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Wednesday, 3 April 2013

Mark Sanford Wins S.C. Runoff, but Colbert Busch Still Blocks His Path to Redemption

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford will be the Republican nominee on a ballot in his home state for the first time in seven years, after defeating former Charleston County Council member Curtis Bostic in a primary runoff on Tuesday for the state's vacant 1st Congressional District seat.

The Associated Press called the race Tuesday evening with 67 percent of precincts reporting that Sanford had a combined 55 percent of the vote to Bostic's 45 percent.

The win was not unexpected for Sanford, who outraised Bostic more than 15-1 in the pre-runoff period and was able to blanket the airwaves, building on his nearly universal name recognition in the district he represented in Congress for three terms in the 1990s. Bostic, meanwhile, works in the district, but lives just outside its boundaries.

Bostic nevertheless built a strong coalition, drawing heavily on his ties to the evangelical Christian and home-schooling communities, and highlighting his family values in the hopes of attracting voters concerned about the affair that nearly ended Sanford's political career in 2009.

Sanford has come a long way in just the four years since he admitted to having an affair with Argentinian reporter Mar?a Bel?n Chapur, seeming to end a 16-year political career that had him on many short lists for the presidency. In 2009, during his second term as governor, Sanford disappeared for six days, telling his staff, who then passed off the story to the press, that he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. As he later revealed in a lengthy, awkward press conference, he had in fact been in Argentina with Chapur, to whom he is now engaged.

Sanford served out the rest of his term, leaving office in 2011, despite a censure by the state House and several failed attempts by the General Assembly to impeach him. He stayed largely out of the public eye until then-Rep. Tim Scott, another Republican, was appointed to the Senate in January, vacating Sanford's old seat.

Though neither Sanford nor Bostic has mentioned the affair directly during the campaign, it has hung over the special election, with Bostic emphasizing his family and Sanford invoking a "God of second chances" in his first television ad and on the campaign trail.

Sanford will go on to face Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the Democratic nominee, in the special election on May 7. Though the district is heavily Republican and has not elected a Democrat since the 1970s, Democrats are optimistic about Colbert Busch's chances, particularly given an internal poll she released on Monday showing her with a marginal lead in a race against Sanford.

Her brother's celebrity doesn't hurt either. Comedian Stephen Colbert has mentioned his sister (who pronounces the T in her surname) on his Comedy Central show and has already held two events for her, helping Colbert Busch keep pace with Sanford in fundraising so far. Colbert, the faux TV pundit, will reportedly hold two more high-priced events for her this month. Colbert Busch will also likely have the help of national Democratic groups eager to start off the next election cycle with a red-state victory.

But Colbert Busch hasn't faced much opposition thus far, sailing to victory in a Democratic primary against an underfunded candidate as Republicans have spent the last three months slowly whittling down a 16-candidate field. With Sanford as their nominee, focus will now shift to Colbert Busch, who has thus far been able to present a largely uncontested image of herself as a fiscally conservative job creator.

That spotlight already began to shift on Monday night, when the Sunlight Foundation reported that Colbert Busch's campaign had wiped more than 500 tweets from her account. Many were innocuous, and Colbert Busch's campaign explained that they were trying to clean up the account to make it easier for voters to find important information. But some of the tweets, including one that indicated her support for same-sex marriage and reproductive choice, represent the difficult balance she'll have to strike over the next five weeks between exciting Democrats in the district and attracting the Republicans and independents she'll need to remain competitive.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mark-sanford-wins-c-runoff-colbert-busch-still-214501075--politics.html

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Citing health, Meatloaf says he'll quit touring

Keystone / Getty Images

By Reuters

After more than 35 years of touring, American rocker Meat Loaf is quitting the road.?Meat Loaf, whose 1977 "Bat Out Of Hell" remains one of the biggest selling albums, said his "Last At Bat" tour starting in Britain this week and heading through Europe, would be his last, after struggling with health problems in recent years.

While other aging rockers like the Rolling Stones are returning to the lucrative tour circuit, Meat Loaf said he has had enough.

"This is really it ... I just don't want to travel anymore," the portly singer told Reuters TV in an interview before his tour through Britain, Germany and the Netherlands.

"I outweigh (Mick) Jagger by about 100 pounds?and that counts for something. He hasn't seen the wear and tear."

Meat Loaf, whose real name is Marvin Lee Aday, cancelled a European Tour in 2007 after being diagnosed with a cyst on his vocal chords, saying he received some "vicious" reaction to this.

He then sparked further fears for his health in 2011 when he collapsed on stage. He later blamed the blackouts on past concussion injuries and his health issues on asthma.

Last year he underwent a knee replacement operation from which he is still recovering and is due to have an operation on his other knee shortly.

Meat Loaf said his health was "fine" but it was important to be able to perform to your best.

"When your name is on the marque, you either get the glory or you get the hits," said the rocker, dressed all in black, who has also appeared in a list of movies, including cult classic "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."

"Over the years, a lot of stones and a lot of arrows have been flying my way. You expect that."

In the "Last at Bat" tour, Meat Loaf will perform his greatest hits in the first half of the show such as "Dead Ringer for Love" and "I'd Lie For You."

In the second half he will perform, in order, the seven songs from his "Bat Out Of Hell" album which has sold around 45 million copies to date.

Meat Loaf did not rule out performing live again, such as in Las Vegas, particularly after releasing his 13th album, "Brave and Crazy", that is currently in the pipeline.

The rocker said he was working on this album with Jim Steinman, the reclusive producer and songwriter behind his biggest hits with whom he last worked on his 1993 album "Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell."

But Meat Loaf cautioned fans that if he cried while singing "Crying Out Loud", the closing song of "Bat Out Of Hell" while on tour, this was not due to sadness at quitting touring.

"Even in rehearsal when I go to sing it I start crying so it's not like when you see me in the show and I am crying it's like "oh I bet he...." I would do it in rehearsal, I can't help myself," he said.

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Ex-SEC chief Schapiro to join private consultancy firm

(Reuters) - Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Mary Schapiro will join a private consulting firm as a managing director following a tumultuous four years rehabilitating the agency's battered reputation.

Consulting firm Promontory Financial Group LLC spokeswoman Debra Cope on Tuesday confirmed an earlier report by the Wall Street Journal.

Schapiro stepped down as SEC chairman in December.

When Schapiro took over in 2009, the agency was under fire for regulatory blindspots that critics said helped to fuel the financial crisis. It was also lambasted for failing to catch now-convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, whose fraud cost investors an estimated $65 billion.

In addition to shoring up the agency's name, Schapiro had to fight numerous other fires - from the 2010 "flash crash" that sent the Dow Jones industrial average tumbling 700 points within minutes to high-profile court losses.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Schapiro said she wouldn't go back to government. "After spending 28 of the last 32 years as a regulator, now was the right time to do something different," she said. (http://link.reuters.com/tuq96t)

Promontory is a strategy, risk management, regulatory, and compliance consulting firm founded in 2001 by Eugene Ludwig, who served as U.S. Comptroller of the Currency under President Clinton.

(Reporting by Mridhula Raghavan in Bangalore; Editing by Mark Potter)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ex-sec-chief-schapiro-join-private-consultancy-firm-074125691--sector.html

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Tuesday, 2 April 2013

Pa. inmate denies hiding phone in prosthetic leg

UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) ? A former Pennsylvania jail inmate says he didn't sneak a cellphone into the lockup in his prosthetic leg, though he acknowledged having it for a year as he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.

Instead, 28-year-old Christopher Greer, of Uniontown, tells a judge the phone was in his cargo shorts when he reported in 2011 to serve a sentence for driving on a suspended license.

Greer says he kept the phone because inmates at the Fayette County lockup 40 miles south of Pittsburgh must pay $4 per call.

Greer pleaded guilty Tuesday, but the warden doesn't believe Greer smuggled the phone in either his pocket or his leg, as county detectives charged. Brian Miller says both would have been searched too thoroughly for that.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-04-02-Contraband%20In%20Prosthetic%20Leg/id-273488d9e6764c649b13c0ffc166006b

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Immigration deal at hand, focus turns to details

FILE - In this March 12, 2013 file photo, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. They have settled on a political framework, but now, the lawmakers writing a bipartisan immigration overhaul need to resolve the nitty-gritty _ and, perhaps, keep their parties? political flanks mollified. But even as the final stages of talks begin, before some lawmakers began appearing on Sunday shows to discuss a breakthrough, Rubio warned he was not ready to lend his name ? and political clout ? to such a deal without hashing out the details. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 27, 2013 file photo, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., makes a point as he is joined by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Sen. Michael Bennett, D-Colo., during a news conference after their tour of the Mexico border with the United States in Nogales, Ariz. A group of influential U.S. senators shaping and negotiating details of an immigration reform package have vowed to make the legislation public when Congress reconvenes in April. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Big business and big labor have settled on a political framework for an immigration overhaul. Now, the lawmakers writing bipartisan legislation need to resolve the nitty-gritty ? and keep their parties' political flanks mollified.

Business and labor negotiators late last week agreed on a deal that would allow tens of thousands of low-skilled workers into the country and pay them fair wages. It was a last major sticking point before the deal goes to the eight senators ? four Democrats, four Republicans ? to sign off on the details and propose legislation. They are looking to set in motion the most dramatic changes to the faltering U.S. immigration system in more than two decades.

"There are a few details yet. But conceptually, we have an agreement between business and labor, between ourselves that has to be drafted," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

The so-called Gang of Eight's plan would provide a new class of worker visas for low-skilled workers, secure the border, crack down on employers, improve legal immigration and create a 13-year pathway to citizenship for the millions of illegal immigrants already here.

"With the agreement between business and labor, every major policy issue has been resolved," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat who brokered the labor-business deal.

But that effort hasn't taken the form of a bill and the senators searching for a compromise haven't met about the potential breakthrough. They plan to introduce their framework when they return from recess the week of April 8 and move quickly to schedule a vote.

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said the hard part is done.

"That doesn't mean we've crossed every 'i' or dotted every 't,' or vice versa," Flake said.

But even as the final stages of talks begin, one member of the group urged colleagues not to get too far ahead of themselves. Just before lawmakers began appearing on Sunday shows to discuss the breakthrough, Sen. Marco Rubio warned he was not ready to lend his name ? and political clout ? to such a deal without hashing out the details.

"Reports that the bipartisan group of eight senators have agreed on a legislative proposal are premature," said Rubio, a Florida Republican who is among the lawmakers working to write the legislation.

Rubio, a Cuban-American who is weighing a presidential bid in 2016, is a leading figure inside his party. Lawmakers will be closely watching any deal for his approval, and his skepticism about the process did little to encourage optimism.

Rubio, who is the group's emissary to conservatives, called the agreement "a starting point" but noted 92 senators from 43 states haven't yet been involved in the process.

That's where figures such as Rubio and assistant Democratic leader Dick Durbin of Illinois come in. Both will be able to give political cover to ? or coax ? members of their party who were not involved in drafting this agreement that could allow an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants to earn U.S. citizenship.

"As to the 11 million, they'll have a pathway to citizenship, but it will be earned, it will be long, and it will be hard, and I think it is fair," Graham said.

A week ago, such a compromise seemed impossible.

Then the pro-business U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO labor coalition reached its deal late Friday to allow tens of thousands of low-skilled workers into the country to fill jobs in construction, restaurants and hotels.

Schumer negotiated the deal between Chamber of Commerce head Tom Donohue and AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka during a late Friday phone call. Under the compromise, the government would create a new "W'' visa for low-skilled workers, who would earn the same wages paid to Americans or the prevailing wages for the industry they're working in, whichever is higher. The Labor Department would determine prevailing wage based on customary rates in specific localities, so it would vary from city to city.

The detente between the powerful business lobbying group and the nation's leading labor federation still needs senators' approval, including a nod from Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican whose previous efforts came up short. He has returned to the negotiating table yet again.

The immigration debate already has President Barack Obama's attention.

"This is a legacy item for him," said David Axelrod, a longtime political confidant of Obama. "There is no doubt in my mind that he wants to pass comprehensive immigration reform."

Graham was interviewed Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." Schumer, Flake and Axelrod appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-01-Immigration/id-5c76558ed4664dd083f89d4a58b966dd

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Monday, 1 April 2013

Afghans warned: The taxman is coming after you

By Katharine Houreld

KABUL (Reuters) - One of Afghanistan's most surprising success stories lies tucked away on a potholed street notorious for suicide bombings and lined with rusting construction equipment.

The work of the country's top tax collector is more inspiring than the view from his office in Kabul. Taxes and customs raised $1.64 billion last financial year, a 14-fold increase on 10 years ago. That means, now, the government can pay just over half of its recurrent costs such as salaries.

Thanks to tougher enforcement procedures, Afghanistan's tax to GDP ratio today stands above 11 percent - ahead of neighboring Pakistan's dismal 9 percent.

Increasing revenues is vital as donors begin reducing aid ahead of the 2014 drawdown of NATO troops, who have provided the backbone for security since U.S. forces invaded after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

By the end of this year the United States alone will have spent $100 billion on Afghan reconstruction. But future pledges are a fraction of that.

"We are largely dependent on international aid. We would like to be independent," said Abdurrahman Mujahid, the new head of the revenue department. "I would like a sustainable Afghanistan for all the children."

Despite rising revenues, the government will rely heavily on donors for years to come. Taxes, customs and mining revenue will only meet $2.5 billion out of a $7 billion budget this year.

Most of the revenue comes from large corporate taxpayers, who complain their payments have not improved power cuts, potholed roads or security.

Corporations pay a flat tax of 20 percent - the same rate for an individual earning over $2,000 a month.

But unlike developed countries where personal income tax generates a sizeable chunk of revenue, most Afghans scoff at the idea of giving the government some of their meager earnings.

The average annual income, in a country ranked one of the world's poorest, is just $470, according to the World Bank. Those making less than $100 a month don't have to pay tax.

"It's not a good government," said moneychanger Abdurrahman Arif, 28, as he held a wad of soiled notes and scanned for customers. "I don't pay tax. The rich people don't and the government should go to them before they come to me."

Afghanistan has a similar problem to neighboring Pakistan - the very wealthy don't pay their share, and weak institutions often have little way of forcing them.

Authorities admit that taxing the rich isn't easy in a country where the powerful often command militias. But Mujahid promises tax evaders will "be introduced to the law enforcement agencies".

SUBSTANTIAL ACHIEVEMENT

Much of Afghanistan's money is in an undocumented black economy. Corruption is endemic and the country produces 90 percent of the world's opium. Billions of dollars in cash leave the country every year in suitcases.

The security situation is discouraging. Taliban and other militias have made gains in many areas as foreign combat forces wind down their missions.

But some Afghans still manage to make money. Many businesses are fuelled by the aid dollars that have poured into the country over the last decade. Luxury supermarkets, travel agencies and stationery shops crowd the capital's streets.

A U.S. embassy official in Kabul commended Afghanistan's ability to raise tax revenues.

"It's a pretty substantial achievement," the official said, but noted the nation still faced a large funding gap, partly because of its huge security bill.

"It's going to continue being a problem until they can get revenues from the extractive industry, and that's going to take some time," the official said, referring to Afghanistan's rich but undeveloped mineral deposits.

Donors currently pay for just under half Afghanistan's operating costs - mostly government salaries - and more than three-quarters of all development projects like roads, dams and electricity equipment.

Rampant corruption means this money is often stolen, angering donors, fuelling anti-government rage and keeping aid from some of the world's neediest families.

Donors hope that if Afghans foot more of the bill for public services they may become less tolerant of graft from their leaders.

PUGNACIOUS PREDECESSOR

Mujahid, the new head of the revenue department, has large shoes to fill. His predecessor Ahmad Shah Zamanzai oversaw much of the department's growth and didn't shrink from confrontation.

When a vice-president refused to pay tax on income from renting out houses he owned, Zamanzai threatened to leak it to the press. Elections were approaching. The vice president paid up.

Under Zamanzai, the tax department jailed more than 20 tax evaders, froze bank accounts, slapped on travel bans and shuttered the premises of businesses that refused to pay.

In one showdown, he took on the glitzy wedding halls that have mushroomed up in the capital. When the 60 or so venues refused to pay their dues, he had police padlock a dozen of the biggest until the rest fell into line.

Zamanzai was appointed head of the state-run Pashtany Bank as part of a bureaucratic reshuffle this month. His first task, he said, would be to use skills honed in the tax department to extract overdue loan repayments from powerful Afghans.

But the tough tax enforcement has angered some businessmen.

Najib Ullah Latify's spotless factory, full of humming machinery and rows of workers in blue overalls and yellow hard hats, stands a few minutes drive from the tax office. High Standard Pipe employs 850 people and supplies pipes for projects providing clean water all over Afghanistan.

Latify said he'd expand but harassment from the tax man was hurting his business.

In recent years, he says, he's been repeatedly overcharged by the tax office and promised refunds have not been credited. Officials frequently offer to slash his tax bill in return for bribes, he added. When he refuses, he says, officials disrupt his imports and suspend his license.

"I don't know what to do, I have shouted everywhere that they are ruining my business," he said.

"I don't mind paying taxes. Even if 60 percent of it is spent on drinking and shopping and trips for (politicians') wives, maybe 40 percent will go to schools or hospitals. But they must tax me correctly."

The new tax chief, Mujahid, was not familiar with Vitaly's case, but promised to investigate. More than 10 tax collectors - whose basic salaries start at $180 a month - have been fired for corruption in the last two years.

"Corruption is a part of public life in Afghanistan," said Mujahid. "We have the aim to make this department corruption-free."

This year he's planning to finish computerizing tax records, usher through a law on Value Added Tax, and strengthen collection in the provinces - more than 90 percent of government taxes currently come from the capital.

"There's a lot of achievements, but for sure we have problems, and the biggest problem is corruption," he said.

(Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/afghans-warned-taxman-coming-075922090.html

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Using bone marrow to treat brain cancer | ScienceBlog.com

In a first-of-its-kind experiment using microvesicles generated from mesenchymal bone marrow cells (MSCs) to treat cancer, neurological researchers at Henry Ford Hospital have discovered a novel approach for treatment of tumor. Specifically, the research team found that introducing genetic material produced by MSCs, significantly reduced a particularly resistant form of malignant brain tumor in living lab rats.

?This is the first foray of its type in experimental cancer therapy, and it represents a highly novel and potentially effective treatment,? says Michael Chopp, Ph.D., scientific director of the Henry Ford Neuroscience Institute and vice chairman of the Department of Neurology at Henry Ford Hospital. The research is published in the current issue Cancer Letters.

?I think this is an important and very novel approach for the treatment of cancers, and in this particular case the treatment of glioma,? says Dr. Chopp. ?We have been at the forefront of developing microRNAs as a means to treat disease, such as cancer and neurological injury.

?This study shows it is effective in the living brain, and may even lend itself to specific cancer therapy, customized for the individual patient,? Chopp adds

Chopp and his colleagues focused their efforts on glioma, by far the most common type of malignant brain tumor, and one with a notably poor prognosis for survival.

Tumor cells were surgically implanted in the brains of anesthetized male lab rats and allowed to grow for five days. The tumors then were injected with exosomes containing molecules of a microRNA called miR-146b ? found in earlier Henry Ford research to have a strong effect on glioma cells.

Exosomes are microscopic ?lipid bubbles? that once were thought to carry and get rid of ?old? proteins that were no longer needed by the body. After they were more recently found to also carry RNA, whole new fields of study were suggested ? including groundbreaking work by Henry Ford researchers.

In their rat study, Chopp and his colleagues used MSC bone marrow cells to produce the exosomes containing the miR-146b they injected into the cancerous tumors.

Five days after this treatment, the rats were euthanized and their brains were removed, prepared for study, and examined. Tumor size was measured using computer software.

?We found that one injection of exosomes containing miR-146b five days after tumor implantation led to a significant reduction in tumor volume at 10 days after implant,? Chopp says. ?Our data suggest that miR-146b elicits an anti-tumor effect in the rat brain, and that MSCs can be used as a ?factory? to generate exosomes genetically altered to contain miR-146b to effectively treat tumor. ?

Source: http://scienceblog.com/61993/using-bone-marrow-to-treat-brain-cancer/

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