Connecticut gun rampage: 28 dead, including 20 schoolchildren

NEWTOWN, Connecticut (Reuters) - Twenty schoolchildren were slaughtered by a heavily armed gunman who opened fire at a suburban elementary school in Connecticut on Friday, killing at least 27 people including himself in the one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history.

The 20-year-old gunman, who law enforcement sources identified as Adam Lanza, fired what witnesses described as dozens of shots at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which serves children from ages 5 to 10.

Authorities found 18 children and seven adults, including the gunman, dead at the school, and two children were pronounced dead later after being taken to a hospital. Another adult was found dead at a related crime scene in Newtown, bringing the toll to 28, state police Lieutenant Paul Vance said.

As reports of the shooting spread, panicked parents rushed to the school searching for their children as students covered in blood were being carried out of the building.

President Barack Obama, wiping away tears and pausing to collect his emotions in an address to the nation, mourned the "beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old" who were killed.

"Our hearts are broken today, for the parents, and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children and for the families of the adults who were lost," Obama said, his voice cracking.

"Our hearts are broken for the parents of the survivors as well, for as blessed as they are to have their children home tonight, they know that their children's innocence has been torn away from them too early and there are no words that will ease their pain," said Obama, who has two young daughters.

"Evil visited this community today," Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy told reporters.

The New York Times reported that the gunman walked into a classroom where his mother was a teacher, shot his mother and then 20 students, most in the same classroom, before shooting five other adults and killing himself. One other person was shot at the school and survived, the Times said.

Other media reports said the gunman's mother was found dead at a house nearby.

Adam Lanza's brother, Ryan Lanza, was "either in custody or being questioned," a law enforcement source said.

The gunman was dead inside the school, Vance said. The Times reported he used a Sig Sauer and a Glock, both handguns, and said police also found at the scene a Bushmaster .223 M4 carbine, a rifle, that they believe belonged to him.

The holiday season tragedy was the second shooting rampage in the United States this week and the latest in a series of mass killings this year, and was certain to revive a debate about U.S. gun laws.

POLICE, PARENTS SWARM SCHOOL

Chaos struck as children gathered in their classrooms for morning meetings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, a wealthy, wooded suburb of 27,000 in Fairfield County, about 80 miles northeast of New York City.

Images from the scene showed children being led away in single file, each child's hands clutching the shoulders of the one in front. Police wearing body armor and carrying rifles swarmed the scene and locked down the school.

Distraught parents converged, frantically searching for their daughters and sons. Neighbors and friends wandered in shock, looking for information.

"We can't believe this," said Kinga Walsh, 47, a mother of four who was Christmas shopping when she heard there had been a shooting at the school. "Newtown is a quiet, nice place. It's a small, tight-knit community."

Nearly 12 hours later, the bodies of the dead children, adults and gunman remained in the school awaiting identification.

Obama ordered flags flown at half-staff at U.S. public buildings.

"As a country, we have been through this too many times," Obama said, ticking off a list of recent shootings.

"We're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics," Obama said in apparent reference to the influence of the National Rifle Association over members of Congress.

Obama remains committed to trying to renew a ban on assault weapons, White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

The Connecticut shootings appear certain to trigger renewed debate over U.S. gun laws. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder of the advocacy group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, said it was "almost impossible to believe that a mass shooting in a kindergarten class could happen.

"We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership - not from the White House and not from Congress," he said. "That must end today."

Outside the White House gates, about 200 people rallied on a cold evening in favor of gun restrictions.

French President Francois Hollande, in an open letter to Obama, said he was "horrified" by the shootings. British Prime Minister David Cameron said, "It is heartbreaking to think of those who have had their children robbed from them at such a young age, when they had so much life ahead of them."

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed his condolences and called the targeting of children "heinous and unthinkable."

BLOODIED CHILDREN LEAVE SCHOOL

Vance said the shootings took place in two rooms of Sandy Hook Elementary. Witnesses reported hearing dozens of shots; some said as many as 100 rounds.

"It was horrendous," said parent Brenda Lebinski, who rushed to the school where her daughter is in the third grade. "Everyone was in hysterics - parents, students. There were kids coming out of the school bloodied."

Lebinski said a mother who was at the school during the shooting told her a "masked man" entered the principal's office and may have shot the principal.

Melissa Murphy, who lives near the school, monitored events on a police scanner.

"I kept hearing them call for the mass casualty kit and scream, ?Send everybody! Send everybody!'" she said. "It doesn't seem like it can be really happening. I feel like I'm in shock."

The toll exceeded that of one of the most notorious U.S. school shootings, the 1999 rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, where two teenagers killed 13 students and staff before killing themselves.

A girl described to NBC Connecticut hearing seven loud "booms" while she was in gym class. Other children began crying and teachers moved the students to an office, she said.

"A police officer came in and told us to run outside and so we did," the unidentified girl said on camera.

The United States has seen a number of shooting rampages this year, most recently in Oregon, where a gunman killed two people and then himself at a shopping mall on Tuesday.

The deadliest came in July at a midnight screening of a Batman film in Colorado that killed 12 people and wounded 58.

In 2007, 32 people were killed at Virginia Tech university in the deadliest act of criminal gun violence in U.S. history.

(Additional reporting by Hilary Russ, Edith Honan, Chris Francescani, Peter Rudegeair, Ellen Wulfhorst, David Gregorio and Erin Geiger Smith; Writing by Daniel Trotta and Jim Loney; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/connecticut-gun-rampage-28-dead-including-20-schoolchildren-002304562.html

joseph kony ipad 3 release date apple store down apple live blog ohio primary cell phone jammer g8 summit

Survivors of breast cancer more likely to develop diabetes, and should be screened more closely

Survivors of breast cancer more likely to develop diabetes, and should be screened more closely

Thursday, December 13, 2012

A major new study shows that post-menopausal survivors of breast cancer are more likely to develop diabetes than controls without breast cancer. Furthermore, the relationship between breast cancer and diabetes varies depending on whether a breast cancer survivor has undergone chemotherapy. The study is the largest to explore this relationship so far, and is published in Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).

An association between diabetes and cancer is becoming increasingly recognised. For instance, women with diabetes have an estimated 20% higher risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. As breast cancer survival rates continue to improve, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the long-term health consequences for survivors as they age. However, to date little research has been carried out on the risk of post-menopausal breast cancer survivors developing diabetes.

In this population-based study, Dr Lorraine Lipscombe (Women's College Hospital, Women's College Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada) and colleagues used population-based data from Ontario, Canada to compare the incidence of diabetes among women aged 55 years or older with breast cancer, from 1996 to 2008, with that of age-matched women without breast cancer. They further explored this relationship based on whether the patient had undergone chemotherapy.

They found that, of 24,976 breast cancer survivors and 124,880 controls, 9.7% developed diabetes over a mean follow-up of 5.8 years. The risk of diabetes among breast cancer survivors compared with women without breast cancer began to increase two years after diagnosis, with a 7% increased risk that rose to 21% after 10 years. Among those who received adjuvant chemotherapy (4,404 patients) almost the opposite relationship was found: risk was highest in the first two years after diagnosis (a 24% increased risk compared with controls) and then declined to an 8% increased risk after 10 years.

Dr Lipscombe says: "It is possible that chemotherapy treatment may bring out diabetes earlier in susceptible women. Increased weight gain has been noted in the setting for adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer, which may be a factor in the increased risk of diabetes in women receiving treatment. Oestrogen suppression as a result of chemotherapy may also promote diabetes; however this may have been less of a factor in this study where most women were already post-menopausal."

Other factors that may play a part for women with chemotherapy are the glucocorticoid drugs used to treat nausea in chemotherapy, known to cause spikes in blood sugar (acute hyperglycaemia), and the fact that women undergoing chemotherapy could be monitored more closely and thus are more likely to have diabetes detected. A reason that risk decreased in the chemotherapy group over time could be that many of the at-risk women developed diabetes in the first two years, and were thus no longer followed up. In addition, the effects of glucocorticoids are known to wear off over time.

The researchers are unsure why the breast cancer survivors who did not receive chemotherapy saw their risk of diabetes increase compared with control women without cancer. "There is, however, evidence of an association between diabetes and cancer, which may be due to risk factors common to both conditions," says Dr Lipscombe. "One such risk factor is insulin resistance, which predisposes to both diabetes and many types of cancer? initially insulin resistance is associated with high insulin levels and there is evidence that high circulating insulin may increase the risk of cancer. However, diabetes only occurs many years later when insulin levels start to decline?therefore it is possible that cancer risk occurs much earlier than diabetes in insulin-resistant individuals, when insulin levels are high."*

"These findings support a need for closer monitoring of diabetes among breast cancer survivors," concludes Dr Lipscombe

###

Diabetologia: http://www.diabetologia-journal.org/

Thanks to Diabetologia for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 43 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125913/Survivors_of_breast_cancer_more_likely_to_develop_diabetes__and_should_be_screened_more_closely

newsweek Tony Scott UFC 151 empire state building prince harry Hurricane hunger games

Banking deal boosts EU leaders in fighting crisis

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European governments clinched a landmark deal on bank supervision and approved long-delayed aid to Greece on Thursday, trumpeting the agreements as signs the bloc is getting a grip on its problems after three years of deep crisis.

Leaders meeting in Brussels for their sixth and final summit of 2012 faced warnings about complacency however, as they gear up for a tough new year that will see Italian and German voters go to the polls, and may bring a full bailout of Spain.

EU finance ministers agreed after marathon overnight talks to create a single banking supervisor for the euro zone and like-minded countries. The 27 leaders were set to give their stamp of approval at a summit that opened in a mood of optimism.

The release of nearly 50 billion euros in fresh aid for Greece, the heavily indebted state where the crisis began in 2009, averted a catastrophic default and the risk of a Greek exit from the currency zone.

"Since the summer, we have made a lot of progress in our efforts to overcome the immediate crisis in the euro zone," European Council President Herman Van Rompuy told the leaders as he opened the summit. "The worst is now behind us but of course much still needs to be done."

At the summit, held days after the EU received its Nobel Prize in Oslo, leaders were to discuss closer fiscal integration in the currency union, a drive that some officials worry has lost momentum since ECB President Mario Draghi calmed markets by pledging in July to do "whatever it takes" to save the euro.

European officials acknowledge privately that bolder steps towards closer integration of the single currency area will be on hold until after a German general election next September.

After a hectic year of crisis management, during which Greece had a close brush with the euro zone exit, the bloc appears to be heading into 2013 on a positive note.

ECB President Mario Draghi hailed the deal on banking supervision, the first stage towards a banking union with more pooled sovereignty, as an important step towards a stable economic and monetary union.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Europe's most powerful leader, said the agreement would boost trust and confidence in the euro zone. And Olli Rehn, the EU commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, said "Cassandras" who had predicted disaster for the euro and a Greek exit had been proven wrong.

But there is little time to relax. The next stages of banking union - creating a resolution fund for winding up troubled banks and coordinating deposit guarantees to protect savers - will be fought over even harder. And then there will be political and financial hurdles to negotiate through the year.

"The fact that the situation in the financial markets is now better than before should not be seen by the governments as a way to procrastinate," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told reporters.

RECESSION LOOMS

Much of southern Europe faces another year of grinding recession with record unemployment and deepening poverty that will tear at the fabric of wounded societies and may push governments' efforts to reduce deficits further off course.

With Silvio Berlusconi vowing to contest an Italian election early next year, a full bailout of Spain still on the cards and the German vote casting a long shadow, 2013 promises to be the EU's fourth turbulent year in a row, even without the risks from bailout countries Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

The immediate priority is to finalize the legal framework for banking union and get European Parliament backing. Then the ECB must hire staff and decide how to carry out its mandate. It is not expected to be fully operational before March 2014.

Under the deal sealed on Thursday, officials said the ECB would regulate some 150 to 200 banks directly - all major cross-border lenders and state aided institutions - with the power to delve into all 6,000 banks in case of problems.

Non-euro Britain, Sweden and the Czech Republic, the most skeptical EU members, allowed the agreement to go through but said they would not be joining the banking union. Other non-euro members left the decision open.

Completing such a complex process would be one of the EU's biggest achievements since the region's debt crisis first erupted three years ago. The aim is to begin to sever the so-called doom loop between indebted banks and shaky governments that has hit Ireland and Spain particularly hard.

Still, creating a full banking union, with powers to wind down failed banks and guarantee deposits across the euro zone, is likely to take several years. And it forms just part of the bloc's masterplan to bolster the architecture of the euro zone and prevent a repeat of the crisis that has threatened to tear the single currency project apart.

It promises to be a long and tortuous journey requiring political commitment from euro zone and non-euro members alike, something that countries such as Britain, with a restive Eurosceptic population, will find particularly stressful.

Each step towards closer union means a greater surrender of sovereignty by independent nations and spurs a political backlash, especially in times of economic hardship, social tension and high unemployment.

Van Rompuy and the heads of the European Commission, ECB and Eurogroup put forward a bold blueprint for closer euro zone fiscal, economic and political integration to the sumit.

But Merkel has lowered expectations for progress now on that agenda, saying EU leaders should focus on steps notably to improve economic competitiveness that can be implemented in the coming months.

She is determined not to frighten German taxpayers with talk of sharing more liability for banks or debts, and wants to avoid any such decisions until after the election in Germany, with campaigning already beginning to warm up.

While the debt crisis continues to weigh heavily on Europe's economy, leaders will have to navigate the pitfalls of electoral politics in Italy, Germany, Cyprus and elsewhere.

Italy is a particular concern if the next government rows back on any of the economic reforms put in place by technocrat Prime Minister Mario Monti, whose time in office has helped stabilize financial markets and stave off the crisis.

Several participants at a pre-summit meeting of centre-right leaders in Brussels urged Monti to stand as a candidate in an election expected in February, but he gave no indication of his intentions, a person at the meeting said.

Many European leaders fear a return of the erratic billionaire Berlusconi, who abruptly changed course on Wednesday, saying he would step aside if Monti agreed to lead the centre-right into the election.

Meanwhile, the original sovereign-debt problems in Greece will not be fully resolved, while Ireland and Portugal face a struggle to emerge from their bailout programs and regain market access by the end of 2013.

Greece's successful buying back of its own debt will help reduce its debt burden and will ensure that the next slice of emergency funds is released by the euro zone and International Monetary Fund, but there is a growing acknowledgement that Athens will need debt forgiveness in the years ahead.

(Additional reporting by Mark John, Rex Merrifield, Robin Emmott and Jan Strupczewski in Brussels, Madeline Chambers in Berlin and Gilbert Kreijer in The Hague; Writing by Luke Baker and Noah Barkin; Editing by Paul Taylor)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/banking-deal-sets-eu-leaders-upbeat-end-2012-090837246--finance.html

st louis news utah jazz lawrence of arabia denver nuggets correspondents dinner i am legend san antonio spurs

U.S. says will not sign ITU telecom treaty in current form

DUBAI (Reuters) - The U.S. will not sign the International Telecommunications Union's treaty in its current form, said Terry Kramer, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. body on Thursday, as voting began on the proposal.

The United States and its allies have fought during the 12-day conference to keep the mandate of the International Telecommunications Union, a part of the United Nations, from extending to oversight to the Internet.

A large bloc of countries led by Russia supports adding language to the treaty that could open the door to more regulation of cyberspace on issues from spam, security and the assignment of addresses to web pages.

"It's with a heavy heart and a sense of missed opportunities that the U.S. must communicate that it's not able to sign the agreement in the current form," said Kramer at the conference.

"The Internet has given the world unimaginable economic and social benefit during these past 24 years. All without U.N. regulation," he said.

(Reporting by Matt Smith; Editing by Leila Abboud)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-says-not-sign-itu-telecom-treaty-current-183058751--finance.html

oklahoma city bombing robbie robertson the curious case of benjamin button secret service prostitute rich ross april 20 jennifer love hewitt

Jacob Roberts' Friend: Break-Up May Have Sparked Mall Shooting (EXCLUSIVE)

Jacob Tyler Roberts

Jacob Tyler Roberts, 22, was identified by the Clackamas County Sheriff as the mall shooter who killed 2, and wounded 1 other, before turning the gun on himself.

Cindy Ann Yuille

Cindy Ann Yuille, age 54, a resident of northeast Portland was one of the two victims killed in the Clackamas Town Center shooting. A statement made by her family following the shooting: "Cindy was everybody?s friend. She was a wonderful person who was very caring and put others first."

Steven Matthew Forsyth

Steven Matthew Forsyth, age 45, of West Linn, was the second of the two victims killed in the Clackamas Town Center shooting. A statement made by her family following the shooting: "Steven Mathew Forsyth was a loving husband, father of two children, son, brother, uncle, youth sports coach and friend to the many people who had the privilege to meet him."

Jacob Tyler Roberts

Jacob Tyler Roberts, 22, was identified by the Clackamas County Sheriff as the mall shooter who killed 2, and wounded 1 other, before turning the gun on himself.

Jacob Tyler Roberts

Jacob Tyler Roberts, 22, was identified by the Clackamas County Sheriff as the mall shooter who killed 2, and wounded 1 other, before turning the gun on himself.

Jacob Tyler Roberts

Jacob Tyler Roberts, 22, was identified by the Clackamas County Sheriff as the mall shooter who killed 2, and wounded 1 other, before turning the gun on himself.

Jacob Tyler Roberts

Jacob Tyler Roberts, 22, was identified by the Clackamas County Sheriff as the mall shooter who killed 2, and wounded 1 other, before turning the gun on himself.

Jacob Tyler Roberts

Jacob Tyler Roberts, 22, was identified by the Clackamas County Sheriff as the mall shooter who killed 2, and wounded 1 other, before turning the gun on himself.

At Least Two Dead, One Injured In Oregon Mall Shooting

CLACKAMAS, OR - DECEMBER 11: Emergency vehicles gather outside the Clackamas Town Center mall after a shooting on December 11, 2012 in Clackamas, Oregon. According to reports, two victims and the gunman are dead after emergency dispatchers received reports that a shooting had occurred and a man was seen with an assault rifle near the mall's food court around 3:29 p.m. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

A couple removes police tape from their car after they were cleared to leave Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Witnesses say the scene went from cheery to chaotic in seconds when a gunman opened fire in the suburban Portland shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Thomas Boyd)

First responders stand outside where a gunman opened fire at the Clackamas Town Center shopping mall earlier in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Police say three people are dead, including the gunman. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Media gather around Clackamas County sheriff's Lt. James Rhodes during a news conference at the scene of a multiple shooting at Clackamas Town Center Mall in Clackamas, Ore., Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012. A gunman is dead after opening fire in the Portland, Ore., area shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another, sheriff's deputies said. (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens)

Shoppers wait to be evacuated outside the scene of a multiple shooting at Clackamas Town Center Mall in Clackamas, Ore., Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012. A gunman is dead after opening fire in the Portland, Ore., area shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another, sheriff's deputies said. (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens)

James Rhodes

Clackamas County sheriff's Lt. James Rhodes speaks to the media outside the scene of a multiple shooting at Clackamas Town Center Mall in Clackamas, Ore., Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012. A gunman is dead after opening fire in the Portland, Ore., area shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another, sheriff's deputies said. (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens)

An Oregon State police car leaves the parking lot where a gunman opened fire at the Clackamas Town Center shopping mall earlier in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Police say three people are dead, including the gunman. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

A tactical team moves through the mall parking lot at Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Witnesses say the scene went from cheery to chaotic in seconds when a gunman opened fire in the suburban Portland shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Thomas Boyd)

A couple with a child embrace after they were released from the mall at Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Witnesses say the scene went from cheery to chaotic in seconds when a gunman opened fire in the suburban Portland shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Thomas Boyd)

In this image taken from video provided by KPTV in Portland, emergency vehicles are parked outside Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Ore., after a shooting Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. A gunman is dead after opening fire in the shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another, sheriff's deputies said. (AP Photo/KPTV) MANDATORY CREDIT, PORTLAND OUT

Clackamas Mall Shooting

A tactical team moves through the mall parking lot at Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Witnesses say the scene went from cheery to chaotic in seconds when a gunman opened fire in the suburban Portland shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Thomas Boyd)

Witnesses are interviewed by a Clackamas County deputy outside Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Ore., where a shooting occurred, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. A gunman opened fire at the suburban Portland shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another as people were doing their Christmas shopping, authorities said. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Thomas Boyd)

Mall workers and shoppers wait to be cleared to leave REI at Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Ore., where a shooting occurred Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. A gunman opened fire at the suburban Portland shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another as people were doing their Christmas shopping, authorities said. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Thomas Boyd)

Clackamas Mall Shooting

Medical personnel are staged just outside Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Ore., after a shooting Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. A gunman is dead after opening fire in the shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another, sheriff's deputies said. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Thomas Boyd)

First responders stand outside where a gunman opened fire at the Clackamas Town Center shopping mall earlier in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Police say three people are dead, including the gunman.(AP Photo/Don Ryan)

At Least Two Dead, One Injured In Oregon Mall Shooting

CLACKAMAS, OR - DECEMBER 11: Emergency vehicles gather outside the Clackamas Town Center mall after a shooting on December 11, 2012 in Clackamas, Oregon. According to reports, two victims and the gunman are dead after emergency dispatchers received reports that a shooting had occurred and a man was seen with an assault rifle near the mall's food court around 3:29 p.m. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

At Least Two Dead, One Injured In Oregon Mall Shooting

CLACKAMAS, OR - DECEMBER 11: Emergency responders gather outside the Clackamas Town Center mall after a shooting on December 11, 2012 in Clackamas, Oregon. According to reports, two victims and the gunman are dead after emergency dispatchers received reports that a shooting had occurred and a man was seen with an assault rifle near the mall's food court around 3:29 p.m. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

At Least Two Dead, One Injured In Oregon Mall Shooting

CLACKAMAS, OR - DECEMBER 11: Memebers of a SWAT team wait outside the Clackamas Town Center after a shooting on December 11, 2012 in Clackamas, Oregon. According to reports, two victims and the gunman are dead after emergency dispatchers received reports that a shooting had occurred and a man was seen with an assault rifle near the mall's food court around 3:29 p.m. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

At Least Two Dead, One Injured In Oregon Mall Shooting

CLACKAMAS, OR - DECEMBER 11: A police officer talks to people outside the Clackamas Town Center after a shooting on December 11, 2012 in Clackamas, Oregon. According to reports, two victims and the gunman are dead after emergency dispatchers received reports that a shooting had occurred and a man was seen with an assault rifle near the mall's food court around 3:29 p.m. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

At Least Two Dead, One Injured In Oregon Mall Shooting

CLACKAMAS, OR - DECEMBER 11: Emergency vehicles gather outside the Clackamas Town Center mall after a shooting on December 11, 2012 in Clackamas, Oregon. According to reports, two victims and the gunman are dead after emergency dispatchers received reports that a shooting had occurred and a man was seen with an assault rifle near the mall's food court around 3:29 p.m. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

At Least Two Dead, One Injured In Oregon Mall Shooting

CLACKAMAS, OR - DECEMBER 11: Law enforcement work outside the Clackamas Town Center mall after a shooting on December 11, 2012 in Clackamas, Oregon. According to reports, two victims and the gunman are dead after emergency dispatchers received reports that a shooting had occurred and a man was seen with an assault rifle near the mall's food court around 3:29 p.m. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

At Least Two Dead, One Injured In Oregon Mall Shooting

CLACKAMAS, OR - DECEMBER 11: Emergency vehicles gather outside the Clackamas Town Center mall after a shooting on December 11, 2012 in Clackamas, Oregon. According to reports, two victims and the gunman are dead after emergency dispatchers received reports that a shooting had occurred and a man was seen with an assault rifle near the mall's food court around 3:29 p.m. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

At Least Two Dead, One Injured In Oregon Mall Shooting

CLACKAMAS, OR - DECEMBER 11: A police officer and firefighter speak to a woman outside the Clackamas Town Center after a shooting on December 11, 2012 in Clackamas, Oregon. According to reports, two victims and the gunman are dead after emergency dispatchers received reports that a shooting had occurred and a man was seen with an assault rifle near the mall's food court around 3:29 p.m. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

At Least Two Dead, One Injured In Oregon Mall Shooting

CLACKAMAS, OR - DECEMBER 11: People stand in front of Clackamas Town Center mall after a shooting on December 11, 2012 in Clackamas, Oregon. According to reports, two victims and the gunman are dead after emergency dispatchers received reports that a shooting had occurred and a man was seen with an assault rifle near the mall's food court around 3:29 p.m. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

At Least Two Dead, One Injured In Oregon Mall Shooting

CLACKAMAS, OR - DECEMBER 11: Law enforcement work outside the Clackamas Town Center mall after a shooting on December 11, 2012 in Clackamas, Oregon. According to reports, two victims and the gunman are dead after emergency dispatchers received reports that a shooting had occurred and a man was seen with an assault rifle near the mall's food court around 3:29 p.m. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

Police and medics work the scene of a multiple shooting at Clackamas Town Center Mall in Clackamas, Ore., Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012. A gunman is dead after opening fire in the Portland, Ore., area shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another, sheriff's deputies said. (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens)

At Least Two Dead, One Injured In Oregon Mall Shooting

CLACKAMAS, OR - DECEMBER 11: Memebers of a SWAT team wait outside the Clackamas Town Center after a shooting on December 11, 2012 in Clackamas, Oregon. According to reports, two victims and the gunman are dead after emergency dispatchers received reports that a shooting had occurred and a man was seen with an assault rifle near the mall's food court around 3:29 p.m. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

At Least Two Dead, One Injured In Oregon Mall Shooting

CLACKAMAS, OR - DECEMBER 11: People evacuate the Clackamas Town Center mall after a shooting on December 11, 2012 in Clackamas, Oregon. According to reports, two victims and the gunman are dead after emergency dispatchers received reports that a shooting had occurred and a man was seen with an assault rifle near the mall's food court around 3:29 p.m. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

At Least Two Dead, One Injured In Oregon Mall Shooting

CLACKAMAS, OR - DECEMBER 11: People stand outside the Clackamas Town Center after a shooting on December 11, 2012 in Clackamas, Oregon. According to reports, two victims and the gunman are dead after emergency dispatchers received reports that a shooting had occurred and a man was seen with an assault rifle near the mall's food court around 3:29 p.m. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

At Least Two Dead, One Injured In Oregon Mall Shooting

CLACKAMAS, OR - DECEMBER 11: Law enforcement work outside the Clackamas Town Center mall after a shooting on December 11, 2012 in Clackamas, Oregon. According to reports, two victims and the gunman are dead after emergency dispatchers received reports that a shooting had occurred and a man was seen with an assault rifle near the mall's food court around 3:29 p.m. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

Clackamas Mall Shooting

A law enforcement official secures the scene after a shooting at Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. A gunman is dead after opening fire at the shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another, sheriff's deputies said. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Thomas Boyd)

Clackamas Mall Shooting

Law enforcement personnel work the scene of a shooting at the Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Ore. Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. A gunman is dead after opening fire in the shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another, sheriff's deputies said. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Thomas Boyd) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; THE MERCURY OUT; WILLAMETTE WEEK OUT; PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP OUT

Clackamas Mall Shooting

Macy's employees are staged across the street from the Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Witnesses say the scene went from cheery to chaotic in seconds when a gunman opened fire in the suburban Portland shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Thomas Boyd)

A police officer conducts interviews with mall patrons outside the Clackamas Town Center in Clackamas, Ore. Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. A gunman is dead after opening fire in the Portland, Ore., area shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another, sheriff's deputies said. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Bruce Ely) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; THE MERCURY OUT; WILLAMETTE WEEK OUT; PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP OUT

Clackamas Mall Shooting

Emergency personnel stage an area outside the Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Ore., where a shooting occurred, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Witnesses say the scene went from cheery to chaotic in seconds when a gunman opened fire in the suburban Portland shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Thomas Boyd)

Clackamas Mall Shooting

Workers and shoppers wait to be cleared after a shooting occurred at Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. A gunman is dead after opening fire at the shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another, sheriff's deputies said. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Thomas Boyd)

Police Audio

Clackamas Oregon Town Center mall shooting police scanner audio.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/12/jacob-roberts-oregon-mall-shooting_n_2287745.html

Misty May And Kerri Walsh Jake Dalton London 2012 field hockey Missy Franklin Hunter Pence NBCOlympics Danell Leyva

The Boom And Bust Of Fracking

Some places have banned fracking, a controversial type of natural gas drilling. Critics say the process contaminates groundwater. But proponents say it creates jobs and energy independence. Host Michel Martin is joined by NPR's Jeff Brady and reporter Scott Detrow from NPR's StateImpact project in Pennsylvania. They discuss the boom and bust of fracking.

Copyright ? 2012 National Public Radio. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, those apps you've been downloading to keep the kids occupied during car rides and sports practices? It turns out, according to federal regulators, they are collecting all kinds of information that they aren't telling you about. So we will. In a few minutes.

But we want to start with a hot button issue that touches on the economy and environment. You may have heard about hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. That's a technology to extract natural gas that's causing alarm among a growing number of activists. You might have heard about it if, for no other reason, that many high profile celebrities that gotten involved in trying to stop it.

Critics of fracking, including major environmental group, say it's poisoning ground water and creating enormous amounts of toxic waste. Vermont banned fracking and New York state is deciding whether to allow it. But supporters of fracking say it not only creates jobs, it's also an important piece in the U.S. growing more energy-independent.

Reporter Scott Detrow saw that dilemma firsthand when he visited Towanda, Pennsylvania. He documented how fracking has changed that town in the new series "Boomtown" from StateImpact Pennsylvania. That's a partnership between NPR and member stations. And Scott Detrow joins us now. Welcome. Thanks for joining us.

SCOTT DETROW: Hey, thanks for having me.

MARTIN: Also with us is NPR's Jeff Brady. He covers the energy industry. Jeff, thanks to you also for joining us.

JEFF BRADY, BYLINE: Well, thank you. Good to be here.

MARTIN: And I also want to mention that if you have thoughts on fracking you can join StateImpact's conversation on Twitter at #nprboomtown. Jeff Brady, I'm going to start with you because I'd like to ask you why are we hearing so much about this technology now and talk a little bit more about it, if you would.

BRADY: Sure. You know, hydraulic fracturing has really changed the experience of living in a place where companies drill for natural gas. In the old days, a driller would come along and just punch a hole in the ground. They would drill down and over the next couple of decades the gas would leak out. And most of the time all that you saw above the ground was this valve kind of directing the gas to the nearest pipeline.

But now, to make these wells much more productive and profitable, drillers bring in a lot more equipment. They not only drill down vertically, but they also go out horizontally. And we're talking long distances, more than a mile in many cases. And then they pump truckloads of water along with some sand and often chemicals to break up the tight rocks deep underground. And that allows the gas to escape, which is what makes the wells a lot more productive.

The good news is this has boosted natural gas production in the U.S. and it's keeping prices very low for those of us who use gas in our homes. And also for utilities that use it to generate electricity.

MARTIN: So are the fears about fracking, about the quality of life issues that you just talked about? I mean, the fact is that equipment has to get where it gets some kind of way. Or is just that the process itself - is there a fear? And is there anything to support the fear that this will also cause long-lasting environmental damage?

BRADY: Yeah. You know, that's part of the problem here. And I've been covering this for over a decade. And we know a lot more about hydraulic fracturing than when I started, but there's still a lot that is not known about how fracking affects the environment. There's plenty of research underway. In coming years we're going to learn more about how pumping all of this chemical-laced water underground affects drinking water and whether it's contributing to minor earthquakes that some communities are experiencing.

There's also the issue of where all of this nasty fracking water is going to be disposed that a lot of communities are grappling with. And then there are all kinds of questions about air pollution created by these really intensive drilling operations.

So, you know, and even beyond the scientific issues there are cultural issues too. This type of drilling is turning sleepy, rural communities into industrial zones and that's really hard to live with.

MARTIN: Well, you know, there's both sides of that. And Scott Detrow, you've reported on both sides of that. I'll just start with a short clip from your reporting in Towanda, Pennsylvania. This is Randy Epler. He's life-long resident of the area and the city's police chief and this is what he told you.

RANDY EPLER: The gas industry has brought lots of jobs to the area and there'll be jobs long after the boom has left and the Norman Rockwell painting went bye-bye and we're at 2013 right with everybody else.

MARTIN: Scott, as near as you can tell, what point of view is the prevailing one in that area?

DETROW: There is absolutely no question that natural gas drilling has had a major economic impact on Towanda and the area around it. This is an area where unemployment was over 10 percent as late as 2009. But when you chart it out you just see a steep, steep, steep decline in unemployment in the Towanda area over the last few years. It's hovered between five and six percent throughout the entire recession and slow recovery.

So absolutely, you go to every single store on Main Street in Towanda and talk to them and they say business has been up. They have had more sales. They've seen a lot of ancillary benefits to this industry coming into their town. But with that comes growing pains. And this was a very sleepy town, a very rural town and all of a sudden you have trucks hauling machinery through. You have trucks hauling water through, fracking chemicals through, and there are traffic jams the likes of which you would see in downtown Washington D.C. sometimes. You know, traffic backed up for miles at times in Towanda. And the cost of living has just shot up as well and apartments that were going for around $300 a month now go for as much as $1,000 or more.

So that has implications. People can't afford the houses and apartments they've lived in for years. They've seen an increase in homelessness in Towanda because of this. So a very mixed bag. And depending on what area you focus on, it's a really great thing. In other areas it's a really bad thing. But everyone can agree no matter whether for it or against it, it has certainly changed life in the town.

MARTIN: We're talking about fracking with Scott Detrow of StateImpact Pennsylvania and NPR's Jeff Brady. He covers energy issues. Scott, so are the quality of life issues paramount among the critics? Or there are also people who were worried that this kind of economic advance is coming at a cost to their health. Is that something that people are talking about...

DETROW: Sure.

MARTIN: ...in the areas that are directly affected?

DETROW: When you talk about what the interest groups and the environmental groups and the activists talk about, the environmental issues are always top billing. And I did a lot of reporting on environmental and health problems in the area of Towanda over the last year. There were two high profile incidents where, because of problems or unexpected issues during the drilling process, methane gas was leaking into private water wells.

One person took me to a spot on his property and held a jar over a bubbling brook. And then he lit it on fire. So that's certainly a real concern. But what's interesting to me is when you talk to the people who live there, unless you're someone who has had your water well impacted, then that's certainly the top issue that comes to mind for you.

When you ask what's different now than a few years ago? What's your main concern about drilling? It's not I'm concerned about drinking water. It's there are so many trucks on my roads it drives me nuts. It's the quality of life issues and the communal change that really springs up first. That's not to say the other issues aren't there and important but every single person we talked to trucks was number one and rent was probably number two or three.

MARTIN: Jeff Brady, we mentioned that Vermont has banned fracking and New York state is grappling with it now. So you've got states who are directly addressing this on their own. Has the federal government said anything about this or weighed in on this? Or offered any policies on this or even research on this?

BRADY: Yeah. The federal government has been involved but states certainly are the primary regulators. The EPA is kind of looking over everybody's shoulders and developing - it's also looking at this issue. But states are the primary regulators. And so you have New York state right now developing regulations for hydraulic fracturing and that process is currently underway. Frankly, I would have thought it was finished by now, but it's very controversial and so they're still working on those regulations. They just put them out a couple of days ago and they have a comment period right now.

The State Department of Environmental Conservation in New York is collecting comments through January 11th and then there's also - the New York's Health Commissioner is conducting an assessment of health risks related to fracking and so everybody's waiting for that. That could take another couple of months.

At this point, it looks like the state may be ready to make a decision on whether to allow fracking by the end of February, what those regulations are going to look like. You know, but this just hasn't been a smooth process so far and I'm not going to be shocked if it takes longer than that.

MARTIN: Jeff, briefly - and I want to get a final word from Scott, as well - just briefly, where do you think this debate is going, Jeff?

BRADY: You know, it really is about environment versus economics and there are a lot of communities who would really like to have this kind of economic activity. I've been to a lot of boom towns and it's like a carnival. There's just money flowing everywhere.

But there are a lot of effects and it's really hard to live in those places. A lot of people chose to live in rural communities because they want a peaceful lifestyle and this kind of activity, this kind of natural gas drilling as opposed to what we were seeing a decade ago or two decades ago just really is not compatible with a nice, calm rural lifestyle

MARTIN: Interesting. Scott, a final word from you, if we can. What kind of reaction are you getting to your series as the same kind of debate over jobs versus the environment playing out on the common pages, too? What are you hearing?

DETROW: I think that's a pattern that plays itself out. No matter what issue we talk about, no matter what issue we cover and no matter how focused we are on one specific portion of natural gas drilling and its side effects, the conversation always comes back to the broad economics versus environment issue and the stakes are insanely high on both sides. This is a process that's creating an energy revolution in the United States. There's no question about it and it's an exponential increase in the amount of natural gas and it's put new life into oil fields, too.

And, at the same time, there are major, major concerns because there's nothing more important in the world than your water supply.

MARTIN: Scott Detrow is a reporter for StateImpact Pennsylvania. That's a partnership between NPR and member stations. He was with us from WITF in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Jeff Brady is a reporter on NPR's national desk. He joined us from his office in Philadelphia.

Thank you both so much for joining us.

BRADY: Oh, thank you.

DETROW: All right. Thank you.

MARTIN: And, remember, you can join StateImpact's conversation on Twitter using hash tag #NPR Boomtown.

Copyright ? 2012 National Public Radio. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2012/12/13/167165906/the-boom-and-bust-of-fracking?ft=1&f=1007

vincent jackson vicki gunvalson pierre garcon brown recluse spider wiz khalifa taylor allderdice eddie royal iditarod

'Hobbit' Stars Tease 'Thrilling' Scenes In 'Unexpected Journey'

But Martin Freeman doesn't want MTV News to get too excited for Smaug: 'Don't give Benedict any more f---ing credit,' he jokes.
By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Ian McKellen in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
Photo: Warner Bros.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1698785/hobbit-unexpected-journey-.jhtml

roland martin whitney houston dead at 48 whitney houston dead 2012 whitney houston passed away heartbreak hotel don cornelius