While the cause of the blast in West, Texas, is still undetermined, what is clear is that the West Fertilizer Company stored large quantities of reactive products in the middle of a small town with little state or federal oversight. Citizens must be empowered to act when regulators don't.
By Thomas O. McGarity / April 29, 2013
Mike Maler, right, comforts neighbor Lori Eisma when he visits her house in West, Texas, April 27. Mr. Maler's home was also destroyed by the West Fertilizer Company explosion on April 17. Op-ed contributor Thomas O. McGarity writes: 'Given the reluctance of Congress to properly fund the regulatory agencies, it may be time to give workers and neighbors the tools' to hold companies accountable.
Kye R. Lee/The Dallas Morning News/AP
Enlarge
The tragic explosion at a West, Texas, fertilizer plant April 17 is the most recent manifestation of a badly debilitated system of regulatory protections.
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
Although the cause of the blast is still undetermined, what is clear is that the West Fertilizer Company stored large quantities of highly reactive products, including anhydrous ammonia and ammonium nitrate, in the middle of a small town with very little oversight from state or federal agencies. Ammonium nitrate was used by the Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in 1995, killing 168 people. The West, Texas, explosion killed 14, and injured nearly 200.
Texas does not have an occupational safety and health program that meets federal requirements. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is therefore responsible for ensuring the safety of potentially dangerous workplaces like the West facility.
OSHA has inspected the West plant exactly once in the company?s 51-year history. That 1985 inspection detected multiple ?serious? violations of federal safety requirements for which the company paid a grand total of $30 in fines. OSHA?s 1992 process-safety-management standard for highly hazardous chemicals is supposed to protect against disasters like the West explosion, but it wasn?t in place for that inspection.
Regardless, OSHA lacks the resources to undertake the kind of comprehensive inspection needed to ensure compliance with the process safety standard at small facilities like West Fertilizer Company. OSHA?s tiny staff of around 2,400 inspectors is spread so thin that it would take more than 90 years to conduct even cursory inspections of all eligible workplaces in Texas.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inspected the facility in 2006 and assessed a fine of $2,300 for failing to update a risk management plan, among other violations involving employee training records and maintenance. The company responded in 2011 with an updated plan stating that the ?worst case release scenario? was a release of the contents of a storage tank over a period of 10 minutes; the threat of an explosion was not mentioned. The EPA? was apparently satisfied. The EPA lacks the staff to inspect any given facility more than once every decade or so.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has so few inspectors that it can only inspect small plants like the West facility in response to complaints. It inspected the West plant in 2006 in response to a complaint about bad odors, and it was satisfied when the company applied for a new permit. Inspectors weren?t focused on the risk of explosion, though the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration did fine the company $5,250 that year for improperly planning to transport anhydrous ammonia.
Before we left on our year long backpacking journey around the world, I had made some assumptions about the trip. Many assumptions. One of those was that we would play lots of games. I brought a deck of cards thinking we?d play rummy all the time. We played twice. I downloaded a chess app on our iPad thinking I?d finally learn to play. We never opened it. So how did we pass so much time when traveling on planes, buses, and trains? Well Auston slept nearly the entire time, waking to eat a snack and then passing back out. And I read a lot.
Still, we do love playing games back home and I like to think I come from a game-loving family. My mom and sister are always introducing new games to us and some of them are perfect for travelers. As we begin planning some side trips around Spain and France, it?s time to think about excellent game options for traveling light!
Let?s get more creative than a deck of cards. Everyone knows they can bring one and probably should because game options are endless. Of course there are also the games requiring no supplies at all like ?20 Questions? and ?Would You Rather?. If those suit you then great, but if you?re over the typical card and verbal games, then here are some other options to consider adding to your travel luggage for your next trip.
1. Farkle
Courtesy of elversonpuzzle.com/farkle
This is a dice game that was introduced to us by our family when we arrived home from our round-the-world trip. It involves?a bit of luck and little strategy as you roll six dice, keeping the points you want. Then you re-roll the remaining dice while being cautious that if no more scoring dice are rolled, you lose all your points for that round. All you need is at least two players, six dice and a way of keeping score (pen/paper or phone/tablet).?Rules here.
2. Quiddler
Courtesy of boardsillyonline.com
If you?re into word games but don?t fancy traveling around with a whole Scrabble set, then Quiddler is a great option. It?s a card game where the goal is to create words with the highest point value possible beginning the first round with only three cards and working your way up to the final round with ten cards. It can be played with 1-8 players so you can pass the time solo or with some new travel friends. Rules here.
3. Bananagrams
Courtesy of banagrams.net
Another fun word game that?s even more reminiscent of Scrabble is Bananagams, for 2-7 players. Every player works independently and simultaneously to build words from the letter tiles in a crossword format. Once a player has used up all their tiles without any misspellings or incorrect words, that player is declared the winner. Rules here.
4. Pass the Pigs
Courtesy of www.flickr.com/photos/julianhoad/1935174003
This is the only game on the list that we haven?t actually played before but it was recommended to us as fun game that?s convenient for travel as well. All you need is the two pig dice and a way of keeping score. The game is for two to ten players and like Farkle, it?s about pressing your luck. If you roll the pigs in a scoring position (the way they land is worth various points), you decided wether to take the points and end your turn or roll again and risk losing all your points. How lucky do you feel? Rules here.
There you have four great game options that won?t take up the precious remaining space in your travel luggage. Add them to your travel gear and be ready to entertain yourself because you never know when you?ll have a long, boring flight delay!
Have you ever played any of these games? What?d you think? What?s your favorite game to have for your travels? Let us know!
Did you enjoy this article? Sign up for email updates from TwoBadTourists!
LIMA (Reuters) - Five people were rescued and two were missing on Sunday after a hot air balloon plunged into the chilly waters off the coast of Peru, officials said.
A police helicopter and navy boats helped pull five women out of the Pacific Ocean after searching for them for eight hours. They were taken to a hospital for treatment.
Two men were still missing, Interior Minister Wilfredo Pedraza told local media.
"I hope we can find them as soon as possible. The two are still missing. We only know that one of them tried to swim ashore. The search will continue, even through the night, until they are found," he told RPP radio without saying what caused the mishap.
The red-and-white balloon, carrying six passengers and a pilot, crashed near Canete, about 60 miles south of Lima, the capital. Local media indicated all those aboard were Peruvians.
At the 2013 White House Correspondents' Dinner, President Obama professed that he's looking to shake things up and improve his image in his second term as president. So it was only natural, POTUS said in his speech, to take a cue from his wife...
... and get bangs.
Cue the awesome Photoshopped photos:
Genius? Super creepy? Both?
The real thing:
February 13
February 12 in Jason Wu
February 15
February 7
January 22 in Naeem Khan
January 21 in Jason Wu
January 21 in Thom Browne & Reed Krakoff
January 21 in Thom Browne & J. Crew
January 20 in Reed Krakoff
January 19
January 6
January 5
Who Wore It Best: Michelle Obama or Rihanna?
In this segment's who wore it best, it is for two totally different women who wore similar dresses. So between Michelle Obama and Rihanna, who wore it best?
December 2012
(Getty photo)
December 2012
(Getty photo)
December 2012
(AFP/Getty photo)
December 2012
(AFP/Getty Images)
December 2012
(AFP/Getty Images)
December 2012
(Getty Images)
November 2012
(Getty Images)
November 2012
(Getty photo)
November 2012
(Getty photo)
October 2012
(Getty photo)
October 2012
(Getty photo)
October 2012
(AFP/Getty photo)
October 2012
(AFP/Getty photo)
October 2012
(Getty photo)
October 2012
(Getty photo)
October 2012
(Getty photo)
October 2012
(Getty photo)
September 2012
(Getty photo)
September 2012
(Getty photo)
September 2012
(McClatchy Tribune)
September 2012
(Getty photo)
September 2012
(AFP/Getty photo)
September 2012
(Getty photo)
September 2012 in Diane Von Furstenberg
(AFP photo)
August 2012
(AP photo)
August 2012
(Getty photo)
August 2012
(Getty photo)
August 2012 in Barbara Tfank
(Getty photo)
August 2012
(Getty photo)
August 2012
(Getty photo)
August 2012 in Bibhu Mohapatra
(NBC photo)
August 2012
(AP photo)
August 2012
(AP photo)
July 2012
(AP photo)
July 2012
(Getty photo)
July 2012 in Tracy Reese
(Twitter photo)
July 2012
(Getty photo)
July 2012
(Getty photo)
Want more? Be sure to check out HuffPost Style on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram at @HuffPostStyle. -- Do you have a style story idea or tip? Email us at stylesubmissions@huffingtonpost.com. (PR pitches sent to this address will be ignored.)
Minutes after losing by TKO to UFC light heavyweight Jon Jones, Chael Sonnen indicated his fighting days may be over.
"I'm not going to be one of the guys to hang around. If there's not a road to the title, then this sport isn't for me. I believe that was probably my last opportunity," Sonnen said to UFC commentator Joe Rogan.
He didn't specifically say "I'm retiring," but he did talk about the end of the road. This seems like more than the emotional ramblings of a fighter after a bad loss. B.J. Penn threatened retirement several times before it stuck. Nick Diaz has retired and unretired plenty of times.
Retirement wouldn't be out of the question. He's 36 years old and has fought in 40 fights after a long career as an amateur and collegiate wrestler.
If he does decide to retire, don't expect him to play shuffleboard and take up gardening. He already works as a commentator for Fox's broadcasts. During the last season of "The Ultimate Fighter," he proved to be a capable coach. Retirement would not mean Sonnen was done with MMA.
Sonnen talked his way into a title shot with Jones just months after he dropped a title shot to Anderson Silva at middleweight. Deserved or not, Sonnen has had several chances to win the UFC belt, and he hasn't won any of them. Not many fighters get more chances than he has. If the belt is the only thing that's important, why not retire?
For months, it was assumed the Chiefs would take tackle Luke Joeckel with the first pick in the draft.? Last night, the reality become otherwise.
The Chiefs bypassed Joeckel for Eric Fisher, and Joeckel won?t forget it.
?I wanted that first pick but, you know, it didn?t happen. And that definitely puts a chip on my shoulder,? Joeckel told PFT on Thursday night, after he was picked.? ?I?m ready to go work, I?m ready to go prove myself.? It kind of hurts even more that another offensive tackle was taken before me, so I?m ready to go. . . .
?I?ll probably wake up every single day thinking that and when I?m in the weight room . . . when I?m lifting, when I?m out in the field working, you know, that?s my entire goal.? I grew up in a very competitive family, always wanted to be the best.? And you know, going behind another guy in my same position is definitely going to push me.?
It also puts pressure on Fisher.
?Obviously the first pick gets a lot of expectations, a lot of pressure, but I think I perform very well under pressure,? Fisher told PFT on Thursday night.? ?I am somebody to take advantage of pressure situations and make the most of them.? A lot of people will break under their pressure, I?m not that kind of person.? I think any time in my life I?ve had that kind of expectation that I needed to meet, I think I?ve performed very well.?
There?s a chance both will perform well.? There?s also a chance, in theory, of a Peyton Manning/Ryan Leaf dichotomy.
After spending time last night with each guy, our money?s on the former.
This week on the TechCrunch Gadgets Podcast we talk about the Blackberry Q10, The HTC One, and the Fitbit Flex. This time we're joined by Matt Burns, Darrell Etherington, Chris Velazco, and a tiny thinger that won't fit into the bracelet. Enjoy!
* Lewandowski scored four goals against Real Madrid * Poland international refuses contract extension (adds details, background) BERLIN, April 26 (Reuters) - Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski have not signed a deal, the newly-crowned champions said on Friday, shooting down widespread speculation of another imminent surprise transfer. "Bayern, as opposed to some reports, has no contract with Robert Lewandowski," the Bavarian Champions League semi-finalists said in a brief statement. ...
We're still getting to grips with an Explorer edition of Google's Glass ourselves, but Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt has noted that Glass may take some getting used to. Talking to an audience on Thursday at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, he said that alongside the unusual sensation of voice control, people would have to develop new etiquette to deal with the fact that incoming wearables like Google Glass would be able to capture images and access information at whim. "There are obviously places where Google Glasses are inappropriate," he said, while stifling a cheeky wink.
By Mark Elkington MADRID, April 24 (Reuters) - Even Lionel Messi, so often Barcelona's saviour, was at a loss to explain how the La Liga leaders could come back from their Champions League semi-final mauling in Munich. Barca were thumped 4-0 away by an impressive Bayern Munich in their first leg on Tuesday, putting in one of their most toothless displays in recent memory. On Wednesday, they were greeted with newspaper headlines such as 'Historic beating' in Madrid-based daily Marca, 'Catastrophe' in Barcelona-based Mundo Deportivo, and 'Azulgrana Waterloo' in daily El Mundo. ...
SEATTLE (AP) ? Amazon.com says its net income declined in the first three months of the year even though revenue increased 22 percent, as its expenses continued to grow.
Amazon.com Inc. said Thursday that it earned $82 million, or 18 cents per share, in the first quarter. That's down 37 percent from $130 million, or 28 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. But it's higher than the 7 cents expected by analysts polled by FactSet.
Revenue rose 22 percent to $16.07 billion, from $13.19 billion. Analysts expected $16.14 billion.
Amazon's operating expenses rose 22 percent to $15.9 billion, from $13 billion.
Amazon says it expects revenue of $14.5 billion to $16.2 billion for the current quarter. Analysts had expected $15.92 billion.
Google just released a new Play Store version (4.0.27) that, at first glance, contained only very minor tweaks -- except for one little thing. A new policy change will no longer permit any apps to update without going through the Play Store's internal system. That won't affect most software, but there's a notable exception in Facebook, which recently added auto-downloading to the latest version of its Android app, allowing it to bypass Play. The new policy seems designed to put a stop to that kind of thing, but you never know -- it could be just be a coincidence.
Author: Martie McCabe | Total views: 122 Comments: 0 Word Count: 1031 Date:
At the present time, your online business needs a strong focus on Website marketing. Promoting yourself and your website online is vital to the success of your business. If you're not engaged in Online marketing already, now's the time to begin. Before you get started, make sure you check out these marketing tips to help you promote your web business.
Give something away to those visiting your website. One of the most popular giveaways used by online businesses is an interesting and relevant article. For example, if you are a general contractor, you might have a good article of home repair tips for your customers to download. This tells customers that you care about what is important to them.
Use persuasive words in your emails to customers, encouraging them to take a specific action. Actions you want customers to take can range from purchasing a product, visiting a page on your site or subscribing to your ezine. Since you can track these actions, you will be able to see how effective your marketing efforts are.
There is no exact formula to internet marking, rather it is half art and half science. You must research the online advertising methods that are effective within your industry and learn about newly designed techniques. This can sometimes be challenging.
Whatever claims you make in your website advertizing about top blogging sites, make sure you can back it up with facts. If people believe you are trying to sell them something, they are likely to be distrustful. Credibility is key; augment your sales pitch with support like references, customer testimonials and fact-based evidence. Unless you can substantiate your claims, you run the risk of appearing dishonest or lazy in the eyes of your prospective customers.
To advertise your product, you should create a sort of FAQ. For each issue or question, write a helpful answer, and be sure to mention your products as a solution. Write your questions with this in mind, giving yourself the subtle opportunity to promote your wares.
Affiliate marketing takes a lot of work and research. Choose a trusted mentor that you admire online. Many veteran internet marketers give out free advice, and some mentor newbies for a fee. Once you have chosen a technique you want to try, stick with it until it proves profitable or shows that you need to move on to a new technique. You may have a slow start, but in the end, it will be well worth the effort.
Customers should be able to provide a rating for products in your listing. Additionally, at your discretion, you can allow them to write a review of a product they have purchased. Not only can these reviews help you improve your products, but they allow potential customers to feel more confident in their purchasing decision.
Always avoid spam. Web crawlers, which quickly post hundreds or thousands of comments in a short amount of time, rarely produce the desired effect for your business. Instead, the lack of personalization when advertising could turn your customers off and cause them to become less interested.
Make sure the design of your website on blogging for dummies, makes your links highly visible. This will give the people interested in you, more ease when looking through your website. All of your information will not be hidden away in obscure links that no one can seem to find.
Always try to keep your content fresh and current on your website. If your site only contains dated information, potential customers may think the website is old or your company is closed. A website that is user-friendly and up-to-date is inviting for readers.
Tailor versions of your website to different audiences worldwide. Translate the content into multiple languages so that people all over the world can read your site. This is a potent approach to increase global sales. Customers who can read your website in their own language are more likely to make a purchase from the site.
Ask major companies to add your link to their site, this will make you more credible. Visitors will see these familiar and trusted names on your site and have a tendency toward association, giving you the benefit of the doubt as well as a favorable customer image. In the future, their larger customer base will think of you when they think of them.
Design your banners to be subtle and not annoying to visitors to your website. Do not let them know that it is really a link. Many people do not click banners, but they will not hesitate to click a link that will lead them to more info.
When marketing your business online, it's important that you make your customers feel as if they're in control. This might require you to set up your content in such a way that the customer actually dictates the flow. This is important today in a marketing world full of spam and unwanted opinions. Always have a link people can click on if they wish to discontinue emails from you.
Create a 500 error page that is user-friendly. This happens when your code does not work properly. A boring page that gives this message may annoy your potential customer. You can inform your customers that you know about the problem and are working on resolving it in by better methods than resorting to the generic error page.
Change around the links you use in your emails. Emails that are always the same are the ones that are most often ignored. Customers don't like seeing the same thing repeatedly, and it's important to offer variation to keep them engaged.
Most of the tactics you'll learn about are very easy to implement. You just need to make sure you implement them correctly. There are several approaches for this. So much information is at your disposal to begin to reap the rewards. By following these tips, you are well on your way to becoming a successful internet marketer.
Martie McCabe is an internet marketer.. My articles focuses on developing strategies and tips on blogging services. Learn more about promoting your blog and blog names. For more articles go to my blog at http://www.empowernetwork.com/10k/top-blogging-sites/
Related to: auto blogging - blog name - blogging for dummies - blogging services - custom blog - top blogging sites
1: Article Marketing Strategy: Putting Together a "Class Schedule" For Your Article Topics
Businesses go to so much trouble when there is one sure-fire, simple, very inexpensive way to attract new clients to a business: Teach a free class. That is what article marketing is like. Your articles are just like free classes. You teach your target readers something helpful in your article. Your resource box then says, "If you enjoyed this article you can visit my website and apply what you have learned."
2: Why You Need To Build Multiple Streams of Income For Yourself
Being an entrepreneur and earning multiple streams of income is a dream that many have, but in reality it does take some initial hard work to achieve this. Earning multiple streams of income is the wave of the future, and here are some tips and advice for you when you are looking for ways in which to do this for yourself.
3: Understanding Online Business Success
Starting a home based business to earn income online takes a significant amount of time and energy upfront to get things going. Not seeing results immediately can be discouraging and cause people to give up too early. In this article, we look at the process of starting a home based business and working through the frustrations to be there when the sales come flowing in.
4: What is Cyber Marketing And Why It Is So Important For The Success Of Your Website
Cyber marketing has now become an indispensable segment of e-commerce as well as the internet and World Wide Web related topics. Cyber marketing simply refers to a technique of attracting potential customers by advertising your products or services through such means as websites, emails, and banners.
5: The Best Way To Optimise Your Website SEO For Google Panda
If you want your SEO to work you now need to concentrate on appeasing Google Panda, and to do this you need to know what Google Panda's spiders/bots will be looking for. Find out here how to search engine optimise your website for the latest Google Panda algorithm, and achieve the success you deserve.
All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2013 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2013 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center now. The feds will have to figure out where he goes next while awaiting trial.
By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been hospitalized since his arrest, but if his condition continues to improve he will soon experience the hospitality of a high-security lockup while waiting for a trial that could be two years away, experts say.
"As soon as he is medically cleared, he'll be moved," said Steven Swensen, a former U.S. marshal who now runs a judicial security consulting firm. "This is a high-threat, high-profile situation."
Tsarnaev's condition improved from serious to fair on Tuesday. But his injuries -- including a gunshot wound to the head and neck that could be self-inflicted -- were so severe he initially communicated with investigators in writing.
The hospital and FBI have not released details of his treatment at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he was under heavy guard, or given any hint of when he might be released.
Video from a restaurant surveillance camera shows Dzhokhar Tsarnaev walking toward the scene of the second bombing and slipping his backpack off, investigators say. NBC's Pete Williams reports.
When it happens, the U.S. marshals and federal prosecutors will have to weigh distance from the courthouse against security and medical needs in choosing a new temporary home for the suspect.
Federal prisoners are sometimes sent to the Plymouth County Jail, which can handle high-risk prisoners but does not have extensive medical facilities. The state's Shattuck Hospital has a jail unit and is only about 20 minutes from the courthouse.
Further afield, there's the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, R.I., a privately run maximum-security federal detention facility less than an hour's drive Boston, or the federal prison hospital at Fort Devens in Harvard, Mass.
If it's Wyatt, Tsarnaev would be far from the first high-value prisoner locked up there. Rezwan Ferdus, who pleaded guilty to trying to fly bomb-laden model aircraft into the Capitol and the Pentagon, spent 399 days in solitary confinement at the facility before he was sentenced.
But the 771-inmate center has just four hospital beds, according to its annual report, and it became the subject of controversy in 2008 when an immigration detainee died of advanced cancer and the feds found he had been neglected.
Devens is a medical facility but doesn't typically house suspects before sentencing. The Bureau of Prisons said it can handle detainees of any security-risk level, but it's also about an hour from Boston.
Wherever he ends up, experts said, Tsarnaev will likely be subject to special administrative measures that could sharply curtail his contact with fellow prisoners and the outside world.
Elise Amendola / AP file
Devens Federal Medical Center is seen in Devens, Mass., in December 2011.
Stephen Huggard, a former Boston federal prosecutor who worked on the 9/11 investigation, said Tsarnaev's parents, who are in Russia and have insisted he's being framed, may not even be allowed to visit.
How long the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth student spends in a local lockup depends in large part on whether prosecutors decide to seek the death penalty -- a decision that is months away and will ultimately be made by Attorney General Eric Holder.
If the marathon bombing becomes a capital case, it could be "a couple a years" before a jury decides his fate, Huggard said.
Tsarnaev, 19, hasn't even been arraigned yet.
He nodded answers to a few questions at a cut-and-dried initial appearance before a magistrate in his hospital bed after being charged with one count of using a weapon of mass destruction and a second count of malicious use of an explosive.
The next step is for a grand jury to vote on an indictment. Technically, prosecutors have 30 days to get that done, but legal experts agree the deadline is likely to waived by both sides while they continue to investigate.
The suspect's next court date, May 30, would then be a status hearing, and he would not be arraigned until the indictment -- which could contain more charges and evidence than the criminal complaint signed this week -- is issued.
"There is no reason to rush at this point," said Dan Collins, a former federal prosecutor in Minnesota who worked on the Mumbai bombing case.
Tsarnaev has been assigned three federal public defenders who are likely, given what legal analysts describe as overwhelming evidence, to open discussions about a plea deal that would keep their client off death row at the "supermax" prison in Terre Haute, Ind.
"It wouldn't shock me if this ends in a plea," Huggard said.
"This is a kid, and as heinous as his acts are, he acted atypically for what we would expect for a terrorist," he said, noting that Tsarnaev was back at school and the gym after the bombing and before the bloody rampage that led to his arrest.
"Does it mean he didn't fully comprehend what he was doing? That's going to get explored by both sides."
But Huggard added that if Tsarnaev was telling the truth when he reportedly told investigators he and his older brother Tamerlan were lone actors and not sponsored or deployed by a terrorist cabal, it may make it harder to get the death penalty off the table.
"Then he has nothing to offer," he said. "Then he's just a guy who decided he wanted to blow up America."
This undated photo provided by the Illinois State Police shows Rick Smith, 43, of rural Morgan County in Illinois. Smith has been identified as the suspected gunman in the shooting deaths of five people, two women, one man and two young boys, in Manchester, Ill., early Wednesday morning, April 24, 2013. Smith died later after a car chase and gunfire exchange with police. (AP Photo/Illinois State Police)
This undated photo provided by the Illinois State Police shows Rick Smith, 43, of rural Morgan County in Illinois. Smith has been identified as the suspected gunman in the shooting deaths of five people, two women, one man and two young boys, in Manchester, Ill., early Wednesday morning, April 24, 2013. Smith died later after a car chase and gunfire exchange with police. (AP Photo/Illinois State Police)
Police tape is seen around a house in Manchester, Ill., Wednesday, April 24, 2013, where the bodies of five people were found slain early Wednesday in the tiny southwestern Illinois town. Authorities said a suspect was injured and taken into custody. (AP Photo/Regina Garcia Cano)
Police officials investigate the scene at a house in Manchester, Ill., where five people were found slain in the tiny southwestern Illinois town early Wednesday, April 24, 2013. Illinois State Police said the suspect died after a car chase and an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement. (AP Photo/The State Journal-Register, Ted Schurter)
Illinois State Police Lt. Col. Todd Kilby addresses the media gathered in Manchester, Ill., after five people were found slain at a house early Wednesday, April 24, 2013. Authorities said the suspect died after a car chase and an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement. (AP Photo/The State Journal-Register, Ted Schurter)
Illinois State Police process the scene Wednesday, April 24, 2013, near Winchester, Ill., where a suspect that was wanted in the deaths of five people in nearby Manchester, Ill., was wounded after a car chase and an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement. The suspect, who was driving the white sedan, died later at a hospital. (AP Photo/The State Journal-Register, Ted Schurter)
MANCHESTER, Ill. (AP) ? The nephew of a small-town Illinois mayor shot and killed five people, including two boys, before leading police on a chase that ended in an exchange of gunfire that left him dead, authorities said Wednesday.
Illinois State Police said they believe Rick O. Smith, 43, entered a Manchester home through the back door and shot the victims at close range with a shotgun, leaving two women, one man and the boys dead. Two people were found in a bedroom, two in a second bedroom and the man in the hallway. A sixth victim, a 6-year-old girl, was injured and taken to a Springfield hospital.
"The offender took the 6-year-old out of the residence and put her in the hands of a neighbor," State Police Lt. Col. Todd Kilby said.
Officials have not revealed a motive for the killings. Police said the victims are related. Authorities believe Smith and the victims were acquainted, but they didn't provide details of the relationships.
A bystander called police and told them that Smith fled the home in a white sedan. A car chase ensued, leading authorities to the nearby town of Winchester, where Smith and officers exchanged gunfire. Officers shot Smith, and he later died at a hospital.
Police said they found a rifle, shotgun and large hunting knife in Smith's car.
Coroner officials said they plan autopsies on the victims Thursday morning in Bloomington and identities would be released at that time.
Scott County State's Attorney Michael Hill said Smith, of rural Morgan County, had previous convictions for reckless homicide, drugs and bad checks.
Manchester Mayor Ronald Drake confirmed that Smith was his nephew, saying he hadn't spoken to Smith in two years, but he believed his nephew was unemployed. Drake said the last time Smith contacted him was to borrow tools.
In Manchester, yellow police tape surrounded the small one-story brick home where the victims were found. Manchester is a village of about 300 residents located about 50 miles west of Springfield.
"It's a close-knit community," Drake said. "Everybody talks to everybody. ... We enjoy that goes on (in) town. This is just a tragedy for (the) whole town."
The last homicide in Scott County was 20 years ago, in 1993.
Manchester resident Julie Hardwick, 48, said she lives in the same county housing authority complex as the victims. Authorities told her she couldn't return to her home yet because of the investigation, she said.
"The kids were really nice," Hardwick said of the family. "You couldn't ask for better kids."
The Rev. Robin Lyons of Manchester United Methodist Church, one of two churches in the community said, "this shows tragedy can happen anywhere."
Two area school superintendents said they received calls from county sheriffs before 6 a.m. informing them that five people had been shot to death at a house in Manchester and that a suspect was at large.
Superintendent David Roberts of the Winchester School District and Les Stevens of the North Greene Unit District No. 3 both said they immediately canceled classes when they were told of the shootings and that other school districts did the same.
Roberts said the wounded girl is a student at Winchester Grade School and her teacher was with her at the Springfield hospital.
The school will use its own counselor, nurse and other staff members to help students who need to talk, Roberts said. Other area districts have offered to help too.
Roberts said he also will call on area ministers to be available on campus. "I've found that to be helpful in the past," he said.
___
Associated Press writers Don Babwin and Jason Keyser in Chicago and David Mercer in Champaign, Ill., contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The richest Americans got richer during the first two years of the economic recovery while average net worth declined for the other 93 percent of U.S. households, says a report released Tuesday.
The upper 7 percent of households owned 63 percent of the nation's total household wealth in 2011, up from 56 percent in 2009, said the report from the Pew Research Center, which analyzed new Census Bureau data released last month.
The main reason for the widening wealth gap is that affluent households typically own stocks and other financial holdings that increased in value, while the less wealthy tend to have more of their assets in their homes, which haven't rebounded from the plunge in home values, the report said.
Tuesday's report is the latest to point up financial inequality that has been growing among Americans for decades, a development that helped fuel the Occupy Wall Street protests.
A September Census Bureau report on income found that the highest-earning 20 percent of households earned more than half of all income the previous year, the biggest share in records kept since 1967. A 2011 Congressional Budget Office report said incomes for the richest 1 percent soared 275 percent between 1979 and 2007 while increasing just under 40 percent for the middle 60 percent of Americans.
Other details of Tuesday's new report:
?Overall, the wealth of American households rose by $5 trillion, or 14 percent, during the period to $40.2 trillion in 2011 from $35.2 trillion in 2009. Household wealth is the sum of all assets such as a home, car and stocks, minus the sum of all debts.
?The average net worth of households in the upper 7 percent of the wealth distribution rose by an estimated 28 percent, while that of households in the lower 93 percent dropped by 4 percent. That is, the mean wealth of the 8 million households in the more affluent group rose to an estimated $3.2 million from an estimated $2.5 million while that of the 111 million households in the less affluent group fell to roughly $134,000 from $140,000.
?The upper 7 percent were the households with a net worth above $836,033 and the 93 percent represented households whose worth was at or below that. Not all households among the 93 percent saw a decline in net worth, but the average amount declined for that group.
?On an individual household basis, the average wealth of households in the more affluent group was almost 24 times that of those in the less affluent group in 2011. At the start of the recovery in 2009, that ratio was less than 18 to 1.
?During the study period, Standard & Poor's 500 stock index rose by 34 percent, while the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index for home prices fell by 5 percent.
Android: Photosphere Live Wallpaper lets you use any Photosphere as an interactive live wallpaper for your smartphone or tablet.
Photospheres are a relatively new feature of Android that only devices running 4.2 and up can take. However, you can install this live wallpaper on any phone or tablet running 2.2 or newer. If you're looking for photospheres to download, check out the #photospheres hashtag on Google+. In an image's lightbox, select "Download full size" under the options menu.
Photosphere Live Wallpaper (Free) | Google Play via AddictiveTips
WPI professor wins CAREER Award for work that aims to solve a mystery about how cells growPublic release date: 22-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Michael Dorsey mwdorsey@wpi.edu 508-831-5609 Worcester Polytechnic Institute
With the $977,000 Award, biologist Luis Vidali will explore how components of the cell's internal anatomy are able to organize themselves to grow in a polarized fashion, a process critical to many vital functions in animals, plants, and fungi
Worcester, Mass. While cells typically grow by expanding outward in all directions, many critical biological functionsincluding the development of root hairs in plants, budding in yeast, and the extension of axons in animal neuronsrequire cells to grow in a single direction. Though biologists have known for several decades which structures within the cell appear to participate in what is known as polarized growth, exactly how those components work together to achieve this complex function remains a mystery.
With a five-year, $977,000 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Luis Vidali, assistant professor of biology and biotechnology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), hopes to begin to answer that fundamental question by exploring how components of the cell's internal anatomy work together to focus the mechanics of growth on a single point. The CAREER Award is the most prestigious and competitive NSF award for young faulty members. Vidali's award, the largest CAREER Award ever received by a WPI faculty member, brings to 18 the number of current WPI faculty members who have received the honor.
"The CAREER Award recognizes young faculty members who demonstrate great promise as researchers and educators, and Professor Vidali certainly excels in both of those areas," said WPI Provost Eric Overstrm. "Through his own work, which may reshape our thinking about a fundamental aspect of cell growth, and his dedication to engaging his students in the excitement of rigorous, cutting-edge research, he promises to have an important impact on the future of his field."
Vidali's research will focus on the interactions among components that are part of virtually all cells: the actin cytoskeleton, a sort of scaffolding that gives cells their structure and shape; vesicles, tiny pouches used for a variety of functions, including the transport of materials within the cell; and myosins, proteins that are known as motors because they act like tiny trucks that can lug vesicles and other materials along sections of the cytoskeleton.
"Biologists have known for a long time that these components are all involved in polarized cell growth," Vidali said, "but we don't know how they are organized to do what they do. We don't understand how they work together at the mechanistic level. It is important to pursue this knowledge because the establishment and maintenance of polarity is an essential function that impacts many critical aspects of development in animals, plants, and fungi."
Vidali will study polarized growth in Physcomitrella patens, a moss that has filamentous cells that grow only at the tip. He will employ a combination of genetic techniques, advanced microscopy, and computer simulations to attempt to compile a complete picture of how actin, myosin, and vesicles work in concert to deliver materials the cell needs to build new cell membrane and new cell wall (a rigid structure that surrounds the cell membrane in plants, bacteria, fungi, and algae) to the proper locations.
The combination of analytical techniques is required to obtain what Vidali calls "spatial and temporal resolution." Spatial resolution is important, he says, because the cytoskeleton, myosin, and vesicles are all extremely smallfar smaller than the 200 nanometer resolution of light microscopesand because it is important to be able to determine exactly where they are active within the cell.
Achieving temporal resolution is equally challenging, he said, because these structures are highly dynamic, making it difficult for the research team to piece together the sequence of actions that lead to polarized growth unless they can observe the activities of the critical structures at very short intervals. Vidali likened the challenge to trying to figure out the rules of football using only snapshots. "Imagine if all you have are photos taken a minute apart," he said. "You would never capture a complete pass. We need to be able to document, precisely, not only where things are taking place, but in what sequence."
Vidali and his team will use a variety of microscopy techniques to image the interplay between the cytoskeleton, myosin motors, and vesicles. Electron microscopes can image these minute structures in great detail, and the resulting images are the equivalent of out-of-context snapshots since the cells must be killed before they are imaged. Confocal microscopes are not as powerful, but can record sequences of three-dimensional images. Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopes can achieve high resolution with a thin layer of a sample. The confocal and TIRF images will contribute to both spatial and temporal resolution.
They will also use a variety of genetic tools, including RNA interference, or RNAi, to knock down genes and homologous recombination to directly knock out (delete) genes in the moss genome to help determine the roles individual genes and the proteins they code for play in the cells. In addition, Vidali has developed a version of myosin that can be switched on or off instantaneously by changing the ambient temperature.
Since Physcomitrella patens has only two forms of this type of myosin (unlike many plants, which have 10 or more), he will be able to use genetic engineering to knock out one myosin and then quickly switch off the other, temperature-sensitive version. Since myosin may play a critical function in the sequence of events leading to polarized growth, being able to turn it on and off at will provides Vidali a powerful tool for unraveling that sequence.
Finally, in collaboration with Erkan Tzel, assistant professor of physics at WPI and a frequent collaborator, Vidali will develop computer simulations that will enable him to better visualize how actin, myosin, and the vesicles might work together and to test various hypothesis about the actions that ultimately lead to polarized growth. The models will help guide work in the laboratory, he said, while the lab results will be fed back onto the simulations to improve their accuracy.
"By combining our microscopy work with what we learn from our genetic tools and what we see in the computer simulations, we believe we can begin, for the first time, to shine a light on the mechanisms of polarized cell growth," Vidali said. "We will also come to understand more about structures and functions that are common to virtually all cells and that play a role in such fundamental processes as cell division, morphogenesis, and the immunological response. This research promises to not only broaden our understanding of cell biology, but reveal something fundamental about life, itself."
###
About Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI was one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. WPI's talented faculty work with students on interdisciplinary research that seeks solutions to important and socially relevant problems in fields as diverse as the life sciences and bioengineering, energy, information security, materials processing, and robotics. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Perspective Program. There are more than 30 WPI project centers throughout North America and Central America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe.
[ | 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.
WPI professor wins CAREER Award for work that aims to solve a mystery about how cells growPublic release date: 22-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Michael Dorsey mwdorsey@wpi.edu 508-831-5609 Worcester Polytechnic Institute
With the $977,000 Award, biologist Luis Vidali will explore how components of the cell's internal anatomy are able to organize themselves to grow in a polarized fashion, a process critical to many vital functions in animals, plants, and fungi
Worcester, Mass. While cells typically grow by expanding outward in all directions, many critical biological functionsincluding the development of root hairs in plants, budding in yeast, and the extension of axons in animal neuronsrequire cells to grow in a single direction. Though biologists have known for several decades which structures within the cell appear to participate in what is known as polarized growth, exactly how those components work together to achieve this complex function remains a mystery.
With a five-year, $977,000 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Luis Vidali, assistant professor of biology and biotechnology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), hopes to begin to answer that fundamental question by exploring how components of the cell's internal anatomy work together to focus the mechanics of growth on a single point. The CAREER Award is the most prestigious and competitive NSF award for young faulty members. Vidali's award, the largest CAREER Award ever received by a WPI faculty member, brings to 18 the number of current WPI faculty members who have received the honor.
"The CAREER Award recognizes young faculty members who demonstrate great promise as researchers and educators, and Professor Vidali certainly excels in both of those areas," said WPI Provost Eric Overstrm. "Through his own work, which may reshape our thinking about a fundamental aspect of cell growth, and his dedication to engaging his students in the excitement of rigorous, cutting-edge research, he promises to have an important impact on the future of his field."
Vidali's research will focus on the interactions among components that are part of virtually all cells: the actin cytoskeleton, a sort of scaffolding that gives cells their structure and shape; vesicles, tiny pouches used for a variety of functions, including the transport of materials within the cell; and myosins, proteins that are known as motors because they act like tiny trucks that can lug vesicles and other materials along sections of the cytoskeleton.
"Biologists have known for a long time that these components are all involved in polarized cell growth," Vidali said, "but we don't know how they are organized to do what they do. We don't understand how they work together at the mechanistic level. It is important to pursue this knowledge because the establishment and maintenance of polarity is an essential function that impacts many critical aspects of development in animals, plants, and fungi."
Vidali will study polarized growth in Physcomitrella patens, a moss that has filamentous cells that grow only at the tip. He will employ a combination of genetic techniques, advanced microscopy, and computer simulations to attempt to compile a complete picture of how actin, myosin, and vesicles work in concert to deliver materials the cell needs to build new cell membrane and new cell wall (a rigid structure that surrounds the cell membrane in plants, bacteria, fungi, and algae) to the proper locations.
The combination of analytical techniques is required to obtain what Vidali calls "spatial and temporal resolution." Spatial resolution is important, he says, because the cytoskeleton, myosin, and vesicles are all extremely smallfar smaller than the 200 nanometer resolution of light microscopesand because it is important to be able to determine exactly where they are active within the cell.
Achieving temporal resolution is equally challenging, he said, because these structures are highly dynamic, making it difficult for the research team to piece together the sequence of actions that lead to polarized growth unless they can observe the activities of the critical structures at very short intervals. Vidali likened the challenge to trying to figure out the rules of football using only snapshots. "Imagine if all you have are photos taken a minute apart," he said. "You would never capture a complete pass. We need to be able to document, precisely, not only where things are taking place, but in what sequence."
Vidali and his team will use a variety of microscopy techniques to image the interplay between the cytoskeleton, myosin motors, and vesicles. Electron microscopes can image these minute structures in great detail, and the resulting images are the equivalent of out-of-context snapshots since the cells must be killed before they are imaged. Confocal microscopes are not as powerful, but can record sequences of three-dimensional images. Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopes can achieve high resolution with a thin layer of a sample. The confocal and TIRF images will contribute to both spatial and temporal resolution.
They will also use a variety of genetic tools, including RNA interference, or RNAi, to knock down genes and homologous recombination to directly knock out (delete) genes in the moss genome to help determine the roles individual genes and the proteins they code for play in the cells. In addition, Vidali has developed a version of myosin that can be switched on or off instantaneously by changing the ambient temperature.
Since Physcomitrella patens has only two forms of this type of myosin (unlike many plants, which have 10 or more), he will be able to use genetic engineering to knock out one myosin and then quickly switch off the other, temperature-sensitive version. Since myosin may play a critical function in the sequence of events leading to polarized growth, being able to turn it on and off at will provides Vidali a powerful tool for unraveling that sequence.
Finally, in collaboration with Erkan Tzel, assistant professor of physics at WPI and a frequent collaborator, Vidali will develop computer simulations that will enable him to better visualize how actin, myosin, and the vesicles might work together and to test various hypothesis about the actions that ultimately lead to polarized growth. The models will help guide work in the laboratory, he said, while the lab results will be fed back onto the simulations to improve their accuracy.
"By combining our microscopy work with what we learn from our genetic tools and what we see in the computer simulations, we believe we can begin, for the first time, to shine a light on the mechanisms of polarized cell growth," Vidali said. "We will also come to understand more about structures and functions that are common to virtually all cells and that play a role in such fundamental processes as cell division, morphogenesis, and the immunological response. This research promises to not only broaden our understanding of cell biology, but reveal something fundamental about life, itself."
###
About Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI was one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. WPI's talented faculty work with students on interdisciplinary research that seeks solutions to important and socially relevant problems in fields as diverse as the life sciences and bioengineering, energy, information security, materials processing, and robotics. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Perspective Program. There are more than 30 WPI project centers throughout North America and Central America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe.
[ | 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.
Minutes after losing by TKO to UFC light heavyweight Jon Jones, Chael Sonnen indicated his fighting days may be over.
This week on the 
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 22-Apr-2013
Share ]