Male African-American Unemployment Is Over 50 Percent Among Dropouts

dailycaller.com:

More than half of male African-American high school dropouts are unemployed, according to a new online analysis of unemployment data by Remapping Debate, a left-of-center news site in New York.

?This is an emergency, this is a catastrophe [but Washington is] not rating it as a catastrophe,? said the site?s editor, Craig Gurian, told The Daily Caller.

The rate is ?unbelievable, it is unbelievable,? said a Republican Senate staff member.

The online data shows the unemployment rates for 270 subgroups of Americans.

Read the whole story at dailycaller.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/30/male-african-american-unemployment_n_2986180.html

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Syracuse on to Final Four, beats Marquette 55-39

Syracuse players and coaches celebrate for photographers after their 55-39 win over Marquette in the East Regional final in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Syracuse players and coaches celebrate for photographers after their 55-39 win over Marquette in the East Regional final in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Syracuse forward James Southerland (43) lands on Marquette guard Junior Cadougan (5) as Syracuse center Baye Keita (12) looks for the rebound during the second half of the East Regional final in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Syracuse forward C.J. Fair (5) falls on Marquette guard Junior Cadougan (5) during the first half of the East Regional final in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Syracuse forward C.J. Fair (5) cuts down the net following their 55-39 win over Marquette in the East Regional final in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Marquette forward Steve Taylor Jr., (25) and Syracuse guard Michael Carter-Williams (1) reach for a loose ball during the first half of the East Regional final in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? When played to perfection, there's nothing quite like Syracuse's aggressive, half-court 2-3 zone defense.

It's 40 minutes of trapping and shot-challenging, of closing off angles, of trusting teammates.

"We showed," senior guard Brendan Triche said, "that defense wins games."

Yes, the Orange D certainly does.

With a second suffocating performance at the East Regional, No. 4-seeded Syracuse shut down No. 3 Marquette 55-39 Saturday to earn coach Jim Boeheim his fourth trip to the Final Four ? and first since a freshman named Carmelo Anthony helped win the 2003 NCAA championship.

"A tremendous, tremendous defensive effort," Boeheim said.

Fittingly, a matchup between schools from the soon-to-break-apart, rough-and-tumble Big East became quite a struggle on the offensive end. Syracuse (30-9) was led by senior forward James Southerland's 16 points. Michael Carter-Williams, a 6-foot-6 guard who is out front in the zone, was named the regional's top player after accounting for 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists, five steals and only one turnover Saturday.

Marquette (26-9) hadn't scored fewer than 47 points all season ? and, indeed, put up 74 in a victory over Syracuse on Feb. 25. But this time, Marquette kept turning the ball over, seeing its shots blocked or just plain missing.

The Golden Eagles' 39 points were a record low for a team in an NCAA tournament regional final since the shot clock was introduced in 1986.

"They beat us from start to finish. We collectively tried everything we knew to try," Marquette coach Buzz Williams said. "It is the zone, and it is the players in the zone."

Much like what happened Thursday in the regional semifinals, when Syracuse knocked off top-seeded Indiana by limiting it to a season-low output, too.

"I don't think we've played as good defensively as these last two games," Triche said. "We held some good teams down."

All told, Marquette made only 12 of 53 shots ? 23 percent ? and was 3 for 24 on 3-pointers. Vander Blue, who carried Marquette to the round of eight, was held to 14 points on 3-for-15 shooting.

"They cover ground really good. You've got to get the ball in the middle, you've got to play inside out, you've got to get to the free-throw line and wear them down with the 3-pointer when you can," Blue said. "They're really good at what they do in that zone."

Consider these numbers through four games in the tournament: Syracuse is averaging 6.5 blocks and 10.8 steals, while forcing opponents into 29 percent shooting, including 15 percent on 3-pointers.

"We couldn't get one to drop in from up close," said Marquette's Jamil Wilson, who was 0 for 5 on 3-pointers, 1 for 9 overall. "We couldn't get one to drop in from outside."

The next team to try to solve that defense will be the winner of Sunday's South Regional final between Florida and Michigan. Syracuse is 3-0 in national semifinal games under Boeheim.

And to think: Exactly three weeks ago, in this very same building, Syracuse wrapped up its final Big East regular-season schedule before heading to the Atlantic Coast Conference with a bad-as-can-be performance in a lopsided loss to Georgetown. Syracuse's 39 points that day were the Orange's tiniest total in a half-century.

That was Syracuse's fourth loss in a span of five games, a stumbling way to head into tournament play.

That night, Boeheim forgot to adjust his alarm clock to account for daylight saving time, and so showed up late for a pre-practice coaches' meeting. His players, turned out, had organized their own session without supervision, starting the work it would take to get going in the right direction.

"I watched them for a few minutes and it was really a good thing. I thought our practices were really good after that," Boeheim said. "You can turn things around in this game."

Since then, Syracuse has won seven of eight.

"When you bounce back like that, that says a lot about your kids, your team and your character," Boeheim said. "This is a heck of a bounce back."

And the secret to success? Defense, naturally.

"We got the right personnel for each key position," C.J. Fair said. "We got big long guards, we got big long forwards that can cover ground and our centers do a good job holding down the inside."

Because of that, Syracuse really needed only one run on offense in the second half, making five shots in a row during a spurt that gave it a 41-28 lead with 9? minutes left.

Last season, Syracuse fell a victory short of the Final Four, losing to Ohio State in the round of eight.

"We wanted to get over the hump," Southerland said. "That's what I told the guys: We've still got two more to go."

With President Barack Obama ? a basketball fan who picked Indiana to win the title ? and NFL Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin III of the Washington Redskins sitting in the crowd, Syracuse harassed Marquette into missing 14 of its first 15 tries from beyond the 3-point arc.

Marquette started 1 for 10 overall on field-goal tries, with Blue's 3-pointer about 1? minutes in the only make. He celebrated as though it came at the end of the game, not the outset, punching the air and tapping defender Triche on the back while heading to the other end of the court.

After Blue's 3, Marquette missed its next seven shots. There would be other such stretches. Six misses in a row. Six misses in a row. Even nine in a row.

The Golden Eagles also went nearly 6? minutes without a single field-goal attempt in the first half. Forget about putting the basketball through the net; Syracuse was so smothering, Marquette did not even manage to shoot.

When Southerland hit a 3, off a pass and screen by Carter-Williams, the Orange led 24-18 at halftime.

After helping cut down the net to celebrate Saturday, Southerland was asked whether he thought this sort of thing was possible when his team was leaving the same arena on March 9 after losing meekly to Georgetown.

"We just did a good job of recovering from that," Southerland explained, "and not sulking."

___

Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-30-BKC-NCAA-Syracuse-Marquette/id-83bc0e6ea4bd4e63ba3b114170aaa857

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Obama pitches public works spending to create jobs

President Barack Obama speaks at a port in Miami, Friday, March 29, 2013, promoting a plan to create construction and other jobs by attracting private investment in roads and other public works projects. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

President Barack Obama speaks at a port in Miami, Friday, March 29, 2013, promoting a plan to create construction and other jobs by attracting private investment in roads and other public works projects. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

President Barack Obama removes his jacket before touring a tunnel project at the Port of Miami, Friday, March 29, 2013, while promoting a plan to create jobs by attracting private investment in highways and other public works. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barack Obama tours a tunnel project at the Port of Miami, Friday, March 29, 2013, while promoting a plan to create jobs by attracting private investment in highways and other public works. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barack Obama speaks at a port in Miami, Friday, March 29, 2013, promoting a plan to create construction and other jobs by attracting private investment in roads and other public works projects. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Barack Obama speaks at a port in Miami, Friday, March 29, 2013, promoting a plan to create construction and other jobs by attracting private investment in roads and other public works projects. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

MIAMI (AP) ? Trying to show that the economy remains a top priority, President Barack Obama promoted a plan Friday to create construction and other jobs by attracting private money to help rebuild roads, bridges and other public works projects.

Obama fleshed out the details during a visit to a Miami port that's undergoing $2 billion in upgrades paid for with government and private dollars. The quick trip was designed to show that the economy and unemployment are top priorities for a president who also is waging high-profile campaigns on immigration reform and gun control.

Obama said the unemployment rate among construction workers was the highest of any industry, despite being cut nearly in half over the past three years.

"There are few more important things we can do to create jobs right now and strengthen our economy over the long haul than rebuilding the infrastructure that powers our businesses and economy," Obama said. "As president, my top priority is to make sure we are doing everything we can to reignite the true engine of our economic growth ? and that is a rising, thriving middle class."

Among the proposals Obama called for, which require approval from Congress, are:

?$4 billion in new spending on two infrastructure programs that award loans and grants.

?Higher caps on "private activity bonds" to encourage more private spending on highways and other infrastructure projects. State and local governments use the bonds to attract investment.

?Giving foreign pension funds tax-exempt status when selling U.S. infrastructure, property or real estate assets. U.S. pension funds are generally tax exempt in those circumstances. The administration says some international pension funds cite the tax burden as a reason for not investing in American infrastructure.

?A renewed call for a $10 billion national "infrastructure bank."

Arriving at the expansive port in Miami, Obama stood inside a double-barreled, concrete-laced hole in the ground, touring a tunnel project that will connect the port to area highways. The project has received loans and grants under the programs Obama touted and is expected to open next summer.

The president made private-sector infrastructure investment a key part of the economic agenda he rolled out in his State of the Union address last month. In the speech, he also called for a "Fix-It-First" program that would spend $40 billion in taxpayer funds on urgent repairs.

Congressional approval is not a sure bet, considering that House Republicans have shown little appetite for Obama's spending proposals. In fact, the infrastructure bank is an idea Obama called for many times in the past, but it gained little traction during his first term.

Obama's focus on generating more private-sector investment underscores the tough road new spending faces on Capitol Hill, where Republican lawmakers often threaten to block new spending unless it's paid for by cutting taxes or other spending. "These are projects that are helpful to the economy and shouldn't break down on partisan lines," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

But Florida Republicans, including Gov. Rick Scott, faulted Obama for being "late to the party." Before Obama arrived in Florida, Scott argued that state taxpayers have had to pick up too much of the tab for this and other port projects because the president was slow to support them.

Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told reporters traveling with Obama that the initiatives discussed Friday will cost $21 billion, not including the $40 billion for "Fix-It-First." Krueger said any increased spending associated with the proposals would not add to the deficit.

Krueger said details of how the programs would be paid for would be included in the budget Obama is scheduled to release on April 10.

___

AP White House Correspondent Julie Pace in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Follow Josh Lederman on Twitter: http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-29-Obama/id-2293a13f06f14aa1b27b34591cc46a6c

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Feds want $18 million back from timber counties

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) ? The U.S. Forest Service's demands that rural timber counties pay back millions of dollars in federal subsidies under automatic budget cuts have outraged members of Congress from both parties and caused concern in those counties with struggling economies.

Thirty-one members of the House this week sent a letter to the Obama administration protesting demands that they return $17.9 million in revenues that pay for schools, roads, search and rescue operations in rural counties as well as for conservation projects.

"For the administration to announce three months after the disbursement of these payments that they are subject to the sequester, and that states will receive a bill for repayment of funds already distributed to counties, appears to be an obvious attempt by President Obama's Administration to make the sequester as painful as possible," said the letter organized by House Resources Chairman Doc Hastings, R-Wash., and signed by 30 others, including Democrats.

Forest Service Chief Thomas L. Tidwell sent letters to 41 states telling them they need to repay $15.6 million disbursed in January under the Secure Rural Schools Act, which since 2000 has sent billions of dollars to 700 rural counties to make up for reductions in federal logging revenues due to fish and wildlife protections. The top recipients have been Oregon, California and Washington.

Tidwell also demanded the return of $2.3 million in other payments. He said the money needed to be repaid because it was sent out in fiscal year 2013, and is included under the 5.1 percent across-the-board federal budget cuts known as sequestration.

Many rural counties in the West also will be hit hard by Department of Interior cuts to the Payment In Lieu of Taxes Program, which reimburses counties for tax revenues they have lost by having federal lands within in their borders. The PILT program paid $393 million to over 1,850 counties last year, and this year those payments are also being cut by 5.1 percent ? about $20 million.

Members of Congress questioned the need to repay money disbursed by the Forest Service because the money had been appropriated in fiscal year 2012.

Forest Service spokesman Larry Chambers told The Associated Press he had nothing to say beyond what was in the chief's letter.

Many rural counties in Oregon were already struggling as money from the Secure Rural Schools Act was reduced over the years. The law has expired, and the last payments went out in January.

Douglas County Commissioner Doug Robertson, president of an association of Oregon timber counties that receive the funds, is hoping Gov. John Kitzhaber will offset the $3.6 million Oregon would have to repay by taking it from funds already dedicated to conservation projects on federal lands. That would spare struggling counties from having to come up money they have already spent.

"We never see that money anyway," Robertson said. "It'll work out."

Bob Rolston, a Sheridan County commissioner and president of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association, said commissioners across Wyoming are concerned about losing PILT funds, which amount to 25 percent of the annual budget in some counties.

"These are taxes that are due to the counties from the federal lands that lie within those counties," he said. "The way we look at it, if you don't pay your taxes, the sheriff's going to sell your property on the courthouse steps. They seem to think they don't have to pay the taxes, and that's the way it goes."

Jessica Kershaw, press secretary with the Interior Department in Washington, D.C., said "Interior was not afforded discretion to exempt PILT from the sequester."

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead has expressed frustration that federal agencies are dribbling out word of how they're implementing the funding cuts.

Earlier this week, Mead said he was outraged that the Department of Interior announced it is cutting $53 million in federal mineral royalty payments to the state, the nation's leading coal producer.

___

AP reporter Ben Neary reported from Cheyenne, Wyo.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/feds-want-18-million-back-timber-counties-225659049.html

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Personal Computer Just Got Way More Literal With ... - Geekosystem

Do you know what the Singularity is? It?s that apocryphal-unless-it-happens sci-fi-like event, championed by Ray Kurzweil, in which humans and machines merge and we as a species are forever transformed. None can say whether the the artificial mind and the real mind will become as one, but we?re making advances in that direction every day. Now bioengineers at Stanford University have made transistors from genetic materials in lieu of the semiconducting materials normally used. A nice big step toward Singularity.?Biological computers!

It starts with the transistor, the primary building block of the digital world and the reason we have cars, phones, and video games.

Published in Science, this new development?is the work of postdoctoral scholar of bioengineering?Jerome Bonnet and his team. They?re calling their bio-transistors ?transcriptors,? and they?re made from DNA and RNA. ?Transcriptors are the key component behind amplifying genetic logic,? says Bonnet.

This means engineers can compute inside living cells, giving them the ability to monitor what goes on around them or even toggle on and off cell reproduction. Transcriptors determine the flow of a specific protein or RNA polymerase (RNA-producing enzymes) in a strand of DNA, like electrons through a wire.

In electrical engineering, there is something called a logic-gate, another of the building blocks of a computer, which uses Boolean logic ? a system of 1s and 0s which represent on or off, open, or closed. Bonnet?s paper says their transcriptors have their own biological version, which they?re calling ?Boolean Integrase Logic? (?BIL gates? for short), and these are the third and final component of a complete biological computer.

So what?s the use of logic? Bonnet said the possibilities for logic are as endless in a biological setting as in electronics:

?You could test whether a given cell had been exposed to any number of external stimuli ? the presence of glucose and caffeine, for instance. BIL gates would allow you to make that determination and to store that information so you could easily identify those which had been exposed and which had not.?

The team used very specific enzyme combinations to control the flow of enzymes through DNA. ?The choice of enzymes is important,? he went on to say. ?We have been careful to select enzymes that function in bacteria, fungi, plants and animals, so that bio-computers can be engineered within a variety of organisms.?

As a fan of fungi, that?s intriguing to me! Computer toadstools are hopefully the future. Maybe.

But seriously, the application of this technology is wide open and Bonnet is happy to share his team?s work with the public:

?Most biotechnology has not yet been imagined. Let alone made true. By freely sharing important basic tools everyone can work better together.?

All right, so there won?t be any synthetic people walking around anytime soon, but it may not be too long before bio-computers can keep an eye on our insides and make sure we?re doing all right. How thoughtful!

(Stanford University via?Science Daily, images courtesy of imgfave.com, and ?DS on Flickr)

Relevant to your interests

Source: http://www.geekosystem.com/bio-computers-transcriptors/

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Setup WordPress Site - University of Business Internet Marketing ...

Set WordPress the right way and avoid frustration, pit falls and costly mistakes. These amazing videos will give you details of what plugins are and how to use them, insight in protecting your site and much more!

The simple WordPress setup will have your site up and running in no time.

In addition to the 26 videos it comes with a checklist and an ebook to help you understand the set up better.? This document is designed to give you a step by step checklist that will walk you through everything you need to get your blog ready to rock.

This course is broken down into 5 main parts which include:

Module 1: Settings

Module 2: Plugins

Module 3: Content

Module 4: Themes

Module 5:Finishing Touches

This area is for members of the University Of Business Internet Marketing. Watch our FREE video now to instantly uncover how to gain access to all the powerful information at UOBIM.com. Registered already? Login

Source: http://www.uobim.com/2013/03/29/setup-wordpress-site/

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$99 Ouya game console set for June 4th release

By Martyn Herman LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Whether by design, necessity, self-interest or because of all three, nurturing youngsters has become fashionable for England's elite with no expense spared in the hunt for the new Wayne Rooney or Steven Gerrard. The length and breadth of the country, scouts from top clubs are hoovering up promising footballers barely old enough to tie their bootlaces in a bid to unearth the 30 million pounds ($45.40 million) treasures of the future. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/99-ouya-game-console-set-june-4th-release-205942141.html

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The Most Accurate Map of Gay Marriage Support in America

Seen a few profile pictures change in support of gay marriage recently? The all-seeing eye of Facebook has seen quite a few, and from that ocean of data, it's whipped up a comprehensive map of gay marriage support in the America. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/_6akJtbkjuE/the-most-accurate-map-of-gay-marriage-support-in-america

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Doctor for N.F.L. Says Study Overstates Effects of C.T.E.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]A doctor asked that a mention of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., be removed from an advisory for players because it?s ?not fully understood? and lacks ?epidemiological validity.?

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/sports/football/doctor-for-nfl-says-study-overstates-effects-of-cte.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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It s Electric: Biologists Seek to Crack Cell s Bioelectric Code

Researchers have found that cells? bioelectrical communication steers growth and development. It is hoped that if the code can be learned, manipulating cellular signaling could be used to stave off cancer or even regenerate limbs

By Daisy Yuhas

Image: Douglas Blackiston

When Tufts University developmental biologist Michael Levin proposed tweaking cells? electrical signals to create new patterns of growth, he encountered some resistance. "People thought it was nuts," Levin says.

That's because although all cells have electric potentials (defined as the amount of energy required to move a given electrical unit against an electrical field), and these potentials clearly relate to cellular properties?the assumption in most cases was that the electric potential related primarily to cellular maintenance or ?housekeeping.? Disrupting a cell?s electrical potential, the conventional wisdom went, would kill it.

Yet for more than a decade Levin's work has countered this idea. He has manipulated the electrical potentials of cells in various ways to produce a menagerie of strange beasts: tadpoles with eyes on their tails or within their guts and frogs sprouting toes at the site of an amputated leg.

In fact, Levin believes he has found a new role for the bioelectricity of cells. He posits that the pattern of cellular voltages creates a system of electric signals that direct how the body grows. He calls these signals the bioelectric code and believes they are fundamentally as important in understanding growth and development as the genes in the body or the various chemical switches that turn them on and off. Indeed, he thinks that changes in electric potentials across cells can also serve as a so-called epigenetic switch to regulate how genes function.

Although Levin may have coined the phrase ?bioelectric code,? the belief that electric signals relate to patterns of growth is not a new concept. "The idea goes back a long way," says regenerative biologist David Stocum of Indiana University?Purdue University Indianapolis. "[Levin]'s taken it to a much higher art,? Stocum says, by actually looking at cellular potentials with specialized dyes.

Some of the earliest investigations go back nearly one hundred years. In the early 20th century Yale University biologist Harold Burr placed various organisms in a voltmeter to study their electric potentials and suggested there was a link between shape and electrical properties. Then in the 1970s Lionel Jaffe, a biologist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., used a probe to study electrical currents in and around cells. He noted differences in the electrical properties of creatures that could regenerate, such as salamanders, and those that could not, such as adult frogs. But much of this bioelectric research would be forgotten in subsequent decades in the rush toward molecular biology and genetics.

In recent years, researchers at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland have been examining how electric fields guide the growth of tissues during healing. But Levin's approach is the first to look at electric potentials on the level of individual cells and how they can be incorporated into our knowledge of molecular biology.

All cells have an electric potential that comes from the difference between charged atoms and molecules, or ions, on either side of the cell's membrane. Highly malleable cells, such as stem cells, which have the ability to grow into other cell types as well as tumor cells (which are characterized by abnormal and uncontrolled growth) have low electric potentials whereas mature and stable cells have high potentials.

Levin reasoned that if you could alter a cell's potential you can change how it would grow. And by changing the electric potential of many cells, he hypothesized that he could trigger the growth of a specific structure. Levin sees these patterns of electrical activity as a form of cellular communication, signaling when and how to grow.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=de366cde12efd546bc4d4bf99ad475fb

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Pope names his successor as archbishop of Buenos Aires

Last week, during his Ryan Seacrest-hosted special on The CW, Justin Timberlake said that music is the "most special" hat of the many hats he wears as an entertainer. Now, we can't psychoanalyze JT?as much as everyone may have wanted to during his year-long courtship of the world's attention. But, to be sure, music has given this man a lot: Timberlake's pop-star status has allowed him to pursue the very side projects that have transformed into his main career focus, as modern mega-celebrities are want to do with their "brand maintenance" these days. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-names-successor-archbishop-buenos-aires-112444196.html

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How school report cards can backfire

Mar. 25, 2013 ? In the wake of President Obama's "college scorecard," new research finds that government attempts to grade educational institutions can backfire when done for political or policy purposes.

Rebecca Jacobsen of Michigan State University studied the effects of publicizing performance data for K-12 schools, which was mandated by No Child Left Behind in 2001. While Jacobsen believes school report cards are warranted to keep the public informed, she said too often the information presented is unclear or misleading to parents and can ultimately erode trust in the schools.

And now comes the president's interactive scorecard for colleges and universities. In his February State of the Union address, Obama said the scorecard compares schools "based on a simple criteria: where you can get the most bang for your educational buck."

Jacobsen, assistant professor of teacher education, said attempting to determine the value of a college or K-12 education with a set of data can be a dangerous proposition.

"It can be scary, because they're trying to give you a prototype that attempts to get at the value of an education," Jacobsen said. "But how do we determine value? I may value the network I develop, while someone else may value the diversity of courses or another facet of the educational experience."

While K-12 schools may share a more common mission than colleges and universities, the data used to grade any educational institution can have unintended consequences.

"It's a growing problem," Jacobsen said. "Policymakers and state legislators have realized they need to put the data out there in a way that's clear, but sometimes those efforts toward clarity are actually backfiring."

In New York City, where K-12 schools are given a simple letter grade, education officials in 2010 capped the number of schools that could receive an "A." Consequently, many schools saw grades fall even though student performance did not necessarily drop.

The result, as Jacobsen discusses in the March/April issue of Educational Policy, was a drop in parent satisfaction with the schools. In addition, increased grades did not boost parent satisfaction, suggesting the psychological effect of declining grades has a larger effect than seeing a school maintain or improve its performance.

Raising the bar on student performance has been shown to spur academic achievement in school districts, making it an appealing policy, Jacobsen said. But little attention has been paid to how the public is influenced by the report cards that publicize the results.

Long-term consequences of decreased parent satisfaction could include a decline in enrollment, donations and volunteers, and even a drop in housing values, which are tied to the community schools.

Many states and school districts have changed their grading systems from year to year. Jacobsen said they should pick one system that's easy to understand and then focus on parent outreach.

"In our rush to produce data of all shapes and sizes and then reshape these data for policy or political purposes, we cannot forget to consider how the public is interpreting these data," Jacobsen said. "Parents want one clear number, and I don't think we should monkey with that number."

The study was co-authored by MSU graduate students Andrew Saultz and Jeffrey Snyder.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Michigan State University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. R. Jacobsen, A. Saultz, J. W. Snyder. When Accountability Strategies Collide: Do Policy Changes That Raise Accountability Standards Also Erode Public Satisfaction? Educational Policy, 2013; 27 (2): 360 DOI: 10.1177/0895904813475712

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/living_well/~3/xKY0OWekqoY/130325094028.htm

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Watch the Full Documentary About 3D Printed Weapons: Click. Print. Gun.

After getting teased with the trailer for Click. Print. Gun, Motherboard's documentary on the 3D printed gun movement, we finally get to watch the whole thing. The doc takes a look at Cody R. Wilson, a 25-year-old University of Texas law student, and how he's been building weapon parts with a 3D printer. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/S4pa45YcqpY/watch-the-full-documentary-about-3d-printed-weapons-click-print-gun

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Justice Roberts? lesbian cousin will attend Tuesday?s Supreme Court gay marriage arguments (Americablog)

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Favorite Four: Medical Aid Apps ? 148Apps ? iPhone, iPad, and ...

Looking at four great apps to make tracking or taking care of one's health a breeze.

An iPhone or iPad can be used for many different and fun purposes, it can also be used to help those in need of medical assistance. I don?t just mean in terms of being able to call 911, either. Here?s our look at four great apps that help assist users in some way, either through providing medical information or reminders just when they need it most.

RxmindMe Prescrption/Medicine Reminder and Pill Tracker
It?s not the newest of apps but RxmindMe is still a great one. The app is a prescription reminder service that should help keep track of all the medication that some people need to take. Nine different types of reminders mean it doesn?t matter if the medication needs to be taken every hour or even just on a particular day of the month, this app has its users covered. Further details mean it?s possible to track quantities, export information, take photos of the medication and search extensively for any FDA approved drug. Impressive going for an app that?s free to use.

FREE!

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-09-27 :: Category: Medical

iPharmacy
Want to know everything about a type of medication, from dosage and side effects to how it interacts with other drugs? iPharmacy should have you covered. The app does a little bit of everything with simple reminders, an encyclopaedia of drugs and relevant information about them, as well as the means in which to find the cheapest pharmacy to buy them. iPharmacy proves a handy guide to all the latest recalls and alerts too, keeping its users safe.

FREE!

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-06-16 :: Category: Medical

Glucose Buddy
For the diabetic, it?s vital to keep track of various important information such as glucose levels, carbohydrate consumption and insulin dosage. Glucose Buddy does all that and offers syncing options to keep such things safe. Graphs and logbooks make tracking everything a breeze, and safe and easy to demonstrate to a doctor when attending a regular check up. There?s integration with CalorieTrack, too, making it easier to log food and exercise details.

FREE!

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2008-10-28 :: Category: Medical

iTriage
While it?s ideal to go visit a doctor with concerns, it?s not always possible or convenient. iTriage offers advice for many symptoms, diseases and conditions, helping its users figure out whether they need to go visit someone or whether there isn?t a concern. Alongside such information, there are details on where to find the nearest ER or relevant clinic, as well as emergency hotlines and even an average wait time for certain facilities.

FREE!

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2009-02-18 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness Posted in: Blog, Favorite 4

Tagged with: favorite 4, favorite four, Glucose Buddy, iPharmacy, itriage, Medical Aid, Medical Assistance, RxmindMe Prescription/Medicine Reminder and Pill Tracker

Review disclosure: note that the product reviewed on this page may have been provided to us by the developer for the purposes of this review. Note that if the developer provides the product or not, this does not impact the review or score.

Source: http://www.148apps.com/news/favorite-medical-aid-apps/

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Spring snowstorm hits central states, pushes east

James Madison University students walk along Carrier Drive at the Alumni Association Centennial Park during the snow in Harrisonburg, Va., Sunday evening March 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Daily News-Record, Michael Reilly)

James Madison University students walk along Carrier Drive at the Alumni Association Centennial Park during the snow in Harrisonburg, Va., Sunday evening March 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Daily News-Record, Michael Reilly)

Bobby Jones of Bel-Ridge, Mo., near St.Louis, clears the parking lane in front of his North Hanley Road home with his lawn tractor on Sunday, March 24, 2013, as a new blanket of wintry weather hits the St. Louis region early in Spring. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Christian Gooden)

Korey Estes launches a snowball at his son, James Gordon, at the top of Art Hill in front of the St. Louis Art Museum on Sunday, March 24, 2013, in St. Louis. A storm dumped 7 to 9 inches of snow from eastern Kansas into central Missouri before tapering off this morning. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, J.B. Forbes)

A man waits for help after becoming stuck in snow along West 6th Street in Lawrence, Kan., Sunday, March 24, 2013. Few signs of spring are being found in parts of the Midwest as a snowstorm brings heavy snow and high winds. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Junior Aaron Raffeinner, 20, left, and Holly Doherty, 19, a sophomore, members of the James Madison University Pep Band, leave the Convocation Center as the snow falls after performing during the second round Women's National Invitational Tournament basketball game with North Carolina State Sunday March 24, 2013 in Harrisonburg, Va. (AP Photo/Daily News-Record, Michael Reilly)

PITTSBURGH (AP) ? A wide-ranging storm is hitting the East Coast after blanketing the Midwest and burying thoughts of springtime weather under a blanket of heavy wet snow and slush, though less snow was predicted to fall as the storm moves eastward.

Light rain and snow fell in New Jersey on Monday morning after as the storm dropped 2 to 6 inches in Ohio.

Similar accumulations were expected in some areas of Pennsylvania, except for higher elevations like the Laurel Mountains southeast of Pittsburgh, where 6 to 10 inches were forecast. No major problems reported.

In the mid-Atlantic, Heather Sheffield, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va., said more than 3 inches of snow had been reported by 8 a.m. Monday at Washington Dulles International Airport, and more than an inch at Reagan National Airport.

Sheffield said most of that region's expected snowfall had already occurred, but "it happened at the worst time for the morning commute. I know I had a tough time."

The winter-like early spring weather forced the cancellation of more than 500 flights.

And, the slushy morning commute and widespread school delays as the storm moved eastward were minor compared to the storm's impact on the Midwest, where it was blamed for separate crashes in Illinois, Kansas and Missouri on snow-slicked roads.

Springfield, in central Illinois, got slammed with a record 17 inches of snow, and several central Indiana counties declared snow emergencies after getting hit with up to 8 inches of snow.

Slick roads were also being blamed for a series of crashes on Interstate 60 north of Indianapolis that sent two people to area hospitals with life-threatening injuries. The Indiana State Police reported late Sunday that two people in a 2012 Subaru were hurt when the driver lost control while coming upon the scene of a previous crash involving a semitrailer. The Subaru hit the tractor-trailer and ended up in a ditch, police said. Authorities said both driver and passenger had life-threatening injuries and were taken to area hospitals. An update on their conditions was not immediately available.

Earlier Sunday night, a jack-knifed semi and subsequent fuel leak required a hazardous materials response outside Indianapolis, officials said. The Fishers Department of Fire and Emergency Services said a tractor-trailer was southbound on Interstate 69 when its driver lost control. No one was injured.

The storm was expected to weaken as it moved east. Before it exits off the coast of New Jersey on Monday night, the storm was forecast to leave 2 to 4 inches in that state as well as Delaware, northern Maryland and southern New York.

To the west, parts of Colorado and northwest Kansas spent Sunday digging out from 10 to 15 inches of snow that were dumped there Saturday. Southwestern Nebraska got up to 7 inches. Winds gusting at speeds of up to 45 mph created snow drifts of 2 to 3 feet in the three states, said Ryan Husted, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Goodland, Kan.

"We have pretty much cleared out. Sunny skies. It's starting to melt a little bit," Husted said Sunday. Transportation officials reopened several closed highways, including a stretch of Interstate 70 spanning from Denver to Colby, Kan.

Authorities on Sunday also released the names of two people killed in separate crashes. In northeast Kansas, Anthony J. Hinthorne, 40, of Topeka, was killed Saturday afternoon in a single-vehicle crash and rollover on the Kansas Turnpike as snow was falling in Shawnee County, the Kansas Highway Patrol said. Later that night, Joshua J. French, 24, of Naperville, Ill., was killed when he lost control of his vehicle on a wet stretch of Interstate 35 in eastern Missouri's Clay County.

In the central Missouri town of Columbia, TV station KOMU was briefly evacuated Sunday morning because of high winds and a heavy buildup of snow on the broadcast tower next to the building. And Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced he was cancelling a couple events planned for Monday because of the weather.

___

Associated Press reporters Thomas Peipert in Denver, Sandy Kozel in Washington, and Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-25-Spring%20Storm/id-bfd17e6175e6462591fb21d7d5c119d1

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New urgency in battle against 'bound legs' disease

Mar. 25, 2013 ? The harm done by konzo -- a disease overshadowed by the war and drought it tends to accompany -- goes beyond its devastating physical effects to impair children's memory, problem solving and other cognitive functions.

Even children without physical symptoms of konzo appear to lose cognitive ability when exposed to the toxin that causes the disease, researchers report in the journal Pediatrics.

"That's what's especially alarming," said lead author Michael Boivin, a Michigan State University associate professor of psychiatry and of neurology and ophthalmology. "We found subtle effects that haven't been picked up before. These kids aren't out of the woods, even if they don't have the disease."

Konzo means "bound legs" in the African Yaka language, a reference to how its victims walk with feet bent inward after the disease strips away motor control in their lower limbs. Its onset is rapid, and the damage is permanent.

People contract konzo by consuming poorly processed bitter cassava, a drought-resistant staple food in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Typically, the plant's tuber is soaked for a few days, then dried in the sun and ground into flour -- a process that degrades naturally occurring cyanide.

"As long as they do that, the food's pretty safe," said Boivin, who began studying konzo in 1990 as a Fulbright researcher in the Democratic Republic of Congo. "But in times of war, famine, displacement and hardship, people take shortcuts. If they're subsisting on poorly processed cassava and they don't have other sources of protein, it can cause permanent damage to the nervous system.

"Konzo doesn't make many headlines because it usually follows other geopolitical aspects of human suffering," he added. "Still, there are potentially tens of millions of kids at risk throughout central and western Africa. The public health scope is huge."

To find out if the disease affects cognitive function, Boivin and colleagues from Oregon Health and Science University turned to the war-torn Congo. They randomly selected 123 children with konzo and 87 neighboring children who showed no signs of the disease but whose blood and urine samples indicated elevated levels of the toxin.

Using cognitive tests, the researchers found that children with konzo had a much harder time using working memory to solve problems and organize visual and spatial information.

They also found that konzo and non-konzo children from the outbreak area showed poor working memory and impaired fine-motor skills when compared to a reference group of children from a part of the region unaffected by the disease.

Konzo's subtler impacts might seem minor compared to its striking physical symptoms, but Boivin noted that the cognitive damage is similar to that caused by chronic low-grade exposures to other toxic substances such as lead.

Scientists eventually may be able to prevent such damage by creating nontoxic cassava varieties and introducing other resilient crops to affected regions, Boivin said. Meanwhile, public health education programs are under way to help stop outbreaks.

"For now," he said, "if we could just avoid the worst of it -- the full-blown konzo disease that has such devastating effects for children and families -- that's a good start."

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---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Michigan State University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Michael J. Boivin, Daniel Okitundu, Guy Makila-Mabe Bumoko, Marie-Therese Sombo, Dieudonne Mumba, Thorkild Tylleskar, Connie F. Page, Jean-Jacques Tamfum Muyembe, and Desire Tshala-Katumbay. Neuropsychological Effects of Konzo: A Neuromotor Disease Associated With Poorly Processed Cassava. Pediatrics, March 25, 2013 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2012-3011

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/EtYMhGXG9Rg/130325094026.htm

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The Rock wins Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Male Buttkicker

All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2012 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2012 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/inside/overtheropes/the-rock-wins-kids-choice-award-favorite-male-buttkicker

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Shinseki says VA on target for ending backlog

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Although the number of veterans' disability claims keep soaring, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki on Sunday said he's committed to ending the backlog by 2015 by replacing paper with electronic records.

Veterans receive disability compensation for injuries or illness incurred during their active military service. About 600,000 claims, or 70 percent, are considered backlogged. The number of claims pending for more than 125 days has nearly quadrupled under Shinseki's watch.

Shinseki told CNN's "State of the Union" that a decade of war and efforts to make it easier for veterans to collect compensation for certain illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder have driven the backlog higher during his tenure. He said that doing away with paper records will be the key to a turnaround.

Shinseki said that the VA has puts its new computer system in place in 20 regional offices around the country and all regional offices will be on the system by the end of the year.

"This has been decades in the making, 10 years of war. We're in paper, we need to get out of paper," Shinseki said. The Defense Department and other agencies still file paper claims, he said, but "we have commitments that in 2014 we will be electronically processing our data and sharing it."

Congressional committees have held two hearings on the disability claims bottleneck in the past two weeks. Lawmakers voiced growing frustration with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"There are many people, including myself, who are losing patience as we continue to hear the same excuses from VA about increased workload and increased complexity of claims," Florida's Rep. Jeff Miller, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"No veteran should have to wait for claims. If there's anybody impatient here, I am that individual and we're pushing hard," said Shinseki, the former four-star Army general who became VA secretary when President Barack Obama came into office.

About 4.3 million veterans and survivors receive disability benefits. Most veterans whose claims are backlogged, about 60 percent, are getting some disability compensation already and have filed for additional benefits for other injuries or illnesses.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-24-US-Shinseki-Disability-Claims-Backlog/id-e86b17a9946e4624818da0794e9a92a0

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'Game of Thrones' prequel series possible

Jason Redmond / Jason Redmond / REUTERS

By Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone

A "Game of Thrones"?prequel could be in the works, according to series creator George R. R. Martin, who told IGN?there are talks of turning his "Tales of Dunk and Egg" novellas ? which also take place in Westeros, but 100 years before the events of? Game of Thrones ?? into a TV show.

"We have been playing with the idea of doing those as prequels," Martin said. "They're somewhat lighter in tone than the main series, a little more adventurous. But my fans love them and I love the two characters too, and it all ties into Westeros history."

"Game of Thrones" creator will make cameo in season three

Martin, who also has a development deal with HBO, revealed some ideas he's been working on for the network, including a science fiction show and a historical drama (though, as he noted, development is always a bit of a crapshoot).

HBO

Q&A: "Game of Thrones" insider Bryan Cogman on the biggest season yet

"The trick is, I have to find another David Benioff and Dan Weiss," Martin added, referring to the two "Game of Thrones" showrunners. "Because while I can come up with the ideas and the concepts for the show, I'm not in a position to write them because I have 3,000 more pages of the books to write, and that has to remain my top priority."

You can check out the trailer for the third season of "Game of Thrones" here; the show returns?March 31 on HBO.?

Related content:

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Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2013/03/23/17428478-game-of-thrones-prequel-series-possible-says-author-george-r-r-martin?lite

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First message sent from space to be preserved by Library of ...

The 2012 National Recording Registry With a Twist

Van Cliburn, Pink Floyd, Simon & Garfunkel Recordings Marked for Preservation

From the cultural significance of Chubby Checker's song-and-dance phenomenon and the historic moment of Van Cliburn's triumphant Cold War performance in Moscow to the artistry of Cuban bassist Israel "Cachao" Lopez's all-star jam sessions, the 2012 inductees to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress reflect the diversity and creativity of the American experience. The Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington, today announced the selection of 25 sound recordings to the registry, marked for preservation because of their cultural, artistic and historic importance to the nation's aural legacy.

"Congress created the National Recording Registry to celebrate the richness and variety of our audio heritage and to underscore our responsibility for long-term preservation, to assure that legacy can be appreciated and studied for generations," said Billington. "Our challenge, however, continues to be finding collaborative and innovative ways to protect and make available this unmatched legacy to the public."

Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian, with advice from the Library's National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB), is tasked with annually selecting 25 recordings that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and are at least 10 years old. The selections for the 2012 registry bring the total number of recordings to 375.

The selections named to the registry feature a diverse array of spoken-word and musical recordings-representing nearly every musical category-spanning the years 1918-1980. Among this year's selections are Simon and Garfunkel's 1966 album, "Sounds of Silence"; "The Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd, which received the highest number of public nominations among this year's picks; the soundtrack to the popular movie "Saturday Night Fever"; the 1918 trendsetting "After You've Gone" by Marion Harris; "Cheap Thrills," Janis Joplin's second release with Big Brother and the Holding Company; the radio broadcast featuring Will Rogers' 1931 folksy insights in support of Herbert Hoover's unemployment-relief campaign during the Great Depression; and Artie Shaw's breakthrough hit, "Begin the Beguine."

Additions to the registry feature notable performances by Leontyne Price, Ornette Coleman, The Ramones, The Bee Gees, Clarence Ashley, Doc Watson, Philip Glass, Betty Carter, Junior Wells, Jimmie Davis, Frank Yankovic, The Blackwood Brothers and The Neville Brothers.

Nominations were gathered through online submissions from the public and from the NRPB, which comprises leaders in the fields of music, recorded sound and preservation. The Library is currently accepting nominations for the next registry at the NRPB website (www.loc.gov/nrpb/). Several of the selections on the registry were public nominations.

As part of its congressional mandate, the Library is identifying and preserving the best existing versions of each recording on the registry. These recordings will be housed in the Library's Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation in Culpeper, Va., a state-of-the-art facility that was made possible through the generosity of David Woodley Packard and the Packard Humanities Institute, with benefaction from the U.S. Congress. The Packard Campus (www.loc.gov/avconservation/) is home to more than 6 million collection items, including nearly 3.5 million sound recordings.

After 10 years of collaborative effort and the 2010 release of the first-ever-conducted comprehensive study on the state of recorded-sound preservation in the U.S., last month the Library unveiled its plan to save the nation's endangered aural legacy (PDF). This blueprint makes 32 recommendations-long-term and short-term-covering infrastructure, preservation, access, education and policy strategies. Among them are the application of federal copyright law to pre-1972 sound recordings; creation of a national directory of all recorded sound collections and a national discography; and establishment of university-based degree programs in audio archiving and preservation.

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library's rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/22/first-message-sent-from-space-to-be-preserved-by-library-of-cong/

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Calif corruption trial ends in mistrial

Defense attorneys, from left, Ronald Kaye, Stanley Friedman, and Shepard Kopp comment on their clients, after a judge declared a mistrial Thursday on dozens of remaining counts against five former city of Bell elected officials accused of misappropriating public funds, in Los Angeles Thursday, March 21, 2013. Jurors had reached mixed verdicts on Wednesday, convicting the former mayor and four former Bell City Council members of 21 counts of misappropriating public funds and acquitting them of 21 other counts. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Defense attorneys, from left, Ronald Kaye, Stanley Friedman, and Shepard Kopp comment on their clients, after a judge declared a mistrial Thursday on dozens of remaining counts against five former city of Bell elected officials accused of misappropriating public funds, in Los Angeles Thursday, March 21, 2013. Jurors had reached mixed verdicts on Wednesday, convicting the former mayor and four former Bell City Council members of 21 counts of misappropriating public funds and acquitting them of 21 other counts. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Former Bell City council member George Cole arrives at the Los Angeles Courthouse Thursday, March 21, 2013. Cole was found guilty Wednesday of two counts of misappropriation of funds related to the city of Bell's solid waste and recycling. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Former Bell city council member Teresa Jacobo arrives at Los Angeles Courthouse Thursday, March 21, 2013. Jacobo was found guilty Wednesday of five counts of misappropriation of funds related to the city's solid waste and recycling. (AP Photo/Nick Ut )

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? For more than three weeks jurors heard testimony about former elected officials who were accused of a salary-inflating scheme that drove a working-class Los Angeles suburb to the brink of bankruptcy. The panel deliberated for roughly as long.

A judge declared a mistrial Thursday after jurors, who spent more than 19 days weighing the evidence, said they were deadlocked on the remaining 42 counts. The decision to end the trial came after a series of notes from jurors that not only questioned their previous finding of guilt against the former leaders of Bell but showed tensions had boiled over.

In Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy's estimation, "all hell has broken loose in the jury deliberation room."

On Wednesday the panel of seven woman and five men convicted the former mayor and four former Bell council members of a total of 21 counts of misappropriating public funds and acquitted them on 21 other counts. A sixth former official was acquitted of all charges.

The convictions were the first to come after revelations more than a year ago that Bell's leadership had illegally raised taxes, business license fees and other sources of income to pay huge salaries to the city manager, police chief, City Council members and others.

On Thursday, deliberations resumed on the remaining counts.

After jurors indicated they might be able to break a 9-3 stalemate, Kennedy asked them to keep deliberating. It was later disclosed the vote was in favor of guilt.

But the amount of time spent deliberating apparently was getting to jurors. One juror sent a note Thursday that read: "Your honor, I respectfully ask if you could please remind the jury to remain respectful and to not make false accusations or insults to one another."

The revelation came after another juror said in a note that "due to the pressure and stress of the deliberation process" the jury may have given an improper guilty verdict.

"It is better to be certain beyond a reasonable doubt to give a verdict of guilty than send someone innocent to prosecution," the note read. Kennedy ruled the verdicts would stand and not be revisited.

Jurors said they did not want to speak to the news media or attorneys and asked to be escorted privately from the courthouse. Prosecutors also declined to comment.

Defense attorneys said they planned to file a motion for a new trial based on possible juror misconduct.

"I think our clients were vilified in the court of public opinion. The call for their guilt has been ringing out," said Alex Kessel, former Councilman George Mirabal's attorney.

A hearing was scheduled for April 23 to determine whether the deadlocked counts will be retried. Sentencing on the guilty verdicts was not immediately set. Defense attorneys said their clients are eligible for probation.

The case involving the modest 2?-square-mile city has become a national symbol of political greed. Authorities said the scheme was masterminded by former City Manager Robert Rizzo that enriched him, the council members and other top city officials. Rizzo and his former assistant, Angela Spaccia, are scheduled to face trial later this year on similar charges.

The city of Bell has about 36,000 residents, with one in four people living below the poverty line.

As its manager, Rizzo had an annual compensation package of about $1.5 million. His salary alone was about $800,000 a year or twice that of the president of the United States. The six former City Council members were each paid about $100,000 a year.

The convictions were all related to the money the five were paid for their service on Bell's Solid Waste and Recycling Authority, an entity prosecutors said was a sham agency created only to pay them money. Records show the authority met only one time between 2006 and 2010 and there was no evidence any waste was ever collected or recycled.

The defendants, many of whom took the witness stand during the trial, insisted they earned their salaries by working around the clock to help residents. They and their lawyers blamed Rizzo for creating the fiscal mess in Bell.

"We were never part-time employees of the city," Mirabal said outside court Friday.

The other defendants declined comment.

___

AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-22-City%20Corruption/id-d8b6e5f481d041498ecf93113c35fc91

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