Government, insurers to tackle health care fraud

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The government is stepping up efforts to tackle health care fraud by scrutinizing claims data from insurers and federal programs in hopes of weeding out bogus billing.

Details of the initiative were to be announced Thursday at the White House by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Attorney General Eric Holder, and insurance executives.

The analysis of data from Medicare, Medicaid and private health plans will look for suspicious patterns and other evidence that might indicate fraud, White House officials said. A "trusted third party" would comb through the data and turn questionable billing over to insurers or federal investigators.

The plan underscores President Barack Obama's complicated relationship with the insurance industry.

He routinely criticizes insurance companies in campaign events. Yet he relied heavily on industry support to pass his landmark health overhaul and resisted calls from within his own party to set up a "single payer" plan of government-run insurance.

Among organizations expected to join the FBI in in the anti-fraud partnership are America's Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association; both played a major role in the health care debate.

Officials said those who submit fraudulent claims often do so for both government programs and private insurance plans. Separately, such claims might not raise suspicions, but taken together they could raise a red flag, such as when a doctor bills for more than 24 hours in a day.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-07-26-Obama-Health%20Fraud/id-54f1c2c7aa7b4564ad40aef77eb481e7

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Nigeria's floating slum targeted by authorities

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) ?

The Makoko slum floats on the murky lagoon that separates mainland Nigeria from the island that gave birth to its largest city, a permanent haze of smoke rising from homes built on timber stilts.

For some, Makoko provides an escape from the overcrowded neighborhoods of Lagos, a city of millions where families crowd into one-room apartments or sleep soundly in unfinished buildings. Others view the slum as an eyesore where the 100,000 residents dump trash, excrement and everything else into the brackish waters.

A government-led eviction last week that saw men in speedboats destroy homes with machetes there left about 3,000 people homeless and raised new fears among activists that authorities may try to wipe the community out entirely. While the government has pulled back from its demolishing effort, its own notice suggests it wants the entire community gone.

"We are just trying to survive," said Mirabelle Agbete as she drifted away in her canoe with her son. "This is unfair, we are human beings. How do you just throw out people without warning?"

Makoko is a sprawling community of bamboo homes and shacks built out of driftwood, close to the University of Lagos campus and visible to daily traffic that plies the Third Mainland Bridge, the link from the mainland to the city's islands. Those living in Makoko subsist largely as fishermen and workers in nearby saw mills, cutting up water-logged timber that's floated into the city daily. Some work jobs outside of the slum as gate guards and in other industries, though most live almost entirely within its watery boundaries.

The people of Makoko have created their own life independent from the state, with its own schools and clinics, however ill-equipped. Commerce goes on in its creek alleyways as women sell sizzling dishes and goods from canoes. Others sell videos and telephone airtime cards from the shacks just above the waterline, where a maze of wooden planks connects the homes.

Children who attend classes in schools on the water learn in English and French and speak various languages from Nigeria and neighboring Benin. Many residents in Makoko come from the French-speaking West African nation but have lived in the community for decades.

Waterfront villages remain common through Nigeria and Lagos itself grew out of one. However, Makoko's uniqueness and visibility has turned it into a poster child for urban poverty. It has featured in photo exhibits and documentaries around the world, something politicians and others have criticized for giving what they describe as a warped view of Lagos.

Authorities have gone in and evicted homeowners before from the area. However, this time, Lagos state government gave Makoko residents only three days to demolish their own homes and evacuate before they came in. Activists said one official told them the state wanted to remove homes near a power line because it was not safe for people to live there. But the government notice made no mention of the power line and ordered the evacuation of the entire waterway.

"The Lagos state government is desirous of restoring the amenity and value of the waterfront ... (and) improve the waterfront/coastline to underline the megacity status of the state," the government notice read.

If totally removed, the demolition of Makoko could leave at least 100,000 people homeless, said Felix Morka, the executive director of Social and Economics Rights Action Center, which works with Makoko residents. After a march by Makoko residents Monday, Lagos state Gov. Babatunde Raji Fashola asked them to return home, though some have nowhere to go. Since the demolitions started last week, many have slept in their canoes tucked in between their belongings. Some took shelter under the Third Mainland Bridge, while others moved out or found a place to squat.

"Many people are sleeping in my school," said Noah Shemede, the head teacher at Whanyinna Primary School. "We'll manage. In my house, I can take a few more people, the most important thing is that we stay together."

The authorities' reluctance to clarify what they intend for Makoko has sparked apprehension for the slum's remaining residents. Akin Ogunlana, the head operations of Kick Against Indiscipline, who was supervising the demolitions in Makoko, told The Associated Press he simply followed orders given to him by the state government. Adesegun Oniru, Lagos state's waterfront infrastructure and development commissioner, declined to comment.

The continued unease has already sparked violence. On Saturday, trouble started when authorities tried to demolish a building after officials reached an informal agreement about how they would target homes for destruction. A police officer shot dead community chief Timothy Hunpoyanwha, residents have said. The traditional ruler had only been trying to mediate between the authorities and angry youths, said Ewajane Osowo, the secretary of Ilaje CrayFish Fishermen Association.

Lagos state spokeswoman Ngozi Braide said a police corporal had been arrested over the fatal shooting, which remains under investigation.

The killing prompted Fashola to order a stop to the demolition exercise. He also said he was willing to speak with the communities to reach a compromise, but said Makoko would not be allowed to grow any further.

The lagoon "is the natural drainage that God has given us and we have to preserve it," the governor said at the time. "The only issue was the expansion of the community and the time to define the boundary is now."

Forced evictions recently have happened in unplanned neighborhoods around Abuja, Nigeria's capital, as well as in Port Harcourt, the largest city in the country's oil-rich Niger Delta. In Port Harcourt, authorities destroyed the Abonnema Wharf community which, by some estimates, was home to about 25,000 families. Amnesty International criticized that demolition, saying evictions should "be carried out only as a last resort."

But many in Nigeria, a country beset by government corruption and mismanagement, take a fatalistic view of their chances. Lawsuits over real estate languish for years in the country's overworked courts system. And those evicted often don't have the money to launch a legal challenge, instead focusing on the day-to-day struggle most face in feeding their families in a nation where most earn less than $2 a day.

"What can I do? It has happened, it has happened," said Abraham Mesou, a traditional ruler in the area who had to destroy a home he had lived in for more than 22 years. "We are fishermen but I don't pray for my children to be fishermen so they don't suffer the way we have suffered."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nigerias-floating-slum-targeted-authorities-144547660--finance.html

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Obama Inks U.S.-Israel Security Enhancement Ahead of Romney ...

President Obama and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in March, 2012. Photo: Israeli Govt. Press Office.

WSJ ? With a stroke of a pen on Friday, President Barack Obama gave Israel a long-distance embrace ahead of Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney?s trip to the Jewish state this weekend.

Mr. Obama held an Oval Office photo-op for his signing of legislation that enhances U.S.-Israel security cooperation, saying the move underscores ?our unshakeable commitment to Israel security.?

Read full story.

Source: http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/07/27/obama-inks-u-s-israel-security-enhancement-ahead-of-romney-visit/

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Colgate quarterly profit rises, forecast maintained

(Reuters) - Colgate-Palmolive Co posted a higher quarterly profit on Thursday as the toothpaste maker increased advertising and cut costs to mitigate the impact of having the bulk of its business overseas in a difficult economic climate.

Colgate said it still expected double-digit growth in earnings per share this year on a currency-neutral basis.

Second-quarter profit was $627 million, or $1.30 per share, compared with $622 million, or $1.26 per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, Colgate earned $1.33 per share.

Analysts, on average, expected Colgate to earn $1.33 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sales rose 2 percent to $4.27 billion, ahead of the analysts' forecast of $4.25 billion.

Organic sales, which strip out the impact of foreign exchange, acquisitions and divestitures, rose 8 percent. The volume of goods sold rose 5 percent, and pricing increased 3.5 percent.

(Reporting by Jessica Wohl in Chicago; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/colgate-quarterly-profit-rises-forecast-maintained-111247000--finance.html

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Billions are riding on risky Mars landing

Experts at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory share the challenges of the Curiosity rover's landing plan.

By Alan Boyle

Anyone who's looked at the "Seven Minutes of Terror" trailer for next month's Mars landing might have wondered whether the planners behind NASA's $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory mission really knew what they were doing ? and although the planners insist they're confident, they also say they're nervous.

"There's not a whole lot we can do about it at this point, except just be nervous," said Dave Beaty, chief scientist for the Mars Exploration Directorate at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

You can test the mood for yourself by tuning in our "Virtually Speaking Science" talk show at 9 p.m. ET tonight, via BlogTalkRadio or the Second Life virtual world. Beaty and I will be talking about the buildup to the Aug. 5 landing, and taking your questions through Second Life, Twitter (use the hashtag #askvs) and the phone lines. If you can't make it, don't worry: You'll be able to listen to the hourlong podcast via BlogTalkRadio's archive or iTunes.

---

Falling into place
All the pieces are falling into place for the Mars Science Laboratory's landing sequence, aimed at putting the subcompact car-sized Curiosity rover down within Gale Crater. On Tuesday,?NASA maneuvered its Mars Odyssey?orbiter into the correct trajectory to pass over the landing site just in time to pick up telemetry from the probe.

The MSL spacecraft is currently within 2.2 million miles (3.6 million kilometers) of Mars and closing in fast. The big nail-biter is scheduled for just after 10 p.m. PT on Aug. 5 (1 a.m. ET Aug. 6), when the spacecraft is supposed to blaze through Mars' atmosphere, spring a parachute, pop off its heat shield and let loose a rocket-powered sky crane that will hover about 66 feet (20 meters) above the Martian surface and lower Curiosity down on cables. Then the cables will cut loose and the sky crane will fly itself out of the way, leaving Curiosity to get down to business.

JPL

Dave Beaty is chief scientist for the Mars Exploration Directorate at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

What were they thinking???

"I've met with the engineers," Beaty told me. "I've seen their presentations, and they can be very convincing. But you have to hold your breath a little bit and trust that they know what they're doing."

A multibillion-dollar mission depends on everything working right?? and there's even more at stake than just the mission. If next month's landing fails, that could spark even more questions about the future of NASA's troubled Mars exploration effort. The failures of Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander in 1999 led to years of rethinking and retrenchment, and the soul-searching would probably go far deeper in this current age of tightened budgets and downscaled ambitions.

On the other hand, a successful landing would set a sunny tone for what's likely to be years of exploration by the most capable interplanetary robot ever created. During tonight's talk show, Beaty will probably be a lot more willing to talk about that type of scenario, just as he was when I interviewed him on Monday. Check out this edited transcript, and bring your follow-up questions to "Virtually Speaking Science" at 9 p.m. ET.

Cosmic Log: So, there's less than two weeks before the big Mars landing?? what's going on there at JPL?

Dave Beaty: We're getting very nervous. There's not a whole lot we can do about it at this point, except just be nervous. But this is a significant thing. It's one of these points in history that may change the trajectory of things that happen afterward, whether we end up with a successful landing or an unsuccessful landing.

Q: What do you see as the outcome for failure, and the outcome for failure? What would that mean to the Mars exploration program?

A: Well, just having a successful landing, by itself, is of course huge good news. It enables the scientific return from the mission to happen, which will play out over the next Mars year?? that's two Earth years, more or less. Once the rover lands, it has to raise its antenna, do some checkouts, get moving, and then drive over to this mountain that has the stratigraphy we're interested in.

It's sort of like the Grand Canyon way of looking at rock. You get this beautiful exposure of stratigraphy because of the erosion of this mountain. We want to climb up the side of the mountain and check the layering, like John Wesley Powell did just after the Civil War when he went one-arming up and down the Grand Canyon. That was one of the great geological expeditions of all time, as far as I'm concerned.

The site we want to look at is great. It's a little hard to predict exactly what we're going to see inside those rocks if we end up on the success pathway. We know what we're looking for: What are the rocks? What is the nature of the layering? Are there signals that the layers were "habitable"?? i.e., had the potential for a life form to have lived there, had a life form been present. If there's a positive outcome on that, then we would definitely want to send another mission ??either back to the same place, to check out whether there's any sign of something actually there; or potentially to another place that has the same kind of layering, but some other kind on characteristic.

Here on Earth, one of the big issues we face is that the preservation of the signs of life is very uneven. We know that there's life everywhere on Earth, right? And it's been here in sort of the form that we see it when we look out our windows, back to the time of the Cambrian, which is 600 million years. But if you look at the sedimentary rocks, they don't all contain fossils, they don't all contain pollen. You've got to look carefully to understand what has happened to the rock since its formation, and whether it would have included the signs of life, and whether it would have survived through all the subsequent things that happened to the rock.

It's not a guarantee that we would go back to exactly the same place, but we would certainly want to go back somewhere if we received this encouragement.

Q: And the implications of failure?

A: If it's a bad landing, the question would be, what is the reason why? In my experience, the public and Congress and all the people surrounding us would be accepting of a failure that was just a bad weather day, or if you land sideways on a rock, or some other sort of bad luck that happens because of what Mars has done to us. They tend to be less forgiving of a mistake made by a human being here on Earth. So, those are two very different kinds of scenarios. Just the fact of a bad day doesn't tell you enough to know what the implication might be.?

Seven minutes of terror is what NASA is calling the waiting period to find out whether the Curiosity rover has survived what could be the trickiest landing ever attempted. NBC's Tom Costello reports.

Q: A lot of people wonder about how the sky crane is going to work, or whether the heat shield will work properly?? the "seven minutes of terror." Is that what you have in mind? Everything that could be done has been done, of course, but if something goes wrong, I suspect people will want to focus on the process for doing something that's never been done before.

A: Almost everything we do at Mars has never been done before. That's what makes this exciting from the point of view of the engineers. They're here to do the impossible. That sky crane landing has some very powerful advantages, if it works. I've met with the engineers, I've seen their presentations, and they can be very convincing. But you have to hold your breath a little bit and trust that they know what they're doing.

Q: If everything works nominally, will we see the sky crane become the main method for getting large payloads down to the surface of Mars?

A: I absolutely think so. For the robotic exploration missions, the bigger question is, do we want the payloads to keep getting bigger? We know for sure that the pathway to eventual human missions has to involve bigger and bigger payloads, because the humans and all their support systems are heavy. This particular landing system will land a payload that's bigger than can be landed with airbags. The airbag would not survive. So it is heading in the direction that we need to follow if we believe in eventual human exploration. Whether the next robotic mission needs to be the same size as MSL?? that's an interesting question. We may want to get it smaller, in part to bring the cost down.

Q: What's your role going to be on the night of the landing?

A: I just got my assignment. I will be at Beckmann Auditorium at Caltech, with an audience of 1,136 people, which is the auditorium's capacity. I'll be standing in front of them with the NASA feed on the screen behind me, and my instructions are to narrate it like a tennis match. You can interject a little bit of commentary, but you don't want to detract from the main show, which is what's on the screen.

Q: So when will you know if the landing's been successful?

A: The landing itself is at 10:32 p.m. Pacific time, and we've placed both orbiters [Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter] so they will be in position to watch the descent as it comes down. By 10:32 or 10:33, they should have the data to know whether the landing was successful. They may get an ambiguous answer and not know for sure whether it was successful or not successful. That may take a little while longer to sort that out. It's hard to end up with a for-sure crash scenario quickly, because the signals are likely to be less than obvious. But if it's successful, we'll know very quickly.

Tune in "Virtually Speaking Science" on BlogTalkRadio or in Second Life. Dave Beaty and I will be at the StellaNova Small Auditorium, courtesy of the Meta Institute for Computational Astrophysics, at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT/SLT) tonight. If you miss the live event, don't worry: It's archived by "Virtually Speaking" on BlogTalkRadio as well as iTunes.

Previous episodes of "Virtually Speaking Science":

---

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/25/12952477-terrified-no-but-scientists-are-getting-nervous-about-mars-landing

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With economy still ailing, Republicans make play for college vote

Survey says

The Camera last week asked 100 incoming and current students on the University of Colorado's Boulder campus who they plan to vote for this November. The results:

56 percent: Barack Obama (D)

33 percent: Undecided

10 percent: Mitt Romney (R)

McKayne Boedeker -- a young Republican in a famously liberal college town -- is pausing his education at the University of Colorado so he can immerse himself in a job working 80 hours a week to help the GOP win targeted races this November.

A few years ago, it became clear that the free-market values of the Republican Party appealed to him after he finished a self-assessment in a high school civics course. Now, he's walking door-to-door with candidates in legislative races, recruiting volunteers and raising money for the party -- doing all he can to paint Colorado red.

Come November, Boedeker, 22, plans to cast his ballot for presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney, the presidential candidate whom he believes will be able to best jump-start the economy for college graduates trudging into the job market.

"My education can wait," said Boedeker, who will return in the spring to finish his senior year at CU. "This big of an election doesn't come around very often."

Back in 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama had a strong lock on the youth voting bloc and captured their unbridled enthusiasm. Sixty-eight percent of voters in the 18-to-29-year-old demographic cast their ballots for Obama, even though only 45 percent of them identified as Democrats, according to an analysis from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

Political experts acknowledge that Obama still will earn the youth vote this year. But, they say, he's going to face more competition from Republicans this time around as they aggressively court the college-age vote. The

A University of Colorado student who asked not to be identified tries to get incoming CU freshmen to register to vote during an orientation picnic on the Boulder campus last week. ( CLIFF GRASSMICK )

GOP is armed with messages about youth unemployment rates, which ticked up to 12.8 percent in June, coupled with crippling student loan debt that surpassed the $1 trillion mark this spring. Added to that is the possibility that the millennials' economic woes could cause them to boomerang back home to live with their parents after graduating from college.

"It's almost an entirely different population of students. This cohort wasn't on campus and wasn't involved in the '08 election," said Kenneth Bickers, a political science professor at CU. "The Republicans see a big opening with young voters because of the terrible job market. There are a lot of students who are turned off by politics and who aren't all that excited by Obama.

"I don't necessarily see that translating to broad support for Romney, but certainly a drop in support for Obama."

'More of the same'

Crossroads Generation, a GOP super political-action committee, spent $50,000 -- a portion of its $750,000 seed money -- this spring to launch a social media campaign aimed at getting the attention of undecided voters. Their message is heavy on economics, and light on social issues such as the GOP's traditional opposition to gay marriage.

Boedeker said that that he senses more young people are warming up to the Republican Party.

"I think a lot of the youth got excited about Obama," he said. "He's very charismatic. If he would have followed through on half of his promises, he would have been the best president ever. But he ended up being more of the same. Romney is by no means perfect -- but he comes from a business background, not a community organizing background. And that's what we need to try and get our economy running."

But it's a far cry from the Ronald Reagan era, when "The Gipper" enjoyed solid support and high ratings from an electorate young enough to be his grandchildren. Youth approval ratings for Reagan hovered near 80 percent in 1986.

A Camera survey of 100 incoming and current students on CU's Boulder campus last week found that a majority -- 56 percent -- favored Obama in the upcoming election. Thirty-three percent of students surveyed said they were still undecided as to how

McKayne Boedeker, right, a University of Colorado senior, and Ellyn Hilliard, center, a Republican candidate for Colorado House District 11, talk about issues with Kristin Rahenkamp, an independent voter, at Rahenkamp s home in Niwot. Boedeker is taking the fall semester off to campaign for GOP candidates and says that the Republican message is resonating with young voters dissatisfied with President Barack Obama. ( CLIFF GRASSMICK )

they'll vote in November, and 10 percent said they plan to vote for Romney.

One student said he plans to write in Ron Paul's name on his ballot.

Youth 'overwhelmingly support Obama'

Soon after the 2008 election -- a campaign that brought Michelle Obama to the Boulder campus to deliver a pitch on behalf of her husband -- the Boulder campus's College Democrats lost their office space in the University Memorial Center.

Carlos Garcia, director of the UMC, said student groups must maintain at least 20 office hours a week and building employees make daily checks to determine whether that requirement is being met.

"They lost their space," Garcia said. "They didn't score well on the office checks."

Meanwhile, the College Republicans have maintained a strong presence on campus.

Stephen Fenberg, director of New Era Colorado, a youthful civic engagement group with progressive leanings, shakes off the idea that today's college students, as a whole, are less Democratic.

"At the end of the day, young voters are going to overwhelmingly support Obama over Romney," he said. "I don't think there's any risk for Obama in losing the 18-to-29-year-old vote."

He explains that while young people tend to vote progressive, they don't necessarily affiliate with the Democratic Party and thus don't go out of their way to join campus political groups.

"Also, the party that is not in power is always the most energized one," Fenberg said.

'The excitement is real'

Tyler Quick -- the former president of the College Democrats who stepped down after he was elected in the spring to be a CU Student Government executive -- said that the less visible presence of the College Democrats is due to the fact that students are too busy working part-time jobs and internships.

Quick, speaking on behalf of himself and not the student government, said that Obama is the clear choice for college-age students. He rattles off reasons, including the president's health care legislation, which lets people stay on their parents' insurance until age 26, and the president's work urging Congress to keep student loan rates on Stafford loans from doubling to 6.8 percent this summer.

In April, Obama delivered an address on the Boulder campus, tailoring his message to be about college affordability.

Quick was among a few dozen students invited to stand on stage with the president.

"I was so lucky to stand behind the president -- I was there standing behind him physically and he was met with wild applause and there was one point when students started chanting 'four more years, four more years,'" Quick said. "But I was also standing behind him metaphorically."

Joe Neguse, a former CU student body president and a Democrat elected to CU's Board of Regents, said the youth's interests align with what Obama stands for -- including higher education affordability and health care reform.

"The excitement is real," Neguse said. "There are people out there who are passionate and excited because the stakes are so high. It's clear to me that the president, ultimately, with the help of young adults, will win this fall."

'Not in such great shape'

Leading up to Obama's 2008 election, Americans were ready for change: The economy was tanking, an expensive war was being waged in Iraq with no clear direction and people were outraged over the human rights violations of prisoners being held in Abu Ghraib, recalled Kay Schlozman, a political science professor at Boston College.

"Obama seemed to the younger generation to be a total breath of fresh air," Schlozman said.

Yet the president's approval rating among 18-to-29-year-olds has dropped, from 70 percent in 2009 to 51 percent this year, according to Gallup.

And this generation of new voters doesn't appear to have the same level of excitement as their peers in '08.

"At this point, new voters are looking around and saying, 'Yuck, we're not in such great shape. The economy is still slogging, Afghanistan is no picnic,'" Schlozman said. "So there's not a lot of enthusiasm."

Another survey by Gallup reveals that Obama leads Romney by a 35-point margin -- 64 percent to 29 percent -- among voters 18 to 29. But less than two-thirds of those 18-to-29-year-olds are registered to vote.

Schlozman said that young voters tend not be anchored by party ties.

"How they vote in their late teens and early 20s, though, tends to stick with them for life," she said.

'I think this year is going to be different'

Abby Kiesa, an analyst with the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, said that there are 16.8 million young people who are eligible to vote who weren't old enough to do so in 2008. In total, there are 46 million young people eligible to vote.

Kiesa said that Republicans are making more concerted campaign efforts with the youth this election cycle to engage new voters. And the Obama camp isn't making any assumptions -- with campaign staffers reaching out to high school students and rallies on college campuses in swing states, including one at CU this past spring.

"Based on what I've seen, the Obama campaign isn't banking on loyalty," Kiesa said.

CU student Aslinn Scott, 20, is involved with several Republican groups including the Boulder Republican Women. She has firm conservative views when it comes to spending, a value that she carried with her while serving in CU's student government, which oversees a $36.6 million student fee budget. On social issues, she said, she's more moderate and expects that her life experience will help mold her positions.

The economy is of prime importance for her this upcoming election, and she said the job market is bleak for college graduates.

While the youth unemployment rate for those in the 18-to29-year-old age bracket is 12.8 percent, there are an additional 1.73 million young adults out of work who have given up looking for employment. If they were factored in, the non-seasonally adjusted youth unemployment rate would be 16.8 percent.

"I look forward to how charged it is going to be on campus," Scott said. "Obama was able to rally the youth vote, but I think this year is going to be different. The political climate has changed and I feel that students have been disillusioned by the 'hope and change' message."

Contact Camera Staff Writer Brittany Anas at 303-473-1132 or anasb@dailycamera.com.

Source: http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_21076709/economy-still-ailing-republicans-make-play-college-vote?source=rss_viewed

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Fact check: Outsourcing debate is political jujitsu (CNN)

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After S.F. rebuke, Apple quits environmental registry

SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple's withdrawal from an environmental ratings registry has prompted at least one city ? San Francisco ? to stop buying its computers.

The decision does not apply to iPads or iPhones. But Francis Tsang, spokesman for Mayor Edwin Lee's office, says the city's rules require that laptops, computers and monitors comply with the registry's requirements.

Late last month, Apple Inc. told the nonprofit EPEAT, short for Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, to remove its products from its registry. It also plans to stop submitting its products to EPEAT for environmental ratings.

EPEAT is an industry standard that seeks to make it easier for customers to buy environmentally friendly electronics. Manufacturers still participating include Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Samsung and Sony.

Apple did not respond to messages for comment Wednesday afternoon.

Although it pulled out of the environmental registry, Apple has long pointed to its environmental track record. On the "environment" section of is website, Apple says it "reports environmental impact comprehensively. We do this by focusing on our products: what happens when we design them, what happens when we make them, and what happens when you take them home and use them."

For example, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company has replaced many of the hazardous materials in its gadgets with less harmful and more recyclable ones, and has designed longer-life batteries for its computers, media players and phones. Its recycling program offers gift cards to people who send in their old Apple gadgets for recycling.?

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Source: http://marketday.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/11/12688435-after-sf-rebuke-apple-quits-environmental-registry?lite

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Oral contraceptive use in girls and alcohol consumption in boys linked to increased blood pressure in late adolescence

ScienceDaily (July 11, 2012) ? Oral contraceptive use in girls and alcohol consumption in boys are associated with increased blood pressure in late adolescence.

Lifestyle behaviour in adolescents may adversely affect blood pressure and cardiovascular risk in adulthood, according to results from a large pregnancy follow-up study in Australia. In particular, alcohol consumption among boys, use of the Pill among girls, and high salt intake and increasing body mass index (BMI) in both sexes were important factors linked to blood pressure levels in late adolescence.

The substantial differences in blood pressure found in the study between those with a healthier or less favourable lifestyle "are likely to significantly affect their risk of both ischemic heart disease and stroke in adulthood," the investigators warn.

They add that adolescence is a time of life when behaviours "tend to become entrenched," and that "significant public health benefits may be achieved from implementation of a range of gender-appropriate lifestyle modifications within this age group of adolescents."

Behind the warnings lie results from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study, in which the 2868 live births of 2900 pregnant women enrolled in 1989-1992 in Perth were followed up at 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 14 and 17 years of age; by then, 1771 adolescents were available for the study. At that time study subjects were asked about alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, prescription medications (including the use of oral contraceptives), and dietary patterns, and the association between each of these factors and systolic and diastolic blood pressure was calculated.(1)

Boys had an overall systolic blood pressure 9 mmHg higher than girls not taking the Pill. Among the boys, systolic blood pressure was significantly associated with BMI, urinary sodium (as a marker of salt intake) and alcohol consumption. And even when adjusted for BMI, the link with alcohol and salt remained. The study also found that habitual physical activity was associated with lower diastolic blood pressure. Using adult blood pressure definition criteria, approximately 24% of the adolescents were pre-hypertensive or hypertensive; remarkably, 34% of the overweight and 38% of the obese adolescents were in these high blood pressure categories.

Furthermore, use of the Pill was significantly associated with raised blood pressure in the girls; for example, the systolic blood pressure of girls taking the Pill (30% of the group) was 3.3 mmHg higher than non-Pill users, and grew higher with increasing BMI. This finding, said the authors, extended previous findings on the Pill in adolescence.(2) Blood pressure in the girls was not affected by alcohol consumption.

Commenting on the results, investigator Dr Chi Le-Ha from the Royal Perth Hospital, Australia, said: "Adolescents need to be aware that a lifestyle which predisposes to fatness, high salt intake and alcohol consumption may lead to adverse health consequences in adult life. The effects are additive and already associated with hypertension. Moreover, teenage girls taking oral contraceptives should be advised about regular blood pressure monitoring."

Notes

1) Systolic blood pressure represents the highest level of pressure reached as the heart beats and pumps blood through the arteries; diastolic pressure is the lowest level, when the heart relaxes between beats.

2) Nawrot TS, Hond ED, Fagard RH, et al. Blood pressure, serum total cholesterol and contraceptive pill use in 17- year-old girls. J Cardiovasc Risk 2003; 10: 438.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by European Society of Cardiology.

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Journal Reference:

1. Le-Ha C, Beilin LJ, Burrows S, et al. Oral contraceptive use in girls and alcohol consumption in boys are associated with increased blood pressure in late adolescence. Eur J Prevent Cardiol, 2012 DOI: 10.1177/2047487312452966

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://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120711101032.htm

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Charge Your Smartphone in a Cube

This is another Kickstarter project.? The Cube: Home for Your iPhone + Android is a cup-like charger and dock for your Android smartphone or iPhone.? You simply insert the device’s charging cable through the bottom of the Cube, and it will be held securely in place to make docking/undocking easy.? The shape of the cup [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/07/11/charge-your-smartphone-in-a-cube/

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Health care options for young, healthy and broke

WASHINGTON (AP) ? They're young, healthy and flat broke ? and now the government says they have to buy thousands of dollars' worth of medical insurance. What should tapped-out twentysomethings do?

Well, some may just do nothing. The annual fine for shrugging off the new federal insurance requirement, which is to begin in 2014, starts out at a relatively low $95, depending on income. That would be far cheaper than paying premiums.

But that doesn't necessarily make blowing off the mandate a good idea for the fit and frugal. Millions of young people will qualify for good deals on health care if they take time to sort through the complicated law.

Many will get Medicaid coverage at virtually no cost. Others will qualify for private insurance at a fraction of the full premiums. And health plans offered under the law will limit individuals' out-of-pocket expenses to about $6,250 per year or less ? a bulwark against gigantic, unexpected medical bills.

"It doesn't have to be cancer or a heart attack or even a bad car accident," said Karen Pollitz, a health policy expert at the Kaiser Family Foundation whose own son needed $15,000 worth of surgery after he broke his wrist while skateboarding at age 20. "Once you show up in the ER, it starts to cost you some money."

The plans also will cover at no charge preventive care such as HIV tests, screening for depression or alcoholism, flu shots, hepatitis vaccine, contraception and pregnancy care. And insurers will no longer be able to exclude or charge extra for people who already have health problems.

"It's the 15 percent of young people who have chronic conditions like asthma or diabetes, and the young women looking to have a baby," said Aaron Smith, 30, co-founder of Young Invincibles, which advocates for young adults' health care. "That discrimination won't fly in 2014."

Young Americans are the least likely to be insured: almost three of 10 adults who are under 35 aren't covered. And they go to emergency rooms more than any other group except seniors.

It's still possible President Barack Obama's health care law won't be around in 2014, when the big changes are to kick in. Congressional Republicans and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney want to repeal "Obamacare" if they win the November elections. Still, with open enrollment for the law's new state-based insurance markets scheduled to begin in October of next year, it's prudent to start considering the options for getting covered.

GOT A JOB? START THERE

More than half of Americans already are covered through their jobs. But young adults have the nation's highest unemployment rate and also are more likely to toil in low-wage jobs without benefits.

Some employers, especially smaller businesses paying lower wages, may now drop their plans and expect their workers to get government help. Other businesses, but not quite as many, will probably begin coverage in response to the law's penalties and incentives for employers, the Congressional Budget Office predicts.

UNDER 26? LEAN ON MOM OR DAD

One of the law's most popular provisions, already in effect, ensures that parents with family plans can keep their adult kids enrolled until they turn 26, if the children don't have a suitable workplace option. Pollitz's skateboarding son is one of them.

The government estimates that 3.1 million uninsured young people already have gained coverage this way.

CONSIDER MEDICAID

Right now, Medicaid mostly covers children and low-income adults who are disabled, pregnant or raising kids. But the health care law will push states to expand Medicaid to also cover other adults with incomes up to around $15,000, adjusted for inflation in 2014. That's designed to account for about half of the 30 million people expected to gain insurance coverage under the overhaul.

It may fall short, however. The Supreme Court recently ruled that the federal government can't coerce states into joining the Medicaid expansion. Some states may decline to add people to their rolls.

THERE'S OTHER HELP

Most people with incomes up to four times the poverty level ? which currently comes out to $44,680 for an individual or $92,200 for a family of four ? will qualify for some help paying for private insurance. Aid drops off sharply as income climbs, and younger people get smaller subsidies than older folks whose insurance rates are higher.

The lowest earners shouldn't have to pay more than 2 percent of their incomes toward insurance premiums for mid-level plans; those at the high end would have to contribute 9.5 percent. These plans also have significant co-pays and deductibles, but some help is available there, too.

For example, a single 26-year-old earning $16,000 might pay $537 toward the annual premium for a mid-level "silver" plan, according to estimates from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The rest of the premium would be covered by a $2,853 tax credit. (Deductibles and co-pays could cost up to an additional $2,083, depending on how much care the person needs.)

A 26-year-old earning $35,000 would pay $3,325 in premiums ? $277 a month ? for the same plan, after only a $66 tax credit. (And that patient might be on the hook for another $4,167 in out-of-pocket costs.)

A CHEAPER BUT SKIMPY CHOICE

For those under 30 there's a special option to buy "catastrophic" insurance with the lowest premiums but scant coverage until a deductible of about $6,250 is met. While it may be tempting, caution is advised.

"We really encourage folks to do their homework and look at the details of the plan," said Smith, who's organizing efforts to help young people learn about their choices. "It's not just the premium. You have to look at what's being covered, what the deductibles are."

GO BARE?

People who would have to spend more than 8 percent of their income to buy basic insurance are exempt from paying a penalty if they go without.

For others who feel they can't afford or just don't want coverage, the penalties start off relatively low in 2014.

Private insurers have yet to set the prices for their 2014 plans, because coverage that will comply with the law is still being developed. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that premiums for the bare-bones plan, called "bronze" level, might average between $4,500 and $5,000 per year. Family plans might cost $12,500 per year.

Rates for young adults would be lower. Kaiser's cost calculator gives a ballpark estimate of about $3,400 for an average single 26-year-old who doesn't get subsidies.

In contrast, the first year's minimum penalty for an individual is $95; that's what a worker making $16,000 would pay. A $35,000 earner would owe $255 ? not even a tenth of the estimated $3,325 in premiums.

In 2016, the minimum penalty rises to $695 and it's capped at a little less than 2.5 percent of taxable income. That's about a $1,600 fine for someone making $75,000 per year.

Even for the wealthiest folks the law says the penalties can never exceed the average cost of a "bronze" plan. But most of those people already have insurance, anyway.

The Internal Revenue Service could withhold the penalties from taxpayers' refunds if they don't show proof of insurance. About 4 million people are expected to end up paying the penalties.

"For many young people, this is the first time they've had to deal with health insurance and the health care system," said Smith. "There will be a learning curve."

___

Online:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: http://www.healthcare.gov/

Kaiser Family Foundation's health care subsidy calculator: http://healthreform.kff.org/subsidycalculator

Young Invincibles: http://younginvincibles.org/

___

Follow Connie Cass on Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/ConnieCass

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/health-care-options-young-healthy-broke-163004525.html

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Greece: Deputy minister quits over debt talks

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras looks on during a debate on the new government's policy agenda before staging a vote of confidence at the parliament in Athens, late Sunday July 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras looks on during a debate on the new government's policy agenda before staging a vote of confidence at the parliament in Athens, late Sunday July 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras gestures to a colleague at the Parliament after winning a vote of confidence in Athens, late Sunday July 8, 2012. The new three-party coalition government has won a vote of confidence in the Greek Parliament early Monday. All 179 deputies of the three parties supporting the government _ conservative New Democracy, the socialist PASOK and the moderate leftist Democratic Left _ have voted in favor. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

FILE - In this Thursday, June 21, 2012 file photo, deputy labor minister Nikos Nikolopoulos, first row second left, takes part with other Greek new cabinet ministers in a swearing-in ceremony at the Presidential palace in Athens. Nikolopoulos resigned on Monday July 9, 2012 from Greece?s new coalition government, saying it should have pressed harder to renegotiate the terms of the country?s bailout agreements. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, file)

A pigeon on the back of a tourist in front of the Greek parliament in Athens, Monday, July 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Dimitri Messinis)

A sunbather takes a shower at Alimos beach near Athens, Monday, July 9, 2012. Temperatures are predicted to reach 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 Fahrenheit) in Greece. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? A deputy labor minister resigned on Monday from Greece's new coalition government, saying it should have pressed harder to renegotiate the terms of the country's bailout agreements.

Nikos Nikolopoulos announced his resignation hours after the new conservative-led government won a confidence vote in parliament.

In a letter, Nikolopoulos argued that the government should have taken a tougher line with international debt inspectors in Athens last week to "correct serious distortions in the labor, pension and benefit systems."

Known as the troika, the inspectors from the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, have carried out frequent visits to Greece to check on the state of its struggling public finances.

Nikolopoulos was considered a close ally of conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who named a replacement shortly after the resignation was announced ? U.S.-trained economist Nikos Panagiotopoulos.

Greece, in its fifth year of recession, has been surviving on international rescue loans for more than two years. The conservatives won June 17 elections on a campaign pledge to improve the terms of austerity measures demanded by creditors.

Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said the government was puzzled by the resignation.

"There is no logical explanation. Mr. Nikolopoulos had no time to argue with his minister. And negotiations with the troika haven't even started," Kedikoglou said.

"Yesterday, he backed the government in a vote of confidence. In the end, not everyone is cut out for tough jobs."

Since winning the election, Samaras has been plagued by Cabinet problems, replacing his finance minister due to illness, losing a deputy merchant marine minister over a business conflict of interest, and finding himself forced to cut down his schedule after eye surgery for a detached retina.

Backed by the traditional rival Socialists and the small Democratic Left party, the government late Sunday won the confidence vote in parliament required for it to formally begin its four-year term, with votes from 179 coalition party lawmakers in the 300-member assembly.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-07-09-Greece/id-29afb07582e743a0b9efb0e3f56932ce

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Video: Private Equity 'Perks Up'

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/48133241/

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5 reasons 'Fifty Shades of Grey' is everywhere

What happens when ordinary people decide to pay it forward? Extraordinary change...

Helmuth Caspar von Moltke stands on the grounds of New Kreisau, which now serves as an international meeting place for young people to participate in human rights, democracy, and tolerance workshops.

Son of an anti-Nazi hero uses family estate to teach teens

Helmuth Caspar von Moltke, son of an anti-Nazi hero, uses the family estate in Poland to teach teenagers about democracy and protecting human rights.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/v60wRP-o-5M/5-reasons-Fifty-Shades-of-Grey-is-everywhere

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We have your invite to the Scope for Android beta!

Not long ago, Scope for Android (formerly known as SocialScope) entered beta bringing a ton of new features and great updates. This all-in-one social app has support for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare, and Tumblr. The main home screen lists all your different services, providing each with a colorful icon with which to identify them. It breaks down all your social content into various sub-categories, allowing you to simply swipe between them. Besides breaking it down by service, content can be viewed by type. Scope will highlight any posts that are posting photos, or videos, or check-ins, breaking each off into their own category. 

The only real drawback to the app was that unless you already had an account from being a BlackBerry user or you got an invite from a current user, you were out of luck and left out of the beta. Well, we'd like to help you change that. The awesome team at Socialscope has hooked us up today and is giving 500 of you the chance to join the beta. All you have to do is head over to the Google Play store and download the app. Use the invite code androidcentral and you're in! Invites are on a first come first served basis, so you'll want to hurry and get signed up.

If you're not familiar with Scope or why you would want to be part of the beta, you will definitely want to check out Richard's inside look at the app.

Download: Scope for Android

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/-EDfL_wkLJ8/story01.htm

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