Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/01/31/columbus-circle-trailer/
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Associated Press Sports
updated 12:35 p.m. ET Jan. 30, 2012
BATA, Equatorial Guinea (AP) -In the end, Ihaab Boussefi's late volley wasn't enough to send Libya through to the African Cup of Nations quarterfinals.
Boussefi's second goal in Sunday night's game in Bata, however, did clinch a 2-1 win over Senegal for Libya's first victory at the tournament on foreign soil, ultimately sending the players home happy at the end of an inspiring adventure.
Libya was never expected to even reach the tournament with the civil war raging at home during its qualifying campaign. Some players even left the squad to fight for the rebels on the front line.
Somehow Libya made it, and at Estadio de Bata against Senegal the players celebrated an historic victory which was a just reward for the team's perseverance.
"For us, this result was so important because of the situation and the problems, the painful situation in Libya for the people," said Marcos Paqueta, Libya's Brazilian coach.
No one illustrated what it meant to Libya more than veteran goalkeeper and captain Samir Aboud, who sank to his knees at the final whistle with his arms held out in front of him to give thanks.
After more than a decade with the team, Aboud could celebrate a victory at the African Cup.
Libya's team made the final at home in 1982 but failed to win a game at its only other trip to the tournament in 2006.
To reach Gabon and Equatorial Guinea this year, the team had to play its home games in Mali and Egypt as chaos reigned back in Libya. Yet it came through qualifying unbeaten and, despite a loss in its opening game against co-host Equatorial Guinea at the tournament, lifted itself for a creditable draw against Zambia before the success against the Senegalese.
At Estadio de Bata, Libya also had to rally after Senegal equalized following Boussefi's fifth-minute opener. But striker Boussefi, one of 12 home-based players in the squad who had no club football in the buildup because of the suspension of Libya's league, popped up with a sweetly struck volley in the final minutes.
"The players did a great job," Paqueta said. "They provided a big effort and this crowned the achievements they have made since the beginning."
The coach also called for Libya's new leaders and its reformed football federation to support the team and help it develop, and not let its "crowning moment" go to waste.
Libya's joy contrasted with the despair of Senegal's highly rated players, who fell to a third straight loss at the Cup of Nations and an embarrassing end after being tipped as a possible contender for the title.
Even with one of the best forward lines at the tournament - which included Newcastle strikers Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse, Lille's Moussa Sow and captain Mamadou Niang - Senegal badly underperformed.
The team slipped to 2-1 defeats in all three games to exit the tournament without a point for the first time in its history and put coach Amara Traore's future in serious doubt.
Traore remained defiant afterward, however.
"There is no question, I will not resign. That is clear," Traore said. "I will not resign. I can't be clearer than that. It's clear. I will not resign. I have a burning desire to continue. The only certainty I have is to continue."
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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A century's worth of astronomical photographic plates have revealed a slew of new variable stars, many of which alter on timescales and in ways never before seen.
The discoveries come from a new analysis of the 500,000 plates made by the Harvard College Observatory from the 1880s through the 1980s, covering the whole sky. The trove of old-school data has offered astronomers an unprecedented look at how stars change over long timescales.
"The Harvard College observatory has the most wonderful, best collection [of photographic plates] in the world," said Harvard graduate student Sumin Tang, who works on the plate analysis program. "It's a very unique resource because it's over 100 years. No other data set could do this."
Blast from the past
The plates are relics from an earlier era, when researchers used glass surfaces coated with light-sensitive silver salts to record the visions seen by telescopes. The Harvard collection includes plates made with dozens of telescopes.
Starting in the 1990s, photographic plates were replaced with more sensitive CCDs (charge-coupled devices), which are digital light sensors. Smaller versions of these same devices power digital cameras. [Truth Behind the Photos: What the Hubble Space Telescope Really Sees]
Now scientists are trying to digitize the plate collection, basically using CCDs to image the plates, then applying an algorithm to quantify how bright stars appear and search for variations over time. The project, called Digital Access to a Sky Century@Harvard (Dasch), is headed by Harvard astronomer Jonathan Grindlay.
"In this way we can perform a systematic search for long-term variables," Tang told SPACE.com. "We don't need to use our eyes, because it would take forever."
Most of the stars in the plate collection were imaged between 500 and 1,500 times, providing ample evidence for some weird stellar behavior. So far, only 4 percent of the plates have been digitized, but that data set alone has turned up some new finds. The team hopes to digitize the whole collection over the next three to five years.
So far, though, the initial data yielded "wonderful results," Tang said. Some of the stars caught on the plates brighten and dim gradually for reasons unknown. "We've found several different new types of variables," she added.
Strange variables
For example, the astronomers discovered a group of stars that all vary in the same, weird way. These stars all happen to belong to a class called K giants, with temperatures of about 4,400 Kelvin (7,500 degrees Fahrenheit, or 4,100 degrees Celsius). Over decades they become brighter and dimmer by a factor of two.
"This kind of timescale is weird because it's just too long," Tang said.
The researchers think the stars can actually be divided into two classes: binary (double star) systems, and single stars, with two different mechanisms behind their variations.
The binary variables are possibly caused by strong magnetic activity stimulated by interactions between the two stars. "The other group, the single ones, are even more exotic," Tang said. "We guess it might be related to some gas processes. There must be something weird happening, but we don't know. That's the fun part."
Another weird set of variable stars discovered in the data are called symbiotic stars, which are pairs of stars where one is hot and the other cold ? for example, a red giant and a white dwarf star orbiting each other. Some process is causing some of these star systems to alter in brightness over decades, but astronomers aren't sure what. They suspect the phenomenon might be related to nuclear burning of hydrogen on the surface of the white dwarf star, or accretion of mass onto one of the stars.
Ultimately, the researchers hope the project reveals much more about how stars evolve over time.
"Astronomy is driven by observation," Tang said. "If you have unique data, you will make unique discoveries, there's no doubt about that."
Tang presented some of the new findings earlier this month at the 219th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas.
The project is supported by the National Science Foundation and the Cornel and Cynthia K. Sarosdy Fund for DASCH.
You can follow SPACE.com assistant managing editor Clara Moskowitz on Twitter @ClaraMoskowitz. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) ? Standing on what was once Ethiopia's oldest maximum security prison, the new African Union headquarters funded by China is a symbol of the Asian giant's push to stay ahead in Africa and gain greater access to the continent's resources.
Critics point to an imbalance in what they see as the new "Scramble for Africa." But the prospect of growing Chinese economic influence is welcomed by African leaders, who see Beijing as a partner to help build their economies at a time when Europe and the United States are mired in economic turmoil.
And Africans are hoping for more Chinese largesse.
"The future prospects of our partnership are even brighter," Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Saturday at the new headquarters' multi-storey amphitheatre, where an African heads of states' summit will take place Sunday and Monday.
"China - its amazing re-emergence and its commitments for a win-win partnership with Africa - is one of the reasons for the beginning of the African renaissance," he said.
The brown marble and glass monolith was fully paid for by China, right down to the office furniture, and cost $200 million. The office complex and almost 100 metre (330 foot) tower is Addis Ababa's tallest building by far.
For the past decade, Africa has recorded economic growth of an average of 5 percent but its under-developed infrastructure has in part hindered its capacity to develop further.
Chinese companies are changing that. They are building roads and investing in the energy sector, and are active in areas such as telecoms technology.
China's most senior political adviser, Jia Qinglin, said trade between the two partners had grown to $150 billion, and the unveiling of the headquarters was a "milestone" in the ties between China and Africa.
As the biggest consumer of iron-ore, China has a relentless hunger for African minerals and energy.
Beijing now appears keener to flex its diplomatic muscle in the continent. It has also contributed $4.5 million for the African Union peacekeeping force battling Islamist militants in Somalia.
Outside the complex, hundreds of Chinese support staff, delegates and officials snapped pictures of their country's most ostentatious presence yet in Africa.
Critics point to land grabs and mistreatment of African workers on Chinese-funded projects. Even when it comes to job opportunities, in some instances China brings in teams of workers and technical experts.
Yet African officials insist they aren't being manipulated by China, and say the relationship is not based on aid but on trade and development.
"There are people who still consider Africans like children who can be easily manipulated. The good thing about this partnership is that it's give and take," the Democratic Republic of Congo's ambassador to Washington, Faida Mitifu, told Reuters.
(Editing by James Macharia and Alessandra Rizzo)
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CAMBRIDGE, Maryland (Reuters) ? Congressional Democrats have complained in the past that they have not felt the love from U.S. President Barack Obama and accuse the White House of not consulting them on key policies. But when Obama addressed them on Friday it was a love-fest.
Democratic members of the House of Representatives gave him a standing ovation and a compact disc in which they all sang "I'm So In Love With You," the first line of Al Green's hit song "Let's Stay Together."
Just three months ago some lawmakers talked privately of keeping their distance from Obama in 2012 because they feared voters' unhappiness with his economic stewardship would hurt their election campaigns.
Relations between Obama and congressional Democrats deteriorated after Republicans won the House in 2010. Democrats complained Obama was too willing to compromise at the expense of Democratic principles.
But ties have improved as Obama has become more combative toward Republicans over taxes and jobs and sought to draw a sharp contrast with Republican presidential hopefuls vying to face him in the November 6 election.
Wrapping up a cross-country tour to promote a populist agenda laid out in this week's State of the Union address, Obama hammered home a re-election campaign appeal for greater economic fairness.
Obama used his speech to the Democratic lawmakers' retreat in Maryland to turn up the heat on Republicans, who have accused him of pursuing class warfare and assailed his State of the Union proposals, including higher taxes on wealthier Americans.
"Where they obstruct, where they're unwilling to act, where they're more interested in party than they are in country ... then we've got to call them out on it," Obama said to loud applause. "We've got to push them. We can't wait. We can't be held back."
'RISE OR FALL TOGETHER'
Obama called on congressional Democrats to close ranks with him as he seeks to persuade voters to give him a second term despite a fragile economy and high unemployment.
Obama is campaigning against a "do-nothing" Congress, highlighting the partisan gridlock that has paralyzed decision-making on job creation and tackling record deficits. "Congress" is White House code for Republicans, but some Democratic lawmakers worry that distinction may be lost on voters, who already have a low opinion of the polarized legislature.
"We are going to rise or fall together," Representative Henry Waxman said of the Democrats' bid to retain the Senate, keep the presidency and take back the House.
Waxman's comments were echoed by other lawmakers at the retreat who signaled that the tensions that bedeviled relations with the White House in 2011 were in the past.
"There is always some tension between the legislative and executive branches of government," said Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House. "But we are a team, and we want to head in the same direction."
While Congress's approval ratings are at record lows, Obama's have edged up to nearly 50 percent.
"The president is running a lot stronger than we are," said Representative Jim Moran. "His train is moving in the right direction. We ought to get on," said Moran, who just months ago questioned how vigorously Democrats would campaign for Obama.
Jennifer Duffy of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report said the Democrats' warmer embrace of Obama underscored that "you always reach a point in an election cycle, and I think we are now there, where you realize it's hard not to run with the president, it's hard to walk away from the head of the ticket."
The retreat in the waterfront town of Cambridge featured a number of private sessions to ready Democrats for the campaign, including one entitled: "How to run when the president is running against Congress."
Obama first tested his anti-Congress strategy late last year, upsetting Democrats over what they saw as his failure to differentiate between Democrats and Republicans.
"The president upset a lot of us with the attacks," said a top Democratic aide. "It showed White House arrogance. They didn't even bother to consult with us on it."
Obama has since soothed hard feelings by being more discriminate in his attacks, although he still frequently refers to his willingness to act when Congress will not.
Most Democratic lawmakers figure Obama will be more of a help than a hindrance to their own re-elections, particularly in raising money and rallying the party's liberal base, lawmakers and analysts say.
Yet many, particularly those in conservative states, are likely to run away from his 2010 overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system, which drew Republican fire and a public backlash.
Vice President Joe Biden, speaking at the retreat on Friday, predicted Democrats would win the House and jokingly acknowledged that the White House could help or hurt members, depending on the politics of their respective districts.
"I'm prepared to row or ski anywhere and campaign for you. (But) if it helps to be against you, I'll be against you," Biden quipped.
Opinion polls show that voters have a slightly higher opinion of Democrats in Congress than their Republican counterparts, but pollsters say Democrats will struggle to pick up the 25 House seats they need to regain control of the 435-seat chamber.
(Additional reporting by Alister Bull and Matt Spetalnick in Washington, writing by Thomas Ferraro, editing by Ross Colvin and Marilyn Thompson)
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WASHINGTON ? Federal and state law enforcement officials announced Friday they have launched a fraud-fighting unit, starting with 55 prosecutors and investigators, to root out wrongdoing in the market for residential mortgage-backed securities.
Attorney General Eric Holder told a news conference the team will benefit from existing probes and disclosed that investigators have issued civil subpoenas to 11 financial institutions in recent days, with the prospect that "more will follow." He said bringing full enforcement resources to bear will help expose abuses and hold violators accountable.
Residential mortgage-backed securities are the huge investment packages of what turned out to be near-worthless mortgages that bankrupted many investors and contributed to the nation's financial crisis.
The new effort was disclosed Tuesday night in the State of the Union address by President Barack Obama. The president has been criticized by some in his own party who have said that, despite a federal bailout of large Wall Street institutions begun under President George W. Bush, no Wall Street executives have gone to prison for fraudulent conduct in the mortgage meltdown and financial crisis.
Appearing with Holder, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a co-chair of the initiative, held out the prospect that information sharing between federal and state investigators will produce more far-reaching results. He pointed out that New York state securities law is more flexible than federal securities law, which can make it easier to assemble cases.
As for those who engaged in misconduct in the financial industry, "we know what they did, they know what they did and, we know they know we know what they did," said Schneiderman. Last August, because of his tough stance opposing any deal that would end investigations of wrongdoing, Schneiderman was removed from a committee of state attorneys general negotiating a nationwide foreclosure settlement with U.S. banks.
"Mortgage products were in many ways ground zero for the financial crisis," said Robert Khuzami, director of the enforcement division at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The collapse in value of mortgage-backed securities resulted in unprecedented losses, and "all of us" in law enforcement are dedicated to holding accountable financial institutions that lied and cheated and misled investors, said Khuzami.
Asked about the financial crisis in a CBS "60 Minutes" interview in December, Obama said that "some of the most damaging behavior on Wall Street ? in some cases some of the least ethical behavior on Wall Street ? wasn't illegal. That's exactly why we had to change the laws." Obama obtained a major new financial regulation law from Congress in July 2010.
In Friday's news conference at the Justice Department, reporters were handed a two-page list of 13 successful criminal prosecutions and civil cases involving the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which the new unit is part of. Prison terms ranged from five years to 30 years for criminal activity at hedge funds, a mortgage company and a bank. The longest prison term was 50 years, for a lawyer in a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
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A modified Acura
Many of the most useful automotive websites share a common thread?they consistently integrate access to social media platforms throughout their pages, according to the J.D.?Power and Associates 2012 Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study(SM)?(MWES)?Wave 1 released today.
The semiannual study, now in its 13th year, measures the usefulness of automotive manufacturer websites during the new-vehicle shopping process by examining four key measures: speed, appearance, navigation and information/content.
All automotive brand websites provide users with the ability to access various social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to connect with the brand?s social media presence or share information about a brand or model under consideration.
However, there is wide variation among websites in the pervasiveness of social media access?for example, whether it?s available from only the site?s home page, or from a variety of pages.
The study finds websites that are the most useful tend to provide users with social media access from a variety of pages, including the home page, model pages, configurator tool and photo gallery. Brands that do not perform well in usefulness tend to have limited social media availability throughout their sites, such as access only from the home page and model pages.
?The widespread usage of social media has created an expectation of constant availability,? said?Arianne Walker, senior director of media and marketing solutions at J.D. Power and Associates.
?By integrating links to social media platforms throughout several site features, automotive brand websites enhance convenience for users and also increase the possibility that website users will promote the brand within their social networks.?
Overall satisfaction with the usefulness of automotive brand websites has decreased significantly to an average of 772 on a 1,000-point scale in Wave 1 of the 2012 study from 784 in Wave 2 of the 2011 study, which was released in?August 2011. Much of this decline is due to decreased satisfaction with navigation and information/content. These declines may be attributable to the challenges that automotive brand websites are facing in designing sites that are usable on both tablets and desktop computers.
While only 20 percent of new-vehicle shoppers say they own a tablet, among those who do, 47 percent say they have used their tablet to access automotive information. Tablet ownership is expected to increase during the next several years, which makes it particularly important for brand websites to be able to accommodate both tablets and desktop computers without sacrificing usability on either type of device.
?As automotive brand websites attempt to accommodate the dimensions, resolution and layout best suited for tablet use, some have changed their design in ways that inhibit usage on desktop computers,? said Walker. ?For example, pages that require scrolling to view all of the content on a particular page may be preferred by tablet users, but they are quite frustrating for desktop computer users, who are used to clicking to access content directly, rather than finding it on the page by scrolling.?
In addition to differing levels of tolerance for scrolling, following are two key differences in navigation conventions between tablets and desktop computers:
Acura?s website ranks highest with a score of 808 on a 1,000-point scale, and performs particularly well in the navigation and speed measures. Rounding out the five highest-performing automotive websites are Honda (806), Hyundai (803) and Infiniti and?Lincoln, in a tie (802 each).
The 2012 Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study?Wave 1 is based on evaluations from more than 9,400 new-vehicle shoppers who indicate they will be in the market for a new vehicle within the next 24 months. The study was fielded inNovember 2011.
?
Southeast Venture Conference, February 29 ? March 1, 2012 at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner, VA ? Where Smart Money Meets Smart People.
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? 2012, TechJournal South. All rights reserved.
Tags: Acura, Audi, automotive web sites, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevy, Deep, Dodge, facebook, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, J.D. Power, Jaquar, Jeep, Kia, LandRover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Ram, SAAB, SCion, Suzuki, tablets, Toyota, twitter, YouTube
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OMAHA, Neb. ? Former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey says he expects to decide next week whether to run again for his one-time seat.
The one-term Nebraska governor and two-term senator is mulling a bid to replace Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson. Nelson isn't seeking a third term.
Both Democrats and Republicans have acknowledged Kerrey is the Democrats' best hope for retaining the seat.
Kerrey spent nearly a week in Nebraska this month before returning to New York, where he's lived for the past decade.
Kerry ran for president in 1992, but also has a history of considering campaigns he never enters.
Kerry considered another presidential run in 2000. He toyed with a New York City mayoral bid in 2005. And in 2008 he stepped away from a run for Nebraska's last open Senate seat.
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NEW ORLEANS ? The rig owner involved in drilling the ill-fated well that blew out in the Gulf of Mexico and spewed more than 200 million gallons of oil will not have to pay many of the pollution claims because it was shielded in a contract with well-owner BP, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.
The decision may have spared the driller from having to pay potentially billions of dollars. However, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said that Transocean still is not exempt from paying punitive damages and civil penalties that arise from the April 20, 2010, blowout 100 miles off the Louisiana coast.
The ruling comes as BP, the states affected by the disaster and the federal government are discussing a settlement over the nation's largest offshore oil spill. The Justice Department is working with the states to create an outline for a settlement that would resolve their potentially multibillion dollar claims against BP and the other companies involved in the disaster, Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange told The Associated Press.
Justice led a meeting last week in Washington among the states in an effort to formulate an agreement that would satisfy government and state claims, including penalties and fines, Strange said. He also indicated if there is a settlement that officials are discussing what to do with the $20 billion fund set up by BP to pay victims.
A first phase of the trial is set for Feb. 27 to determine liability for the spill.
Despite the setback, BP claimed victory and said Barbier's ruling "at a minimum" left Transocean facing "punitive damages, fines and penalties flowing from its own conduct."
Blaine LeCesne, an associate professor at Loyola University law school, however, said Barbier's ruling was a "major victory" for Transocean.
"If anything is going to compel the parties toward settlement, it's going to be this," he said. "I think BP is in a very bad position now, and they don't have a lot of leverage."
BP PLC, Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton Co. have been sparring over who was at fault for causing the blowout. The out-of-control well was capped in July, 2010. Federal investigators have said that BP bears ultimate responsibility for the spill, but has faulted all three companies to some degree.
Under a drilling contract, BP and Transocean agreed to indemnify each other in the case of an accident, with BP taking responsibility for pollution originating from the well and Transocean for any pollution or accidents aboard the rig.
However, in court BP argued that the contract did not shield Transocean if the drilling company acted in manner that was grossly negligent.
Barbier, though, largely sided with Transocean and said the contract was a "clear and unequivocal agreement" to provide "broad indemnity."
"As we have said from the beginning, Transocean cannot avoid its responsibility for this accident," BP said.
The British oil giant said it had "stepped up" and admitted its role in the spill and paid billions of dollars in claims.
___
Associated Press writer Michael Kunzelman contributed to this reported. Weber reported from Atlanta.
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![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
Share ] Contact: Jennifer Walsh
news@nas.edu
202-334-2138
National Academy of Sciences
WASHINGTON Despite extensive investment in nanotechnology and increasing commercialization over the last decade, insufficient understanding remains about the environmental, health, and safety aspects of nanomaterials. Without a coordinated research plan to help guide efforts to manage and avoid potential risks, the future of safe and sustainable nanotechnology is uncertain, says a new report from the National Research Council. The report presents a strategic approach for developing research and a scientific infrastructure needed to address potential health and environmental risks of nanomaterials. Its effective implementation would require sufficient management and budgetary authority to direct research across federal agencies.
Nanoscale engineering manipulates materials at the molecular level to create structures with unique and useful properties -- materials that are both very strong and very light, for example. Many of the products containing nanomaterials on the market now are for skin care and cosmetics, but nanomaterials are also increasingly being used in products ranging from medical therapies to food additives to electronics. In 2009, developers generated $1 billion from the sale of nanomaterials, and the market for products that rely on these materials is expected to grow to $3 trillion by 2015.
The committee that wrote the report found that over the last seven years there has been considerable effort internationally to identify research needs for the development and safe use of nanotechnology, including those of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), which coordinates U.S. federal investments in nanoscale research and development. However, there has not been sufficient linkage between research and research findings and the creation of strategies to prevent and manage any risks. For instance, little progress has been made on the effects of ingested nanomaterials on human health and other potential health and environmental effects of complex nanomaterials that are expected to enter the market over the next decade. Therefore, there is the need for a research strategy that is independent of any one stakeholder group, has human and environmental health as its primary focus, builds on past efforts, and is flexible in anticipating and adjusting to emerging challenges, the committee said.
Because the number of products containing nanoscale materials is expected to explode, and future exposure scenarios may not resemble those of today, selecting target materials to study on the basis of existing market size -- as is the practice now -- is problematic. To help guide research, the committee noted the following four research categories, which should be addressed within five years:
While surveying the existing resources for research, the committee acknowledged a gap between funding and the level of activity required to support the committee's strategy. The committee concluded that any reduction in the current funding level of approximately $120 million per year over the next five years for health and environmental risk research by federal agencies would be a setback to nanomaterials risk research. Moreover, additional modest resources from public, private, and international initiatives are needed in critical areas -- informatics, nanomaterial characterization, benchmarking nanomaterials, characterization of sources, and development of networks for supporting collaborative research -- to derive maximum strategic value from the research investments.
Implementation of the strategy should also include the integration of domestic and international participants involved in nanotechnology-related research, including the NNI, federal agencies, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and the academic community. The committee said that the current structure of the NNI -- which has only coordinating functions across federal agencies and no top-down budgetary or management authority to direct nanotechnology-related environmental, health, and safety research -- hinders its accountability for effective implementation. In addition, there is concern that dual and potentially conflicting roles of the NNI, such as developing and promoting nanotechnology while identifying and mitigating risks that arise from its use, impede application and evaluation of health and environmental risk research. To carry out the research strategy effectively, a clear separation of management and budgetary authority and accountability between promoting nanotechnology and assessing potential environmental and safety risks is essential.
###
The study was sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council make up the National Academies. They are independent, nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology, and health policy advice under an 1863 congressional charter. Panel members, who serve pro bono as volunteers, are chosen by the Academies for each study based on their expertise and experience and must satisfy the Academies' conflict-of-interest standards. The resulting consensus reports undergo external peer review before completion. For more information, visit http://national-academies.org/studycommitteprocess.pdf. A committee roster follows.
Contacts:
Jennifer Walsh, Media Relations Officer
Shaquanna Shields, Media Relations Assistant
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail news@nas.edu
Pre-publication copies of A Research Strategy for Environmental, Health, and Safety Aspects of Engineered Nanomaterials are available from the National Academies Press; tel. 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242 or on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu. Reporters may obtain a copy from the Office of News and Public Information (contacts listed above).
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Division on Earth and Life Studies
Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology
and
Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology
Committee to Develop a Research Strategy for Environmental, Health, and Safety Aspects of Engineered Nanomaterials
Jonathan M. Samet (chair)
Professor and Flora L. Thornton Chair
Department of Preventive Medicine
Keck School of Medicine, and
Director
Institute for Global Health
University of Southern California
Los Angeles
Tina Bahadori
Managing Director
Long-Range Research Initiative
American Chemistry Council
Washington, D.C.
Jurron Bradley
Clean Energy Market Manager
BASF Corp.
Florham Park, N.J.
Seth Coe-Sullivan
Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer
QD Vision Inc.
Watertown, Mass.
Vicki L. Colvin
Vice Provost for Research, and
Professor of Chemistry and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Rice University
Houston
Edward D. Crandall
Kenneth T. Norris Chair in Medicine;
Hastings Professor of Medicine; and
Chair
Department of Medicine
Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California
Los Angeles
Richard A. Denison
Senior Scientist
Environmental Defense Fund
Washington, D.C.
William H. Farland
Senior Vice President for Research, and
Professor
Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences
Colorado State University
Fort Collins
Martin Fritts
Senior Prinicipal Scientist
SAIC-Frederick Inc.
Frederick, Md.
Philip K. Hopke
Bayard D. Clarkson Distinguished Professor
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and
Director
Center for Air Resources Engineering and Science
Clarkson University
Potsdam, N.Y.
James E. Hutchison
Lokey-Harrington Professor of Chemistry
University of Oregon
Eugene
Rebecca D. Klaper
Associate Professor
School of Freshwater Sciences
University of Wisconsin
Milwaukee
Gregory V. Lowry
Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh
Andrew D. Maynard
Director
Risk Science Center
School of Public Health
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor
Gunter Oberdorster
Professor of Toxicology
Department of Environmental Medicine
School of Medicine and Dentistry
University of Rochester
Rochester, N.Y.
Kathleen M. Rest
Executive Director
Union of Concerned Scientists
Cambridge, Mass.
Mark J. Utell
Professor of Medicine and Environmental Medicine, and
Director
Occupational and Environmental Medicine
School of Medicine and Dentistry
University of Rochester
Rochester, N.Y.
David B. Warheit
Research Fellow
Haskell Laboratory
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.
Newark, Del.
Mark R. Wiesner
James L. Meriam Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Pratt School of Engineering
Nicholas School of Environment and Earth Sciences
Duke University
Durham, N.C.
RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
Eileen Abt
Study Director
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 25-Jan-2012 Share ] Contact: Jennifer Walsh
news@nas.edu
202-334-2138
National Academy of Sciences
WASHINGTON Despite extensive investment in nanotechnology and increasing commercialization over the last decade, insufficient understanding remains about the environmental, health, and safety aspects of nanomaterials. Without a coordinated research plan to help guide efforts to manage and avoid potential risks, the future of safe and sustainable nanotechnology is uncertain, says a new report from the National Research Council. The report presents a strategic approach for developing research and a scientific infrastructure needed to address potential health and environmental risks of nanomaterials. Its effective implementation would require sufficient management and budgetary authority to direct research across federal agencies.
Nanoscale engineering manipulates materials at the molecular level to create structures with unique and useful properties -- materials that are both very strong and very light, for example. Many of the products containing nanomaterials on the market now are for skin care and cosmetics, but nanomaterials are also increasingly being used in products ranging from medical therapies to food additives to electronics. In 2009, developers generated $1 billion from the sale of nanomaterials, and the market for products that rely on these materials is expected to grow to $3 trillion by 2015.
The committee that wrote the report found that over the last seven years there has been considerable effort internationally to identify research needs for the development and safe use of nanotechnology, including those of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), which coordinates U.S. federal investments in nanoscale research and development. However, there has not been sufficient linkage between research and research findings and the creation of strategies to prevent and manage any risks. For instance, little progress has been made on the effects of ingested nanomaterials on human health and other potential health and environmental effects of complex nanomaterials that are expected to enter the market over the next decade. Therefore, there is the need for a research strategy that is independent of any one stakeholder group, has human and environmental health as its primary focus, builds on past efforts, and is flexible in anticipating and adjusting to emerging challenges, the committee said.
Because the number of products containing nanoscale materials is expected to explode, and future exposure scenarios may not resemble those of today, selecting target materials to study on the basis of existing market size -- as is the practice now -- is problematic. To help guide research, the committee noted the following four research categories, which should be addressed within five years:
While surveying the existing resources for research, the committee acknowledged a gap between funding and the level of activity required to support the committee's strategy. The committee concluded that any reduction in the current funding level of approximately $120 million per year over the next five years for health and environmental risk research by federal agencies would be a setback to nanomaterials risk research. Moreover, additional modest resources from public, private, and international initiatives are needed in critical areas -- informatics, nanomaterial characterization, benchmarking nanomaterials, characterization of sources, and development of networks for supporting collaborative research -- to derive maximum strategic value from the research investments.
Implementation of the strategy should also include the integration of domestic and international participants involved in nanotechnology-related research, including the NNI, federal agencies, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and the academic community. The committee said that the current structure of the NNI -- which has only coordinating functions across federal agencies and no top-down budgetary or management authority to direct nanotechnology-related environmental, health, and safety research -- hinders its accountability for effective implementation. In addition, there is concern that dual and potentially conflicting roles of the NNI, such as developing and promoting nanotechnology while identifying and mitigating risks that arise from its use, impede application and evaluation of health and environmental risk research. To carry out the research strategy effectively, a clear separation of management and budgetary authority and accountability between promoting nanotechnology and assessing potential environmental and safety risks is essential.
###
The study was sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council make up the National Academies. They are independent, nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology, and health policy advice under an 1863 congressional charter. Panel members, who serve pro bono as volunteers, are chosen by the Academies for each study based on their expertise and experience and must satisfy the Academies' conflict-of-interest standards. The resulting consensus reports undergo external peer review before completion. For more information, visit http://national-academies.org/studycommitteprocess.pdf. A committee roster follows.
Contacts:
Jennifer Walsh, Media Relations Officer
Shaquanna Shields, Media Relations Assistant
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail news@nas.edu
Pre-publication copies of A Research Strategy for Environmental, Health, and Safety Aspects of Engineered Nanomaterials are available from the National Academies Press; tel. 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242 or on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu. Reporters may obtain a copy from the Office of News and Public Information (contacts listed above).
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Division on Earth and Life Studies
Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology
and
Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology
Committee to Develop a Research Strategy for Environmental, Health, and Safety Aspects of Engineered Nanomaterials
Jonathan M. Samet (chair)
Professor and Flora L. Thornton Chair
Department of Preventive Medicine
Keck School of Medicine, and
Director
Institute for Global Health
University of Southern California
Los Angeles
Tina Bahadori
Managing Director
Long-Range Research Initiative
American Chemistry Council
Washington, D.C.
Jurron Bradley
Clean Energy Market Manager
BASF Corp.
Florham Park, N.J.
Seth Coe-Sullivan
Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer
QD Vision Inc.
Watertown, Mass.
Vicki L. Colvin
Vice Provost for Research, and
Professor of Chemistry and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Rice University
Houston
Edward D. Crandall
Kenneth T. Norris Chair in Medicine;
Hastings Professor of Medicine; and
Chair
Department of Medicine
Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California
Los Angeles
Richard A. Denison
Senior Scientist
Environmental Defense Fund
Washington, D.C.
William H. Farland
Senior Vice President for Research, and
Professor
Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences
Colorado State University
Fort Collins
Martin Fritts
Senior Prinicipal Scientist
SAIC-Frederick Inc.
Frederick, Md.
Philip K. Hopke
Bayard D. Clarkson Distinguished Professor
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and
Director
Center for Air Resources Engineering and Science
Clarkson University
Potsdam, N.Y.
James E. Hutchison
Lokey-Harrington Professor of Chemistry
University of Oregon
Eugene
Rebecca D. Klaper
Associate Professor
School of Freshwater Sciences
University of Wisconsin
Milwaukee
Gregory V. Lowry
Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh
Andrew D. Maynard
Director
Risk Science Center
School of Public Health
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor
Gunter Oberdorster
Professor of Toxicology
Department of Environmental Medicine
School of Medicine and Dentistry
University of Rochester
Rochester, N.Y.
Kathleen M. Rest
Executive Director
Union of Concerned Scientists
Cambridge, Mass.
Mark J. Utell
Professor of Medicine and Environmental Medicine, and
Director
Occupational and Environmental Medicine
School of Medicine and Dentistry
University of Rochester
Rochester, N.Y.
David B. Warheit
Research Fellow
Haskell Laboratory
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.
Newark, Del.
Mark R. Wiesner
James L. Meriam Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Pratt School of Engineering
Nicholas School of Environment and Earth Sciences
Duke University
Durham, N.C.
RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
Eileen Abt
Study Director
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/naos-srp012512.php
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I was struck by Obama's mention last night that:
I will not go back to the days when health insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny your coverage, or charge women differently than men.
Interestingly, in the 1970's there was a law passed so that upon retirement, the annual payments to female retirees had to be the same as for male retirees even though women live longer, statistically. That is, the present value of their retirement packages, by law, are larger for women than men.
Government seems to be doing more and more to make it difficult to prevent 'pooling equilibria', cases where different types of applicants get into a pool, eventually pushing out the 'better' or 'lower cost' people who don't want to subsidize the other group. For example, due to legal rulings, it is now very difficult to give job applicants explicit aptitude tests, even though this would be very useful, and avoid the charade from those Microsoft/Google IQ tests given verbally. Interestingly, Nobel Laureate and prominent Big Government advocate Joe Stiglitz's most famous paper relates to an inefficiency from a pooling equilibrium, and his take-away was that markets were inefficient because of this problem. In practice, government encourages pooling equilibrium where it was never a problem before by preventing rational discrimination based on projected costs/benefits based on observable characteristics.
While the equilibrium efficiency loss in Stiglitz-Weiss is abstract, it usually creates something pretty simple, as if you can imagine what would happen to insurance if it could not price based on risk and allowed people to opt out: healthy people would leave in droves, which is why Obama-care made insurance mandatory. Think about the lawsuits on disparate impact for mortgage lending in the 1990s, where whites were rejected less often than blacks, and this was presumed discriminatory (in an evil way), and so the only way to make unequal groups equal is to stop measuring them so carefully, which led to simply striking the whole downpayment/credit quality anachronism.
It's rather funny that Stiglitz's main theoretical contribution to the academic literature is so starkly in contrast to not just his politics but his obsession, which is increasing the size and scope of government which prioritizes preventing firms from rationally discriminating. Remember that in Stiglitz's model, like everything else in this literature (he didn't invent it), failure to discriminate types somewhat known by participants is what causes all the problems, the 'bad equilibria.' I guess that highlights no one takes these models very seriously--change one assumption here or there, different result.
Source: http://falkenblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/insurance-and-pooling-equilibria.html
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North Koreans gather to lay flowers on a stage in front of a large portrait of the late Kim Jong Il as they pay their respects on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Pyongyang residents said they were encouraged to celebrate the traditional holiday as they usually do, despite the death of Kim Jong Il, only the second leader North Koreans have known since the nation was founded in 1948. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
North Koreans gather to lay flowers on a stage in front of a large portrait of the late Kim Jong Il as they pay their respects on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Pyongyang residents said they were encouraged to celebrate the traditional holiday as they usually do, despite the death of Kim Jong Il, only the second leader North Koreans have known since the nation was founded in 1948. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
North Korean soldiers gather to lay flowers on a stage in front of a large portrait of the late Kim Jong Il as they pay their respects on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Pyongyang residents said they were encouraged to celebrate the traditional holiday as they usually do, despite the death of Kim Jong Il, only the second leader North Koreans have known since the nation was founded in 1948. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
A North Korean guard walks up a platform towards a large portrait of the late Kim Jong Il and bouquets of flowers placed in front of it as people pay their respects on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Pyongyang residents said they were encouraged to celebrate the traditional holiday as they usually do, despite the death of Kim Jong Il, only the second leader North Koreans have known since the nation was founded in 1948. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
North Koreans gather in front of a large portrait of the late Kim Jong Il as they pay their respects on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Pyongyang residents said they were encouraged to celebrate the traditional holiday as they usually do, despite the death of Kim Jong Il, only the second leader North Koreans have known since the nation was founded in 1948. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
North Koreans gather to lay flowers on a stage in front of a large portrait of the late Kim Jong Il as they pay their respects on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. Pyongyang residents said they were encouraged to celebrate the traditional holiday as they usually do, despite the death of Kim Jong Il, only the second leader North Koreans have known since the nation was founded in 1948. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ? Soldiers and children, bundled up against the freezing cold, lined up Monday at Pyongyang's main plaza to pay their respects again to late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday.
A massive portrait of a smiling Kim that had been removed after a mourning period following his Dec. 17 death was restored at Kim Il Square. People scurried across the vast plaza to get in line to bow and place flowers, including his namesake "kimjongilia" begonias, in piles beneath the portrait. The song "It's Snowing" blared from loudspeakers, a reminder of Kim's solemn funeral procession through the capital's snowy streets late last month.
For several weeks after Kim's funeral, Pyongyang was barren and somber. But almost overnight the city has filled with color again. North Korea's red, white and blue national flag fluttered from signposts. Banners celebrating "Juche 101" ? the current year, according to the North Korean calendar, which begins with the 1912 birth of national founder Kim Il Sung ? and posters marking the holiday were pinned to buildings and walls.
One sign read, "The power of single-hearted unity ? congratulations on New Year's Day."
At the plaza in front of the Pyongyang Grand Theater, hundreds of children scampered and shouted as they played traditional Korean games. Signs in front of the theater spelled out "We are happy" in big, bold letters. In a large square, groups of children from the surrounding district gathered to jump rope, fly kites and practice taekwondo, their breaths steaming in the cold weather.
"Our great general gave instructions to bring up children educated with national character from their childhood by encouraging folk games," teacher Yu Un Ju told AP.
Pyongyang residents said they were encouraged to celebrate the traditional holiday as they usually do, despite the death of Kim Jong Il, only the second person to lead North Korea since it was founded in 1948. State television aired a segment late Sunday on making rice cake soup, a traditional New Year's meal in both Koreas.
The holiday comes as new leader Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong Il's son, visits military units.
Outside observers have questioned whether Kim Jong Un ? who's believed to be in his late 20s ? is ready to rule a country of 24 million with a nuclear program and chronic food shortages.
But the North has dismissed such worries, and state media have produced reports and images meant to show that Kim has strong military and governing experience. Late last week, North Korea credited Kim Jong Un with spearheading past nuclear testing and said he was "fully equipped" with the qualities of an extraordinary general.
Kim Jong Un, anointed his father's successor at least three years ago, was declared "supreme leader" of the North Korean people, party and military after his father's death. He has pledged to uphold his father's "military first" policy.
The new era of leadership comes as North Korea prepares to celebrate the 100th anniversary in April of the birth of Kim's grandfather, late President Kim Il Sung.
___
Follow AP's North Korea coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/newsjean and twitter.com/dguttenfelder.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? House of Representatives Republicans looking to force approval of the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline that was blocked last week by the Obama administration are considering attaching it to a massive highway bill, a key lawmaker said on Tuesday.
"It's not settled," said Representative Lee Terry, a senior Republican on the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee. "But there seems to be some coalescence for an infrastructure bill."
The Republicans, searching for ways to resurrect the $7 billion project, also are not ruling out coupling it to a payroll tax bill that needs to get through Congress in February.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said on Tuesday he does not think a provision to speed approval of the pipeline belongs in the next payroll tax cut bill.
"If we want to wean ourselves from foreign oil, why would we allow a pipeline to be built of 1,700 miles to manufacture petroleum products to be shipped overseas? That's the purpose of this," Reid told reporters.
Terry said an infrastructure bill seems like a "marriage" for TransCanada's Keystone, which would sharply boost the flow of crude from Canada's oil sands to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries.
Congressional Republicans have over the past year rejected ambitious Obama administration infrastructure proposals that were intended as job creators, citing cost concerns.
House Speaker John Boehner in November proposed a five-year plan to combine road and bridge spending with measures that would increase royalties from new offshore oil and gas drilling.
Parts of the plan, such has opening part of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, stand little chance of passage in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
President Barack Obama said his administration denied TransCanada's application for the oil sands pipeline on January 18 because there was not enough time to review an alternate route that would avoid a sensitive aquifer in Nebraska within a 60-day window set by Congress.
Congressional Republicans had tried to force the administration into a quick decision after Obama delayed the project in November on the grounds that more study was needed.
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
Liberals and environmental groups - who Obama does not want to antagonize as he seeks re-election on November 6 - have protested against the project because of the higher greenhouse gas emissions from mining Alberta's massive oils sands.
The administration will likely not reconsider the project until after the presidential election unless Congress can force Obama's hand.
The five-year, $260 billion infrastructure bill eyed by House Republicans is long-delayed legislation to fund highway, bridge and rail construction programs. Relevant committees plan to consider the measure next month.
Republicans feel their hand has been strengthened after a new legal analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service found that Congress has the constitutional right to legislate permits for cross-border oil pipelines like Keystone.
Attaching the bill to payroll tax cut legislation that needs to pass by the end of February has not been ruled out.
But Republican leaders may try to avoid a showdown on that bill after delays in December backfired.
Republicans in both the House and Senate are working on legislative language but getting a Keystone bill passed faces hurdles in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and also ultimately would need to be signed by Obama to become law.
The House has been considering language drafted by Terry, whose home state of Nebraska would host part of the pipeline. The language would shift the Keystone decision to the independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates pipelines.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on Terry's bill on Wednesday, which will signal further determination by Republicans to press ahead with the project that they say is needed to create jobs secure the country's energy security.
Using a slightly different approach, House Republican Ted Poe of Texas introduced a bill on Tuesday that would see Congress give the project a permit "directly and immediately."
Republican Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota, whose state needs the pipeline to move booming oil production from the Bakken shale reserve, is also working on language to push approval of the project.
(Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton and John Crawley; Editing by Will Dunham)
NEW YORK ? Seal and Heidi Klum have announced that their storybook marriage is coming to the end of the runway.
In a statement Sunday night, the power couple announced their separation after rumors swirled over the weekend that a divorce was imminent.
"While we have enjoyed seven very loving, loyal and happy years of marriage, after much soul searching we have decided to separate," the joint statement read. "We have had the deepest respect for one another throughout our relationship and continue to love each other very much, but we have grown apart. This is an amicable process and protecting the well-being of our children remains our top priority, especially during this time of transition. We thank our family, friends, and fans for their kind words of support. And for our children's sake, we appreciate you respecting our privacy."
The couple married in 2005 and has four children together, including the supermodel's daughter from a previous relationship.
They were one of Hollywood's most high-profile couples, and seemed to have the relationship everyone should envy. They two starred together in the music video "Secret," they renewed their wedding vows each anniversary, boasted of their love in the media, and threw Halloween bashes together where they dressed in outrageous outfits, most recently last year in New York City, where the two engaged in their typical public display of affection for the cameras.
In an interview with The Associated Press in 2007, the "Kiss from A Rose" singer described his wife, who has a tattoo of his name on her arm, as his best friend.
"It is really important that we have that understanding because apart from anything else it is really healthy," he said of the "Project Runway" host. "People often talk about the most important thing in a relationship. They say it is really important that you are turned on by your partner and you love each other, which is all really true.I often think that the most important thing or certainly up there with love is respect."
TMZ first reported on Saturday that the two planned to divorce this week.
His announcement comes as he releases his new album, "Soul 2," on Tuesday, which has songs like "Love T.K.O," "Let's Stay Together" and "Love Don't Live Here Anymore."
___
AP Entertainment Writer Alicia Quarles contributed to this report.
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The Florida presidential preference primary is the next contest in the 2012 GOP nomination process. There are four candidates still in the running for Florida's delegates. The Sunshine State will be the largest state in the early primary races for the Republican Party in terms of population.
Here is a voter guide for Florida residents hoping to cast their votes for Newt Gingrich, Rep. Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, or Rick Santorum.
How to Vote
The presidential preference primary is Jan. 31. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Florida is a closed primary state, meaning you have to be registered as a Republican to vote in the GOP primary. Voters in Florida needed to register by Jan. 3 or change their party affiliation by that date.
Voting happens with an optical scan voting machine. In 2007, Florida mandated that all counties use the same voting system. The way it works that polling officials will hand you a paper ballot, fill in ovals next to the choices you make, then insert your ballot into the optical scanner. The scanning machine will verify that you have voted properly before you leave.
What to Bring
In Florida, registered voters must bring a valid picture identification with a signature. Valid forms of ID include a Florida driver's license, Florida identification card, U.S. passport, military identification, student ID, or even a debit/credit card. You must have a photo with a signature on the same identification card.
Candidates
Candidates had to register in Florida by Oct. 31. Nine candidates registered in Florida's primary across the state. Even though four candidates have dropped out, Rep. Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Jon Huntsman and Texas Gov. Rick Perry are still on the ballot.
Registration
Florida has just more than 4 million Republican voters registered for the upcoming election out of 11.2 million voters total. Voters may check their status on the Florida elections website. The state has 67 counties where voters will turn out to make their choice for the GOP nomination. In 2008, 42 percent of all voters turned out for the presidential preference primary.
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/1q6vkZ3PzPs/
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The pharmaceutical industry may stop investing in medicines to treat diseases like diabetes or obesity without more explicit guidelines from U.S. regulators, the chairman of the drug trade group said on Thursday.
The Food and Drug Administration must approve any medical products sold in the United States, but drug companies say they cannot always predict how the agency weighs risks and benefits for medicines that could be widely used.
To avoid the uncertainty, companies may focus on specialized cancer drugs, where it is clear patients and the FDA are willing to accept serious side-effects in exchange for potentially life-saving treatments.
"You're starting to see primary care diseases becoming somewhat neglected," said Christopher Viehbacher, chairman of the board of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), in an interview.
"To make sure we're not ignoring unmet needs in primary care, we need a lot more clarity around the risk-benefit so there's predictability when we invest in these products," said Viehbacher, also chief executive of French drugmaker Sanofi SA.
PhRMA and other groups are gearing up their lobbying strategy ahead of Congressional hearings on FDA user fees, or the funds companies pay to the agency in exchange for faster review times.
Since fees from makers of drugs and medical devices provide more than a third of the agency's funding, the bill often serves as a vehicle for broader FDA-related changes.
Congress must renew the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) every five years, with the current legislation expiring in September 2012.
Over the past year, the FDA has drawn fire from some manufacturers for being too cautious in reviewing medical products, hindering U.S. innovation.
They point to obesity drugs, where Arena Pharmaceuticals, Orexigen Therapeutics and Vivus have hit roadblocks in gaining approval for their diet pills because of potential safety concerns.
About a third of U.S. adults are obese and medicines could help manage the weight along with diet and exercise.
Viehbacher said the FDA is aware of the challenge of balancing patient safety and innovation.
"You're hearing the FDA say that yes, we need to protect patients, and yes, we need to keep medicines accessible," he said. "I don't think anybody has to sacrifice. I think there just has to be a lot more science."
(Reporting by Anna Yukhananov; Editing by Matt Driskill)
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