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WASHINGTON (Reuters) –
Genetic mutations can show which breast cancer patients will be helped by a certain type of chemotherapy, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.
They found patients with two versions of the SOD2 fared worse when taking the chemotherapy drug cyclophosphamide than other patients. It might be useful to test patients for this gene before giving them the drug, the researchers reported in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.
“In the future, such tests may be used to guide the treatment of patients with the SOD2 variation, ensuring that they receive a therapy that is more effective than cyclophosphamide-based therapies,” Dr. Stefan Ambs of the National Cancer Institute, who worked on the study, said in a statement.
The researchers studied 588 breast cancer patients in the United States and Norway. Some got chemotherapy, and some did not.
Of the patients given chemotherapy, those who had variations of SOD2 fell into two groups. Women with one form of SOD2 had a higher risk of dying than others. And women with a second variation of SOD2 had the highest risk of dying in the study.
Then the researchers broke down the groups according to the specific chemotherapy drugs — doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, or cyclophosphamide.
Doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide kill cells by generating charged particles called reactive oxygen species.
The researchers found the SOD2 mutations best showed who would do better specifically on cyclophosphamide. Women with a distinct variant form of SOD2 who received cyclophosphamide as part of their chemotherapy regimen were the most likely to die.
The SOD2 gene produces a protein that protects cells from damage caused by reactive oxygen species.
The study adds to a growing body of research that shows ways to test cancer patients to see which drugs will work best against their particular tumors.
(Editing by Xavier Briand)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) –
Leading Senate Democrats unveiled on Tuesday a plan to reshape U.S. healthcare that calls for sweeping insurance market reforms and prohibits insurers from denying coverage or charging more due to medical history.
The measure also would require individuals to buy insurance, provide subsidies to help make coverage affordable and set up a new government plan to help provide medical coverage for the uninsured.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's bill is one of at least three healthcare proposals brewing in Congress, which Democrats hope will lead to legislation that President Barack Obama can sign into law by October.
“Our goal is to strengthen what works and fix what doesn't,” Senator Edward Kennedy, chairman of the committee, said in a statement that accompanied the bill's unveiling.
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives and a second group of U.S. senators led by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus are developing similar proposals. Baucus has been working with Kennedy's panel and is expected to unveil his version of the bill in the coming days.
Meanwhile Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Committee, one of three panels writing the House version of the bill, met with Obama to discuss the legislation. The White House issued a statement saying the group agreed that the cost of the overhaul, which some estimates put at about $1.2 trillion, should not add to budget deficits.
The White House said Obama — under pressure from critics over his huge spending and deficit plans — would soon spell out more cost savings for the Medicare and Medicaid health programs for the elderly and poor.
MORE WORK NEEDED
The Kennedy panel will hold a public hearing on its bill on Thursday and will begin considering amendments in public sessions beginning on June 16, the committee said.
“Much work remains, and the coming days and weeks won't be easy. But we have a unique opportunity to give the American people, at long last, the health care they need and deserve,” said Kennedy, who is in his second year of fighting brain cancer.
Obama has called on Congress to pass legislation this year to overhaul the $2.5 trillion healthcare system, aiming to cut costs and ensure that millions of Americans now without health insurance get coverage.
But many congressional Republicans have criticized Democratic proposals for including a public insurance program that would compete with private insurers.
In a bow to Republican concerns, Kennedy's committee bill leaves open the details of how such a plan would operate. Panel Democrats and Republicans are set to meet this week to try to work out differences over the public plan.
Also still to be worked out are details on whether employers would be required to offer insurance to workers.
The House and Senate bills would establish an exchange, a kind of clearinghouse, where people and small businesses could shop for insurance. Lawmakers want the proposed new public plan to be an option offered in that exchange.
Democrats say a public plan that competes with private insurers is the only way to contain costs and keep premiums low. Republicans and insurers argue that it would drive insurance companies out of business and lead to an entirely government-run U.S. healthcare system.
“If you don't have a public option, who is going to keep the insurance companies honest?” said Senator Charles Schumer, a member of the Senate Democratic leadership. “Most of us don't believe that government regulation will be sufficient because they have the profit motive.”
(Writing by Donna Smith; Editing by Xavier Briand)

English contains more words than any other other language on the planet and will add its millionth word early Wednesday, according to the Global Language Monitor, a Web site that uses a math formula to estimate how often words are created.
The Global Language Monitor says the millionth word will be added to English on Wednesday.
The site estimates the millionth word will be added Wednesday at 5:22 a.m. Its live ticker counted 999,985 English words as of early Tuesday evening. The “Million Word March,” however, has made the man who runs this word-counting project somewhat of a pariah in the linguistic community. Some linguists say it’s impossible to count the number of words in a language because languages are always changing, and because defining what counts as a word is a fruitless endeavor. Paul J.J. Payack, president and chief word analyst for the Global Language Monitor, says, however, that the million-word estimation isn’t as important as the idea behind his project, which is to show that English has become a complex, global language. “It’s a people’s language,” he said. Other languages, like French, Payack said, put big walls around their vocabularies. English brings others in. “English has the tradition of swallowing new words whole,” he said. “Other languages translate.”
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The Global Language Monitor
The Internet, global commerce and global travel have accelerated the trend by putting English in contact with many other linguistic groups. This has made English more rich and more complexhence all of the new terms, he said. Still, Payack says he doesn’t include all new words in his count. Words must make sense in at least 60 percent of the world to be official, he said. And they must make sense to different communities of people. A new technology term that’s only understood in Silicon Valley wouldn’t count as a mainstream word, he said. His computer models check a total of 5,000 Web sites, dictionaries, scholarly publications and news articles to see how frequently words are used, he said. A word must make 25,000 appearances to be deemed legitimate. Payack said news events have also fueled the rapid expansion of English, which he said has more words than any other language. Mandarin Chinese comes in second with about 450,000 words, he said. English terms like “Obamamania,” “defriend,” “wardrobe malfunction,” “zombie banks,” “shovel ready” and “recessionista” all have grown out of recent news cycles about the presidential election, economic crash, online networking or a sports event, he said. Other languages might not have developed new terms to deal with such phenomena, he said. Language experts who spoke with CNN said they disapprove of Payack’s count, but they agree that English generally has more words than most, if not all, languages. “This is stuff that you just can’t count,” said Jesse Sheidlower, editor at large of the Oxford English Dictionary. “No one can count it, and to pretend that you can is totally disingenuous. It simply can’t be done.” The Oxford English Dictionary has about 600,000 entries, Sheidlower said. But that by no means includes all words, he said. For example, Sheidlower said “great-great-great-great-great grandfather” could be considered a word, but wouldn’t be in the dictionary. There’s a similar problem with numbers, which may be counted up by their pieces”twenty” and “three”but not always as a group, as in “two-hundred twenty-three.” Part of what makes determining the number of words in a language so difficult is that there are so many root words and their variants, said Sarah Thomason, president of the Linguistic Society of America and a linguistics professor at the University of Michigan. In the language of people who are native to Alaska, she said, there are dozens of word for snow, but many of them are linked together and wouldn’t be counted individually. Does that mean, she asked, that “slush,” “powder” and other snow words in English should be counted as one entry? Thomason called the million-word count a “sexy idea” that is “all hype and no substance.” Linguists and lexicographers run into further complications when trying to count words that are spelled one way but can have several meanings, said Allan Metcalf, an English professor at MacMurray College in Illinois, and an officer at the American Dialect Society. “The word bear, b-e-a-ris that two words or one, for example? You have a noun that’s a wild creature and then you have b-e-a-r, [which means] to bear left or to bear right, and there’s many other things,” he said. “So you really can’t be exact about a millionth word.” Payack said he doesn’t consider his to be the definitive count, just an interesting estimation based on set criteria he has helped develop. “It’s always an estimation,” he said. “It’s like the height of Mount Everest is an estimation. The height of Mount Everest has changed five times in my lifetime because as we get better tools, the estimates get better.” He said the count is meant to be a celebration of English as a global language. And, while he says other languages are being stamped out by English’s expansion, it’s a powerful thing that so many people today are able to communicate with such a vast list of words.
Source:CNN

BAGHDAD, Iraq In a good will gesture to militant groups, the Iraqi government has freed a man who had been held in connection with the killing of five U.S. soldiers, a government spokesman said Tuesday.
U.S. soliders carry the coffin of Capt. Brian Freeman, one of five soliders dead after a 2007 attack in Karbala, Iraq.
The release of Laith al-Khazali on Sunday comes after recent media reports that he would be among a number of militiamenall with links to Iranwho would be released in exchange for the freeing of five British hostages. Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said al-Khazali’s release was not linked to any rumored negotiations about the British hostages or to any other deal. Al-Khazali’s release was a gesture by the Iraqi government as part of the national reconciliation process with militant groups, al-Dabbagh told CNN. Al-Khazali was detained in March 2007 along with his brother, Qais, in connection with the killing two months earlier of five U.S. soldiers who were in the central city of Karbala. In that attack, nine to 12 gunmen in five SUVs, wearing “American-looking uniforms” and carrying “U.S.-type weapons,” drove through checkpoints before opening fire on U.S. soldiers in the Karbala government compound, the U.S. military said. One soldier was killed at the scene. The attackers drove off with four other soldiers, three of whom were later found fatally shot in a neighboring province and one of whom was found alive with a gunshot wound. That wounded soldier died en route to a hospital, the military said.
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The slain soldiers were: Capt. Brian S. Freeman, 31, of Temecula, California; 1st Lt. Jacob N. Fritz, 25, of Verdon, Nebraska; Spc. Johnathan B. Chism, 22, of Gonzales, Louisiana; Pfc. Shawn P. Falter, 25, of Cortland, New York; and Pfc. Johnathon M. Millican, 20, of Trafford, Alabama. The al-Khazali brothers are suspected of being part of an EFP (explosively formed projectiles or penetrators) network with ties to the Karbala attack, the military has said. The U.S. government has said the EFPs are being provided to Shiite groups in Iraq by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Quds force. Last month, the U.S. military identified the main seven Sunni and Shiite groups that make up the Iraqi insurgency. Among them was Al-Khazali’s group, League of the Righteous, a Shiite group also known as Asaib ahl al-Haq, orAAH. Attacks by AAH are not against the Iraqi government, but instead oppose foreign military forces in the country, the U.S. military said. “As security improves and the Iraqi security forces mature, a few Shia extremist groups are now attempting to engage the government of Iraq in the reconciliation process,” the U.S. military said. “AAH opposes the coalition presence and has publicly claimed over 6,000 attacks,” the military said in its description of the group, adding it was formed with the support of the Quds force. The leadership of AAH fell out with Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in 2006, and since then, al-Sadr has publicly challenged AAH leaders and implied that they have abandoned the resistance by negotiating with the coalition, the U.S. military says. Al-Khazali was transferred from U.S. to Iraqi custody as part of the gradual handing over of detainees that began at the start of the year, al-Dabbagh said. It was not clear when al-Khazali entered Iraqi custody. His brother, Qais al-Khazali, remains in U.S. custody, the military said. Britain has repeatedly appealed for the release of the five British hostages, who were kidnapped May 29, 2007, from an Iraqi Finance Ministry building in Baghdad. Four of the Britons worked for Canada-based security firm GardaWorld, according to the company. They were protecting the fifth Briton, a computer analyst with U.S.-based BearingPoint. The only fully identified captive has been Peter Moore, who said his name in a video released by the kidnappers.
Source:CNN

NEW YORK – What’s not to like about a tree?
Apparently plenty, if you live one New York City neighborhood.
The New York Daily News says some residents in the Bronx are fuming over the city’s plans to plant trees on their block.
They say the roots will eventually crack the sidewalks — and they’ll be stuck with the repair bills.
Opponents also fear that fully grown trees will damage their homes, clog sewer drains and entangle power lines in the borough’s Mott Haven neighborhood.
Parks officials did not comment on the residents’ specific concerns. But they said careful thought goes into each tree planting.
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Information from: Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com

EVERETT, Wash. – Being honked off doesn’t give you a right to honk on. That’s the ruling from a Snohomish County Superior Court judge in the case of a woman who expressed her anger at a neighbor by leaning on her car horn at 6 a.m. Helen Immelt got in a dispute with the neighbor in 2006, after she learned that he had filed a complaint with their homeowners association about her chickens.
She responded by parking in front of his house at 5:50 a.m. the next day and leaning on her horn for 10 minutes straight. After he called the police, she returned for a second round of honking two hours later.
Immelt was cited for a noise violation and appealed her conviction to the superior court, saying her honking was free speech. But Judge Richard J. Thorpe ruled Monday, “Horn honking which is done to annoy or harass others is not speech.”
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Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) –
“American Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert has told Rolling Stone magazine he is gay, answering a question that followed the singer for months since he gained millions of fans on the No. 1 U.S. TV talent show.
“I don't think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I'm gay,” Lambert told the music magazine in excerpts from an interview that were released on Tuesday.
“I'm proud of my sexuality,” he said. “I embrace it. It's just another part of me.”
The issue with Lambert on the cover hits newsstands this Friday, with the full interview inside.
During his “American Idol” run Lambert was known for his falsetto singing, outlandish costumes, eyeliner and fingernail polish. He was nicknamed “Glambert” and Entertainment Weekly magazine called him “the most exciting 'American Idol' contestant in years.”
When he lost in May's finale to the more buttoned-down Kris Allen, some fan websites and the media buzzed with speculation that being gay cost him votes from viewers who pick a winner.
Lambert, who was widely considered the front-runner going into the finale, had never publicly said he was gay. In March, when photos appeared on the Internet of him kissing another man and dressed in drag, he said only: “I have nothing to hide. I am who I am.”
His sexuality became an issue widely covered in the media because “Idol,” seen by an average of about 26 million viewers a week in 2009, had never crowned an openly gay winner.
The runner-up in 2003, Clay Aiken, hid his sexuality for years after his run on the show, coming out as gay in 2008.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, a group that advocates for homosexual rights, said it hopes Lambert's “decision to live openly and honestly inspires gay people and opens the hearts and minds of his fans.”
Lambert, 27, grew up in San Diego, California, and starred in musical theater before trying out for “Idol” last year.
In the Rolling Stone interview, he said he had a “psychedelic experience” at an annual festival held in the Nevada desert called Burning Man, and that experience convinced him to try out for “American Idol.”
“I realized that we all have our own power, and that whatever I wanted to do, I had to make happen,” Lambert told Rolling Stone.
Lambert also revealed a crush on Allen, who was his roommate for much of the two singers' run on “American Idol.”
“He's the one guy that I found attractive in the whole group on the show: nice, nonchalant, pretty and totally my type — except that he has a wife,” Lambert joked.
“American Idol” is broadcast by the Fox network, a unit of News Corp. Past winners, including Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, have enjoyed Grammy-winning careers, but stardom has also touched runners-up such as Chris Daughtry.
(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

WASHINGTON – Steps taken over the next 18 months to defeat the Taliban and other extremists will ultimately decide whether the war in Afghanistan is being won, the Pentagon’s top leaders said Tuesday.
In a bluntly-worded response to senators, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the war intensified in 2006 — in large part as a result of Pakistan’s peace deals with militant groups that pushed the Taliban back over the Afghan border.
“As this problem became worse in terms of the violence caused by the Taliban coming across the border from Pakistan, I think that it’s self-evident that we were under-resourced to deal with it,” Gates told a Senate Appropriations panel.
He added, however, that the Pakistani army has since stepped up its battle against extremists in the Swat valley and elsewhere in the nation’s northwest provinces. He called it “an extremely important development.”
Gates is taking a closer look at the Afghan conflict this week. He heads to Europe later Tuesday to discuss the war with NATO allies and other nations with troops fighting in Afghanistan’s volatile South.
He and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen told senators they’re more optimistic now than in recent months about efforts to combat insurgents and extremists along the remote Afghan-Pakistan border.
But, Mullen said, “I think the next 12 to 18 months will really tell the tale.”
Gates emphasized that he did not mean the Afghan campaign would achieve success in that time, but rather that officials hoped to “see a shift in the momentum” by then.
“It’s very important for us to be able to show the American people that we are moving forward … to show some shift in momentum,” Gates said. “This is a long-term commitment, but I believe the American people will be willing to sustain this endeavor if they believe this is not just a stalemate.”
He also described himself as “very sensitive” about the number of U.S. troops deployed to Afghanistan. The Pentagon chief previously has said he is reluctant to sent many more soldiers to Afghanistan beyond the 68,000 already planned. There are 58,000 U.S. troops there now.
Gates will be in the Netherlands later this week, for meetings with defense chiefs from Britain, Canada, Australia and other nations fighting alongside the Americans in the South, where the United States is adding some 10,000 Marines and soldiers now. Afghanistan is expected to dominate a regular session of NATO defense ministers later in the week.
The Senate Armed Services Committee approved and sent to the full Senate on Tuesday the nomination of Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal to be the next commander of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan. The nomination of Navy Adm. James Stavridis to be commander of U.S. forces in Europe and the top NATO commander also was approved by the panel.
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Associated Press writers Pauline Jelinek and Anne Gearan contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON – Prospects for a U.S.-Russian partnership on a missile defense system have improved slightly as Moscow grows increasingly concerned about Iran, Pentagon chief Robert Gates said Tuesday.
The defense secretary told senators that U.S. offers to put radar or data exchange centers in Russia are among the options being discussed.
Gates recounted a meeting he had with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during which the then-president “basically dismissed the idea that the Iranians would have a missile that would have the range to reach much of western Europe and much of Russia before 2020 or so.”
“And he showed me a map that his intelligence guys had prepared,” Gates told a Senate Appropriations panel. “I told him he needed a new intelligence service.”
He did not say when the meeting occurred.
But Gates added: “The fact of the matter is, the Russians have come back to us and acknowledged that we were right in terms of the nearness of the Iranian missile threat, and that they had been wrong. And so my hope is we can build on that.”
Russian and U.S. officials are working intensively on a successor deal to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START I, which expires in December. Negotiators are aiming for some results by July 6-8 when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hosts President Barack Obama in Moscow.
Obama has delayed previous plans by the Bush administration to build a small missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, with the aim of intercepting missiles from Iran targeted at the West. Russia prefers that Washington scrap the system altogether.
Gates called the chance of making progress toward a deal “somewhat improved” but did not explicitly say why, or what concessions the United States might be prepared to make.
Earlier, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., raised the issue of whether Israel would attack Iran. Gates sidestepped her question on whether that possibility has increased over the last year, but said concern about Iran’s nuclear weapons and missile programs certainly has grown.
He said the United States and Israel are wary “given the unwillingness of the Iranians to slow, stop or even indicate a willingness to talk about their programs.”
Gates also cited concerns about North Korea’s missile program, and repeated his belief that the United States could defend itself against a missile should Pyongyang launch one.
Last week, North Korea moved a long-range missile — the second in three months — that some believe could hit the United States. But it’s not clear what Pyongyang plans to do with its new system.
The Pentagon chief also reiterated his pledge to add additional missile interceptors to centers in California and Alaska should North Korea or threats from other nations deem them necessary. The Pentagon is storing — or in the process of building — up to 30 interceptors at its Fort Greely, Alaska, facility, but has rejected plans for more.
However, Gates has said he’s open to building additional interceptors should the threat warrant it.
“If that threat were to begin to develop more quickly than anybody anticipates, or in a way that people haven’t anticipated, where the 30 interceptors would not look like they were sufficient, it would be very easy to reason this program and expand the number of silos,” he said.

NEW YORK – A bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved Chrysler’s plan to terminate 789 of its dealer franchises, while the automaker’s plan to partner with Italy’s Fiat hinged on action by the Supreme Court and both automakers warned that the deal could fall apart if it’s not completed soon.
U.S. Judge Arthur Gonzalez’s order says the franchises, which represent about 25 percent of the company’s dealer base, can no longer act as authorized Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealers, effective immediately. A written ruling explaining the decision was expected to be filed later.
The sale of Chrysler’s assets to Fiat Group SpA had been expected to close more than a week ago, but Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s decision to delay the sale now threatens to derail Chrysler’s restructuring plans.
In a brief filed with the Supreme Court Tuesday afternoon, Chrysler and Fiat warned that the deal will terminate if it does not close by June 15. While a new agreement could be negotiated, there’s no guarantee that one will be reached or that Chrysler will be able to be jump start its operations after the deadline, they said.
Earlier in the day, more than 25 attorneys representing hundreds of dealers from across the country argued in court that little would be gained by terminating the franchises, while Chrysler maintained that the move is a necessary part of its plan to cut costs and quickly emerge from Chapter 11.
Many of the dealers were trying to sell the last cars on their lots and preparing to shut their doors for good at the end of the day, while others planned to sell used cars or other brands after severing ties with Chrysler.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Chrysler attorneys also said that the automaker would extend until Monday its program to help the affected dealers send any unsold vehicles to other dealers.
The Auburn Hills, Mich., automaker has been flying through five weeks of bankruptcy proceedings and appeared all but certain to complete the sale of its assets to Fiat before the June 15 deadline. But Ginsburg issued a stay Monday to review an appeal by a trio of Indiana pension and construction funds which own a small part of Chrysler’s secured debt.
The delay may be only temporary. Ginsburg could decide on her own whether to end the delay, or she could ask the full court to act.
Fiat has the right to walk away from Chrysler after June 15 and leave the struggling U.S. automaker with little option but to liquidate. But a Fiat spokesman said Tuesday that the Italian automaker will not turn its back on a deal despite the Supreme Court stay.
Indiana officials, representing the state funds challenging the Chrysler sale, submitted a short statement to the Supreme Court Tuesday that calls attention to Fiat’s statement.
“The Indiana Pensioners respectfully submit that the risk of termination by Fiat if the transaction does not close by June 15 no longer provides a basis for driving the timing of these proceedings,” the officials said.
But Chrysler and Fiat said that the sale agreement will terminate automatically if the sale doesn’t close by the deadline, and there’s no guarantee that they could negotiate a new deal.
“Given Chrysler’s precipitous state, every day past June 15 increases the risk that Chrysler’s business will not be able to restart successfully,” the company said.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration said in a separate filing that each day of delay consumes more of the financing provided by the government.
“If the closing is delayed by more than approximately 10 days, a sufficient amount of the current commitment of debtor-in-possession financing from the United States will have been consumed as to require the government either to increase its overall funding to the detriment of taxpayers, or abandon its role in the transaction,” the administration said.
Production at Chrysler’s manufacturing plants remains halted pending the closing of the sale. Chrysler, which says it is losing 100 million every day its plants are closed, said it had no comment until it receives further information from the court.
Chrysler’s ability to speed through the bankruptcy process has partially been a result of the involvement of the Obama administration’s auto task force, which provided 4.5 billion in financing and helped negotiate a deal between the company’s stakeholders.
Under a deal brokered in the days leading up to Chrysler’s April 30 Chapter 11 filing, Fiat will receive up to a 35 percent stake in the new company created by the sale, in exchange for sharing the technology Chrysler needs to create smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.
The United Auto Workers union will get a 55 percent stake that will be used to fund its retiree health care obligations, while the U.S. and Canadian governments will receive a combined 10 percent stake.
Meanwhile, the automaker’s secured debtholders would get 2 billion in cash, or about 29 cents on the dollar, for their combined 6.9 billion in debt. Some of the debtholders balked at the deal, saying as secured lenders they deserved more.
The Indiana funds filed an objection to the sale and later appealed to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. They claim the sale unfairly favors Chrysler’s unsecured stakeholders such as the union ahead of secured debtholders like themselves.
The funds also are challenging the constitutionality of the Treasury Department’s use of money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to supply Chrysler’s bankruptcy protection financing. They say the government did so without congressional authority.
The funds hold about 42.5 million, or less than 1 percent, of Chrysler’s 6.9 billion in secured debt. They bought it in July 2008 for 43 cents on the dollar.
Consumer groups and individuals with product-related lawsuits also are contesting a condition of the Chrysler sale that would release the company from product liability claims related to vehicles it sold before the asset sale to Fiat.
Compensation for such claims would have to be sought from the parts of the company not being sold to Fiat. But those assets have limited value and it’s doubtful that there will be anything available to pay out.
The appeals come as Congress scrutinizes the Obama administration’s restructuring of Chrysler and GM. The Senate Banking Committee said it planned to call Ron Bloom, a senior adviser to the auto task force, and Edward Montgomery, who serves as the Obama administration’s director of recovery for auto communities and workers, to a hearing Wednesday.
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Associated Press writers Mark Sherman and Ken Thomas in Washington, Colleen Barry in Milan and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.

(CNET)SAN FRANCISCO –The big knock on Applewhether or not it’s always been accurateis that its products are more expensive than most of its competitors.
Apple addresses its high-price reputation by dropping the costs of iPhones and Mac laptops.
But in the keynote speech Monday that opened Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, it became clear the company is tackling the price question head on. The best example of this new attitude is the decision to keep the 8GB iPhone 3G, but sell it at 99. That was the most aggressive price move it made Monday. But Apple was price conscious in other ways, too: It upgraded its 13-inch unibody MacBook to specs worthy of its more high-end MacBook Pro line, while also reducing the price. The MacBook Pro 15-inch and MacBook Air also received price cuts. And Apple didn’t stop there. The new Mac OS X 10.6, known as Snow Leopard, will cost current Mac OS X 10.5 owners just 29 to upgrade when it becomes available in October. The price cuts on the MacBook lineup and the iPhone 3G are clearly intended to bring more “switchers” over to the Mac and iPhone platforms. And it shows that Apple is acutely aware of the financial problems facing potential new customers. But will it work?
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There are two things that lowering the price of the iPhone to 99 does: It broadens the potential base of people who can now afford the iPhone. It also kneecaps Palm. The 199 8GB Palm Pre has been touted as a potential “iPhone killer,” or at least a very nice alternative to Apple’s device. But the Pre is now 100 more than the comparable device from Apple. That could make the decision very easy for people who are on the fence. But this isn’t just about Palm. It’s about all the other phones that are currently sub-100 right now, too. As of the beginning of the year, Apple owns just under 11 percent of the smartphone market, and that could increase exponentially now. To figure out just how much a price cut from 199 to 99 on the 8GB version will affect consumers, the best example is what happened when Apple cut the iPhone from 399 to 199 last year. That was also a 50 percent price reduction. Apple watcher and Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster notes that the price cut last year tripled the sales of the device, from 4.7 million iPhones sold in the three quarters before the price cut, to 15 million iPhones sold after the release of the 199 iPhone 3G. There are other factors of course: greater visibility for the iPhone after a year of being on the market, people who had been holding out for a 3G version of the phone, and more availability in international markets. But Munster says demand in the U.S. alone increased 100 percent with that price cut. Whether Apple can repeat this is going to be determined by a number of factors. Of course, the economic environment isn’t the same as it was a year ago, plus far more people have iPhones already, and there are more smartphones on the market now. In any case, the decision on price shows Apple is being aggressive, and it makes a statement about the kinds of customers it is courting. The same is true of its pricing approach to the Snow Leopard upgrade. While there are plenty of flashy new tweaks to the operating system, they’re just that: tweaks. The updated OS is not a monumental change from Leopard, which is why Apple likely went with the easier-to-stomach and surprisingly low upgrade fee for current Leopard users of 29. (When Leopard was introduced, it cost 129). Jab at Redmond The move also clearly puts pressure on Microsoft vis a vis Windows 7, which will start shipping in October. Microsoft executive Bill Veghte told CNET News last week that Microsoft is considering whether to offer a lower-cost Windows 7 upgrade for Vista usersand hinted as much in a speech earlier on Monday. A leaked Best Buy memo says the retailer plans to pre-sell Windows 7 upgrades for 50. However, it is unclear if that is a promotional price; Microsoft has yet to publicly detail its plans. That wasn’t the only jab at Redmond during the presentation. Some were more subtle than others (Like Bertrand Serlet’s remark about “Windows 7 is just another version of Vista.”) Microsoft has worked hard to make the choice of buying a Mac or a PC about the pricejust witness its series of I’m a PC ads that send moms, kids, aspiring actresses, and college students searching for inexpensive laptops at retail stores. Apple, however, has never really engaged on the issue of pricingthe company’s messaging on Macs has always been to position it as “the best computer” period. But the aggressive pricing on Mac laptops revealed at WWDC shows that Microsoft (and Hewlett-Packard, and Dell, and Sony, etc.) has Cupertino’s attention. Prices were cut across the board, from the newly introduced 13-inch MacBook Pro to the MacBook Air. The 13-inch now starts at 1,199 and 15-inch at 1,699, though both received upgrades to battery life, the screen technology, and a new SD card slot. The MacBook Air price was the biggest change: It now costs 1,499 for the low-end Air and 1,799, down from 2,499, for the high-end version packed with a 128GB solid-state drive. Apple is obviously hoping to rejuvenate its Mac sales. While the overall market for computers has dropped steeply, Apple’s sales have fallen but not as drastically. Its market share stands at about 7.5 percent, but sales for February and April this year were both trending at about a 4 percent to 16 percent declines in unit growth from the same time a year prior. Price cuts across the board could definitely get people to shop again. Perhaps even Laptop Huntresses “Lauren and Sue” will want to reconsider that 15-inch MacBook.
Source:CNN

PASADENA, CALIF. — A massive, tranquil object found
lurking in a dark cloud in our galaxy could be about to transform into a
massive star or stars, giving astronomers their first glimpse at such a region
on the cusp of stellar birth.
The cloud,
located near the Aquila rift in the galactic plane 23,000 light-years away, has
a mass 120 times that of the sun, but it is all compressed into a volume
smaller than the Oort
cloud of comets orbiting our solar system, astronomers said here today at
the 214th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
The
temperature of the cloud is less than -427 degrees Fahrenheit (-255 Celsius).
Massive
stars, or those that weigh in at more than eight solar masses, are much rarer
than more intermediate-sized, sun-like stars. The stellar
whoppers produce much more radiation, causing them to lead short,
spectacular lives that end when they die violently in supernova events,
explosions that are so luminous they can briefly outshine an entire galaxy.
In their
death throes, these stars can quickly destroy any evidence of the environment
they formed in, which makes it difficult for astronomers to study the birth of
these beasts.
But
catalogs of cold, dense gas clouds, such as the new one found with the
Submillimeter Array (SMA) atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii, are now giving astronomers
a chance to probe regions that look likely to spawn massive stars.
“Perhaps
the most exciting thing is that we now know that massive and dense cores with
no sign of star formation activity do exist,” said team member Jonathan
Swift of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
How massive
stars form is a matter of fierce debate.
Studies of
nearby star-forming
regions show that smaller, sun-like stars form inside dense cores of
molecular gas, but whether or not massive stars form in the same manner isn't
known.
Some
astronomers say that if massive stars were to form in a similar process, their
cores would have to hold 100 solar masses of material in a relatively compact
volume.
“The
mass and density of this object along with the lack of evidence for star
formation activity is unique, and this fits very well with our expectations for
massive pre-stellar cores,” Swift said.
Recent
theoretical studies and computer simulations suggest that a core such as this
could form massive stars in as little as 50,000 years a blink of an eye in
the life of the universe.
More study
of this region is still needed, Swift noted, and astronomers plan to use the
SMA to probe the cloud more deeply.
Video
Searching for SuperStars
How
Massive Stars Form: Simple Solution Found
Top 10
Star Mysteries
Original Story: Cosmic Cloud Poised to Birth Massive Star
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A Muslim convert charged with fatally shooting an American soldier at a military recruiting center said Tuesday that he doesn’t consider the killing a murder because U.S. military action in the Middle East made the killing justified.
“I do feel I’m not guilty,” Abdulhakim Muhammad told The Associated Press in a collect call from the Pulaski County jail. “I don’t think it was murder, because murder is when a person kills another person without justified reason.”
Pvt. William Andrew Long, 23, of Conway had just completed basic training and was volunteering at the west Little Rock recruiting office before starting an assignment in South Korea. He was shot dead June 1 while smoking a cigarette outside the building, and a fellow soldier, Pvt. Quinton I. Ezeagwula, 18, of Jacksonville was wounded.
Ezeagwula (eh-ZAG-u-la) spoke briefly at a news conference at a Jacksonville recruiting center Tuesday, saying he had wounds in his back, head and buttocks from the shooting.
The private, who also had just completed basic training, said he hopes to become a heavy equipment operator in the Army and later serve as a drill instructor. An Army captain repeatedly stopped Ezeagwula from answering questions about what happened during the shooting or his thoughts about the suspect.
Muhammad told the AP he admitted to his actions to police and said he was retaliating against the U.S. military.
“Yes, I did tell the police upon my arrest that this was an act of retaliation, and not a reaction on the soldiers personally,” Muhammad said. He called it “a act, for the sake of God, for the sake of Allah, the Lord of all the world, and also a retaliation on U.S. military.”
In the interview, Muhammad also disputed his lawyer’s claim that he had been “radicalized” in a Yemeni prison and said fellow prisoners that some call terrorists were actually “very good Muslim brothers.”
He also said he didn’t specifically plan the shootings that morning.
“It’s been on my mind for awhile. It wasn’t nothing planned really. It was just the heat of the moment, you know,” said Muhammad, who was arrested on a highway shortly after the attack.
Prosecutor Larry Jegley, who on Monday won a gag order in the case, declined to comment specifically on Muhammad’s remarks.
“I asked for the gag order to protect Mr. Muhammad’s right for a fair trial,” Jegley said. “I’ve never had a situation like this with a gag order and I’m sure Mr. Muhammad’s attorney will take care of it.”
The Associated Press sent an interview request to Muhammad last week, before a judge ordered parties in the case to remain quiet. After Tuesday’s interview, Muhammad’s lawyer Jim Hensley sent an e-mail to the AP asking it to withhold his client’s remarks.
Muhammad, 23, said he wanted revenge for claims that American military personnel had desecrated copies of the Quran and killed or raped Muslims. “For this reason, no Muslim, male or female, sane or insane, little, big, small, old can accept or tolerate,” he said.
He said the U.S. military would never treat Christians and their Scriptures in the same manner.
“U.S. soldiers are killing innocent Muslim men and women. We believe that we have to strike back. We believe in eye for an eye. We don’t believe in turning the other cheek,” he said.
Asked whether he considered the shootings at the recruiting center an act of war, Muhammad said “I didn’t know the soldiers personally, but yes, it was an attack of retaliation. And I feel that other attacks, not by me or people I know, but definitely Muslims in this country and others elsewhere, are going to attack for doing those things they did,” especially desecrating the Quran.
An FBI spokesman did not immediately respond to a message from the AP seeking comment.
Muhammad had moved to Arkansas in the spring to work at his father’s bus tour company and had never attended the Islamic Center of Little Rock, a mosque frequented by most of the area’s Muslims, said Iftikhar Pathan, the center’s president.
Pathan said he spoke with most of the nearly 300 people who attend Friday prayers at the mosque and no one knew him. Those at the mosque also spoke with FBI agents in the days immediately after the shooting, he said.
“What he had in his mind, God knows,” Pathan said.
Last week, Hensley said his client, born Carlos Bledsoe, had been tortured and “radicalized” in a Yemeni prison after entering the country to teach English. He was held there for immigration violations, and Yemeni officials have denied mistreatment.
“Those claims … are all lies,” Muhammad said Tuesday. “That never happened in Yemen. The officials dealt with me in a gentle way.”
___
Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell contributed to this report from Jacksonville, Ark.

Los Angeles (E! Online) –
Adam Lambert may have a great voice. He may have even performed with KISS during the American Idol finals. Heck, Queen has even said they want the young, guyliner-lovin' singer to front the band.
However, all that praise and good fortune doesn't make Lambert a rock star.
So says metal rocker Rob Zombie.
“I'm sure Adam can f–king sing 10 times better than Mick Jagger, but who gives a s–t,” Zombie told me the other day. “He ain't f–king Mick Jagger. You know what I mean? There are probably a million guitar players in the world better than Keith Richards, but they ain't f–king Keith Richards!”
No surprise, but Zombie doesn't exactly tune in to American Idol…
“I'm not a big fan of the thought that you can become a star by winning a contest,” he said. “I'm sort of old-fashioned?I think people need to get out there and they need to work and they need to do their music because they love it.”
“If they become successful, then great, and if they are not, whatever?that's the way the chips may fall. I just get disgusted watching people crying that it should have been them, that they're a star, that they're special,” he added. “You know what? F–k you!”
Music aside, Zombie has carved out a nice second career for himself as a movie director. When we spoke, he was in an editing bay putting the finishing touches on H2, his follow-up to his 2007 hit remake of John Carpenter's Halloween.
“The first one was essentially 50 percent a remake of the original, with maybe 50 percent of my thing mixed in,” Zombie said. “This one is 100 percent my vision. I feel like with this one I got to do everything I wanted to do.”
Including shooting in Georgia, because the flick takes place in the Midwest. “You can't get any scope in California, because if you pull back too far you get a palm tree,” he said, laughing. “But down in Georgia we could literally take over entire town squares with huge vistas that look like The Sound of Music.”
Rob Zombie's referencing the Julie Andrews classic? Now that's a scream.
________
Get more Marc on Twitter @marcmalkin
··· THEY SAID WHAT? Get today's most commented stories now at www.eonline.com

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) –
“American Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert has told Rolling Stone magazine he is gay, answering a question that followed the singer for months since he gained millions of fans on the No. 1 U.S. TV talent show.
“I don't think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I'm gay,” Lambert told the music magazine in excerpts from an interview that were released on Tuesday.
“I'm proud of my sexuality,” he said. “I embrace it. It's just another part of me.”
The issue with Lambert on the cover hits newsstands this Friday, with the full interview inside.
During his “American Idol” run Lambert was known for his falsetto singing, outlandish costumes, eyeliner and fingernail polish. He was nicknamed “Glambert” and Entertainment Weekly magazine called him “the most exciting 'American Idol' contestant in years.”
When he lost in May's finale to the more buttoned-down Kris Allen, some fan websites and the media buzzed with speculation that being gay cost him votes from viewers who pick a winner.
Lambert, who was widely considered the front-runner going into the finale, had never publicly said he was gay. In March, when photos appeared on the Internet of him kissing another man and dressed in drag, he said only: “I have nothing to hide. I am who I am.”
His sexuality became an issue widely covered in the media because “Idol,” seen by an average of about 26 million viewers a week in 2009, had never crowned an openly gay winner.
The runner-up in 2003, Clay Aiken, hid his sexuality for years after his run on the show, coming out as gay in 2008.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, a group that advocates for homosexual rights, said it hopes Lambert's “decision to live openly and honestly inspires gay people and opens the hearts and minds of his fans.”
Lambert, 27, grew up in San Diego, California, and starred in musical theater before trying out for “Idol” last year.
In the Rolling Stone interview, he said he had a “psychedelic experience” at an annual festival held in the Nevada desert called Burning Man, and that experience convinced him to try out for “American Idol.”
“I realized that we all have our own power, and that whatever I wanted to do, I had to make happen,” Lambert told Rolling Stone.
Lambert also revealed a crush on Allen, who was his roommate for much of the two singers' run on “American Idol.”
“He's the one guy that I found attractive in the whole group on the show: nice, nonchalant, pretty and totally my type — except that he has a wife,” Lambert joked.
“American Idol” is broadcast by the Fox network, a unit of News Corp. Past winners, including Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, have enjoyed Grammy-winning careers, but stardom has also touched runners-up such as Chris Daughtry.
(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

NHS ‘faces huge budget shortfall’
By Branwen Jeffreys
BBC News health correspondent
The health service will face the most severe and sustained financial shortfall in its history after 2011, a report by NHS managers warns.The NHS Confederation report says the health service in England will not survive unchanged, the BBC has learned. Managers at its conference will be told they face an “extremely challenging” financial outlook. Health Secretary Andy Burnham said NHS funding had tripled since 1997, putting it on a strong financial footing. The report, to be published on Wednesday, warns any modest cash increases could be outstripped by rising costs within the health service. This would leave the NHS in England facing a real-terms reduction of between 8bn and 10bn over the three years after 2011. The cost of new treatments and the ageing population are two of the factors causing the inflation in the health service, the report says. ‘Urgent action’The shortfall means a cut in staff numbers is unavoidable and it may be time for a cap on the budget for new drugs to be considered, it adds. The confederation says urgent action needs to be taken to find innovative ways of making the service more efficient before the financial pressure increases. Unions representing NHS staff are warning that short term cuts and increased use of private companies is not the answer. The head of policy at the NHS Confederation, Nigel Edwards, said: “Having had seven years of plenty it now looks like seven years of famine from 2011 onwards. “We are really going to have to think very deeply and carefully about everything we do and subject it to very rigorous scrutiny – and enlist all of our doctors, our front line clinical staff in rethinking the way we do things.”
The confederation warns against previous strategies such as “slash and burn” indiscriminate savings, letting waiting lists grow or allowing health service pay to fall out of line with the rest of the economy. But it says it may be time to look again at the idea of putting a financial limit on what NICE can recommend to the NHS. It says if the health service can not find solutions it could open the way to more challenging debates, such as the idea of limiting NHS care to a basic package that might exclude care such as IVF, homeopathy and elements of dentistry. The budget for the NHS in England in 2010-11 is forecast to be just under 110bn, so the predicted shortfall between rising costs and the budget is substantial. The chief executive for the health service in England, David Nicholson, has warned the service that closing the gap could, in practice, translate into a need for efficiency savings of up to 15bn in the three years after 2011. ‘Maximise efficiency’Health Secretary, Andy Burnham, said: “The NHS is well-placed to deal with the tough economic times ahead. I will make it my priority to focus the NHS on prevention, quality and innovation. “That way it will be best placed to get the most out of every pound the public puts in and better placed to maximise efficiency.” Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “We are committed to real terms increases in spending on the NHS because as our population ages demand will increase. “But if we are going to improve the quality of healthcare in this country we will need to make substantial improvements using current resources. The idea of getting more for less must apply in the NHS just as in any other public service.” Health service unions are concerned about what they believe will be a financially challenging period ahead for the NHS. After years of significant expansion the NHS is unlikely to be able to simply grow to meet demand, raising the prospect of more difficult decisions ahead. Both Unison and the BMA have expressed concern that a drive for greater efficiency could lead to greater use of private sector companies to provide NHS care. BMA chairman Dr Hamish Meldrum, said: “The imminent funding crisis could be very dangerous for the NHS, and has the potential to seriously threaten patient services. We agree with the NHS Confederation that difficult choices will have to be made. “

Source:BBC

LAS VEGAS – A coroner says Las Vegas entertainer Danny Gans died accidentally last month because of a toxic reaction to a pain killer. Clark County Coroner Mike Murphy said Tuesday that the 52-year-old Gans’ death was not an issue of drug abuse.
Murphy said Gans had toxic levels of hydromorphone, an opiate drug used to treat chronic pain. He had a toxic reaction to the drug because of an existing heart condition.
Police say Gans was found dead in bed at home in Henderson early May 1 after his wife, Julie, reported she couldn’t rouse him.
Gans was a singer, actor and impressionist who spent more than a decade working his way to top billing on the Las Vegas Strip.

WASHINGTONPresident Obama on Tuesday proposed making “pay-as-you-go” rules for federal spending into law.
President Obama proposed Tuesday that the government adopt “pay-as-you-go” rules for federal spending.
The so-called PAYGO proposal requires Congress to balance any increased spending by equal savings elsewhere, Obama said in announcing the measure that now goes to Congress. A previous PAYGO mandate helped erase federal budget deficits in the 1990s, and subsequent ineffective rules contributed to the current budget deficits, Obama said. Now the PAYGO rules should be the law, he said. “Paying for what you spend is basic common sense,” Obama said. “Perhaps that’s why, here in Washington, it’s been so elusive.” Republican leaders said the proposal comes after record spending initiatives by the Obama administration, such as the 787 billion economic stimulus program.
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“It seems a tad disingenuous for the president and Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi to talk about PAYGO rules after ramming trillions in spending through Congress proposing policies that create more debt in the first six months of this year than in the previous 220 years combined,” said Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House Minority Whip. However, a group of fiscally conservative Democratic representatives known as the Blue Dogs called Obama’s proposal responsible and necessary. “President Obama inherited an economy in free-fall and a 10.6 trillion national debt,” said Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee, vice-chairman of the Blue Dog Budget and Financial Services Task Force. “While short-term spending was necessary to get the economy moving again, our long-term fiscal problems became that much more urgent.” A White House statement said Obama’s proposal calls for the Office of Management and Budget to maintain a ledger of the average 10-year budgetary effects of all legislation affecting mandatory spending or baseline tax levels. Any extra cost that lacks payment authorized by Congress would require the president to find money within the budget to pay it, while any tax cut would require a corresponding increase in tax revenue. Some costs would be exempt, including Medicare payments to doctors, the estate and gift tax, and tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2002, the White House statement said.
Source:CNN

LOS ANGELES, CaliforniaElizabeth Taylor went to the Hollywood Bowl to hear Andrea Bocelli in concert, the first night out in months for the big-screen legend.
Elizabeth Taylor went to see Andrea Bocelli at the Hollywood Bowl, a rare outing for the film legend.
Taylor, bound to a wheelchair by scoliosis, said her mind and soul “were transported by his beauty, his voice, his inner being.” The 77-year-old actress posted online messages through the Twitter social network after the Italian tenor’s concert Monday night. “I went to see Andrea Bocelli last night. The first time I’ve been out in months. The Hollywood Bowl allowed me to use my wheelchair,” Taylor’s first tweet said. “My mind, my soul were transported by his beauty, his voice, his inner being. God has kissed this man and I thank God for it,” she wrote in a second message. Taylor opened her Twitter account this year as “DameElizabeth” at the suggestion of her close friend, model-actress-author-businesswoman Kathy Ireland, her publicist Dick Guttman said. Taylor is “very adventurous” and “exceedingly active” despite health problems that sent her to a hospital for a week last month, Guttman said. She is working on a new perfume to follow up on her popular White Diamonds, he said.
Source:CNN

NEW YORK – Investors are finding more than one way to bet on an improving economy.
Stocks ended a quiet day mostly higher Tuesday as traders pushed money into commodity and technology stocks, encouraged by higher prices for oil and other commodities as well as an upbeat forecast from Texas Instruments Inc.
Financial shares were mixed as traders absorbed an announcement from the Treasury Department that it would allow 10 large banks repay 68 billion in federal bailout money. Those banks are among the 19 given money from a rescue fund created last October at the height of the financial crisis.
“It’s part of the healing process for the banking industry,” said Rob Lutts, chief investment officer at Cabot Money Management in Salem, Mass.
Many traders had already made their bets on which banks would be allowed to repay the bailout funds, leaving the market to turn its focus to improving commodities prices, which lifted basic materials and energy companies.
Oil settled at its first finish over 70 a barrel since November, helping to drive prices of metals like copper and aluminum higher.
The Nasdaq composite index lead the three major stock indicators with a gain of about 1 percent after Texas Instruments Inc. raised its profit forecast for the quarter. That stirred hopes that the semiconductor industry could see a rebound in demand.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.43, or less than 0.1 percent, to 8,763.06. The broader S&P 500 index rose 3.29, or 0.4 percent, to 942.43, and the Nasdaq rose 17.73, or 1 percent, to 1,860.13.

GENEVA (Reuters) –
The World Health Organization (WHO) is on the verge of declaring the first influenza pandemic in more than 40 years, but wants to ensure countries are well prepared to prevent a panic, its top flu expert said on Tuesday.
Keiji Fukuda, acting WHO assistant director-general, voiced concern at the sustained spread of the new H1N1 strain — including more than 1,000 cases in Australia — following major outbreaks in North America, where it emerged in April.
Confirmed community spread in a second region beyond North America would trigger moving to phase 6 — signifying a full-blown pandemic — from the current phase 5 on the WHO's 6-level pandemic alert scale.
“The situation has really evolved a lot over the past several days. We are getting really very close to knowing that we are in a pandemic situation, or I think, declaring that we are in a pandemic situation,” Fukuda told a teleconference.
Fukuda said a move to phase 6 would reflect the geographic spread of the new disease.
“It does not mean that the severity of the situation has increased or that people are getting seriously sick at higher numbers or higher rates than they are right now,” he said.
A decision to declare a pandemic involved more than simply making an announcement, he said. The United Nations agency had to ensure that countries were able to deal with the new situation and also handle any public reaction.
“One of the critical issues is that we do not want people to 'over-panic' if they hear that we are in a pandemic situation. That they understand, for example, that the current assessment of the situation is that this is a moderate level,” Fukuda said.
The WHO and its 193 member states are working hard to prepare for a pandemic, for instance developing vaccines and building up supplies of anti-viral drugs, he said.
The disease, which has infected over 26,500 people in 73 countries, with 140 deaths, has been most severe in Mexico, which has reported the highest number of fatalities, more than 100. These include infections in otherwise healthy young people.
PRESSURE ON HOSPITALS
A very real danger after declaring a pandemic was that hospitals could be overwhelmed by people seeking help when they did not really need it, while other patients requiring emergency treatment risked being neglected, according to Fukuda.
“In earlier pandemics, in earlier outbreaks, we have often seen that people who are in the category of being worried but who are not particularly sick, have overrun hospitals,” he said.
Since the new flu strain first appeared, many people have stopped eating pork, pigs have been culled in some countries, trade bans on meat imposed, travelers quarantined, and some countries have discussed closing borders.
“These are the kinds of potential adverse effects that you can have if you go out without making sure people understand the situation as well as possible,” Fukuda said.
Combining human, avian and swine viruses, the new strain has been dubbed 'swine flu', although scientists say this is misleading and stress there is no risk from eating pig meat.
The world is better prepared but also more vulnerable to the adverse effects of a flu pandemic since the last one occurred in 1968, due to the speed and volume of international travel.
An H3N2 virus caused an estimated 1-4 million deaths at the time, and became known as Hong Kong flu. But Fukuda said the WHO would not name the new disease after a country or animal to avoid misleading stigmas.
He voiced concern that Canadian Inuits had suffered disproportionately in the current outbreak, often needing hospitalization. It was not clear if this was due to higher levels of underlying chronic disease, genetics or poverty.
“Inuit populations were very severely hit in some of the earlier pandemics. This is why these reports raise such concerns to us,” he said.
(For a WHO note on its pandemic alert scale go to:
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/GIPA3AideMemoire.pdf )
(Additional reporting by Jonathan Lynn; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

Jones called up after Ferris blow
Wales’s Ryan Jones has been called up by the British and Irish Lions after Stephen Ferris was ruled out of their tour of South Africa by a knee injury.The Ireland flanker tore the medial collateral ligament in his right knee in training on Tuesday. Jones said: “I am anxious to help the Lions in any way I can.” Lions head coach Ian McGeechan said: “Ryan is on the standby reserve list and has been playing over the last few weeks for Wales in the USA and Canada.” Ospreys back-rower Jones was also left out of the 2005 Lions tour of New Zealand before being called up as a replacement, and McGeechan said he had shown his worth then. “On that tour he showed how competitive he is as an individual by forcing his way into the Test squad for all three matches against the All Blacks,” said the coach.
“He will fit right in as he knows a lot of the players.” The 28-year-old, a double Grand Slam winner with Wales, said: “I recognise how this is a great honour for me and my family. “I am delighted to have received this call-up and I am just really looking forward to joining the squad later this week. “Obviously it is disappointing for Stephen Ferris who is a superb player and I wish him a quick and full recovery from his injury.” Jones is scheduled to arrive in South Africa on Thursday 11 June after flying out with newly appointed Lions kicking coach Neil Jenkins. They will join the rest of the squad in Cape Town. Ferris made his first Lions appearance as a scoring substitute in the 74-10 win over the Golden Lions in the second tour match. And he furthered his chances of a Test jersey when he impressed – and scored again – as a starter in the 26-24 victory over the Free State Cheetahs on Saturday. Ospreys elite performance director Andrew Hore said Jones thoroughly deserved his chance with the Lions, even if it had come about in an unfortunate way.
“I’m sure if he goes over to South Africa now he’ll make a fantastic impression now,” he said. “It’s also a tribute to the way he’s conducted himself since hearing he wasn’t in the initial squad. “He’s worked hard, led the Wales team well in America and Canada and he’s been rewarded which is fantastic. “But there’s always an element of luck. Obviously it’s disappointing for Ferris and the fact that he has to leave the Lions squad before a Test has even been played but it’s a fantastic opportunity for Ryan. “The players work their heart and soul to make the Lions and so they should. “Outside the World Cup, it’s one of the most prestigious things you can get involved in so of course there was disappointment and as I say, the way he’s conducted himself around that was outstanding.” Jones was initially overlooked for Ireland flanker Alan Quinlan, but before the tourists left for South Africa the Munster man was banned until September for making contact with the eye area of Leinster captain Leo Cullen in the Heineken Cup semi-final. The Lions also lost Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery, who chipped a bone in training before the tour, Welsh centre Tom Shanklin, who dislocated his shoulder playing for Cardiff Blues, and Ireland scrum-half Tomas O’Leary, who broke his ankle playing for Munster. England’s Tom Croft replaced Quinlan, Scotland’s Ross Ford came in for Flannery and Scotland captain Mike Blair took over from O’Leary. Shanklin was not replaced but Wales fly-half James Hook was draughted in as cover for team-mate Leigh Halfpenny, who has been struggling with injury but remains on tour.

Source:BBC

Los Angeles (E! Online) –
NBC ignominiously canceled My Name Is Earl last month, but now there's hope yet for more episodes!
Star Jaime Pressly (who plays Joy, Earl's loopy ex-wife) tells E! News exclusively that another network is negotiating for more episodes of the series. Whoo!
What's the network? What are the realistic chances of more Earl? And when will we know for sure? Here's what we're hearing…
According to Jaime, cable network TBS (home of My Boys) wants to order more original episodes of the series. She tells us, “TBS is actually in the middle of it, and in the next 24 hours we're going to know. Hopefully there are going to be another 13 episodes so we can complete the series. We all want that.”
Meanwhile, over on Twitter, costar Ethan Suplee (he plays Earl's none-too-bright brother, Randy) is waxing quasi-philosophical about the possible return of Earl, wondering, “Will TBS answer the most important question since 'Does Chachi love Joanie back?' ”
And what if TBS' negotiations with studio 20th Century Fox Television are successful? When might we see new episodes of MNIE? Says Jaime: “In the middle of August.”
Meanwhile, Jaime tells us that she's just taking it easy and enjoying time with her kids: “I rented a beach house and am going to just relax and be a mom—I have been working for four years nonstop.”
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In the brief history of Web sites, there are few if any second chances. Remember Friendster?
Experts say MySpace should focus on music to stage a comeback. Here, Green Day performs at a MySpace event.
That’s why it’s difficult for some industry observers to see a comeback for MySpace, the large online social network that has seen its popularity flatline and its hipness surpassed by younger sites like Twitter and Facebook in recent months. “If you look back at the first era of the Web, there are a bunch of companies that didn’t survive thatthe search sites like Lycos and Excite,” said Richard MacManus, founder and editor of ReadWriteWeb, a technology news site. “I guess you could say MySpace is in danger of falling into the same black hole those companies did.” He added: “If you look at the history, MySpace is going to disappear over time.” MacManus and others said it is possible but unlikely that MySpace will buck the Web’s high turnover rate. If successful, a reborn MySpace would prove something new: that it’s possible for a big-name Web site to recover from a slump. There are some signs that MySpace is trying to reinvent itself.
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In April, MySpace hired a new chief executive, Owen Van Natta, who comes from a background in online music and is expected to help the social network beef up its strong presence in the entertainment community. Van Natta joined MySpace after a stint at Project Playlist, a music site, and after working as an executive at Facebook. He takes the helm at MySpace at a time when the site is looking stale compared with its newer competitors. Facebook unseated MySpace as the most popular online social network worldwide in the spring of last year, according to comScore, a research firm. At the end of 2008, Facebook had about 220 million visitors worldwide, compared with MySpace’s 125 million, comScore says. MySpace’s popularity appears to have plateaued, while Facebook’s continues to increase. Van Natta, who declined an interview request from CNN, said at a recent technology convention that innovation could put MySpace back on top. “Clearly, we’re not the darling of the press right now, but the great thing about the Internet is that you have the opportunity to innovate and disrupt that narrative if you can deliver on these innovation promises,” he said at The Wall Street Journal’s D: All Things Digital conference. Van Natta did not say what those changes might be. MySpace needs to “figure out what their secret sauce is going to be” in order to survive, said Adam Ostrow, editor in chief of Mashable, a news site focused on technology. He added that the site shouldn’t be discounted entirely because it remains “huge by any standards.” Ostrow said MySpace is an example of how corporate ownership slows innovation, which spells death in the fast-moving realm of Internet technology. MySpace’s innovative spirit largely died when News Corp. bought the site in 2005, he said. This left room for Facebook to come up with new ideas and plot a takeover. “If you look at MySpace, it really peaked a few months after News Corp. acquired it,” he said. “News Corp. really came in and focused heavily on monetization [of the site], but perhaps, in retrospect, it was really at the sacrifice of growing the community.” The site should capitalize on what makes it different from other sites: its music player, said MG Siegler, a writer at TechCrunch, a technology news site. But that still may not be enough for MySpace to rebound, he said. “The Web, and technology in general, are both about what-have-you-done-for-me-lately,” Siegler said. “It’s hard. When any kind of site becomes super-popular, they maybe just kind of rest on their laurels, and they’re content to keep their user base … and then a site comes along and does something like a platform for third-party developers, like Facebook did, and then it kind of turns the market on its side.” To stage a comeback, MySpace would have to create something “completely outside of the box,” he said. iReport.com: Can websites like MySpace make a comeback? The problem isn’t necessarily with MySpace as much as it is with the nature of online social network users today, said Jon Gibs, vice president of media analytics for Nielsen Online, a research firm. Web users are fickle, he said. “It seems that social networks are incredibly portable, meaning that me and my friends can go from MySpace to Facebook to Twitter without blinking much,” he said. History proves this point, he said, adding that no site has been able to successfully recover from a substantial loss of popularity. The life cycle of social networks, which appears to be shortening, is perhaps less than two years now, Gibs added. “Facebook, as sort of an important thing in people’s lives, is probably a year and a half old. And people are already out there saying, ‘Well, Facebook’s passé, and Twitter is the thing to do now. And before that, it seemed like MySpace had maybe a two-and-a-half-year window,” he said. MySpace may become a niche network that’s focused on its users’ interests in music and entertainment, he said. The site also could follow the lead of Friendster and find popularity outside the U.S., said Siegler, of TechCrunch. “I think that is a decent play to keep yourself alive,” he said. Friendster, once the most popular online social network in the U.S., fell off the map here but now is among the hottest Web sites in Southeast Asia. The company moved its headquarters from San Francisco, California, to Sydney, Australia, as a symbol of the shift. MySpace also faces a demographics problem. Its users tend to be younger than Facebook’s and therefore have potentially less value in the eyes of advertisers, said Matt Tatham, spokesman for Hitwise, a research company. International users also are harder to make money from, Siegler said. Gibs, of Nielsen, said there always will be new online social networks to challenge the old guard. The newest player is Twitter, a micro-blogging site where users post 140-character messages. “We have already begun to hear rumbles that Facebook is beginning to wane and we all should be Twittering,” he said. And soon, Gibs said, technology will evolve to the point where it leaves MySpace, Facebook or Twitter behind.
Source:CNN