RD Designs

WASHINGTON – Mississippi's still king of cellulite, but an ominous tide is rolling toward the Medicare doctors in neighboring Alabama: obese baby boomers.
It's time for the nation's annual obesity rankings and, outside of fairly lean Colorado, there's little good news. In 31 states, more than one in four adults are obese, says a new report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
And obesity rates among adults rose in 23 states over the past year, and no state experienced a significant decline.
"The obesity epidemic clearly goes beyond being an individual problem," said Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust, a nonprofit public health group.
It's a national crisis that "calls for a national strategy to combat obesity," added Robert Wood Johnson vice president Dr. James Marks. "The crest of the wave of obesity is still to crash."
While the nation has long been bracing for a surge in Medicare as the boomers start turning 65, the new report makes clear that fat, not just age, will fuel much of those bills. In every state, the rate of obesity is higher among 55- to 64-year-olds — the oldest boomers — than among today's 65-and-beyond.
The report provides one of the first in-depth looks at obese boomers, and its implications are sobering. This first wave of aging boomers will mean a jump of obese Medicare patients that ranges from 5.2 percent in New York to a high of 16.3 percent in Alabama, the report concluded. In Alabama, nearly 39 percent of the oldest boomers are obese.
Health economists once made the harsh financial calculation that the obese would save money by dying sooner. But more recent research instead suggests that better treatments are keeping them alive nearly as long — but they're much sicker for longer, requiring such costly interventions as knee replacements and diabetes care and dialysis. Medicare spends anywhere from $1,400 to $6,000 more annually on health care for an obese senior than for the non-obese, Levi said.
"There isn't a magic bullet. We don't have a pill for it," said Levi. "It's not going to be solved in the doctor's office but in the community, where we change norms."
His group is pushing for health reform legislation to include community-level programs that help people make healthier choices — like building sidewalks so people can walk their neighborhoods instead of drive, and providing healthier school lunches to help fight the childhood obesity that turns into adult obesity. The pending House and Senate bills address obesity in different ways; one provision would particularly target baby boomers.
Many states have begun programs to try to tackle obesity, and there are hints of improvements, Marks said.
"We're still getting fatter, but maybe a little more slowly than before," he said: Last year's report found obesity rates rising in 37 states compared with 23 this time around.
He's encouraged that 19 states have implemented nutritional standards for school meals that are stricter than the federal government's; in 2004, just four states did. Some are requiring nutritional information for restaurant food, he added.
States "recognize the solutions will lie outside traditional medical care," Marks said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has long said that nearly a third of Americans are obese. The Trust report uses somewhat more conservative CDC surveys for a closer state-by-state look. Among the findings:
_Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity, 32.5 percent, for the fifth year in a row.
_Three additional states now have adult obesity rates above 30 percent, including Alabama, 31.2 percent; West Virginia, 31.1 percent; and Tennessee, 30.2 percent.
_In 1991, no state had more than a 20 percent obesity rate. Today, the only state that doesn't is Colorado, at 18.9 percent.

_The South is the fattest region. The Northeast and West are slightly slimmer than the rest of the country.

_Mississippi also had the highest rate of overweight and obese children, at 44.4 percent in total. It's followed by Arkansas, 37.5 percent; and Georgia, 37.3 percent.

_Following Alabama, Michigan ranks No. 2 with fat boomers; 36 percent of its 55- to 64-year-olds are obese. Colorado has the lowest rate, 21.8 percent.

___

On the Net:

Trust for America's Health: http://healthyamericans.org/

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: http://www.rwjf.org/

The neon lights are no longer flashing; the roulette wheels have spun their last turn. Casinos across Russia closed their doors on Wednesday as a sweeping ban on gambling came into effect, less than a week after a similar ban hit neighboring Ukraine. Lawmakers in both countries say the bans were necessary to bring under control spiraling addiction and a notoriously shady business. But critics say the moves will leave hundreds of thousands out of work and force the industry underground.
Until June 25, the River Palace was one of the most popular casinos in Kiev, buzzing with customers trying their luck in rooms awash with the sounds of pinging bells and clicking roulette balls. But now the place is deserted, filled only with an eerie silence. The timing couldn't have been worse for Olha Stupak, who was one of the casino's senior supervisors. With a child about to enter university, car loan repayments to meet and rent to pay, she's going to struggle to get by on her savings and unemployment benefit. "I'm looking for work, but it's difficult because of the crisis," she says, looking round at the empty tables. "I know all about roulette, poker and blackjack. But other jobs require different work experience." (See pictures of Russia celebrating Victory Day.)
The ban - which affects not only casinos, but also slot machines and bookmakers - is set to push up unemployment levels in one of the regions already hardest hit by the economic crisis. In Russia, an estimated 400,000 will be out of work and in Ukraine, "overnight, 200,000 workers have been left without a job," says Hryhoriy Trypulsky, vice president of the Ukrainian Association of Gambling Operators. "The legislation has been rushed through without any thought of the consequences."
Russia had been planning its ban for some time, with parliament passing legislation in 2006 which would restrict gambling to four remote areas from July 1 this year. But Ukrainian lawmakers were slower off the mark, and only sprang into action in May after nine people were killed in a fire at a slot machine hall in Dnipropetrovsk in eastern Ukraine. After the fire brought national attention to an industry that was already widely frowned upon, lawmakers pounced. The legislation they passed places a temporary ban on gambling while plans are drawn up to restrict gambling to special zones, most likely in Crimea on Ukraine's southern Black Sea coast. (See pictures of Putin's Patriotic Youth Camp.)
Supporters of Ukraine's new law have little sympathy for the crippling effect it will have on the industry. "Gambling has become an epidemic that can be compared with AIDS and tuberculosis," says the law's author, Valeriy Pysarenko, a parliamentary deputy from Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's party. "It is destroying the Ukrainian nation on a moral level." Gambling has boomed across Russia and Ukraine since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and, before the ban, Ukraine boasted over 100,000 legal gambling establishments, ranging from flashy casinos to dingy slot machine halls. (See a video on Bethlehem, Pennsylvania's casino bet.)
Pysarenko says statistics show that 75% of Ukranians who use gambling establishments are university students or high-school kids, and that up to 5% of large-town populations are addicts. A survey in May by pollster FOM-Ukraine showed that 55% of Ukrainians believe gambling leads to addiction in adults, while 46% say it breaks up families and 44% associate it with crime. Indeed, experts say that thanks to lax legislation, around 60% to 70% of Ukraine's gambling establishments were operating illegally. Pysarenko estimates that the industry is worth around $5 billion per year, only 2% of which made it to the state budget as operators avoided paying taxes.
But for all its much-vaunted noble aims, the law has drawn heavy criticism. With presidential elections scheduled for January, Tymoshenko's opponents and the country's casino workers accuse the prime minister of using the gambling ban to enhance her hard-earned reputation as a supporter of working class voters - a poll by the Kiev-based Horshenin Institute in May showed that 82% are in favor of the law. "She has scored a few political points at our expense," says the River Palace's Stupak. President Viktor Yushchenko vetoed the law, calling it "populist," only to have his decision overturned by parliament. And Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, who will be in charge of enforcing the ban, has expressed his misgivings that all establishments are being tarred with the same brush. "I think it's wrong to ban casinos," he told reporters, adding that he blames slot machine halls, not casinos, for the rise in gambling addiction. (Read: "Holy Craps! How a Gambling Grandma Broke the Record.")
Opponents of the new law also say that while tighter regulation is needed, the all-out ban risks having the opposite effect by sending the industry underground, where it will be even harder to control. One casino director, who asked not to be named, says he knows of two places that have continued working illegally since the ban began last week. "If they know your face, they'll let you in," he says. And a Ukrainian government official who works closely on the issue tells TIME that he expects some sites to begin opening their doors to a "select few" in the coming weeks.
"It is almost inevitable that establishments will reopen, run by criminal groups," says Ian Payne, director of operations at the River Palace. "There is a huge, established customer base that still wants to gamble. People will get fed up after a few weeks." Whether moral crusade or canny campaign move, the decision to ban gambling in Russia and Ukraine is a risky play. Only time will tell if it pays off.
Read "The Strip is Back!"
See pictures of Russia celebrating Victory Day.
View this article on Time.comRelated articles on Time.com:Russia-Europe Gas Spat Ends Russia and Ukraine Battle Over Their Shared History The New Kofi: "Offend No One" 6 Ways to Fix K street The Trouble (for McCain) with Ukrainian Democracy

A mechanical alarm clock was described by the Ottoman engineer Taqi al-Din in his book, The Brightest Stars for the Construction of Mechanical Clocks (Al-Kawākib al-durriyya fī wadh' al-bankāmat al-dawriyya), published in 1556-1559. It was capable of sounding at a specified time, achieved by placing a peg on the dial wheel. At the requested time, the peg activated a ringing device. In the same treatise, he described a mechanical astronomical clock called the "observational clock", which measured time in minutes. He made use of his mathematical knowledge to design three dials which showed the hours, degrees and minutes. He later improved the design of his observational clock to measure time in seconds in an astronomical treatise written at his Istanbul observatory of al-Din (1577-1580). He described his observational clock as "a mechanical clock with three dials which show the hours, the minutes, and the seconds." This was an important innovation in 16th-century practical astronomy, as previous clocks were not accurate enough to be used for astronomical purposes. He further improved the observational clock, using only one dial to represent the hours, minutes and seconds, describing it as "a mechanical clock with a dial showing the hours, minutes and seconds and we divided every minute into five seconds."

Clockmakers developed their art in various ways. Building smaller clocks was a technical challenge, as was improving accuracy and reliability. Clocks could be impressive showpieces to demonstrate skilled craftsmanship, or less expensive, mass-produced items for domestic use. The escapement in particular was an important factor affecting the clock's accuracy, so many different mechanisms were tried. Spring-driven clocks appeared during the 1400s, although they are often erroneously credited to Nürnberg watchmaker Peter Henlein (or Henle, or Hele) around 1511. The earliest existing spring driven clock is the chamber clock given to Peter the Good, Duke of Burgundy, around 1430, now in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum. Spring power presented clockmakers with a new problem; how to keep the clock movement running at a constant rate as the spring ran down. This resulted in the invention of the stackfreed and the fusee in the 1400s, and many other innovations, down to the invention of the modern going barrel in 1760.

http://www.timeclockstx.com/

Los Angeles (E! Online) –
There are only two Jonas Brothers left.

For girls to fantasize about marrying one day, that is!

Kevin Jonas, 21, has proposed to his girlfriend of two years, Danielle Deleasa, E! News confirmed Wednesday.

Deleasa, 22, met Kevin—the JoBro who has managed to have a private life—in May 2007 while their families were vacationing in the Bahamas.

"Our hearts are filled with joy today and we are happy to share with you that our son Kevin has asked Danielle for her hand in marriage," parents Denise and Kevin Jonas Sr. said in a statement. "Her answer was yes, and it is such a blessing that she will be joining our family. Kevin and Danielle have not yet set a date."

A rep for Kevin confirmed that he showed up at Deleasa's New Jersey home this morning with a ring he codesigned with Jacob & Co., and popped the question at her doorstep.
But while thousands of girls would love to be in Deleasa's shoes—or at least also in a position to attend a wedding where Joe and Nick Jonas will be—the former hairdresser tells People she didn't know who Kevin was when she first met him.

Way to play coy, honey.

Kevin, who performed in Vancouver last night and caught a red-eye to Jersey, told the mag, "It was tough performing last night, knowing that I was going to ask the biggest question in my life to the most amazing girl in the world."

··· THEY SAID WHAT? Get today's most commented stories now at www.eonline.com

Primarily, but not exclusively, the par of a hole is determined by the tee-to-green distance. A typical length for a par-three hole ranges between 91 and 224 metres (100–250 yd), for a par-four hole, between 225 and 434 metres (251–475 yd). Typically, par-five holes are at between 435 and 630 metres (476–690 yd), and nontraditional par-six holes are any longer distance.

A golf ball acquires spin when it is hit. Backspin is imparted for almost every shot due to the golf club's loft (i.e., angle between the clubface and a vertical plane). A spinning ball deforms the flow of air around it similar to an airplane wing; a back-spinning ball therefore experiences an upward force which makes it fly higher and longer than a ball without spin.

Branson Golf

WASHINGTON – Hardly a bank bailout hearing goes by in Congress without a lawmaker raising a question on behalf of constituent banks that have applied for federal assistance from the government's financial bailout fund.
Now, the case of Sen. Daniel Inouye and his office's inquiry to a federal regulator regarding a Hawaii bank is drawing new attention to the role lawmakers are playing in the government's decisions on how to divvy up the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Constituent service or undue influence?
In Inouye's case, the Hawaii Democrat was also one of the founders of the bank, Central Pacific Financial. And while he holds no official position with it, he is a shareholder who has watched the value of his stock in the bank drop precipitously.
According to Inouye's office, a legislative assistant placed a call last fall to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the bank's regulator, to ask whether the agency had received the bank's application for TARP money.
The inquiry by Inouye's office was first reported Tuesday by The Washington Post.
In a statement, Inouye said his aide simply left a voicemail message with the FDIC and did not speak to anyone at the agency.
"This single phone call was the entire extent of my staff's contact with regard to Central Pacific Bank, to any outside agency," Inouye's statement said.
Inouye's office said an FDIC official called back days later and left a voicemail message saying the application was still under review.
The bank announced in December that its application for $135 million in TARP funds had been approved.
"We did not ask for any preferential treatment in this process," bank spokesman Andrew Rosen said Wednesday. He said the bank briefed Hawaii's congressional delegation about its application "as a normal course of business."
Rosen said that thanks to the additional capital the bank this year is on track to exceed the amount of home loans it originated last year.
Numerous lawmakers have pressed regulators and the Treasury Department to act on the applications of banks that serve their districts or communities. The Ohio congressional delegation complained loudly last year when Treasury declined to give TARP funds to National City Bank, a longtime Cleveland institution.
OneUnited of Massachusetts received $12 million in federal funds in December after Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, contacted regulators and included in legislation a provision that assisted the bank. Before that, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., had organized a meeting with regulators and executives of minority-owned banks, including OneUnited, a bank in which Waters' husband has invested.
Earlier this year, Neel Kashkari, then the Treasury official in charge of the TARP program, faced questions during a congressional hearing about news reports suggesting that Treasury was getting political pressure.
"We do get calls from members (of Congress). We do get calls from governors who are concerned about their districts or their businesses, et cetera," he said. But he said those calls usually are referred to agencies that regulate the institutions.
"I feel very confident in saying there is no undue influence at Treasury," Kashkari said then.
Neil Barofsky, the inspector general overseeing the TARP money, is preparing a report on Treasury's guidelines and procedures for distributing the funds. The review includes an examination of whether there has been any undue outside influence on Treasury, including from lobbyists or politicians. The report could be ready by the end of the month, a spokeswoman said.

ATLANTA – Play-by-play announcer Bill Weber will not call the last two races of TNT's NASCAR coverage.
Weber wasn't in the booth for last weekend's race from New Hampshire Motor Speedway. TNT said Wednesday that Ralph Sheheen will again take his spot, working The Coke Zero 400 in Daytona and the LifeLock.com 400 from Chicagoland.
TNT did not give a reason for Weber's absence. In a statement Sunday about the New Hampshire race, the network said: "As this is a private issue, it's the policy of the company not to discuss personal matters involving our employees."

President Obama is heading into stormy waters. His healthcare plans have stalled on Capitol Hill; he is being faulted for a shaky response to the post-election violence in Iran; his job-approval ratings are dropping; and confidence in his handling of the economy is ebbing. The warning signs are enough to worry Democratic strategists that Obama may be sinking into a trough that will sap his influence just when he needs it most. [See photos of Obama abroad]

Until now, President Obama has enjoyed a honeymoon with the country and the media (although not with opposition Republicans). This was because the supremely articulate, charismatic Obama presented such a contrast to George W. Bush, who remains unpopular. In addition, voters wanted action from their president in tough times, according to Democratic pollster Geoff Garin, and Obama delivered. In fact, he has moved the federal government into a more activist role than it has had under any other president in years, bailing out the financial industry, taking over much of the U.S. auto industry, injecting vast sums of money into the economy, and proposing huge changes in healthcare, energy policy, and other areas of national life. Finally, Obama is very appealing as an individual, which initially boosted his ratings.

But the ground may be shifting. Over the past couple of weeks, Obama has endured a surge of bad news, reversing his momentum. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that one of the major Democratic healthcare proposals being circulated in the Senate would cost an astounding $1 trillion; the estimate for another plan was even larger--$1.6 trillion. This sent legislators scurrying to reduce the price tags, which will in turn cause delays in considering the massive bills this summer and could jeopardize passage in the fall. [Read "Tallying the Bill for Healthcare Reform"]

Another setback came when two powerful insurers' associations announced their opposition to an Obama-backed government health plan that would be in competition with private, employer-sponsored plans. In a letter to senators released this week, America's Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association wrote, "Regardless of how it is initially structured, a government plan would use its built-in advantages to take over the health insurance market." But Obama told a news conference Tuesday, "The public [government] plan, I think, is an important tool to discipline insurance companies."

Beyond healthcare, unemployment continues to rise, and Obama has conceded that it will probably exceed 10 percent later this summer. The economy remains in a recession, and forecasters say there will be more pain ahead. Overall, Obama's programs have run up the deficit by astronomical margins, at least $1 trillion this year alone. This has sparked criticism that he is breaking the bank, and the public seems increasingly rattled. A Washington Post/ABC News poll this week found that while 65 percent of Americans approve of Obama's job performance, his positive rating has declined by 4 percentage points since April. Only 52 percent say Obama's ballyhooed $787 billion economic stimulus program has succeeded or will succeed, down from 59 percent two months ago. Americans are evenly split, 48 to 48 percent, in approving or disapproving of how Obama is handling the deficit. [Read "Obama's 12 Most Important Decisions"]

"I see his popularity continuing to diminish," says Frank Donatelli, former political director for President Ronald Reagan and current chairman of GOPAC, a conservative political action committee. "He'll come down to a more normal level."

In the most serious foreign crisis of his young presidency, the violent crackdown on protesters after the disputed presidential election in Iran has made Obama seem off balance. At his news conference Tuesday, he finally got tough with his rhetoric. But his critics argue that his response has been weak and that his newfound toughness comes too late to do much good in helping the Iranian reformers who are battling the government. [Read "Obama Walks a Fine Line on Iran"]

Adding to his problems, there has been a noticeable increase in tension between the president and the press corps. At his news conference, reporters were more adversarial than they've been since he took office, and they homed in on topics that made him uncomfortable, such as his response to the abuses in Iran and even his inability to give up smoking. [Read "Obama's Relationship With Media Getting More Adversarial"]

Clearly, some of Obama's luster is wearing off. The question is whether his setbacks will be temporary or mark the start of a long-term decline for his presidency.

--Read "Obama Criticized as Mr. Nice Guy Toward Iran, Congress"

-- Read "Obama's Congressional Friends (and Foes)"

-- Learn About the Members of Obama's Inner Circle

-- See Photos of the Obamas Behind the Scenes

Engagement Ring

Egyptian designs were most common in Phoenician jewellery. Also, ancient Turkish designs found in Persian jewellery suggest that trade between the Middle East and Europe was not uncommon. Women wore elaborate gold and silver pieces that were used in ceremonies.

Growing political tensions, the after-effects of the war, and a general reaction against the perceived decadence of the turn of the century led to simpler forms, combined with more effective manufacturing for mass production of high-quality jewellery. Covering the period of the 1920s and 1930s, the style has become popularly known as Art Deco. Walter Gropius and the German Bauhaus movement, with their philosophy of "no barriers between artists and craftsmen" lead to some interesting and stylistically simplified forms. Modern materials were also introduced: plastics and aluminum were first used in jewellery, and of note are the chromed pendants of Russian born Bauhaus master Naum Slutzky. Technical mastery became as valued as the material itself; in the west, this period saw the reinvention of granulation by the German Elizabeth Treskow (although development of the re-invention has continued into the 1990s)..

Ramallah, West Bank –
Israel's naval blockade of the waters off Gaza – part of a wider Israeli effort to seal off the tiny coastal strip controlled by the Islamist militant group Hamas – is devastating a key Gazan industry and source of food: fishing.
Citing security concerns and fears of arms smuggling, Israel has progressively tightened the blockade over the past 15 years to a zone that today extends only three nautical miles (NM) from shore. Once a thriving enterprise, Gaza’s fishing industry is now on the verge of collapse. Fishermen are cut off from the heavily populated shoals, and have seen total catch and total revenue drop by rougly half in less than a decade.

Mohammed Hassuna of the southern Gaza city of Rafah was recently arrested by the Israeli Navy even though he says he was within the 3-NM zone. Most boats are fitted with GPS to ensure they stay within the zone.
"We were suddenly surrounded by gunboats and naval boats. They started shooting at us and around us. I was very scared," says Mr. Hassuna.
Hassuna says that and his crew were forced to strip down to their underwear and swim in frigid water to the navy gunboat where they were handcuffed, blindfolded, and their feet chained.
"They took us back to Ashdod port and we were kept like this for the entire day and not allowed toilet facilities or given any food," says Hassuna.
Eventually Hassuna, a father of five, and his crew were released but his boat had not been returned a week later when interviewed by the Monitor.
"I don't know how I will support my family now," says Hassuna. Other fishermen in a similar predicament have had to take legal action to get their boats back but most can't afford this.
Israeli rights group B'Tselem released a report about the continual shooting at, abuse of, and humiliation of Palestinian fishermen and challenged the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) over the issue.
The IDF responded that their actions were in the name of security only. But human rights organizations argue that Israel is collectively punishing Gaza's civilian population as a means of pressuring its Hamas leadership.
"A balance between security and the humanitarian situation has to be established," says Mike Bailey of Oxfam, which helps Gazan fishermen and farmers with short-term employment relief.

Diabetic Supplies

Diabetes mellitus is a syndrome of disordered metabolism, usually due to a combination of hereditary and environmental causes, resulting in abnormally high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia). Blood glucose levels are controlled by a complex interaction of multiple chemicals and hormones in the body, including the hormone insulin made in the beta cells of the pancreas. Diabetes mellitus refers to the group of diseases that lead to high blood glucose levels due to defects in either insulin secretion or insulin action.

Diabetes develops due to a diminished production of insulin (in type 1) or resistance to its effects (in type 2 and gestational). Both lead to hyperglycaemia, which largely causes the acute signs of diabetes: excessive urine production, resulting compensatory thirst and increased fluid intake, blurred vision, unexplained weight loss, lethargy, and changes in energy metabolism. Monogenic forms, e.g. MODY, constitute 1-5 % of all cases.

Early records of races are evident on pottery from ancient Greece, which depicted running men vying for first place. A chariot race is described in Homer's Iliad.

Stock car racing, the North American equivalent to touring car racing, is that continent's most-popular form of auto racing in terms of viewership.[citation needed] Usually conducted on ovals, the cars may slightly resemble production cars but are in fact purpose-built racing machines which are built to tight specifications. Early stock cars were actual production vehicles; the car to be raced was often driven from track to track. The modern car however is far removed from the production model which it represents, making the term "stock car" somewhat incorrect.

Link

ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Blues, seeking to add depth at the goaltender position, have signed free-agent Ty Conklin.
Terms of the deal announced Wednesday were not disclosed.
The 33-year-old Conklin played in 40 games for Detroit last season, going 25-11-2 with a 2.51 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. His six shutouts tied for the sixth-most in the NHL.
The Anchorage, Alaska, native is 73-43-14 with a 2.58 goals against average and .909 save percentage in six seasons. He was originally signed by Edmonton as an undrafted free agent in 2001.
Chris Mason seized the starting job in midseason from Manny Legace and started the final 33 regular-season games and all four playoff games for the Blues.

TEHRAN (AFP) –
Iranian presidential election runner up Mir Hossein Mousavi on Wednesday renewed a demand for a complete re-run of the vote and pledged to help set up a new group to defend citizen's rights.

Another defeated candidate, Mehdi Karroubi, saw his reformist newspaper Etemad Melli shut down after he denounced the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as invalid and the new government as not legitimate.

The 12-member Guardians Council election watchdog had warned the defeated candidates that it will brook no more challenges to the results following a recount of 10 percent of ballot boxes from the June 12 poll.

Mousavi, Ahmadinejad's closest rival who won 34 percent of the vote compared to 63 percent for the incumbent, remained defiant, saying: "The majority of the society to which I belong will not recognise the legitimacy of the (future) government.

"Our historic duty is to continue the protests to defend the rights of the people... and prevent the blood spilled by hundreds of thousands of martyrs from leading to a police state," he said in a posting on his website.

Mousavi said a group of politicians including himself have decided to create "a legal political body to defend citizen's rights and votes that were crushed in the election, to publish documents about the frauds and irregularities and to start legal action."

Iran's police chief Esmaeil Ahmadi-Moghaddam said that 20 people were killed and more than 1,000 arrested in the wave of protests over the disputed presidential vote.

"No policeman was killed in the Tehran riots but 20 rioters were killed," he said, confirming earlier reports.

"Police arrested 1,032 people in the recent riots. Many have been released and the rest are being prosecuted in Tehran's public and revolutionary courts," he was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency.

The Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights has said that more than 2,000 people are in custody in Iran and hundreds more missing, while rights group Amnesty said it is concerned that several detained opposition leaders may face torture.

Human Rights Watch said harsh interrogation conditions and inadequate medical care are threatening the life of detained reformist Saeed Hajjarian, a former presidential adviser and Tehran city councillor.

Police chief Ahmadi-Moghaddam said the death of Neda Agha-Soltan, who became a symbol of post-election street rallies in Iran, was a "prearranged scenario," state owned English-language Press TV reported.

He accused Arash Hejazi, a doctor who says he tried to save Neda's life in her final moments, of fanning the flames of the western media hype, the TV station said on its website.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs dismissed Ahmadi-Moghaddam's allegation as "misinformation."

"I think the notion that the death of an innocent woman would be staged is -- even with them, it's shocking," Gibbs said.

Ahmadinejad on Wednesday cancelled a trip to Libya, where he was due to have addressed a summit of African leaders in the seaside town of Sirte at the invitation of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi.

Pressure of work was blamed for the cancellation and it was impossible to know whether Ahmadinejad's pullout was connected with the wave of opposition which has swept Iran since the election, triggering the worst crisis since the Islamic revolution in 1979.

Foreign media remain banned from reporting from Iranian streets under restrictions imposed in the violent election aftermath.

Mousavi called for a guarantee of freedom of assembly, a free press, the lifting of bans on independent newspapers and websites and for the possibility to have "an independent television network."

The former prime minister also demanded the release of people arrested for "political reasons" and an end to "telephone tapping".

Etemad Melli said its publication was suspended on Wednesday as a direct result of Karroubi's latest statement.

"Last night, after Karroubi's statement was released, representatives of the Tehran prosecutor and the culture ministry prevented the publication of Etemad Melli newspaper," his party of the same name said on its website.

"They wanted the statement censored and not published -- so the newspaper will not be published today," it said.

Among people still held by the Iranian authorities is one local staff member from the British embassy out of nine who were detained on allegations of stoking the unrest, Press TV reported.

A British Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "The latest situation is two of our staff have been released over the last two days. We are also seeking confirmation that a further member of staff has been released today.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the arrest of the nine embassy employees "is unjustified and it is unacceptable and some people in Iran are trying to seek to use Britain as an explanation for the legitimate Iranian voices calling for greater openness and democracy."

EU countries are considering a proposal from Britain for a temporary recall of all of their ambassadors from Iran in protest at the detention of the British embassy employees by Tehran, a European diplomatic source said.

In a sign of life in Iran returning to normal, the text messaging network was restored on Wednesday after being cut off since June 12.

ADELPHI, Maryland (Reuters) –
Prescription painkillers that include acetaminophen should be pulled from the U.S. market because they can make it too easy for patients to take dangerously high doses, a government advisory panel narrowly recommended on Tuesday.

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel of outside experts voted 20-17 to urge the agency to eliminate such products, which include, among others, Abbott Laboratories' Vicodin and Endo Pharmaceuticals' Percocet -- two drugs that combine acetaminophen with powerful opioids.

"This is clearly the biggest cause of overdose problems," said panelist Dr. Marie Griffin, a preventive medicine professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

The recommendation is one of several from the panel, which is weighing potential steps the agency can take to help prevent liver damage and even death seen in patients who take too much acetaminophen.

Overdoses of acetaminophen, most commonly known as Johnson & Johnson's Tylenol, have long been known to cause liver failure and even death.

Acetaminophen use is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the 1,600 cases seen each year in the United States, according to a 2007 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate.

FDA officials are concerned that warnings are not heeded by consumers and are looking for new ways to reduce the number of overdoses. The agency will weigh the panel's recommendations before making any final decisions.

Other makers of acetaminophen, or products that contain it, include Bayer AG, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Perrigo Co, Procter & Gamble, Schering-Plough and Wyeth.

The panel stopped short of recommending a ban of over-the-counter cough, cold and other medications that combine acetaminophen with other ingredients, voting 24-13 to keep them on store shelves.

Still, it said over-the-counter pain drugs and other medications containing acetaminophen should come in lower doses and that the highest dose currently on the market should only be available with a doctor's prescription.

Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit, which makes Tylenol, said it strongly disagreed with that advice and that its products are safe. Changing dose strengths was "likely to lead to more serious adverse events as consumers shift to other over-the-counter products such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs," it said in a statement.

Those anti-inflammatory painkillers, also known as NSAIDs, which include aspirin and ibuprofen, are know to cause stomach bleeding. The FDA earlier this year called for stronger warnings for both NSAIDS and acetaminophen products to highlight the stomach and liver risks.

At the meeting, panelists also said additional changes to product packaging, including graphics, could also help alert consumers to the risks.

"I think we have to send the message that there are problems with this medication," said Winifred Landis, a pharmacist from Indiana.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Tim Dobbyn and Steve Orlofsky)

Can a mortgagee qualify an asset for the Loan Modification option when the mortgagor is unemployed, the spouse is employed, but the spouse name is not on the mortgage?

Based upon this scenario, the mortgagee should conduct a financial review of the household income and expenses to determine if surplus income is sufficient to meet the new modified mortgage payment, but insufficient to pay back the arrearage. Once this process has been completed the mortgagee should then consult with their legal counsel to determine if the asset is eligible for a Loan Modification since the spouse is not on the original mortgage.

http://www.modificationsloan.net/Loan_Modifications.html

Grand pianos have the frame and strings placed horizontally, with the strings extending away from the keyboard. This makes the grand piano a large instrument, for which the ideal setting is a spacious room with high ceilings for proper resonance. There are several sizes of grand piano. Manufacturers and models vary, but a rough generalization distinguishes the "concert grand" (between about 2.2 m to 3 m long) from the "parlor grand" (about 1.7 m to 2.2 m) and the smaller "baby grand" (which may be shorter than it is wide).

A relatively recent development is the prepared piano, which is used in contemporary art music. A prepared piano is a standard grand piano which has had objects placed inside it before a performance in order to alter its sound, or which has had its mechanism changed in some way. The scores for music for prepared piano often instruct the pianist to insert pieces of rubber or small pieces of metal (screws or washers) in between the strings. These added items either mute the strings or create unusual vibrating sounds.

Grand Piano Covers

MORONI, Comoros – A Yemeni jetliner carrying 153 people crashed into the Indian Ocean on Tuesday as it attempted to land amid severe turbulence and howling winds. Officials said a teenage girl was plucked from the sea, the only known survivor.
The crash in waters off this island nation came two years after aviation officials reported equipment faults with the plane, an aging Airbus 310 flying the last leg of a Yemenia airlines flight from Paris and Marseille to Comoros, with a stop in Yemen to change planes.
Most of the passengers were from Comoros, a former French colony. Sixty-six on board were French nationals.
Khaled el-Kaei, the head of Yemenia's public relations office, said a 14-year-old girl survived the crash, and Yemen's embassy in Washington issued a statement saying a young girl was taken to a hospital. It also said five bodies were recovered.
Sgt. Said Abdilai told Europe 1 radio that he rescued the girl after she was found bobbing in the water. She couldn't grasp the life ring rescuers threw to her, so he jumped into the sea, Abdilai said. He said rescuers gave the trembling girl warm water with sugar.
There were earlier statements from officials that a 5-year-old boy survived. El-Kaei said that was not known and the airline had lost contact with its office in Comoros because of bad weather.
Yemeni civil aviation deputy chief Mohammed Abdul Qader said the flight data recorder had not been found and it was too early to speculate on the cause of the crash. But he said winds in excess of 40 miles per hour were pummeling the plane as it was landing in darkness in the early morning hours Tuesday.
Turbulence was believed to be a factor in the crash, Yemen's embassy in Washington said.
"The weather was very bad," Qader said, adding the windy conditions were hampering rescue efforts.
The Yemenia plane was the second Airbus to crash into the sea this month. An Air France Airbus A330-200 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, killing all 228 people on board, as it flew from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
Mohammed Moqbel, a Yemeni pilot who has flown to the Comoros, said the route can be difficult because of the geography and weather.
"The airport is also very poor in terms of equipment," said Moqbel. "They don't have advanced radars to guide planes."
The tragedy — and dwindling hopes that anyone else made it out alive — prompted an outcry in the Comoros, where residents complained of a lack of seat belts on Yemenia flights and planes so overcrowded that passengers had to stand in the aisles.
The Comoros, a former French colony of 700,000 people, is an archipelago of three main islands situated 1,800 miles south of Yemen, between Africa's southeastern coast and the island of Madagascar.
Gen. Bruno de Bourdoncle de Saint-Salvy, the senior commander for French forces in the southern Indian Ocean, said the Airbus 310 crashed in deep waters about nine miles north of the Comoran coast and 21 miles from the Moroni airport. Searchers encountered an oil slick at the site, the Yemeni Embassy statement said.
French aviation inspectors found a "number of faults" in the plane's equipment during a 2007 inspection, French Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau said on France's i-Tele television Tuesday. He did not elaborate
In Brussels, European Union Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani said the airline had previously met EU safety checks and was not on their blacklist. But he said a full investigation was being launched amid questions about why the passengers — who originated in Paris — were transferred on another jet in the Yemeni capital of San'a.
An Airbus statement said the plane that crashed went into service 19 years ago, and had accumulated 51,900 flight hours. It has been operated by Yemenia since 1999. Airbus said it was sending a team of specialists to the Comoros.

The A310-300 is a twin-engine widebody jet that can seat up to 220 passengers. There are 214 A310s in service worldwide, with 41 operators.

A crisis center was set up at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Many passengers were from the French city of Marseille, home to around 80,000 immigrant Comorans, more even than Comoros' capital of Moroni.

Yemenia has long been a target of criticism for the poor condition of its passenger cabins, with recent passenger complaints about missing or faulty seat belts.

Still, analysts have cautioned against equating the condition of the passenger cabin on any airline with the aircraft's maintenance records.

Yemenia airways has a solid safety record. In 2008 it passed the International Airline Transport Association's operational safety audit, a rigorous set of inspections considered an indication of high quality for any airline.

One problem that does crop up with older aircraft, particularly when a certain model has been discontinued, is the issue of fake replacement parts, experts said.

Airline companies sometimes unwittingly purchase fake parts, which are then put into aircraft by their maintenance crews. Despite rigorous international efforts to root out counterfeit spares in the past decade, they are still believed to be in circulation.

"Pirate spare parts remain a big maintenance problem in aviation," said Capt. Harry Eggerschwiler, chief of operations for the African Civil Aviation Authority. "This is true everywhere in the world and not just in (developing) countries."

Some French Comorans insisted their complaints about the airline's safety weren't heeded by authorities.

Zalifa Youssouf, a member of SOS Voyages, which seeks to improve passenger conditions and safety, told France's i-Tele television that the Comoran community had complained about the flight from San'a to Comoros.

She said the planes were dirty, frequently did not have safety belts and that flight attendants often did not speak French, just Arabic which passengers did not understand. "We felt we were in danger," Youssouf said.

Mohamed Ali, a Comoran who went to Yemenia's headquarters in Paris to try to get more information about the doomed flight, said complaints about safety went unheeded. "Some people stand the whole way to Moroni," he said.

In France, school vacations began this week and many on the plane were heading home to visit.

Christophe Prazuck, French military spokesman, said a patrol boat and reconnaissance ship were sent to the crash site as well as a military transport plane. The French were sending divers as well as medical personnel, he said.

Yemenia airline officials said the 11-member crew was made up of six Yemenis, including the pilot, two Moroccans, an Indonesian, an Ethiopian and a Filipino.

___

Al-Haj contributed to this report from San'a, Yemen. Associated Press writers Deborah Seward, Angela Charlton and Greg Keller in Paris, Sarah El Deeb in Cairo and Yoann Guilloux in Saint-Denis de la Reunion, Reunion Island, contributed to this report.

DETROIT (Reuters) –
Michael Curry was sacked as Detroit Pistons coach on Tuesday after just one season in charge.

"This was a difficult decision to make," said Joe Dumars, Pistons president of basketball operations in a statement on the team's website (www.nba.com/pistons).

"I want to thank Michael for his hard work and dedication to the organization. However, at this time, I have decided to make a change."

Under Curry the Pistons finished with a regular-season record of 39-43 and advanced to the playoffs where they were swept from the first round in four games by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The results fell far short of the high expectations for a team that had reached the conference finals the previous six years.

A former Pistons player, Curry watched the season unravel following an unpopular trade in which popular point guard Chauncey Billups moved to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Allen Iverson.

While Billups revived the Nuggets, Iverson flopped in Detroit and ended the season on the injury list.

(Writing by Steve Keating in Toronto; Editing by Ed Osmond)

Click Here

On desktop machines, KDE, GNOME and Xfce are the most popular user interfaces, though a variety of other user interfaces exist. Most popular user interfaces run on top of the X Window System (X), which provides network transparency, enabling a graphical application running on one machine to be displayed and controlled from another.

Many quantitative studies of open source software focus on topics including market share and reliability, with numerous studies specifically examining Linux. The Linux market is growing rapidly, and the revenue of servers, desktops, and packaged software running Linux is expected to exceed $35.7 billion by 2008.

NEW YORK – Hundreds of Michael Jackson fans circled the block around Harlem's famed Apollo Theater Tuesday for a public tribute to the pop star, some spontaneously singing their favorite songs and dancing in the street.
"I thought that in my time I'd have the opportunity to see him in concert," said Victoria Campomames, who did a brief moonwalk on the sidewalk as "Rock With You" played from a nearby store. "This is about the closest I'm gonna get."
Campomames, wearing a Jackson-style spangled black jacket, fedora and white gloves, took the day off from her job at a grocery store in Morrisville, Vt., for the all-day tribute to Jackson at the fabled venue that helped make him a star.
Thousands were expected to pay their respects at the theater, which planned to let them in 600 at a time to listen to his music, watch a video tribute and leave flowers and memorabilia.
The event was set to start at 2 p.m., but many people were already waiting Tuesday morning, dancing as they lined up with T-shirts, posters, album covers and other mementoes.
Ebony Johnson, 19, arrived at midnight to secure a spot near the front of the line, clutching a Jackson scrapbook she started when she was 14. An image of the star was tattooed on her left arm. She said she got the tattoo last month in anticipation of his planned comeback shows in London.
"I love him so much — I can't explain that in words," she said. "I felt like Michael was my family."
Fans wrote messages on a wall of remembrance outside the 125th street theater. "God bless and be with you M. Jackson," wrote one fan. "We all share your grief. Love always," read a message to his family.
Fans began converging on the Apollo soon after Jackson died Thursday in Los Angeles. It has continued to serve as an impromptu memorial site in the days since.
The pop icon's ties to the theater go back to 1967, when The Jackson 5 won the Apollo's Amateur Night contest. The appearance is credited with helping to launch the brother act's career, which later propelled Jackson to solo stardom.
Jackson last appeared at the Apollo in 2002, invited by former President Bill Clinton for a Democratic National Committee fundraiser.
Tuesday's salute was to begin with a eulogy by the Rev. Al Sharpton. A moment of silence was planned for 5:26 p.m., the time East Coast fans learned that Jackson had died.
The Apollo also played a role in remembrances for James Brown after his death in 2006, hosting a public viewing of the "Godfather of Soul" for thousands of fans.

NEW YORK (Reuters) –
General Motors Corp's chief executive told a U.S. bankruptcy court on Tuesday that the sale of GM's main assets to government-backed "New GM" must win court approval in order for the iconic automaker to survive.

Fritz Henderson told the court that if the sale is not approved by July 10 and GM loses access to government funding, the company would be forced to liquidate. He testified on the first day of a hearing at which the automaker is seeking court approval for the sale just 30 days after filing for Chapter 11.

"Business is doing better" at GM, Henderson said, as customers, suppliers, workers and others anticipate the completion of a successful deal. He added that the automaker had originally hoped to repay its loans to the government and restructure outside of bankruptcy.

Henderson also discussed the ouster of former GM CEO Rick Wagoner, saying that Wagoner told him that he had been asked to step down by Steve Rattner, head of the Obama administration's autos task force.

The GM sale hearing, before Judge Robert Gerber, is expected to continue for at least two days, as the company faces objections and questions from its creditors committee, a group of dissenting bondholders, those with liability and asbestos claims against the company, as well as unions and dealerships.

A lawyer for GM, Harvey Miller of Weil Gotshal & Manges, opened the proceeding by noting the company had made progress on some of the objections about tort claims and state tax claims, but that others were still unresolved.

If the deal is approved, GM will be able to sell its best assets, including Chevrolet and Cadillac, under Section 363 of the bankruptcy code to a "New GM" while the U.S. Treasury would provide billions of dollars in financing.

GM's old assets would remain behind in bankruptcy court to be liquidated.

BIG WIN FOR U.S. AUTOS TASK FORCE

A successful sale would mark the second big victory for the Obama administration's autos task force, which earlier this month also helped broker the sale of Chrysler LLC to a group led by Italy's Fiat SpA. The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for that deal to go through on June 9.

Outside the Manhattan courthouse, about 75 union-affiliated protesters carried placards and chanted "Save our benefits."

No competing bidders have emerged as an alternative to the U.S. government's $60 billion financing for GM, including a proposed equity investment of $50 billion that would give the U.S. Treasury a 60 percent ownership stake.

Under the plan, the United Auto Workers union would gain a 17.5 percent stake in New GM, the Canadian government would own about 12 percent, and GM bondholders are expected to get about 10 percent.

GM has said more than 50 percent of its bondholders support the deal, but a group of small bondholders mounted a challenge to the sale in court on Tuesday.

Several other individual bondholders have filed objections to the sale, along with the state of Texas which contends the sale illegally challenges state laws on dealerships, and a group representing about 300 Americans with lawsuits against GM for alleged product defects.

GM, however, resolved a key objection from nine state attorneys general over the weekend, saying New GM would accept liability for future product defects. The company also said it would address objections raised by more than 20 of its parts suppliers.

The case is In re: General Motors Corp, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 09-50026.

(Reporting by Emily Chasan and Caroline Humer, editing by Matthew Lewis)

Guitars are recognized as one of the primary instruments in blues, country, flamenco, rock music, and many forms of pop. They can also be a solo classical instrument. Guitars may be played acoustically, where the tone is produced by vibration of the strings and modulated by the hollow body, or they may rely on an amplifier that can electronically manipulate tone. Such electric guitars were introduced in the 20th century and continue to have a profound influence on popular culture.

Before the development of the electric guitar and the use of synthetic materials, a guitar was defined as being an instrument having "a long, fretted neck, flat wooden soundboard, ribs, and a flat back, most often with incurved sides". Instruments similar to the guitar have been popular for at least 5,000 years.

visit

Online Kids Games

The input device normally used to manipulate video games is called a game controller, which varies across platforms. For instance, a dedicated console controller might consist of only a button and a joystick, or feature a dozen buttons and one or more joysticks. Early personal computer based games historically relied on the availability of a keyboard for gameplay, or more commonly, required the user to purchase a separate joystick with at least one button to play. Many modern computer games allow the player to use a keyboard and mouse simultaneously.

Females have been shown to be significantly attracted to playing certain online multi-user video games that offer a more communal experience, and small amount of young females have been shown to play aggressive games that are sometimes thought of as being "traditionally male" games. According to the ESRB almost 41% of PC gamers are women.. With such video game social networks as Miss Video Game and Guild Cafe having a large percentages of female gamers the "traditionally male" games are now considered cross-gendered.

NEW YORK – People are clamoring to see Michael Jackson's old videos in the wake of his death — especially "Thriller."
On Tuesday, Internet video research firm Visible Measures, said Jackson's most famous music video has been watched more than 8.5 million times online since his death Thursday.
Visible Measures, which counts Internet-wide video traffic, also factored in other versions of "Thriller," including the dance video produced by Filipino prisoners.
While many of Jackson's videos have been popular, the 14-minute John Landis-directed "Thriller," made in 1983, is his most famous.

JENSEN BEACH, Fla. – Authorities said a man has been charged with domestic battery after he drenched his wife with a garden hose and elbowed her for smoking in the house. An arrest report shows that the 51-year-old husband was charged Saturday. Police said the couple began arguing when the wife began smoking a cigarette in their home.
When the victim picked up the phone and began calling a friend, authorities said the husband believed she was trying to call police and elbowed her in the mouth during a struggle to grab the phone.
The woman was soaked with water when deputies arrived. The husband told deputies he had been watering the grass and did not intend to spray her.
The man was taken to the Martin County Jail and released after posting bond.
___
Information from: The Stuart News, http://www.tcpalm.com

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) –
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Democrat Al Franken the winner of a tight Senate race over Republican Norm Coleman, effectively giving Democrats a critical 60-seat majority needed to push through President Barack Obama's agenda.

Coleman told reporters in St Paul, Minnesota: "I will abide by (the court's) result."

Under state law, the court's decision gives Franken, a well-known satirist and a former writer and actor for the popular Saturday Night Live television show, the right to occupy the seat.

The vote count was the subject of recounts and legal battles since last November's election.

Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty has said he would certify the election winner based on what the state court decides. Pawlenty, considered a possible presidential contender in 2012, said he would not run for governor again next year, which clears an avenue for Coleman to run for governor.

The Minnesota court, in its 32-page ruling, knocked down each of Coleman's five legal arguments that an earlier vote recount had been unfair.

The court said Franken was "entitled" to the certificate of election, which must be signed by Pawlenty and Minnesota's Secretary of State, Democrat Mark Ritchie.

Democrats will now control 60 of the 100 Senate seats -- enough to overcome Republican procedural roadblocks.

However, Senate Democrats may not be able to rely on the votes of some members, including Arlen Specter, the former Republican from Pennsylvania who switched parties in April. Specter has said he will vote his own way and not necessarily along party lines.

SEE-SAW RACE

Coleman, seeking a second term, held a razor-thin 206-vote lead in initial results after the November 4 election.

But the close vote triggered an automatic recount of the 2.4 million ballots cast for the two men, and Franken edged to a 225-vote lead. That was challenged by Coleman and a judicial panel agreed to add only a few hundred previously rejected absentee ballots. That tally expanded Franken's lead to 312.

Franken would be the 58th Senate Democrat, the most the party has had since 1981. They could muster the 60 votes needed to clear Republican procedural hurdles known as filibusters -- provided all Democrats stick together and are joined by two independents who routinely vote Democratic.

The last time either party had a filibuster-proof 60 was 1979 when Democrats held 61 and Democratic Jimmy Carter was president.

Gaining the 60 Senate votes could help President Barack Obama move his ambitious agenda through the chamber, and thus Congress. Democrats also control the House of Representatives, 256 to 178 with one vacancy.

There is no guarantee Senate Democrats would all fall in line to pass Obama's top initiatives, and the Democratic president knows it.

"I am under no illusions that suddenly I'm going to have a rubber-stamp Senate," Obama said in April after Specter switched parties.

"I've got Democrats who don't agree with me on everything, and that's how it should be," the president said.

The Franken-Coleman duel was the longest contested Senate election since a 1974 New Hampshire race, which was voided 10 months later due to voting irregularities, according to the Senate historian's office.

(Additional reporting by Tom Ferraro in Washington; Writing by Andrew Stern; Editing by David Storey)

WASHINGTON – U.S. officials said Tuesday that a North Korean ship has turned around and is headed back toward the north where it came from, after being tracked for more than a week by American Navy vessels on suspicion of carrying illegal weapons.
The move keeps the U.S. and the rest of the international community guessing: Where is the Kang Nam going? Does its cargo include materials banned by a new U.N. anti-proliferation resolution?
The ship left a North Korean port of Nampo on June 17 and is the first vessel monitored under U.N. sanctions that ban the regime from selling arms and nuclear-related material.
The Navy has been watching it — at times following it from a distance. It traveled south and southwest for more than a week; then, on Sunday, it turned around and headed back north, two U.S. officials said on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence.
Nearly two weeks after the ship left North Korea, officials said Tuesday they still don't know where it is going. But it was some 250 miles south of Hong Kong on Tuesday, one official said.
Though acknowledging all along that the Kang Nam's destination was unclear, some officials said last week that it could be going to Myanmar and that it was unclear whether it could reach there without stopping in another port to refuel.
The U.N. resolution allows the international community to ask for permission to board and search any suspect ship on the seas. If permission for inspection is refused, authorities can ask for an inspection in whichever nation where the ship pulls into port.
North Korea has said it would consider any interception of its ships a declaration of war.
Two officials had said earlier in the day Tuesday that the Kang Nam had been moving very slowly in recent days, something that could signal it was trying to conserve fuel.
They said they didn't know what the turnaround of the ship means, nor what prompted it.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, said Sunday that Washington was "following the progress of that ship very closely," but she would not say whether the U.S. would confront the Kang Nam.
The sailing of the vessel — and efforts to track it — set up the first test of a new U.N. Security Council resolution that authorizes member states to inspect North Korean vessels. The sanctions are punishment for an underground nuclear test the North carried out in May in defiance of past resolutions.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, the Obama administration imposed financial sanctions on a company in Iran that is accused of involvement in North Korea's missile proliferation network.
In the latest move to keep pressure on Pyongyang and its nuclear ambitions, the Treasury Department moved against Hong Kong Electronics, a company located in Kish Island, Iran. The action means that any bank accounts or other financial assets found in the United States belonging to the company must be frozen. Americans also are prohibited from doing business with the firm.

DETROIT – Gunmen in a green minivan opened fire on a group of teenagers waiting at a bus stop near a Detroit school on Tuesday, wounding at least seven including two who were in critical condition, authorities said.
At least five of the teens, including the two in critical condition, had just gotten out of summer classes at Cody Ninth Grade Academy when they were shot at the nearby bus stop, said Detroit Public Schools Police Chief Roderick Grimes.
Two gunmen, possibly three, emerged from the green minivan and "asked for a person by name" before they "opened fire at the crowd," Detroit Police spokesman Rod Liggons told WXYZ-TV.
The students' names and ages weren't immediately released.
"We have confirmed the name of several of the students, but we have to make sure we talk with the parents," Detroit Public Schools emergency financial manager Robert Bobb said at the scene of the shooting on Detroit's west side.
Bria Wilson, 15, was standing at the bus stop when she heard the gunfire. Wilson said she was facing away from the shooters and ran away after the shots were fired. She said she saw a 16-year-old male friend lying on the ground, bleeding.
"They were so close — it almost hit me," said Wilson, who was heading home from summer school classes at Cody Academy.
___
Associated Press writers Ben Leubsdorf and David N. Goodman contributed to this report.
(This version CORRECTS RECASTS; UPDATES with details, witness quote, other comment; corrects that shootings were at a 9th grade academy, not Cody High School; ADDS byline, contributor line.)

HOUSTON (Reuters) –
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Texas financier Allen Stanford, accused of a $7 billion fraud, held without bail until trial.

U.S. prosecutors had argued that Stanford, who faces life in prison if convicted on all charges contained in a 21-count indictment, had the means and motive to flee.

"In total, the evidence proffered by the government is sufficient to weigh in favor of detention," U.S. District Judge David Hittner said in an order that revokes a $500,000 bond that a magistrate had granted Stanford on Thursday.

"We are very disappointed and we are going to appeal to the 5th Circuit," Dick DeGuerin, Stanford's lawyer said in a statement.

Stanford, who is more accustomed to jetting around the globe in his private planes, has been in custody since his arrest on June 18 in Virginia. He is currently being held in a federal detention center in a facility 40 miles north of Houston.

The government accuses the billionaire of leading a massive Ponzi scheme using the investor funds from certificates of deposit issued by his bank in Antigua.

Stanford sought to avoid detection by creating false accounting records, lying to investors and bribing a regulatory official in Antigua, according to prosecutors.

The case, filed in federal court in Houston, is United States of America v. Robert Allen Stanford H-09-342.

(Additional reporting by Bruce Nichols and Erwin Seba in Houston; editing by Carol Bishopric)