Month: June 2013

Categories
News

Body Found in Louisiana Bayou That of Missing Teacher

The decomposed body found this weekend in a Louisiana bayou was identified Monday as that of a teacher missing for three months, the New Orleans Police Department said.

The statement said Terrilynn Monette, who was last seen March 2, was identified through dental records. The death was ruled a drowning, and there were no signs of trauma to the body, police said.

On Saturday, a diver with the Slidell Police Department who was volunteering to dive the waterways in the search for Monette found her Honda Accord in the bayou.

‘I’m in shock’

Monette’s mother, Toni Enclade, told CNN earlier that she had been notified a body was found.

“To know that she could have possibly been there for three months,” she said, overcome with emotion.

Enclade said she does not know when she will be given a final answer.

“I can’t even begin to go there right now,” she said. “I’m in shock. I can’t believe this. I just can’t believe this.”

Monette, 26, was last seen leaving Parlay’s Dream Lounge in New Orleans, where she had been celebrating with friends her nomination for a “Teacher of the Year” award.

Authorities have focused a large part of their search efforts on the waterways because Monette would have had to drive across the bayou to get from the bar to her home.

Categories
Mitt Romney Politics

Mitt Romney Wanted Hurricane Sandy To Come Another Time

Forget the 285 who died because of Hurricane Sandy. As far as Mitt Romney is concerned, they’re not that important. What’s important to the 2012 Republican presidential candidate is the timing of the Hurricane. You see, Mitt thinks Sandy’s timing was wrong. If it was left up to him, Sandy would have made its appearance another time… preferably after the November 7th election.

In an appearance on… wait for it… Fox News, Romney spoke about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and his new found friend in President Obama, after Sandy destroyed the East Coast;

“…I’ve been a governor, and I know what happens when there’s been a national disaster — and that is, you look for help from the federal government. You want the president and you want the other agencies of the federal government to step in and provide help.

“And Gov. Christie did what he thought was best for the people of his state, and I don’t blame him for that at all. He was helpful to me and my campaign every way possible. I consider him a good friend. He has a great future, he’s a terrific governor, he’s doing a good job in New Jersey. I have no ill will.”

When Fox host Neil Cavuto asked Romney if Christie got too “chummy” with Obama after the hurricane struck the east coast, and whether that hurt his campaign, Romney replied;

“I can tell you the Hurricane didn’t come at the right time, that’s not because of Chris Christie. That’s because one of the advantages of incumbency is that when there is an event like that, you get to see the president in a fatherly roll and showing his sympathy for people who were harmed, who had been victims of the storm. And obviously, that gives a little boost to the president’s efforts.”

Categories
Politics twitter

@HillaryClinton Joins Twitter With A Teaser Profile

While many outlets went crazy today trying to decipher what the “TBD” on Hillary Clinton’s new twitter account means, we will let the profile speak for itself.

SIDENOTE: “TBD”… it’s simple. Future President of the United States. Why are they still trying to figure this out? It’s as clear as day!

Categories
Politics trayvon martin

Jury Selection Begins in The George Zimmerman / Trayvon Martin Case

It is the case that shocked the nation, shocked the world for that matter. And today, the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin trial officially began with jury selection.

Zimmerman, 29, is charged with second-degree murder and faces up to life in prison if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty, contending he acted in self-defense during a confrontation with Martin, 17, in a gated community in this central Florida town on February 26, 2012.

After a brief opening session in the courtroom, where Zimmerman was joined by his wife Shellie, Circuit Court Judge Debra Nelson called a recess so that she, the prosecutors and defense attorneys could meet briefly with a pool of about 100 potential jurors.

The jurors were then to fill out a questionnaire before being summoned one by one into the courtroom for individual questioning.

It is unclear how long it will take for the judge and lawyers to select a panel of six jurors.

At the time of the Martin killing, Zimmerman, a light-skinned Hispanic, was the self-appointed neighborhood watch captain in the Retreat at Twin Lakes community. During a struggle, he killed Martin with a single shot to the chest from a 9mm handgun.

Categories
Health

Is Sitting Lethal to Health?

In the past few years, the action (or inaction) of sitting for multiple hours a day has received criticism from many sources including the New York Times, personal fitness bloggers, doctors from the Mayo Clinic and several renowned medical journals.

What is it about sitting that causes so much harm (and excitement in the media)?  According to studies, sitting for long periods of time, day after day can lead to:

  • Slower metabolism
  • Weight gain
  • Decreased insulin production leading to increased risk of Diabetes type 2
  • Increased risk of premature death
  • Possible increased risk of cancer

Additionally, Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise Journal reviewed a study by Louisiana researchers at Pennington Medical Research who found people who sit for the majority of the day increase their risk of having a heart attack by 54%.

According to Dr. Hamilton who extensively researches and studies metabolism and was interviewed for the NY times article, sitting is “lethal”.

He has studied weight gain and loss for years and states that sitting is dangerous because, “your muscles go as silent as a dead horse.”  When we sit, the body literally stops working like it normally would.

Even more interesting about Dr. Hamilton’s studies is that a person’s current body weight or exercise routine doesn’t seem to make a difference.  Sitting for several hours each day equally harms the person who is 30 pounds overweight and the ultra-trim runner.

This means the 30 minute daily run probably won’t counteract the poor effects of sitting.  It is the extended time sitting, not the brief periods of exercise at the beginning of the day that cause the problem.

The good news?

Reversing the lethality of sitting can be just as easy as getting up every 30 minutes or so and taking a stretch, a walk down the stairs, strolling to the water fountain or striking up a tree pose in the cubicle (maybe when no one else is around).

Sounds like a great reason to take a few “stretch” breaks during the day.

Not only will it make you more productive by re-awakening your muscles (and your level of alertness), you’ll live longer.

Melissa AuClair blogs at www.launchyourcreativelife.com.  After reading about the extensive harm sitting can cause she integrates activity (and more coffee breaks) into her work day.  Follow her on twitter @melissauclair

Categories
Arizona Featured

The Accident – His Father is Dead, The Four Year Old Son Pulled The Trigger

PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. — Authorities in northern Arizona say a 4-year-old boy has accidentally shot and killed his father at a Prescott Valley home.

Prescott Valley police say the shooting occurred just after noon Friday.

The 35-year-old man and his young son were visiting from Phoenix and were at a friend’s house.

Police say the boy somehow found a gun in the home’s living room and accidentally fired it and a bullet hit his father, who was rushed to a hospital where he died. Police identified the man as Justin Stanfield Thomas.

Police say the boy is with his mother. No other details have been released.

Categories
Health

Report: Asparagus Lowers Blood Pressure…

… at least in rats.

Here’s another reason to eat asparagus, in case you were looking for one.

Researchers at the Kagawa Nutrition University in Japan fed a diet consisting of 5 percent asparagus to rats with high blood pressure. As they report in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, published online on May 30, after 10 weeks, the rats on the asparagus diet had lower blood pressure than the ones fed a standard rat diet without asparagus.

The rats on the asparagus diet also had less protein in their urine, a sign of a healthier kidney. And they had less activity of ACE, or angiotensin-converting enzyme. Drugs that reduce the activity of ACE are used to treat hypertension in humans.

The Japanese researchers think a compound found in asparagus called 2″-hydroxynicotianamine is responsible for inhibiting ACE activity in the rats. There’s not a lot of literature on hydroxynicotianamine. It seems to be found in buckwheat sprouts, buckwheat leaves and buckwheat, where it also seems to be an ACE inhibitor.

Of course, it’s far too soon to known whether 2″-hydroxynicotianamine has a similar effect on humans. But if it does, perhaps this could open new vistas in the treatment of hypertension. In fact, for the treatment of high blood pressure, this could be the dawning of the age of asparagus.

Categories
Oklahoma City Sports

Oklahoma Thunder Kevin Durant to Sign With Jay-Z

Jay-Z’s upstart sports agency has received another big boost, as a source confirmed to ESPN on Friday night that Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant will leave his current agent to join Roc Nation Sports.

The source said Durant believes he doesn’t need a contract agent now because he signed an $85 million extension with the Thunder in 2010 that will take him through the 2015-16 season. Instead, Durant — already one of the most marketable players in the league — has told those close to him that he wants to increase his brand.

A spokesman for Roc Nation Sports told ESPN that Durant is not currently a client. It’s unknown whether Jay-Z will wait until he sells his small ownership share in the Brooklyn Nets – it’s believed he owns between one-fifth and one-fifteenth of 1 percent of the team — before signing Durant. A source tells ESPN that Jay-Z’s ownership sale has not yet been completed.

If Jay-Z is just doing marketing work for Durant, he might be able to steer clear of NBA rules that would prohibit him from representing a player and owning a piece of a team.

Categories
edward snowden Politics

Edward Snowden – NSA Whistleblower Comes Forward – Video

A 29-year-old man who said he is behind the leaks exposing NSA surveillance on American citizens revealed his identity Sunday in an interview with The Guardian.

Edward Snowden, a former CIA communications expert and current defense contractor living in Hawaii, said that he released the documents to alert the American public about what is being done in their name.

“I’m willing to sacrifice all of that because I can’t in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they’re secretly building,” Snowden said to The Guardian.

Snowden told his superiors at Booz Allen and Dell, a firm where he earned $200,000 a year working on a contract with the NSA, that he was seeking treatment for his epilepsy and would need some time off. He then left on a plane bound for Hong Kong.

Snowden set up a meeting with Guardian reporters in his hide out after releasing documents last week on the NSA collecting telephone information from Verizon Wireless customers, and the PRISM program, which allows the government to tap into the servers of major internet companies in the U.S. and UK.

Categories
Immigration Immigration Reform Politics

President’s Weekly Address: Fixing a Broken Immigration System

President Obama says that the United States Senate will soon take action to fix our broken immigration system with a commonsense bill. He also cautions that the new bill will not make everyone happy, not Democrats, not Republicans. But urges Congress to act quickly to pass the bill.

The bill before the Senate isn’t perfect.  It’s a compromise.  Nobody will get everything they want – not Democrats, not Republicans, not me.  But it is a bill that’s largely consistent with the principles I’ve repeatedly laid out for commonsense immigration reform.

This bill would continue to strengthen security at our borders, increase criminal penalties against smugglers and traffickers, and hold employers more accountable if they knowingly hire undocumented workers.  If enacted, it would represent the most ambitious enforcement plan in recent memory.

Categories
Serena williams Sports

French Open Findings – Serena Williams Claims 16TH SLAM

 Women’s singles final – Serena Williams triumphed over Maria Sharapova, 6-4, 6-4 to claim her second Roland Garros title, 11 years after her first.

h/t –wimbledon

Categories
Beauty Entertainment Music Television

Chante Moore Talks R&B Divas: L.A.

Chanté Moore has been making music for over two decades and doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. For Moore, music is a journey and the R&B/Jazz singer is now ready to share that journey on camera for the world to see; on the hit show R&B Divas’ spinoff, R&B Divas: L.A. Moore will be joined by Kelly Price, Lil’ Mo, Claudette Ortiz, Michel’le, and Dawn Robinson in the new season of TV One’s popular series. The show is ideal for fans to get a chance to know more about Moore. There’s a lot people want to know about when it comes to singer, from her in-person personality to her split from husband and fellow R&B singer and frequent collaborator, Kenny Lattimore. While Moore kept mum on some aspects of her personal life, she did share a lot about being apart of the reality show spinoff, her new music, balancing her career with raising her kids, and more.

Read more: http://singersroom.com/content/2013-03-13/Chante-Moore-Talks-RB-Divas-LA-Not-Being-Pristine-New-Music-More/#ixzz2VgKeSkSy

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