Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/movie-week-in-review-the-host-with-the-most/
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Sunday, March 31, 2013
BJP in India could name controversial politician their prime ministerial candidate
On Sunday, India's Bharatiya Janata Party elevated Narendra Modi to the party's top decision-making bodies. Narendra has been accused of ignoring or stoking violence between Hindus and Muslims.
Gujarat state Chief Minister Narendra Modi waves to supporters in Ahmadabad, India in September 2011. On Sunday, the opposition BJP, which has resisted naming a prime ministerial candidate from among its many leaders, began coalescing around Modi, the successful and deeply polarizing politician.
Ajit Solanki/AP/File
EnlargeThe main opposition Hindu nationalist party on Sunday elevated Narendra Modi, a deeply divisive figure in Indian politics, to the party's top decision-making bodies, with his supporters believing he could become prime minister in national elections next year.
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However, Rajnath Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party president, did not name Modi as the party's prime ministerial candidate, apparently because of opposition from some allies.
Smriti Irani, a BJP vice president, said the party would make a decision on the issue later. It is not known when the party will announce its candidate. The elections are due in May 2014.
On Sunday, Modi was made a member of the BJP's parliamentary board and the central election committee, which will select candidates and lead the election campaign.
Modi, 62, currently heads the BJP government in western Gujarat state. For more than a decade, he has worked relentlessly to market the idea of Gujarat state as a business-friendly state and become a hero to a generation of businessmen.
Modi says he has transformed his state, bringing it industries, jobs, electricity and water in a country where power outages and joblessness are epidemic.
However, Modi is accused by rights groups and survivors of not doing enough to stop the violence and even stoking it when marauding mobs of Hindus killed and burned their way through Muslim neighborhoods in Gujarat state in 2001, leaving more than 1,100 people dead. He was never charged with a crime.
The riots began in February 2002 when a train filled with Hindu pilgrims was attacked by a Muslim mob in a small Gujarat town. A fire erupted ? it remains unclear whether it was arson ? and 60 Hindus burned to death. In retaliation, Muslims were attacked across the state. Since that bloodletting, Modi has ruled over a state sharply divided along religious lines.
In 2005, the U.S. State Department denied a visa to Modi under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, which bars people responsible for violations of religious freedom from getting a visa.
The Congress party, which has led India's national government for the past nine years, has seen its position dramatically weakened in recent years, its reputation battered by clumsy political maneuvering, weak leadership and a seemingly endless stream of corruption scandals.
The BJP is expected to pose a strong challenge to the Congress party in the 2014 elections.
Kapil Sibal, a Congress party leader and telecommunications minister, said Sunday that the elevation of a controversial leader would pose a serious challenge to the BJP in the run-up to the elections.
Dangerous fitness: Beware of bad personal trainers | Body Health ...
Hiring a personal trainer ??n b? ?r??t f?r ???r health. B?t th?r? ?r? n? state ?r federal safety regulations someone m??t meet before h? ?r ?h? ??n claim th?? ?r? qualified ?n th? health ?n? fitness field.
G?t fit, n?t h?rt
Wh?t?s worse, ?t ??m? gyms ? b??-name health clubs included ? ??? ??? need ?? a high school diploma t? ??t hired. A? a consumer, ?t?s ?m??rt?nt t? know h?w t? hire a personal trainer ?n? avoid th? ones th?t ?r? potentially hazardous t? ???r health.
Wh?t t? look f?r ?n a personal trainer
T? m?k? sure ???r personal trainer ?? ?n th? up-?n?-up, here?s wh?t ??? ?h???? look f?r.
Credentials
A?k ???r personal trainer wh?r? h? ?r ?h? w?nt t? school ?r wh?t certification training program h? ?r ?h? completed. D?? h? take proper safety ?n? technique training courses? I? ?h? knowledgeable ?n training protocols f?r ???r particular fitness goals? Don?t assume th?t a trainer without a degree ?n kinesiology ?r exercise science isn?t f?r ???, h?w???r. Th?r? ?r? several quality certifying personal training programs ?n th? US ? ?h???? a trainer wh? h?? b??n certified fr?m th? m??t reputable. Th??? include th? American College ?f Sports Medicine (ACSM), th? American Council ?n Exercise (ACE), th? National Academy ?f Sports Medicine (NASM) ?n? th? National Strength ?n? Conditioning Association (NSCA).
first aid kitSafety
A?? personal trainers ?h???? b? certified ?n CPR. Th?? ?h???? ???? know h?w (?n? wh?n) t? ??? th? m??t basic medical tools, ??k? a puffer, ?? well ?? wh?t t? ?? ?n cases ?f injury ?r medical conditions, such ?? low blood sugar, fainting, heart palpitations, etc. If ??? h??? a medical condition, b? sure t? partner w?th a fitness expert wh? knows h?w t? respond t? ???r particular condition.
Experience
Th? first thing ??? ?h???? ??k a personal trainer ?? h?w long h? ?r ?h? h?? b??n practicing. H?w many clients ???? ?h? h???? H?w long h??? clients stayed w?th h?m ?n? wh? ??? ??m? ?t?? working w?th h?m? H?? ?h? won ?n? awards ?r b??n recognized f?r outstanding work? Th?? w??? give ??? a better ???? ?f ???r potential trainer?s background ?n? whether h? ?r ?h? ?? passionate ?b??t th? job.
Leadership
Wh?n ??? work w?th a personal trainer ??? ?h???? feel confident ?n? comfortable. A ???? trainer w??? encourage ???, h??? ??? meet ???r goals ?n? work w?th ??? t? overcome ?n? obstacles ??? m?? face ? wh??? taking ???r limitations ?n? health ?nt? account.
Knowledge
Wh?n ????re training, ????re going t? want t? work w?th someone wh? ?? knowledgeable ?n th? areas ??? want t? focus ?n. F?r example, ?f ????re a bodybuilder, ??? ?h???? look f?r a personal trainer wh? knows weights ?n? specialized workouts. If ????re really ?nt? rock climbing, ????re going t? want t? work w?th a fitness professional wh??s b??n a rock climber. Th? same applies t? ?th?r sports ?r activities.
Beware ?f ??n??r??? personal trainers
M??t trainers ?r? qualified ?n? competent, b?t th?r? ?r? those wh? ?r? underqualified ?r m?? b? qualified b?t n?t ??t out f?r th? job. Listen t? ???r gut wh?n working w?th a fitness professional. If something ???t doesn?t feel r??ht, ?t probably isn?t. B?t th?r? ?r? ???? ??m? signs th?t ??n indicate ??? m?? b? working w?th a personal trainer wh? ????? harm, r?th?r th?n h???, ???r health.
Y??r trainer doesn?t ?n?w?r ???r q???t??n?. If ??? ??k a q???t??n, a ???? personal trainer ?h???? b? ?b?? t? respond w?th a wealth ?f knowledge ?r suggestions. If h? ??n?t ? ?n? doesn?t offer t? research ???r q???t??n ?n? ??t back t? ??? ? something ????? b? amiss.
Y??r trainer doesn?t listen t? ??? wh?n ??? ??? n?. If ??? ?t?rt complaining ?b??t pain ?r exhaustion ?n ???r muscles ?r joints, a ???? personal trainer w??? t??? ??? t? ???w down ?r ?t??. If ?h? doesn?t ?n? m?k?? ??? push through th? pain, ??? ????? ??t seriously h?rt. Find another trainer.
Y??r trainer doesn?t provide enough encouragement. A personal trainer ?h???? offer positive reinforcement t? h??? ??? t? reach ???r goals. If ???r trainer isn?t ???r b?????t cheerleader ?r worse, ?? demeaning ?n? m?k?? ??? feel ??k? a failure, find a n?w one.
Y??r trainer offers unsolicited health advice ?r supplements. If f?r ?n? reason a personal trainer tries t? sell ??? ?n supplements, whether offered b? th? gym ?r those th?t ?h? personally sells, b? wary. Unless a personal trainer ?? a qualified doctor, holistic practitioner ?r nutritionist, ?h? ?h???? n?t b? offering medical advice. An? w?th th? potential danger ?f weight loss supplements th?t contain potent stimulants, ??? ??f?n?t??? want t? steer clear ?f shady advice fr?m someone wh? isn?t qualified t? prescribe medications ?r supplements.
Y??r trainer seems distracted. Gyms ?r? loud places. If a personal trainer gets distracted easily ?r pays more attention t? h?? cell phone ?r ?th?r people, ?t m?? b? time t? find ?n attentive trainer t? work w?th. Y?? need ?n? deserve h?? undivided attention wh?n working w?th weights ?n? machines ?r wh??? performing ?th?r exercises.
H?w t? find a qualified personal trainer
If ??? ?? th? research before hiring someone, finding a personal trainer th?t?s qualified ?? easy. Here ?r? ??m? simple suggestions.
1 G?t referrals
W? listen t? th? advice ?f ??r friends ?n? family wh?n th?? suggest a hairdresser ?r doctor, ?? wh? n?t a personal trainer? Th??r suggestions ????? point ??? t? a gym ?r fitness club th?t offers th? kind ?f training ????re looking f?r.
2 Watch personal trainers ?t ???r gym
B? watching h?w a trainer interacts w?th clients, ????ll ??t a pretty ???? ???? ?f h?w h? w???? work w?th ???. In particular, look f?r trainers wh? ?r? working w?th people wh? share ???r fitness goals.
3 Check out professional organizations
Th? ACSM, ACE ?n? NSCA ??? offer listings f?r personal trainers ?n ???r area.
4 Book a trial appointment
A ???? personal trainer ?h???? b? ?b?? t? sit down ?n? talk w?th ??? before ??? sign ?n. Sh? ?h???? ???? b? ?b?? t? walk ??? through a typical training routine. Many health clubs offer complementary personal training sessions ?? ??rt ?f th? membership
5 Talk t? th? fitness director ?t ???r health club
If ???r health club h?? a long list ?f trainers, ?t m?? b? difficult t? ?h???? wh??h one ?? r??ht f?r ???. Talk t? th? fitness director ?b??t ???r health ?n? fitness goals ?n? h??? h?r pair ??? w?th a ???? match ?n a personal trainer. An? don?t b? afraid t? ??k f?r another referral ?f ??? don?t hit ?t ?ff w?th th?t particular trainer.
6 Don?t expect miracles
One ?f th? common complaints fr?m trainers ?? th?t ??m? clients expect miracle results, th?n blame th??r trainer f?r n?t being qualified enough t? h??? th?m reach th??r unrealistic goals. Even th? best personal trainers ??n?t deliver overnight results ??k? losing 30 pounds ?n a week ?r dropping six dress sizes ?n two weeks; th?? really ??n?t h??? ??? reach ???r goals ?f ??? ?r? overeating, drinking t?? many calories ?r rarely exercising outside ?f ???r appointments. B? reasonable ?b??t ???r goals ?n? take responsibility f?r ???r ??rt ?f th? program. M?k? sure ??? follow a healthy diet, hydrate properly, ??t adequate sleep ?n? round out ???r personal training sessions w?th workouts ?f ???r ?wn.
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Source: http://mybodyhealth.net/dangerous-fitness-beware-of-bad-personal-trainers/
Tech firms bumping up perks to recruit, retain
Google bicycles are shown at the Google campus in Mountain View, Calif., Friday, March 15, 2013. Companies say extraordinary campuses are a necessity, to recruit and retain top talent, and to spark innovation and creativity in the workplace. And there are business benefits and financial results for companies that keep their workers happy. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Google bicycles are shown at the Google campus in Mountain View, Calif., Friday, March 15, 2013. Companies say extraordinary campuses are a necessity, to recruit and retain top talent, and to spark innovation and creativity in the workplace. And there are business benefits and financial results for companies that keep their workers happy. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Google employees shoot pool at in a break room at the Google campus in Mountain View, Calif., Friday, March 15, 2013. Companies say extraordinary campuses are a necessity, to recruit and retain top talent, and to spark innovation and creativity in the workplace. And there are business benefits and financial results for companies that keep their workers happy. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Future of Talent Institute founder and chairman Kevin Wheeler speaks during an interview at an office space in San Mateo, Calif., Friday, March 15, 2013. Companies say extraordinary campuses are a necessity, to recruit and retain top talent, and to spark innovation and creativity in the workplace. Wheeler, whose Future of Talent Institute researches and consults on human resources for Silicon Valley businesses, says the mega-complexes being built today will be hard to staff ten years from now, and that the next era will see smaller workplaces where employers are responsible for meeting achievements and objectives, and have flexibility about when they come in to their office. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Google software engineer Jiang Chen campus sits in a massage chair at a Google campus building in Mountain View, Calif., Friday, March 15, 2013. Companies say extraordinary campuses are a necessity, to recruit and retain top talent, and to spark innovation and creativity in the workplace. And there are business benefits and financial results for companies that keep their workers happy. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
A Google employee plugs in a Google owned car next to a bicycle at the Google campus in Mountain View, Calif., Friday, March 15, 2013. Companies say extraordinary campuses are a necessity, to recruit and retain top talent, and to spark innovation and creativity in the workplace. And there are business benefits and financial results for companies that keep their workers happy. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) ? Apple's ring-shaped, gleaming "Spaceship Headquarters" will include a world class auditorium and an orchard for engineers to wander. Google's new Bay View campus will feature walkways angled to force accidental encounters. Facebook, while putting final touches on a Disney-inspired campus including a Main Street with a B-B-Q shack, sushi house and bike shop, is already planning an even larger, more exciting new campus.
More than ever before, Silicon Valley firms want their workers at work.
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has gone so far as to ban working from home, and many more offer prodigious incentives for coming in to the office, such as free meals, massages and gyms.
This spring, as the tech industry is soaring out of the Great Recession, plans are in the works for a flurry of massive, perk-laden headquarters.
"We're seeing the mature technology companies trying to energize their work environments, getting rid of cube farms and investing in facilities to compete for talent," said Kevin Schaeffer, a principal at architecture and design firm Gensler in San Jose. "That's caused a huge transition in the way offices are laid out."
New Silicon Valley headquarters or expansions are under way at most of the area's major firms, including eBay, Intel, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia and Oracle. Many will be huge: Apple Corp.'s 176-acre campus will be one of the world's largest workplaces. On the outside, many of the new buildings boast striking architectural designs and will collectively be among the most environmentally friendly in the country. Inside, there are walls you can draw on, ping pong tables, Lego stations, gaming arcades and free haircuts.
Critics say that while some workplace perks and benefits are a good thing, the large, multibillion dollar corporate headquarters are colossal wastes of money that snub the pioneering technology these firms actually create.
"Companies led by older management tend to be very controlling, but when I look at people in the 20s or 30s, they're totally capable of working on their own and being productive," said Kevin Wheeler, whose Future of Talent Institute researches and consults on human resources for Silicon Valley businesses. "To have artificial structures that require everybody to be in the office at certain hours of the day is simply asinine."
Wheeler said he thinks Yahoo called everyone back to work "because they had gotten into a culture of laziness," and that the firm will likely loosen the restrictions soon.
Yahoo was, in fact, an early model of Silicon Valley's happy workplace culture, touting their espresso bar and inspirational speakers as a method of inspiring passion and originality. Today yoga, cardio-kickboxing and golf classes at the office, as well as discounts to ski resorts and theme parks, help it receive top ratings as one of America's happiest workplaces.
Companies say extraordinary campuses are necessary to recruit and retain top talent and to spark innovation and creativity.
And there are business benefits and financial results for companies that keep their workers happy. The publicly traded 100 Best Companies To Work For in America consistently outperform major stock indices and have more qualified job applicants and higher productivity, according to the San Francisco-based Great Place to Work Institute. That may not always be obvious, however.
"People do work really, really hard here," Facebook spokesman Slater Tow said as an engineer glided past a row of second floor conference rooms on a skateboard. "They have to be passionate about what they do. If they're not, we would rather someone who is."
He points out the Jumbotron frame for outdoor movies, the Nacho Royale taqueria, a bank branch with tellers standing by, an artist in residence. Traditional benefits are part of the Silicon Valley packages as well. Facebook offers free train passes, a shuttle to work, a month of paid vacation, full health care and stock options.
Facebook staffers are welcome to stop by and play in Ben Barry's Analog Research Laboratory, a large, sunlit studio with laser cutters, woodworking tools, a letter press machine and silk screening supplies.
"I believe if people feel they can control their environment, that leads to a greater sense of ownership over the product," says Barry, who makes posters for the campus walls with mantras like "What would you do if you weren't afraid?" and "Move fast and break things."
About six miles north at Google's headquarters, workers on one of more than 1,000 Google-designed bikes rolled from one building to another. Others stepped into electric cars, available for free check outs if someone has an errand. In one office, two young engineers enjoyed a beer and shot pool.
Google doesn't want its Googlers to have to worry about distractions in their life.
Concerned about the kids? Childcare is on campus. Need to shop and cook? Have the family dine at Google. Dirty laundry piling up? Bring it in to the office. Bring Fido too, so he doesn't get lonely. There's a climbing wall, nap pods (lay down in the capsule, set the alarm, zzzzz), a bowling alley, multiple gyms, a variety of healthy cafes, mini kitchens, and classes on anything from American Sign Language to Public Speaking. In a shared, community garden, Googlers plant seeds, knowing that if they get too busy, a landscaper will pull their weeds.
The company has no policy requiring people to be at work. But officials say Googlers want to come in.
"We work hard to create the healthiest, happiest and most productive work environments possible that inspire collaboration and innovation," said spokeswoman Katelin Todhunter-Gerberg.
Wheeler says the mega-complexes being built today will be hard to staff 10 years from now, and that the next era will see smaller workplaces where employees are responsible for meeting achievements and objectives, and have flexibility about when they come in to their office.
"When you look at how some of these companies operate, they're in effect, sweat shops. ... They want 80, 90, 100 hours of work. In order to even make that tolerable, of course you have to offer haircuts and food and places to sleep or else people would have to go home," he said.
___
Follow AP National Writer Martha Mendoza at http://www.twitter.com/mendozamartha
Associated PressUS Patent And Trademark Office Denies Apple's iPad Mini Trademark Application, Deemed ?Merely Descriptive?
Right after it launched the iPad mini, Apple filed a trademark application for the name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). As Patently Apple noticed earlier today, however, the USPTO has now refused Apple’s trademark filing because, the reviewer argues, “the applied-for mark merely describes a feature or characteristic of applicant?s goods.” The refusal was mailed to Apple on January 24, but only made public in the last few days. “The applied-for mark merely describes a feature or characteristic of applicant?s goods.” The word ‘mini,’ the reviewer argues, just describes that the iPad mini is indeed “a small sized handheld tablet computer” and just describes the mini’s features. It is not, the reviewing attorney says, “a unitary mark with a unique, incongruous, or otherwise nondescriptive meaning in relation to the goods and/or services.” The USPTO would only grant apple the trademark to the full iPad mini name if the company coulhow that the word ‘mini’ has now acquired a “distinctiveness.” In addition, Patently Apple also notes, the reviewer also denied the application because Apple should have provided the USPTO with a specimen other than its own product website, even though Apple always uses these for its trademark applications and this was never a reason for a denial before. The reviewer also believes that there is a “likelihood of confusion” between Apple’s existing iPad trademarks and this new iPad? mini application, which, to be honest, doesn’t make a lot of sense. Here is the letter the USPTO sent to Apple in January: USPTO Refuses Apple’s iPad mini Trademark ApplicationSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/xL16BBltNvs/
Thinking, Reading, Writing, and Speaking Skills Are Better ...
Six years ago, the video ?Shift Happens? (2007) was featured at our school?s professional development day. I clearly remember one take-away:
We are currently preparing students for jobs that don?t exist using technologies that do not exist in order to solve problems we don?t even know are problems yet.
The video was created by Karl Fisch, and modified by Scott McLeod.?The slides provided statistics on the rapid exponential growth in population and in information, highlighting the differences between the present and what was successful in the past, specifically England?s position on the world stage in 1900. Several slides are alarming in calling attention to the building tsunami of information available to students with examples such as ? there is more information in a week?s worth of the?The New York Times?than what an average person knew in the 1700s?. Since 2007, there have been several updated versions of ?Shift Happens? uploaded to YouTube; there have also been many imitations.
I thought of this video this week when I drove past a sign on a large office building: Strategic Information Technologies.
?What does that mean?? I asked my friend Catherine, ?Is the technology stategic because of geography? Strategic because of a choice of software or hardware?? I continued, ?I don?t know what a ?strategic information technologist? does?Is this one of the unknown new jobs were are ?preparing? our 21st Century students to take?? I referenced the video.
?That?s ridiculous!? Catherine responded, ?The people who ?prepared? us for the 21st Century were not worried about what new jobs would be?available?in our future. In fact,? she continued, ?they taught us what they knew?what they thought we should know, and we are doing just fine.?
I was startled. Could a ?Shift Happens? video place a misguided emphasis on adjusting skills and content in order to prepare students for the unidentified problems they?don?t even know are problems yet?
?After all,? she continued, ?We are the generation that created these new technologies that we didn?t know would exist today.?
When I reflect on her statement I think about how my favorite teachers in grades K-12 ?(Sister Ella, Mrs. Rowland, Miss Montessi) were not obsessed with preparing me for some unidentified job in the future. Instead, their collective obsession was to prepare me with basic skills and content so that I could be a productive member of?society? I was taught to think, to read well, write well, speak well, know math, appreciate history, recognize science, and, since I attended Catholic school, recite my?Catechism.
Perhaps, educators cannot predict the future for their students, but educators can address trends. For example, in 1957, the American public began to reconsider how the role of public education may contribute to winning the Space Race with the Soviets once Sputnik had been released. The investments in education made as a consequence resulted in increased scientific advancements and many spin-off technologies. In contrast, however, predictions such as those at the?1964 NY World?s Fair of a future with flying cars, jet packs, vacation trips to Mars and beyond, underwater cities, and robot laborers have never came to fruition.
Similarly, Karl Fisch?s video alerted educators to the rapid changes in education and the global implications in preparing students for the real world. He wrote:
??it?s a different world out there. A world whereanyone?s?ideas can quickly spread if they happen to strike a chord.?
This was certainly true of the ?Shift Happens? video which had great success without??a large company or a huge public relations effort to make an impact.? Fisch continued:
This is just one of the reasons that I believe our schools need to change. They need to change to reflect this new world, this flatter world, this information-abundant, globally connected, rapidly changing, technology super-charged world that they are going to spend the rest of their lives in.
Fisch made no silly ?predictions? like those at the NY World?s Fair. Instead, his video served to bring attention to trends that require an increase in the skills of ?communication and sharing information.
In order to communicate and to share, students from grades K-12 must think, read well, write well, and speak well regardless as to what predictions are being made about new industries or technologies.?In trying to anticipate the future, educators must not discount how the generations of students who learned these important skills became the graduates who are now responsible for evolving changes of the present.
Shift is not an entirely new enterprise on the world stage, for example, ?the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Reformation, the Industrial Revolution are all examples of global ?shifts?. In the six short years since the ?Shift Happens? video, Facebook has replaced MySpace as the world?s most?formidable?social network; Twitter has evolved into a powerful communication tool. The role of educators is not ?to predict the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates or company that will spawn new jobs or dominate an industry or the next ?shift?. Instead, the role of educators must be to teach the skills of thinking, reading, writing, and speaking well that contributed to the ?shift? that is happening for our students.
There is no surprise that ?Shift Happens?, and the students who are prepared to think, to read well, to write well, and to speak well will not be surprised either.
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Easter bunny horror stories: Resist the urge to give rabbits, ducks, chicks
Easter bunny horror stories are a post holiday tradition, say animal control officials across the US. The cute gifts ? rabbits, ducks, chicks ? suddenly get abandoned or maltreated because they were impulse buys. Pubescent bunny behavior is not cute; and the foul mess can be a rude surprise.
Easter bunny horror stories are a post-Easter tradition in the US, say animal control and rescue officials who see an uptick in abandoned rabbits, ducklings, and chicks at Easter and advise against impulse buys. A Muscovy duck named Quasimodo watches two Pekin ducks play in a pool at The Lucky Duck Rescue & Sanctuary in Sun Valley, Calif., August 2011.
Lydia Yasuda/AP
EnlargeFor Easter, when Lindsay Durfee?s sister-in-law Kelly was young and sweet and wide-eyed, her parents bought her a team of ducklings. Kelly and her family, Ms. Durfee says, lived on a lake in Orlando, Fla., populated with different species of wildlife.?
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So, shouldering a video camera to record it, young Kelly marched her Easter ducklings to the water like a drum major. But nature was ahead of her: before she and the ducks reached the edge of the lake, a large bird ? probably a heron? swooped down and made off with a duckling by its neck. The gory detail of what happened next is PG-13; but suffice to say, says Durfee, the videotape captured it and Kelly's scream.?
?It's one of those stories that comes up every year,? Durfee wrote in an e-mail to the Monitor. To this day, says Durfee, "My husband and I laugh until we cry over how appalling it is!??
Pet horror stories are a staple of the post-Easter season in the United States, day animal control and rescue officials. The Easter holiday brings out the duckling, chick, and baby bunny lovers in people. They make an impulse buy, the recipient goes wild with joy for a day, but the honeymoon soon ends and parents scramble to surrender the animals.
Animal rescue staff, traditionally inundated with calls from regretful parents immediately following Easter, are asking consumers to stop and think before buying an animal for Easter, and with good reason.
If, and it?s a big if, the animal doesn?t die from all that Easter excitement, now there?s a growing and soon-to-be mature duck, chicken (worse, a rooster), and rabbit on your hands.
A pubescent rabbit is not one to cuddle. Females are prone to running in circles, lunging, and grunting, says Anne Martin, shelter director for House Rabbit Society?s headquarters in Richmond, Calif. And if you purchased a male? ?The boys will spray urine ... all over the place,? says Ms. Martin, who owns six rabbits and adds that a mature rabbit is a fantastic pet. But they can be quite alarming for a new pet owner whose supplier did not warn them.
Suppliers are also known for selling bunnies that have been taken away from their mothers too soon, says Mary Cotter, vice president of the House Rabbit Society. ???
Ducklings and chicks have their own drawbacks, says Susie Coston director of the Farm Sanctuary shelter.
Like bunnies, ducklings and chicks are extremely fragile. If a child plays with them like a toy instead of fine china, they are likely to die from over-handling, Ms. Coston says.
Wichita State upsets OSU 70-66 for Final Four trip
Wichita State's Carl Hall (22) and teammates pose with the regional trophy after defeating Ohio State 70-66 in the West Regional final in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Wichita State's Carl Hall (22) and teammates pose with the regional trophy after defeating Ohio State 70-66 in the West Regional final in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Wichita State's Carl Hall, right rear, Fred Van Vleet, left, and Demetric Williams celebrate their team's 70-66 win over Ohio State in the West Regional final in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall celebrates after Wichita State defeated Ohio State 70-66 in the West Regional final in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Wichita State players react to a field goal scored against Ohio State during the second half of the West Regional final in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Wichita State's Carl Hall, rear, and Malcolm Armstead, right, break up a scoring attempt by Ohio State forward Evan Ravenel (30) during the first half of the West Regional final in the NCAA mens' college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Cleanthony Early kept stealing glances down at the hat in his hands while he waited for his turn to climb the stepladder, scissors in hand. The Wichita State forward seemed stunned at the words embroidered on his brand new ballcap: "Final Four Atlanta."
"It's crazy. I still can't believe we're here," Early said. "You try to expect it, but you expect a lot of things that don't happen. This really happened."
Believe it. Wichita State is going to Atlanta, and these Shockers are no longer a surprise after the way the tenacious ninth seeds held off mighty Ohio State in the West Regional final.
Malcolm Armstead scored 14 points, Fred Van Vleet bounced in a big basket with 1 minute left, and Wichita State earned its first trip to the Final Four since 1965 with a 70-66 victory over the Buckeyes on Saturday.
Van Vleet scored 12 points as the Shockers (30-8) followed up last week's win over top-ranked Gonzaga with a nail-biting victory over the second-seeded Buckeyes (29-8), whose 11-game winning streak ended one short of their second straight Final Four. Wichita State's 20-point lead in the second half dwindled to three in the final minutes, but several Shockers stepped up with big plays to stop the surge, heeding coach Gregg Marshall's halftime command to "play angry."
All that anger turned into a joyous postgame party at midcourt, even though the Shockers realize they've got more work to do.
Wichita State is just the fifth team seeded ninth or higher to reach the Final Four since seeding began in 1979, but the second in three years following 11th-seeded VCU's improbable run in 2011. The Shockers' celebration was wild, if a bit disbelieving, in front of several thousand roaring fans.
"Last year we were watching all this on television," said Early, who scored 12 points despite spraining his ankle in the second half. "Now I'm looking at a hat that says 'Final Four Atlanta' with my team on it. ... It feels good, and it feels even better that I could experience it with these guys who had to struggle so hard to get here."
Wichita State roared to a 20-point lead with 11 minutes to play after Ohio State played an awful first half, but LaQuinton Ross scored 15 of his 19 points after halftime, leading a ferocious rally that got the Buckeyes within three points in the final minutes.
Tekele Cotton hit a clutch 3-pointer for Wichita State with 2:20 left and grabbed a key offensive rebound moments later, allowing VanVleet to score on a shot that bounced all over the rim before dropping. Ron Baker and Cotton hit last-minute free throws to secure the second Final Four trip in Wichita State's history and a school-record 30th win.
"We're happy, but I'm still shocked," said Carl Hall, the glasses-wearing big man who scored eight points and led the Shockers' strong defensive effort. "We've got a team full of fighters. I brought them all together near the end and said, 'No matter what happens, I love y'all.' We had to fight so hard. We've got each other's backs, and it's hard to beat a team that's got five guys who work together like us."
Deshaun Thomas scored 21 points after missing nine of his first 12 shots for Ohio State, which made just 24 percent of its first-half shots. Aaron Craft scored nine points on 2-for-12 shooting against Armstead and a host of defenders for the Buckeyes, who dug a hole too deep to escape with their second-half rally.
"The way we shot coming into the Sweet 16, Elite Eight, everything was falling," Thomas said. "Today, it just wasn't our night. Nothing was falling. We had great looks, some of them, but they just weren't falling."
Yet after two weeks of upsets in the wild West bracket, underdog Wichita State seemed an appropriate pick to cut down Staples Center's nets. The Shockers' well-balanced roster managed built that enormous lead with the same consummate team play that they've shown throughout the tournament.
The Shockers are also the kings of Kansas, reaching the national semifinals after the powerful Jayhawks and Kansas State both went down.
Two sections packed with cheering Shockers fans provided all the encouragement necessary for a team that didn't win the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and was thought to be a bubble team for an NCAA berth. Now, Wichita State is the MVC's first Final Four team since Larry Bird led Indiana State to the title game in 1979.
Another giant awaits the Shockers in Atlanta next weekend: They'll face the winner of Sunday's Midwest Regional final between Duke and Louisville.
"We're all new to this, but I think we're ready for this," Early said. "We're going to prepare ourselves, and this game was pretty good preparation. We started at the bottom, and we've been working our way up."
Seven seasons after underdog George Mason crashed the Final Four and underlined college basketball's growing parity, the Shockers are the latest smallish school to get on a big roll in the tournament. Butler made the national championship game in 2010 and 2011, and the Bulldogs were joined by that VCU team in the Final Four two years ago.
This year's tournament included stunning wins by Florida Gulf Coast, La Salle and Harvard, but nobody kept it going longer than Wichita State.
Although the Shockers have a beautiful home arena and robust support from fans and donors in Kansas' largest city, Marshall acknowledged that Wichita State's athletic budget is a fraction of what a BCS school can spend. He hasn't let it slow the Shockers, who made the NCAA tournament last year only to lose to 12th-seeded VCU in the first round.
After the Shockers easily beat La Salle two days ago to reach their first regional final since 1981, Marshall's pregame speech to the Shockers on Saturday finished with talk of cutting down the nets at Staples Center before getting on that plane back to Kansas, saying Wichita State didn't have to play "a perfect game" to beat mighty Ohio State.
"The Mecca awaits in Atlanta," he said.
Marshall was right, but he couldn't have anticipated just how imperfect Ohio State would be.
The postseason-tested Buckeyes appeared calm and confident during warmups in front of their healthy fan contingent, yet they proceeded to play the first half just like NCAA newbies.
They missed their first seven shots after the opening tip in a string capped by an airballed 3-pointer from Thomas, who missed his first five overall. The junior star was labeled "a bad-shot taker and a bad-shot maker" by Marshall on Friday, but he only lived up to the first part of that billing while going 4 for 13 in the first half.
Early hit two 3-pointers in the opening minutes, and the Shockers stretched their lead to 13 points shortly before halftime.
"You've got to give them credit," Craft said. "They really came out firing and we really didn't regain our footing until it was too late."
Hall went to the locker room after drawing a charge from Thomas early in the second half, holding the back of his head after Thomas' elbow clipped him on the jaw. Hall found his glasses and got back in the game 66 seconds later.
Wichita State gradually stretched its lead early in the second half, with Early's layup putting the Shockers up 53-33 with 12:09 to play.
Ross desperately tried to rally the Buckeyes, scoring eight consecutive points and leading a 23-6 run midway through the second half. Ohio State went into a full-court inbounds defense, and Shannon Scott's free throws with 2:49 left cut the lead to 62-59 ? but Ohio State couldn't get any closer.
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Tobias Dustin Summers Is Main Suspect In 10-Year-Old Girl Abduction Case
Rachel Koechner, Zoee Sandner
In this undated photo released by Chariton County Sheriff's office, Rachel Koechner and her 4-year-old daughter Zoee Sandner are shown. The central Missouri woman who has been missing with her daughter for four days called her boyfriend from a suburban Kansas City motel but was gone when police arrived to check on her. Authorities say they're believed to be with Koechner's former husband and are considered endangered because of previous domestic violence incidents. (AP Photo/Chariton County Sheriff's Office)
Jaray Wilson
Jaray Mickell Wilson, 16, is missing from Cleveland, Ohio. She was last seen in Weatherford in Custer County, Oklahoma on Oct. 15. She is currently listed as a runaway, but but authorities believe she may have been trafficked. Wilson is 5' 2" and weighs 95 pounds with green eyes, black hair with blond streak on the left side, and has three piercings on her bottom lip. Wilson has been entered into the National Crime Information Center Database as a runaway, according to the Sheriff's Office. If you have any information, call the Custer County Sheriff's Office at (580)-323-1616. (Missing Persons Of America)
Natasha Rymarczuk
Natash Rymarczuk has been missing since 10/12/12. She is 17, with blonde hair, brown eyes, and is 5' 7" tall. Natasha was last seen wearing a red Arby's polo shirt and black pants in the Largo, FL area. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/natashacomehome/posts/135304153285040" target="_hplink">(Facebook: Natasha Come Home)</a>
Shawna Hansen
Shawna Hansen, 17, left her north Marysville, Washington home on October 2. Authorities said Hansen has the developmental age of a 10 or 11-year-old. Hansen is about 4-foot-6, 90 pounds, with short, brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing jeans, black jacket, and a pink and white T-shirt. She is possibly carrying a black, white and blue backpack and may be riding a pink and black "Next" BMX-style bike. Anyone with information on Shawna Hansen's whereabouts is asked to call Marysville police at 360-363-8350.
Austan Tyler Stone
Austan Tyler Stone, 16, was last seen in Post Falls, Idaho on Sept. 10, when he left for school. According to a Facebook page maintained by his family, his cellphone was briefly activated in Modesto, Calif. The Post Falls Police Department has Stone listed as a <a href="http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/sirens/2012/oct/03/family-seeks-information-missing-teen/" target="_hplink">runaway juvenile</a>. Stone is 5-foot-6 and 130 pounds with green eyes and brownish-blonde hair. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact the Post Falls Police Department at 208-773-3517 or the Kottenai County Sheriff's Department at 208-446-1300 and refer to Case Number: 12-23395.
Jamal Omar Briggs
Jamal Omar Briggs, 14, was last seen in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, on Sept. 26. Detectives with the Roanoke Rapids Police Department said they have no evidence of abduction or foul play. Briggs is described as a black male, 5-feet, 3-inches tall, weighing 135 pounds. He was last seen wearing a red heavy shirt, black jeans and black Jordan tennis shoes. Anyone with information regarding Briggs' whereabouts is asked to call the Roanoke Rapids Police Department at 252-326-3938.
Michael Suarez Jr.
Michael Suarez Jr., 19, was last seen on August 31, at his 61st St. home in Mapleton, New York. According to his aunt, Linda Suarez, her nephew is schizophrenic and he has not had his medication. Anyone with information in this case is asked to contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS, or text CRIMES and then enter TIP577.
Christopher Milton Dansby
Christopher, who has been missing since May 18, 1989, was last seen in a park located on 114th Street and Lenox Avenue in Manhattan, New York. He has a birthmark shaped like a figure "8" on his neck. He was 2 years old when he went missing.
Kathryn Pratts
Kathryn, 16 of Staten Island, New York, has been missing since Nov. 24, 2010. Her tongue is pierced and she has a scar over her left eyebrow. Kathryn may go by the nickname Kat or Kathy.
Caelan Cyrus-Howard
Caelan, of Brooklyn, New York, was last seen with his non-custodial mother on 02/21/2002. He has a scar on his forehead and his hair is braided. Caelan was last seen wearing blue jeans, a blue polo shirt and black "ACG" boots. He may be in need of medical attention. Mother and child may have traveled to Trinidad and Tobago.
Jassmyn Carr
Jassmyn, 17, is a runaway. She has been missing since Jan. 13, 2012 and was last seen wearing a white blouse, black pants, gray and purple high top sneakers and a red Old Navy pea coat with large black buttons. Jassmyn, from Queens, New York originally, may be traveling to Virginia
Jeremiah George Huger
Jeremiah George Huger, who has been missing since June of 1985, was playing in his yard in the Bronx, New York, with other children when an unknown black male called to the child and then grabbed him. Jeremiah, who was 4 when he disappeared, has a 1 1/2" scar on his left forearm. He was last seen wearing a light blue shirt, dark blue shorts, and white sneakers.
Shauntae Hope Marks
Shauntae Hope Marks, 15, was last seen on the evening of May 4, 2012, at the Mary Manor apartment complex in Ft. Thompson, South Dakota. According to Fort Thompson police, Marks was distraught over a recent relationship and had made comments threatening to harm herself. Marks is described as a Native American female who is 5-foot-7 and weighs about 170 pounds. She has black shoulder-length hair and brown eyes and wears glasses. Marks was last seen wearing blue jeans, a white shirt with stripes, a black and gray hoodie, and blue Etnies brand tennis shoes. Anyone with information on Shauntae Marks' whereabouts is asked to call Fort Thompson police at 605-245-2351 or 888-337-2388.
Timothy Pitzen
This image from Facebook shows missing 7-year-old Timothy Pitzen. Timothy is missing from Aurora, Ill., but was last seen at a water park in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. He was last known to be in the company of his mother, who has since been found deceased in Rockford, Ill.
Amir Jennings
Amir Jennings, 1, has been missing from Columbia, S.C., since Nov. 24, 2011. Family members originally filed a missing persons report for Amir and his mother, Zinah Jennings, when they could not locate them. On Christmas Eve, Zinah Jennings was involved in a car accident. The responding officer noticed that Jennings was considered a missing person. Police say that when Jennings was questioned about her son, she gave "false and inconsistent information." Police also believe Jennings has ties to the Atlanta, Ga. and Charlotte, N.C. areas. There is a $10,000 reward for the safe return of Amir. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Black and Missing Foundation, at <a href="http://www.blackandmissinginc.com" target="_blank">blackandmissinginc.com</a>.
Madeleine McCann
A combination of two pictures released by Madeleine McCann's spokesperson on May 1, 2009, shows Maddie McCann at the age of 3 (L), and an 'age progression' image of what she would look like at the age of 6. Madeleine McCann disappeared on May 3, 2007, just days before her fourth birthday, from the family's holiday apartment at the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz. Her parents were dining with friends at a nearby restaurant when she went missing. The police force continues seraching the vanished little girl.
Joshua Davis
Joshua Davis, 2, was last seen at his New Braunfels, Texas, home on Feb. 4, 2011. He was watching the movie "Toy Story" with his mother when he left the room and vanished. The toddler's mother believes her son was abducted. Anyone with information on Joshua's whereabouts is asked to contact the Black and Missing Foundation, at <a href="http://www.blackandmissinginc.com" target="_blank">blackandmissinginc.com</a>.
Sarah Kinslow
Sarah Elizabeth Kinslow, 14, was last seen by her parents on May 1, 2001, when her dad dropped her off at Greenville Middle School in her hometown of Greenville, Texas, at approximately 7:20 a.m. It was not until after the school day ended that the Kinslows were notified their daughter had not attended any of her classes. According to Louise Kinslow, her daughter had never run away in the past and was unprepared to be gone for an extended period of time when she went to school that day. Sarah Kinslow would be 25 years old today. At the time of her disappearance, she was 5-foot-4-inches tall, weighed 105 lbs., and had blonde hair and blue eyes. Her teeth were crooked and she had several ear piercings, a tattoo of the letter "I" on the inside of her ankle, a chicken pox scar on her left temple, and two chicken pox scars on her left cheek. Anyone with information is asked to call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST) or the Greenville Police Department at 903-457-2900.
Khaniya Margarett Roberts
Khaniya Margarett Roberts, A.K.A. "Kiki," age 10, was last seen in Miami, Fla., on Dec. 3, 2011. She may be in the company of her mother. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Black and Missing Foundation, at <a href="http://www.blackandmissinginc.com" target="_blank">blackandmissinginc.com</a>.
Brittanee Drexel
Brittanee Drexel, of Rochester, N.Y., was 17 years old in April 2009, when she went to Myrtle Beach, S.C., on spring break. The teen was last seen by friends on April 25 of that year, when she left the Bar Harbor Hotel in Myrtle Beach to meet friends at the nearby BlueWater Resort. Surveillance footage shows Drexel arriving at the resort, then leaving roughly 10 minutes later. What happened to her after that remains a mystery. Her cell phone gave off its last signal the day after she went missing. Investigators narrowed the phone location to an area near the South Santee River in Georgetown County. To date, no sign of Drexel has been found. At the time of her disappearance, Drexel was 5 feet tall and 103 pounds. She had blue eyes and blond highlights in her hair. Anyone with information in the case is asked to contact Myrtle Beach Police at 843-918-1382.
Trenton Duckett
In this photo released by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is a portrait of Trenton Duckett, a 2-year-old boy who was reported missing on Aug. 27, 2006, from his home in Leesburg, Fla. The boy's mother Melinda Duckett, 21, was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Friday, Sept. 8, 2006, at her grandparents' central Florida home, police said. Trenton's disappearance remains a mystery.
Sky Metalwala
An undated photo provided by the police in Bellvue, Wash. shows Sky Metalwala, 2, who has been missing since Sunday, Nov. 6. He disappeared after his mother says she left him alone in an unlocked car after it ran out of gas. She says she took her 4-year-old daughter with her and when she came back about an hour later, the boy was gone. (Bellevue Police / Seattle Times / AP)
Dwight Stallings
Dwight Stallings, 1, has been missing from Elk Grove, Calif., since April 2011. Authorities say the child has not been seen by family members and his mother, Tanisha Edwards, 35, has been unable or unwilling to reveal what happened to him. A $3,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the whereabouts of Dwight Stallings. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Black and Missing Foundation, at <a href="http://www.blackandmissinginc.com" target="_blank">blackandmissinginc.com</a>.
Etan Patz
Etan Patz, 6, who went missing on May 25, 1979, near his home in New York's SoHo neighborhood, appears in this undated file photo. In June 2001, a New York State judge declared Etan legally dead, clearing the way for his parents, Stanley and Julie Patz, to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Jose Antonio Ramos, a Pennsylvania inmate whom the family believes sexually molested and then killed Etan. His parents were eventually awarded a "symbolic" sum of $2 million. Ramos is presently serving a 20-year sentence for child molestation and is scheduled to be released in November 7, 2012.
Malikah Beeks
Malikah Beeks, 17, of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, was last seen on April 11, 2012. Beeks is a possible runaway and may be with her 14-month-old son, Logan Beeks. Anyone with information on Beeks' whereabouts is asked to contact the Black and Missing Foundation, at <a href="http://www.blackandmissinginc.com" target="_blank">blackandmissinginc.com</a>.
Ayla Reynolds
This undated photo obtained from a Facebook page shows missing toddler Ayla Reynolds. Police in Maine are appealing to the public for help in locating the 20-month-old girl who was last seen Friday night. Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey held a news conference this afternoon to ask anyone with information about Ayla Reynolds to call police. Ayla's father called police yesterday morning to report that his daughter was not in her bed and couldn't be found. She was last seen sleeping at about 10 p.m. Friday by a family member.
Nadaysia McWhite
Nadaysia McWhite, 16, was last seen leaving her home in Queens Village, N.Y., on Feb. 19, 2012. McWhite never returned home and her whereabouts remain unknown. She was last seen wearing black pants, a black hooded coat and black boots. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Black and Missing Foundation, at <a href="http://www.blackandmissinginc.com" target="_blank">blackandmissinginc.com</a>.
Kyron Horman
Kyron Horman was 7 years old when he disappeared on June 4, 2010. His stepmother, Terri Moulton Horman, told police she last saw the little boy walking to his classroom at Skyline Elementary School in Portland, Ore. The search for Kyron has become one of the most intense in recent Oregon history and has attracted national attention. His parents have held countless vigils, passed out thousands of fliers and issued numerous public pleas, all to no avail.
Reyna Guadarrama
Reyna Guadarrama, 9, was last seen in Grayslake, Ill., on Nov. 02, 2007. She may be in the company of her non-custodial mother and an adult male. They may travel to Mexico. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Black and Missing Foundation, at <a href="http://www.blackandmissinginc.com" target="_blank">blackandmissinginc.com</a>.
Hailey Dunn
Hailey Dunn, a cheerleader, was last seen in Colorado City, Texas, just after Christmas Day in 2010. Dunn's mother, Billie Dunn, 34, reported her 13-year-old daughter missing on the morning of Dec. 28, 2010. The Colorado City Middle School student had been last seen the previous afternoon. Billie Dunn's then-boyfriend, Shawn Adkins, 25, told police that the teen was going to spend the night with a friend. That friend later told police that she had not made any plans for Hailey Dunn to spend the night and was unaware that the girl was coming over. Billie Dunn later told police she had fought with her daughter before she went missing. Colorado City Police, along with the Texas Rangers, the Mitchell County Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement departments in the region, conducted several searches for Dunn but found no sign of her.
Maayimuna Nyeeleni Njayi N'Diaye
Maayimuna Nyeeleni Njayi N'Diaye, 4, was last seen in Morehead, Ky., on Jan. 1, 2012. Maayimuna was allegedly abducted by her father, Ibrahim N'Diaye. A felony warrant was issued for him on Jan. 13, 2012. They are believed to be in Mali.
Haleigh Cummings
This photo released by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office shows Haleigh Cummings, 5, of Satsuma, Fla. Haleigh was last seen at home in the early-morning hours of Feb. 10, 2009. She was reported missing about 3:45 a.m. by Misty Croslin, the then-girlfriend of Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings. Croslin told police she discovered Haleigh was missing when she woke up to use the bathroom. Law enforcement as well as private search-and-recovery groups have conducted multiple searches for Haleigh, but no sign of her has been found. Authorities have not named any suspects in the case; however, they say they have not ruled anyone out.
Kaylee Melara
Kaylee Melara, 17, was last seen in Braintree, Mass., on Jan. 14, 2011. Melara is biracial and has a tattoo on her upper right arm. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Black and Missing Foundation, at <a href="http://www.blackandmissinginc.com" target="_blank">blackandmissinginc.com</a>.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/30/tobias-dustin-summers_n_2986450.html
Source: Business, labor get deal on worker program
FILE - In this May 17, 2012 file photo, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Big business and major labor unions appeared ready Friday, March 29, 2013 to end a fight over a new low-skilled worker program that had threatened to upend negotiations on a sweeping immigration bill in the Senate providing a pathway to citizenship for 11 million immigrants already in the U.S. Schumer, who's been brokering talks between the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that negotiators are "very close, closer than we have ever been, and we are very optimistic." He said there were still a few issues remaining. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
FILE - In this May 17, 2012 file photo, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Big business and major labor unions appeared ready Friday, March 29, 2013 to end a fight over a new low-skilled worker program that had threatened to upend negotiations on a sweeping immigration bill in the Senate providing a pathway to citizenship for 11 million immigrants already in the U.S. Schumer, who's been brokering talks between the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that negotiators are "very close, closer than we have ever been, and we are very optimistic." He said there were still a few issues remaining. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Several southwest Michigan pastors along with immigrant families and members of the general public take part in a pray-in for immigration reform event outside of Representative Fred Upton's office in downtown Kalamazoo on Friday, March 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Kalamazoo Gazette-MLive Media Group, Matt Gade ) ALL LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL TV INTERNET OUT
Several southwest Michigan pastors along with immigrant families and members of the general public take part in a pray-in for immigration reform event outside of Representative Fred Upton's office in downtown Kalamazoo on Friday, March 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Kalamazoo Gazette-MLive Media Group, Matt Gade ) ALL LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL TV INTERNET OUT
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Big business and labor have struck a deal on a new low-skilled worker program, removing the biggest hurdle to completion of sweeping immigration legislation allowing 11 million illegal immigrants eventual U.S. citizenship, a person with knowledge of the talks said Saturday.
The agreement was reached in a phone call late Friday night with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, U.S. Chamber of Commerce head Tom Donohue, and Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who's been mediating the dispute.
The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement, said the deal resolves disagreements over wages for the new workers and which industries would be included. Those disputes had led talks to break down a week ago, throwing into doubt whether Schumer and seven other senators crafting a comprehensive bipartisan immigration bill would be able to complete their work as planned.
The deal must still be signed off on by the other senators working with Schumer, including Republicans John McCain of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida, but that's expected to happen. With the agreement in place, the senators are expected to unveil their legislation the week of April 8. Their measure would secure the border, crack down on employers, improve legal immigration and create a 13-year pathway to citizenship for the millions of illegal immigrants already here.
It's a major second-term priority of President Barack Obama's and would usher in the most dramatic changes to the nation's faltering immigration system in more than two decades.
The AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce, longtime antagonists over temporary worker programs, had been fighting over wages for tens of thousands of low-skilled workers who would be brought in under the new program to fill jobs in construction, hotels and resorts, nursing homes and restaurants, and other industries.
Under the agreement, a new "W'' visa program would go into effect beginning April 1, 2015, according to another official involved with the talks who also spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement.
In year one of the program, 20,000 workers would be allowed in; in year two, 35,000; in year three, 55,000; and in year four, 75,000. Ultimately the program would be capped at 200,000 workers a year, but the number of visas would fluctuate, depending on unemployment rates, job openings, employer demand and data collected by a new federal bureau pushed by the labor movement as an objective monitor of the market.
A "safety valve" would allow employers to exceed the cap if they can show need and pay premium wages, but any additional workers brought in would be subtracted from the following year's cap, the official said.
The workers could move from employer to employer and would be able to petition for permanent residency and ultimately seek U.S. citizenship. Neither is possible for temporary workers now.
The new program would fill needs employers say they have that are not currently met by U.S. immigration programs. Most industries don't have a good way to hire a steady supply of foreign workers because there's one temporary visa program for low-wage nonagricultural workers but it's capped at 66,000 visas per year and is only supposed to be used for seasonal or temporary jobs.
Business has sought temporary worker programs in a quest for a cheaper workforce, but labor has opposed the programs because of concerns over working conditions and the effect on jobs and wages for U.S. workers. The issue helped sink the last major attempt at immigration overhaul in 2007, which the AFL-CIO opposed partly because of temporary worker provisions, and the flare-up earlier this month sparked concerns that the same thing would happen this time around. Agreement between the two traditional foes is one of many indications that immigration reform has its best chance in decades in Congress this year.
After apparent miscommunications earlier this month between the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce on the wage issue, the deal resolves it in a way both sides are comfortable with, officials said.
Workers would earn actual wages paid to American workers or the prevailing wages for the industry they're working in, whichever is higher. The Labor Department would determine prevailing wage based on customary rates in specific localities, so that it would vary from city to city.
There also had been disagreement on how to handle the construction industry, which unions argue is different from other industries in the new program because it can be more seasonal in nature and includes a number of higher-skilled trades. The official said the resolution will cap at 15,000 a year the number of visas that can be sought by the construction industry.
Schumer called White House chief of staff Denis McDonough on Saturday to inform him of the deal, the person with knowledge of the talks said. The three principals in the talks ? Trumka, Donohue and Schumer ? agreed they should meet for dinner soon to celebrate, the person said.
Separately, the new immigration bill also is expected to offer many more visas for high-tech workers, new visas for agriculture workers, and provisions allowing some agriculture workers already in the U.S. a speedier path to citizenship than that provided to other illegal immigrants, in an effort to create a stable agricultural workforce.
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Pilot ejected while diving small airplane near Chattanooga; search under way
By Gil Aegerter, Staff Writer, NBC News
A student pilot was ejected from a small aircraft above an area east of Chattanooga, Tenn., in a freak accident Friday evening, and authorities were searching for him.
The accident occurred when the owner of the Zodiac 601XL plane was taking lessons from an instructor, NBC station WRCB of Nashville reported, citing police. A malfunction caused the plane to nose dive and the canopy flew open -- and neither man was wearing a seat belt, WRCB reported.
The accident occurred at about 2,500 feet,?the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.?
The instructor was able to land the aircraft back at Collegedale Municipal Airport, operations manager Chris Hancock confirmed to NBC News. He directed further questions to a Collegedale police spokesman who could not immediately be reached.
A ground search was under way in Bradley County, WRCB said. The Times Free Press said the owner-pilot had a cell phone with him and rescuers were pinging it in an attempt to find him.
Neither of the men was identified publicly by authorities.
WRCB said the plane had been owned by a man killed in a December crash and then was sold to the current owner, described as an experienced pilot who wanted more training in the Zodiac.
The Zodiac 601XL is a single-engine kit aircraft offered for home builders. Its two seats are side by side under a large domed, canopy.
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Justin Bieber's Monkey Quarantined In Germany After Singer Tries To Sneak Pet Through Customs
Justin Bieber's monkey gets quarantined in Germany.
BERLIN ? Justin Bieber had to leave a monkey in quarantine after landing in Germany last week without the necessary papers for the animal, an official said Saturday.
The 19-year-old singer arrived at Munich airport last Thursday. When he went through customs, he didn't have the documentation necessary to bring the capuchin monkey into the country, so the animal had to stay with authorities, customs spokesman Thomas Meister said.
Bieber performed in Munich on Thursday, beginning the latest leg of his European tour. He later tweeted: "Munich was a good time. And loud. The bus is headed to Vienna now. U coming?" He didn't mention the monkey.
The Canadian singer is giving several concerts in Austria and then in Germany over the next week.
Bieber had a trying stay in London recently. The star struggled with his breathing and fainted backstage at a show, was taken to a hospital and then was caught on camera clashing with a paparazzo. Days earlier, he was booed by his beloved fans when he showed up late to a concert.
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The GOP Has Tried (and Failed at) Minority Outreach Many Times Before
The push and pull between the Republican Party's members who are more and less enlightened on matters of race has been going on for a long time. And in just the last decade, the GOP has seen plenty of two-steps-forward-three-steps-back moments when it's tried to minority outreach programs. Take Ronald Reagan. In 1977, shortly before Jimmy Carter was sworn in, he spoke of a "New Republican party" and said it's "still going to be the party of Lincoln and that means we are going to have to come to grips with what I consider to be a major failing of the party: its failure to attract the majority of black voters." Three years later when he was running against President Carter, he didn't reply to an NAACP invitation to address their annual gathering, but showed up the next year after he was sworn and compared welfare programs to slavery, saying "'Just as the Emancipation Proclamation freed black people 118 years ago, today we need to declare an economic emancipation" and asked the attendees "to join me to build a coalition for change." The reception was cool, but he at least he received a hug from NAACP president Margaret Bush Wilson after his speech.?
RELATED: Conservatives Worry Latinos Aren't Worth Pandering To
35 years after Reagan pondered a G.O.P. presidential defeat, the ?Republican National Committee's "autopsy" of the 2012 election promises to really-for-real-this-time reach out to people who aren't "stuffy old men" (its own words!),?Republicans didn't wake up the day after the election and realized they needed to make the party less white. But, as in the past, the very public proclamations about being a more welcoming organization has thrown a harsher light on the party members who are anything but. Take, for instance, Alaska Rep. Don Young has to?apologize?for using the slur "wetbacks" on a radio show Thursday. "I know that this term is not used in the same way nowadays," Young said, "and I meant no disrespect." ?
RELATED: Karl Rove's History of Bad Advice Is Haunting the GOP
He's wrong in more than one respect. The word has not changed. It's just as offensive today as it was in 1920 to refer to Mexican migrant laborers being welcomed into Texas by business leaders?and as it was in 1954 when a mass deportation of those Mexican migrants was officially dubbed Operation Wetback. What has changed is the country and the acceptability of casual racism and the ?GOP has struggled to show it understands how much things have changed.?An ex-RNC field staffer told?BuzzFeed's McKay Coppins that "whenever they were notified of a new Republican outreach effort, they would pass around a Beanie Baby ? which they had dubbed the 'pander bear' ? and make fun of the 'tokenism.'" It's not that they were racist or something, the ex-staffer said, they just didn't see the point.
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Any why should they? These sorts of political initiatives have come and gone before. Here's just a sampling.
RELATED: Marco Rubio Still Can't Slip Away from Obama on Immigration
2004: Minorities will love Republicans' social values.
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Republicans tried to appeal to blacks and Latinos based on "family values" -- like opposition to abortion and gay marriage. George W. Bush's reelection campaign pushed for an anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment in Ohio to turn out voters, and Bush got 16 percent of black voters?in 2004 -- more than double the 7 percent got in 2000. Bush's faith-based initiatives office held supposedly non-partisan conferences with religious leaders to talk about poverty in their communities, and black religious clergy were specifically targeted.
But Republicans can't duplicate that today -- and probably wouldn't want to. After President Obama endorsed gay marriage, black voters' support for it climbed to 59 percent. And, as the RNC's autopsy noted, young voters support gay marriage even more. Even if Republicans could still lure minorities by opposing gay rights, it would cost them with young people.
2005: Black people should support privatizing Social Security because they'll die sooner.
Yes, in 2005, Bush's White House thought telling black people they would die sooner than white people would be a really good way to sell conservative fiscal policy -- instead of, say, make black people wonder what Republicans were suggesting to fix that problem. The?Los Angeles Times reported in March 2005:
The most provocative element of the GOP message to African Americans: Their shorter life expectancy means Social Security is not a favorable deal for them, a point contested by Bush's critics.
The president's plan for private accounts, Republicans say, would particularly benefit African Americans by allowing them to build wealth more rapidly and pass a portion of their Social Security contributions to their heirs.
That story noted a persistant problem for Republicans, which you can see in black voters' growing support for gay marriage after Obama's endorsement: when black voters find out they like a policy supported by Republicans, they don't like the party more, they like the policy less. In polling on Social Security privatization, the Los Angeles Times wrote,?"Support for the concept plummets when the survey questions link private accounts to Bush or another Republican."
2007: Immigration reform and more Latino GOP faces will make Latinos like the party more.
Though Bush had gotten record levels of support (40 percent) from Latino voters, in the 2006 election, they swung back to the Democrats. According to exit polls, about 70 percent of Latinos voted for Democrats in the midterm elections. Polls showed they cared more about the Iraq war than immigration, but the immigration debate among Republicans had already gotten ugly. In 2007, it got worse.
After the 2006 elections, the GOP tried to do what the RNC is trying to do in 2013: Promote more black and Latino Republicans to prominent positions. Bush picked the next chair of the RNC to be Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, a Cuban immigrant who favored a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Conservatives revolted.?Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo warned that Martinez would fail if he?"rejects the will of rank-and-file Republicans and uses the position to advocate for things like the president's amnesty proposal, then I believe the party could be headed for another shellacking at the polls in 2008."?Immigration reform died in Congress.?Tancredo would go on to run for president as the anti-immigration candidate. Republicans got shellacked in 2008, but not for the reason Tancredo predicted. Though RNC chair is a two-year position, Martinez stepped down in October 2007. At the time, the RNC's Latino outreach chair still hadn't been filled. At the time, the?Republican National Hispanic Assembly had no office and had considered closing,?Newsweek reported.
Glimmers of hope turned out to be false ones. Check out this fateful closing paragraph from?Newsweek?in September 2007 about whether Republicans could repair the damage following the immigration fight:
Already, two of the GOP candidates earn more favorable marks than their Republican peers among Latino politicos: Mitt Romney, who's got an energetic outreach effort led by Al Cardenas, the former chair of the Florida Republican Party; and McCain, who championed immigration reform in the Senate. It will be up to them to undo any damage their party has done.
Romney, of course, did not do that. He lost in 2008. In 2012, he said in Republican primary debates that he favored self-deportation -- making life for immigrants so horrible they go home on their own. When Rick Perry accused him of employing illegal immigrants, Romney famously said, "I?m running for office, for Pete?s sake, I can?t have illegals."
Republicans' latest outreach effort shouldn't be seen as a change of heart, but part of a long, hard slog fighting the Don Youngs of the party -- and the temptations to pander to them.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gop-tried-failed-minority-outreach-many-times-172024728.html
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