May 18, 2013 ? Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, have shown that these brain regions can over-or under-react in response to stressful tasks, such as recalling a traumatic event or reacting to a photo of a threatening face. Now, researchers at NYU School of Medicine have explored for the first time what happens in the brains of combat veterans with PTSD in the absence of external triggers.
Their results, published in Neuroscience Letters, and presented today at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatry Association in San Francisco, show that the effects of trauma persist in certain brain regions even when combat veterans are not engaged in cognitive or emotional tasks, and face no immediate external threats. The findings shed light on which areas of the brain provoke traumatic symptoms and represent a critical step toward better diagnostics and treatments for PTSD.
A chronic condition that develops after trauma, PTSD can plague victims with disturbing memories, flashbacks, nightmares and emotional instability. Among the 1.7 million men and women who have served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an estimated 20% have PTSD. Research shows that suicide risk is higher in veterans with PTSD. Tragically, more soldiers committed suicide in 2012 than the number of soldiers who were killed in combat in Afghanistan that year.
"It is critical to have an objective test to confirm PTSD diagnosis as self reports can be unreliable," says co-author Charles Marmar, MD, the Lucius N. Littauer Professor of Psychiatry and chair of NYU Langone's Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Marmar, a nationally recognized expert on trauma and stress among veterans, heads The Steven and Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center for the Study of Post-Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury at NYU Langone Medical Center.
The study, led by Xiaodan Yan, a research fellow at NYU School of Medicine, examined "spontaneous" or "resting" brain activity in 104 veterans of combat from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars using functional MRI, which measures blood-oxygen levels in the brain. The researchers found that spontaneous brain activity in the amygdala, a key structure in the brain's "fear circuitry" that processes fearful and anxious emotions, was significantly higher in the 52 combat veterans with PTSD than in the 52 combat veterans without PTSD. The PTSD group also showed elevated brain activity in the anterior insula, a brain region that regulates sensitivity to pain and negative emotions.
Moreover, the PTSD group had lower activity in the precuneus, a structure tucked between the brain's two hemispheres that helps integrate information from the past and future, especially when the mind is wandering or disengaged from active thought. Decreased activity in the precuneus correlates with more severe "re-experiencing" symptoms -- that is, when victims re-experience trauma over and over again through flashbacks, nightmares and frightening thoughts.
Key scientific contributors include researchers at NYU School of Medicine, the University of California at San Francisco, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, and the Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases at the VA Medical Center in San Francisco.
Sprint was clearly hungry for capacity when it bought spectrum from US Cellular last fall, and it's at last getting its fill -- some of it, at least -- by closing the deal today. The carrier has officially taken possession of 20MHz in airwaves across Midwestern cities like Champaign, Chicago and South Bend, as well as 10MHz in St. Louis. The customer handover isn't quite as grandiose as was mentioned in November, however: Sprint is ultimately adopting 420,000 US Cellular customers, rather than the originally claimed 585,000. It should be a relatively bump-free transition, no matter who's included in the group. Sprint expects the switch to take several months, and it's keeping the US Cellular network active while customers go hunting for discounted phones.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Despite Democratic fears, predictions of the demise of President Barack Obama's agenda appear exaggerated after a week of cascading controversies, political triage by the administration and party leaders in Congress and lack of evidence to date of wrongdoing close to the Oval Office.
"Absolutely not," Steven Miller, the recently resigned acting head of the Internal Revenue Service, responded Friday when asked if he had any contact with the White House about targeting conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status for special treatment.
"The president's re-election campaign?" persisted Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.
"No," said Miller.
The hearing took place at the end of a week in which Republicans repeatedly assailed Obama and were attacked by Democrats in turn ? yet sweeping immigration legislation advanced methodically toward bipartisan approval in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The measure "has strong support of its own in the Senate," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., a member of the panel.
Across the Capitol, a bipartisan House group reported agreement in principle toward a compromise on the issue, which looms as Obama's best chance for a signature second-term domestic achievement. "I continue to believe that the House needs to deal with this," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who is not directly involved in the talks.
The president's nominee to become energy secretary, Ernest Moniz, won Senate confirmation, 97-0. And there were signs that Republicans might allow confirmation of Sri Srinivasan to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, sometimes a stepping stone to the Supreme Court.
Separately, a House committee approved legislation to prevent a spike in interest rates on student loans on July 1. It moves in the direction of a White House-backed proposal for future rate changes to be based on private markets.
Even so, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said, "It's been a bad week for the administration."
Several Democratic lawmakers and aides agreed and expressed concern about the impact on Obama's agenda ? even though much of it has been stymied by Republicans for months already.
At the same time, Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., voiced optimism that the IRS controversy would boost the push for an overhaul of the tax code, rather than derail it. "It may make a case for a simpler tax code, where the IRS has less discretion," he said.
Long-term budget issues, the main flash point of divided government since 2011, have receded as projected deficits fall in the wake of an improving economy and recently enacted spending cuts and tax increases.
Even before Obama began grappling with the IRS, the fallout from last year's deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, and from the Justice Department's secret seizure of Associated Press phone records, the two parties were at odds over steps to replace $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts. In particular, Obama's call for higher taxes is a nonstarter with Republicans.
Other high-profile legislation and presidential appointees face difficulties that predate the current controversies.
Months ago, Obama scaled back requested gun safety legislation to center on expanded background checks for firearms purchasers. That was derailed in the Senate, has even less chance in the House and is unlikely to reach the president's desk.
Republicans oppose other recommendations from the president's State of the Union address, including automatic increases in the minimum wage, a pre-kindergarten program funded by higher cigarette taxes and more federal money for highways and bridge repair.
In a clash that long predates the IRS controversy, Senate Republicans seem intent on blocking Obama's nomination of Tom Perez as labor secretary. Gina McCarthy's nomination to head the Environmental Protection Agency is also on hold, at least temporarily, and Democrats expect Republican opposition awaits Penny Pritzker, Obama's choice for commerce secretary.
Rhetorically, the two parties fell into two camps when it came to the White House troubles. Democrats tended to describe them as controversies, Republicans often used less flattering terms.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., accused the administration of fostering a "culture of intimidation." He referred to the IRS, the handling of the Benghazi attack and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' "fundraising among the industry people she regulates on behalf of the president's health care law."
Two days later, Camp, a 23-year veteran lawmaker, opened the IRS hearing by calling the agency's actions part of a "culture of cover-ups and intimidation in this administration." He offered no other examples.
Rep. Trey Radel, a first-term Florida Republican, said in an interview, "What we're looking at now is a breach of trust" from the White House.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California offered a scathing response when asked if the controversies would hamper Obama's ability to win legislation from the Republican-controlled House. "Well, the last two years there was nothing that went through this Congress, and it was no AP, IRS or any other (thing) that we were dealing with."
"They just want to do nothing. And their timetable is never," she said of GOP lawmakers.
Similarly, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid gave no ground on Benghazi, a dispute that increasingly centered on talking points written for administration officials to use on television after the attack last September in which U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed.
"It's obvious it's an attempt to embarrass President Obama and embarrass Hillary Clinton," he said of Republican criticism that first flared during last year's election campaign.
On a third front, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., resurrected legislation that would requiring a judge to approve subpoenas for news media communications records when investigating news leaks said to threaten the national security. It was a response to the FBI's secret, successful pursuit of Associated Press phone records in a current probe.
While Democrats counterattacked on Benghazi and parried on leaks, they bashed the IRS' treatment of conservative groups as improper if not illegal ? and warned Republicans not to overplay their hand.
Ken Venturi, who overcame dehydration to win the 1964 U.S. Open and spent 35 years in the booth for CBS Sports, died Friday afternoon. He was 82.
His son, Matt Venturi, said he died in a hospital in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Venturi had been hospitalized the last two months for a spinal infection, pneumonia, and then an intestinal infection that he could no longer fight.
Venturi died 12 days after he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
He couldn't make it to the induction. His sons, Matt and Tim, accepted on his behalf after an emotional tribute by Jim Nantz, who worked alongside Venturi at CBS.
"When dad did receive the election into the Hall of Fame, he had a twinkle in his eye, and that twinkle is there every day," Tim Venturi said that night.
Venturi was all about overcoming the odds.
A prominent amateur who grew up in San Francisco, he captured his only major in the 1964 U.S. Open at Congressional, the last year the final round was 36 holes. In oppressive heat, Venturi showed signs of dehydration and a doctor recommended he stop playing because it could be fatal. Venturi pressed on to the finish, closed with a 70 and was heard to say, "My God, I've won the U.S. Open."
He had a severe stuttering problem as a child, yet went on to become one of the familiar voices in golf broadcasting. He began working for CBS in 1968 and lasted 35 years.
"We all knew what a wonderful player Ken Venturi was, and how he fashioned a second successful career as an announcer," Jack Nicklaus said. "But far more important than how good he was at playing the game or covering it, Ken was my friend. Ken was fortunate in that the game of golf gave him so much, but without question, Ken gave back far more to the game he loved than he ever gained from it. Over the years, Ken developed a circle of friends that is enormous and whose collective heart is heavy today."
Venturi played on one Ryder Cup team and was U.S. captain in the 2000 Presidents Cup.
As an amateur, he was the 54-hole leader in the 1956 Masters until closing with an 80, and he was runner-up at Augusta National in 1960 to Arnold Palmer, who birdied the last two holes.
Venturi was born May 15, 1931, in San Francisco, and he developed his game at Harding Park Golf Course. He won the California State Amateur at Pebble Beach in 1951 and 1956, while serving in the Army in Korea between those two amateur titles.
His stammering problem is what led him to golf.
"When I was 13 years old, the teacher told my mother, 'I'm sorry, Mrs. Venturi, but your son will never be able to speak. He's an incurable stammerer,'" Venturi said in 2011. "My mother asked me what I planned to do. I said, 'I'm taking up the loneliest sport I know,' and picked up a set of hickory shaft across the street from a man and went to Harding Park and played my first round of golf."
He turned pro after his close call in the 1956 Masters, and won his first PGA Tour at the St. Paul Open Invitational. Venturi won eight times over the next three years, including the Los Angeles Open and the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach, before injuries started to affect his game after nearly winning the 1960 Masters.
He hurt his back in 1961 and badly injured his wrist in a car accident the next year. He missed the U.S. Open three straight years until he narrowly qualified for Congressional. It turned out to be an epic final day for the Californian coping with broiling heat.
Venturi shot 66 in the third round, but was feeling weak during the break before the final round that afternoon. John Everett, a doctor and member at Congressional, checked on him and found a normal pulse but symptoms of dehydration.
"Dr. Everett told me ... I was lying next to my locker and he says, 'I suggest that you don't go out. It could be fatal,'" Venturi said in 2011 when he returned to Congressional for the U.S. Open. "I looked up at him and I said, 'Well, it's better than the way I've been living.' And I got off the floor, and I do not remember walking to the first tee. I don't remember the front nine until I started coming into it."
Venturi was so shaken, so weak, when it was over that his final act was to sign the scorecard. He couldn't even read the numbers. Joe Dey, the executive director of the USGA, looked over his shoulder, checked the scores and told him to sign it.
Sports Illustrated honored him as its "Sportsman of the Year" in 1964.
Venturi won three more times, his last win coming in 1966 at the Lucky International at Harding Park, where it all started.
He eventually developed Carpel Tunnel Syndrome in his hands and was forced to retire. That's when he moved into the booth as the lead analyst for CBS Sports, and his voice filled living rooms for the next 35 years until he retired in 2002.
Venturi was elected to the Hall of Fame through the Lifetime Achievement category.
"If there is some sense of fairness, it is that Ken was inducted into a Hall of Fame that he very much deserved to be in and, in fact, should have been in for many years," Nicklaus said. "While I know he was not able to be there in person for his induction, I am certain there was an overwhelming sense of pride and peace that embraced Ken. It was a dream of Ken Venturi's that became a reality before he sadly left us."
Venturi is survived his wife of 10 years, Kathleen, and his two sons. Matt Venturi said services were pending.
Bailey and Callie face frightening situations in the dark halls of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
Shonda Rhimes recently promised "Grey's Anatomy" fans that they'd need to "hug a friend" to the weather the storm during Thursday's season finale, and the show's creator was not lying.
With a perfect storm outside and no power inside, it was one fright after another in the halls of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
Oh, baby! First, Meredith went into labor and required a C-section -- by flashlight. But no sooner was baby Bailey born than he was whisked away to NICU with Daddy McDreamy. Just one problem: Dr. Grey was still on the table, bleeding out in the dark.
"Meredith Grey has survived a bomb, a drowning, a gunman and a plane crash -- and she's still here," Cristina reminded Derek once they learned of her condition. "She's going to die when she's like 90, old and warm in her bed. She's not going to die today."
Well, thanks to quick-acting, grown-up Bailey, Cristina was right about that last part. (Whew!)
RIP, relationships Meredith survived, but the love connection between Callie and Arizona? Not so much. Callie realized that Arizona was finding comfort in the arms of Lauren, and Arizona lashed out. It seems her decision to stray didn't have anything to do with arms, but it had everything to do with a leg -- or the lack of a leg.
Looks like that partnership is as dead as Owen and Cristina's. (Yeah, that happened too.)
Noooooooooooo! There are worse deaths -- like the one that seemed to befall one beloved character.
In an effort to restore the power, Dr. Webber went down to fix the electrical situation with a simple flip of a switch. Unfortunately, electricity and the puddle Richard was standing in just didn't mix. He was last seen lying very still, eyes closed, wrapped in smoldering clothes.
Of course, no one was around to call the time of death, so there's still hope. (Right?!)
LAS VEGAS (AP) ? O.J. Simpson's former lawyer has some explaining to do.
Miami attorney Yale Galanter is scheduled to testify Friday in Simpson's bid for a new trial.
Galanter, according to Simpson, advised the former football star that it was his legal right to retrieve personal items from two memorabilia dealers; told Simpson not to testify in the Las Vegas trial that eventually sent him to prison; failed to tell Simpson that prosecutors offered plea deals; and failed to raise the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel on appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court.
Galanter hasn't been subpoenaed, so he isn't compelled to appear.
He is invited as a key state's witness in a hearing that, since Monday, has revolved around Galanter's promises, payments and performance in the 2008 trial that sent the 65-year-old former football hero to prison for nine to 33 years for armed robbery and kidnapping.
H. Leon Simon, the chief deputy Clark County district attorney handling the case, said he and Galanter have what amounts to a gentleman's agreement for Galanter to come to Las Vegas.
"I take him at his word," Simon said. "He has assured me he wants to come and testify, as an officer of the court."
Galanter faces some uncomfortable questions about his trial preparation, the nearly $700,000 he was paid but allegedly didn't share with the Las Vegas lawyer at his side and why he didn't try to block prosecutors from playing for the jury secret recordings that amounted to a soundtrack of Simpson and his five pals confronting two sports collectibles brokers and a middleman in a cramped casino hotel room.
Jim Barnett, owner of a Las Vegas home where Simpson stayed during trial in September 2008, said he asked Galanter why he wasn't hiring an expert to analyze the recording.
"He said, 'If you would give us $250,000, we would have it done. We don't have the money to analyze the tapes," Barnett testified.
Galanter later assured the trial judge that the tapes had been analyzed.
He also faces questions about what he knew about Simpson's plan, when he knew it, and whether he should have told what he knew to get Simpson off the hook.
"He's a vital witness," said veteran Las Vegas trial lawyer Dayvid Figler. "He has information that no one can share."
Galanter said this week that he wouldn't comment about the hearing until after he testifies.
Las Vegas attorney Michael Cristalli, who has provided television network analysis of the Simpson hearings, said he expected Galanter will say he did his best in Simpson's case.
"He'll say he provided effective representation of Mr. Simpson, that he examined every witness zealously, and that he prepared exhaustively," Cristalli said, "and that there's no evidence to the contrary."
Simpson still maintains that he didn't know anyone in the hotel room had guns, and that he had a right to the items he was after ? football mementos, awards, photos and personal items that he said were stolen from him while he was moving out of his Los Angeles home.
The move followed Simpson's "trial of the century" acquittal in the 1994 the slayings of his ex-wife and her friend, and a 1997 civil judgment that ordered him to pay $33.5 million to the estates of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
"I talked to Yale about it two or three times," Simpson said during his testimony Wednesday. "The overall advice he was giving was, 'You have a right to get your stuff.'"
Key among Simpson's 19 claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and conflict of interest being considered by District Court Judge Linda Marie Bell is the allegation that Galanter should have provided witness testimony supporting Simpson's contention that he didn't know he was breaking the law.
Simpson says the two even talked about it over dinner the night before the ill-fated confrontation in September 2007, and that Galanter told him that if Simpson recovered the suit he wore the day he was acquitted in Los Angeles, Galanter would like to have it.
Bell has made no indication whether she plans an immediate ruling or will issue a written decision later.
The most damaging testimony about Galanter's performance came from three other lawyers involved in the case: Gabriel Grasso and Malcolm LaVergne, who represented Simpson, and Brent Bryson, who represented a Simpson co-defendant who also was convicted.
Each said Galanter seemed more interested in what he was paid and protecting himself from having to testify than in fully representing his client.
LaVergne, who argued with Galanter when both worked on Simpson's appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, testified Thursday that he believed Galanter's involvement shaped his trial strategy.
But stepping away from the case would have cost Galanter hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees.
"Do you think Mr. Galanter made decisions based on a conflict of interest?" Simpson lawyer Patricia Palm asked.
"From what I know now, absolutely," LaVergne said. "There's no doubt about it."
The acting IRS chief lost his job Wednesday because of the tea party investigation, and Republican leaders want more. But the scandal really points to an IRS in over its head, some experts say.
By David Grant,?Staff writer / May 15, 2013
President Obama makes a statement in the White House in Washington Wednesday on the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups for extra tax scrutiny.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
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President Obama announced that acting IRS commissioner Steven Miller tendered his resignation on Tuesday, making a man who took the helm after the Internal Revenue Service had stopped targeting conservative groups the first casualty of the IRS?s misdeeds.
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?It?s important to institute new leadership that can help restore confidence going forward,? Mr. Obama said.
But tax experts and campaign-finance analysts say the solution may be less in trying to dig out bad apples than in overturning the entire cart. The IRS scandal is just the latest argument for why America?s tax code may be too complex to function ? too massive and ambiguous for an underfunded IRS to enforce well and too complicated for taxpayers to comprehend.
?This will be an issue we delve into in tax reform,? said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D) of Montana, his chamber?s leading tax-reform champion, on the Senate floor Wednesday. ?Clearly something is amiss for the IRS to behave the way it did. ?
The president vowed that the White House would work ?hand-in-hand? with members of Congress investigating the IRS and that Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew would immediately begin implementing recommendations from an inspector general?s report chronicling the fact that IRS agents gave special scrutiny to tea party groups in 2011 and 2012, actions the president called ?inexcusable.?
Attorney General Eric Holder told a congressional panel earlier in the day that the Department of Justice is continuing a criminal investigation of IRS officers involved in the matter.
While Obama had previously hedged his statements on the IRS?s bad behavior in the careful tones of someone waiting for all the facts, the release of the inspector general?s report Tuesday evening gave way to an angrier, more direct approach.
?The misconduct that it uncovered is inexcusable, and Americans are right to be angry about it, and I am angry about it,? he said. ?I will not tolerate this behavior in any agency but especially at the IRS, given the power that it has and the reach that it has in all of our lives.?
That angry disposition certainly matches the attitude on Capitol Hill, where House Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio said that jail time, not resignations, would be the true measure of accountability.
But the IRS, despite its troubling performance in the matter at hand, is otherwise playing a losing hand.
First is an issue of dollars.
?The tax code has become unmanageably large, and there hasn?t even been an attempt to keep the IRS paced with that,? in regard to funding, says Lloyd Mayer, a professor of law at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind.
For that reason, Nina Olsen, the nation?s taxpayer advocate, argued in congressional testimony last week that since her tenure began with the IRS in 2001 she has ?never been more concerned? about its ability to advise taxpayers and accurately collect taxes.
Khloe Kardashian is many things: reality TV star, outspoken older sister to sisters Kim and Kourtney, savvy business woman and doting wife to NBA star Lamar Odom. But many may not know about another important role she plays -- stepmom.
Odom, whom she married in 2009 after a month-long courtship, has two kids with ex girlfriend Liza Morales. (Their third child died of SIDS at six months old in 2006.)
In the latest issue of Redbook, on newsstands now, Kardashian opened up about what it's like being a stepmom.
When asked if stepparenting has been hard for her, Kardashian replied, "Everything can be hard. But I had the most phenomenal teacher ever: Bruce Jenner. He loved my dad and never spoke ill about him. I would never want Lamar's kids to think I didn't totally support them. I love their mom, and they need to know that."
Great advice!
Click through the slideshow below to learn more about the Kardashians and four other Hollywood blended families.
Kris and Bruce Jenner
When Kris and Bruce Jenner <a href="http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/01/kris-jenner-robert-kardashian-divorce-details-documents">tied the knot</a> in April 1991, they each had <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20141784,00.html">four children from previous marriages</a>. The Kardashian matriarch had Kourtney, Kim, Khloe and Robert from her marriage to the <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2003/oct/02/local/me-kardashian2">late Robert Kardashian</a> and Jenner <a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/19820404/SPORTS11/50627032/Bruce-Jenner-Graceland-College-1982?nclick_check=1">had two children</a> (son Burt and daughter Casey) with his first wife Chrystie Crownover and two sons (Brandon and Brody) from his <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20092921,00.html">marriage to Linda Thompson</a>.
The reality show couple later had two more children together -- daughters <a href="http://www.tmz.com/person/kendall-jenner/">Kendall</a> and <a href="http://www.tmz.com/person/kylie-jenner/">Kylie.</a> If you're keeping track, that's a whopping 10 kids.
Marie Osmond and Stephen Craig
Marie Osmond famously <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20486972,00.html">remarried her first husband</a>, Stephen Craig, in May 2011, almost 30 years after their <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20486972,00.html">first trip down the aisle</a>. Their first marriage produced one son, Stephen, who was <a href="http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=H6pRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SxIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6537,4559616&hl=en">born in 1983</a>.
After their split, Osmond <a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705372424/Mormons--Media-Marie-Osmonds-wedding-day.html?pg=all">married music producer Brian Blosil</a> in 1986 with whom she had <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1254282/Marie-Osmonds-teenage-son-Michael-Blosil-commits-suicide.html">two biological children</a> (Rachael and Matthew)<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1254282/Marie-Osmonds-teenage-son-Michael-Blosil-commits-suicide.html"> and five adopted children</a> (Jessica, Michael, Brandon, Brianna and Abigail). The pair <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20033248,00.html">split in 2007</a>. The Osmond-Blosil-Craig clan boasted eight children until tragedy struck in 2010 when adopted son <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/27/michael-blosil-suicide-ma_n_479483.html">Michael committed suicide</a>.
Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw
Director Steven Spielberg and actress Kate Capshaw <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/9099283/Oscars-2012-director-and-star-couples-in-film.html?image=6">met when she was cast</a> in his 1984 film "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." When they <a href="http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1991-10-15/news/9110150408_1_kate-capshaw-spielberg-steven">got married in October 1991</a>, Spielberg already had one son, Max, with his <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1989-06-30/entertainment/ca-2952_1_couple-s-property-petition-divorce">ex-wife Amy Irving</a>. Capshaw had a <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20149384,00.html">daughter, Jessica, from her previous marriage</a> to Robert Capshaw and one <a href="http://xfinity.comcast.net/slideshow/entertainment-morecelebrityadoptiveparents/13/">adopted son, Theo</a>, whom Spielberg later adopted too.
Spielberg and Capshaw <a href="http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1996-04-01/news/9603310261_1_jess-walter-dangerous-minds-hottest">adopted another child</a> together, Mikaela, and had <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000229/bio">three more biological children</a> together: Sasha, Sawyer and Destry Allyn for a grand total of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/04/style/chronicle-587869.html">seven kids</a>.
Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner
Before they <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20104315,00.html">split in 1994</a>, Kevin Costner <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=111389&page=1#.UHSZsvmfGRk">had three children</a> (Anne, Lily and Joe) with Cindy Silva -- his <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20104315,00.html">wife of 16 years</a>. Costner also had <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20136601,00.html">a son, Liam,</a> with former girlfriend Bridget Rooney in 1996.
In 2004, the "Hatfields & McCoys" actor <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,702154,00.html">tied the knot</a> with handbag designer Christine Baumgartner. The couple have <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/8340761/Kevin-Costner-interview-I-had-to-stop-making-films.html">three children of their own</a>, <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/movies/2007-05-07-87631846_x.htm">Cayden</a>, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/13/kevin-costners-wife-has-a_n_166664.html">Hayes</a> and <a href="http://www.popeater.com/2010/06/03/kevin-costner-seventh-child/">Grace</a>. The final tally? Seven kids.
Steve Harvey and Marjorie Bridges
Before comedian Steve Harvey and Marjorie Bridges <a href="http://www.bvnewswire.com/2009/11/06/steve-harvey-wife-marjorie-essence-interview/">got married </a>in June 2007, Harvey already had four children with two different women. He had three children with his first wife Marcia -- <a href="http://www.essence.com/2012/03/12/disney-dreamers-academy-2012-magical-and-star-studded/">twin girls</a> Karli and Brandi, and son S<a href="http://www.blackcelebkids.com/2008/05/steve-harvey-loves-his-blended-family/" target="_hplink">teven, Jr.</a> With his <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/08/steve-harveys-court-docum_n_820370.html">second wife, Mary Shackelford</a>, he had one son named Wynton. Bridges had <a href="http://www.bvnewswire.com/2009/11/06/steve-harvey-wife-marjorie-essence-interview/">three children</a> from a previous marriage. Between the two of them, they have<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/steve-harvey-stepfamilies/story?id=8703514#.UHSlYvmfGRk"> seven kids. </a>
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How should geophysics contribute to disaster planning?Public release date: 16-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jason Socrates Bardi jbardi@aip.org 240-535-4954 American Institute of Physics
Identifying natural hazards is only a part of what the field should do, analysis suggests, and effective disaster risk reduction strategies integrate many different experts on community level
Earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters often showcase the worst in human suffering especially when those disasters strike populations who live in rapidly growing communities in the developing world with poorly enforced or non-existent building codes.
This week in Cancun, a researcher from Yale-National University of Singapore (NUS) College in Singapore is presenting a comparison between large-scale earthquakes and tsunamis in different parts of the world, illustrating how nearly identical natural disasters can play out very differently depending on where they strike.
The aim of the talk at the 2013 Meeting of the Americas, which is sponsored by the American Geophysical Union (AGU), is to focus on the specific role geoscientists can play in disaster risk reduction and how their work should fit in with the roles played by other experts for any given community.
"To reduce the losses from these disasters, a diverse group of researchers, engineers, and policy makers need to come together to benefit from each other's expertise," said Brian McAdoo, professor of science at Yale-NUS College. "Geophysicists play a crucial role in natural hazard identification and determining the key questions of, how often does a geophysical hazard affect a given area and how big will it be when it hits?" McAdoo said. "We need to be aware of how this information is incorporated into the disaster planning architecture."
San Francisco, Haiti, and New Zealand
In his talk, McAdoo will present case studies that he and his colleague Vivienne Bryner compiled comparing death counts and economic fallout following geophysical events of similar magnitude in areas with different levels of economic development.
What their analysis shows is that deaths tend to be higher in poor countries exposed to severe natural disasters because of existing socioeconomic, environmental, and structural vulnerabilities. At the same time, economic losses tend to be higher in developed nations, but developing countries may be less able to absorb those economic losses that do occur.
As an example, he points to the earthquakes that hit Haiti, San Francisco, and Christchurch and Canterbury, New Zealand, in 2010, 1989 and 2010-2011. While the quakes were nearly identical in magnitude, the consequences of these natural disasters were remarkably different.
Some 185 people died in the 2011 Canterbury earthquake, which was preceded by the larger Christchurch quake in 2010 in which nobody died. Both quakes and their aftershocks cost New Zealand about $6.5 billion, which was approximately 10-20 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). The 1989 San Francisco earthquake killed 63 people, and it cost $5.6 billion (the equivalent of about $10 billion in 2010 dollars). The U.S. economy is so large, however, that it only caused a one-tenth of one percent drop in U.S. GDP. The 2011 earthquake in Haiti, on the other hand, killed some 200,000 people and resulted in economic losses approaching an estimated $8 billion, which is more than 80 percent of Haiti's GDP.
To address such disparities, McAdoo advocates what is known as Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) decision making a framework for finding solutions to best prepare for natural disasters, lessen their impact, and sensibly engage in post-disaster reconstruction. For such planning to work, he said, it must be broad-based.
"We won't ever be able to prevent disasters," he said. "The only way we will effectively minimize the effects of hazards is to collaborate across academic disciplines, businesses, governments, NGOs, and perhaps most critically the exposed community."
"Planning for any sort of natural disaster takes insight into what may be expected, which necessarily includes the important perspective of scientists," added Philip ("Bo") Hammer, Associate Vice President for Physics Resources at the American Institute of Physics (AIP) and co-organizer of the session in which McAdoo is speaking. "One reason why we organized this session in the first place was to encourage the sharing of such perspectives within the context of how geophysicists can build local capacity, not only for dealing with acute issues such as disasters, but also longer term challenges like building capacity for economic growth."
The talk, "Building Capacity for Disaster Risk Reduction," will be presented by Brian G. McAdoo and Vivienne Bryner on Friday, May 17, 2013, at the 2013 Meeting of the Americas in Cancn, Mexico. McAdoo is affiliated with Yale-NUS College in Singapore, and Bryner is at University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.
###
About the 2013 Meeting of the Americas
Around 1,500 scientists are expected to present new findings in the Earth and space sciences in Cancn at the 2013 Meeting of the Americas. Organizers of the meeting, which takes place 14-17 May, are planning scientific sessions on such subjects as the 2012 Costa Rica earthquake, the Chicxulub impact crater, natural hazard monitoring in the Caribbean, new solar exploration missions and much more. All scientific sessions take place in the Cancn Center, Quintana Roo, Mexico. More meeting information can be accessed at: http://www.agu.org/news/press/pr_archives/2013/2013-09.shtml.
This press release was prepared by the American Institute of Physics (AIP).
About American Institute of Physics
The American Institute of Physics is an organization of 10 physical science societies, representing more than 135,000 scientists, engineers, and educators. Through its Physics Resources Center, AIP delivers valuable services and expertise in education and student programs, science communications, government relations, career services for science and engineering professionals, statistical research in physics employment and education, industrial outreach, and the history of physics and allied fields. AIP publishes the flagship magazine, Physics Today, and is also home to Society of Physics Students and the Niels Bohr Library and Archives. AIP owns AIP Publishing LLC, a scholarly publisher in the physical and related sciences.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
How should geophysics contribute to disaster planning?Public release date: 16-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jason Socrates Bardi jbardi@aip.org 240-535-4954 American Institute of Physics
Identifying natural hazards is only a part of what the field should do, analysis suggests, and effective disaster risk reduction strategies integrate many different experts on community level
Earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters often showcase the worst in human suffering especially when those disasters strike populations who live in rapidly growing communities in the developing world with poorly enforced or non-existent building codes.
This week in Cancun, a researcher from Yale-National University of Singapore (NUS) College in Singapore is presenting a comparison between large-scale earthquakes and tsunamis in different parts of the world, illustrating how nearly identical natural disasters can play out very differently depending on where they strike.
The aim of the talk at the 2013 Meeting of the Americas, which is sponsored by the American Geophysical Union (AGU), is to focus on the specific role geoscientists can play in disaster risk reduction and how their work should fit in with the roles played by other experts for any given community.
"To reduce the losses from these disasters, a diverse group of researchers, engineers, and policy makers need to come together to benefit from each other's expertise," said Brian McAdoo, professor of science at Yale-NUS College. "Geophysicists play a crucial role in natural hazard identification and determining the key questions of, how often does a geophysical hazard affect a given area and how big will it be when it hits?" McAdoo said. "We need to be aware of how this information is incorporated into the disaster planning architecture."
San Francisco, Haiti, and New Zealand
In his talk, McAdoo will present case studies that he and his colleague Vivienne Bryner compiled comparing death counts and economic fallout following geophysical events of similar magnitude in areas with different levels of economic development.
What their analysis shows is that deaths tend to be higher in poor countries exposed to severe natural disasters because of existing socioeconomic, environmental, and structural vulnerabilities. At the same time, economic losses tend to be higher in developed nations, but developing countries may be less able to absorb those economic losses that do occur.
As an example, he points to the earthquakes that hit Haiti, San Francisco, and Christchurch and Canterbury, New Zealand, in 2010, 1989 and 2010-2011. While the quakes were nearly identical in magnitude, the consequences of these natural disasters were remarkably different.
Some 185 people died in the 2011 Canterbury earthquake, which was preceded by the larger Christchurch quake in 2010 in which nobody died. Both quakes and their aftershocks cost New Zealand about $6.5 billion, which was approximately 10-20 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). The 1989 San Francisco earthquake killed 63 people, and it cost $5.6 billion (the equivalent of about $10 billion in 2010 dollars). The U.S. economy is so large, however, that it only caused a one-tenth of one percent drop in U.S. GDP. The 2011 earthquake in Haiti, on the other hand, killed some 200,000 people and resulted in economic losses approaching an estimated $8 billion, which is more than 80 percent of Haiti's GDP.
To address such disparities, McAdoo advocates what is known as Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) decision making a framework for finding solutions to best prepare for natural disasters, lessen their impact, and sensibly engage in post-disaster reconstruction. For such planning to work, he said, it must be broad-based.
"We won't ever be able to prevent disasters," he said. "The only way we will effectively minimize the effects of hazards is to collaborate across academic disciplines, businesses, governments, NGOs, and perhaps most critically the exposed community."
"Planning for any sort of natural disaster takes insight into what may be expected, which necessarily includes the important perspective of scientists," added Philip ("Bo") Hammer, Associate Vice President for Physics Resources at the American Institute of Physics (AIP) and co-organizer of the session in which McAdoo is speaking. "One reason why we organized this session in the first place was to encourage the sharing of such perspectives within the context of how geophysicists can build local capacity, not only for dealing with acute issues such as disasters, but also longer term challenges like building capacity for economic growth."
The talk, "Building Capacity for Disaster Risk Reduction," will be presented by Brian G. McAdoo and Vivienne Bryner on Friday, May 17, 2013, at the 2013 Meeting of the Americas in Cancn, Mexico. McAdoo is affiliated with Yale-NUS College in Singapore, and Bryner is at University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.
###
About the 2013 Meeting of the Americas
Around 1,500 scientists are expected to present new findings in the Earth and space sciences in Cancn at the 2013 Meeting of the Americas. Organizers of the meeting, which takes place 14-17 May, are planning scientific sessions on such subjects as the 2012 Costa Rica earthquake, the Chicxulub impact crater, natural hazard monitoring in the Caribbean, new solar exploration missions and much more. All scientific sessions take place in the Cancn Center, Quintana Roo, Mexico. More meeting information can be accessed at: http://www.agu.org/news/press/pr_archives/2013/2013-09.shtml.
This press release was prepared by the American Institute of Physics (AIP).
About American Institute of Physics
The American Institute of Physics is an organization of 10 physical science societies, representing more than 135,000 scientists, engineers, and educators. Through its Physics Resources Center, AIP delivers valuable services and expertise in education and student programs, science communications, government relations, career services for science and engineering professionals, statistical research in physics employment and education, industrial outreach, and the history of physics and allied fields. AIP publishes the flagship magazine, Physics Today, and is also home to Society of Physics Students and the Niels Bohr Library and Archives. AIP owns AIP Publishing LLC, a scholarly publisher in the physical and related sciences.
[ | 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.
Strap in, folks. Some of the top brass from Google's Android team are about to take the stage here at Google I/O, and maybe we'll get answers to a few of the burning questions from this year's conference. Plus, it's a chance for developers to chat directly with the other folks who make the magic happen.
It kicks off at 8:20 p.m. on the east coast, and 5:20 here in the west.
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Public release date: 16-May-2013
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