Florida is currently one of a dwindling number of states that does not regulate the use of cell phones or texting while driving. Each legislative session, bills are proposed which would place restrictions to those who are behind the wheel. Each session these bills fail. Car and truck accidents due to these behaviors continue to rise. With the dangers evident, some businesses are taking steps to prevent their employees from distracted driving. Recently, the Walt Disney Company banned all of its employees from texting while driving. The ban applies whenever the employee ...

Most employers in Pennsylvania are legally obligated to secure workers' compensation insurance for the benefit of employees. This mandatory system provides benefits for both workers and companies. By providing coverage for workers, those injured on the job will have access to benefits if they become unable to work and need medical care. In exchange, companies are shielded from liability for injuries their employees suffer while working. However, those who fail to maintain workers' comp insurance and who are not exempt from the requirement can face harsh penalties for ...

While some people are addicted to their smart phones, which can offer directions, allow users to surf the Internet and keep emails at their fingertips, others marvel at other technologies that are making basic driving frustrations a thing of the past. Consider the latest GPS technology, electronic anti-lock brake systems and maintenance sensors in today's automobiles. With gadgets and advancements that would even make Batman envious, today's drivers may now be able to focus on other issues on the road. As suggested in a recent Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ...

While legislators in several states have lined up to mimic Arizona's controversial state immigration law, a range of voices in one state have proposed a policy approach that recognizes the federal government's proper role as the national gatekeeper. In a statement of principles they have called the Utah Compact, business leaders, prominent public servants, law-enforcement officials and religious figures have endorsed policies based on moderation and civility to counter "the complex challenges associated with a broken national immigration system." The New York Times recently ...

An Attica man recently arrested for felony DWI faces a variety of severe penalties, if convicted. Roland Reed, 40, has two prior DWI convictions and had no valid driver's license at the time of his arrest in mid-October. A DWI is elevated in New York from misdemeanor status to a felony if a person has been convicted of a DWI within the past 10 years. After a first DWI offense, a driver faces stiff penalties and fines: up to a year in jail, license revocation of at least one year and a fine ranging from $500 to $1,000. Escalating Penalties After DWI Conviction The ...

Winter weather has made its annual return to Chicago, leaving many Chicago-area drivers in need of a refresher course in safe driving under dangerous weather conditions. Although ice and snow can make the roads more treacherous, drivers can take extra safety precautions to prevent most auto accidents . Remember that bridges may freeze more quickly than normal roads; even if the rest of the roads are just wet, the bridges may have ice. Drive accordingly. Overpasses and tunnels also warrant special consideration and attention; when cars are funneled into narrow spaces, ...

A New Jersey pastor, Reverend Cedric A. Miller, said 20 couples in his congregation of about 1,100 members have experienced marital troubles in the last six months as a result of Facebook. He urged his congregants to delete their Facebook accounts, calling the social networking website a "portal to infidelity". Although this view of Facebook may be extreme, it does lead to the question: Are new technologies bringing us closer together, or tempting us to stray from those who matter most? A recent survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers found that 81 percent ...

According to a recent report published by the Transportation Research Board of the National Research Council, the United States lags behind many other high-income countries when it comes to reducing deaths from traffic accidents. Researchers examined car accident fatality statistics from 1995 to 2009. In this time, fatal traffic accidents in France dropped 52 percent and 38 percent in the United Kingdom. In contrast, fatal accidents in the United States decreased only 19 percent. In evaluating this disparity, researchers point to a variety of techniques that have reduced ...

When property development is involved, contractors, subcontractors, and homeowners should all understand how to protect their rights. Liens and warranties are popular methods utilized. Mechanics Liens In the context of construction, most liens are known as "Mechanics Liens." These documents place a financial (security) interest on the title to the real property for work or materials. A contractor has a right to satisfaction of their lien before the property can be sold. California is currently one of many states overhauling their mechanic's liens statutes. In 2011, ...

FINEst WINEs - the only wine investing and collecting magazine in the world. "There are over 800,000 people in the world who buy regularly fine wines from auctions and wine shops as investment, but there is no unbiased authority or reliable source who is telling what or where to buy, when to buy, when to sell, where to sell or how to recognize fake bottles or what is the current drinkability of finest investment wines etc. - those are the reason why we decided to publish FINEst WINEs magazine. The world needs unbiased and up-to-date knowledge of the finest investment ...

First-time parents have this fear that their babies will be born with a birth defect. Imagine if their worst fear should materialize. Recent studies have shown that women who take Paxil during the first three months of gestation are more likely to give birth to babies with Paxil birth defects, as compared to women who do not take any antidepressants during pregnancy. These Paxil birth defects can be life-threatening, and may include serious congenital problems, the most common of which are Paxil heart defects. What is Paxil? Paroxetine Hydrochloride, or better ...

Rug Pad Corner is pleased to announce that Superior felt jute rug pad was voted as the best felt rug pad. The company asked hundreds of customers as well as staff members to rate Superior on a number of levels. Under all conditions, Superior rug pad was unanimously voted as best felt rug pad for the money. "Superior is one of our best selling rug pads and we are happy to see consistent rating results among hundreds of customers," states Luis of Rug Pad Corner. "Superior is perhaps one of the few felt jute rug pads that does not contain any chemicals or adhesives and ...

Skydive Films, in association with Lavorsia Pictures, and IGBA Productions present Nashville Rises, a new short film documentary narrated by Academy Award Winner, Billy Bob Thornton. Devastation, hopelessness, confusion, misery. These are some of the emotions people go through when affected by a natural disaster. On May 1st and 2nd, 2010, the citizens of Nashville, Tennessee tested these emotions. Also known as the 1000-year flood, this disaster is the worst in Tennessee history, with over 2 billion in damages. Historic landmarks such as the Opry House and the Country ...

"Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future," said physicist Neils Bohr. Nevertheless, at New Year's time it's fun to prognosticate upon the coming year's happenings, and one person in particular, mentalist/futurist/"psychic" SIDNEY FRIEDMAN (aka SidneySeer), has had a remarkable documented track record of prediction over the last 13 years with a consistent accuracy near 70% with stated predictions on TV shows like THE VIEW, the TODAY SHOW and THE EARLY SHOW. Of note, his Oscar predictions have been nearly 100% and his stock market predictions have ...

Best Rug Pads has recently added Rug-Chek, an all-natural rubber rug pad, to its product line of rug pads. Rug-Chek is one of the rare 100% rubber rug pads and is safe for all rugs and all floors. Best Rug Pads is offering Rug-Chek in all standard and custom sizes and shapes for all rugs on all types of hard floors. "We are extremely happy to offer such a quality non-slip rug pad," states Sam of Best Rug Pads. "While there are many imitations available, Rug-Chek is one of the very few that are actually 100% rubber." Unlike the other open weave rug pads that are quite ...

AURORA, Colo. (Dec. 14, 2010) – A combination therapy for treating cancer discovered at the University of Colorado Cancer Center showed improved survival rates in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to results from a double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial run by Syndax Pharmaceuticals. The phase 2 results show that the combination of entinostat (Syndax's SNDX-275) and erlotinib was more effective in treating NSCLC in patients with elevated levels of the molecular cancer marker E-cadherin than using erlotinib alone. University ...

LA JOLLA, CA--A synthetic derivative of the curry spice turmeric, made by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, dramatically improves the behavioral and molecular deficits seen in animal models of ischemic stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Two new studies suggest that the novel compound may have clinical promise for these conditions, which currently lack good therapies. Ischemic stroke is the leading cause of disability and the third leading cause of death of older people in the United States, while TBI is the leading cause of death and disability ...

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Requiring a second exam on a person who is considered brain dead may be unnecessary, according to a study on the impact of a second brain death exam on organ donation rates. The research is published in the December 15, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. For the study, scientists reviewed the cases of 1,229 adults and 82 children ages one and older pronounced brain dead. The information was taken from the New York Organ Donor Network database during a 19-month period. "One of the most disturbing ...

DURHAM, N.C. – About 90 percent of people are infected at some time in their lives with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), usually with no ill effects. But individuals with compromised immune systems, such as people with organ transplants or HIV infection, have a greater risk of cancer occurring because of this virus. Scientists at the Duke Cancer Institute have discovered a pathway that infected cells use to root out EBV infections, a finding that has implications for understanding the human response to cancer-causing viruses in general. "Using cell culture studies, we have ...

Polar bears were added to the threatened species list nearly three years ago as their icy habitat showed steady, precipitous decline because of a warming climate. But it appears the Arctic icons aren't necessarily doomed after all. Scientists from several institutions, including the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Washington, have found that if humans reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly in the next decade or two, enough Arctic ice is likely to remain intact during late summer and early autumn for polar bears to survive. "What we projected in ...

Reykjavik, ICELAND, 15 December 2010 – Scientists from deCODE genetics and academic colleagues from Iceland, the UK, US, Netherlands, Spain and Romania today report the discovery of a set of single-letter variations in the sequence of the human genome (SNPs) that impact individual baseline levels of prostate specific antigen, or PSA. Testing for PSA levels is the most commonly used screening tool for the detection of prostate cancer. A prostate biopsy is routinely recommended for men with PSA above a certain threshold. However, PSA levels can rise for reasons unrelated ...

America is winning a battle against heart disease and stroke mortality, but is still losing the war, according to the American Heart Association. In Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics – 2011, published online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, the association reports that the death rate from heart diseases declined 27.8 percent from 1997 to 2007 (the most recent final data available), and the stroke death rate fell 44.8 percent. However, during the same period, the total number of inpatient cardiovascular operations and procedures increased ...

Body fat distribution does not play an important role in the incidence of every subtype of premenopausal breast cancer, but is associated with an increased risk for estrogen receptor (ER)–negative breast cancer, according to a study published December 15 in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Previous studies have shown that the association between body mass index (BMI) and the risk of breast cancer varies with menopausal status: a higher BMI is positively associated with risk of postmenopausal breast cancer but inversely associated with risk of premenopausal ...

"Staph" bacteria feed on blood. They need the iron that's hidden away inside red blood cells to grow and cause infections. It turns out that these microbial vampires prefer the taste of human blood, Vanderbilt University scientists have discovered. The researchers report in the Dec. 16 issue of Cell Host & Microbe that Staphylococcus aureus (staph) favors human hemoglobin – the oxygen-carrying protein that contains iron – over hemoglobin from other animals. The findings help explain why staph preferentially infects people and suggest that genetic variations in hemoglobin ...

STANFORD, Calif. — More than 2,000 genetic regions involved in early human development have been identified by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The regions, called enhancers, are responsible for triggering the expression of distant genes when embryonic stem cells begin to divide to form the many tissues of a growing embryo. "This is going to be an enormous resource for researchers interested in tracking cells involved in early human development," said Joanna Wysocka, PhD, assistant professor of developmental biology and of chemical and systems ...