Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 5 into law on September 25. It had been introduced by Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, and it allows autopsy reports to be sealed at the request of the victim's parents. It was passed in response to media requests for documents in the cases of 17-year-old Chelsea King and 14-year-old Amber Dubois, who were killed in separate abductions in California by the same convicted sex offender. The Legislature noted, "Thousands of Californians are murdered each year, a statistic that has remained steady for over 30 years. The emotional pain ...

President Obama signed The Veterans' Benefits Act of 2010 law this fall. House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner said, "This bill will make a big difference in the lives of many of America's brave veterans." The new law addresses many of the needs of veterans, with key provisions including: Enhances Employment Opportunities - Provides an 18-month period for training of new disabled veterans' outreach program specialists and local veterans' employment representatives by the National Veterans' Employment and Training Services Institute. - Extends authority ...

The oft-delayed Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act took one step forward and two steps back recently, as the United States House of Representatives passed a version of the legislation that would bring illegal immigrants who were brought to America as children a chance at citizenship. Less than one day later, however, the Senate tabled a vote that was supposed to take place, putting it on hold until further notice. Unfortunately, on December 18 the Senate, in a special Saturday session, voted against the bill, leaving the DREAM Act back in legislative ...

Driving has become increasingly more dangerous with the advent of text messaging and mp3 players. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that car accidents kill 40,000 Americans and account for millions of injuries. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving contributed to 16 percent of all traffic accidents. Distracted driving has become such a prevalent issue, it has lead to a ban on the use of cell phones while driving many states and the District of Columbia. However, a number of factors -- beyond the use ...

When we go under the knife for surgery, we place our lives in the hands of the doctor performing the operation and the hospital where it is taking place. We trust that we will be treated with care and that all precautions will be taken to keep us safe. However, sad it may be, some doctors and hospitals simply do a better job than others when it comes to protecting the safety of patients. While there are surveys and rankings of hospitals to available to patients, keep in mind that they might not really be an accurate representation of the care you will receive. Dr. Atul ...

For the mothers that endure prolonged hours of labor only to have a Cesarean section (C-section) in the end, a new test performed at the early stages of labor could indicate that a C-section should be performed. Based on research by Liverpool University, Swedish company Obstecare has developed a test that measures the amount of lactic acid in the amniotic fluid. If high levels of lactic acid are present, it is doubtful that the mother will be able to deliver the baby vaginally, as lactic acid at certain levels begins to inhibit contractions. The test could help end difficult ...

After a horrifying dog attack on his granddaughter, a Texas grandfather recently urged the Van City Council to ban dangerous dog breeds. The state of Texas has a state-wide law on dog bites, however, cities and counties may instate local laws that create more protection for their residents. Terrifying Dog Attack On Halloween night, Douglas Wolfe's 2-year-old granddaughter, Summer, was viciously mauled in Van, Texas by a neighbor's 7-month-old pit bull. Summer knew and trusted the dog, but for unknown reasons, attacked her that evening. According to East Texas KLTV ...

According to The Arizona Daily Wildcat, the Tucson Police Department received a $44,000 grant from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety to help prevent pedestrian and bicycle accidents. With the grant money, undercover officers have been targeting motorists who drive too close to sidewalks and bike lanes, and bicyclists and pedestrians who jaywalk or do not use bike lanes. The officers have issued 789 citations since the special enforcement started on August 10. The Phoenix-based law firm of Solomon & Relihan applauds the Tucson police department and the Governor's ...

The rise of cell phone and mobile device use in cars has led to a new category of driving danger: distracted driving. Distracted driving has become one of the most common causes of automobile accidents in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Per the CDC, 16 people are killed and over 1,300 are injured every day due to a distracted driving accident. Recent studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Automobile Association of America (AAA) indicate that distracted drivers pose as much of a danger to other ...

The Harley Medical Group has revealed Botox and dermal fillers are high on Christmas wish lists this year, with the UK's leading cosmetic surgery group reporting a 200% rise year-on-year in sales of their gift vouchers, which can be spent on non-surgical treatments and products. The Harley Medical Group has revealed hundreds of people are choosing to give the gift of injectable beauty this Christmas, a trend also popular amongst celebrities. Multi-millionaire Simon Cowell reportedly bought the X-Factor judges, Cheryl Cole, Danni Minogue and Louis Walsh, GBP3,000 worth ...

Maintenance Free Windows, a leading provider of Atlanta replacement windows, reports the last days in December are the final time to become eligible for the 2010 Federal Tax Credit for Consumer Energy Efficiency. The Residential Energy Property Credit (Section 1121) gives homeowners the opportunity to receive a tax credit on recently installed products, such as Atlanta windows and doors, which meet certain requirements for energy efficiency. The tax credit includes 30% of the cost of qualified energy efficient windows and doors, up to $1,500, not including installation ...

Craft Stove and Fireplace Center, an Atlanta fireplace and Atlanta wood stove supplier, is advising homeowners to take advantage of the 2010 Federal Tax Credit for Consumer Energy Efficiency as the deadline nears. The Residential Energy Property Credit (Section 1121) gives homeowners the opportunity to receive a tax credit if they install energy efficient products, including biomass stoves, before December 31, 2010. The tax credit covers 30% of the cost of qualified energy efficient biomass stoves, up to $1,500. The tax credit does include installation costs. Biomass ...

Debenhams has revealed that for the first time, the average British man will spend 98 minutes getting ready for a Christmas party, 14 minutes longer than the average woman*. Having honed their beauty regime, women in comparison will spend only 84 minutes getting ready. Debenhams' survey revealed that shaving, showering, moisturising and even facials, tanning and manicures, in addition to choosing the perfect outfit, are just some of the things involved in the modern British male's Christmas grooming routine. David Beckham, Gavin Henson and Peter Andre have become ...

Stena Line has signed an agreement with DFDS to acquire its Liverpool (Birkenhead) to Belfast and Heysham to Belfast routes. The acquisition, which amounts to approximately GBP40M, will enable Stena Line to improve its service on the Irish Sea by offering several different alternatives for transportation between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In recent years, Stena Line has invested heavily in significant improvements across the whole of its route network. Irish Sea Ferry area director Michael McGrath believes the latest acquisition reflects Stena Line's commitment ...

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. This year is no exception. In a few days, SIDNEY FRIEDMAN will release his 2011 visions of the economy, world events, the weather, the Oscars, and even predictions to satisfy celebrity curiosity. See ...

Actress Katherine Heigl, the star of Knocked Up, Life As We Know It and Grey's Anatomy, recently appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and touted the benefits of eco-friendly cigarettes, also known as e-cigs. During her interview, the conversation turned to vaping and Heigl surprised Letterman by pulling out her all new e-friendly cigarette and smoking it on stage. "I tried everything," she said. "I did the patch, I did the gum... and went bananas," Heigl said. After her initial comments on smoking, Heigl pulled out an electronic cigarette and began to smoke ...

Most professional financial planners will tell you that personal financial planning is an ongoing process that requires a comprehensive strategy with continuous reviews and adjustments. The end of every year provides the opportune time to review past strategies as well as assess future new ones. The recent extension of the "Bush era" tax cuts only opens up more reasons to take the time and review your current financial position. The compromise the White House and Congressional leaders hammered out last week include additional elements that will impact everyone, and ...

For tennis players and fans, Tennis Cruise may very well have it all. Tennis Cruise kicked off two successful events in 2010 that combined a luxury cruise, tennis playing on the cruise and at ports of call, and attendance at a top tier professional tennis event and they seek to top that success in 2011. The first event of the new year takes tennis fans to Miami and the Sony Ericsson Open followed by a seven day cruise to the Caribbean where participants will play aboard the brand new Norwegian Epic and at beautiful tennis courts in the Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St. ...

Thermafiber, Inc. and ARCAT have developed AutoDesk Revit BIM objects for Thermafiber's mineral wool insulation products. These objects are available for free download on the ARCAT site and also accessible on Thermafiber's website. "BIM technology and acceptance has grown dramatically over the last couple of years," says Austin Hess, Thermafiber's Director of Business Development. "Adding Thermafiber BIM objects to ARCAT supports our Thermafiber Insolutions. We want to provide the architectural community with the tools and solutions that make our products easier to ...

New research by scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences reveals that the immune system has an effective backup plan to protect the body from infection when the "master regulator" of the body's innate immune system fails. The study appears in the December 19 online issue of the journal Nature Immunology. The innate immune system defends the body against infections caused by bacteria and viruses, but also causes inflammation which, when uncontrolled, can contribute to chronic illnesses ...

Berkeley – Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a new technique that allows plasmon lasers to operate at room temperature, overcoming a major barrier to practical utilization of the technology. The achievement, described Dec. 19 in an advanced online publication of the journal Nature Materials, is a "major step towards applications" for plasmon lasers, said the research team's principal investigator, Xiang Zhang, UC Berkeley professor of mechanical engineering and faculty scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. "Plasmon ...

Australian researchers have identified a way to measure the structure of membrane proteins despite being damaged when using X-ray Free-Electron Lasers (XFELs), a discovery that will help fast track the development of targeted drugs using emerging XFELs technology. About 70% of drugs on the market today depend on the activity of membrane proteins, which are complex molecules that form the membranes of the cells in our body. A major problem for the design of new pharmaceuticals, often known as the "membrane protein problem", is that they do not form the crystals needed ...

BOSTON – December 20, 2010 – In some adults, the white fat cells that we all stockpile so readily are supplemented by a very different form of fat—brown fat cells, which can offer the neat trick of burning energy rather than storing it. Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center, which last year led the way in demonstrating an active role for brown fat in adults, now have identified progenitor cells in mouse white fat tissue and skeletal muscle that can be transformed into brown fat cells. "This finding opens up a whole new avenue for researchers interested in designing molecules ...

Using acid suppressive medications, such as proton pump inhibitors and histamine2 receptor antagonists, may increase the risk of developing pneumonia, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj092129.pdf. Acid suppressive drugs are the second leading medication worldwide, totaling over US$26 billion in sales in 2005. Recently, medical literature has looked at unrecognized side effects in popular medications and their impact on public health. This systematic review, which incorporated all relevant ...

Strictly controlling the heart rate of patients with atrial fibrillation provides no advantage over more lenient heart rate control, experts report in a focused update of the 2006 guidelines for the management of patients with atrial fibrillation. The new recommendations, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and HeartRhythm Journal, are updates of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association/European Society of Cardiology 2006 Guidelines for the Management of Patients ...