Michelle Obama highlights obesity progress in MS

First lady Michelle Obama and Food Network chef Rachel Ray greet students at a "Let's Move!" program at the Eastside and Northside Elementary Schools in Clinton, Miss., Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Obama and Ray visited with the children and conducted a cooking contest between the schools chefs. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

First lady Michelle Obama and Food Network chef Rachel Ray greet students at a "Let's Move!" program at the Eastside and Northside Elementary Schools in Clinton, Miss., Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Obama and Ray visited with the children and conducted a cooking contest between the schools chefs. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

First lady Michelle Obama speaks at a "Let's Move!" event for 400 children at the Eastside and Northside Elementary Schools in Clinton, Miss., Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Obama and television chef/personality Rachel Ray visited with the children and conducted a cooking contest between the schools chefs. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

First lady Michelle Obama motions before speaking at a "Let's Move!" program for 400 children at the Eastside and Northside Elementary Schools in Clinton, Miss., Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Obama and television chef Rachel Ray visited with the children and conducted a cooking contest between the schools chefs. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

First lady Michelle Obama and Food Network chef Rachel Ray discuss the lunches students from the Eastside and Northside Elementary Schools receive "Let's Move!" program at the Clinton, Miss., schools Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. The pair visited with the children and conducted a cooking contest between the schools' chefs. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

First lady Michelle Obama and Food Network chef Rachel Ray discuss lunches that students from the Eastside and Northside Elementary Schools receive during a "Let's Move!" program at the Clinton, Miss., schools Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. The pair visited with the children and conducted a cooking contest between the schools' chefs. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

CLINTON, Miss. (AP) ? Michelle Obama on Wednesday congratulated this Southern state for a more than 13 percent drop in its child obesity rates and said its example should inspire the rest of the country.

It's the reason the first lady made Mississippi the first stop on a two-day tour to promote her signature effort, the anti-childhood obesity campaign she launched three years ago called "Let's Move."

In remarks at an elementary school near Jackson, Mrs. Obama cited new research showing that childhood obesity rates among elementary school pupils in the state had declined by more than 13 percent between 2005 and 2011.

"What's happening here in Mississippi is really what 'Let's Move' is all about," she told an audience of state officials, school nutrition professionals and parents. She urged them to keep on doing what they've been doing.

"It's the story of what you all have achieved here that we want to tell. It's the story we want to be telling in every state all across this country," the first lady said.

When she visited Mississippi three years ago, she said, it had just been declared the most obese state in the nation.

Mrs. Obama attributed the decline in childhood obesity rates here to efforts by state lawmakers, the Board of Education and individual school districts, which she said took such steps as setting new standards for food and drinks in school vending machines, serving more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and replacing food fryers with steamers, to which she exclaimed, "Hallelujah."

Some churches even declared "no-fry" zones for their congregations, where only healthy food and nothing fried was allowed.

"So there's no reason why this success can't happen in cities and states all across the country ? if we're willing to work for it," Mrs. Obama said. "So now is the time for us to truly double down on these efforts. We know what works. We're seeing it right here. We know how to get results. Now we just need to keep stepping up."

The first lady said Mississippi, and other parts of the country that also have seen their childhood obesity rates come down ? including California and New York City and Philadelphia ? are showing others what works. After all, she said, "love for our children" is the motivating factor.

Mrs. Obama was joined by Food Network star and daytime talk-show host Rachael Ray, who arranged for two school chefs to compete to prepare lunches that meet newly adopted federal nutrition guidelines.

"I'm here to say, Mississippi, thank you. Thank you so much. Congratulations on your work," the first lady said. "Thank you for taking the lead on this issue. Thank you for serving as an inspiration for states and communities across the country."

About one-third of U.S. children are overweight or obese, putting them at higher risk for heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, among other ailments.

Mrs. Obama launched "Let's Move" with the goal of helping to reduce childhood obesity rates within a generation. In response, a range of industry groups and others, including food companies, restaurants, retailers and others, promised to make their food healthier and make it easier for kids to get needed exercise.

Among the changes: Wal-Mart is now putting special labels on some of its store-brand products to help shoppers quickly spot healthier items. Millions of schoolchildren are helping themselves to vegetables from salad bars that have been donated for their lunchrooms. Kids' meals at Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants are automatically served with a side of fruit or vegetables and a glass of low-fat milk.

___

Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-02-27-US-Michelle-Obama/id-cd75773626d84f98aa3740c1ce111f8c

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Bob Woodward Wishes Obama Was More Like His Imaginary George W. Bush

Today on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Bob Woodward blasted President Obama's "madness" for letting budget considerations influence military policy, continuing to stumble through his transition from Bush turncoat to Obama hater. It's the latest attack from the Washington Post reporter, following a column late last week charging that the massive cuts from the imminent sequestration are the president's fault?? a charge the administration labelled "willfully wrong."

RELATED: Poll Majority Sees Obama Doing the Same or Worse Than Bush

Today's skirmish stems from an announcement by the Navy earlier this month that the U.S.S. Harry S. Truman wouldn't deploy to the Persian Gulf, citing imminent NBC News notes, the Navy is slated to lose $4 billion by fall due to the cuts, on top of operating at a $4.6 billion deficit due to Congress' failure to enact a new budget for 2013.

RELATED: Some Suggested Small Talk for When Bush Visits the White House

Presumably after having crunched the numbers, Woodward disagrees with that decision.

RELATED: Scott Brown Goes All In on Warren's Cherokee Pa-Paw

RELATED: From Hawks to Doves in Five Days Flat

As transcribed by Politico:

?Can you imagine Ronald Reagan sitting there and saying ?Oh, by the way, I can?t do this because of some budget document??? Woodward said Wednesday on MSNBC?s ?Morning Joe.?

?Or George W. Bush saying, ?You know, I?m not going to invade Iraq because I can?t get the aircraft carriers I need? or even Bill Clinton saying, ?You know, I?m not going to attack Saddam Hussein?s intelligence headquarters,? as he did when Clinton was president because of some budget document?? Woodward added. ?Under the Constitution, the president is commander-in-chief and employs the force. And so we now have the president going out because of this piece of paper and this agreement, I can?t do what I need to do to protect the country. That?s a kind of madness that I haven?t seen in a long time.?

Bush indeed never said, "You know, I?m not going to invade Iraq because I can?t get the aircraft carriers I need." As the Bush administration's primary historian, Woodward should know that Bush's attitude was quite the opposite.

RELATED: Obama Tries Not to Take 'Victory Lap' at Ground Zero

At a 2004 town hall meeting in Kuwait, a soldier asked then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld: "Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to up-armor our vehicles, and why don?t we have those resources readily available to us?" Why, in other words, don't we have the resources we need? Rumsfeld's famous reply:

As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.

The exchange?occurred?shortly after Woodward's laudatory 2004 book Plan of Attack: The Definitive Account of the Decision to Invade Iraq, but well before 2007's heavily critical State of Denial. The latter book seemed to complete Woodward's transition away from being a Bush hagiographer, documenting the "detailed, behind-the-scenes story of how the Bush administration failed to tell the truth about the Iraq War." Perhaps today's comments indicate that the pendulum is swinging back.

Over the weekend, Woodward described how he saw Obama's pick of Chuck Hagel to lead the department of defense.

[Obama and Hagel's shared] worldview is part hawk and part dove. It amounts, in part, to a challenge to the wars of President George W. Bush. It holds that the Afghanistan war has been mismanaged and the Iraq war unnecessary. War is an option, but very much a last resort.

So, this thinking goes, the U.S. role in the world must be carefully scaled back -- this is not a matter of choice but of facing reality; the military needs to be treated with deep skepticism; lots of strategic military and foreign policy thinking is out of date; and quagmires like Afghanistan should be avoided.

Apparently Woodward meant those lines as a critique.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bob-woodward-wishes-obama-more-imaginary-george-w-153556398.html

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In South Carolina, disgraced former governor seeks a resurrection

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - The scheduled appearance by a candidate for South Carolina's 1st Congressional District here last week was behind schedule. The event's co-host, an undertaker, had been detained at his funeral home by an unexpected "delivery."

A couple of people in the audience laughed as they realized what sort of delivery a funeral home receives. Questions of life and death seemed oddly appropriate because the afternoon's guest of honor was a man who is trying to undergo a political resurrection: former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford.

As governor in early 2009, Sanford - a tanned conservative Republican who preached limited government - was widely seen as a potential candidate for president in 2012.

But then he disappeared for six days in June 2009, without telling his family or staff. It turned out he was in Argentina, visiting a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair. The episode destroyed Sanford's marriage and earned him a censure from state legislators who agreed that he had brought "dishonor, disgrace and shame" to South Carolina.

And that, it seemed, was the end of the Mark Sanford story.

He served out his term as governor but left office in January 2011 and headed for his family's farm in Beaufort, South Carolina. He became a footnote in a state whose recent political history has been shaped by the rise of the conservative Tea Party movement and the legacy of the late Strom Thurmond, a one-time segregationist and governor who served in the U.S. Senate for nearly a half-century.

Now Sanford, 52, is back - in search of a dramatic comeback by running for the same congressional seat that he won almost two decades ago, before he was governor.

In talking about putting his life back together, Sanford gives off new-age vibrations. During an interview with Reuters, he seemed well-versed in the language of recovery and often referred to his "inner journey."

Even without Sanford and reminders of his scandal, the race has the makings of spectacle: It features 16 candidates in the Republican primary on March 19, including Robert "Teddy" Turner, the rebel conservative son of Ted Turner, the liberal cable television billionaire.

For Sanford, it was a surprising opportunity created by the unexpected retirement of U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, which caused a shift in the state's Republican leadership. Governor Nikki Haley appointed Representative Tim Scott to fill DeMint's seat. The opening of Scott's seat gave Sanford a chance to return to public life that Sanford said he found irresistible.

Given that voters are familiar with Sanford - some of whom have cast ballots for him five times - most analysts expect Sanford to outlast the Republican field, even in a district where some religious conservatives could find it hard to forgive him.

Many of the 15 other Republicans concede that they are hoping to finish second to Sanford, then have other candidates' supporters rally around them (and against the former governor) in a primary run-off vote.

There is another twist: The Republican primary winner is likely to face on May 7 in a special election Democrat Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, an official at Clemson University and sister of comedian Stephen Colbert, who has been known to bring his antics into South Carolina politics. Colbert was scheduled to join his sister at a fundraiser on Sunday night.

The conservative district has sent a Republican to Congress since Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980. So most political analysts in South Carolina expect Sanford to eventually win back his old congressional seat despite his scandal and a celebrity presence on the Democratic side.

But first, Sanford is making the case that he has learned from his fall and moved past his mistakes.

During a coffee gathering on Thursday, Sanford pointed to a woman in the audience he had talked with earlier.

"She said, ?Mark, quit apologizing,' " Sanford recalled. "I know I need to do that. She said, ?You did that on the first day. People got that. You need to move on.' And I said, ?Indeed, I do.' "

HIS ?INNER JOURNEY'

During the interview, Sanford said the past few years have changed him for the better.

After confessing to cheating on his wife, he was stripped of his position atop the Republican Governors Association. Six months later, his wife divorced him. He is now engaged to Maria Belen Chapur, the Argentine journalist whom Sanford called his "soulmate" during a news conference after the scandal broke, and for whom Sanford gave up his old life.

Meanwhile, Sanford's ex-wife, Jenny Sanford, who used to manage his campaigns, published a memoir titled "Staying True."

After leaving the governor's office and returning to his farm, Sanford said he spent time building a bridge, a cabin and barn with his four sons. He showed off a bruised fingernail, which he said was caused by a falling plank of wood.

"In the wake of so much destruction, I wanted to construct," he said in the interview.

Sanford's longtime friend Tom Davis, his former chief of staff, said that Sanford's time in near-isolation was "Thoreauvian," comparing the former governor's days on the farm to the writer Henry David Thoreau's psychologically therapeutic years living near Walden Pond in Massachusetts in the 1850s.

Sanford seems to agree.

"I said to a buddy, 'You know, I'm becoming a Buddhist Christian,' which is sort of a weird way of putting it, but you know Buddhism focuses on the moment," Sanford said. "I think that ... Western society achievers, whatever your walk of life, are always focused on the next step."

For the most part, Sanford leaves his personal life out of the campaign. He thinks that voters are willing to do the same - even as some opponents' ads have questioned his honesty.

"I've experienced how none of us go through life without mistakes," Sanford said in his first campaign ad released this week. "But in their wake, we can learn a lot about grace, a God of second chances, and be the better for it."

One voter who heard Sanford speak on Thursday in Charleston said that times had changed, particularly among South Carolina Republicans who voted for former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich in last year's Republican presidential primary.

Many people in the state backed Gingrich despite fresh allegations that Gingrich had once asked a former wife for an open marriage. Gingrich supporters said they were less concerned with Gingrich's personal life than his politics, and that they favored him as a more conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, the Republicans' eventual nominee for president.

But, "if it had been 25 years ago ... good Lord," said Anne Keigher, 75, an architect from Charleston.

At a time when Washington is viewed by voters as a politically gridlocked failure, Sanford talks about his three terms as a congressman as a success.

He also says he was railing about government spending before it was stylish. His sunny disposition can turn apocalyptic when he talks about debt and the value of the U.S. dollar.

'I BLEED'

The unfolding drama in Washington over taxes, debt and spending seemed a bit distant, however, when Sanford and 12 other Republican candidates appeared Thursday at a Golden Corral restaurant in Blufton. Each was given five minutes to make a case to members of the Beaufort County Republican Club.

Sanford did not mention his family nor the scandal that put him in national headlines. He did brag about shortening the wait times at the state Department of Motor Vehicles as governor.

Some of Sanford's rivals are frustrated by the attention he gets. One candidate refused to answer questions about Sanford. Another dismissed the "air of celebrity" surrounding the race.

One challenger, Andy Patrick, a former U.S. Secret Service agent who praised his rivals for their conservative values, has sent out a mailer to voters attacking Sanford.

"Many will forgive," it reads, "But how can we forget? Mark Sanford. The trust is gone."

After the turmoil of the last four years, is Sanford comfortable with the attacks that are coming his way?

"No," Sanford said in the interview. "I'm a human being. I bleed."

(Editing by David Lindsey and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-carolina-disgraced-former-governor-seeks-resurrection-205305512.html

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Doctor: Iraqi president communicating after stroke

BAGHDAD (AP) ? A doctor who oversees Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's medical care says the president is able to speak and understand people around him as he recovers from a stroke he suffered over two months ago.

In an interview Sunday Dr. Najmaldin Karim described the improvement in the president's health as encouraging and "a good development." Karim oversees Talabani's medical care when he is in Iraq, although the president is currently in Germany for treatment.

Karim says he is hopeful Talabani will be able to return to Iraq, but acknowledged that any decision rests with the doctors treating him in Germany.

Talabani was rushed to a hospital on December 17 for what officials described as a serious stroke. He was later moved to Germany. Few details have been released about his condition.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/doctor-iraqi-president-communicating-stroke-092747003.html

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Third straight weekend storm heads towards New England

BOSTON (Reuters) - New England faced it third straight weekend of storms that will dump a messy, extended mix of wet snow and freezing rain across the region, meteorologists said Saturday.

Meanwhile another storm in the West will roll out of the Rocky Mountains this weekend and could create blizzard conditions in Colorado, according to a National Weather Service advisory.

Snow blanketed much of the Midwest earlier this week, with more than a foot in Kansas on Thursday, forcing airports to cancel hundreds of flights and leaving motorists stranded on highways.

Starting on Saturday, New England's coast from northern Connecticut to southern Maine was expected to be pelted with a mix of snow and rain, according to a National Weather Service advisory, while inland areas could see significant snow accumulations.

Wet snow and freezing rain was expected Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening in southern New Hampshire, northern Rhode Island and much of Massachusetts, including the Boston metropolitan area.

Up to a foot of snow was possible in parts of central Massachusetts, National Weather Service meteorologist John Foley said. From 2 to 5 inches of snow may fall in Boston.

The heaviest snowfall was expected Saturday night through Sunday morning, with 1 to 2 inches per hour possible, the weather service said.

Steve Scardino, a software sales executive and lifelong New Englander from Hopkinton, Massachusetts said he wondered what all the fuss was about.

"Look, it's winter, it's New England, it snows. Happens every time!" he said, laughing.

The storm may bring sleet and freezing rain to the Appalachians and mid-Atlantic states, with thunderstorms expected in the Southeast, the weather service said. It likely will dump rain from New York City to Philadelphia, it said.

The storm barreled eastward for the weekend after pummeling the Midwest. In Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Sly James said about 60 buses were stuck on snowbound streets on Friday, and even tow trucks were immobilized.

"It's still an ongoing process to get people off the roads," he told CNN.

SNOWY KANSAS

Kansas bore the brunt of the bad weather on Thursday, with up to 15 inches of snow in some parts of the state, according to the National Weather Service.

A closed 200-mile (323-km) stretch of Interstate 70 in central Kansas was strewn with cars stuck in snow.

National Guard troops riding in Humvees were dispatched to look for stranded motorists along the interstate and other highways, said Sharon Watson, a spokeswoman for Kansas emergency management services.

The storm triggered severe thunderstorms from eastern Texas to Georgia.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon and Kansas Governor Sam Brownback declared states of emergency because of hazardous travel and possible power outages..

In Nebraska, a 19-year-old woman was killed in a two-car accident on Wednesday on Interstate 80 near Giltner. The Nebraska State Patrol said weather was a factor.

An 18-year-old man died in Oklahoma when his vehicle slid into a tractor-trailer on a slushy state highway, the state's highway patrol said.

Drought-stricken farmers in the Great Plains, one of the world's largest wheat-growing areas, welcomed the moisture, although experts said more rain or snow would be needed to ensure healthy crops.

Meanwhile, in the Southeast, a "rich supply of Gulf moisture" will drive heavy rainfall from the Florida Panhandle east to the Carolinas on Saturday, the National Weather Service advisory said.

(Additional reporting by Kevin Murphy, Ian Simpson, Kevin Gray, Steve Gorman and Chris Francescani; Editing by Vicki Allen)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/major-snowstorm-headed-england-022416612.html

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Vatican blasts media for 'false' reports

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? The Vatican lashed out Saturday at the media for what it said has been a run of defamatory and false reports before the conclave to elect Pope Benedict XVI's successor, saying they were an attempt to influence the election.

Italian newspapers have been rife with unsourced reports in recent days about the contents of a secret dossier prepared for the pope by three cardinals who investigated the origins of the 2012 scandal over leaked Vatican documents.

The reports have suggested the revelations in the dossier, given to Benedict in December, were a factor in his decision to resign. The pope himself has said merely that he doesn't have the "strength of mind and body" to carry on and would resign Feb. 28.

On Saturday, a day before Benedict's final Sunday blessing in St. Peter's Square, the Vatican secretariat of state said the Catholic Church has for centuries insisted on the independence of its cardinals to freely elect their pope ? a reference to episodes in the past when kings and emperors vetoed papal contenders or prevented cardinals from voting outright.

"If in the past, the so-called powers, i.e., States, exerted pressures on the election of the pope, today there is an attempt to do this through public opinion that is often based on judgments that do not typically capture the spiritual aspect of the moment that the church is living," the statement said.

"It is deplorable that as we draw closer to the time of the beginning of the conclave ... that there be a widespread distribution of often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories that cause serious damage to persons and institutions."

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi was asked how specifically the media was trying to influence the outcome; Lombardi didn't respond directly, saying only that the reports have tended to paint the Curia in a negative light "beyond the considerations and serene evaluations" of problems that cardinals might discuss before the conclave.

Some Vatican watchers have speculated that because the Vatican bureaucracy is heavily Italian, cardinals might be persuaded to elect a non-Italian, non-Vatican-based cardinal as pope to try to impose some reform on the Curia.

While Lombardi has said the reports "do not correspond to reality," the pope and some of his closest collaborators have recently denounced the dysfunction in the Apostolic Palace.

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, for example, criticized the "divisions, dissent, careerism, jealousies" that afflict the Vatican bureaucracy. He made the comments Friday, the penultimate day of the Vatican's weeklong spiritual exercises that were attended by the pope and other officials. Ravasi, himself a papal contender, was chosen by Benedict to deliver daily meditations and on Saturday Benedict praised him for his "brilliant" work.

The divisions Ravasi spoke of were exposed by the documents taken from the pope's study by his butler and then leaked by a journalist. The documents revealed the petty wrangling, corruption and cronyism and even allegations of a gay plot at the highest levels of the Catholic Church.

The three cardinals who investigated the theft had wide-ranging powers to interview even cardinals to get to the bottom of the dynamics within the Curia that resulted in the gravest Vatican security breach in modern times.

Benedict too has made reference to the divisions in recent days, deploring in his final Mass as pope on Ash Wednesday how the church is often "defiled" by attacks and divisions from within. Last Sunday, he urged its members to overcome "pride and egoism."

On Saturday, in his final comments to the Curia, Benedict lamented the "evil, suffering and corruption" that have defaced God's creation. But he also thanked the Vatican bureaucrats for having helped him "bear the burden" of his ministry with their work, love and faith these past eight years.

The Vatican's attack on the media echoed its response to previous scandals, where it has tended not to address the underlying content of accusations, but has diverted attention away. During the 2010 explosion of sex abuse scandals, the Vatican accused the media of trying to attack the pope; during the 2012 leaks scandal, it accused the media of sensationalism without addressing the content of the leaked documents.

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vatican-blasts-false-pre-conclave-reporting-130526801.html

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Florida governor backs limited Medicaid expansion

? Public Health ? Feb 21, 2013

Florida Governor Rick Scott backed a limited expansion of healthcare coverage for the poor on Wednesday, joining six other Republican governors who have agreed to the measure under President Barack Obama?s landmark reform law.

Scott, a wealthy former healthcare executive and vocal critic of the law known as Obamacare, had balked previously at expanding Medicaid.

His surprising about-face, seen by some as a crucial turning point in Republican opposition to the Affordable Care Act, came after the federal government granted Florida a conditional waiver to privatize Medicaid statewide.

Scott made the announcement at a news conference at the governor?s mansion in Tallahassee, where he said he would only agree to the expansion for three years while the federal government picks up all the costs.

The legislation would sunset after three years and need to be reauthorized, he said.

?Expanding access to Medicaid access services for three years is a compassionate, common sense step forward,? said Scott, reading from prepared remarks.

?It is not the end of our work to improve healthcare. And it is not a white flag of surrender to government-run healthcare,? he said.

Scott joins fellow Republican Governors Rick Snyder of Michigan and John Kasich of Ohio in making Medicaid expansion announcements this month. The Republican governors of Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and North Dakota had previously said they would expand the program.

Scott got his start in politics by forming a group called Conservatives for Patients Rights to campaign against Obama?s healthcare reforms in 2009. In June last year the U.S. Supreme Court rejected efforts led by Florida and 25 other states to have Obama?s healthcare law declared unconstitutional.

Scott?s conditional agreement to expand Medicaid in Florida, a move that officials have said could add about 1 million people to the state?s Medicaid rolls, must still be approved by the Republican-dominated Florida Legislature. About 3.8 million Floridians have no health insurance, according to the health insurance industry.

Such approval seems far from certain. House Speaker Will Weatherford said the whole idea of expanding ?a challenged system? through federal funding required ?a big leap of faith? in Washington.

?The money is coming from a government that is having problems balancing its own budget every year - they?re about to have a debt-ceiling debate in the coming days to determine if they can pay their bills,? Weatherford said.

Medicaid primarily provides healthcare for U.S. citizens or legal residents with low incomes or certain disabilities.

Republican lawmakers have warned in the past that Medicaid?s annual costs, which they estimated to total $21 billion in the fourth most populous U.S. state, were putting too much of a burden on Florida?s budget.

That is why Scott proposed a privatized or managed care plan for Medicaid recipients to save money. Introduced through a pilot program in five Florida counties, the managed care program has faced criticism for problems including limited access to care, limited doctor participation and excessive red tape.

But the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services granted a conditional waiver to Florida on Wednesday, hours before Scott?s news conference, permitting the use of private managed care plans using public dollars on a statewide basis.

Healthcare advocates are reserving final judgment on the privatization plan. But they say some of the worst problems with the managed care program appear to have been addressed.

?Consumer health advocates have fought hard to ensure that access to care and consumer protections remain a top priority,? the Community Health Action Network, one statewide group, said in a news release.

###

By Bill Cotterell

Provided by ArmMed Media

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Source: http://www.health.am/ab/more/limited-medicaid-expansion/

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Frank Mir vs Junior Dos Santos Prediction

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South Africa Set for Ranking Windfall After Pakistan Win

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Source: www.nytimes.com --- Monday, February 18, 2013
South Africa are set to pocket $450,000 after they guaranteed the number one position in the ICC Test Championship beyond the April 1 cut-off date for prize money to be awarded in 2013. ...

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2013/02/18/sports/cricket/18reuters-cricket-safrica-rankings.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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CastleOS Unveils New Home Automation Software with Microsoft Kinect Integration (18/2/2013)

News

CastleOS Unveils New Home Automation Software with Microsoft Kinect Integration (18/2/2013)

The CastleOS home automation software is available for download now, and features the world?s first whole-house voice control system, powered by CastleOS and the Microsoft Kinect?

CastleOS Software, LLC has announced availability of their new home automation software suite, CastleOS, featuring the world?s first whole-house voice control system. CastleOS is the first home automation controller to fully integrate the power of the Microsoft Kinect? and modern home automation systems like Insteon, X10, and soon, Z-Wave and ZigBee, among others.

With this capability, CastleOS allows users to adjust their lighting, HVAC systems, and other devices by simply speaking out loud from anywhere within their home. Imagine sitting down for a movie, and rather than having to stand up to turn off the lights, simply saying out loud, ?Computer, turn off the lights?. Or, tossing and turning in bed because it?s a little too hot, and instead of getting up to adjust the thermostat, saying, ?Computer, turn up the A/C?.

In addition to the voice interface, users can control their home from their phone, tablet, computer, and any other device with a web browser, using the accompanying HTML5 app. The CastleOS app is very simple to use, designed for and tested by homeowners, not tech professionals.

CastleOS also measures the energy use of the homes it?s installed in ? breaking down the energy usage of lighting, HVAC systems, appliances and more. With the usage information provided by CastleOS, energy bills have been easily cut by as much as 10% or more.

www.CastleOS.com

Source: http://hiddenwires.co.uk/resourcesnews2013/news20130218-01.html

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St. Cloud State at Colorado College: And Down the Stretch They Come

Twelve points remaining...I'd love ten.

I'd love nine. I think we will only need 7 or 8.

CC can score. Their defense is horrible. Not sure what to expect from this series, but Mick was going over the team's record coming out of bye weeks over the last two season and I think they split every time except for once.

Source: http://board.uscho.com/showthread.php?103521-St.-Cloud-State-at-Colorado-College-And-Down-the-Stretch-They-Come&goto=newpost

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Bisphenol A exposure in humans may be too low to cause problems by mimicking estrogen

Feb. 15, 2013 ? A controversial component of plastic bottles and canned food linings that have helped make the world's food supply safer has recently come under attack: bisphenol A. Widely known as BPA, it has the potential to mimic the sex hormone estrogen if blood and tissue levels are high enough. Now, an analysis of almost 150 BPA exposure studies shows that in the general population, people's exposure may be many times too low for BPA to effectively mimic estrogen in the human body.

The analysis, presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting by toxicologist Justin Teeguarden of the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Wash., shows that BPA in the blood of the general population is many times lower than blood levels that consistently cause toxicity in animals. The result suggests that animal studies might not reflect the human BPA experience appropriately.

"Looking at all the studies together reveals a remarkably consistent picture of human exposure to BPA with implications for how the risk of human exposure is interpreted," said Teeguarden. "At these exposure levels, exposure to BPA can't be compared to giving a baby the massive dose of estrogens found in a birth control pill, a comparison made by others."

In addition to evaluating the likelihood of BPA mimicking estrogen in humans, Teeguarden also analyzed another set of BPA studies that looked at the chemical's toxicity in animals and cells in the lab. These 130 studies are significant as a group because they refer to the exposures as "low dose," implying they are very relevant to human exposures.

According to his analysis, however, the "low doses" actually span an immense range of concentrations, a billion-fold. In addition, only a small fraction of the exposures in these self-described "low dose" studies are in the range of human exposures, from 0.8 percent to 7 percent depending on the study.

"The term low-dose cannot be understood to mean either relevant to human exposures or in the range of human exposures. However, this is in fact what it has come to mean to the public, as well as many in the media," said Teeguarden.

Analysis of 150 Exposure Studies

The first analysis covered 30,000 individuals, including women and infants, in 19 countries. Human blood concentrations were calculated multiple ways using many kinds of exposure data.

Teeguarden looked to see if BPA concentrations were sufficiently high to be a significant source of estrogen-like activity in the blood. Researchers have long known that BPA can bind to the same proteins that estrogen does -- called estrogen receptors -- when estrogen is doing its job in the body. However, in most cases, BPA does so much more weakly than estrogen. To trigger biological effects through receptors, BPA concentrations have to be high enough in the blood to overcome that weakness.

"Systematically testing the estrogenicity, or the bioactivity of BPA at the part per trillion concentrations we expect in human blood would seem the most scientific way to substantiate or refute this conclusion," said Teeguarden.

Teeguarden analyzed the data in these studies using multiple independent approaches applied systematically to the data from thousands of individuals. The results showed that human blood levels of BPA are expected to be too far below levels required for significant binding to four of the five key estrogen receptors to cause biological effects.

Teeguarden's analysis also confirmed the findings of many academic and government scientists that biologically active BPA is at such low concentrations in the blood that it is beneath toxicologists' current ability to detect it, raising questions about the role of sample contamination in studies reporting high levels of BPA.

Analysis of 130 Toxicity Studies

In this analysis, Teeguarden compiled all the BPA studies that included the term "low dose" as it referred to human exposure by using such terms as "low-concentration," "environmentally relevant," or "human exposure." From the 130 studies found, he and PNNL biologist Sesha Hanson-Drury compiled all the doses that were actually used in the studies.

The results showed that a small fraction of the "low doses" used in these studies are within the range of human exposures, with the vast majority being at least 10 to thousands of times higher than what humans are exposed to daily. In addition, the range of concentrations spans from upwards of 10 grams per kilogram of weight per day down to 100 picograms per kilogram of weight per day (a picogram is one millionth of a gram).

"Unfortunately, the low dose moniker has been used by some to promote the importance of selected toxicity studies, for example, in arguments to ban BPA," said Teeguarden. "For BPA and all chemicals, we need more accurate language to present these findings so the public and scientists in other disciplines can understand how human exposures compare to exposures in laboratory studies reporting toxicity."

Justin Teeguarden, Ph.D., is a senior scientist in the Systems Toxicology and Exposure Science group at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. This work was entirely supported by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program.

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/living_well/~3/9mZhuOTOqQg/130217084541.htm

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Meteor explodes over central Russia, over 1,000 injured

CHELYABINSK, Russia (Reuters) - A meteor streaked across the sky and exploded over central Russia on Friday, raining fireballs over a wide area and causing a shock wave that smashed windows, damaged buildings and injured more than 1,000 people.

People heading to work in Chelyabinsk heard what sounded like an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt the shock wave, according to a Reuters correspondent in the industrial city 1,500 km (950 miles) east of Moscow.

The fireball, travelling at a speed of 30 km (19 miles) per second according to Russian space agency Roscosmos, had blazed across the horizon, leaving a long white trail that could be seen as far as 200 km (125 miles) away.

Car alarms went off, thousands of windows shattered and mobile phone networks were disrupted. The Interior Ministry said the meteor explosion, a very rare spectacle, also unleashed a sonic boom.

"I was driving to work, it was quite dark, but it suddenly became as bright as if it were day," said Viktor Prokofiev, 36, a resident of Yekaterinburg in the Urals Mountains.

"I felt like I was blinded by headlights."

The meteor, which weighed about 10 tons and may have been made of iron, entered Earth's atmosphere and broke apart 30-50 km (19-31 miles) above ground, according to Russia's Academy of Sciences.

No deaths were reported but the Emergencies Ministry said 20,000 rescue and clean-up workers were sent to the region after President Vladimir Putin told Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov to ease the disruption and help the victims.

The Interior Ministry said about 1,200 people had been injured, at least 200 of them children, and most from shards of glass.

EXTREMELY RARE

The region of Chelyabinsk has long been a hub for the Russian military and defense industry, and it is often the site where artillery shells are decommissioned.

A local Emergencies Ministry official said meteor storms were extremely rare and Friday's incident may have been connected with an asteroid the size of an Olympic swimming pool that was due to pass Earth.

But an astronomer at Russia's Academy of Sciences, Sergei Barabanov, poured doubt on that report. He said there was no evidence to support the theory that the meteor had travelled with the asteroid or had broken off from it.

The European Space Agency, on its Twitter microblog, also said its experts had confirmed there was no link.

The regional governor in Chelyabinsk said the meteorite shower had caused more than $30 million in damage, and the Emergencies Ministry said some 300 buildings had been affected.

One piece of meteorite broke through the ice of nearby Cherbakul Lake, leaving a hole several meters wide.

Despite warnings not to approach any unidentified objects, some enterprising locals were hoping to cash in.

"Selling meteorite that fell on Chelyabinsk!" one prospective seller, Vladimir, said on a popular Russian auction website. He attached a picture of a black piece of stone that on Friday afternoon was priced at 1,488 roubles ($49.46).

WINDOWS BREAK, FRAMES BUCKLE

The early morning blast and ensuing shock wave blew out windows on Chelyabinsk's central Lenin Street, buckled some shop fronts and rattled apartment buildings in the city center.

"I was standing at a bus stop, seeing off my girlfriend," said Andrei, a local resident who did not give his second name. "Then there was a flash and I saw a trail of smoke across the sky and felt a shock wave that smashed windows."

Chelyabinsk city authorities urged people to stay indoors unless they needed to pick up their children from schools and kindergartens.

A wall was badly damaged at the Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant but a spokeswoman said no environmental threat resulted.

In 1908, a meteorite is thought to have devastated an area of more than 2,000 sq km (1,250 miles) in Siberia, breaking windows as far as 200 km (125 miles) from the point of impact.

The Emergencies Ministry described Friday's events as a "meteor shower in the form of fireballs" and said background radiation levels were normal. It urged residents not to panic.

Simon Goodwin, an astrophysics expert from Britain's University of Sheffield, said that roughly 1,000 to 10,000 tons of material rained down from space towards the earth every day, but most burned up in the atmosphere.

"While events this big are rare, an impact that could cause damage and death could happen every century or so. Unfortunately there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop impacts."

The meteor struck just as an asteroid known as 2012 DA14, about 46 meters (yards) in diameter, was due to pass closer to Earth - at a distance of 27,520 km (17,100 miles) - than any other known object of its size since scientists began routinely monitoring asteroids about 15 years ago.

(Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska in Moscow; Writing by Timothy Heritage and Thomas Grove; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/possible-meteor-shower-reported-eastern-russia-052833588.html

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Dreaming Of The RV Life? Here's Exactly How Much It Costs - Gadling

The story of a Colorado family of 14 currently trekking and blogging around the country in an RV made "The Today Show" recently, highlighting a particularly dreamy type of wanderlust ? and one that reached a peak in 2011 with 8.5 percent of U.S households owning an RV, according to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association. But it's been hard for the media to get past the sheer absurdity of the Colorado family's size and talk about the number we really want to know: what's the price of a permanent vacation?

Luckily, another family with an RV and strong Internet connection has been keeping track of those important nitty-gritty details. RecalcRoute.com's Jon and Amy Arnold of Indianapolis are 20 months into the cross-country life with their three young daughters, and they posted a detailed cost analysis after a year and 15,689 miles working, homeschooling and playing their way around the western half of the country.

The biggest expense after the $18,500 RV itself? Not gas.

Groceries tallied $13,500 for the health-conscious family of five. Though visiting farmers markets is one of the joys of traipsing the country, "it's not bargain food," Amy says.

They've found that the best cost-saving measure is joining a campground network. Campsites can run around $50 a night in premium locations, and $20 or $30 in state parks. A membership in a network (and the occasional free night "boondocking" in a Wal-Mart parking lot, where RVs are welcome) can lower the expense to an average of $15 a night, freeing up funds to splurge on a site you really want to visit ? say, when a relative joins you on the road or you want to stay on Key West, where rates are the highest the Arnolds have encountered.

An $80 annual national-park pass and a space heater (an alternative to burning through your RV's propane to stay warm) will pay for themselves over and over again, but the Arnolds' best advice is to think of the trip as your life, not a constant vacation, and to stick to the same kind of budget you would at home.

Studying their thorough cost breakdown will help, too.

[Photo credits: Jon Arnold]

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Filed under: North America, United States, Transportation, Budget Travel

Source: http://www.gadling.com/2013/02/14/dreaming-of-the-rv-life-heres-exactly-how-much-it-costs/

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Google Nexus 7 Slim KICKSTAND Folio

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Source: http://www.incipio.com/google-nexus-7-slim-kickstand-folio-3667.html

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Elon Musk produces Model S data logs to disprove New York Times' Tesla review

We liked Tesla's Model S, but some of the other outlets didn't feel the same way. The New York Times' John Broder, for one, described being stranded 25 miles away from the nearest supercharger station. However, after Tesla's litigious run-in with Top Gear, the company keeps detailed vehicle data logs to ensure it gets a fair deal in reviews. Now, Tesla (and SpaceX) CEO Elon Musk has posted the data that, he says, proves Broder wasn't being fair.

Musk accuses Broder of pulling the plug on a recharge with just 32 miles range in the tank, despite planning a route of 61 miles "in obvious violation of common sense." He also says the reviewer drove past a public charge station, despite repeated warnings that it was running low, drove the car around at 81mph and "deliberately stopped charging" after shorter and shorter times. Musk finishes by saying that the company was wrong to offer Broder access to the vehicle, as it was "unaware of his outright disdain for electric cars" and asks the New York Times to investigate the review. We suspect this one's going to run-and-run, but we'd better warn the NYT that their opponent does have access to rockets.

Filed under: Transportation

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Source: Tesla

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/14/elon-musk-rebuts-nyt-review/

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OFFICER FUNERAL: The procession to the Church

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Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CAdWL4_6dk&feature=youtube_gdata

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Danny Bowien Says Mission Chinese Is Overhyped, Talks Backlash and Spandex

Feb 13, 2013 @ 11:01 AM

Last night at the Tenement Museum's Culinary Talks, Peter Meehan grilled Danny Bowien about cooking Chinese food as a Korean-American, and surprisingly, Bowien went on record as saying that Mission Chinese is overhyped ??his words, not ours. "I think we?re probably one of the most overhyped restaurants," he said.

Naturally, we had to pick his brain on that statement, catching up with the chef after the talk to ask him about expansions, criticism, and that Momofuku Spandex video.

"There are a lot of other restaurants out there that definitely work 10 times as hard as we do and make food 10 times better than us," Bowien told The Daily Meal last night. "I think we?re really blessed; whatever attention we?re getting right now we?re super lucky. It would be unrealistic for me to be like, 'Oh yeah I deserve everything,' because I?m still learning."

But of course, Bowien has been getting his share of criticism (despite Mission Chinese being named one of the top 20 most important restaurants in America by Bon App?tit). "Obviously there?s going to be a backlash, as with anything that gets too popular," Bowien said. "I was talking to somebody the other day and they were like, 'I hate Jay-Z.' I was like how do you hate Jay-Z? Obviously because he?s always in the spotlight, he?s always talked about, so I don?t think you actually hate Jay-Z. It was one of my friends and she likes everything that is new and if it?s not new anymore, well then... We try to make everyone happy, and you can?t at the end of the day."

Bowien, who once flew his entire San Francisco kitchen staff to China to try the food, doesn't lay any claim to authenticity, but does still eat around Chinatown and Flushing to get it right. "That?s what?s hard about [the criticism]," he said. "We?re proud of everything we do, and you work so hard and you put everything into it and your cooks are working so hard... But it?s still hard when you wake up in the morning and read someone saying Mission Chinese sucks, you know?"

Naturally, Bowien wants to get the infrastructure of the business settled before opening another Mission Chinese, so those rumors of a Paris location? Probably not happening anytime soon (although he did just get back from a vacation there). "We were just hanging out in Paris. Nothing is finalized anywhere, it?s all a pipe dream," Bowien said. "Something was published recently saying, 'Danny Bowien is definitely opening in Paris,' but I?ve never said that. Anything is a possibility, but we have nothing confirmed yet. I think the biggest thing now is making sure we focus on what we have before we branch out." Same goes for the possible Brooklyn, N.Y., location: "I don?t think we?re going to open in Brookyln, I don't know. It?s another challenge. Opening in Manhattan was the hardest thing in the world. I?d love to open in Brooklyn, so we?ll see. You?ll hear something soon."

And as for that '80s-tastic cooking workout video featuring Bowien in blue Spandex with Christina Tosi? "That?s Peter Meehan's fault," Bowien said. "I don?t know how he convinced me to do it. He said I would be in the background lifting weights, but I was in Spandex. It's funny because if you look in the video I look very unhappy because our ice machine had broken and we had all these issues at the restaurant. But it was fun. I think you can?t take yourself too seriously."

Eva Longoria and Michael Symon on the 'Do Us a Flavor' Contest

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Source: http://www.thedailymeal.com/danny-bowien-says-mission-chinese-overhyped-talks-backlash-and-spandex

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Judge throws out some Facebook IPO lawsuits

NEW YORK -- A New York judge is dismissing a key group of the many lawsuits against Facebook over its initial public offering in May, saying the plaintiffs did not show that they lost money because of corporate wrongdoing.

In the Wednesday ruling, Judge Robert Sweet of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York also agreed with Facebook's claims that the plaintiffs could not prove that they owned Facebook stock at the time of the alleged wrongdoing.

The lawsuits and other still remaining alleged that analysts at large underwriting investment banks cut their financial forecasts for Facebook just before the IPO and told only a handful of clients. Facebook and the banks say nothing about its process was illegal.

Facebook says it is pleased with the ruling.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/02/13/3232858/judge-throws-out-some-facebook.html

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Hilarie LaTurno Battles Cancer With Support of 'Team Hilarie'

ABC News' Felicia Patinkin reports:

From the moment " GMA" anchor Robin Roberts revealed she had myelodysplastic syndrome or MDS last June, her fight became the fight of family, friends, and viewers, who all came together to join #TeamRobin. Roberts' spirit was brightened as she watched "GMA" from the sidelines and saw the rainbow wristbands with her message of "Light, Love, Power and Presence," the anchor teams' fuzzy green froggy slippers, and shout outs from viewers and celebrity guests.

For Roberts and millions of people facing illness, support can be the difference between hope and despair.

Take Hilarie LaTurno of Chicago. The 49-year-old has bravely battled ovarian cancer and made it through the long chemotherapy treatments with a smile thanks to the unwavering support of her band of best friends, nicknamed "Team Hilarie."

LaTurno's group of 17 women - some who have known each other since the third grade - have been by her side throughout, and even choreographed elaborate surprises to keep her smiling. For the last nine weeks, her 11-by-15 foot room at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago has been host to everything from chants by costumed cheerleaders and her very own "Gangham Style" parody.

Team Hilarie's weekly rituals have become a bright spot for the entire chemo floor. The sound of laughter spills out into the halls.

"I've seen lots of teams come in," Nurse Deborah Rimmelle of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Unit said. "I've never seen the variety that they bring, the laughter ? and to be honest with you, there are days I come in and I just walk in and you just smile and you think, 'God, she is such a lucky woman.'"

RELATED: Robin Roberts Says She's Feeling Stronger Every Day

" Good Morning America" joined LaTurno for her tenth treatment, where he team had coordinated an extra special surprise. LaTurno as usual didn't know quite what to expect.

"It's like a day of adventure. It's like a Thelma and Louise," she said. "Like, what's going to happen today?"

After a quick rehearsal, lots of props and some bedazzled matching t-shirts, the gang descended upon her hospital room, singing "I'll Be There for You," the theme song from the hit show "Friends."

"Laughter definitely is the best medicine out there," LaTurno said. "I do cackle. I cackle to the point like I'm peeing in my pants, cackle."

Research shows laughter has been linked to decreasing stress and pain, even improving immunity and reducing blood pressure.

"When you have such a support you feel that there is such a wall behind you that you can't fall," LaTurno said. "You look at it a whole different way."

Husband, Michael and daughter, Brittney call Team Hilarie a blessing.

"It's tough enough to face it as a family alone, but when I know she's going to see her girlfriends I know her spirits pick up and therefore the spirits of the whole family pick up," he said.

"I feel like I've gained like 10 aunts along the way," Brittney added.

But in the end it is all about LaTurno, the captain of Team Hilarie, who knows Thursday is chemo day and still has a reason to smile.

"Without them it would be just another bad Thursday," she said. "Laying in a chemo bed. Now it's a day of celebration."

Robin Roberts returns to "GMA" on Wednesday, Feb. 20. CLICK HERE to Follow Robin's Journey

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/hilarie-laturno-battles-cancer-support-team-hilarie-174822726--abc-news-topstories.html

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Concordia University Texas is launching a new MBA program in Dallas-Fort Worth region

Austin-based Concordia University Texas?will launch a new MBA program in the Dallas-Fort Worth region to begin in May.

The private, liberal arts university is accepting applications for the first group of students. The school wants to attract employees of small business and corporations as well as people from the nonprofit and public sectors.

The two-year program meets one evening a week and requires 36 credits.

Free information sessions will be held at the university?s Dallas/Fort Worth Center at 2080 North Highway 360, Suite 400, in Grand Prairie:

Tuesday, February 19, 6 p.m.

Tuesday, March 26, 6 p.m.

Thursday, April 25, 6 p.m.

Tuesday, May 21, 6 p.m.?

Thursday, June 20, 6 p.m.

Tuesday, July 9, 6 p.m.

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Source: http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2013/02/concordia-university-texas-is-launching-a-new-mba-program-in-dallas-fort-worth-region.html/

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