JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? Islamist extremists damaged or stole only a limited number of manuscripts in Timbuktu in Mali before they fled the fabled desert city, a South African university said Wednesday.
People in the north Malian city who have knowledge of the documents reported that there was no malicious destruction of any library or collection, said the University of Cape Town, which helped fund a state-of-the-art library to house manuscripts.
"The custodians of the libraries worked quietly throughout the rebel occupation of Timbuktu to ensure the safety of their materials," said the university. Islamist rebels have been in control of Timbuktu for nearly 10 months.
The university said that a report from Britain's Sky News that 25,000 manuscripts had been burned was false. Other news reports quoted the city mayor, who wasn't in the city, saying manuscripts had been destroyed, the university said.
With its Islamic treasures and centuries-old mud-walled buildings including an iconic mosque, Timbuktu is a U.N.-designated World Heritage Site.
Most of the manuscripts, which are as many as 900 years old, were gathered between the 1980s and 2000 from all over Mali for the Ahmad Baba Institute for Higher Learning and Islamic Research, which moved into its new home in 2009.
Media reports said that the Ahmad Baba Institute had been ransacked by the militants. But the university said a senior researcher at the institute, Mohamed Diagayete, said the majority of the manuscripts were stored in an older building elsewhere in the city.
The manuscripts cover subjects from science, astrology and medicine to history, theology, grammar and geography. They date back to the late 12th century, the start of a 300-year golden age for Timbuktu as a spiritual and intellectual capital for the propagation of Islam.
Islamist extremists decimated tourism in 2011 when three Europeans were taken hostage from a Timbuktu restaurant in November that year. In April 2012, Tuareg nationalist rebels seized control of Timbuktu from government troops. A day later Islamist insurgents moved into the city. They banned music, insisted women cover themselves and began carrying out public executions.
On Tuesday, Timbuktu was in control of French and Malian troops, including some 250 French paratroopers dropped from the sky. The extremists melted into the desert without firing a shot. Townspeople were jubilant at the city's liberation from intolerant Islamist extremists.
"The protection of the cultural and intellectual heritage of this region needs to be enhanced and promoted," the university said. "The abandonment of the security of Timbuktu nine months ago, the flight of archivists and researchers, and the closure of libraries should not be repeated."
In Paris, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said that the U.N. cultural agency will do everything possible to safeguard and rebuild Mali's cultural heritage.
"In times of turmoil, the risks of illicit trafficking of cultural objects are at the highest, with Mali's renowned ancient manuscripts being the most vulnerable," Bokova said.
"We will mobilize all our expertise and resources to help safeguard and preserve the ancient manuscripts that testify to the region's glorious past as a major center of Islamic learning."
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Peter James Spielmann contributed to this story from the United Nations.
Today?s workforce is more diverse than ever; therefore a growing number of employers are leveraging voluntary benefits to create robust, universally appealing employee benefits packages that cater to the wide-ranging needs of a multigenerational workforce.
Voluntary employee benefits are an easy, affordable way for employers to enhance core benefits at no direct cost to the organization. They are also cost-effective for employees who can access the services at a lower rate than if they were to purchase them on their own.? However, voluntary benefits that appeal to Baby Boomers may not hold the same value for younger generations, so it is important to choose benefits that resonate with all age groups. One such benefit is a group legal plan, which allows organizations to offer employees affordable access to the legal services they need.
In any given year, seven in 10 U.S. households (71%) experienced an event in which they could have used legal assistance[1]. These events include traffic tickets, home purchases, will creation, estate planning documents and powers of attorney. MetLife?s Unlocking Voluntary Value study[2] found that Generation Y, Generation X and Baby Boomers all require some level of legal assistance, although specific needs vary:
Generation Y (ages 18 ? 31): ?Common legal issues among this generation include credit card debt and debt collection defense, traffic tickets, landlord negotiations and DUI?s.
Generation X (ages 32 ? 47): ?This generation?s legal needs migrate toward real estate transactions, foreclosure, estate planning, adoption, school hearings and will creation.
Baby Boomers (ages 48 ? 66): ?Typical events that lead this group to seek legal assistance include tax audits, property sale, identity theft, powers of attorney, living wills and Medicare questions.
Group legal plans reduce mental and physical stress.?
An American Bar Association study revealed that more than half of Americans with legal issues attempt to resolve matters on their own1. ?Most individuals outside of the legal profession are unfamiliar with the law and legal procedures; therefore, attempts to go it alone often result in a disproportionate amount of time spent and increased stress (mental and physical, which are intertwined). A Harris Interactive study, sponsored by Hyatt Legal Plans, found that the majority of employees (61%) who hired a group legal plan attorney spent less time at work worrying about, and dealing with, their legal situation[3].
Legal services provided through employee benefits provide convenient access to experienced attorneys. This reduces time away from work, on-the-job presenteeism and overall stress. ?Through a simple implementation process, a group legal plan can help a multigenerational workforce address all these issues quickly, affordably and conveniently.
Brittany Schmigel works for Hyatt Legal Plans, a MetLife company and the country?s largest provider of?group legal plans.
[1] American Bar Association, Public Perception of Lawyers Consumer Research Findings (April, 2002).
[2] MetLife, Unlocking Voluntary Value:? A Foolproof Formula to Pinpoint the Right Voluntary Benefits for Your Business (2012).
[3] Harris Interactive on behalf of Hyatt Legal Plans, a MetLife Company, How Group Legal Plans are Positively Impacting Physical and Financial Health (February, 2012).
Devout Israel-hater George Galloway, a member of the UK Parliament, was slapped down quite handily by David Cameron during prime minister?s questions Wednesday.
Galloway asked Cameron to ?adumbrate the key differences between the hand-chopping, throat-cutting jihadists fighting the dictatorship in Mali that we are now to help to kill, and the equally bloodthirsty jihadists? in Syria that the UK is aiding.
Without hesitation Cameron responded, ?Some things come and go, but there is one thing that is certain: Wherever there is a brutal Arab dictator in the world, he?ll have the support of the honorable gentleman.?
Watch ?the video below:
The PMQ platform offers an opportunity for MPs to ask Prime Minister David Cameron questions on live TV, much to the chagrin of Galloway one would today think.
While Galloway?s question may actually have some validity, Cameron?s response was more indicative of Galloway?s reputation in UK politics. This is, after all, a man known to cavort with Saddam Hussein and his brethren, bestow support upon Hezbollah, and make claims that Israel killed Lebanese President Rafik Hariri?among many, many highly dubious actions and remarks.
A recent article in the Algemeiner demonstrated just how blind his anti-Israel position can be, when he re-tweeted a hash tag meant to be anti-Israel without even checking to see that the link attached to the hash tag was actually pro-Israel.
BANGKOK (AP) ? World stock markets were slightly higher Wednesday as investors anticipated the U.S. Federal Reserve will stick to a policy of keeping its key interest rate near zero until a firm recovery in the world's No. 1 economy takes hold.
A two-day policy meeting of the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee wraps up later Wednesday. If the Fed sticks to its commitment to low interest rates, that would drive more money toward stock markets, said Linus Yip, a strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong.
"The main focus is whether there will be some hints given out about what will be going on in future interest rate moves," Yip said. "Right now, market sentiment remains good."
Last month the Fed said that as long as the inflation outlook is mild, it could keep short-term rates near zero until the unemployment rate dips below 6.5 percent from the current 7.8 percent. That could take until the end of 2015, the Fed predicted.
Britain's FTSE 100 was nearly unchanged at 6,339.23. Germany's DAX rose nearly 0.1 percent to 7,852.80. France's CAC-40 advanced 0.1 percent at 3,789.28. Wall Street futures were flat: Dow Jones industrial futures stood at 13,908. S&P 500 futures held steady at 1,505.
Japan's Nikkei surged 2.3 percent to 11,113.95, its highest closing since late April 2010, as the yen continued to weaken against the U.S. dollar.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.7 percent to 23,822.06. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.4 percent to 1,964.43 after the government said manufacturing output rose 0.8 percent in December from November.
Gains in resource stocks helped lift Australia's S&P/ASX 200 by 0.2 percent to 4,896.70. Mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd. gained 1.5 percent and rival BHP Billiton advanced 1.2 percent.
Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines, mainland China and Indonesia rose.
Meanwhile, a survey on U.S. consumer confidence Tuesday was unexpectedly weak, but analysts said the result was likely a one-time blip due to the payroll tax increase that was part of the agreement reached by U.S. lawmakers to avert bigger spending cuts and tax increases.
Wall Street stocks rose Tuesday after drugmaker Pfizer posted strong earnings. The Dow Jones industrial average ended higher for the seventh day in eight.
Currently, analysts expect fourth-quarter earnings for 2012 to increase by an average of 4.7 percent for S&P 500 companies, according to the latest data from S&P Capital IQ. That's an improvement on the previous quarter when profit grew by 2.4 percent.
Benchmark oil for March delivery was down 3 cents to $97.55 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.13, or 1.2 percent, to close at $97.57 on the Nymex on Tuesday.
In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3511 from late Tuesday in New York. The euro hit its highest level against the dollar in nearly 14 months Tuesday after data was released showing a rise in German consumer confidence. The dollar rose to 91.16 yen from 90.69 yen.
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Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson
Amazon has reported sales up by more than a quarter in 2012, after a year in which sales of digital ebooks grew quickly.
The company, releasing fourth quarter and full-year sales figures, said net sales were up by 27% to $61.09bn (?38.6bn) in the year to the end of January, compared to $48.08bn (?30.4bn) in 2011. Sales of e-books rose by 70% during the year while sales of physical books were up by just single digits.
?We?re now seeing the transition we?ve been expecting,? said Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon.com. ?After five years, eBooks is a multi-billion dollar category for us and growing fast ? up approximately 70% last year. In contrast, our physical book sales experienced the lowest December growth rate in our 17 years as a book seller, up just 5%. We?re excited and very grateful to our customers for their response to Kindle and our ever expanding ecosystem and selection.?
But operating income was down by 22% to $676m (?427.7m), from $862m (?545.5m) in 2011, taking the company to a full-year loss of $39m (?24.7m), from net income of $631m (?399.3m) in 2011. In the fourth quarter of the year, to December 31, net sales rose by 22% to $21.27bn (?13.4bn) from $17.43bn (?11.0bn) in the fourth quarter of 2011. Operating income rose by 56%, compared to the previous year, to $405m (?256.3m) in the quarter, while net income fell by 45% to $97m (?61.4m).
The company said that its Kindle Fire tablet was its bestselling product for the second year in a row across all its markets, including the UK. During the last quarter the company launched Kindle Stores in Brazil, Canada, China and Japan. Amazon predicted net sales up by between 14% and 26% in the first quarter of 2013.
The struggling department store chain this week will begin adding back some of the hundreds of sales it ditched last year in hopes of luring shoppers who were turned off when the discounts disappeared, CEO Ron Johnson told The Associated Press.?
Penney also plans to add price tags or signs for more than half of its merchandise to show customers how much they're saving by shopping at the chain ? a strategy used by a few other retailers. For store-branded items such as Arizona, Penney will show comparison prices from competitors.?
The reversal comes on the eve of the one-year anniversary of its original vow to almost completely get rid of the sales that Americans covet but that cut into a store's profits. The idea was to offer everyday low prices that customers could count on rather than the nearly 600 fleeting discounts, coupons and sales it once offered.?
The bold plan has been closely watched by others in the retail industry, which commonly offers deep discounts to draw shoppers. But so far the experiment has served as a cautionary tale of how difficult it is to change shoppers' habits: Penney next month is expected to report its fourth consecutive quarter of big sales drops and net losses. After losing more than half of its value, Penney's stock is trading at about $19. And the company's credit ratings are in junk status.?
Johnson, who rolled out the pricing plan shortly after taking the top job in November 2011, told The Associated Press the latest moves are not a "deviation" from his strategy but rather an "evolution."?
"Our sales have gone backward a little more than we expected, but that doesn't change the vision or the strategy," said Johnson, who previously masterminded Apple Inc.'s retail stores and Target Corp.'s cheap chic fashion strategy. "We made changes and we learned an incredible amount. That is what's informing our tactics as we go forward."?
But critics say Johnson is backpedaling. Walter Loeb, a New York-based retail consultant, said Johnson "is now realizing that he has to be more promotional to attract shoppers."?
The pricing strategy has been a key part of Johnson's plan to reinvent Penney, which had failed to change with the times as its competitors updated their stores to make them cool places to shop. The plan includes adding hip new brands such as Joe Fresh and replacing racks of clothing with small shops-within-stores by 2015. But this isn't the first time the pricing strategy has been tweaked.?
When it was rolled out in February 2012, the plan entailed permanently slashing prices on everything in the store by 40 percent. Penney decided to have just 12 monthlong sales events on some merchandise. And there would be periodic clearance events throughout the year.?
But the new pricing plan wasn't well received on Wall Street or Main Street, so six months after launching it, Johnson ditched the monthlong sales, saying that they were too confusing to shoppers. Johnson said Penney has learned that people don't shop on a monthly basis, but rather they buy when they need something for say, back-to-school or during the winter holidays. And during those times, he said, they're looking for even more value.?
"I still believe that the customer knows the right price, but they want help," he said.?
Penney declined to say how many sales events it will offer going forward, citing competitive reasons. But the company said the figure will still be well below the nearly 600 it used to offer. The company said the discounts will vary depending on the sale. From Feb. 1 through Feb. 14, for instance, shoppers will get 20 percent off some jewelry for Valentine's Day. One example: half-carat diamond heart pendants on sale for $96, below Penny's everyday price of $120.?
Penney said the decision to add tags or signs on much of its merchandise that shows the "manufacturer's suggested retail price" alongside Penney's "everyday" price was a result of his realization that shoppers want a reference price to consider.?
National brands were also asking Penney to show the suggested price to shoppers, he said. Penney began showing the suggested manufacturer's price on Izod men's merchandise last fall and was encouraged by the response.?
Burt Flickinger, a retail consultant, said the move could help Penney because manufacturers' suggested retail prices can be as much as 40 percent higher than what retailers wind up charging. The practice is common in the home appliance industry but spotty in the department-store industry because stores generally hike prices up even more to give shoppers the illusion of a big discount, he said.?
"The strategy will be helpful for shoppers to understand lower prices," Flickinger said. "At the same time, it will be tough to get consumers back in the store from competitors."?
But Craig Johnson, another retail consultant, said that adding the suggested manufacturer's price is just a gimmick. "The objective of this exercise is to maximize the perceived value for the purchase."?
Johnson said that for Penney's own store brands like Arizona and Worthington, the team will research other stores and will submit supporting data to its legal team for approval before it advertises comparison prices, using certain criteria. For example, they'll make sure the fabric used is of the same quality as its rivals. For jewelry, Penney is using the International Gemological Institute, a third-party appraiser.?
"There are no makeup prices here," Johnson said. "It's all about trying to communicate what it's worth to the customer."?
Penney will not show comparison prices for merchandise that is part of exclusive partnerships with brands such as Nicole Miller and Mango, however. The company said it's difficult to offer such references.?
To promote the strategy, Penney on Wednesday will begin launching TV, print and digital ads. One TV ad compares a $9 polo shirt under its store brand Arizona with $19 "elsewhere." "Two polos, same color, same vibrant, same details, same swing, same swagger, different prices," the ad said.?
Johnson reiterated that he expects Penney to return to sales growth sometime in 2013. That would be a welcome change for Penney, which has had steep sales and profit losses since the new strategy was launched.?
For the first nine months of its current fiscal year, Penney lost $433 million, or $1.98 per share compared with a loss of $65 million, or 30 cents per share in the year-ago period. Total sales dropped 23.1 percent to $9.1 billion.?
Analysts expect Penney to post a loss of 17 cents on sales of $4.22 billion for the fourth quarter. They expect the company's annual sales to fall by 23 percent, or nearly $4 billion, to $13.3 billion for the latest year. Revenue at stores opened at least a year ? a measure of a retailer's health ? are expected to drop 25 percent, in line with the third quarter, according to analyst polled by research firm FactSet.?
Meanwhile, investors have sent shares down more than 55 percent from a peak of $43 in the days after the plan was rolled out in February. Shares slipped 18 cents to $19.17 on Monday.?
"A year ago, we were launching a major transformation and didn't know what to expect," he said. "Today, I know what happened. Our team has a year's worth of history. This is going to be a great year because the new JCP is coming to life for customers."?
? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
While Lucasfilm originally planned to bring Star Wars Episode II and III back to theaters in 3D this fall, it's just announced that will not happen. In a statement posted on the official site, it says "we will now focus 100 percent of our efforts on Star Wars: Episode VII." Lucasfilm is now owned by Disney, which just announced last week that J.J. Abrams (director of Star Trek and creator of TV series including Lost and Fringe) would direct the seventh installment, which is scheduled to hit theaters in 2015. The original trilogy was also reportedly on deck for 3D rerelease, but there's no word yet whether we'll see those again before Episode VII, just a promise to post "further information" at a later date.
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J.J. Abrams to Direct Star Wars: Episode VII
J.J. Abrams will direct Star Wars: Episode VII, the first of a new series of Star Wars films to come from Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy. Abrams will be directing and Academy Award-winning writer Michael Arndt will write the screenplay.
"It's very exciting to have J.J. aboard leading the charge as we set off to make a new Star Wars movie," said Kennedy. "J.J. is the perfect director to helm this. Beyond having such great instincts as a filmmaker, he has an intuitive understanding of this franchise. He understands the essence of the Star Wars experience, and will bring that talent to create an unforgettable motion picture."
George Lucas went on to say "I've consistently been impressed with J.J. as a filmmaker and storyteller. He's an ideal choice to direct the new Star Wars film and the legacy couldn't be in better hands."
"To be a part of the next chapter of the Star Wars saga, to collaborate with Kathy Kennedy and this remarkable group of people, is an absolute honor," J.J. Abrams said. "I may be even more grateful to George Lucas now than I was as a kid."
J.J., his longtime producing partner Bryan Burk, and Bad Robot are on board to produce along with Kathleen Kennedy under the Disney | Lucasfilm banner.
Also consulting on the project are Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg. Kasdan has a long history with Lucasfilm, as screenwriter on The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Return of the Jedi. Kinberg was writer on Sherlock Holmes and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
Abrams and his production company Bad Robot have a proven track record of blockbuster movies that feature complex action, heartfelt drama, iconic heroes and fantastic production values with such credits as Star Trek, Super 8, Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, and this year's Star Trek Into Darkness. Abrams has worked with Lucasfilm's preeminent postproduction facilities, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, on all of the feature films he has directed, beginning with Mission: Impossible III. He also created or co-created such acclaimed television series as Felicity, Alias, Lost and Fringe.
International donors have pledged $455.53 million for an international campaign tackling Islamist militants in Mali.
By Whitney Eulich,?Staff writer / January 29, 2013
A French soldier guards the Timbuktu airport, in northern Mali on Monday. Yesterday, close to 1,000 French and 200 Malian troops overtook the airport in Timbuktu, prior to entering the ancient city.
Arnaud Roine; EMA-ECPAD/AP
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Latin America Editor
Whitney Eulich is the Monitor's Latin America editor, overseeing regional coverage for CSMonitor.com and the weekly magazine. She also curates the Latin America Monitor Blog.
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Residents of one of the world's most fabled and mysterious cities are celebrating after troops from France and Mali gained control of the city.
Pledges of international aid and military support are flooding into Mali just 2-1/2 weeks after France launched a military offensive in the West African country.?And though spirits are high after French forces reportedly took the cities of Gao and Timbuktu in recent days, many warn fully stamping out Islamist rebels in Mali?s north and neighboring countries could take years.
Yesterday, close to 1,000 French and 200 Malian troops overtook the airport in Timbuktu, prior to entering the ancient city. Residents told the BBC that the Islamists departed days earlier, after bombs were dropped on their bases there.
?There were no shots fired, no blood spilt. Not even passive resistance with traps," a colonel heading the French helicopter operations in Timbuktu said of overtaking the city.
During the weekend troops also secured the city of Gao. Both Timbuktu and Gao are important ?strategically and symbolically? since they have been under the Islamist rebel control since last April.
But according to The Christian Science Monitor?s correspondent in Mali, the relative ease with which troops have been able to reclaim cities and towns from the Islamists doesn?t necessarily mean their work is near completion.
So far, their enemies have put up little resistance. French troops have rolled unopposed into many towns and villages in recent days. But more complex work lies ahead. Militants may re-emerge as a guerrilla force, while Mali?s government and its partners have the daunting task of?restoring order and public services after months of turmoil.
? Electricity is down, economic life has withered, and state facilities have been trashed. Yesterday morning, French troops rolled into the town of Niafounk?, north of L?r?. They found its?lakeside fishing port converted to a military barracks covered with jihadi?graffiti,?and now deserted.
?Every place they occupied, the Islamists turned it directly to their own uses,? says Youssef Maiga, a builder who turned out with hundreds of locals to cheer the French arrival. As French soldiers accompanying journalists mixed with the crowds, Mr. Maiga approached a lieutenant.
?Will more of you come? We have nothing here,? Maiga said.
?We?re not going to leave you,? the lieutenant replied.
When or how France will leave Mali may be an increasingly salient challenge for the former colonial power, whose intervention, at the behest of Mali?s interim President Dioncounda Traor?, came months before a Western-backed, West African-led plan was set to go into effect.
France has pledged to stay in Mali until it is stabilized, but with unknown numbers of Islamists still in the country that end goal is fuzzy. On Monday, French President Francois Hollande said at a news conference: ?We are winning in Mali,? reports CNN.
The international community, meanwhile, has stepped up in recent days to make sure Mali defeats the Islamist rebels there, who have limited the rights and activities of locals since last year.
The African Union agreed yesterday to contribute $50 million to the mission in Mali. According to the BBC, ?in a list of donations carried on the AU?s Twitter? feed today, Japan pledged $120 million; Germany $20 million;?India and China $1 million each; and the US $96 million.
And the?Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),?which initially pledged 3,300 troops in Mali, expects to see that number to rise. ?Up until now, a dozen African nations have offered to contribute to this force, bringing its total to 5,000 or 6,000,? reports the South African government news agency.
France currently has close to 3,000 troops in Mali, and an estimated 8,000 African troops are expected to eventually take over, reports the BBC.
In an effort to enable Malians to maintain control over their territory once international powers step back, officials said today that?European Union countries are meeting in Brussels to discuss contributing more troops, reports the Associated Press. The mission could include deploying 500 people, half of whom would be working as military trainers, by April 1.
The United States, for its part, has said it will not deploy combat troops to Mali. However, during the weekend the US agreed to provide support for in-flight refueling to French troops there, reports Bloomberg News. In a sign of increased US involvement in the region, the US and Niger signed a pact that will allow US military personnel to be stationed in the country, which sits just east of Mali. Bloomberg reports the plan has been in the works for more than a year, and could possibly include the stationing of US drones in Niger.?
According to the AP the US has already been providing help in the region:
The U.S. has been providing military transport to help move French troops and equipment. The U.S. flew one refueling mission on Sunday, delivering 33,000 pounds of fuel, the U.S. Africa Command said.
The U.S. is also assisting six African countries: Niger, Chad, Nigeria, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Togo with "non-lethal equipment" and training, as well as transport to move troops to Mali, [Don Yamamoto US principal deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs] said.
Yesterday in Timbuktu, crowds came out to cheer on the French and Malian forces that liberated their home. Flags from both countries were flying, and people were dancing and celebrating, according to a second Monitor report.
?Under the Islamists, you could never see this ? people listening to music together in the open air,? says Ciss? Al Mansour, a cook in Timbuktu.
The United Nations reports that more than 11,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to the fighting in Mali, and an estimated 23,000 have been displaced since the crisis started, according to Bloomberg.
Jan. 28, 2013 ? The majority of Americans support a broad array of policies to reduce gun violence, according to a new national public opinion survey conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. These policies include: requiring universal background checks for all gun sales (supported by 89 percent); banning the sale of military-style semiautomatic assault weapons (69 percent); banning the sale of large-capacity ammunition magazines (68 percent); and prohibiting high-risk individuals from having guns, including those convicted of a serious crime as a juvenile (83 percent) and those convicted of violating a domestic-violence restraining order (81 percent). Americans also support a range of measures to strengthen oversight of gun dealers and various policies restricting gun access by persons with mental illness.
The national survey, which over-sampled gun owners and non-gun owners living in homes with guns to allow for more precise estimates of opinions among these groups, was fielded in January, 2013, several weeks following the mass school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. The majority of Americans support all but 4 of the 31 gun policies asked about in the survey. For many policies, there was little difference in support between gun owners and non-gun-owners.
"This research indicates high support among Americans, including gun owners in many cases, for a wide range of policies aimed at reducing gun violence," said lead study author Colleen Barry, PhD, MPP, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "These data indicate broad consensus among the American public in support of a comprehensive approach to reducing the staggering toll of gun violence in the United States."
At the same time, the researchers fielded a second national survey to assess Americans' attitudes about mental illness. This survey reveals ambivalent attitudes among the American public about mental illness. Sixty-one percent of respondents favor greater spending on mental health screening and treatment as a strategy for reducing gun violence, and 58 percent said discrimination against people with mental illness is a serious problem. Yet, almost half of respondents thought people with serious mental illness are more dangerous than others, and two-thirds expressed unwillingness to have a person with a serious mental illness as a neighbor.
"In light of our findings about Americans' attitudes toward persons with mental illness, it is worth thinking carefully about how to implement effective gun-violence-prevention measures without exacerbating stigma or discouraging people from seeking treatment," added Barry.
The results of both surveys are summarized in "After Newtown -- Public Opinion on Gun Policy and Mental Illness," published online on January 28th in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Gun violence claims 31,000 U.S. lives each year in the U.S., and the rate of firearms homicides in America is 20 times higher than it is in other economically advanced nations.
Johns Hopkins researchers conducted this study using the survey research firm GfK Knowledge Networks. There were 2,703 respondents in the gun policy survey and 1,530 respondents in the mental illness survey.
"Not only are gun owners and non-gun-owners very much aligned in their support for proposals to strengthen U.S. gun laws," said co-author Daniel Webster, ScD, MPH, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, "but the majority of NRA members are also in favor of many of these policies."
The survey found that 74 percent of NRA members support requiring universal background checks for all gun sales; 64 percent of NRA members support prohibiting people who have been convicted of two or more crimes involving alcohol or drugs within a 3-year period from having a gun, and 70 percent of NRA members want a mandatory minimum sentence of 2 years in prison for a person convicted of knowingly selling a gun to someone who is not legally allowed to own one.
"These data indicate that the majority of Americans are in favor of policy changes that would ultimately increase safety," said Jon Vernick, JD, MPH, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research and a co-author of the study. "This consensus should propel forward comprehensive legislation aimed at saving lives."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
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Journal Reference:
Colleen L. Barry, Emma E. McGinty, Jon S. Vernick, Daniel W. Webster. After Newtown ? Public Opinion on Gun Policy and Mental Illness. New England Journal of Medicine, 2013; : 130128101537007 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1300512
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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.
The bounty case essentially is over, but bits and pieces of evidence continue to surface.
More than a few bits and pieces have come from the disclosure of a significant portion of the appeal hearing testimony from former Saints interim head coach and current linebackers coach Joe Vitt.
Among many other things, Vitt?s testimony before former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue sheds light on some of the contentious aspects of the relationship between the league office and the organization.? Vitt says that, at one point, Saints owner Tom Benson told NFL V.P. of security Jeff Miller to leave the premises.
?Jeff Miller took a plane ride from New York down to New Orleans, and the way he talked to our owner, what he said to our owner made me want to throw up, to the point where Mr. Benson kicked him off the property and didn?t let him back on the property,? Vitt said, via the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
?This almost killed our owner.? Our owner has done nothing but be a great owner in the National Football League the whole time he?s been in the league. . . .? And now this guy takes a plane ride down and throws some documents in front of our owner?s face, and our owner has got to kick him out of the building?? That?s what we?re dealing with.? That?s fine.?
Vitt also explained that, even though notes generated by former Saints assistant Mike Cerullo indicated that Vitt had offered $5,000 to the alleged bounty on former Vikings quarterback Brett Favre, Miller didn?t believe it happened.
?The investigators, Jeff Miller in particular, acknowledged that I did not give any money to a bounty because he said to me, you know, we heard that your wife is so cheap that you have a hard time getting lunch money every day,? Vitt said.? ?That was his comment to me.? And I said, well, your wife must have a pretty good sense of humor, too, with the clothes you?re wearing right now.?
Vitt also had some strong comments for Cerullo.
?Mike Cerullo is a liar,? Vitt said. ?We?ll get some notes here from Mr. Cerullo. I?ll say this to you, Commissioner, and anybody that?s interested. I?m taking Mike Cerullo to court.? I?m going to sue his ass for the things he said about me, the things he said about this football team.? He?s going to be held accountable for everything he said. I make this offer again.? If we want me to take a lie detector test this afternoon, I will do so.? Or if you want me to do it tomorrow morning or tomorrow afternoon, I will do so. Mike Cerullo is a liar.? A liar.?
Vitt also talked at length regarding coach Sean Payton?s decision after the 2011 season to part ways with defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.? Payton began to sour on Williams after the head coach caught Williams texting draft picks to the media during the 2011 selection process.
?I would say the final straw was the last two weeks of the season,? Vitt said.? ?Gregg kept coming to Sean every day and wanted his contract extension and wanted his extension done.? And Sean said, well, we?ll talk about it at the end of the season, well knowing what direction Sean was going in.? And the last week of the season, it?s all in the papers, you know, Gregg has gone to St. Louis, it?s his best friend Jeff Fisher, you know, ba-boom, ba-boom, ba-boom, trying to squeeze Sean, trying to squeeze Mickey to get his contract.? And the day after the playoff game that we lost against San Francisco, he went into Sean?s office and says I need to know right now, I need my contract, I?ve got to let Jeff know what I?m doing.? And Sean said, you?re not going to get a contract here.? I think it?s best go to St. Louis with your friend Jeff. And that was it. . . .? It didn?t end pretty. It didn?t end nice.?
There isn?t much nice or pretty about Vitt?s testimony, but it?s compelling and interesting and he has the kind of passion that typically is exhibited by a guy who has been accused of things he didn?t do.
The Pentagon has approved a major expansion of its cybersecurity force to counter a growing threat of hacking and to conduct offensive operations against foreign foes, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing U.S. officials.
The officials, who were not named because the plan is not yet public, said the move would increase the cybersecurity force fivefold, from 900 personnel to a total of 4,900 troops and civilians.
It said senior Pentagon officials made the decision late last year amid a string of attacks, including one that wiped out more than 30,000 computers at a Saudi Arabian state oil company.
The increase in personnel was requested by the head of the Defense Department's Cyber Command.
A Pentagon spokesman had no immediate comment, but said he was aware of the report in the Washington Post.
The plan, the paper said, calls for creating three types of force under the Cyber Command.
"National mission forces," would protect computer systems that undergird electrical grids and other kinds of infrastructure. "Combat mission forces," would help commanders abroad execute attacks or other offensive operations, while "cyber protection forces," would focus on protecting the Defense Department's own systems.
(Reporting by Sarah Lynch; Editing by David Brunnstrom)
DNA-repairing protein may be key to preventing recurrence of some cancersPublic release date: 28-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Zenaida Kotala zenaida.kotala@ucf.edu 407-823-6120 University of Central Florida
Just as the body can become resistant to antibiotics, certain methods of killing cancer tumors can end up creating resistant tumor cells. But a University of Central Florida professor has found a protein present in several types of cancer, including breast and ovarian cancer, which could be helpful in preventing tumors from coming back.
The protein, KLF8, appears to protect tumor cells from drugs aimed at killing them and even aid the tumor cells' ability to regenerate.
"All cells have a DNA-repair mechanism," explained Jihe Zhao, a medical doctor and researcher who in the past few months has published several articles related to the protein in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (http://www.jbc.org/content/287/52/43720) and Oncogene (http://www.nature.com/onc/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/onc2012545a.html), among others. "That's why we survive constant DNA damage threats. But KLF8 is overexpressed in specific cancers, such as breast cancer and ovarian cancer. The thought is that if we can stop it from switching on, we may be able to stop the tumors from coming back as part of therapy. We still need to do a lot more research, but it is plausible."
There are between 2.5 million and 2.7 million women who have breast cancer in the United States and 10 to 20 percent will experience a recurrence, according to the American Cancer Society. Current treatment options, depending on the stage of cancer, include surgical removal followed by chemotherapy using a combination of cancer killing drugs. Each year about 22,200 women are also diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
DNA damage-based chemotherapies depend on failure of cancer cells to repair the DNA damage and subsequent cell death, according to the journal article. Aberrant high levels of DNA repair function in the cells likely increase not only the resistance of the cells to such therapies but also the malignancy of the cells due to improper DNA repair-mediated genomic and chromosomal instability.
In the study, Zhao's team tested one specific cancer-fighting drug used in the treatment of breast cancer to determine the role of the protein.
"Indeed, our results have clearly linked the KLF8-promoted DNA repair to the cell resistance to doxorubicin-induced cell death," Zhao said. "It remains to be determined whether KLF8 plays a similar role in repairing DNA damage caused by other types of genotoxic agents such as DNA alkylating agents and ionizing radiation."
Even so, the results suggest that in addition to enhancing the drug resistance of the cancer cells, KLF8 could play a role in disturbing genomic integrity through its aberrant DNA repair function and subsequently contribute to aggressive progression of cancer.
###
Zhao, an associate professor, moved his team to UCF's Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences at the College of Medicine in 2010. Previously he was at Albany Medical College as an assistant professor and before that he spent six years in post-doctoral training in Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. He earned his M.D. from Chinese Medical University, Shenyang, China, and Ph.D. in cancer cell biology from Tohoku University Faculty of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. He sits on the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed journals related to cancer research and reviews research articles for many prestigious journals including Cancer Research, Oncogene, Molecular Cell, Nanomedicine, and Journal of Biological Chemistry, to name a few. His research programs are funded by National Cancer Institute of National Institute of Health, American Cancer Society, Susan Komen for the Cure Breast Cancer Foundation, and others.
50 Years of Achievement: The University of Central Florida, the nation's second-largest university with nearly 60,000 students, is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2013. UCF has grown in size, quality, diversity and reputation, and today the university offers more than 200 degree programs at its main campus in Orlando and more than a dozen other locations. Known as America's leading partnership university, UCF is an economic engine attracting and supporting industries vital to the region's success now and into the future. For more information, visit http://today.ucf.edu.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
DNA-repairing protein may be key to preventing recurrence of some cancersPublic release date: 28-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Zenaida Kotala zenaida.kotala@ucf.edu 407-823-6120 University of Central Florida
Just as the body can become resistant to antibiotics, certain methods of killing cancer tumors can end up creating resistant tumor cells. But a University of Central Florida professor has found a protein present in several types of cancer, including breast and ovarian cancer, which could be helpful in preventing tumors from coming back.
The protein, KLF8, appears to protect tumor cells from drugs aimed at killing them and even aid the tumor cells' ability to regenerate.
"All cells have a DNA-repair mechanism," explained Jihe Zhao, a medical doctor and researcher who in the past few months has published several articles related to the protein in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (http://www.jbc.org/content/287/52/43720) and Oncogene (http://www.nature.com/onc/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/onc2012545a.html), among others. "That's why we survive constant DNA damage threats. But KLF8 is overexpressed in specific cancers, such as breast cancer and ovarian cancer. The thought is that if we can stop it from switching on, we may be able to stop the tumors from coming back as part of therapy. We still need to do a lot more research, but it is plausible."
There are between 2.5 million and 2.7 million women who have breast cancer in the United States and 10 to 20 percent will experience a recurrence, according to the American Cancer Society. Current treatment options, depending on the stage of cancer, include surgical removal followed by chemotherapy using a combination of cancer killing drugs. Each year about 22,200 women are also diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
DNA damage-based chemotherapies depend on failure of cancer cells to repair the DNA damage and subsequent cell death, according to the journal article. Aberrant high levels of DNA repair function in the cells likely increase not only the resistance of the cells to such therapies but also the malignancy of the cells due to improper DNA repair-mediated genomic and chromosomal instability.
In the study, Zhao's team tested one specific cancer-fighting drug used in the treatment of breast cancer to determine the role of the protein.
"Indeed, our results have clearly linked the KLF8-promoted DNA repair to the cell resistance to doxorubicin-induced cell death," Zhao said. "It remains to be determined whether KLF8 plays a similar role in repairing DNA damage caused by other types of genotoxic agents such as DNA alkylating agents and ionizing radiation."
Even so, the results suggest that in addition to enhancing the drug resistance of the cancer cells, KLF8 could play a role in disturbing genomic integrity through its aberrant DNA repair function and subsequently contribute to aggressive progression of cancer.
###
Zhao, an associate professor, moved his team to UCF's Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences at the College of Medicine in 2010. Previously he was at Albany Medical College as an assistant professor and before that he spent six years in post-doctoral training in Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. He earned his M.D. from Chinese Medical University, Shenyang, China, and Ph.D. in cancer cell biology from Tohoku University Faculty of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. He sits on the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed journals related to cancer research and reviews research articles for many prestigious journals including Cancer Research, Oncogene, Molecular Cell, Nanomedicine, and Journal of Biological Chemistry, to name a few. His research programs are funded by National Cancer Institute of National Institute of Health, American Cancer Society, Susan Komen for the Cure Breast Cancer Foundation, and others.
50 Years of Achievement: The University of Central Florida, the nation's second-largest university with nearly 60,000 students, is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2013. UCF has grown in size, quality, diversity and reputation, and today the university offers more than 200 degree programs at its main campus in Orlando and more than a dozen other locations. Known as America's leading partnership university, UCF is an economic engine attracting and supporting industries vital to the region's success now and into the future. For more information, visit http://today.ucf.edu.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
(Reuters) - General Motors Co will add a third production shift at a complex in Brazil, a move it expects will create 2,630 factory and supplier jobs, the company said Sunday in a statement on its website.
GM will add the shift at the Gravata? Industrial Complex, in the south of Brazil, where it makes the Chevrolet Celta and Onix, according to the company.
The move, reported earlier on Sunday by Bloomberg, will create 1,450 new jobs at the plant and another 1,000 at suppliers located at the same facility. The company will create another 180 jobs at a new powertrain plaint.
GM announced the move just after it averted a strike at another Brazilian complex. The company, late Saturday, reached an accord with metalworkers at its Sao Jose dos Campos facility, near the city of Sao Paulo.
The company's plan for the Gravata? plant includes expanding capacity from 230,000 to 380,000 vehicles per year at the Gravata? plant. It is unclear when GM will add the shift.
(Reporting By Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Bernard Orr)
FILE - In this July 18, 2012 file photo, the Empire State, MetLife and Chrysler buildings are seen against a hazy backdrop in New York. Heat rising up from cities such as New York, Paris and Tokyo might be remotely warming up winters far away in some rural parts of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia. At least that?s what a surprising study suggests. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
FILE - In this July 18, 2012 file photo, the Empire State, MetLife and Chrysler buildings are seen against a hazy backdrop in New York. Heat rising up from cities such as New York, Paris and Tokyo might be remotely warming up winters far away in some rural parts of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia. At least that?s what a surprising study suggests. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Heat rising up from cities such as New York, Paris and Tokyo might be remotely warming up winters far away in some rural parts of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia, a surprising study theorizes.
In an unusual twist, that same urban heat from buildings and cars may be slightly cooling the autumns in much of the Western United States, Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean, according to the study published Sunday in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change.
Meteorologists long have known that cities are warmer than rural areas, with the heat of buildings and cars, along with asphalt and roofs that absorb heat. That's called the urban heat island effect and it's long been thought that the heat stayed close to the cities.
But the study, based on a computer model and the Northern Hemisphere, now suggests the heat does something else, albeit indirectly. It travels about half a mile up into the air and then its energy changes the high-altitude currents in the atmosphere that dictate prevailing weather.
"Basically, it changes the flow." said Guang Zhang of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif. He wrote the paper with Aixue Hu at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.
This doesn't change overall global temperature averages significantly, unlike man-made greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Instead it redistributes some of the heat, the scientists said.
The changes seem to vary with the seasons and by region because of the way air currents flow at different times of the year. During the winter, the jet stream is altered and weakened, keeping cold air closer to the Arctic Circle and from dipping down as sharply, Hu explained.
The computer model showed that parts of Siberia and northwestern Canada may get, on average, an extra 1.4 degrees to 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 to 1 degree Celsius) during the winter, which "may not be a bad thing," Zhang said. The effect isn't quite as much in northern North Dakota and Minnesota, where temperatures might be about half a degree warmer (0.3 degrees Celsius), and even less along the East Coast.
In contrast, Europe and the Pacific Northwest are cooled slightly in the winter from this effect. The jet stream changes prevent weather systems from bringing warmer air from the Atlantic to Europe and from the Pacific to the U.S. Northwest, thus cooling those areas a bit, he said.
The biggest cooling occurs in the fall, but Hu said he's not quite sure why that happens.
Several outside scientists said they were surprised by the study results, calling the work "intriguing" and "clever." But they said it would have to be shown in more than one computer model and in repeated experiments before they could accept this theory.
"It's an interesting and rationally carried out study," said David Parker, climate monitoring chief of the United Kingdom meteorology office. "We must be cautious until other models are used to test their hypothesis."
Let me be perfectly honest. I'm over Facebook, to the point that I feel annoyed when I check in on my social network and find absolutely nothing of interest to me. With Twitter, I run hot and cold, some days enjoying the spontaneity and other times feeling like I'm not in sync with my network. Google+ is fine in theory, but remains fairly dry in practice. I am ripe for being drawn into a new social network, and surely many others are, too. The time is right for the next big thing. But could the next big thing just happen to be an old one reinvented? Is MySpace back?
The newly redesigned, revamped, retooled, refocused, and finally relaunched MySpace feels young, fluid, and sexy. It's so completely different from the original MySpace that I can't believe it doesn't have a new name, carrying that old brand and tarnished history around with it for no good reason. The interface so deftly integrates an ever-present music player that I wonder if MySpace is competing with the likes of Facebook and Twitter or iTunes and Spotify... or possibly both. Then again, maybe it competes with neither. The new MySpace shakes off all previous conceptions of social networking to truly become its own thing. If you're into exploring new music, it'll be your thing, too.
Sign Up
From New.MySpace.com, you can sign into the network with an existing MySpace username and password, or if (like me) you deleted that account years ago, you can sign up for a brand new one. You can join using credentials from Facebook or Twitter, which I wish I had done. I signed up via email and later realized I had no way of finding actual friends with whom I might want to connect other than individually sending them an invitation by email. I couldn't find an option after-the-fact to connect to another social network or email people en mass through Gmail, Yahoo! Mail or any of the other usual channels.
In signing up, you can opt for a public or restricted profile, something I always like to see. You can change that status at any time in the future in the settings.
For several years, MySpace has retooled its focus to be squarely on "entertainment," and more specifically than that, music. When you sign up, you can select whether you're a musician, photographer, DJ, promoter, or other kind of artist (including "writer/journalist") or just a fan, and there's an option to skip the step entirely if you prefer to not label yourself.
Fresh Design
Landing inside the new MySpace jolted me for a few moments while I got my bearings on the outrageously unconventional but hugely intriguing (and ultimately successful) design. Instead of vertical scrolling, everything moves horizontally. Instead of cramming little strips of text into a news feed, oversized text and images fill the screen, loudly and proudly. Even the search box launches into its own screen where massive point sized text in all caps nearly pops off the page.
The crux of MySpace is playing music while exploring the network. A music player remains ever-present at the bottom of the screen. Hover over it, and more controls and visibility into your recent play list appear. Surf around the site, and you can play songs, watch music videos, and even listen to radio stations based on genre. Music videos take over the full screen, with a small palette of controls tucked beneath the right edge of the screen and only visible when you mouse in that direction or scroll while the video plays.
What's Inside the Network?
Sure, you can connect with your friends on MySpace, but I get the sense that's not really the point. The point, if I'm to take the very unsubtle hints from the interface and interactive design, is to explore artists, mostly musicians, and listen to their music while looking for something else that's cool, new, unique, or as-yet undiscovered.
The worst part of the new MySpace experience is finding real people who aren't musicians and figuring out what else there is to do, as exploring music gets old fast if you're not into new music or (truth be told for me) barely into music, period. You can cultivate playlists or "mixes" as they're called here, listen to playlists that other people have created, comment on videos and songs and music celebrities, but even all those activities are still focused on music. I managed to find a few videos that were trailers for movies, but other than that, everything really revolves around music.
As mentioned, I couldn't find any easy methods that would allow me to find friends of mine who are already MySpace members. The search function doesn't have advanced features for finding people who meet multiple criteria, like city of residence of work, as LinkedIn has.
New MySpace for Music Lovers
The new MySpace has so much young, sexy, fresh, and innovative energy that I really do recommend most people who work in technology or the entertainment industry sign up immediately. At the very least, if music isn't really your scene, go to explore the intriguing design choices. It probably won't become "the next big thing" in social networking to rival Facebook, but I don't think it's trying to attract the same broad spectrum of people that Facebook has?grandparents and teenagers and major international companies and brands. MySpace has an edgy coolness factor that would be stripped away quickly if it attracted too many of the wrong people. Maybe that makes it a bit exclusive, but what's cooler than exclusivity?
More Internet Reviews:? ??? MySpace ??? Carbonite Currents (beta) ??? Pocket (for Mac) ??? Twitter (for Android) ??? Wanderfly ?? more
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran said Monday it has successfully sent a monkey into space, describing the launch as another step toward Tehran's goal of a manned space flight.
According to a brief report on state TV, the rocket dubbed Pishgam, or Pioneer in Farsi, reached a height of 120 kilometers (72 miles). The report gave no other details on the timing or location of the launch, but said the monkey returned to earth safely.
Iran has long said it seeks to send an astronaut into space as part of its ambitious aerospace program, including plans for a new space center announced last year. In 2010, Iran said it launched an Explorer rocket into space carrying a mouse, turtle and worms.
The U.S. and its allies worry that technology from the space program could also be used to develop long-range missiles that could potentially be armed with nuclear warheads. Iran denied it seeks atomic weapons and claims it is pursuing nuclear reactors only for energy and medical applications.
Iran has announced several successful launches of satellites, dating back to 2005 in a joint project with Russia.
Tehran has not given details of its planned new space facility, but it already has a major satellite launch complex near Semnan, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Tehran. A satellite monitoring facility is located outside Mahdasht, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) west of the Iranian capital.
Iran says it wants to put its own satellites into orbit to monitor natural disasters in the earthquake-prone nation, improve telecommunications and expand military surveillance in the region.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in lifting a ban on women serving in combat, said women have become integral to the military's success and have shown they are willing to fight and die alongside their male counterparts.
"The time has come for our policies to recognize that reality," Panetta said Thursday at a Pentagon news conference with Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Panetta said that not all women will be able to meet the qualifications to be a combat soldier.
"But everyone is entitled to a chance," he said.
He said the qualifications will not be lowered, and with women playing a broader role, the military will be strengthened.
Panetta said that his visits to Afghanistan and Iraq to see U.S. forces in action demonstrated to him that women should have a chance to perform combat duties if they wish, and if they can meet the qualifications.
"Our military is more capable, and our force is more powerful, when we use all of the great diverse strengths of the American people," Panetta said earlier Thursday at a Pentagon ceremony in remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr.
Panetta is expected to step down as Pentagon chief sometime in February. Republican Former Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska has been nominated as his successor, and his Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for Jan. 31.
"Every person in today's military has made a solemn commitment to fight, and if necessary to die, for our nation's defense," he said. "We owe it to them to allow them to pursue every avenue of military service for which they are fully prepared and qualified. Their career success and their specific opportunities should be based solely on their ability to successfully carry out an assigned mission. Everyone deserves that chance."
The decision to lift the ban on women serving in combat presents a daunting challenge to top military leaders who now will have to decide which, if any, jobs they believe should be open only to men.
Panetta planned to announce at a Pentagon news conference that more than 230,000 battlefront posts ? many in Army and Marine infantry units and in potentially elite commando jobs ? are now open to women. It will be up to the military service chiefs to recommend and defend whether women should be excluded from any of those more demanding and deadly positions, such as Navy SEALs or the Army's Delta Force.
The historic change, which was recommended by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, overturns a 1994 rule prohibiting women from being assigned to smaller ground combat units.
The change won't take place overnight: Service chiefs will have to develop plans for allowing women to seek the combat positions, a senior military official said. Some jobs may open as soon as this year, while assessments for others, such as special operations forces, may take longer. The services will have until January 2016 to make a case to that some positions should remain closed to women.
Officials briefed The Associated Press on the changes Wednesday on condition of anonymity so they could speak ahead of the official announcement.
There long has been opposition to putting women in combat, based on questions of whether they have the necessary strength and stamina for certain jobs, or whether their presence might hurt unit cohesion.
But as news of Panetta's expected order got out, many members of Congress, including the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., announced their support.
"It reflects the reality of 21st century military operations," Levin said.
Objections were few. Jerry Boykin, executive vice president of the Family Research Council, called the move "another social experiment" that will place unnecessary burdens on military commanders.
"While their focus must remain on winning the battles and protecting their troops, they will now have the distraction of having to provide some separation of the genders during fast-moving and deadly situations," said Boykin, a retired Army lieutenant general. He noted that small units often are in sustained combat for extended periods of time under primal living conditions with no privacy.
Panetta's move comes in his final weeks as Pentagon chief and just days after President Barack Obama's inaugural speech in which he spoke passionately about equal rights for all. The new order expands the department's action of nearly a year ago to open about 14,500 combat positions to women, nearly all of them in the Army.
In addition to questions of strength and performance, there also have been suggestions that the American public would not tolerate large numbers of women being killed in war.
Under the 1994 Pentagon policy, women were prohibited from being assigned to ground combat units below the brigade level. A brigade is roughly 3,500 troops split into several battalions of about 800 soldiers each. Historically, brigades were based farther from the front lines, and they often included top command and support staff.
The necessities of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, however, propelled women into jobs as medics, military police and intelligence officers that were sometimes attached ? but not formally assigned ? to battalions. So while a woman couldn't be assigned as an infantryman in a battalion going out on patrol, she could fly the helicopter supporting the unit, or move in to provide medical aid if troops were injured.
And these conflicts, where battlefield lines are blurred and insurgents can lurk around every corner, have made it almost impossible to keep women clear of combat.
Still, as recent surveys and experiences have shown, it will not be an easy transition. When the Marine Corps sought women to go through its tough infantry course last year, two volunteered, and both failed to complete the course. And there may not be a wide clamoring from women for the more intense, dangerous and difficult jobs, including some infantry and commando positions.
Two lawsuits were filed last year challenging the Pentagon's ban on women serving in combat, adding pressure on officials to overturn the policy. And the military services have been studying the issue and surveying their forces to determine how it may affect performance and morale.
The Joint Chiefs have been meeting regularly on the matter, and they unanimously agreed to send the recommendation to Panetta earlier this month.
A senior military official familiar with the discussions said the chiefs laid out three main principles to guide them as they move through the process. Those were to maintain America's effective fighting force, preserve military readiness and develop a process that would give all service members the best chance to succeed.
Women comprise about 14 percent of the 1.4 million active military personnel. More than 280,000 women have been sent to Iraq, Afghanistan or to jobs in neighboring nations in support of the wars. Of the more than 6,600 U.S. service members who have been killed, 152 have been women.
The senior military official said the military chiefs must report back to Panetta with their initial implementation plans by May 15.
___
AP National Security Writer Robert Burns and AP Broadcast reporter Sagar Meghani contributed to this report.
Today?s workforce is more diverse than ever; therefore a growing number of employers are leveraging voluntary benefits to create robust, universally appealing employee benefits packages that cater to the wide-ranging needs of a multigenerational workforce.
Amazon has reported sales up by more than a quarter in 2012, after a year in which sales of digital ebooks grew quickly. 
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