Samsung preps Galaxy S 4, Galaxy S4 Mini variants with seamless dual-mode LTE

It hasn't been easy to bridge differing LTE network types in one phone; ZTE's attempt requires a reboot, for example. Samsung claims to have solved that problem with new dual-mode LTE versions of the Galaxy S 4 and Galaxy S4 Mini. Both devices can switch between the common FDD-LTE standard and TDD-LTE without restarting, and they'll automatically hand over any ongoing data sessions or voice calls. The advantages are potentially huge for both roaming and bandwidth -- travelers are more likely to stay on 4G, and providers running both FDD and TDD can switch customers to whatever network has the most capacity. Samsung hasn't said where and when the dual-mode Galaxies will be available, although TDD-LTE's worldwide reach (including the US) suggests that the smartphones could soon be commonplace.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

Comments

Source: Samsung

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/a5mCaZNYtgg/

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Buycott (for Android)

Sometimes a company will grind your goat to the point where you must make a stand. Buycott, a free app for Android devices, lets those who want to fight the power quickly scan product UPC codes with their smartphones to see if an item is from a company that's part of, or does business with, an evil empire. Buycott delivers information to Android devices in a flash, but numerous issues (crashing, some head-scratching feature omissions) keep it from truly reaching its potential.

Bring the Noise
Here's how to it works: You boot up Buycott, use your smartphone's camera to scan a product's barcode, and then wait for the app to fetch the company's profile information. It's a surprisingly fast process; almost as soon as my Samsung Galaxy Note II's?camera focused on a product's UPC code, Buycott delivered the company's name, address, phone number, website, and other pertinent information within seconds. If you scan an item that isn't in Buycott's database, the app will prompt you to manually enter the relevant company data. As Buycott relies on the wisdom of the crowds, I'd suggest double-checking all findings for accuracy before picking up a picket sign.

More importantly, you can trap the Family Tree tab to reveal the companies behind a product. Say you're still angry at Electronics Arts for its perceived hand in the now-legendary Sim City debacle. You don't want to give the company (or its partners) money in any form, so you scan an EA game like FiFA Soccer. The Family Tree reveals that Electronic Arts, Inc., does business with Diamond Comic Distributor and Dark Horse Comics. Now you know that every time you buy an issue of Angel & Faith, you're dealing with a company that tosses EA a few coins in some fashion?though not whether EA makes money off Angel & Faith specifically. This lets boycott-conscious shoppers speak with their wallets.

Unfortunately, Family Tree has some issues. Buycott displays the number of known products that a company has in partnership with another (Dark Horse Comics has 11 known products with EA), but Buycott doesn't list their names. That would go a long way in helping users know the specific items to boycott. Unlike GoodGuide (a similar barcode-scanning app), Buycott doesn't provide health, environmental, and social rations for each product.

Buycott also lacks a search engine, which could prove a useful tool should a person want to research a company when a product or barcode isn't available (GoodGuide, on the other hand, includes a search engine). Finally, large Family Trees can be difficult to read. Buycott offers zoom options, but a company as large as EA has lots of partners. That results in lots of scrolling and pinching.

Fight the Power
Bringing a finger to the Campaigns tab shows all the active campaigns against a company (such as Oppose Internet Censorship and For Ecological Responsibility). Each campaign entry displays the number of members and the type of campaign (such as "Women's Rights"). Tapping a campaign shows lets you read its mission statement and/or join the campaign. You can also view a list of target companies that do business with the boycotted company. You can't, however, contact those fellow boycotters or create your own campaigns (the latter feature is available on the desktop side). Buycott also alerts you should you have campaign conflicts.

Buycott, sadly, has numerous bugs that dulled the experience quite a bit. Sometimes launching the app would result in a blacked-out screen; at other times the app would just immediately close. It's a shame that this potentially useful tool is plagued by performance issues.

BuyCott for Android lets customers follow product manufacturers' bread crumbs and unveil which companies are worth your dollars?and which aren't. Semi-frequent crashes and some navigation/search issues dull the experience a bit, but if you want to boycott companies that have gone to the dark side, this is solid tool.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/levT-SLgWaI/0,2817,2422494,00.asp

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A maternal junk food diet alters development of opioid pathway in the offspring

[unable to retrieve full-text content]New animal research suggests that maternal diet during pregnancy can alter the development of a signalling pathway associated with reward processing in the offspring.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/phW79_5iRYg/130730091407.htm

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Stress early in life leads to adulthood anxiety and preference for 'comfort foods'

Public release date: 30-Jul-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Tracy Tarant
admin@ssib.org
847-983-3519
Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior

7/30/13, New Orleans, LA. Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, suggests that exposure to stress in the first few days of life increases stress responses, anxiety and the consumption of palatable "comfort" foods in adulthood.

"Comfort foods" have been defined as the foods eaten in response to emotional stress, and are suggested to contribute to the obesity epidemic. Hormonal responses to chronic stress in adulthood seem to play a role in the increased preference for this type of food, especially in women.

In this study, we aimed at verifying if an exposure to stress very early during development could also lead to increased consumption of comfort food in adult life, and if increased anxiety and stress responses were persistently affected by early adversity. Litters of rats were subjected to a protocol of reduced nesting material (EarlyLife Stress) or standard care (Controls), in the first days of life. In adulthood, behavioral anxiety and stress reaction were measured. Preference for comfort food was measured over four days in a computerized system, in which the mean intake over approximately every second is calculated by a peripheral computer (BioDaq, Research Diets).

Early-Life Stress increased adulthood anxiety, increased the hormonal response to stress (corticosterone) and increased the preference for comfort foods, even after a period of chronic exposure to this type of food.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that comfort food preference could be enhanced by such an early stress exposure", says lead researcher Tania Machado. The anxiety and altered food preferences seen in these rats exposed to neonatal adversity can be related to the described changes in the hormonal response to stress. Therefore, in neonatally stressed rats, a greater consumption of "comfort foods" is possibly used as a way to alleviate anxiety symptoms (self-medication). Future studies in this area may have implications for primary care on childhood nutrition in vulnerable populations (e.g. low birth weight or children with a history of neonatal adversities).

###

The research was funded by FAPERGS, National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq), FIPE/HCPA and Foundation for the Coordination of Higher Education and Graduate Training (CAPES).

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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.

Public release date: 30-Jul-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Tracy Tarant
admin@ssib.org
847-983-3519
Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior

7/30/13, New Orleans, LA. Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, suggests that exposure to stress in the first few days of life increases stress responses, anxiety and the consumption of palatable "comfort" foods in adulthood.

"Comfort foods" have been defined as the foods eaten in response to emotional stress, and are suggested to contribute to the obesity epidemic. Hormonal responses to chronic stress in adulthood seem to play a role in the increased preference for this type of food, especially in women.

In this study, we aimed at verifying if an exposure to stress very early during development could also lead to increased consumption of comfort food in adult life, and if increased anxiety and stress responses were persistently affected by early adversity. Litters of rats were subjected to a protocol of reduced nesting material (EarlyLife Stress) or standard care (Controls), in the first days of life. In adulthood, behavioral anxiety and stress reaction were measured. Preference for comfort food was measured over four days in a computerized system, in which the mean intake over approximately every second is calculated by a peripheral computer (BioDaq, Research Diets).

Early-Life Stress increased adulthood anxiety, increased the hormonal response to stress (corticosterone) and increased the preference for comfort foods, even after a period of chronic exposure to this type of food.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that comfort food preference could be enhanced by such an early stress exposure", says lead researcher Tania Machado. The anxiety and altered food preferences seen in these rats exposed to neonatal adversity can be related to the described changes in the hormonal response to stress. Therefore, in neonatally stressed rats, a greater consumption of "comfort foods" is possibly used as a way to alleviate anxiety symptoms (self-medication). Future studies in this area may have implications for primary care on childhood nutrition in vulnerable populations (e.g. low birth weight or children with a history of neonatal adversities).

###

The research was funded by FAPERGS, National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq), FIPE/HCPA and Foundation for the Coordination of Higher Education and Graduate Training (CAPES).

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-07/sfts-sei071613.php

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Turkish Troops Fire Tear Gas to Stop 'Smugglers' from Syria

ANKARA ? Turkish soldiers shot into the air and fired tear gas to prevent hundreds of people, many of them believed to be smugglers, from trying to cross into Turkey from Syria, the Turkish military said on Tuesday.
?
A group of 1,500-2,000 people tried to approach the border and threw stones at military patrol vehicles sealing the Turkish border at the town of Ogulpinar in Hatay province in the early hours of Tuesday.
?
Soldiers dispersed the group by firing tear gas after issuing warnings in Arabic and Turkish, the military said.
?
It was the second such incident in as many days. The military said around 1,000 people had tried to enter Turkey illegally on Monday and that it had seized some 6,000 liters of diesel from them.
?
In a separate confrontation in the same region, Turkish soldiers fired pre-emptive shots at a group of 300-350 people on horseback who were also trying to cross the border on Tuesday.
?
Smuggling of fuel and other goods has risen on Turkey's 900 km (560 mile) frontier with Syria, triggering a growing number of confrontations over the past month and underscoring Ankara's concerns that Syria's more than two-year-old civil war is fuelling lawlessness and dragging in neighboring states.
?
With its hilly terrain and thick vegetation, Hatay, a panhandle province that juts down into Syria, makes a relatively easy crossing point for smugglers and Syrian rebel fighters, as well as refugees fleeing the fighting.
?
Turkish troops have been wounded and have returned fire in a spate of border incidents over the past month. A Turkish border patrol last week killed a civilian trying to cross illegally into Syria after the group of men he was with opened fire.
?
Turkey shelters around 500,000 Syrian refugees as well as rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but while backing the Syrian insurgents, it denies arming them.
?
In the most serious spillover of violence in weeks, two Turkish teenagers were killed last week by stray bullets fired during clashes between Islamist militants and Kurdish fighters in a Syrian border town several hundred kilometers east of Hatay.

Source: http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-turkish-troops-fire-tear-gas-to-stop-smugglers-from-syria/1712857.html

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Explosion hits chemical plant in East China

Xinhua
Tue, 30 Jul 2013 14:13 CDT

A flash fire followed by an explosion erupted at a paraxylene (PX) plant in east China's Fujian Province early Tuesday morning, according to authorities in Zhangpu County.

The fire that erupted at 4:35 a.m. has been brought under control. No casualties have been reported, according to the county government.

The controversial chemical plant was built in 2009 on Gulei Peninsula after the project was called off in the coastal city of Xiamen amid protests over potential pollution and health problems.

A Zhangpu county government spokesman said an initial investigation found that a cracked hydrogen pipeline triggered the fire during a pressure test.

He said the blast did not heavily damage the plant, nor has it resulted in any chemical leaks.

However, windows on a number of residences near the plant were shattered in the explosion.

Comment: A 'flash fire'? Something may have been lost in translation, but that sounds like a made-up cause for this explosion... maybe something similar to what happened in Florida on the same day happened here also?

Explosions rock Florida gas plant, force evacuations

Source: http://www.sott.net/article/264495-Explosion-hits-chemical-plant-in-East-China

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Kanye West's Charity Offering Studio Time To Chicago Youth | Zumic

Donda?s House, a charity co-founded by Kanye West and named after his late mother, will offer a free music training program for at-risk youth in Chicago?s South Side neighborhood, Chicago radio station WBEZ reports. The program, called ?Got Bars?,? will take place at St. Sabina Church in Chicago. It will be open to aspiring musicians ages 15-24 and will offer 10 weeks of in-studio instruction.

The goal of the program is to make a positive impact on the community by giving youth a creative outlet and the opportunity to build their skill sets. Donda?s House Executive Director Donnie Smith told WBEZ that music instruction has important and wide-ranging benefits. ?Art instruction and particularly music instruction leads people to become better problem solvers, more flexible,? she said. ?There are just so many outcomes that come from the study of music and particularly music writing.? Smith also noted that the 15-24 age group is especially vulnerable, since there are often few positive activities available to them. ?Got Bars?? seeks to fill that void.

Grammy-winning rapper Rhymefest, who co-founded Donda?s House with West and has a history of community involvement, will lead the students in studio instruction, helping them to read, write, record, and engineer their own music. At the end of the program, ?Got Bars?? plans to release an EP of all the participants? songs.

The program will also incorporate health and wellness training in addition to the instruction in music. In an interview with JET magazine, Smith mentioned that a pro football player will be in charge of that particular component, which she believes goes hand-in-hand with a career in the music industry. ?In order to pursue a goal in creative arts, you must be disciplined,? she said.

Smith stated that ?Got Bars?? has plans to expand into dance, drama, and art instruction in addition to music, as well as to start sister programs in other cities across the US. For now, however, the program is only in Chicago. Applications will be accepted until August 2nd, and they are available on the Donda?s House official website.

Source: http://zumic.com/2013/07/29/kanye-wests-charity-offering-studio-time-to-at-risk-chicago-youth/

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Samsung skewed Galaxy S4 reviews by rigging benchmarks, report says

Samsung is allegedly boosting the performance of its flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone in reviews by allowing its hardware to run faster in specific benchmarking apps. An investigation by AnandTech sparked by a post on the Beyond3D forum found that the GPU in various models of the phone ran at higher clock speeds in certain performance-measuring tools than users would normally be able to attain.

---

An unfair advantage?

The GPU findings relate to the international model of the phone, which uses a Samsung Exynos 5 Octa system-on-chip. In benchmarking apps like GLBenchmark 2.5.1, Quadrant, and AnTuTu, the GPU is able to run at 532MHz, whereas the device is normally locked to 480MHz; AnandTech says this gives a roughly 11 percent boost in reported performance. CPU performance in both the Exynos and Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered US variant is also affected; launching one of the whitelisted benchmarking apps causes the processor to jump to the highest performance mode and stay there regardless of the actual workload.

Although Samsung does not claim a specific GPU clock speed for the Galaxy S4 in its marketing materials, several publications regularly use benchmarking tools to evaluate new devices. Benchmarks have always had a tenuous relationship with real-world performance, but if what AnandTech alleges is indeed the case, Samsung is giving its flagship smartphone an unfair advantage against the competitors it's put up against in ostensibly objective comparisons.

Samsung did not respond to a request for comment.

Source: http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/30/4573132/samsung-allegedly-boosted-galaxy-s4-benchmarks

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China injects funds into money markets

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Source: www.ft.com --- Monday, July 29, 2013
China?s central bank injects Rmb17bn into the financial system after money market rates reached unprecedented heights on fears of liquidity squeeze ...

Source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c3c31524-f8df-11e2-a6ef-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=published_links/rss/home_uk/feed//product

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Combination stroke therapy safe and effective, study suggests

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The combination of the clot-busting drug tPA with an infusion of the antiplatelet drug eptifibatide dissolves blood clots safely and more quickly than tPA alone, a new study suggests, based on results from the phase-2 clinical trial, known as the CLEAR-ER Stroke Trial.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/3tpelLAetfM/130730123255.htm

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bevacizumab benefits more left sided colorectal cancer?

BACKGROUND:

There is an unmet need for predictive markers for the antiangiogenic agent bevacizumab in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). We aimed to assess whether the location of the primary tumor is associated with bevacizumab effectiveness when combined with capecitabine and oxaliplatin (CAPEOX) in the first-line treatment of patients with mCRC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

A cohort of 667 consecutive patients with mCRC from the general community treated from 2006 to 2011 with CAPEOX and bevacizumab as standard first-line therapy was compared with a cohort of 213 patients treated with CAPEOX from 2003 to 2006, before bevacizumab was approved. Main outcome measures were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Differences in outcome were tested using Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests, and multivariate analyses were carried out using Cox Proportional Hazards models.

RESULTS:

Patients treated with CAPEOX and bevacizumab with primary tumors originating in the sigmoid colon and rectum had a significantly better outcome than patients with primary tumors originating from the cecum to the descending colon, both for PFS (median PFS 9.3 versus 7.2 months; hazard ratio (HR) 0.68, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.56-0.82) and for OS (median OS 23.5 versus 13.0 months; HR 0.47, 95% CI 0.38-0.57). This difference was confirmed in multivariate analyses after adjustment for other potentially prognostic factors. For patients treated with CAPEOX, there was no association between primary tumor location and outcome, neither in unadjusted nor adjusted analyses.

CONCLUSIONS:

The addition of bevacizumab to CAPEOX in first-line treatment of patients with mCRC may primarily benefit patients with primary tumors originating in the rectum and sigmoid colon. This hypothesis needs to be validated in data from completed randomized trials.

Source: http://cancerology.blogspot.com/2013/07/bevacizumab-benefits-more-left-sided.html

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Oppo confirms new N-Lens series to challenge Samsung's Galaxy Camera

We were a bit skeptical when Android Authority claimed earlier this month that Oppo's developing a camera-centric device, but as it turns out, this is really happening! Today, a company representative confirmed to us the name of Oppo's new product line: N-Lens. The focus here will obviously be on photography, and it'll apparently be the "most important flagship series for Oppo going forward." Luckily, the cellular part is here to stay, so these N-Lens cameras -- likely powered by Android -- will be connected; but we're not sure whether you can also make phone calls with them.

No further details were provided (especially not a release date), but Android Authority's scoop already gives a rough idea on what to expect: a high-resolution camera with great low-light performance. You can also just about see the above slide referring to the "Samsung Galaxy Camera" (which has since been superseded by the Galaxy S4 Zoom), so Oppo seems keen to ride on this wave started by the Korean giant. If you want, it's a bit like how the Chinese company spotted the upward trend in local girls taking selfies early on, which led to the Ulike 2 with its 5-megapixel front-facing camera. But of course, with the arrival of Nokia's Lumia 1020, it's not going to be an easy fight.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/29/oppo-n-lens-camera-android/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Union's Darnaby Elementary is chosen for STEM pilot program

By KIM ARCHER World Staff Writer on Jul 29, 2013, at 2:21 AM??Updated on 7/29/13 at 3:11 AM

Union's Darnaby Elementary School is one of 44 schools nationwide selected to participate in a pilot program that will bring new rigorous STEM curriculum into elementary classrooms.

About 600 students from kindergarten through fifth grade will be among the first elementary students in the country exposed to a new curriculum in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics from national STEM curriculum provider Project Lead the Way.

"We've seen (the STEM curriculum) at the Eighth Grade Center and the impact it's had. It's a proven curriculum," said Chris Reynolds, principal at Darnaby Elementary School.

STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and refers to the recent educational push to expose more children to and better prepare them for careers in those fields.

Tulsa Public Schools' Mayo Demonstration Academy also was chosen to participate in the pilot.

The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation in Tulsa is donating an undisclosed amount of funding to both Darnaby and Mayo for the purchase of iPads and other equipment for the STEM pilot.

The Tulsa Engineering Alliance also is providing its resources and expertise to help Union expand its STEM program districtwide.

"We're always looking for teaching that's engaging for our students. This is true hands-on learning," Reynolds said. "It's real critical thinking and problem solving. In all parts of this, you'll see kids working together collaboratively."

He said the science and math will be "all wrapped around the concept of engineering design" that will be presented at levels appropriate to each grade.

For instance, kindergartners might investigate the forces of push and pull by designing the best ways to knock down pins with a bowling ball, Frazier said.

"Students could refine the design to modify the direction or strength of a force," he said.

Fifth-graders may use professional engineering software - scaled down for their age - on provided iPads to design robots, Frazier said.

Union first offered Project Lead the Way's STEM curriculum as an elective in eighth grade last year, and because of that success, the district will implement a STEM elective in seventh grade this coming year, said Kathy Dodd, Union associate superintendent of teaching and learning.

Also this year, Union will form a districtwide committee of teachers, parents, students and industry partners to explore expanding it to all schools over the next three years, she said.

"The project-based format is so unique and engaging. Even though students are building strong content knowledge, the content is contextualized in a problem that mimics the work of an engineer," Dodd said.

The curriculum is highly rigorous, yet so much fun that some Union eighth-graders have said they wish all their classes were structured the same way, she said.

"We are excited ... because it provides more opportunities for students to think critically, work collaboratively and learn math and science material in a creative way," Dodd said.

---

Kim Archer 918-581-8315
kim.archer@tulsaworld.com

Original Print Headline: Union school chosen for STEM pilot

Source: http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/Unions_Darnaby_Elementary_is_chosen_for_STEM_pilot/20130729_11_A9_Unions123407?rss_lnk=11

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Italy Bus Accident: At Least 24 Dead After Bus Plunges Into Ravine

ROME ? A tour bus filled with Italians returning home after an excursion plunged off a highway into a ravine in southern Italy on Sunday night after it had smashed into several cars that were slowed by heavy traffic, killing at least 37 people, said police and rescuers.

Flashing signs near Avellino, outside Naples, had warned of slowed traffic ahead along a stretch of the A116 autostrada, a major highway crossing southern Italy, before the crash occurred, said highway police and officials, speaking on state radio early Monday. They said the bus driver, for reasons not yet determined, appeared to have lost control of his vehicle.

Hours after the crash, firefighters said that they had extracted 37 bodies ? most of the dead were found inside the mangled bus, which lay on its side , while a few of the victims were pulled out from underneath the wreckage, state radio and the Italian news agency ANSA reported..

The radio report said 11 people were hospitalized with injuries, two of them in very critical condition. It was not immediately known if there were other survivors or any missing.

Rescuers wielding electric saws cut through the twisted metal to better probe the interior of the bus, stopping occasionally in silence to listen for any cries for help, even as the bodies were put into coffins to be taken to a morgue.

Reports said as many as 49 people had been aboard the bus when it ripped through a guardrail after slamming into several cars, then plunged some 30 meters (100 feet) off the highway and into a ravine near a wooded area. In its plunge, the bus tore away whole sections of concrete barriers as well as guardrail. The concrete lay in large chunks in a clearing in a wooded area where the bus landed.

State radio quoted Avellino police as saying the bus driver was among the dead.

Occupants of cars which were hit by the bus stood on the highway near their vehicles. One car's rear was completely crumpled, while another was smashed on its side. It was not immediately known if anyone in those cars had been injured.

The highway links western and eastern Italy across the south.

Early reports said the passengers had spent the day in Puglia, an area near the Adriatic on the east coast famed for religious shrines. But on Monday, a state radio reporter at the scene said authorities told him that the bus had been bringing the passengers home after an outing to a thermal spa area near Benevento, a town not far from Avellino. Others at the scene said the passengers might have visited a town near Benevento that was the early home of Padre Pio, a late mystic monk highly popular among Catholics in Italy.

Passengers came from small towns near Naples, and relatives streamed to the crash site.

The bus dove off the highway near the town of Monteforte Irpino in Irpinia, a largely agricultural area about 40 miles (60 kilometers) inland from Naples and about 250 kilometers (160 miles) south of Rome.

A reporter for Naples daily Il Mattino, Giuseppe Crimaldi, told Sky TG24 TV from the scene that some witnesses told him the bus had been going at a `'normal" speed on the downhill stretch of the highway when it suddenly veered and started hitting cars. He said some witnesses thought they heard a noise as if the bus had blown a tire.

A local prosecutor arrived at the crash scene to begin an investigation into the cause of the crash.

___

Photographer Salvatore Laporta contributed to this report.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/28/italy-bus-accident_n_3668074.html

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University of Cincinnati presidential condo up for sale

• Breaking

  Coroner: Kraddick found to have enlarged heart, blocked arteries

  Coroner: Kraddick found to have enlarged heart, blocked arteries

  Updated: Monday, July 29 2013 1:50 PM EDT2013-07-29 17:50:57 GMT

  According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, popular radio and TV host Kidd Kraddick died of "cardiac disease," per autopsy results released Monday by the Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office. Although aFull Story >Popular radio and TV host Kidd Kraddick died of "cardiac disease," according to autopsy results released Monday by the Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office.Full Story >

• 105 kids recovered in FBI sex traffic sting

  105 kids recovered in FBI sex traffic sting

  Updated: Monday, July 29 2013 1:49 PM EDT2013-07-29 17:49:27 GMT

  (RNN) - The FBI announced Monday that 105 children involved in sex trafficking has been recovered in 76 U.S. cities. In a news conference, officials said the 72-hour operation also netted the arrest ofFull Story >In a news conference, FBI officials said the 72-hour operation netted the arrest of 150 pimps and recovered 105 children who were victims of sex trafficking.Full Story >

• Former Sheriff's Office employee, wife sentenced in theft case

  Former Sheriff's Office employee, wife sentenced in theft case

  Updated: Monday, July 29 2013 1:48 PM EDT2013-07-29 17:48:16 GMT

  A former employee of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office was sentenced Monday morning in a theft case. Michael Esposito will spend the next six years behind bars. His wife, Allison, will spend four yearsFull Story >A former employee of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office was sentenced Monday morning in a theft case.Full Story >

• 8 injured after row house collapse in Philly

  8 injured after row house collapse in Philly

  Updated: Monday, July 29 2013 1:47 PM EDT2013-07-29 17:47:43 GMT

  (RNN) - Injuries have been reported in South Philadelphia after a row home collapsed Monday morning, according to CNN. It appears at least one row house collapsed and two next to it partially collapsed. ItFull Story >At least seven injuries have been reported in South Philadelphia after a row house collapsed Monday morning, according to CNN.Full Story >

• Why traffic was backed up on NB I-71/75 over the weekend

  Why traffic was backed up on NB I-71/75 over the weekend

  Updated: Monday, July 29 2013 1:46 PM EDT2013-07-29 17:46:09 GMT

  Traffic going northbound on I-71 and I-75 is reported to be backed up between Florence and Covington as of 4:31 p.m. No accidents have been reported; however, drivers are advised to drive the speed limit. FOX19Full Story >Did you get stuck in traffic on northbound Interstate 71/75 on Saturday?
  Full Story >

WALNUT HILLS (FOX19) -

The University of Cincinnati's presidential suite overlooking the Ohio River and downtown Cincinnati is now for sale for $2.25 million, FOX19 has learned. A UC spokeswoman provided us with a link to the listing.

The university's new president, Dr. Santa Ono, had previously told FOX19 he has no use for the penthouse and wants to use proceeds from the sale for a new presidential scholarship.

"I'd much rather see 25 kids get a free education than me to have access to a nice condominium that I don't live in," Dr. Ono told us in April.

The move by Dr. Ono and the board of trustees to sell the condo follows a FOX19 investigation into the previous president's lifestyle, paid for with money from university donors and taxpayers. The condo, in the plush Edgecliff Point complex in Walnut Hills, has been on the market since June 17 following the last of the university's fundraisers that had been scheduled there and some maintenance that had to be done, according to UC spokeswoman M.B. Reilly.

Judging by other listings on Coldwell Banker West Shell's website, the 5,700 square foot condo with seven balconies and 360-degree views is within the price range of similar properties. It has three bedrooms, three full bathrooms, and a marble foyer. Another penthouse on the same floor is on the market for nearly $2.5 million. Across the river in Covington, a similar condo in the Ascent Building has an asking price of about $2.5 million, too.

The Hamilton County Auditor's Office values the UC presidential suite at nearly $2.6 million. The condo was a gift in 2008 from Patti and Buck Niehoff, who support the sale.

Copyright 2013?WXIX. All rights reserved.

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Source: http://www.fox19.com/story/22945514/university-of-cincinnati-presidential-condo-for-sale-for-225m

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Lung Cancer Screening For Heavy Smokers Recommended By U.S. Preventative Services Task Force

The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force, a panel of experts appointed with setting guidelines for screening and preventing major illnesses, has issued new guidelines for lung cancer screening in high-risk populations, particulary older people with a long history of smoking. Policy makers and researchers predict that the new policy could save as many as 20,000 lives each year.

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Who Should Get Screened For Lung Cancer?

While it is still in draft form open to public comment, the tentative guideline currently recommends that people ages 55-79 who have a 30 pack year history of smoking get screened annually, even if they have quit as long as 15 years ago. Pack years are calculated by multiplying the number of years as a smoker by the number of packs per day smoked. For example, a person who smoked 1 pack a day for 30 years and a person who had smoked 2 packs a day for 15 years, both have a 30 pack year history. An estimated 10 million people in the U.S. fit this criteria.

People who fit these criteria should be screened by low-dose computed tomography, or CT scan. This imaging technology consists of an X-ray machine that makes a series of detailed pictures, and could detect much smaller tumors earlier in development than the current standard ? chest X-rays.

The recommendations are unprecedented. Until recently, there was little evidence to support screening for lung cancer using any type of imaging, and thus no screening guidelines. By the time tumors were large enough to be detected on the standard chest X-ray, it was often too late to treat with surgery.

The results from a large-scale clinical trial from 2010 changed that. Researchers from the National Cancer Institute followed 53,000 patients and found that mortality from lung cancer could be reduced by 16 percent if patients at the highest risk were screened.

For patients at lower risk for lung cancer, the risk for complications resulting from testing outweighs the potential benefits. A CT scan could raise suspicions of lung cancer where there is none, leading to invasive biopsies and maybe even unnecessary surgeries.

Lung Cancer Is The Leading Cause Of Cancer Death

Given the severity of lung cancer as a public health problem, the new guidelines could make a huge impact. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., killing 160,000 people a year. Nearly 90 percent of patients diagnosed with lung cancer die from it, as it is usually discovered too late.

The most common type of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, could be cured if its caught early.

The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommendations are important because they often set the standard for what services are covered by insurance. Under the Affordable Care Act, preventive health screenings, including these annual CT scans for high-risk patients, would be offered to qualifying beneficiaries with no co-pay.

These recommendations could transform how lung cancer is viewed by the public. Often perceived as tantamount to early death, lung cancer now has a hopeful intervention. But that shouldn't detract from efforts to prevent lung cancer from occuring.

"The main message is unchanged," Dr. Harold E. Varmus, the director of the National Cancer Institute, said. Don't smoke.

Smoking is the culprit in about 85 percent of all lung cancer deaths.

To determine whether you should be screened annually for lung cancer, use Memorial Sloan Kettering's lung cancer screening decision tool online.

Source: http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/17903/20130729/lung-cancer-screening-heavy-smokers-u-s-preventative-task-force-recommendations-guidelines-smoking.htm

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2-headed turtle at Texas zoo gets Facebook page

SAN ANTONIO ? A two-headed turtle born last month at the San Antonio Zoo has become so popular that she has her own Facebook page.

Zoo officials say the Texas cooter, named Thelma and Louise for the female duo in the 1991 Oscar-winning movie, has been doing well.

Spokeswoman Debbie Rios-Vanskike (van SKYKE') says the turtle eats and swims, and added that the two heads ? named Louise Left and Thelma Right ? get along.

The Facebook page on Sunday showed photos of the quirky reptile and imaginary conversations between the two heads.

The turtle hatched June 18. The animal is on display at the zoo's Friedrich Aquarium.

___

Online:

https://www.facebook.com/thelmaandlouise.turtle

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

Source: http://www.wral.com/2-headed-turtle-at-texas-zoo-gets-facebook-page/12711941/

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Brunch inspired by Mexico?Black Bean Cakes with Fried Eggs and Avocado Crema. He...

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Japan Women v Zimbabwe Women

We see you have Google Chrome installed. Try out Cricinfo's free extension: show me no thanks ICC Women's World Twenty20 Qualifier, 1st Shield Semi-Final: Japan Women v Zimbabwe Women at Dublin, Jul 29, 2013

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Farm To Fido: Dog Food Goes Local

Producers of farm-to-dog-bowl food say the concept is more about locavorism and sustainability than about pampered pooches.

Heather Rousseau/NPR

Producers of farm-to-dog-bowl food say the concept is more about locavorism and sustainability than about pampered pooches.

Heather Rousseau/NPR

The email read: "We signed a contract for farm-to-bowl dog food product development today, I kid you not :)"

The note was from a friend, Wendy Stuart, who consults on food access and sustainability issues. Even so, our first reaction was: really?

It's easy to dismiss the concept as the culinary equivalent of a diamond dog collar or a Versace pet bowl.

But many producers offering farm-to-fido dog food say it's a healthful option for pets that also helps farmers and ranchers while cutting down on food waste. It can also help the environment. For instance, the product Wendy is developing is made from wild blue catfish, an invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay.

Two years ago, Jake Dickson made headlines as one of several New York City butchers selling high-end, locally sourced dog food. Dickson's pet chow is a blend of farmers' market veggies and leftover meats that don't make it into the premium artisanal cuts he sells at his Chelsea Market shop.

Feeding Fido with locally sourced meats and vegetables can get pretty pricey. Dickson's fancy feast will cost you $10 per quart, about enough to feed a 100-pound dog for a day. That translates to $300 a month, for those of you keeping score. Even so, Dickson says about 100 customers each week pick up the gourmet grub.

It is "quite expensive," he says, but his goal isn't to pamper pooches.

"For us, it's all about 100 percent utilization of the animal," Dickson tells The Salt. "If we're going to slaughter it, we want to use every part. And second, if we use every part, we're more profitable as a company."

As Dickson notes, picking up scrap meats for your dog at the local butcher is a tradition with a long history. And with the growth of the locavore movement, meat producers from coast to coast say they're also seeing a boom in demand for local pet food options. Some are even setting up subscription-based "doggie CSAs," or community-supported agriculture.

Dennis Adams and his wife raise free-range sheep, alpaca and chickens at Cota Farms, about 45 miles outside of Columbus, Ohio. When they process their meat, he says, they always have leftovers ? necks and backs of chickens, and sheep hearts. So several years ago, Adams started grinding up this meat and selling it as raw dog food at local farmers markets.

"This is premium, organic meat," Adams tells The Salt. "Dogs are lucky to get it."

Word quickly got out and demand grew. Now, he has 50 subscribers for his raw dog food CSA.

In fact, business grew so rapidly that Adams recruited other ranchers and farmers in the region to contribute their leftover meat ? "there's really nothing else you can do with a beef heart," he says (unless you're a high-end chef into offal).

Over in San Diego, entrepreneur Tasha Ardalan has also recently gotten into the community-supported dog food business. She gathers the season's leftover fruits and vegetables from local farmers who would otherwise have to toss it out.

"The farmers love it," she tells us, and a few have even signed up for her dog food.

The produce gets mixed with meat from local ranchers and sold as a raw, organic dog food patty that costs subscribers of her CSA ? named Foxy Treats ? $4 a pound. "Some customers are a bit skittish about the food being raw," she says. "So I just tell them to bake it."

Ardalan says she consulted with local vets before coming up with her recipes. And getting the mixture right is paramount, says Jennifer Larsen, an assistant professor of nutrition at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

Larsen says if you're going to go DIY with your dog food in the name of locavorism, be sure to check in with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist. (This is a vet with a specialty in nutrition, not someone with an Internet diploma.)

It's easy to make a recipe that lacks essential nutrients for dogs, she warns. She recently published a study of 200 homemade dog food recipes gathered from vet textbooks, dog care books and the web. Ninety-five percent of these recipes lacked at least one essential nutrient, she found, and more than 80 percent lacked multiple nutrients. Over time, she says, such deficiencies can lead to serious health problems for your barking buddy.

Larsen says many of her clients do source their dog food locally ? a perk of living in California's Central Valley. And some have the luxury of outsourcing the kitchen work involved in cooking for four-legged locavores.

"There are owners that we [design] recipes for," she says, "and they hire professional chefs to [make] our recipes, because they don't have the time to do it themselves."

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/07/24/205167509/farm-to-fido-dog-food-goes-local?ft=1&f=1007

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PJ Lifestyle ? The Church Shouldn't Promote Self-Esteem - PJ Media

The First Baptist Church in Beckley, West Virgina has organized a conference to help young girls build self-esteem in defiance of a beauty culture which fixates upon superficial features. The Register Herald reports:

Contemporary Christian musical artist Karen Spurlock will be leading worship at the event.

?Having three girls of my own, I am very aware of how early little girls begin to evaluate themselves and others in superficial ways,? said Carrico. ?It occurred to me that so many women suffer daily by comparing themselves to others, and it all starts between the ages of five and 10.?

Part of the reason girls are so imprisoned by the beauty culture, Carrico said, is that they mistakenly equate being ?pretty? with their self-worth.

?

One goal of the Christian-based conference is to assure girls that beauty is not in the eye of the beholder but in the ?eye of the Creator,? Carrico said.

?The only way to help girls see past all this is to teach them that pretty is fine, that?s awesome, but it?s not beauty,? she said. ?Their belly may not be completely flat today, or ever, and that?s OK, because God created us in His image, so?deal with it,? you?re perfect.?

Certainly, girls and young women ought to be encouraged to look beyond the superficial. That said, should any self-evaluation result in the conclusion that you are perfect?

Promoting self-esteem has become a primary goal of education and community activities involving children. The now clich? participation trophy stands as a hallmark example. Adults teach children to feel good about themselves not due to cited merit, but as a means to spite the evaluations of popular culture. However, unearned pride can be just as destructive as a lack of confidence. Rather than teach children to err on one side to spite the other, we ought to encourage honest evaluations based on objective criteria which help guide efforts at improvement.

Source: http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2013/07/28/the-church-shouldnt-promote-self-esteem/

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Lector at Papal WYD Mass says she encountered Church

This is a syndicated post from CNA Daily News. [Read the original article...]

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Jul 28, 2013 / 06:42 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The young woman who proclaimed a Scripture reading at the Papal Mass at World Youth Day said that it was an unforgettable experience that enabled her to encounter the Church in a unique way.

?It was amazing to look out and see more than three million people, and to think that this is all due to 12 men who said ?yes? to God?s call 2,000 years ago,? said 19-year-old Katherine Bauman, a native of Denver, Colo.

Bauman, who is studying theology, education and classical languages at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., proclaimed the first reading at the World Youth Day Closing Mass with Pope Francis on Copacabana Beach.

The July 28 Mass, which was moved from its original location in western Rio de Janeiro due to heavy rains, drew an estimated 3.2 million people.

Looking out over a massive sea of pilgrims from around the world, Bauman was amazed.?

?It was an incredible experience,? she told CNA. ?It expanded my perception of the diversity and the richness of our Church?all the different cultures gathered together.??

?Having this experience in a Latin American country, with a Latin American Pope, returning here for the first time ? it?s so powerful,? she continued. ?It showed me that I?m part of something a lot bigger than just me.?

In early June, Bauman got a phone call inviting her to read at the Mass. She was completely shocked, and it took her a while to process the fact that she would be reading in front of several million people and Pope Francis.

As the event drew closer, she became ?a bit nervous? about speaking in front of so many people. But the nervousness was replaced with excitement when she got up on the altar.

?I was just so immersed in the moment,? she said, adding that ?it?s really not about me anyway.?

This is the first time Bauman has attended a World Youth Day, although she was just miles away from the 1993 festivities in Denver, where she was born. Just two weeks old at the time, she was not at the events then, but has wanted to attend a World Youth Day for years.

Two decades later, Bauman is finally attending the international youth gathering and will be celebrating her 20th birthday in Brazil, making the event even more memorable, though she does not have any special plans for her birthday.

?It?s a pilgrimage,? she explained, although she joked that ?I?m hoping to have ?Happy Birthday? sung to me in at least three different languages.?

Bauman came to Brazil with a U.S. group from the Christian Life Movement, an international ecclesial movement started in South America. They arrived a week early to do mission trips in the favelas ? or slums ? of Sao Paolo, an experience that she described as ?overwhelming.?

Her group painted the local outreach center, conducted catechesis with the children and visited families in their homes to talk with them, pray with them and listen to their stories.

These visits were ?startling,? Bauman said, explaining that she was ?struck by the openness of the people in this culture in general, but especially of the people in the favelas. They didn?t know us, but they invited us into their homes and they poured their hearts out to us.?

She contrasted this with the United States, where it is ?almost a social taboo? to really open up and touch someone?s heart upon first meeting them.
?
?But we are meant for true encounter with one another, which is what I experienced in the slums, and I believe that we can learn a lot in this area from other cultures,? she reflected.

Bauman has also worked with the poor in Denver for several years, through a program called Christ in the City that brings young people from around the country to serve the local homeless.

Commenting on Pope Francis, who also visited a favela during his trip to Brazil, she said that she is ?really touched by what he does, especially by the spontaneity of the love that he shows.?

?It?s clear that he sees the person first, and his primary goal in any encounter is to love the person without reservation.?

In addition to the Closing Mass with Pope Francis, the Opening Mass also made a powerful impression on Bauman.

?I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and I didn?t even notice the rain at times. Even though I didn?t understand the language and I was exhausted, I was just so caught up in what was going on,? she said.

Reflecting on World Youth Day overall, Bauman said that the huge numbers of people were what struck her most.

?Just seeing people pour onto the beach ? they kept coming and coming and coming. And then realizing that we?re all there for the same reason; it?s just really powerful,? she explained. ?What if we all lived out our faith? What could we accomplish? We could do a lot.?

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Source: http://www.dfwcatholic.org/lector-at-papal-wyd-mass-says-she-encountered-church-45637/.html

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Long Beach Unified responds to California ranking 49th in nation in per-pupil spending

By Phillip Zonkel
phllip.zonkel@presstelegram.com
@zonkelpt on Twitter

Third graders at Webster Elementary School study government on a Friday afternoon. The school is the only one in the district with a 20:1 student teacher ratio thanks to a grant for which they were chosen at random. (Brittany Murray / Staff Photographer)

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CALIFORNIA EDUCATION SPENDING: 49th in the nation: Main story | Los Angeles | Long Beach | South Bay

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LONG BEACH -- The state is ranked 49th in the nation in per-pupil spending, but that figure doesn't mean the education system is failing students, a Long Beach Unified School District official says.

California's position at the back of class is based on the annual January report by Education Week.

"It's one piece of data," said Jim Novak, the district's chief business and financial officer. "But at the end of the day, what matters is, are you getting the results you need?"

Novak and the district, the third largest in the state behind Los Angeles and San Diego, have seen overall student Academic Performance Index (API) scores steadily rise over the years as state funding to the district has been slashed, which has caused the district to make numerous cuts.

Since 2008, the district's API scores have increased 43 points -- from 741 to 784. During that same time, the district's scores also have inched closer to the state average, which was 754 in 2008 and 791 in 2012, according to California Department of Education data.

Meanwhile, since 2008, the district has cut more

than $300 million and 1,000 jobs.

The biggest cuts since 2008 include approximately 800 layoffs in 2011, most of them teachers.

The district has also increased class sizes and eliminated administrators, librarians, nurses, psychologists, counselors and support staff.

Novak says he is pleased with the increased API scores, but cautions against trying to make an exclusive correlation between funding and academic performance.

"You have to look at more things. You can't isolate the two," Novak said. "It's not the be-all and end-all to fund schools. Funding is important, but you have to consider the teachers, class size, school conditions."

The district is expecting about $19 million in new funds from the state for the 2013-2014 fiscal year thanks primarily to passage of Proposition 30.

The school board will discuss the new funding in the coming weeks, although Novak says paying down the district's $22 deficit is at the top of the list.

Source: http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_23747204/long-beach-unified-responds-california-ranking-49th-nation?source=rss

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Ohio University plans to survey the effects of fracking on local communities

WKSU on air Classical Music With Mark Pennell .. 9:49 Antonin Dvorak: Ballet Music from The Jakobin (C-S-S-R State Philharmonic) 9:57 J S Bach: Four little preludes 10:04 Emmanuel Chabrier: Espana (Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra) 10:12 Joseph Haydn: Symphony #93 in D (Florilegium) 12:00 Here and Now Here! Now! Imperative: not to be avoided: necessary. In a typical week, the show will cover not only all the big news stories, but also the stories behind the stories, or some of the less crucial but equally intriguing things happening in the world. 1:00 Classical Music with Sylvia Docking Join WKSU?s Sylvia Docking for the best in classical music. 3:00 Fresh Air? with Terry Gross 4:00 All Things Considered? 6:30 Marketplace? The award-winning daily program about business and finance puts a human face on the global economy, with insight from anchor Kai Ryssdal. WKSU News Channel The TakeawayTM The Takeaway is a national morning news program that invites listeners to be part of the American conversation. Hosts John Hockenberry and Celeste Headlee, along with partners The New York Times, BBC World Service, WNYC, Public Radio International and WGBH Boston, deliver news and analysis and help you prepare for the day ahead. 10:00 On Point On Point unites distinct and provocative voices with passionate discussion as it confronts the stories that are at the center of what is important in the world today. 12:00 Here and Now Here! Now! Imperative: not to be avoided: necessary. In a typical week, the show will cover not only all the big news stories, but also the stories behind the stories, or some of the less crucial but equally intriguing things happening in the world. 1:00 Q with Jian Ghomeshi "Q" is Canada's liveliest arts, culture and entertainment magazine. It's a smart and surprising tour through personalities and cultural issues that matter. Host Jian Ghomeshi covers pop culture and high arts with forays into the most provocative and compelling cultural trends. "Q" presents big names, big ideas and those paving the way in the cultural community. 2:00 To The Point Hosted by award-winning journalist Warren Olney, To the Point presents informative and thought-provoking discussion of major news stories -- front-page issues that attract a savvy and serious news audience. 3:00 Fresh Air? with Terry Gross WKSU Classical Channel Classical Music With Mark Pennell .. 9:49 Antonin Dvorak: Ballet Music from The Jakobin (C-S-S-R State Philharmonic) 9:57 J S Bach: Four little preludes 10:04 Emmanuel Chabrier: Espana (Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra) 10:12 Joseph Haydn: Symphony #93 in D (Florilegium) ??

Environment Monday, July 29, 2013 Ohio University plans to survey the effects of fracking on local communities Researchers say the survey can help communities plan for the future Story by LYNDSEY SCHLEY ? The oil and gas drilling process known as ?fracking? has seen plenty of controversy and Ohio University is conducting a survey of local leaders to track how industry affects communities, for better or worse. Sara Boyd, a researcher from Ohio University, says the survey will focus on 17 counties with topics including public safety, the local economy, property values and the environment, to see how the industry has changed them. Robin Stewart, another researcher on the project, says this survey could be valuable to help communities plan for the future. "It would help identify strategies and could be used to really then further drill down on what the types of needs that communities have to address these positive and negative impacts to the degree that they need to for their residents," Stewart says. This is the university?s second study on the effects of the fracking industry in Ohio and the group hopes to follow up regularly.

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Source: http://www.wksu.org/news/story/36334

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