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Cablevision buying western cable company Bresnan

Cablevision buying western cable company Bresnan

Posted on 14 June 2010
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cable television provider Bresnan Communications, a move that will help the New York cable company expand into western states.

Bresnan has cable systems in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Utah with more than 300,000 basic subscribers. It’s owned by Providence Equity Partners. Founder and cable pioneer Bill Bresnan died last year.

James Dolan - Cablevision

The deal follows an auction that involved bids from some of the nation’s largest cable companies. Other bidders reportedly included Charter Communications Inc.; Ascent Media Corp., a media services holding company in which media mogul John Malone has 30 percent voting control; cable company Suddenlink Communications and private investment firm TPG Capital. Time Warner Cable Inc. also reportedly put in a bid, but its offer did not survive the first round.

Cable systems operated by

Time Warner Cable and Comcast Corp., which owns 30 percent of Bresnan, are adjacent to the areas served by Bresnan.

The deal is expected to be completed later this year or early 2011.

Cablevision, the nation’s fifth-largest

cable TV operator, said it will also buy back up to $500 million worth of shares to reward shareholders.

Last month, Cablevision reported that its first-quarter net income more than tripled as it added more customers, and it boosted its

dividend by 25 percent. The Bethpage, N.Y., company, which also owns the newspaper Newsday, spun off its Madison Square Garden operations in February.

In premarket trading, Cablevision shares rose 10 cents to $23.50.

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Americans get most radiation from medical scans

Posted on 14 June 2010
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We fret about airport scanners, power lines, cell phones and even microwaves. It’s true that we get too much radiation. But it’s not from those sources — it’s from too many medical tests.

Americans get the most medical radiation in the world, even more than folks in other rich countries. The U.S. accounts for half of the most advanced procedures that use radiation, and the average American’s dose has grown sixfold over the last couple of decades.

Too much radiation raises the risk of cancer. That risk is growing because people in everyday situations are getting imaging tests far too often. Like the New Hampshire teen who was about to get a CT scan to check for kidney stones until a radiologist, Dr. Steven Birnbaum, discovered he’d already had 14 of these powerful X-rays for previous episodes. Adding up the total dose, “I was horrified” at the cancer risk it posed, Birnbaum said.

After his own daughter, Molly, was given too many scans following a car accident, Birnbaum took action: He asked the two hospitals where he works to watch for any patients who had had 10 or more CT scans, or patients under 40 who had had five — clearly dangerous amounts. They found 50 people over a three-year period, including a young woman with 31 abdominal scans.

When other radiologists tell him they’ve never found such a case, Birnbaum replies: “That tells me you haven’t looked.”

Of the many ways Americans are overtested and overtreated, imaging is one of the most common and insidious. CT scans — “super X-rays” that give fast, extremely detailed images — have soared in use over the last decade, often replacing tests that don’t require radiation, such as ultrasound and MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging.

Radiation is a hidden danger — you don’t feel it when you get it, and any damage usually doesn’t show up for years. Taken individually, tests that use radiation pose little risk. Over time, though, the dose accumulates.

Doctors don’t keep track of radiation given their patients — they order a test, not a dose. Except for mammograms, there are no federal rules on radiation dose. Children and young women, who are most vulnerable to radiation harm, sometimes get too much at busy imaging centers that don’t adjust doses for each patient’s size.

That may soon change. In interviews with The Associated Press, U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials described steps in the works, including possibly requiring device makers to print the radiation dose on each X-ray or other image so patients and doctors can see how much was given.

The FDA also is pushing industry and doctors to set standard doses for common tests such as CT scans.

“We are considering requirements and guidelines for record-keeping of dose and other technical parameters of the imaging exam,” said Sean Boyd, chief of the FDA’s diagnostic devices branch.

A near-term goal: developing a “radiation medical record” to track dose from cradle to grave.

“One of the ways we could improve care is if we had a running sort of Geiger counter” that a doctor checked before ordering a test, said Dr. Prashant Kaul of Duke University.

He led an eye-opening study that found that U.S. heart attack patients get the radiation equivalent of 850 chest X-rays over the first few days they are in the hospital — much of it for repeat tests that may not have been needed.

How much radiation is risky?

It’s hard to say. The best guess is based on the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident and studies of Japanese atomic bomb survivors who had excess cancer risk after exposures of 50 to 150 millisieverts (a measure of dose) of radiation.

A chest or abdominal CT scan involves 10 to 20 millisieverts, versus 0.01 to 0.1 for an ordinary chest X-ray, less than 1 for a mammogram, and as little as 0.005 for a dental X-ray. Natural radiation from the sun and soil accounts for about 2 millisieverts a year.

A big study last year estimated that 4 million Americans get more than 20 millisieverts a year from medical imaging. Two percent of people in the study had high exposure — 20 to 50 millisieverts.

Another study by Columbia University researchers, published in 2007, estimated that in a few decades, as many as 2 percent of all cancers in the U.S. might be due to radiation from CT scans given now. Since previous studies suggest that a third of all tests are unnecessary, 20 million adults and more than 1 million children are needlessly being put at risk, they concluded.

Just because a scan didn’t find anything wrong doesn’t mean a test wasn’t needed. Scans are useful for many diagnoses. But many studies suggest people are getting too much imaging now. For example, Mayo Clinic researchers reviewed the medical records of 251 people given heart scans in 2007 and found that only a quarter of them were clearly appropriate.

Reasons for overuse:

_Accuracy and ease of use. Scans have become a crutch for doctors afraid of using exams and judgment to make a diagnosis. Some think a picture tells more than it does. Imaging that shows arthritis in a knee or back problems doesn’t reveal how to make it better, said Dr. Richard Baron, a primary care doctor in Philadelphia.

“Physical therapy for an orthopedic injury is always the first choice,” yet doctors rush to order tests, he said. “The question you should be asking when you do sophisticated imaging is, ‘Is there something I can fix with an operation?’”

_Malpractice fear. A missed heart attack or a burst appendix could be devastating for a patient — and mean a lawsuit.

“I have great sympathy for the ER physicians because of the responsibility placed in their hands with strangers that come in off the street,” said Louis Wagner, chief physicist at the University of Texas in Houston. “They have to make a decision that could mean life or death for a patient, and the fastest way to find out is CT.”

_Patient pressure. People urge doctors to “do something” to figure out what’s wrong, and “often, doctors feel that the way to demonstrate that they’re doing something is to order tests,” said Dr. Christopher Cassady, a radiologist at Texas Childrens Hospital and the American Academy of Pediatrics’ expert on this topic.

At his hospital, doctors first do an ultrasound on suspected appendicitis cases instead of rushing into a CT scan. Ultrasounds require no radiation.

_Health care chaos. One doctor may not know that another has ordered the same test. If a patient is referred to a specialist, “it’s often easier for him to order another study than to figure out how to get the one that was done somewhere else,” Baron said.

_Insurance issues. X-rays often are required by insurers to prove health, or for students to study abroad.

_Availability. Rural hospitals may not have an ultrasound technologist on duty in the wee hours, but imaging machines are always there.

_Treatment choice. A quick fix for chest pain — artery-opening angioplasty — requires far more imaging and radiation than bypass surgery does. The same is true of “virtual colonoscopy” instead of the standard version.

Which tests are overused? A scientific group, the International Commission on Radiological Protection, cites routine chest X-rays when people are admitted to a hospital or before surgery; imaging tests on car crash victims who don’t show signs of head or abdominal injuries; and low-back X-rays in older people with degenerative, but stable, spine conditions.

Even when tests are justified, they often include more views than needed and too much radiation. Top offender: chest CT scans looking for clogged arteries and heart problems. Cardiologists are increasingly aware of this risk and are seeking solutions.

At Columbia University, a study on dummies by Dr. Andrew Jeffrey Einstein found two dose-modifying techniques could lower the needed radiation dose by 90 percent without harming image quality.

Another cardiologist and radiation safety expert, Dr. Gilbert Raff, showed the same in real life. A study he led of nearly 5,000 patients at 15 imaging centers in Michigan found that radiation dose could be cut by two-thirds with no loss of quality.

What should patients do?

“You should question everything — what’s the dose, why am I getting it? You should be an informed consumer,” said Dr. Fred Mettler, radiology chief in the New Mexico Veterans Administration health care system. He led a study of health effects after the Chernobyl accident and is a U.S. representative to the United Nations on radiation safety.

He advised challenging “big ticket” tests like CT scans that deliver a lot of radiation to the chest and abdomen — places where cancer is likely to develop. “You shouldn’t get too excited about feet and knee X-rays,” Mettler said.

Questions to ask about radiation scans:

_Is it truly needed? How will it change my care?

_Have you or another doctor done this test on me before?

_Are there alternatives like ultrasound or MRI?

_How many scans will be done? Could one or two be enough?

_Will the dose be adjusted for my gender, age and size? Will lead shields be used to keep radiation away from places it can do harm?

_Do you have a financial stake in the machines that will be used?

_Can I have a copy of the image and information on the dose?

Mettler suggests bringing a blank CD or thumb drive with you.

“You should have all of your stuff digitally on something,” he said. “I keep mine on my laptop.”

___

Online:

Consumer information: http://www.radiologyinfo.org

and http://tinyurl.com/2wv5fg

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE, AP Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione, Ap Medical Writer

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When it comes to the Court’s Reputation Offenders and Community

Posted on 03 May 2010
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When it comes to the Court’s Reputation, Offenders & Community…

Taking the Time to Research a Program is a MUST!

Providers with “new” programs for shoplifting offenders are popping up all over the place, likely in response to the current economic climate and the increase in shoplifting being reported by retailers. Unfortunately, too many of these providers fall short in terms of client and offender support services, compliance rates and effectiveness claims – leaving the courts underserved, the offenders open to repeat offenses and the community at risk.

A major contributor to these “pop-up” programs is the internet which makes it easy for companies, with little or no experience and few if any qualifications, to create websites where information has simply been “lifted” from a variety of other sources – with or without the consent or permission of those sources. In fact, several of these new programs have simply “copied and pasted” information from others to create their “new” programs.  More often than not, the information is “lifted” from the non-profit National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP) – either from the NASP website, one of the NASP programs or a NASP research report – in clear violation of U.S. Copyright Laws.  Such was the case with one long time, seemingly reputable, drug and alcohol program provider.

Another program, while we did not find that its content was plagiarized, uses discriminatory language and inappropriate – if not offensive – scenarios to make its point. One program boasts “endorsements” and “accreditation” from seemingly separate and objective websites yet the sites are not accreditation authorities at all. In fact, they are simply the same company using these other websites – which they themselves created – to endorse and accredit their own programs!

The irony of this is that these program providers are stealing the material they need to create a program to teach shoplifters not to steal!

But the most important take-away here is the need for the court system to ensure that any alternative sentencing program they utilize – whether for shoplifting or any other offense – successfully accomplishes the long-standing goals of the court system; to reduce recidivism, reduce court appearances and effectively serve the best interests of the community. Low-cost, stripped down programs are unlikely to meet these goals. Yes, corporate America is always seeking the next thing that is “faster, cheaper, better.”  However, the fact is that when it comes to truly effective crime prevention, faster and cheaper is rarely better.

To protect the court, the offenders and the community, the court officers making these program decisions must make it a priority to thoroughly research providers, to carefully evaluate the programs they offer and to verify the claims they make.

When Evaluating A Program Make Sure The Provider…  …Is Not Violating any U.S. Copyright Laws Subjecting your Court to Potential Litigation

ASK: Is the program original material? If not, what knowledge base and
sources of information were used to develop it?   …Offers a Program that is Research-based to Ensure Effectiveness.

ASK: What research have they conducted? With how many offenders? Over
how many years? On what do they base their expertise? A Google-search on “shoplifting” or “shoplifters” does not qualify as research, even today.  …Is Not Making False Claims About their Success Rate or their Program being “Evidence-Based.”

ASK: What evidence can they show that their programs are truly effective? How many recidivism studies do they have to back their claims?  Valid recidivism studies are conducted by the courts themselves and tracked over time. Self-studies conducted by the company itself – the one selling the program – are not a valid measure of success in preventing the next offense.

…Can Provide Valid and Credible References. Offering a program over the internet has empowered many to market themselves as “national” providers – implying that their program is well-established and utilized by courts throughout the country – without having any real track record.

ASK: Can they provide a list of references from court personnel in various counties and states? If so, check the references; reach out to your peers and get honest feedback on effectiveness.

Finally, ASK For A Sample Program And Invest The Time To Go Through It And See Exactly What The Offenders Will Be Learning.

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Dell, Moonfruit Claim Twitter Campaigns Effective

Dell, Moonfruit Claim Twitter Campaigns Effective

Posted on 14 September 2009
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Representatives from Dell said, at a Twitter for Brands event hosted by New Media Age in London on Friday, that it has seen tangible uplifts in sales which can be directly attributed to marketing on Twitter. The brand’s Twitter account has driven $3 million in sales since it began operation in 2007, Dell said.

Moonfruit, a website builder, also said Twitter campaigns have helped the brand. Moonfruit said it spent around 10,000 pounds ($16,400) on prizes for the campaign, and that it brought in more than twice that amount in a single month in new subscriptions, reports ClickZ.

The Moonfruit campaign – which gave away a MacBook Pro each day for 10 days to someone who had sent a message using the hash mark and keyword #moonfruit – was extremely popular, though controversial. It was criticized because it was thought to be spamming users without adding value to the community.

Twitter and Facebook are go-to places for brands hoping to be seen as trendy and in-the-know. But the effectiveness of such branding efforts is questionable. Only 8% of advertisers and consumers think it’s a very effective promotion tool, according to results from a LinkedIn Research Network/Harris Poll.

The study also found that advertisers are more likely than consumers to know about Twitter and are more likely to believe in the microblogging tool’s future power to help promote products and services.

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Typhoon pummels Taiwan; 600 missing in mudslide

Posted on 10 August 2009
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Deadly Typhoon Topples Hotel TAIPEI, Taiwan – A typhoon-spawned mudslide engulfed a mountain village in southern Taiwan, burying up to 600 people, a police official and a rescued villager said Monday.

Typhoon Morakot dumped up to 80 inches (two meters) of rain on some communities over the weekend before moving on to China, where it forced the evacuation of nearly 1 million people along the east coast and left at least six dead. Earlier it had struck the Philippines, leaving at least 22 dead.

It has now been downgraded to a tropical storm.

Speaking to The Associated Press, a Taiwanese police official who identified himself by his surname, Wang, said about 400 people are still unaccounted for after Sunday morning’s mudslide in Shiao Lin village. He said about 100 people have been rescued by military helicopter or avoided the slide.

One of the rescued villagers, Lin Chien-chung, told the United Evening News that he believes as many as 600 people were still buried by the mud.

“The mudslide covered a large part of the village, including a primary school and many homes,” he was quoted as saying. “A part of the mountain above us just fell on the village.”

It was not immediately possible to reconcile the differing estimates of people missing.

China Asia StormThe village was still cut off from the outside world Monday evening, after flood waters destroyed a bridge about eight miles (12 kilometers) away. Military helicopters have dropped provisions in the area and rescued survivors.

Taiwan’s official death toll from Morakot stands at 14. Another 51, not including the people in Shiao Lin, are listed as missing.

Morakot, meaning emerald in Thai, slammed into China’s Fujian province Sunday afternoon carrying heavy rain and winds of 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour, according to the China Meteorological Administration. At least one child died after a house collapsed in Zhejiang province.

By early Monday, the storm packed winds of 52 miles (83 kilometers) per hour, it said.

Hundreds of villages and towns were flooded and more than 2,000 houses had collapsed, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Four people died in Zhejiang, one died in Fujian and one died in Jiangxi province, Xinhua said. It said another three were missing.

Village officials in Zhejiang rode bicycles to hand out drinking water and instant noodles to residents stranded by flooding, while rescuers tried to reach eight sailors on a cargo ship blown onto a reef off Fujian, Xinhua reported.

In Japan, meanwhile, Typhoon Etau slammed into the west coast Monday. Twelve people were killed in raging floodwaters and landslides, and 10 others were missing, police said.

___

Associated Press writers Gillian Wong in Beijing and Shino Yuasa in Tokyo contributed to this report.

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U.S. toddler dies as swine flu cases mount

Posted on 29 April 2009

A two-year-old child from the United States became the first person to die of swine flu outside of Mexico Wednesday, as numbers of suspected and confirmed cases continued to rise around the globe.

Quarantine officers monitor arrivals with a thermographic device at Bangkok's main international airport.

Quarantine officers monitor arrivals with a thermographic device at Bangkok’s main international airport.

more photos »

As of Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said at least 112 cases have been confirmed worldwide.

According to the WHO’s figures, the number of deaths from the virus was seven in Mexico. But with the U.S. death — confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — the number rises to eight.

The world body did not immediately provide a breakdown for the additional cases that had been substantiated through lab tests Wednesday. Nor was it clear whether the U.S. death was part of its updated figure.

The WHO list also does not include 11 additional cases reported by New Zealand health officials, four by Spain, three each by German and Britain, two in Costa Rica and one in Austria.

In the United States, the states of California, Indiana, New York and Texas also were reporting additional cases not confirmed by the CDC.

Mexico said the virus is suspected of being behind 159 deaths and more than 2,500 illnesses. Those figures are being investigated.

The world body will next update its figures Wednesday afternoon.

For now, the WHO figures still break down as follows: 64 confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States; 26 in Mexico (including seven deaths); six in Canada; three in New Zealand; and two each in Spain, the United Kingdom and Israel.

But, including figures from local governments, these are the outbreaks — confirmed and suspected — so far:

AUSTRALIA

Cases: None confirmed, but 91 cases were being investigated Wednesday morning, the country’s health department said.

AUSTRIA

Cases: One. A 28-year-old woman is doing well and recovering after contracting swine flu, the Austrian Health Ministry said.

CANADA

Cases: Six mild cases

Measures: Issued a travel health notice, saying its public health agency was “tracking clusters of severe respiratory illness with deaths in Mexico.” Tell us what you think about the swine flu outbreak

CHINA

Cases: None

Measures: Banned pork imports from Mexico, and from California, Kansas and Texas in the United States.

COSTA RICA

Cases: Two. A 21-year-old woman who returned from Mexico on Saturday tested positive, the Costa Rican health ministry said. Swine flu also has been diagnosed in a 30-year-old man, said ministry spokesman Roy Alvarada. Neither case is on the WHO list.

GERMANY

Cases: Three. None of the cases has resulted in deaths, said the Robert Koch Institute — Germany’s disease control center. The positive tests were not included in the WHO tally.

The German cases were: a 22-year-old woman in Hamburg who displayed flu-like symptoms after a trip to Mexico; a man in his late 30s being treated in the city of Regensburg in the southern state of Bavaria; and a 37-year-old woman in Bavaria who also had traveled to Mexico.

INDIA

Cases: None Video Watch how public health officials grade phases of pandemic alerts »

Measures: Indian health officials advised citizens to postpone their non-essential travel to the swine flu-hit regions.

Public Health Emergency

According to the World Health Organization, a public health emergency is an occurence or imminent threat of illness or health conditions caused by bioterrorism, epidemic or pandemic disease, or highly fatal infectious agents or toxins that pose serious risk to a significant number of people.

At a White House news conference Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the emergency declaration is standard procedure — citing that one was declared for the inauguration and for recent flooding.

Stepped up surveillance at ports and airports.

States asked to review their preparedness.

INDONESIA

Cases: None

Measures: Increased surveillance; testing the temperatures of travelers flying into the country.

ISRAEL

Cases: Two. Both men recently returned from Mexico.

The 5-year-old niece of one of the men was suspected of having the flu and was undergoing hospital treatment.

Measures: The Health Ministry has not issued special instructions to the public, nor adopted measures for monitoring those returning from Mexico.

The country is calling the outbreak “Mexico flu” so that citizens do not have to pronounce the name of an animal considered impure in Judaism and Islam. Video Watch efforts in Mexico to prevent spread of the virus »

JAPAN

Cases: None

Measures: The foreign ministry suspended visa waivers for visitors from Mexico.

Airport officials are checking passengers before they disembark.

KENYA

Cases: None

Measures: Screening passengers from Europe and the Americas at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

Government encourages Kenyans to defer traveling to Mexico.

Kenya set up 26 screening centers to test people for avian flu following that outbreak a few years ago, and will also use the centers for swine flu testing.

MEXICO

Cases: 159 deaths and more than 2,500 infections are thought to have been caused by swine flu, said Jose Angel Cordova, Mexico’s health secretary.

Only 26 cases — 19 infections and seven deaths — have been confirmed by laboratory tests in Mexico and reported to the World Health Organization. iReport.com: Do you think we should be worried about swine flu?

Measures: Mexico City has closed its schools and universities until further notice. It has also ordered restaurants only to serve takeaway meals, so customers do not congregate. In addition, bars, clubs, movie theaters, pool halls, gyms, sport centers and convention halls have been told to close until May 5.

Troops passed out 4 million filter masks in the city of 20 million residents.

Officials are considering shutting down the bus and subway systems.

Citizens are asked to avoid large crowds, refrain from kissing, and stay at least six feet from one another.

The World Bank is offering $205 million to deal with the outbreak.

NEW ZEALAND

Don’t Miss

Cases: 14. All inflected were part of a study group from Auckland’s Rangitoto College who returned to New Zealand from Mexico over the weekend.

Three people tested positive for the swine flu virus, and those cases were confirmed by the WHO.

Because the rest of the group exhibited similar symptoms, and all of them returned positive result for Influenza A — the general category of strains that includes the H1N1 swine flu — the health ministry said it was assuming that everyone who traveled with the Rangitoto College group has swine flu.

Measures: New Zealanders who traveled to Mexico or North America in the past two weeks are asked to get in touch with health officials if they have flu-like symptoms.

RUSSIA

Cases: None

Measures: Banned all meat imports from Mexico and the southern United States.

Announced it will screen incoming passengers from those two countries by taking their temperatures.

Set up a government commission to plan response, and advised citizens against traveling to Mexico.

SOUTH KOREA

Cases: A 51-year-old woman, who recently returned from Mexico, tested positive for type-A influenza. Tests are being conducted to see whether the influenza is of the swine flu strain. The woman has been quarantined.

Measures: Suspended pork imports from Mexico, the United States and Canada.

Stepped up inspections of passengers returning from affected areas.

Took steps to double its stockpile of Tamiflu anti-viral medicine — enough to treat about 5 million people, or 10 percent of the country’s population.

SPAIN

Cases: Four cases confirmed and 59 others suspected — many of whom had recently traveled to Mexico, the health ministry said. None were in serious condition.

Measures: The government is trying to reach passengers who were on flights with people suspected or confirmed with the flu.

THAILAND

Cases: None.

Measures: Airport officials are keeping a closer eye on passengers arriving from Mexico.

The health ministry is calling the virus “the flu that has caused an outbreak in Mexico,” so that the public does not confuse “swine flu” with “bird flu.” The ministry also said it did not want to hurt the pork industry.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Cases: None

Measures: The ministry of health issued a circular, asking doctors to be prepared to deal with any potential swine flu cases.

UNITED KINGDOM

Cases: Two confirmed, in Scotland. The patients are recovering.

Measures: The Foreign Office advised against all but essential travel to Mexico.

UNITED STATES

Cases: 64 confirmed by the CDC — 10 in California; six in Texas; two in Kansas; one in Ohio; and 45 in New York.

It is unclear whether the 64 includes the toddler in Texas whose death the CDC’s acting director reported Wednesday morning. In addition, health officials in California, Indiana and New York reported other cases that the CDC had not yet added to its list late Tuesday.

Among the new cases not included in the CDC figures:

A Nassau County, New York, resident tested positive for swine flu, the county health department said Tuesday night. The resident is “associated” with the St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens, where at least 28 of the United States’ 64 confirmed cases were reported after several students returned from a trip to Cancun, Mexico. The Nassau County information was not included in a CDC tally released at 11 p.m. Tuesday.

A college student in Indiana tested positive for swine flu and is recovering, state health officials said. They attributed the test confirmation to the CDC. The case has not yet been included in CDC’s latest figures.

California’s public health department confirmed 11 swine flu cases — one more than CDC figures.

CDC: Swine flu viruses in U.S. and Mexico match

swine-flu-pigs

U.S. health experts also are concerned because more than 1,000 people have fallen ill in Mexico City in a short period of time.

“This situation has been developing quickly,” said acting CDC director Richard Besser. “This is something we are worried about.”

New York health officials announced Friday they are testing about 75 students at a Queens school for swine flu after the students exhibited flu-like symptoms this week.

A team of state health department doctors and staff went to the St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens on Thursday after the students reported cough, fever, sore throat, aches and pains.

There have been no confirmed cases of swine flu there. The tests results are expected as early as Saturday.

Of the 14 Mexican samples tested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seven were identical to the swine flu virus found in Texas and Southern California, Besser said at a news conference.

An eighth U.S. case was reported Friday. All of the eight U.S. patients have recovered, Besser said. Video Watch for more on the U.S. cases »

As a precaution to avoid further contamination, schools and universities in Mexico City and the state of Mexico were closed Friday, said the national health secretary, Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos. He said the schools may remain closed for a while.

Sixty-eight people have died in Mexico City, Cordova said at a news conference. More than 1,000 other people have gotten sick, he said.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon canceled a trip Friday to northern Mexico so he could remain in Mexico City to monitor the situation, the state-run Notimex news agency reported. Calderon met with his Cabinet on Thursday night to discuss the outbreak.

Don’t Miss

Six of the U.S. cases were found in California, and two in Texas, near San Antonio, CDC officials said.

The Public Health Agency of Canada issued a respiratory alert for Mexico on Wednesday, recommending that health providers “actively look for cases” in Canada, particularly in people who’ve returned from Mexico within the last two weeks.

An alert issued Friday by the International SOS medical and consulting company said more than 130 cases of a severe respiratory illness have been detected in south and central Mexico, some of which are due to influenza.

“Public health officials in Mexico began actively looking for cases of respiratory illness upon noticing that the seasonal peak of influenza extended into April, when cases usually decline in number,” the medical alert said. “They found two outbreaks of illness — one centered around Distrito Federal (Mexico City), involving about 120 cases with 13 deaths. The other is in San Luis Potosi, with 14 cases and four deaths.”

Authorities also detected one death in Oaxaca, in the south, and two in Baja California Norte, near San Diego, California.

There was no indication why the International SOS tallies did not match the Mexican health secretary’s figures.

The majority of cases are occurring in adults between 25 and 44 years of age.

The CDC first reported Tuesday that two California children in the San Diego area were infected with a virus called swine influenza A H1N1, whose combination of genes had not been seen before in flu viruses in humans or pigs.

The first two cases were picked up through an influenza monitoring program, with stations in San Diego and El Paso, Texas. The program monitors strains and tries to detect new ones before they spread, the CDC said. Other cases emerged through routine and expanded surveillance.

The human influenza vaccine’s ability to protect against the new swine flu strain is unknown, and studies are ongoing, Schuchat said. There is no danger of contracting the virus from eating pork products, she said.

The new virus has genes from North American swine and avian influenza, human influenza, and swine influenza normally found in Asia and Europe, said Nancy Cox, chief of the CDC’s Influenza Division.

The new strain of swine flu has resisted some antiviral drugs.

Health Library

The CDC is working with health officials in California and Texas and expects to find more cases, Schuchat said.

A pandemic is defined as: a new virus to which everybody is susceptible; the ability to readily spread from person to person; and the capability of causing significant disease in humans, said Dr. Jay Steinberg, an infectious disease specialist at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta. The new strain of swine flu meets only one of the criteria: novelty.

History indicates that flu pandemics tend to occur once every 20 years or so, so we’re due for one, Steinberg said.

“I can say with 100 percent confidence that a pandemic of a new flu strain will spread in humans,” he said. “What I can’t say is when it will occur.”  Swine Flu Video

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Who are the world’s richest now?

Posted on 11 March 2009

As hundreds of billionaires disappeared in last year’s financial carnage, Microsoft’s Bill Gates regained the No. 1 spot despite losing nearly $20 billion.

By Forbes.comThe world has become a wealth wasteland.

Like the rest of us, the richest people in the world have endured a financial disaster over the past year. Today there are 793 people on our list of the world’s billionaires, a 30% decline from a year ago.

Of the 1,125 billionaires who made last year’s ranking, 373 fell off the list — 355 saw declining fortunes, and 18 died. There are 38 newcomers plus three moguls who returned to the list after regaining their 10-figure fortunes. It is the first time since 2003 that the world has had a net loss in the number of billionaires.

The world’s richest are also a lot poorer. The collective net worth of this year’s 793 billionaires is $2.4 trillion, down $2 trillion from the total wealth of last year’s 1,125 billionaires. The average net worth of those on the list fell 23% to $3 billion. The last time the average was that low was in 2003.

Warren Buffett © The Associated PressWarren Buffett
Carlos Slim Helú © The Associated PressCarlos Slim Helú

Microsoft’s Bill Gates lost $18 billion but regained his title as the world’s richest person. Warren Buffett, last year’s No. 1, saw his fortune decline $25 billion as shares of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, news, msgs) fell 40% in 12 months, but he still managed to slip just one spot, to No. 2. Mexican telecom titan Carlos Slim Helú, No. 2 a year ago, also lost $25 billion and dropped to No. 3.

 

It was hard to avoid the carnage — in stocks, in commodities, in real estate, in technology and elsewhere. Even people running profitable businesses were hammered by frozen credit markets, weak consumer spending or declining currencies.

 

The biggest loser in the world this year, by dollars, was last year’s biggest gainer. India’s Anil Ambani lost $32 billion — 76% of his fortune — as shares of his Reliance Communications, Reliance Power and Reliance Capital all collapsed.

Ambani is one of 24 Indian billionaires, all but one of whom are poorer than a year ago. An additional 29 Indians lost their billionaire status entirely as India’s stock market tumbled 44% in the past year and the Indian rupee depreciated 18% against the dollar. It is no longer the top spot in Asia for billionaires, ceding that title to China, which has 28.

Russia became the epicenter of the world’s commodity bust, dropping 55 billionaires — two-thirds of its 2008 crop. Among them: Dmitry Pumpyansky, an industrialist from the resource-rich Ural Mountain region, who lost $5 billion as shares of his pipe producer, TMK, sank 84%. Also gone is Vasily Anisimov, the father of Anna Anisimova, the Paris Hilton of Moscow. Anisimov lost $3.2 billion as the value of his Metalloinvest, one of Russia’s largest ore mining and processing companies, fell along with his real-estate holdings.

Twelve months ago Moscow overtook New York as the billionaire capital of the world, with 74 tycoons to New York’s 71. Today there are 27 in Moscow and 55 in New York.

After slipping in recent years, the U.S. is regaining its dominance as a repository of wealth. Americans account for 44% of the money and 45% of the list’s slots, up 7 and 3 percentage points, respectively, from last year. Still, the U.S. has 110 fewer billionaires than it did a year ago.

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Healthy Dieting Takes Careful Planning

Posted on 18 February 2009

Healthy dieting is possible, but anyone who contemplates losing some weight should concentrate on the planning so they do not end up feeling awful for some time.  Healthy dieting is possible with advice from the experts on health and nutrition.  Some people decide they need to lose some weight, and they often want to accomplish their goals quickly.  Some people intent on losing weight are intent on dieting and not on healthy dieting.  Some of these people end up starving themselves, and they often fail quickly as they return to the bad habits that put the pounds on in the first place.

Healthy dieting probably requires losing some weight over an extended period of time rather than in a very short period of time.  The person intent on healthy dieting will probably want to eat the most nutritious foods.  These nutritious foods usually include a balance of protein, fat, fruits and vegetables.  Healthy dieting should include plenty of fruits and vegetables even if the person involved does not like these food groups.  Many people intent on healthy dieting will have to consume some foods that they do not like, and they will have to eliminate some foods that they crave.

Healthy Dieting Can Help Millions Of People

Many people around the world are overweight and losing the excess pounds will make them feel better.  Many families have several members who are overweight, and sometimes it is a good idea for the whole family to diet together.  Once the family uses healthy dieting strategies to lose some weight, it will be a great idea to practice healthy eating every day of the year.  Many families can start their healthy dieting program by eliminating drinks that have too many calories.  Some soft drinks have many empty calories that can add pounds quickly.  Alcoholic drinks can also add many empty calories.  Drinking plenty of water in place of sugary drinks can be helpful to those looking for a healthy way to lose weight.

Many people can eat their favorite foods and lose some weight.  Some people eat nutritious food, but they eat too much of it.  Cutting down on portion sizes can often be a great way of healthy dieting.  People might want to eat less but eat more often to make sure that they do not have the cravings that lead them to fail at dieting.  Sometimes people cheat because they leave too much time between meals.  People might eliminate certain foods from their diets in order to

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Different Dieting Plans Available For Everyone

Posted on 18 February 2009

There are at least as many different dieting plans available as there are people who want to lose weight, but not all of the plans will benefit everyone. It is not just the basics of the dieting plans that some people struggle with, it is the inconvenience or expense of the plans that are unmanageable for many people.

Many of the dieting plans require participants to buy special foods and only eat what is on their menu. While the prices may not be exorbitant, to some it may be out of their financial reach, making them unable to join the diet program. This can be disheartening to many of those wanting to lose weight, as they see celebrity endorsed dieting plans that they believe may work for them spiral out of their price range.

Additionally, many dieting plans also call for memberships and regular attendance at meetings, which they may not have the time or the means to attend. Believing they are being left out of the opportunity to lose the weight, they may surrender to the notion that are destined to remain heavy. This is not necessarily the case, as there are many dieting plans that do not include buying special foods or having to attend meetings that can greatly benefit just about everyone.

Simple Dieting Plans Call For Determination

Many who fail on dieting plans blame it on a lack of will power but the reality is it is a lack of dedication to reaching a personal goal. It has been argued that being overweight, in some cases, in an economic issue claiming that people who cannot afford to eat right tend to be overweight. Many experts argue that eating right is not contingent on the food budget, rather what it purchased with that budget.

Good dieting plans include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, which are typically priced cheaper than meals in a fast food restaurant and apples or other fruits are cheaper than snacks made with processed ingredients. By reviewing any of the dieting plans on the market today, it is noticeable that none call for sweet or salty snack foods. Salt, in addition to being unhealthy for blood pressure, may increase water retention, causing weight gain.

Soft drinks, even the so-called diet varieties, can still harm dieting plans as they usually contain sodium and possibly carbohydrates. Many of the best plans call for reducing the intake of calories and exercising more. Typically, if a person burns more calories than they take in, they will lose weight.

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Buying Your First Home

Posted on 16 February 2009

Finding the right first home starts with a price range and a short list of desirable neighborhoods. But there are many other factors you’ll need to consider before investing in what may be your biggest asset.

Before You Start

  • Grab your current household budget so you can consider your financial situation and your ability to make mortgage payments.
  • Ask family and friends if they can recommend experts, like a lawyer and an inspector, who can help with the home buying process.
  • Think about your lifestyle and how it might affect your choice of home and neighborhood.
  • Do a little research on current home prices in the neighborhoods you plan to target.

Topics

  1. Buying Your First Home
  2. How Much Mortgage Can You Afford?
  3. Costs of Buying a Home
  4. Ongoing Costs
  5. Choosing a Neighborhood
  6. Finding a Broker

Buying Your First Home

Home ownership is the cornerstone of the American Dream. But before you start looking, there are a number of things you need to consider. First, you should determine what your needs are and whether owning your own home will meet those needs. Do you picture yourself mowing the lawn on Saturday, or leaving your urban condo for the beach? The best advice is to look at buying a home as a lifestyle investment, and only secondly as a financial investment.

Even if housing prices don’t continue to increase at the torrid pace seen in recent years in many areas, buying a home can be a good financial investment. Making mortgage payments forces you to save, and after 15 to 30 years you will own a substantial asset that can be converted into cash to help fund retirement or a child’s education. There are also tax benefits.

Like many other investments, however, real estate prices can fluctuate considerably. If you aren’t ready to settle down in one spot for a few years, you probably should defer buying a home until you are. If you are ready to take the plunge, you’ll need to determine how much you can spend and where you want to live.

How Much Mortgage Can You Afford?

Many mortgages today are being resold in the secondary markets. The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) is a government-sponsored organization that purchases mortgages from lenders and sells them to investors. Mortgages that conform to Fannie Mae’s standards may carry lower interest rates or smaller down payments. To qualify, the mortgage borrower needs to meet two ratio requirements that are industry standards.

The housing expense ratio compares basic monthly housing costs to the buyer’s gross (before taxes and other deductions) monthly income. Basic costs include monthly mortgage, insurance, and property taxes. Income includes any steady cash flow, including salary, self-employment income, pensions, child support, or alimony payments. For a conventional loan, your monthly housing cost should not exceed 28% of your monthly gross income.

The total obligations to income ratio is the percentage of all income required to service your total monthly payments. Monthly payments on student loans, installment loans, and credit card balances older than 10 months are added to basic housing costs and then divided by gross income. Your total monthly debt payments, including basic housing costs, should not exceed 36%.

Many home buyers choose to arrange financing before shopping for a home and most lenders will “prequalify” you for a certain amount. Prequalification helps you focus on homes you can afford. It also makes you a more attractive buyer and can help you negotiate a lower purchase price. Nothing is more disheartening for buyers or sellers than a deal that falls through due to a lack of financing.

In addition to qualifying for a mortgage, you will probably need a down payment. The 28% to 36% debt ratios assume a 10% down payment. In practice, down payment requirements vary from more than 20% to as low as 0% for some Veterans Administration (VA) loans. Down payments greater than 20% generally buy a better rate. Lowering the down payment increases leverage (the opportunity to make a profit using borrowed money) but also increases monthly payments.

How Much Home Can You Afford?

Bob and Janet’s combined income is $50,000 a year, or $4,166 a month. Their housing expense ratio of 28% yields a monthly maximum of $1,166 for mortgage, insurance, and taxes ($4,166 x 0.28 = $1,166).

Their total debt ceiling of 36% is $1,583 (4,166 x 0.36 = $1,500). Their monthly debt payments include a $200 car payment, credit card payments of $100, and student loan payments of $200. Subtracting this total of $500 from the $1,500 permitted leaves $1,000 in monthly housing payments.

Costs of Buying a Home

Many home buyers are surprised (shocked might be a better word) to find that a down payment is not the only cash requirement. A home inspection can cost $200 or more. Closing costs may include loan origination fees, up-front “points” (prepaid interest), application fees, appraisal fee, survey, title search and title insurance, first month’s homeowners insurance, recording fees and attorney’s fees. In many locales, transfer taxes are assessed. Finally, adjustments for heating oil or property taxes already paid by the sellers will be included in your final costs. All this will probably add up to be between 3% and 8% of your purchase price.

Ongoing Costs

In addition to mortgage payments, there are other costs associated with home ownership. Utilities, heat, property taxes, repairs, insurance, services such as trash or snow removal, landscaping, assessments, and replacement of appliances are the major costs incurred. Make sure you understand how much you are willing and able to spend on such items.

Condominiums may not have the same costs as a house, but they do have association fees. Older homes are often less expensive to buy, but repairs may be greater than those in a newer home. When looking for a home, be sure to check the actual expenses of the previous owners, or expenses for a comparable home in the neighborhood.

Choosing a Neighborhood

Before you start looking at homes, look at neighborhoods. Schools and other services play a large part in making a neighborhood attractive. Even if you don’t have children, your future buyer may. Crime rates, taxes, transportation, and town services are other things to look at. Finally, learn the local zoning laws. A new pizza shop next door might alter your property’s future value. On the other hand, you may want to run a business out of your home.

Look for a neighborhood where prices are increasing. As the prices of the better homes increase, values of the lesser homes may rise as well. If you find a less expensive home in a good neighborhood, make sure you factor in the cost of repairs or upgrades that such a house may need.

Finding a Broker

If you are a first-time home buyer, you will probably want to work with a broker. Brokers know the market and can be a valuable source of information concerning the home buying process. Ask lots of questions, but remember that most brokers are working for the seller, and in the end, their primary obligation is to the seller and not to you. An alternative is a so-called buyer’s broker. This individual does work for you, and therefore is paid by you. Seller’s brokers are paid by the seller.

Make sure that the broker has access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This service lists all the properties for sale by most major brokers across the country. Brokerage commissions average 5% to 7% and are split between the listing broker and the broker that eventually sells the home. Don’t be surprised if your broker is eager to sell you their own listing since they would then earn the entire commission.

Home Buying Costs
Down Payment 0% – 20% of purchase price
Home Inspection $200 – $500
Points $1,000 and up for 1% – 3%
Adjustments 3% – 8% of purchase price

Once you’ve determined a price range and location, you’re ready to look at individual homes. Remember that much of a home’s value is derived from the values of those surrounding it. Since the average residency in a house is seven years, consider the qualities that will be attractive to future buyers as well as those attractive to you.

Although it can be difficult, try to remember that you will probably want to sell this home someday. The more research you do today, the better your decision will look in the years to come.

Summary

  • Buying a home can mean building significant value through the years.
  • Think carefully about how much you can afford to spend and consider borrowing guidelines like those used by Fannie Mae.
  • Prequalifying with your lender is a good way to determine how much house you can afford.
  • You will need cash for a down payment and closing costs. Generally speaking, the higher the down payment, the lower the interest rate and monthly mortgage payment.
  • In addition to your mortgage payments, you will also need to consider the other costs of home ownership.
  • Schools, taxes, services, crime rates, transportation, and zoning are important considerations when selecting a neighborhood.
  • Brokers usually represent the seller, but they can be valuable sources of information for buyers as well. A broker that belongs to the Multiple Listing Service will be able to offer a wider variety of homes to choose from.
  • Remember to consider resalability when buying your home.

Checklist

  • Update your household budget so you can begin to realistically assess how much home you can afford. Be sure to factor in all your monthly income and all the expenses that may come with a home.
  • Add up any savings you could use toward a down payment, and decide whether you need to save more before you start house shopping.
  • Start talking to lenders about your options for prequalification and preapproval.

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