ATLANTA (AP) ? Federal authorities were hunting Friday for more than 100 rifles stolen from a boxcar parked in an Atlanta train yard.
The weapons were taken from a CSX rail yard on the city's northwest side in mid-November, said Richard Coes, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The weapons include assault rifles that Coes described as "AK-style." He declined to discuss other aspects of the case.
Gary Sease, a spokesman for rail line CSX Corp., said the Jacksonville, Fla.-based company is cooperating with law enforcement to recover the weapons and investigate the theft.
"When any crime occurs, but especially any crime involving safety, we prosecute those responsible to the fullest extent of the law and work in close cooperation with partners in law enforcement agencies," Sease said.
The rifles were stolen on or around Nov. 12, authorities said. The boxcar was parked at the CSX Tilford Yard, about four miles northwest of downtown Atlanta.
The Tilford Yard is one of the company's major rail yards in Georgia, according to the company's website.
There is a plethora of reasons that cause teens to suffer low self-esteem. Factors such as their appearance, conforming to the crowd and even talent are big contributors. Now more than ever, fame is a highly valued trait and it seems that fame can be easily achieved. The assumed simplicity in achieving fame quickly can make a teenager feel like there is something wrong with his or her self if they are not being recognized in this fashion.
Many other factors contribute to low self-esteem as well as the above mentioned. It is important for you to help increase your teen?s self-esteem. There are different ways to do so, so these are tips to help you do it successfully.
Compliment Specific Activities
Many parents compliment teens on vague premises. For example, just telling your teen that he is helpful is vague. The teen will not attach the compliment to an action and the comment will be forgotten. Instead, when your teen carries heavy items inside for you say, ?You are so helpful. Thank you for carrying all of that heavy stuff for me.? To compliment specific activities, be diligent. Watch for actions that are specific and compliment when completed. Complimenting the teen?s character traits will carry more value in the mind of the teen than vague compliments.
Detail Successes
It is okay to tell your teen that he or she did a great job on an essay, or a good job on a math test. To help increase the teen?s self-esteem, describe aspects of the essay or test and tell the teen why they did well. For example, in a research essay, describe an aspect of the essay that you truly believe your teen did well on, ?You used excellent grammar and punctuation, and you really nailed the topic. I understood your point of view.? This will be a lasting compliment.
Give Them Something To Complete
Teenagers frequently complain about chores, however, doing a job around the house and doing it well holds a lot of value. Teenagers derive a great deal of confidence from completing meaningful tasks that help others. Finding community activities for your teen to participate in is an excellent avenue to boost self-esteem. They can even do something kind and simple like taking the elderly neighbor?s dogs for walks.
Be Mindful Of What You Say
Are there things that your parents told you that hurt feelings and you have never forgotten them? No matter how many nice things they said afterwards, you are still haunted by the negative comments. Be mindful so that you do not do the same thing to your teen.
Another important thing to keep in mind is how critical you are and how you verbalize your criticism. If you constantly criticize, your teen will learn to be critical of others, the world, and self. If you slip and make a hurtful statement, ask your teen if it hurt his or her feelings. If it did, apologize to your teen. A sincere apology can help your teen let go of the hurt and learn to cope with hurtful comments in the future.
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FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) ? The Army private charged with handing over reams of classified material to WikiLeaks acknowledged Friday that he tied a bedsheet into a noose and contemplated suicide shortly after his arrest.
The pretrial testimony appeared to support the military's argument that it was trying to protect Pfc. Bradley Manning from harming himself by keeping him in strict isolation, taking away his clothes and shackling him when he was outside his cell.
Manning's lawyers argue that the conditions he experienced for nine months at the Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Va., amounted to illegal punishment, lasting well past the time he was having suicidal thoughts, and that the charges against him should be dropped as a result.
Under cross-examination by prosecutor Maj. Ashden Fein, Manning testified that he fashioned the noose while being held in Kuwait soon after he was accused of engineering the biggest leak of classified material in U.S. history.
Manning, 24, said his time in Kuwait was the lowest he felt during his entire confinement.
"I certainly made a noose," the former intelligence analyst said. "The sheet noose in particular."
When he was transferred to the brig at Quantico in July 2010, he said, he wrote on his intake form that he was "always planning and never acting" upon suicidal thoughts. He was classified a suicide risk for eight days, then was upgraded to the less-restrictive "prevention of injury" status.
Manning maintains that neither designation was appropriate because he didn't feel like hurting himself after leaving Kuwait.
Quantico commanders maintained the extra restrictions despite repeated recommendations by brig psychiatrists that they be eased. Among other things, he was given scratchy, suicide-prevention bedding. Sometimes all his possessions, including his underwear and eyeglasses, were removed from his cell.
Manning testified Friday that he stood at naked attention for morning count one day in 2011 after a guard appeared to object to his use of a blanket to cover himself. He said he had been put on "suicide risk" the previous day after making a motion as if to hit himself in the head during a heated discussion with the brig commander about his confinement.
The testimony marked the first time military prosecutors went face-to-face with Manning in court.
The 5-foot-3 soldier looked youthful in his dark-blue dress uniform, close-cropped hair and rimless eyeglasses. He was animated, often speaking in emphatic bursts, swiveling in the witness chair and gesturing with his hands.
On Friday morning, as on previous days, there were more than a dozen Manning supporters in the courtroom.
The mood was lighter than on Thursday, the first time he spoke in public since his arrest in May 2010. Manning appeared relaxed on the stand and frequently smiled. He provoked laughter when he described his grading system for Quantico guards on weekly questionnaires: "decent" when he was unhappy with his treatment, "excellent" or "fine" otherwise.
Manning was an intelligence analyst in Baghdad in 2009 and 2010.
He is accused of sending the secret-spilling website WikiLeaks more than 250,000 diplomatic cables, classified memos, Iraq and Afghanistan war logs, Guantanamo Bay prison records and a 2007 video clip of a U.S. helicopter crew gunning down 11 men later found to have included a news photographer. The Pentagon said its troops mistook the camera equipment for weapons.
Manning is charged with offenses including violating espionage and computer security laws as well as aiding the enemy, which alone is punishable by up to life in prison.
He has offered to plead guilty to eight of the 22 charges against him, but the military judge presiding over the case has yet to decide whether to accept the plea. The government could still prosecute Manning on all counts.
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court accused President Mohamed Mursi on Wednesday of taking part in a campaign against the court, heightening tensions between the Islamist leader and parts of the judiciary.
"The really sad thing that has pained the members of this court is when the president of the republic joined, in a painful surprise, the campaign of continuous attack on the constitutional court," said the court's spokesman, Maher Samy.
He told reporters that Mursi had accused the court in a speech on Friday of leaking verdicts before a formal announcement. The court issued a ruling this year declaring the Islamist-led parliament void, leading to its dissolution.
(Reporting by Tamim Elyan and Tom Perry; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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Kevin Durant has finished second to LeBron James yet again.
This time, Durant?s runner-up finish came off the court and was out of his control.
Durant?s No. 35 Thunder jersey is the league?s second best seller based on sales at the NBA store in New York City and on NBAStore.com from April through Nov. 26. James ranked first for the third times since 2001.
But this is the highest Durant has climbed on the list of the league?s most popular jerseys. In the league?s previous survey of the top 15 most popular jerseys Durant ranked eighth. He ranked seventh in April 2011 but fell one spot after the Dallas Mavericks? championship shot Dirk Nowitzki into the top 15 at No. 7. Durant ranked ninth in April 2010 and 15th in January 2010, which was his first time in the top 10 since his rookie season.
Russell Westbrook, meanwhile, debuts in the top 15 at No. 12, in between fellow point guards Deron Williams (11th) and Steve Nash (13th).
Rounding out the top 10 are Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade, Blake Griffin, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul. Paul Pierce ranked 14th and Nowitzki was 15th.
The Thunder is the sixth most popular selling team, ranking in the top 10 for the third straight time. In April, the Thunder ranked seventh. In April 2011, the Thunder again ranked sixth.
New York is the league?s top-selling team for the first time since December 2004. Miami ranks second. The Los Angeles Lakers are third despite being the only team to have three players among the top 15 best selling jerseys. Chicago and Boston rank fourth and fifth, respectively.
Brooklyn ranks seventh, followed by the Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio and Dallas.
Durant has been beaten out consistently by James for awards, accolades and accomplishments over the past three seasons, most notably in last year?s NBA Finals matchup between the Thunder and Heat. James also has secured two of the past three regular season MVP trophies, winning both over Durant. In mid-May, after finishing 185 points shy of James for MVP honors, Durant jokingly said he?s grown tired of second-place finishes.
?I?ve been second since high school,? Durant said. ?Second draft pick. Second best player (in the country behind Greg Oden) in high school. Second in MVP voting twice. So I?m over that being second stuff.?
In the Thunder?s season opener at San Antonio, Durant became the second youngest player to reach the 10,000-point milestone. He joined the club at 24 years, 34 days old.
The youngest to get there?
LeBron James, of course.
-DM-
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BEIJING (AP) ? A 5-year-old sex tape of an 18-year-old woman allegedly hired by developers to sleep with a city official is causing yet another scandal for China's ruling Communists in the city formerly led by fallen politician Bo Xilai.
The 50-something official, Lei Zhengfu, was fired from his position as district party secretary after the video, an apparent extortion attempt, went viral earlier this month and his jowly, pop-eyed mug became the butt of numerous Internet caricatures. But the scandal may still be growing, as a whistleblowing former journalist says he may release similar tapes of more city officials soon.
The party is already reeling from the scandal that triggered Bo's purge and further battered the party's reputation in the public mind. Chongqing, the city that he ran, has been depicted by prosecutors and state media as rife with cover-ups, abuse of power and corruption. Bo's wife was convicted of murdering a British businessman, and Bo himself faces allegations of corruption and obstruction of justice in the murder case.
News of the sex tape, which was apparently shot in 2007 but only leaked this month, comes as China's newly installed leadership ramps up anti-corruption efforts as it deals with a steady stream of bribery and graft cases that it fears has undermined its authority.
The tape exploded on the Chinese Internet Nov. 20 when screenshots of it were uploaded by a Beijing-based former journalist Zhu Ruifeng to his Hong Kong-registered website, an independent online clearing house for corruption allegations.
The lurid images, apparently taken secretly from a bedside table, show Lei having sex with a woman. Zhu told The Associated Press that the woman, whose face is not visible in the screen grabs, was hired by a construction company to sleep with Lei in return for construction contracts. The company later tried to use the tape to extort more business from Lei, he said.
Zhu says he obtained the video from someone inside the Chongqing Public Security Bureau who gave it on condition of anonymity. He said he was also given tapes implicating five other Chongqing officials but is trying to verify their content before releasing them.
Zhu said that after the blackmail attempt, Lei reported the case to Chongqing officials sometime around 2009, which led to the construction boss being jailed for a year on unrelated charges and the woman being detained for a month.
Xinhua reported Monday that Chongqing's corruption watchdog had pledged a thorough investigation of Lei, who was dismissed Friday, but said it had yet to formally receive a report about the allegations against Lei or the footage.
The China Daily in an editorial Tuesday said the case showed that the "Internet is worth being embraced by the country's corruption busters as a close ally."
It also called for greater transparency in handling this and other cases, and listed a few of the lingering questions that the salacious case has thrown up.
"Strangely, the mistress was once detained and the contractor jailed for blackmailing Lei," it said. "What had happened? ... These are crucial questions waiting to be answered."
With a younger set of incoming leaders announced this month in Beijing, the government is keen to show that those in power are worthy of their posts and that wrongdoers will be weeded out. In his first remarks to the press after being appointed as the new Communist Party chief, Xi Jinping vowed to tackle corruption.
The party's corruption watchdog underlined its zero-tolerance for graft on Monday.
"There is no place for corrupt figures to hide away within the party," the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a statement quoted by the official Xinhua News Agency.
Many Chinese, however, are cynical about the allegations against high-profile party members and that they signal a true crackdown on corruption. Many think Bo was no more or less dirty than the average Chinese politician and that he was deposed not for his behavior but because he was on the losing end of factional power struggle.
Xiao Weilong, 30, an insurance salesman in Beijing, bemoaned how "ordinary people can't do anything about" cases such as Lei's.
"These sorts of abnormal things have become the norm, and we don't have any say," he said Tuesday.
Zhu, the journalist who broke the Lei story, said the fact that his website had not been blocked despite the allegations it outlined was a possible sign that the government is more serious than in the past getting tough on corruption.
"Possibly what we are seeing is that the new leaders are perhaps taking steps toward enforcing the constitution, a sliver of a new dawn," he said.
Biologists at UC San Diego have demonstrated for the first time that marine algae can be just as capable as fresh water algae in producing biofuels.
The scientists genetically engineered marine algae to produce five different kinds of industrially important enzymes and say the same process they used could be employed to enhance the yield of petroleum-like compounds from these salt water algae. Their achievement is detailed in a paperpublished online in the current issue of the scientific journalAlgal Research.
The ability to genetically transform marine algae into a biofuel crop is important because it expands the kinds of environments in which algae can be conceivably grown for biofuels. Corn, for example, which is used to produce ethanol biofuel, requires prime farmland and lots of fresh water. But the UC San Diego study suggests that algal biofuels can be produced in the ocean or in the brackish water of tidelands or even on agricultural land on which crops can no longer be grown because of high salt content in the soil.
"What our research shows is that we can achieve in marine species exactly what we've already done in fresh water species," said Stephen Mayfield, a professor of biology at UC San Diego, who headed the research project. "There are about 10 million acres of land across the United States where crops can no longer be grown that could be used to produce algae for biofuels. Marine species of algae tend to tolerate a range of salt environments, but many fresh water species don't do the reverse. They don't tolerate any salt in the environment."
"The algal community has worked on fresh water species of algae for 40 years," added Mayfield, who also directs the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, or SD-CAB, a consortium of research institutions in the region working to make algal biofuels a viable transportation fuel in the future. "We know how to grow them, manipulate them genetically, express recombinant proteins?all of the things required to make biofuels viable. It was always assumed that we could do the same thing in marine species, but there was always some debate in the community as to whether that could really be done."
That debate came to a head last month when a National Academy of Sciences committee examining the future potential of algal biofuels for the U.S. Department of Energy published a report pointing out that the production of algal biofuels might be limited by fresh water because no published research study had demonstrated the feasibility of using engineered marine species of algae.
"But now we've done it," said Mayfield. "What this means is that you can use ocean water to grow the algae that will be used to produce biofuels. And once you can use ocean water, you are no longer limited by the constraints associated with fresh water. Ocean water is simply not a limited resource on this planet."
The UC San Diego biologists focused their study on a marine species of alga, Dunaliella tertiolecta, which had been earlier targeted by scientists for potential biofuels production because of its high oil content and ability to grow rapidly under a wide range of salinity and acidic conditions. To demonstrate that it could be used in commercial biofuel production, they introduced five genes into the alga that produced five different kinds of enzymes that could be used in an industrial setting to not only convert biomass to fuel, but also increase nutrient availability in animal feed. Some of these enzymes, for example, came from a fungus that degrades plant material into simple sugars.
The scientists said in their paper that "we hope to eventually determine whether whole algae, post-oil extraction, may be used as a feed additive to improve animal feeds. Animal feed is a relatively high volume market that may be able to benefit from algae-produced proteins as a feed additive."
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University of California - San Diego: http://www.ucsd.edu
Thanks to University of California - San Diego for this article.
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By Courtney Hazlett, NBC News Hey, Mitt Romney: actor Samuel L. Jackson has it out for you, and Obama supporters, the actor?s got a strong message for you, too. In a political ad/video funded by the Jewish Council for Education & Research, Jackson tells voters in the same vein of the bedtime book he narrated, [...]
Today marks the launch of Google?s 2012 developer conference, Google I/O. Wired is here at the Moscone Center for the event, and will be liveblogging the keynote beginning at 9:30 a.m. Pacific time. george washington russell westbrook horsetail falls ice t downton abbey new york knicks president day
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) ? To many in this coastal metropolis, Rio de Janeiro has never had it so good. After decades of decay, crippling crime rates, and a loss of big business to rival S?o Paulo, Rio is on the rise. A recent boom in Brazil?s economy, the discovery of massive offshore oilfields nearby, [...]
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An order of Chicken McNuggets in Europe might be slightly healthier than one in the United States, in terms of the salt content, a new study suggests. Salt levels are 2.5 times higher in U.S. McNuggets, compared with those in the United Kingdom, the study found. In fact, salt levels in fast foods from a [...]
An enormous step is admitting to yourself that there is a need for improvement. Here are some self-help strategies that will give you ideas on what you could try.
Even if you feel the need to change and grow, you will not do so until you choose to. Change is a highly personal and difficult choice that requires a real commitment.
If you see yourself failing to reach goals, then you need to analyze the situation to figure out what the problem is. Look for resources related to your issues and ask your friends about their struggles. You might need to be more realistic or gain the proper information you need to succeed.
Make a decision about where you want to go in life and stick with it. Pondering an ideal life without taking the action to make it a reality will inevitably lead to nothing. You need to step up and pursue your goals to make them really happen.
Because you allow yourself to be more vulnerable when pursuing personal development, failures can be especially hard to handle. But, failure doesn?t have to be something bad if you can learn from it and gain experience from it. It shows you what your strengths and your weaknesses are. Think of a failure as a discovery about yourself, perhaps as an adjustment to reality.
Select one important part of yourself that you would like to improve, and focus on that. You may wish to improve several different things about yourself, but you are more likely to succeed if you stick to one self-improvement project at a time. This also helps the changes stick because it is easier to maintain one new habit compared to ten.
You really have to put yourself first in order to be of any help to anyone else, and accept that you will never be able to please everyone. This doesn?t mean that you should only think of yourself, but in some cases, you really need to put yourself first. If what you?re doing is true to both your ethics and yourself, then you can be healthier with your path to self improvement.
Get rid of every part of your life that is disorganized. You will feel accomplished and your mind will feel clearer. The stress of living in disorganization will also disappear. Having everything in its own place instills a calming energy.
Your mental health can be directly influenced by the physical heath of your body. It is imperative to eat a well-balanced diet, and to get some form of exercise every day. If you have a strong body, you will have a strong mind.
Be the best you can be at what you are doing! Follow your passion to the greatest possible aspirations. You will never be number one at anything, but we can try to be great. Do your best to become a leader in your industry, as it will give your self-esteem a boost.
Higher Level
You should always want a higher level of self restraint when working hard for personal development. Learn to exercise restraint over the desires of the flesh to achieve a higher level of self control. Beat bad habits like gluttony, jealousy, lust or greed. Controlling these desires will prevent negative impacts on your body and spirit.
Use these tips and keep track of changes to your thoughts and feelings. Understand that it can?t all be accomplished at once.
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Verizon and NBCUniversal has struck a "TV Everywhere" rights agreement so that FiOS customers will be able to watch the media company's entire programming portfolio live and on-demand via multiple platforms. In fact, some of the programming is accessible via the Verizon FiOS Mobile iPad app already, like USA, CNBC, MSNBC and Bravo. The agreement extends to retransmission rights from local NBC and Telemundo stations, future Olympic games and various Comcast SportsNet markets like Philadelphia, Mid Atlantic and New England. Hoping that exclusive movie rental window like the one in the UK will cross the pond? Don't hold your breath, but Verizon FiOS customers shouldn't have long to wait for the NBCUniversal package, which starts early next year.
NEW YORK -- Two years before the playoffs start in college football, the Southeastern Conference is staging a semifinal to determine who plays Notre Dame in the BCS title game.
Alabama (.9236) was second and Georgia (.8911) third in the BCS standings released Sunday. The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs play Saturday in Atlanta for the SEC championship.
The winner will advance to the national championship game in Miami on Jan. 7 against the Fighting Irish (.9979), who locked up their spot Saturday with a 22-13 victory against Southern California.
"If you think about what the game means, this that and the other, it doesn't really help you win the game," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "The only thing that helps you win the game is preparation and getting your mind ready to go to battle. That's what you've got to do."
Florida (.8882) is fourth in the standings, but with no games left, looks stuck behind their SEC rivals. The good news for the Gators is they are likely to get an at-large BCS bid to the Sugar Bowl, while the SEC runner-up is out of the big games all together.
"For either one of these teams, it's not really a great scenario," Alabama coach Nick Saban said.
One way or another, the SEC will get a shot at its seventh straight BCS championship.
The Bowl Championship Series is in its second-to-last season. It will be replaced by a four-team playoff in 2014.
While the race for the BCS title game is now fairly straight forward heading into championship weekend in college football, there's some intrigue to watch for involving potential BCS busters.
Kent State is 17th in the standings and Northern Illinois is 21st. They'll meet in the Mid-American Conference championship game on Friday night in Detroit.
Because it is almost a certainty that the Big East champion ? Louisville and Rutgers will determine who that is on Thursday night in New Jersey ? will be ranked behind the MAC champion in the final BCS standings, if either Kent State or NIU can get into the top 16, they would receive an automatic BCS bid. The MAC has never sent a team to the BCS.
Neither Louisville nor Rutgers is in the BCS top 25 this week.
Boise State from the Mountain West is 20th in the standings and also still in the mix for that BCS buster bid if it can jump ahead of the MAC teams and into the first 16. The Broncos play Nevada on Saturday to earn a share of the MW title.
The team that could be hurt most if a BCS buster emerges is Oklahoma. The Sooners are sitting 11th in the standings with a game left against TCU. With another victory, they would seem to be in good shape to get into the BCS even if Kansas State clinches the Big 12 by beating Texas.
But that at-large spot could get gobbled up by a BCS buster.
Other BCS automatic bids will be determined this weekend in the Pac-12, Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference.
UCLA plays at Stanford in the Pac-12 title game with the winner going to the Rose Bowl.
Wisconsin and Nebraska will play for the Big Ten's Rose Bowl berth.
Florida State and Georgia Tech play for the ACC title and a spot in the Orange Bowl.
Oregon is fifth in the latest standings, and like Florida, done with its regular season and in good shape to receive an at-large BCS bid.
The extraordinary parents of Ty Louis Campbell, known for good reason, as SuperTy, opened their hearts and their family?s story to us in unimaginably brave ways. They shared the agony and inspiration of caring for and losing a child. Their child. Her child became our child because his mom, Cindy, wrote her way through her young son?s heroic fight against a rare and aggressive brain cancer.
She let us sit beside her as she cherished the chance to bathe and snuggle her best little boy when he was not in the hospital. She shared ?smile of the day? photos, ?allowing us a window into her indescribable ability to find joy and gratitude in the most horrific experience a parent can imagine.
Cindy's words provide profound life lessons for all of us who are parenting or caring for children.
Dealing with death head on
In this post I shared Cindy's heartbreaking news that medicine had no more tricks up its sleeve for Ty, no more surgeries, treatments, no more hope.
In Cindy's blog, this brave mom revealed in raw, insightful detail the psychological landscape of how a mother holds on tightly to hope of a miracle (because her son, pulled off his fair share of miraculous rebounds) while experiencing the agonizing process of letting go, and then the most despairing of all, the final loss of her boy. It's an impossible story she tells with elegance, dignity and the rawest of honesty.
I describe Cindy as the most astonishing woman I?ve never met.
Read their story: Grieving parents become giving parents
Read more about SuperTy and his remarkable family:
SuperTy: One Mother's Fight to Stop Cancer from Stealing Her Child ? and Yours
Childhood Cancer: One Mother's Story of Holding On While Letting Go
Parenting Kids with Cancer
SuperTy: The Story of a Child with Cancer and an Unstoppable Will to Live
SuperTy : Living Life to the Fullest When Your Child has 'Terminal' Cancer
How Is This Miracle Child Beating 'Terminal' Cancer? Doctors gave 'SuperTy' a deadly cancer diagnosis. 'Oh yeah?' says this super survivor!
Video games are the next big thing in entertainment. The video game industry is the largest entertainment industry in the world. It supplies consumers that cross all spectrums of race, class, and economic levels. People simply love the interactive qualities that the experience when they are playing their favorite game. Not many forms of entertainment or interactive.
This is what gives video games their edge. Games are designed specifically with the user in mind, and are programmed in such a way that they evoke a feeling of accomplishment, as well as a strong feeling of satisfaction whenever they are played.
There are several different types of platforms that are available for the game of your choice. Each platform has its pros and cons and it's risen. People usually choose the platform that has more of the types of games that they like to play.
A new factor in the video game industry is online gaming. Gamers want to be able to match their skills with friends and other like minded individuals who are not in the same room as they are. Online gaming allows players to play against each other using a high speed broadband Internet connection that makes for a truly interactive and real estate experience.
Also do not underestimate the talent that the video game industry has recruited. They are known for hiring only the very best when it comes to conceptual design and real estate and programming of their products. Not to mention that salaries within this industry and to be at the higher end of technology salaries. The work is generally considered to be fun and it is definitely profitable.
The video game industry prospers because of one simple model. The customer is always right. Find out what the customer wants and give it to them. If the customer does not like any aspect of the game, then as a modified or remove it. When used a mime think about it this is one of the few industries that acts in this manner. Many industries are really only talk about customer satisfaction and customer feedback but they do an awful job of following through with it.
Digital tablets improve speed and ease of reading for people with moderate vision loss Public release date: 11-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Mary Wade mwade@aao.org 510-725-5677 American Academy of Ophthalmology
Report on devices' potential as visual aids to be presented at the 116th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology
CHICAGO November 11, 2012 People who have eye diseases that damage their central vision can regain the ability to read quickly and comfortably by using digital tablets, according to a recent study. The research found that people with moderate vision loss could increase their reading speed by 15 words-per-minute, on average. Using a tablet with a back-lit screen resulted in the fastest reading speeds for all study participants, no matter what their level of visual acuity. The research is being presented today at the 116th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, jointly conducted this year with the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology.
Loss of central vision affects millions of people who have eye diseases such as macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy, which damage the light-sensitive cells of the eye's retina. The retina relays images to the optic nerve, which transmits them to the brain. When treatments such as eyeglasses, medications, or surgery are no longer effective, ophthalmologists eye medical doctors and surgeons help patients maximize their remaining sight by using low-vision aids. Before digital tablets came along, reading aids were limited to lighted magnifiers, which are cumbersome and inconvenient by comparison.
In the study, which was conducted at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey, researchers found that all of the 100 participants gained at least 42 words-per-minute (WPM) when using the iPad tablet on the 18-point font setting, compared with reading a print book or newspaper. A more modest gain of 12 WPM, on average, was achieved by all subjects when using the Kindle tablet set to 18-point font. Patients with the poorest vision ? defined as 20/40 or worse in both eyes? showed the most improvement in speed when using an iPad or Kindle, compared with print.
The researchers believe the iPad's back-illuminated screen is the key to the significantly improved reading speed achieved by patients with moderate vision loss. The vision factor involved is called contrast sensitivity, which means being able see an object as separate and distinct from its background and to discern shades of gray. Loss of contrast sensitivity is common in people with low vision. The high word/background contrast provided by a back-lit screen is a big plus for such patients. The original Kindle, which used in this study, does not have a back-lit screen.
The study also assessed low vision patients' comfort while reading and found that their preferred mode was linked to their degree of vision loss. People with the worst vision found the iPad most comfortable, while those with the best vision preferred print. This information will be useful to ophthalmologists in advising patients with various degrees of vision loss.
"Reading is a simple pleasure that we often take for granted until vision loss makes it difficult," said Daniel Roth, M.D., an associate clinical professor at Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine who led of the study. "Our findings show that at a relatively low cost, digital tablets can improve the lives of people with vision loss and help them reconnect with the larger world."
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The 116th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology is in session November 10-13 at McCormick Place in Chicago. It is the world's largest, most comprehensive ophthalmic education conference. More than 25,000 attendees and 500 companies gather each year to showcase the latest in ophthalmic education, research, clinical developments, technology, products and services. This year's meeting is being held in partnership with the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology. To learn more about the place Where All of Ophthalmology Meets, visit http://www.aao.org/meetings/annual_meeting/
Note to media: Contact Media Relations to request full text of the study and arrange interviews with experts
About the American Academy of Ophthalmology
The American Academy of Ophthalmology is the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons Eye M.D.s with more than 32,000 members worldwide. Eye health care is provided by the three "O's" ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who can treat it all: eye diseases, infections and injuries, and perform eye surgery. For more information, visit www.aao.org The Academy's EyeSmart program educates the public about the importance of eye health and empowers them to preserve healthy vision. EyeSmart provides the most trusted and medically accurate information about eye diseases, conditions and injuries. OjosSanos is the Spanish-language version of the program. Visit www.geteyesmart.org or www.ojossanos.org to learn more.
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Digital tablets improve speed and ease of reading for people with moderate vision loss Public release date: 11-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Mary Wade mwade@aao.org 510-725-5677 American Academy of Ophthalmology
Report on devices' potential as visual aids to be presented at the 116th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology
CHICAGO November 11, 2012 People who have eye diseases that damage their central vision can regain the ability to read quickly and comfortably by using digital tablets, according to a recent study. The research found that people with moderate vision loss could increase their reading speed by 15 words-per-minute, on average. Using a tablet with a back-lit screen resulted in the fastest reading speeds for all study participants, no matter what their level of visual acuity. The research is being presented today at the 116th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, jointly conducted this year with the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology.
Loss of central vision affects millions of people who have eye diseases such as macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy, which damage the light-sensitive cells of the eye's retina. The retina relays images to the optic nerve, which transmits them to the brain. When treatments such as eyeglasses, medications, or surgery are no longer effective, ophthalmologists eye medical doctors and surgeons help patients maximize their remaining sight by using low-vision aids. Before digital tablets came along, reading aids were limited to lighted magnifiers, which are cumbersome and inconvenient by comparison.
In the study, which was conducted at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey, researchers found that all of the 100 participants gained at least 42 words-per-minute (WPM) when using the iPad tablet on the 18-point font setting, compared with reading a print book or newspaper. A more modest gain of 12 WPM, on average, was achieved by all subjects when using the Kindle tablet set to 18-point font. Patients with the poorest vision ? defined as 20/40 or worse in both eyes? showed the most improvement in speed when using an iPad or Kindle, compared with print.
The researchers believe the iPad's back-illuminated screen is the key to the significantly improved reading speed achieved by patients with moderate vision loss. The vision factor involved is called contrast sensitivity, which means being able see an object as separate and distinct from its background and to discern shades of gray. Loss of contrast sensitivity is common in people with low vision. The high word/background contrast provided by a back-lit screen is a big plus for such patients. The original Kindle, which used in this study, does not have a back-lit screen.
The study also assessed low vision patients' comfort while reading and found that their preferred mode was linked to their degree of vision loss. People with the worst vision found the iPad most comfortable, while those with the best vision preferred print. This information will be useful to ophthalmologists in advising patients with various degrees of vision loss.
"Reading is a simple pleasure that we often take for granted until vision loss makes it difficult," said Daniel Roth, M.D., an associate clinical professor at Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine who led of the study. "Our findings show that at a relatively low cost, digital tablets can improve the lives of people with vision loss and help them reconnect with the larger world."
###
The 116th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology is in session November 10-13 at McCormick Place in Chicago. It is the world's largest, most comprehensive ophthalmic education conference. More than 25,000 attendees and 500 companies gather each year to showcase the latest in ophthalmic education, research, clinical developments, technology, products and services. This year's meeting is being held in partnership with the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology. To learn more about the place Where All of Ophthalmology Meets, visit http://www.aao.org/meetings/annual_meeting/
Note to media: Contact Media Relations to request full text of the study and arrange interviews with experts
About the American Academy of Ophthalmology
The American Academy of Ophthalmology is the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons Eye M.D.s with more than 32,000 members worldwide. Eye health care is provided by the three "O's" ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who can treat it all: eye diseases, infections and injuries, and perform eye surgery. For more information, visit www.aao.org The Academy's EyeSmart program educates the public about the importance of eye health and empowers them to preserve healthy vision. EyeSmart provides the most trusted and medically accurate information about eye diseases, conditions and injuries. OjosSanos is the Spanish-language version of the program. Visit www.geteyesmart.org or www.ojossanos.org to learn more.
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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.
Alan Rodriguez, right, filed a complaint with the city in February 2011 after the Tom Landry Fitness Center refused to issue him and his partner a family membership. (Anna Waugh/Dallas Voice)
The Dallas city attorney?s office has released most of its records related to a complaint against Baylor?s Tom Landry Fitness Center filed under the city?s sexual orientation nondiscrimination ordinance.
After few answers from the city attorney?s office about why we weren?t permitted to view the file a few weeks ago, we were told earlier this week we could view the file, except for some communications that were considered protected by attorney-client privilege. The city has asked the Texas attorney general?s office to review that information and render an opinion about whether it should be released.
In October, the city attorney?s office said the case was closed after officials with Baylor Health Care System agreed to end all family memberships. Alan Rodriguez and his longtime partner were denied a family membership discount in February 2011 because they are a same-sex couple, and they filed a complaint under the ordinance, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in public accommodations.
The city attorney?s office closed the case in exchange for Baylor?s commitment to end all family memberships. But a timeline of when discussions about ending the memberships took place wasn?t provided, nor was it contained in the file we reviewed today.
According to the file, Baylor?s representatives continued to request that the case be dismissed on the grounds that Tom Landry is a private club and a religious organization ? and that Baylor recognizes married couples as outlined by Texas law. The case was sent to the city attorney in mid-June 2011, and the last date on on a request for information from the city attorney?s office is Oct. 19, 2011.
The final investigative report was completed Nov. 3, 2011, and mentioned that Baylor would have to prove a specific membership to be considered a religious organization, and that the ordinance doesn?t protect private clubs, only religious and government entities.
Another same-sex couple tried to get the family discount in early 2010, but a complaint was never filed, the records show. The fitness center had a flawed system for determining whether couples were married before issuing family memberships.
The city took two random samplings of applicants for family memberships at the Fitness Center. The first looked at 30 files and found four couples who had different last names and no documentation of marriage.
According to an affidavit from a Baylor employee who said she reviews memberships and flags them if couples do not have the same last name or address, and if they are not listed as the emergency contact and as a spouse, which appeared to be the only qualifications for the family discount.
Another random sampling of 120 couples who joined from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011 found 19 family memberships and only one that wasn?t consistent with the requirements outlined by Baylor. Further investigation found that the couple had different last names and the woman listed the man as her husband when the man listed the woman as his fianc?e. The couple joined the gym in July but were later married in August.
The report is the last entry in the case file, so the timeline is still unclear for when the decision for Baylor to end family memberships was made after the fitness center was found in violation of the ordinance.
Phil Tyne, director of the Tom Landry Fitness Center, told Dallas Voice in October that the gym had switched to only offering individual memberships three months prior to October but he didn?t know whether the decision was related to the discrimination case, even though he is listed as a respondent on communications from the beginning in the file.
But Melissa Miles, senior assistant attorney with the city?s attorney?s office, told Dallas Voice the next week that officials had met with Baylor and they agreed to end the memberships on Oct. 1 of this year.
Miles said the delay in releasing the Baylor file was due to the fact that her office was reviewing a newly discovered issue related to Texas? Public Information Act. Four years ago, following a request from Dallas Voice, the attorney general?s office issued an opinion saying records related to complaints filed under the nondiscrimination ordinance are public. However, Miles said the opinion didn?t take into consideration the fact that discrimination complaints are class-C misdemeanor criminal investigations.
Miles said according to Texas law, when a criminal case doesn?t result in a conviction or a deferred adjudication, it?s the city?s discretion whether to release related records. In this case the attorney?s office determined there was no reason not to release the file.
?Consistent with how we treat other criminal investigations, we then determined that we would release it. It?s in our discretion ? but we?re releasing it,? Miles said. ?It?s a criminal case. We don?t want to do anything different than we do in every other criminal case, and we just had to run that down.?
? Anna Waugh
Related posts:
UPDATE: City still reviewing complaint of anti-gay discrimination against Baylor-owned gym
Gay couple files discrimination complaint with city of Dallas against Baylor Tom Landry gym
Baylor to fight complaint alleging anti-gay discrimination instead of changing gym policy
Baylor gym ends family memberships, but gay discrimination case still open
22cans' mobile game experiment Curiosity launched on Tuesday, tasking players with the goal of tapping their way to the center of a mysterious cube. However, the game attracted so many players that it's been struggling to keep up with demand over the past few days. Players have been presented with error messages when trying to connect to the game, and in addition a troublesome bug has cropped up resulting in in-game coins disappearing into thin air.
Today the developers took to YouTube to update players on their work to bring Curiosity back to life and fix the remaining bugs. The 22cans team, including head honcho Peter Molyneux, say they've been hard at work over the past few days, living out of the office as they work on the game. No timeframe is mentioned, but Molyneux says as soon as the fixes are in place, the game will become available once again.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? An economic calamity looming, President Barack Obama on Friday signaled willingness to compromise with Republicans, declaring he was not "wedded to every detail" of his tax-and-spending approach to prevent deep and widespread pain in the new year. But he insisted his re-election gave him a mandate to raise taxes on wealthier Americans.
"The majority of Americans agree with my approach," said Obama, brimming with apparent confidence in his first White House statement since securing a second term.
Trouble is, the Republicans who run the House plainly do not agree with his plans. Speaker John Boehner insisted that raising tax rates as Obama wants "will destroy jobs in America."
So began the "fiscal cliff" political maneuvering that will determine which elected power center ? the White House or the House ? bends more on its promises to voters. The outcome will affect tens of millions of Americans, given that the tax hikes and budgets cuts set to kick in Jan. 1 could spike unemployment and bring on a new recession.
An exhausting presidential race barely history, Washington was back quickly to governing on deadline, with agreement on a crucial goal but divisions on how to get there. The campaign is over, but another has just begun.
The White House quickly turned Obama's comments into an appeal for public support, shipping around a video by email and telling Americans that "this debate can either stay trapped in Washington or you can make sure your friends and neighbors participate."
Obama invited the top four leaders of Congress to the White House next week for talks, right before he departs on a trip to Asia.
In laying their negotiating markers, all sides sought to leave themselves wiggle room.
"I don't want to box myself in. I don't want to box anybody else in," Boehner said at the Capitol.
Outside all the new the talk of openness, the same hard lines seemed in place.
Obama never expressly said that tax rates on top earners must return to the higher levels of the Bill Clinton era, leading to speculation that he was willing to soften the core position of his re-election campaign to get a grand debt deal with Republicans. "I'm not wedded to every detail of my plan. I'm open to compromise," he said.
But his spokesman, Jay Carney, seemed to slam that door. He said Obama would veto any extension Congress might approve of tax cuts on incomes above $250,000.
Obama's remarks were choreographed so that a diverse-looking group of Americans stood behind him and dozens more were invited to pack the East Room. In the weeks ahead, he plans to pull in the public as a way to pressure Congress.
"I am not going to ask students and seniors and middle class families to pay down the entire deficit while people like me, making over $250,000, aren't asked to pay a dime more in taxes. I'm not going to do that," said Obama.
He said voters plainly agreed with his approach that both tax hikes and spending cuts are needed to cut the debt.
"Our job now is to get a majority in Congress to reflect the will of the American people," Obama said.
About 60 percent of voters said in exit polls Tuesday that taxes should increase, either for everyone or those making over $250,000. Left unsaid by Obama was that even more voters opposed raising taxes to help cut the deficit.
The scheduled year-end changes, widely characterized as a dangerous "fiscal cliff," include a series of expiring tax cuts that were approved in the George W. Bush administration. The other half of the problem is a set of punitive across-the-board spending cuts, looming only because partisan panel of lawmakers failed to reach a debt deal.
Put together, they could mean the loss of roughly 3 million jobs.
Since the election, Boehner and Obama have both responded to the reality that they need each other.
Compromise has become mandatory if the two leaders are to avoid economic harm and the wrath of a public sick of government dysfunction.
Obama says he is willing to talk about changes to Medicare and Medicaid, earning him the ire of the left. Boehner says he will accept raising tax revenue and not just slashing spending, although he insists it must be done by reworking the tax code, not raising rates. The framework, at least, is there for a broad deal on taxes.
Yet the top Democrat and Republican in the nation are trying to put the squeeze on each other as the public waits for answers.
"This is his opportunity to lead," Boehner said of Obama, not long before the president said: "All we need is action from the House."
Obama said the uncertainty now spooking investors and employers will be shrunk if Congress extends ? quickly ? the tax cuts for all those except the most-well off.
The Senate has passed such a bill. The House showed no interest on Friday in Obama's idea.
Obama and Republicans have tangled over the Bush tax cuts for years. The president gave in to Republican demands to extend the cuts across the board in 2010, but he ran for re-election on a pledge to allow the rates to increase on families making more than $250,000 a year.
Also lurking is the expiration of the nation's debt limit in the coming weeks. The last fight on that nearly led the United States to default on its bills.
When asked if he would try to use that issue as leverage, Boehner said it must be addressed "sooner rather than later."
The national debt now stands above $16 trillion. The government borrowed about 31 cents of every dollar it spent in 2012.
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Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor, Donna Cassata, Julie Pace, Matthew Daly, Jim Kuhnhenn and Ken Thomas contributed to this report.
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Follow Ben Feller on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BenFellerDC
As Christmas approaches and with it the annual upsurge in travel associated with the festive season, the Department of Health is reminding both residents and visitors of the need for adequate insurance when travelling, even if travelling only to the UK and especially if travelling further afield.
Although the Reciprocal Health Agreement between the Isle of Man and UK Governments allows for free emergency healthcare, it does not cover repatriation, meaning that appropriate insurance cover is recommended for Isle of Man residents visiting the UK, and UK residents visiting the Isle of Man.
Minister for Health, David Anderson MHK said: ?Despite the high profile publicity surrounding the renegotiation of the reciprocal health agreement in 2009/10, many people still don?t realise that repatriation is not covered in the agreement, and that it never has been. This means that if an Isle of Man resident receives emergency treatment in the UK whilst on holiday there, transport back to the Island, from a simple ferry journey with a broken leg, to an air ambulance ? which for those in a critical condition can cost as much ?20,000 ? would need to be paid for either by insurance cover, or by the patient themselves. This is why it?s so vitally important that every single person leaving the Island ensures that they have adequate cover. The same is true for visitors to our shores as well. Whilst we would provide free emergency care for UK residents, they would be returned to the UK if on-going care was required, with transportation paid for either by their insurance or from their own funds.?
The Department of Health has recently published revised guidance, with a leaflet available for Isle of Man residents visiting the UK and further afield; and another for non-residents visiting the Island.
The Minister continued: ?It?s important that people remember that the Isle of Man and the UK are two separate jurisdictions, with two separate healthcare systems. Despite our continued efforts to raise awareness and educate the public, it seems clear that some people remain unaware of the need for adequate insurance. There may also be a number of people who feel that the likelihood of anything happening to them is slim and therefore decide that it?s worth taking the risk of not having insurance. But the message from government is clear and simple ? make sure you?re insured. We are unable to intervene or financially assist anyone who finds themselves caught out by not having adequate cover. In short, unless it?s for a referral to a UK hospital by the Department, government cannot and will not pay to transport residents back from the UK; just as we wouldn?t be pay to transport a resident back from the United States or Spain. I implore everyone travelling off-Island to seek out adequate cover for repatriation, or check with their existing provider on repatriation cover between the Isle of Man and the UK. I would also encourage everyone to read the information recently published by the Department, which can be downloaded from our website.?
The Department is also emphasising the importance of Isle of Man residents having full travel insurance when travelling outside of the UK. As the Isle of Man is not a member of the European Union (EU), the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) ? formerly known as Form 111 ? which affords EU residents limited healthcare cover in other EU countries, does not apply to Isle of Man residents, or EU residents visiting the Isle of Man.
Whilst the Department of Health cannot recommend any specific insurance policy providers; local brokers and insurance providers are likely to be able to source or offer appropriate cover. With all insurance policies it is important to fully check the terms and conditions and for residents to make their needs clear to the insurance provider. Pre-existing medical conditions should always be fully disclosed as failure to do so can void cover.
Further information is available from the Department of Health?s website at www.gov.im/health/travel.xml or hard copies are available upon request by telephoning 685004 or e-mailing dh@gov.im.
Tags: Department of Health, Off-Island travel insurance, Reciprocal Health Agreement
WASHINGTON (AP) ? New Pentagon details show that the first U.S. military unit arrived in Libya more than 14 hours after the attack on the consulate in Benghazi was over and four Americans, including the ambassador, were dead.
A Defense Department timeline obtained by The Associated Press underscores how far the military response lagged behind the Sept. 11 attack, due largely to the long distances the commando teams had to travel to get to Libya.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and his top military adviser were notified of the attack about 50 minutes after it began and were about to head into a previously scheduled meeting with President Barack Obama. The meeting quickly turned into a discussion of potential responses to the unfolding situation in Benghazi, where militants had surrounded the consulate and set it on fire. The first wave of the attack at the consulate lasted less than two hours.
Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed in the attack. Intelligence, State Department and military officials have released details on the response in an effort to answer Republican criticism that the administration was holding back what it knew about the assault and when.
Panetta and other defense officials have repeatedly said that they did not have armed aircraft or military teams near Benghazi that could have gotten there quickly.
In a letter to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Friday, Panetta specifically addressed the claim that the military could have dispatched armed unmanned aerial vehicles, AC-130 gunships or fighter jets to thwart the attack. Such aircraft were not in the region and not an effective option, he said.
Panetta said that based on a continuous evaluation of threats, military forces were spread around Europe and the Middle East to deal with a variety of missions. In the months before the attack, he noted, "several hundred reports were received indicating possible threats to U.S. facilities around the world" and noted that there was no advance notice of imminent threats to U.S. personnel or facilities in Benghazi.
The attack began at about 9:40 p.m. local time in Benghazi. Less than 20 minutes later, the U.S. military began moving an unarmed drone to a position over Benghazi, so it could provide real time intelligence to the CIA team on the ground. The CIA team went to aid the Americans at the consulate. The drone arrived shortly after 11 p.m. By 11:30 p.m., a CIA team was able to get all the Americans out of the compound.
As that was happening, Panetta and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, left the Oval Office and went into a series of meetings in the Pentagon with senior leaders to discuss how to respond to the Benghazi attack and assess the potential for other outbreaks of violence in the region.
Between midnight and 2 a.m., Panetta began to issue verbal orders, telling two Marine anti-terrorism teams based in Rota, Spain, to prepare to deploy to Libya, and he ordered a special operations force team in Central Europe and a special operations force team in the U.S. to prepare to deploy to a staging base in Europe.
As the military units begin moving, just before dawn, a CIA base less than a mile away came under attack and five mortars were fired at the building. Two missed, but three hit, killing two CIA security officers who were on the roof.
The Americans fired back and soon fled the CIA base for the airport. By 10 a.m., they have flown out, heading to Tripoli. Shortly after 7 p.m., the Americans are flown out of Tripoli on a military aircraft.
Not until just before 8 p.m., however, did the first U.S. military unit arrive in the region, as the special operations team landed at the staging base in Europe. An hour later, the Marine team landed in Tripoli.
"The U.S. Armed Forces did everything they were in position to do to respond to the attack in Benghazi," Panetta said in the letter, obtained by The Associated Press. "The department's senior leaders and I spared no effort to save the lives of our American colleagues, as we worked to bolster security in response to a series of other threats in the region occurring at the same time."
Rob Moore
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Public release date: 11-Nov-2012
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