South Florida girl, 4, shot dead in car

By Gilma Avalos and Brian Hamacher, NBCMiami.com

Miami-Dade Police are investigating after a 4-year-old girl died after she was shot inside a car Saturday night.

The shooting happened just after 6 p.m. in the 12000 block of Northwest 20th Avenue, as the girl was sitting in a parked Mercedes Benz with several other small children, police said.

Somehow the girl, later identified as Rahquel Carr, was shot in her upper body. Carr was taken to Ryder Trauma Center where she later died, police said.

Related: 3-Year-Old Girl Pulled From Pool at Miami Home, Rushed to Hospital

Police said it's unclear if one of the other children in the car was responsible for the shooting. An adult was nearby when the shooting happened, police said.

Under Florida law, a firearm must be securely encased when in a vehicle. It is unclear where the firearm was located at the time of the shooting.

"We will be looking at who this firearm belonged to, were the firearm was in the vehicle at the time, along with who was present when the gun was fired," said Miami-Dade Police spokesman Det. Roy Rutland.

Related: Miami Beach Holds First Ever Gun Buyback

No arrests have been made. Children were witnesses to the shooting and Miami-Dade Police will be forced to interview them, as well as many family members, Rutland said.

"There's a lot of speculation right now as to who had that firearm at the time, but we're not in the business of speculating, we're in the business of facts," Rutland said.

Distraught family members and friends arrived to the home Saturday night to give them support.

"Someone called my daughter, and told her she got shot," said Sonia Wheelers, who said she is like a grandmother to the child. "It's horrible, it's sad."

The shooting is still being investigated and the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department will be conducting an autopsy on the child, police said.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2a2f5161/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C310C175396960Esouth0Eflorida0Egirl0E40Eshot0Edead0Ein0Ecar0Dlite/story01.htm

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Okla. governor signs horse slaughter legislation - NewsOn6.com ...

By TIM TALLEY
Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma's 50-year-old ban on horse slaughtering was lifted Friday when the governor signed a new law that will allow facilities to process and export horse meat, despite bitter opposition by animal rights activists.

Supporters argue that a horse slaughtering facility in Oklahoma will provide a humane alternative for aging or starving horses, many of which are abandoned in rural parts of the state by owners who can no longer afford to care for them. Gov. Mary Fallin also noted that horses are already being shipped out of the country, including to facilities in Mexico, where they are processed in potentially inhumane conditions.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 166,000 horses were sent to Canada and Mexico last year alone.

"In Oklahoma, as in other states, abuse is tragically common among horses that are reaching the end of their natural lives," the Republican governor said. "Those of us who care about the wellbeing of horses - and we all should - cannot be satisfied with a status quo that encourages abuse and neglect, or that rewards the potentially inhumane slaughter of animals in foreign countries."

She noted that law strictly prohibits the selling of horse meat for human consumption in the U.S.

Similar efforts are under way in other states, but not without controversy. In New Mexico, a processing plant has been fighting the U.S. Department of Agriculture for more than a year for approval to convert its former cattle slaughter operation into a horse slaughterhouse. In Nevada, state agriculture officials have discussed ways to muster support for the slaughter of free-roaming horses, stirring protests.

The Oklahoma legislation received bipartisan support and was approved by wide margins in both the state House and Senate. It also was backed by several agriculture organizations including the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association and American Farmers.

But animal rights groups fought hard against the plan, including the Humane Society of the United States. Cynthia Armstrong, the organization's Oklahoma state director, said she was disappointed.

"It's a very sad day for Oklahoma and the welfare of the horses that will be exposed to a facility like this," Armstrong said. "It's very regrettable."

In addition to animal welfare concerns, opponents have said slaughtering horses for human consumption could pose a threat to human health and safety. American horses are often treated with drugs and medications that are not approved for use in animals intended for food.

Horse slaughter opponents are pushing legislation in Congress to ban domestic slaughter, as well as the export of horses to other countries for slaughter. Many animal humane groups and public officials are outraged at the idea of resuming domestic slaughter. But others - including some horse rescuers, livestock associations and the American Quarter Horse Association - support the plans.

They point to a 2011 report from the federal Government Accountability Office that shows horse abuse and abandonment have been increasing since Congress effectively banned horse slaughter by cutting funding for federal inspection programs in 2006. They say the ban on domestic slaughter has led to tens of thousands of horses being shipped to inhumane slaughterhouses in Mexico.

Although there are no horse slaughtering facilities in Oklahoma, the Humane Society said the USDA has received an application for horse slaughter inspection permits from a meat company in Washington, Okla., about 40 miles south of Oklahoma City.

Fallin said her administration will work with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture to ensure that any horse meat processing plant in the state is run appropriately, follows state and local laws, and does not pose a hazard to the community. The law takes effect Nov. 1.

"It's important to note cities, counties and municipalities still have the ability to express their opposition to processing facilities by blocking their construction and operation at the local level," the governor said.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.newson6.com/story/21832293/okla-governor-signs-horse-slaughter-legislation

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Kind Hearted Woman, Raped at 3, Helps Others Heal

When Robin Poor Bear was in her 20s, she asked for a Native American name. The Road Man, or spiritual leader, came up with Kind Hearted Woman.

There was good reason: After a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse, her heart was still bursting with empathy for others.

The daughter of an alcoholic mother, Poor Bear was molested by her foster father at age 3. But today, at 35, she gives a voice to others who have suffered sexual abuse.

"I remember it -- not the rape itself, but the emergency room and the nurses trying to hold me down to examine me," Poor Bear, now living in Minnesota, told ABC News. "I remember the door and being so terrified it would fly open and someone would get me."

Poor Bear suffered repeated sexual abuse at the hands of her foster father and two uncles until she was 13. Then, as a young wife, she was beaten by her husband.

That pain is revisited after the couple divorces and her ex-husband is convicted of molesting their 12-year-old daughter, as well as a teenage foster daughter.

The psychological anguish caused Poor Bear, an Oglala Sioux and member of North Dakota's Spirit Lake tribe in North Dakota, to turn to alcohol. And when Poor Bear eventually spoke up about the abuse, her daughter and son, now 17 and 14, were taken away from her.

On Monday, April 1, and Tuesday, April 2 at 9 ET, PBS's "Frontline" will air a powerful documentary, "Kind Hearted Woman," about Poor Bear's struggle to stay sober, further her education and heal herself from the deep wounds of sexual abuse.

David Sutherland, whose films "The Farmer's Wife" (1998) and "Country Boys" (2005) also offer a cinema verite look at poor, rural life, spent three years with Poor Bear and her children.

The centerpiece of the film is Poor Bear's battle to gain custody of her children while improving her own life.

Battling Alcohol on the Pine Ridge Reservation Watch Video Family Sues Sex Offender to Force Him to Buy Their Home Watch Video Chilling Details Emerge on Newtown School Shooter Adam Lanza Watch Video

Sutherland, 67, followed the family from Poor Bear's first day out of alcohol rehab, through school and jobs, juggling being a mother and trying to become a social worker. Frustrated at every turn, Poor Bear fights a corrupt tribal legal system and a culture of domestic violence that pervades many Native American communities.

Native American women have the second-highest rate of rape of all races and ethnicities, at 27 percent, second only to mixed-race women, according to the Centers for Disease Control's 2011 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey. Nearly half of all of these women have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking in their lifetime.

"There are two or three thousand enrolled members living on the reservation and just a small handful of law enforcement to get calls," Poor Bear said about the time she spent a Spirit Lake Reservation. "Some reports are not taken seriously and some are not followed through the proper protocols."

Last year, unrelated to the documentary, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs took over social services at Spirit Lake because of concerns that tribal mismanagement had contributed to abuse of children.

But Poor Bear said that the causes of domestic violence and abuse go deeper than scarce funding and little oversight on Native American reservations. She blames the "rape" of the indigenous culture when it was "Christianized."

"Who taught us how to be parents and how to be loving and caring and kind to each other when they took away all the traditions and we couldn't speak our language without being beaten?" Poor Bear asked.

A former singer, Poor Bear said that she comes from a legacy of heartbreak, but also of generosity.

Her mother, an alcoholic, froze to death in her 30s banging on the door of Poor Bear's foster family, who refused to let her in, Poor Bear tells an audience of abused women in the film.

Her grandfather died saving children in a log cabin fire, she tells ABCNews.com. "The doorway collapsed and when they found him, he was still protecting and holding a baby," she said.

Sutherland did not intend to make a film about Native Americans and was hesitant to reinforce negative stereotypes about life on the reservation. He had singled out several other battered women in his search for an authentic character-driven story about abuse, but Poor Bear's rose to the top.

"She had an associate's degree and was smart," he said. "I liked her sense of humor and she was always upbeat, even in the saddest moments, with the kids."

Sutherland never expected the turn the dramatic narrative would take. When Poor Bear's daughter Darian reveals she was molested by her father at the age of 12, she is required to testify in federal court.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/kind-hearted-woman-journey-heal-years-sexual-abuse/story?id=18834439

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RECREATION CALENDAR - The Sports Desk

THE SPORTS DESK

The authority for sports coverage in the Fredericksburg region.

FROM STAFF REPORTS

March 30: 5K Rabbit Run, 8 a.m. at Spotsylvania Courthouse Village Pavilion. Cost: $20 for FARC members $25 on race day. Also, 1-mile ($15) and -mile kids? Bunny Chase ($5). Register online at racetimingunlimited.org.

April 1: Shirley Gray Scholarship Golf Outing, noon at Country Club of Culpeper. Cost: $300 per four-player team, $80 per individual. Information: Careen Angel (540/222-8708), Mike Wills (540/825-8310) or bluedevilbacker@gmail.com.

April 6: J. Brian?s Tap Room 15K, 7 a.m. in downtown Fredericksburg. Cost: $45. Register at racetimingunlimited.org.

April 12: Lexi Ray Golf Classic, 9 a.m. at Lee?s Hill Golf Club. Cost: $300 per team, $75 per player. Proceeds benefit Lexi Ray, a teen suffering from Legg-Calve Perthes Disease. Information: Jane Ray (540/710-7555 or 538-1980), Patrick Voit (540-809-5943) or pventerprises1@hotmail.com.

April 13: Stafford Hospital 5K, 8:30 a.m. at Stafford Hospital. Grand Prix event. Cost: $25 ($30 after March 29). Register at racetimingunlimited.org.

April 20: King George healthy kids day 5K, 8 a.m. at King George YMCA. Cost: $15 ($20 after April 14), $10 for kids? 1-mile fun run. Register at racetimingunlimited.org.

April 27: Festival of Feet 5K and 10K, 8 a.m. at Bowling Green Town Hall. Cost: $20 for 10K, $10 for 5K. Register at racetimingunlimited.org.

April 27: Spring Fling Golf Classic, 9 a.m. at Pendleton Golf Club in Ruther Glen. Cost: $85 per player, $320 per team. Information: 804/448-8428 or Wethclan@aol.com.

April 28: Park Ridge 5K, 8 a.m. at Park Ridge Elementary in Stafford. Cost: $25 for 5K ($27 after April 13, $30 on race day), $15 for 1-miler. Register at racetimingunlimited.org.

May 4: Virginia State Taekwondo Championship Qualifier, 10 a.m. at Massaponax High School. Cost: $15 for team forms, $65 for all others ($75 through May 1 deadline). Register online at tourneyreg.net. Information: 540/710-9094 or pilsungma@hotmail. com.

May 19: Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon, 7 a.m. in Fredericksburg. Costs: $75 for Historic Half Marathon, $45 for Historic 10K, $35 for Semper Fred 5K. Register, online at marinemarathon.com.

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Send recreation calendar items?to sports@freelancestar.com.

Permalink: http://news.fredericksburg.com/sports/2013/03/28/recreation-calendar-36/

Source: http://news.fredericksburg.com/sports/2013/03/28/recreation-calendar-36/

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5 Handy Tools to Boost Productivity in Business - Small Businesses ...

Harsh economic times and general demands have many businesses working in overdrive. With meetings to organize, staff to accommodate, and customers to please, there just doesn?t seem to be enough time to get it all done. It can make for a frustrating environment, but thanks to technology, there are solutions.

The internet has brought us an abundance of tools that offer the ability to keep production moving. These five tools have the potential to come in handy in both the office and home setting.

1. Remember the Milk

Remember the Milk has a lot to offer business pros and homebodies alike. This app comes with several interesting perks, including the ability to:

• ?Share tasks
• ?Manage tasks offline
• ?Integrate with Google Calendar
• ?Receive notifications via email, IM, or text

At the basic level, Remember the Milk is great at creating lists that you can easily manage in a variety of unique ways. It?s all cloud-based, so you can pretty much access it at any time, on any device.

2. Google Drive

Although DropBox has been on top of the online file storage game for a while, Google Drive has proven to be a worthy alternative. Available for web use, Android, and even iOS, the service that started out as a glorified version of Google Docs has matured into a nice little tool all its own. In addition to storage, it serves up real-time updates, the ability to download documents, and full-on editing capabilities. Google Drive is also cloud driven, so you can access your data any time on a multitude of devices.

3. Objectiveli

Objectiveli is another utility that comes in handy for task management. This web-based tool provides you with a streamlined interface that allows you to track tasks, goals, and objectives in real-time. It helps teams and organizations stay focused by providing a centralized view of everything that has been assigned, thus minimizing the need for handwritten notes, spreadsheets, and internal email communications. Objectiveli is highly recommended for team orientated businesses, and individuals who want to see what?s ahead of them in big picture form.?

4. Rapportive

What we have here is a tool that enhances the power of your Gmail account. Rapportive delivers rich data about your contacts directly to your inbox. It pulls data about these contacts from a number of different sources, including Facebok, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Quora. So if it?s someone from LinkedIn, you would be able to see updates and other activity without actually visiting the site. ?Hence the name, this tool is all about getting to better know your contacts so you can form a ?rapport?.

Rapportive is a free tool available as a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, Mailplane, and Safari. This one can be extremely handy for marketers scouting the web for leads, or the consumer who simply wants to know more about a company before doing business with them.

5. Pomio

Sales people, managers, programmers, and people all over the world are practicing the Pomodoro Technique, the time management method developed by Francisco Cirillo many years ago. Some say its overblown hogwash. Others swear by it. Lost? This five-step overview sums it up:

• ?Outline a specific task
• ?Set your timer to 25 minutes
• ?Work on the task for 25 minutes straight through?
• ?Break briefly for about three to five minutes
• Take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes between each set (every four 25-minute periods)

The concept is simple enough, but getting the most from it has proven challenging. That?s where tools like Pomio come in. Pomio is an iOS app that acts as a Pomodoro timer, but it does so much more. It fully supports task management by allowing you to enter specific objectives and properly time them to make sure you are doing the method correctly. With access to detailed analytics, you can find out where you?re excelling, and where you need improvements. This is a fun little tool that can actually help you get more done if you play fair.

Conclusion
Steady productivity is one of those intangible assets with value that simply can?t be measured. But as you know, keeping it a high level is a task in and of itself. With everything from social networks to reality shows in the mix, the potential for distraction is greater than ever. On the bright side, there are plenty of good productivity tools at your disposal. All you gotta do is find the right ones and use them.

Chiko Noguchi is a best practices activist and advocate for a leading provider of event marketing services.

Image courtesy John-Morgan

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Source: http://smallbusinessesdoitbetter.com/2013/03/5-handy-tools-to-boost-productivity-in-business/

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AP NewsBreak: China jails Nobel winner's relative

BEIJING (AP) ? Police have arrested the brother-in-law of China's jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo on fraud charges in what the family said is the latest act of official retaliation.

Beijing police detained Liu Hui on Jan. 31, just before the Lunar New Year and a planned family reunion, and formally charged him two weeks ago over a real estate dispute, lawyer Mo Shaoping said Thursday. He said the criminal charges were unwarranted in a business dispute that has since been resolved.

Liu Hui's arrest is the latest blow to the family and, Mo said, is particularly painful for his sister, Liu Xia, the wife of democracy campaigner Liu Xiaobo. He was imprisoned in late 2008, and ever since he was awarded the Nobel prize two-and-a-half years ago, Liu Xia has been under house arrest. Isolated in an apartment with no phone or Internet, she appears emotionally fragile, allowed only weekly visits with family members and a monthly visit to her husband in prison.

The latest arrest "affected the whole family, especially Liu Xia, who is worried about her brother," said Mo.

Calls to the prosecutor's office in the suburban Beijing district of Huairou where Liu Hui is to be tried rang unanswered. Family members publicly declined comment, but privately one said the stress on the family is taking its toll. They are under close surveillance and have been warned not to talk to the media about Liu Xiaobo or Liu Xia, said the family member, who asked not to be identified.

An associate of Mo's, who declined to be named, said Liu Xia skipped her February visit to Liu Xiaobo in Jinzhou Prison 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of Beijing out of anger at the arrest of her brother.

Chinese authorities commonly put pressure on relatives and friends of government critics and political and religious dissidents as a way to try to keep them in line. Even by those standards, the treatment of the Liu family is severe and underscores how the Nobel award embarrassed the Chinese government, which bridles at criticisms of its human rights record and its authoritarian political system.

"We used to interact with both Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia's brothers and sisters, but now we have been completely cut off from them," said Pu Zhiqiang, an activist lawyer and family friend. "I think there is only one explanation about this: that the family has been the victim of repressive measures, which are cruel and cowardly."

Liu Xiaobo, once a literary critic and university lecturer, had campaigned for peaceful democratic change for 20 years and been imprisoned three times before his current stint, an 11-year sentence for drafting a programmatic call for political reform called Charter '08.

The recent arrest of the brother, Liu Hui, may be particular retaliation for two incidents that broke the security cordon around Liu Xia and her isolation in her fifth-floor apartment in central Beijing. Reporters from The Associated Press visited her briefly in December, getting into the building while the guards were apparently away at lunch. A few weeks later, five Chinese activist friends did the same thing. In both cases, Liu Xia appeared agitated and shaken.

Pu, the lawyer and Liu family friend, said arresting and prosecuting Liu Hui in an ordinary business dispute fits a pattern of selectively using the law to harass activists and their families. The artist and prominent government critic Ai Weiwei has faced tax charges, for example, rather than a direct attack against his activism. "State security is increasingly using selective enforcement of the law," Pu said.

Police previously arrested Liu Hui, in April last year for the same real estate dispute but then released him on bail in September, Mo said. According to the recent indictment, Liu represented a company from the southern city of Shenzhen in real estate development deals in Beijing, and he and a partner pocketed 3 million yuan ($500,000) that was claimed by another party to the transaction.

He is scheduled to go on trial in May, Mo said, even though the disputed funds have already been returned, and there's insufficient evidence of a crime. "This is irregular," Mo said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-newsbreak-china-jails-nobel-winners-relative-115319919.html

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Pirate perch probably use chemical camouflage to fool prey

Mar. 28, 2013 ? It?s a nocturnal aquatic predator that will eat anything that fits in its large mouth.

Dark and sleek, it hides beneath the water waiting for prey. A Texas Tech University researcher says the target will never know what hit them because they probably can?t smell the voracious pirate perch.

After careful investigations, William Resetarits Jr., a professor of biology at Texas Tech, and Christopher A. Binckley, an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at Arcadia University, found that animals normally attuned to predators from their smell didn?t seem to detect the pirate perch. It could be the first animal discovered that is capable of generalized chemical camouflage that works against a wide variety of prey.

The team published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal The American Naturalist.

Thankfully, at five-and-a-half inches long, only insects, invertebrates, amphibians and other small fish need worry about the danger hiding near the bottom among the roots and plantlife, Resetarits said.

?We use the term ?camouflage,? because it is readily understandable,? he said. ?What we really are dealing with is some form of ?chemical deception.? The actual mechanism may be camouflage that makes an organism difficult to detect, mimicry that makes an organism difficult to correctly identify, or cloaking where the organism simply does not produce a signal detectable to the receiver.?

Resetarits said pirate perch aren?t really perch at all, but related to the Amblyopsid cave fish family. Fossils from this fish date back about 24 million years ago.

They make their homes in freshwater ponds and streams in the Eastern United States. Once considered for the aquarium market, the fish got its name because of its penchant for eating all tank mates.

?Pirate perch have some unique aspects to their morphology and life history, but they are generalist predators, and so should have been avoided by prey animals like all the other fish tested,? he said. ?For some reason, they weren?t avoided at all.?

To test their theory, Resetarits and Binckley ran a series of experiments in artificial pools housing 11 different species of fish, including pirate perch.

The fish were kept at bay at the bottom of the pools with screens so that they could not prey on the beetles and tree frogs that colonized the water.

When it came to choosing a pool, the beetles and frogs consistently steered clear of the water with other fish species in them, most likely because they could smell the presence of fish in the water. However, they had no qualms about moving into pools containing the pirate perch.

?We were incredibly surprised,? Resetarits said. ?It took a while for us to pull this all together. When we first observed it with tree frogs, we were very surprised and puzzled. But when the same lack of response was shown by aquatic beetles, we were quite literally flabbergasted. We continued to do experiments with other fish and always got the same results. All fish except pirate perch were avoided.?

Exactly what the pirate perch is doing to hide isn?t yet known, he said. Researchers want to determine how the pirate perch are either scrambling chemical signals or masking their odor. Once they have identified chemical compounds that might explain the behavior, they will return to the field to test with the same tree frogs and beetles as well as other organisms known to respond to fish chemical cues, such as mosquitoes and water fleas.

?We will also test whether this chemical deception works against the pirate perch?s own predators,? Resetarits said. ?Of course, other critical questions that we are working on include just how much advantage in terms of prey acquisition do pirate perch gain as a result of chemical deception. Does this phenomenon occur in closely related species, such as cavefish? Are there prey species that have found a way around the chemical deception? There are many questions now, and I think we have just scratched the surface.

?I think the most important aspect is not the bizarre, just-so story, but the fact that there is no reason to believe that chemical camouflage is less common than visual camouflage. Humans? sense of smell is just not very sophisticated, so we can?t simply ?notice? examples of chemical camouflage the way we do visual camouflage. I think chemical camouflage is likely quite common. We are starting pursuit of the larger question, starting with close relatives of pirate perch.?

Find Texas Tech news, experts and story ideas at www.media.ttu.edu and on Twitter @TexasTechMedia.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Texas Tech University.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. William J. Resetarits, Christopher A. Binckley. Is the Pirate Really a Ghost? Evidence for Generalized Chemical Camouflage in an Aquatic Predator, Pirate PerchAphredoderus sayanus. The American Naturalist, 2013; : 000 DOI: 10.1086/670016

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/c5NbMbTJghI/130329085941.htm

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Nintendo's Flipnote Studio 3D brings extra dimension to 3DS doodled GIFs

Nintendo's Flipnote Studio (aka Moving Memo Pad) brought shareable animated sketches to users when the wildly popular free app first launched for the DSi console many moons ago. Now, Nintendo's brought it up to date for Japanese 3DS users with Flipnote Studio 3D, supporting stereoscopic 3D images with three layers of depth along with six colors. As before, wannabe animators in that country will be able to share their artwork in AVI or GIF formats with friends on the 3DS network at no charge, or post to a larger audience on the Hatena World Flipnote Gallery for a fee. You can check the video after the break for more, but it would help to understand Japanese -- or be able to parse YouTube's inscrutable translation.

Update: We've replaced the Japanese YouTube video with a new English version after the break, so all the aforementioned parsing and translating is no longer needed.

Filed under: Gaming, Nintendo

Comments

Source: Nintendo (YouTube)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/13/nintendo-flipnote-studio-3d/

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Self-Love is Going Inside

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Part eight in?The ABC?s of Self-Love Reflections Series?

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Self-love is?an inside job.

?We have been raised, indoctrinated and brainwashed to believe that happiness is at the end of the elusive yellow brick road when, in fact, it is right inside of us. The torch lives within; the gold we seek is the treasure of ourselves and is fully claimed through self-love.? (Excerpted from The ABC?s of Self-Love)

If you had told me, way back when, that everything I was looking for was right inside me I probably would have crumpled up and cried. Further, if you?d told me I would have to love myself in order to access it, I would have given you ?the look?, said, ?Good Luck? with tons of attitude, and walked away knowing that my life was over. To that point, nothing in my life?s script would have led me to believe that anything other than finding my prince, having a baby, escaping from the abuse and the money to leave would have made me happy.

I was miserable inside and it was the last place I would have thought to look for joy, peace, fulfillment, satisfaction or love. I wanted to escape myself as much as I wanted to get the hell out of Dodge. My ?eyes were on the prize,? as they say, which consisted of confectionery dreams spun to stave off the darkness of my circumstances. Everything I wanted was ?out there? not ?in here.?

I had been indoctrinated, just like millions of us, to look for happiness in things, accomplishments, money, rewards and status. I had no idea that I was trading one hell for another. I became a self-improvement junkie with a closet full of shoes and clothes that five women wouldn?t have had time to wear (i.e. shopaholic). Add to those, a sad track record of three husbands who didn?t come close to being the prince, and you know how hard I was looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

I can look back on it all now and laugh at myself but at the time (teens through my thirty somethings), not so much. I had no idea who I was, except that I was wonderfully adept at survival. I was looking everywhere for the promised land and all I kept creating were impossible mountains to climb. I kept thinking if I could just ?do? more, then I would have more and with that, happiness. I had no concept that being happy isn?t about doing or having, it?s about being.

Like so many of us on this endless quest, the idea of ?being? was further compromised because I hated who I was, and didn?t want to be me. How could I ever get to OZ? I was unworthy after all, and deep down never really believed I ever would. Until one day, when I was faced with the choice of live or die, and self-love picked me up and set me down in the opposite direction.

?We live in a world where everyone lives their version of ?going for the gold?. No matter whether you are: on a spiritual quest, trying to find yourself, looking for another job, learning something new, pining for your true love, planning for retirement, waiting to grow up, or just trying to make it through the day, we are all looking for that elusive reward, happiness.? (Excerpted from The ABC?s of Self-Love)

Going inside, discovering who I am, learning to love myself has been priceless, far outweighing any of the so-called riches of the outer world. Before, when I was focused on the pot of gold, I was not only out of the present moment but I was also separated from myself. I learned from the inside out that true happiness is a state of being, not doing, and the fastest and most enduring route to happiness is always an inside job.

A wise man once said, ?The standard of success in life isn?t the things. It isn?t the money or the stuff. It is absolutely the amount of joy that you feel.? (Excerpted from The ABC?s of Self-Love)

How can you experience the joy ?inside? today?

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We?d love to have you share your comments, thoughts and feelings here, and if you liked this post, please share the love on Facebook and Twitter too.

XXOO ? Have you loved yourself today?

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Source: http://www.meloveletters.com/abcs-series/self-love-is-going-inside/

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No attention-boosting drugs for healthy kids, doctors urge

Mar. 13, 2013 ? The American Academy of Neurology (AAN), the world's largest professional association of neurologists, is releasing a position paper on how the practice of prescribing drugs to boost cognitive function, or memory and thinking abilities, in healthy children and teens is misguided.

The statement is published in the March 13, 2013, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

This growing trend, in which teens use "study drugs" before tests and parents request ADHD drugs for kids who don't meet the criteria for the disorder, has made headlines recently in the United States. The Academy has spent the past several years analyzing all of the available research and ethical issues to develop this official position paper.

"Doctors caring for children and teens have a professional obligation to always protect the best interests of the child, to protect vulnerable populations, and prevent the misuse of medication," said author William Graf, MD, of Yale University in New Haven, Conn., and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "The practice of prescribing these drugs, called neuroenhancements, for healthy students is not justifiable."

The statement provides evidence that points to dozens of ethical, legal, social and developmental reasons why prescribing mind-enhancing drugs, such as those for ADHD, for healthy people is viewed differently in children and adolescents than it would be in functional, independent adults with full decision-making capacities. The Academy has a separate position statement that addresses the use of neuroenhancements in adults.

The article notes many reasons against prescribing neuroenhancement including: the child's best interest; the long-term health and safety of neuroenhancements, which has not been studied in children; kids and teens may lack complete decision-making capacities while their cognitive skills, emotional abilities and mature judgments are still developing; maintaining doctor-patient trust; and the risks of over-medication and dependency.

"The physician should talk to the child about the request, as it may reflect other medical, social or psychological motivations such as anxiety, depression or insomnia. There are alternatives to neuroenhancements available, including maintaining good sleep, nutrition, study habits and exercise regimens," said Graf.

The statement had no industry sponsors.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Academy of Neurology (AAN).

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

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Journal Reference:

1. William D. Graf, Saskia K. Nagel, Leon G. Epstein, Geoffrey Miller, Ruth Nass, and Dan Larriviere. Pediatric neuroenhancement Ethical, legal, social, and neurodevelopmental implications. Neurology, 2013 DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e318289703b

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/lct30rq7sYE/130313182022.htm

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6 teens killed, 2 hurt in Ohio SUV crash

WARREN, Ohio (AP) ? A speeding sport utility vehicle taken without permission and carrying eight teenagers crashed into a guardrail Sunday morning and flipped over into a swampy pond in northeast Ohio, killing five boys and the young woman driving, the state highway patrol said.

The Honda Passport veered off the left side of a road and overturned just south of the city of Warren, about 60 miles east of Cleveland, Lt. Anne Ralston said. Investigators say it came to rest upside down in the swamp and sank with five of the victims trapped inside. A sixth, who was thrown from the SUV during the crash, was found under it when the vehicle was taken out of the water.

The two boys who survived escaped from the submerged vehicle and ran a quarter-mile to a home to call 911, the highway patrol said.

State Highway Patrol Lt. Brian Holt said at an evening news conference that speed was a factor, although investigators were still trying to determine the speed at the time of the accident.

"We will not be speculating on alcohol and-or drug usage pending toxicology reports," Holt said.

No one in the vehicle had permission to take it, but there were no theft reports, Holt said. The vehicle was licensed to a resident of Youngstown, about 20 miles away, he said.

After the news conference, the gates of an impound lot were opened to show the wreck, with windows smashed and extensive damage to the front end, hood and roof.

Ralston didn't know where the teens were headed when the crash happened at about 7 a.m. and Holt said later it wasn't clear how long they had been out.

"All I know is my baby is gone," said Derrick Ray, who came to the crash site after viewing his 15-year-old son Daylan's body at the county morgue. He said he knew that his son, a talented football player who was looking forward to playing in high school, was out with friends, but didn't know their plans.

A pile of blue, green and copper-red stuffed bears grew at a makeshift memorial at the crash site along a two-lane road tightly bordered with guardrails on either side in an industrial area. The sport utility vehicle had sheared off tall cattails along the guardrail.

There were also notes at the memorial, including a letter from Daylan Ray's 12-year-old half-sister, Mariah Bryant, who said she had learned they were related only in the past year.

"It hurts, it really does, because they are so young and, like, they could have had so much more to life," she said. "We just really started getting close, and it's hard to believe he's gone."

Warren Fire Department Capt. Bill Monrean said a cold water rescue team was deployed to the scene and got five teens out of the submerged vehicle.

"Being a cold water rescue situation, cold water extends life," Monrean told AP Radio. "We knew we had a chance; even being in there a while."

Two of the teens, both 15, were brought to a hospital in full cardiac arrest, St. Joseph Health Center nursing supervisor Julie Gill said, and were pronounced dead there. She said they were treated for hypothermic drowning trauma, indicating they had been submerged in cold water.

The two who survived, 18-year-old Brian Henry and 15-year-old Asher Lewis, both of Warren, were treated for bruising and other injuries and released, she said.

All those killed were ages 14 to 19, authorities said. State police identified them as the 19-year-old driver Alexis Cayson; Andrique Bennett, 14; Brandon Murray, 17; and Kirklan Behner, Ramone White and Ray, all 15. The Highway Patrol said Cayson was the only female in the vehicle.

Rickie Bowling, 18, a friend of Behner, sobbed at the crash scene as she recalled his playfulness and reputation as a cut-up.

"He was one of a kind," she said. "Everyone knew him in the neighborhood. In school, he always made everyone laugh."

Bowling said the tragedy highlighted the importance of savoring life. "Basically, enjoy every second in life," she said. "Enjoy life while you've got it and while you're here and enjoy people that you love."

She said she would rely on her faith in the difficult days ahead. "The only way to look at it is on the bright side: he's in a better place," she said.

Jasmine McClintock, 22, a friend of a victim, visited the crash scene and said it should serve as a warning for parents to be aware of their children's activities.

"I hope it's an eye-opener for parents," she said while watching the slow ripple of the pond water littered with debris, some apparently from the crash.

McClintock said she was troubled by the question of what the victims were doing out at that hour, not knowing if they had been out all night or left home early.

"That's the part that boggles my mind. It's like on a Sunday if you're not going to church, what are you doing at 7 a.m. out driving," she asked.

Officials opened a school where several of the victims attended to provide counseling for families Sunday night. Superintendent Michael Notar called the crowded closed-door session heartbreaking and said counselors would be available Monday in schools.

Cheryl Moore, 54, whose nephew is a classmate of some of the victims, emerged from the counseling session and said it was helpful. "I just feel we have to come to grips with what happened today," she said.

All eight were from Warren. It's not believed that any of them were closely related, the highway patrol said.

Near the Pennsylvania state line, Warren is a mostly blue-collar city that was hit by the decline of U.S. steel mills; it has more than 41,000 residents in the industrial Mahoning Valley region.

___

Associated Press writer Dan Sewell in Cincinnati contributed this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/6-teens-killed-2-hurt-northeast-ohio-suv-211008509.html

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5 Twitter tips from 'super mayor' Cory Booker

Helen A.S. Popkin ? ? ? 1 hr.

Cory Booker! (Cue narrator of old "Superman" TV show.) He's hip! He's cool! He has more Twitter followers than God! Races into burning buildings! Rescues freezing dogs! More than a one-man department of city services, he's setting the bar for elected officials, exploiting the Internet for public good and personal political profit! And now he's got some pro tips for you and your little Twitter feed.

With more than 1.3 million followers, charismatic and social network savvy Newark mayor @CoryBooker has more Twitter acolytes than the population of the city he governs. At his presentation "The Media Politician" Sunday at South by Southwest Interactive in Austin, Booker recalled he agreed to give the 140-character outlet for communiqu?s a try for three months after tech-besotted actor Ashton Kutcher explained its importance. "I thought I was being punk'd," he said. But then he got a desperate tweet from a homeless Iraq War vet. He hooked up his constituent with the help he needed in a matter of seconds. His Honor was hooked.

He's a little surprised that other politicians haven't caught on to the power of social networking. They hopscotch from one event to the next, perhaps reaching 2000 people in a day, instead of hundreds of thousands in an instant. Booker is still taken aback that his tweeting serves as a role model for much bigger political players. "A mid-level mayor shouldn't be in this place," Booker mused.

Booker shared some lessons learned from his adventures as America's second-most-followed African-American politician (No. 1 lives in the White House), along with some rules he has learned to follow.

Rule No.1: "Do not erase a tweet ever."
Attempting to make a coffee-related joke following the revelation of South Carolina governor Mark Sanford's South American love trystback in 2009, the caffeine-addicted Booker said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail with a "hot Columbian blend."After a staffer deleted the post down the cyber memory hole, Booker caught flak. Better to stand by the brainfarts, he vowed.

Rule No. 2: "I always try to retweet my critics."
Not only does it give him points for authenticity and credibility, sending the mean things people say about you to your 1.3 million fans is, well, a little like throwing open the gates of trolling hell. Not that he gave that reason ? but when he mentioned this advice, there were knowing snickers in the audience.

Rule No. 3: Tweeting isn't extra. It's a priority.
"We are syndicators of information," Booker said, waving his arms around to indicate Everybody. "We are media outlets." So Booker doesn't so much as "find time" to tweet as he does it incessantly, to the point that some people wonder if he ever sleeps. Yet he still uses traditional channels, including Newark's version of New York City's 311 phone system, to reach older constituents.

Rule No. 4: "You never know the power of a random act of kindness."
Whether it's throwing open his own house to victims of superstorm Sandy (his power never went out) or showing up at a snowed-in citizen's house to personally shovel out the driveway ? and let's not even talk about the time Booker ran into a burning house! ? ground-level politics has never been as personal, or as effective.

Rule No. 5: "Change the discussion."
After Conan O'Brien joked that the best medical plan for Newark residents was a ticket outta town, the "hurt" mayor started a mock feud by publicly banning the carrot-topped late-night comic from EWR airport. Lots of back and forth later, Conan wound up shelling out a $100,000 donation to the Newark Now Foundation ? and Booker got warm-fuzzies from his beleaguered Newarkers for standing up for their city.

Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about the Internet. Tell her to get a real job on Twitterand/or Facebook.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/5-twitter-tips-super-mayor-cory-booker-1C8780231

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Budget cuts end White House tours, but not finger-pointing

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The sixth-grade class at St. Paul's Lutheran School in Waverly, Iowa, sent a message this week that was heard in the White House briefing room.

"The White House is our house," the class said in a video posted on Facebook. "Please let us visit."

But their trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, which had been set for March 16, is off. White House tours will be suspended starting on Saturday due to mandated across-the-board spending cuts known as "sequestration." The move will save the federal government an estimated $74,000 a week.

Many were left holding worthless tour tickets, secured months in advance through members of Congress. There is no rain check for a White House tour.

The children's video caught the attention of White House reporters, and of the top Republican in Congress.

"What is your answer, or the president's answer, to the sixth-graders at St. Paul's Lutheran School?" one reporter asked White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

"It is extremely unfortunate that we have a situation like the sequester that compels the kinds of tradeoffs and decisions that this represents," said Carney.

He said the Secret Service, which is involved in the tours, offered various options to deal with sequester-related cuts ranging from canceling tours to furloughs and cuts in overtime.

"And in order to allow the Secret Service to best fulfill its core missions, the White House made the decision that we would, unfortunately, have to temporarily suspend these tours," Carney said.

When another White House spokesman was asked whether private donations might put the tours back on track, he said that step might be unfeasible given the technical requirements of the sequester.

The last time the White House closed its doors to school groups was after the September 11, 2001, attacks. The tours resumed the following February, with a suspension in the spring of 2003 during the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

The general public was not allowed back into the White House until September 2003.

'A LITTLE BIT HEARTBREAKING'

The decision found little favor with supporters of St. Paul's sixth-graders, who asked Facebook viewers to "like" their video to agitate for putting the tour back on their Washington itinerary.

By late Friday, nearly 1,000 had "liked" the post, nearly 500 had shared it and more than 100 had commented.

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner boasted that tours of the Capitol would continue.

"Even though our budget's been cut like everyone else's, thanks to proper planning, we're able to avoid furloughs amongst Capitol workers, and tours are going to remain available for all Americans," Boehner told reporters on Thursday.

He called the White House decision "disappointing" and "silly," the result of a failure to find savings in other parts of the budget.

Benno Nelson, a Los Angeles-based film director and self-described "civic nerd" who is planning a family trip to Washington in May, had a one-word response when told of the tour cancellations: "Nooooo!"

"Definitely to get a tour of the White House is something I was really looking forward to, and I planned it in advance and called my congressman. ... To hear that they're not doing that is a little bit heartbreaking," he said.

The recorded White House message for those looking for tour information is as contrite as a recorded message can get:

"Due to staffing reductions resulting from sequestration, we regret to inform you that White House tours will be canceled effective Saturday, March 9, 2013, until further notice. Unfortunately we will not be able to reschedule affected tours. We very much regret having to take this action, particularly during the popular spring touring season."

(Reporting By Deborah Zabarenko, additional reporting by Richard Cowan and David Lawder; Editing by Marilyn W. Thompson and Xavier Briand)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/budget-cuts-end-white-house-tours-not-finger-061937089--business.html

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Helene Cohen Bludman: Sharing The Shakes: When You Both ...

Everyone has an opinion when I tell them that my husband has bronchitis.

"There's something going around," attest some. "It must be the change in weather," pipe in others. "He pushes himself too hard," chides the inner circle. Whatever the reason, my husband is home sick, and I'm trying to ignore my own scratchy throat and throbbing headache. We can't both be sick at the same time.

Who will take care of whom if neither of us can face getting out of bed?

This situation, a bilateral meltdown, happened just once in our married life. It was while we were on vacation.

My parents had generously offered to stay with the kids, then 10, 4 and 1, so we could get away for a few days to sunny Florida. It would be our first time alone since the baby was born. All signs pointed to good weather, romantic evenings and many blissful hours on the beach.

The night before our departure had finally arrived. I finished writing a lengthy list of childcare instructions: what the kids would eat, what they would probably not eat but you never know, who tends to spit out vegetables and feed them to the dog, who is most likely to need "time out," that kind of thing. My brand new resort wear in shades of pastels was tucked neatly in the bags, and with a final review of my list I went to sleep tired but happy, with sweet dreams of wiggling my toes in the sand while sipping a frozen raspberry daiquiri. Child-free.

Something felt wrong when we woke up to the 4 a.m. alarm. "I feel funny," I mumbled to my husband as I rubbed my eyes. "Am I coming down with something?"

I threw on my clothes and tried to tell myself, essentially, that I was nuts. "You're nervous about flying. You'll be fine. You did remember to pack everything. Don't make yourself upset. You are not sick. You are not sick. You are not sick." My husband carried the suitcases out to the car. "Take some Tylenol, honey. You'll feel better," he said. "Maybe it's something we ate. I feel a little bit off, myself." I am not sick was my mantra on the way to the airport.

The tropical resort was surrounded by swaying palm trees and lush pink and purple bouganvillea. According to the brochure, that is. I don't think we noticed, since we were swaying ourselves. We walked staggered into the sparkling lobby with doormen whose smiles froze when they saw our greenish faces.

The elevator ride seemed interminable. The porter opened the door to our ocean-facing room, as cheery as could be. "Here are the light switches to your closet. Can I show you the towels in your bathroom?" Please make this nice man leave, I prayed silently. The door shut behind him, and we collapsed.

The weather proved to be as predicted all week. A cloudless sky, perfect temperature, probably around 80. The slightest of cooling breezes to make beach goers comfortable.

So they told us in halting English, the housekeepers did, as they quickly changed our dampened sheets while we wrapped ourselves in blankets and tried not to shake. Ai yi yi, they murmured to each other as they made a hasty retreat from this room of doom.

My husband and I, afflicted with something akin to the Bubonic Plague, were sick in bed every day of that vacation. We could have been in Gary, Indiana for all the beach going we did. Until the day we left, our sole foray was to the local clinic where we were prescribed antibiotics that actually made us worse. I don't think we even stepped out on the lovely balcony to survey the activity on the beach.

The great restaurants we were going to sample? Nope, not a one. Room service? Couldn't bear the thought of food. I could barely make it down the hall for bottles of water which I urged my husband to drink. We looked at each other not with desire, but with dismay.

Our journey home was infamous, too. My husband had to push me through the airport in a wheelchair. I felt the alarmed eyes of strangers judging me as I lay inert on the baggage claim floor. Finally home, we could only stumble to our bed with our kids clamoring to find out what we brought them.

It took us a few more days to recover from that nasty flu bug. It's hard to be a caretaker when you want to be taken care of. Luckily for us, with youth and stamina on our side, we pulled it off.

My husband has bronchitis. But I am not getting sick.

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Follow Helene Cohen Bludman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hbludman

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/helene-cohen-bludman/marriage-shaking-shakes-flu_b_2811582.html

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The challenges of schooling during war | Children and Youth Studies

posted by Kristen Cheney

The threats to children?s safety in war go well beyond physical safety and mental health. UNICEF issued a press release this week detailing the alarming situation in Syrian schools. Not only has the ongoing civil war destroyed some 2400 schools, but an additional 1500 have been converted to housing and shelter for people displaced by the fighting.? This comprises 1/6 of all Syria?s schools.

In situations of war, schools are often made targets of enemy attacks, or can be taken over by troops for use as camps or bases of operation. Teachers are also sometimes targeted by opposition troops. Over half of Syria?s teachers have stopped reporting to work, many having fled the fighting.

Even where schools have not been destroyed or taken over ? or where teachers have not been killed or displaced ? parents will keep their children out of school, fearing for their safety. UNICEF reports that in Aleppo, student attendance rates have plummeted to around 6 percent.

While it may indeed seem sensible to stop going to school during a time of war, it means children are deprived of yet another important element of their development. Syrian children who have already missed out on one or two years of schooling due to the fighting are missing far more than an education. Education specialist, Michael Kelly (2005), writing about orphans, has pointed out that schooling can provide a sense of routine and normality in an otherwise chaotic situation and help children cope with upsetting events around them. It also keeps them in contact with peers. ?Thus,? writes Kelly, ?schooling helps the child develop a renewed sense of efficacy in relation to life and its circumstances, restores some lost confidence, and offers hope that life can move forward? (p. 71).

Realizing this, some Syrian parents try to arrange alternative education for their children in the midst of social upheaval and incredible violence. In a radio interview with PRI?s The World, a UNICEF representative details how displaced families living together in a cave conduct lessons for the children there. Children themselves have also started their own classes in shelters, inviting other children to join them. Some schools that remain open are running several different shifts per day to accommodate more children whose schools have been sacrificed to war.

Continuing education under adversity may thus prevent children from falling too far behind their peers, as it also provides hope to parents and children of a future beyond war.

Reference:

KELLY, M. J. (2005) The Response of the Educational System to the Needs of Orphans and Children Affected by HIV/AIDS. IN FOSTER, G., LEVINE, C. & WILLIAMSON, J. (Eds.) A Generation at Risk: The Global Impact of HIV/AIDS on Orphans and Vulnerable Children. New York, Cambridge University Press.

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Source: http://blog.eur.nl/iss/cys/2013/03/08/the-challenges-of-schooling-during-war/

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Poland aims to pave way for 2015 climate deal

WARSAW, Poland (AP) ? Hoping to win over EU critics of Poland's recent stance on climate change, the environment minister said Friday that the coal-powered nation will make every effort to pave the way for a lasting deal in 2015 when it hosts a U.N. global warming conference in November.

Last year, Poland vetoed the EU's road map for emissions reductions beyond 2020, drawing sharp criticism from environmental groups and EU officials.

Poland relies on coal for more than 90 percent of its electricity. Aiming to protect coal mining jobs and a major home industry, the government plans to continue relying on coal in the coming decades.

But Environment Minister Marcin Korolec told The Associated Press that Poland has been at the forefront of climate change policy, reducing carbon emissions by 30 percent in recent years, compared to the 6 percent requirement written into the Kyoto Protocol. He said some of Poland's critics in Europe ? he didn't name them ? hardly met the 6 percent target.

"Emission reduction really took place in Poland, at the price of high social costs" of closing heavy industry and layoffs, Korolec said.

A recent U.N. climate conference agreed to adopt a new global climate pact by 2015 to modify the Kyoto Protocol.

The conference showed that not all countries were following the climate regulations that were supposed to apply to all, said Korolec whose ambition it is to help mend this situation during the conference that opens Nov. 11 in Warsaw.

"I want the meeting in Poland to be a good introduction to the negotiating process. I want us to make this good start," Korolec said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-03-08-EU-Poland-Climate-Talks/id-e9252aa5b94849ca9da88606ec8d9771

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Stocks gain for sixth day on strong jobs growth

Traders work in their booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, March 8, 2013. Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street after the government reported a burst of hiring last month that sent the unemployment rate to a four-year low. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Traders work in their booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, March 8, 2013. Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street after the government reported a burst of hiring last month that sent the unemployment rate to a four-year low. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist John McNierney, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, March 8, 2013. Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street after the government reported a burst of hiring last month that sent the unemployment rate to a four-year low. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader F. Hill Creekmore works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, March 8, 2013. Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street after the government reported a burst of hiring last month that sent the unemployment rate to a four-year low. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Andrew Silverman, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, March 8, 2013. Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street after the government reported a burst of hiring last month that sent the unemployment rate to a four-year low. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Donald Civitanova, right, works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, March 8, 2013. Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street after the government reported a burst of hiring last month that sent the unemployment rate to a four-year low. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) ? A burst of hiring in February pushed stocks higher on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 67.58 points, or 0.5 percent, to 14,397.07. The index surpassed its previous record close Tuesday and logged a sixth straight increase Friday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 6.92 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,551.18. The Nasdaq composite advanced 12.28 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,244.37.

U.S. employers added 236,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent from 7.9 percent in January, the Labor Department reported. That's far better than the 156,000 job gains and unemployment rate of 7.8 percent that economists surveyed by FactSet expected.

The strong job growth shows that employers are confident about the economy despite higher taxes and government spending cuts.

Optimism that hiring is picking up has been one of the factors bolstering the stock market this year. Stocks have also gained on evidence that the housing market is recovering and company earnings continue to growing.

Stocks have also been boosted by continuing economic stimulus from the Federal Reserve.

The U.S. central bank began buying bonds in January 2009 and is still purchasing $85 billion each month in Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. That has kept interest rates near historic lows, reducing borrowing costs and encouraging investors to move money out of conservative investments like bonds and into stocks.

Investors have also been pondering what the Fed's next move will be. That question was in especially sharp focus Friday after the government reported the surge in hiring last month.

Andres Garcia-Amaya at JPMorgan Asset Management said that the strong jobs report may heighten speculation that the Fed will end its stimulus sooner than investors had anticipated, which would be a negative for the stock market.

"If the economy maintains or increases the pace of job creation....that could change the Fed's stance," said Garcia-Amaya. "That could mean that the Fed could take the 'punch bowl' away."

The Dow has gained 9.9 percent this year and is trading at record levels, having broken its previous record of 14,164 on Tuesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 8.8 percent since the start of the year, and is less than 1 percent short of its all-time high close of 1,565 set Oct. 9, 2007.

The stock market is drawing in more investors as it continues to surge.

Investors put $3.2 billion into stock mutual funds in the week ending Wednesday, data provider Lipper reported Friday. That's the ninth straight week of net inflows to stock funds, bringing this year's total to $59 billion.

Friday's jobs report strengthens the case of stock market bulls, who say the economy is gaining momentum following a long and tepid recovery after the financial crisis and Great Recession, said JJ Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist at TD Ameritrade.

"It gives hope to those that say this rally isn't just about the Fed, it's about the economy recovering," said Kinahan. "It's giving people confidence that maybe the economy is turning the corner."

The Dow is up 120 percent since reaching a 12-year low during The Great Recession. The index bottomed out almost exactly four years ago, on March 9, 2009, at 6,547. The S&P 500 has gained 129 percent since hitting its own bottom of 676 on the same date.

McDonald's contributed the most to the Dow's gains, rising $1.62, or 1.7 percent, to $98.71. The fast-food restaurant chain reported that a key sales figure fell 3.3 percent in February, but the decline wasn't as bad as analysts were expecting.

H&R Block had the biggest percentage gain on the S&P 500, advancing $2.30, or 9.2 percent, to $27.28.

The company said late Thursday that its net loss widened because of a delay to the start of this year's tax season. The stock got a boost, though, after CEO William Cobb said on a conference call that the company was winning market share, Barrington Research analyst Joe Janssen said.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, rose to 2.06 percent from 2 percent Thursday. The yield is at its highest in 11 months.

Among stocks making big moves;

? Pandora gained $2.06, or 17.6 percent, to $13.79 after the Internet radio company issued a strong profit forecast and said its mobile business was improving. Pandora also said its CEO, Joseph Kennedy, would leave.

? Skullcandy fell $1.51, or 22.5 percent, to $5.21 after the headphone maker projected a big loss and a drop in sales for the current quarter. The company said this year's results will likely be worse than in 2012.

? Foot Locker fell $2.52, or 7.1 percent, to $32.79 even after reporting that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit jumped 28 percent. An extra sales week helped boost earnings, but analysts were expecting more.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-08-Wall%20Street/id-365b8fc6c74a4941b6af8bfe7798f7c8

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Facebook?s Focus On Mobile-Inspired Consistency Is All About Getting Facebook ?Out Of The Way?

Today, VP of Product, Chris Cox discussed Facebook’s new-found focus on design consistency, something the company calls “mobile-inspired.” Today, with its News Feed and Photo redesign, you’ll notice consistency no matter what device you’re on. This hasn’t always been the case for Facebook. The idea of “desktop only” design seems to be dead, at least at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park. It’s all about mobile. What does that mean exactly? It means a more intimate experience, more responsive to touch and clicks, and way less clutter. “Now you can get to any page on Facebook to any other page on Facebook without going to your home page” said Cox. The best designers in the world say that to make people engage with a product, you have to make the “tech” disappear. That is of course done with beautiful and responsive design, and that’s the approach that Facebook is taking. One example of why Facebook had to take this approach is that Cox said 35% of Facebook users on the web never see the chat bar on the right hand side because of their browser width, so the company was missing out on a lot of message traffic because of that. The new responsive web design will fix that. These changes will roll out on the web today and then to mobile devices in the coming months. The roll out will be very slow, to make sure that the company gets incremental feedback. The rallying cry for the day at Facebook? “Goodbye Clutter.” Ads weren’t discussed at all, which is where I find that most of the clutter is. It will be interesting to see how advertisements evolve with this new design, and if we’ll see more of them. The definition of “clutter” is subjective, so we’ll see if Facebook’s definition will delight its over one billion users. Here’s a video explaining some of the reasons behind the changes:

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/EnOM-yb8Te4/

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