have high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart attacks. Researchers are testing a possible long-term fix for dangerously high pressure that can't be controlled with multiple medications.
It uses a catheter and radio waves to zap nerves, located near the kidneys, which fuel high blood pressure. At least one device is approved in Europe and several companies are testing devices in the United States.
"We're very excited about this," said Harold, the cardiology college's president. It offers hope to "essentially cure high blood pressure."
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Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Apple Inc blamed "old-fashioned" record companies, film studios and TV networks for the inflated prices Australians pay compared with U.S. consumers for digital downloads, as it defended its pricing strategy on Friday.
Executives from Apple, Adobe Systems Inc and Microsoft Inc were grilled by a special Australian parliamentary committee tasked with investigating allegations of price gouging raised by consumer watchdogs.
Software and hardware products in Australia sell for an average of 50 percent more than their U.S. equivalents, according to a 2012 survey of 186 songs, games, programs and computers by Choice, a not-for-profit consumer advocacy group.
As soaring cost-of-living bills for basic services hurt the popularity of the minority Labor government ahead of a September 14 election it is widely tipped to lose, lawmakers are considering restricting the ability of companies to set prices in Australia.
Apple, Adobe and Microsoft executives told lawmakers the higher prices reflected factors including Australia's 10 percent goods and services tax, higher labor costs, copyright issues and geographical product differentiation.
Tony King, the vice president for Apple Australia, New Zealand and South Asia, said pricing on some products like the iPad mini and Final Cut Pro software was about the same as in the United States.
But at A$19.99 ($20.87), the Australian price of Justin Timberlake's album "20/20 Experience" on Apple's iTunes music store is about double the $10.99 charged in the United States. AC/DC's "Back in Black" is marked up 70 percent for Australian fans.
King said the pricing of digital content was based on wholesale prices set via negotiated contracts with record labels, movie studios and TV networks.
"The content industry still runs with perhaps old-fashioned notions of country borders or territories or markets," King said, adding that Apple had pushed content owners for lower Australian pricing.
Asked why Apple, the dominant provider of digital entertainment downloads, could not use its clout to knock down wholesale prices, King said responsibility ultimately lay with content providers.
"The cards are in the hand of the folks who own the content, that is not in our hand to play," he said.
"EVASIVE" ANSWERS
The three companies were accused of stonewalling the pricing inquiry after they initially declined to send executives to answer questions publicly. Adobe and Microsoft had provided written submissions while Apple did not respond at all.
The committee labeled some of the executives' answers as "evasive" and greeted others with skepticism.
A particular bone of contention was the need for so-called geo-blocking, under which companies prevent Australia-based web users from purchasing products at cheaper rates on U.S. sites.
Australians have to fork out A$3,175 ($3,300) for Adobe's CS6 Design and Web Premium suite, which Americans can buy for just $1,899.
Adobe Australia Managing Director Paul Robson said Adobe's Creative Cloud suite, which is bought on a A$50-a-month subscription basis, was priced on par with the United States and this was "the future of the way we will deliver our technology."
Committee member Stephen Jones said the subscription software placed "digital handcuffs" on users, forcing them to keep paying to continue accessing their files.
Committee deputy chairman Paul Neville cited the example of a suite of Microsoft products that cost the equivalent of A$2,324 in the United States, A$3,105 in Canada, A$2,323 in Singapore and A$4,136 in Australia.
"It seems what you put to us, you're charging what you can get away with in any market," Neville said to Microsoft Australia Managing Director Pip Marlow, who denied the charge.
"If we price the products too high, consumers will vote with their wallets and move elsewhere, we have a very competitive landscape," Marlow told the committee in Canberra.
($1 = 0.9580 Australian dollars)
(Reporting By Jane Wardell; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Miami Heat's LeBron James (6) is fouled by Detroit Pistons players Will Bynum (24) and Kim English (12) during the first half of a NBA basketball game in Miami, Friday, March 22, 2013. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
Miami Heat's LeBron James (6) is fouled by Detroit Pistons players Will Bynum (24) and Kim English (12) during the first half of a NBA basketball game in Miami, Friday, March 22, 2013. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
Detroit Pistons' Jonas Jerebko (33) forces Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade (3) to pass the ball off during the first half of a NBA basketball game in Miami, Friday, March 22, 2013. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
MIami Heat's Dwywane Wade (3) slides past Detroit Pistons' Rodney Stuckey (3) for two points during the first half of a NBA basketball game in Miami, Friday, March 22, 2013. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
Miami Heat's Shane Battier (31) tries to block Detroit Pistons' Jose Calderson (8) from shooting the ball during the first half of a NBA basketball game in Miami, Friday, March 22, 2013. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
Miami Heat's LeBron James (6) goes between Detroit Pistons players Kyle Singler (25), Jose Calderon (8) and Rodney Stuckey (3) for a two point shot during the first half of a NBA basketball game in Miami, Friday, March 22, 2013. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
MIAMI (AP) ? It's becoming almost commonplace now, this trend of the Miami Heat getting off to slow starts and having to dig their way back from double-digit deficits.
Apparently, they do not mind.
LeBron James scored 29 points, Dwyane Wade added 19 and the Heat extended their winning streak to 25 games by pulling away in the second half and beating the Detroit Pistons 103-89 on Friday night.
Miami trailed by as much as 11 in the first half before moving within eight of tying the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers for the longest winning streak in NBA history. The Heat also won at home for the 16th straight time.
"We don't get caught up in things like that, saying that we're untouchable," said James, who also finished with eight assists and eight rebounds. "We know we can be beat by anybody, any night, if we don't come in with the mindset to play our game."
Maybe they don't always come in with that mindset in perfect order, but the Heat clearly find a way to get to that place. Just this week alone, they rallied from 17 points down to win at Boston, then pulled off the wild 27-point, second-half comeback to prevail at Cleveland.
No real dramatics were needed Friday, especially after Miami allowed only 35 points after halftime.
"We were a little flat in the first half," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "But in the second half, the urgency was much better, created a lot more opportunities off of our defense. I liked the way we finished the game."
Miami's magic number for clinching the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference is now three. The Heat also remained 1? games up on San Antonio, which needed overtime to beat Utah, for the league's best record.
Greg Monroe finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds for Detroit, which dropped its 10th straight game. Jose Calderon had 18 points and seven assists, most of that coming in the first half for the Pistons, who also got 18 points and eight rebounds from Kyle Singler.
"The effort was there," Calderon said. "I thought we played pretty for almost the whole game. When they came out for the second half, they looked like a different team out there. ... They tweaked their game plan and it was a bit more difficult to make some baskets. They were more aggressive."
That's because they had to be that way. James said Detroit caught Miami off-guard in the first half with some sets. A quick halftime adjustment or two, and the reigning champions looked like reigning champions again.
"It doesn't matter who we're playing. This time of year, it's going to be a dangerous team," Spoelstra said. "It's going to be a team absolutely urgent, desperate for a playoff position or a team with nothing to lose, no pressure. Either way, you have to impose your will."
That did not happen, at least not in the early going.
For the fifth time in the last six games, the Heat trailed after the first quarter. Detroit made 12 of its first 18 shots ? 67 percent ? and took a 28-20 lead fueled by an 8-0 run late in the opening period.
Detroit's lead went to 11 in the second quarter, with Calderon making all three of his field-goal attempts, all from 3-point range. He wound up with 16 points and six assists at halftime, just the second player to have a first-half stat line like that against the Heat this season. There were times it seemed Detroit was getting whatever it wanted.
Nonetheless, the Heat were down just 54-51 at the break.
"You knew they were going to make a run," Monroe said. "That's what this league is all about. It's about withstanding them."
On that front, the Pistons couldn't keep pace. Detroit scored 28 points in the first quarter, 26 more in the second ? and 22 in the first 19 minutes of the second half.
A lull like that was just too much to overcome, especially when the Heat took off on a 19-8 run to start the fourth quarter and put away the game.
After getting fouled in the open floor and playfully crashing into the basket support midway through the fourth, James took a playful swing at Wade and clearly seemed relaxed even though the Heat were up by only nine.
It was like he knew the capper was on the way. When play resumed, James set Wade up for a basket that gave Miami its first double-digit lead of the night, then threaded a pocket pass to Chris Bosh for a three-point play and a 90-76 lead with 5:47 remaining.
James walked to the far end of the floor, popped out his mouth guard and watched the replay on the overhead video board, then exhaled deeply.
"We were in our groove, both offensively and defensively," James said. "I kind of felt like it was at a point where we could kind of break it open."
The streak lived. Again.
NOTES: Heat G Ray Allen got three stitches in his lower lip. The Heat aren't sure if he will miss any game time. Miami next plays Sunday at home against Charlotte. ... James picked up his fourth straight Eastern Conference player of the month award, this one for February, in a brief halftime ceremony. ... The Heat signed F Juwan Howard for the remainder of the season Friday. ... South Florida native Brandon Knight (left ankle) remained sidelined for Detroit. ... The Heat played a tribute video to the Atlantic Coast Conference champion Miami Hurricanes during the game, along with highlights of their NCAA tournament win from earlier Friday. ... Pistons reserve Kim English fouled out with 23.5 seconds left in the third quarter with no points in 12:05 of playing time. The only other players with a zero-point, six-foul night in fewer minutes this season are New York's Kurt Thomas (9:40) and Toronto's Amir Johnson (9:26). ... Golf's Greg Norman was in attendance, along with child abuse prevention advocate Lauren Book, who's on her annual awareness walk from Key West to Tallahassee.
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Public release date: 29-Mar-2013
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The first quarter won?t close till Sunday, but an early look finds the soft venture-investment environment continued.
