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WEEKLY NEWS DIGEST Circulated Weekly To Cities In Florida
In The News This Week GOOGLE CHAIRMAN HEADING TO NORTH KOREA When he lands in North Korea, even Google's executive chairman will likely have to relinquish his smartphone, leaving him disconnected from the global information network he helped build. Page 1
PAKISTAN SAYS US DRONES KILL SENIOR TALIBAN FIGURE Two U.S. drone strikes on northwest Pakistan Page 2 killed a senior Taliban commander
FLU? MALARIA? DISEASE FORECASTERS LOOK TO THE SKY Only a 10 percent chance of showers today, but a 70 percent chance of flu next month. Page 3
FLORIDA ACCIDENT STATISTICS Accident Statistics from Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Page 4
FLORIDA ACCIDENT REPORTS This Weeks Accident Reports from Various countys in Florida. Page 5
KANSAS WANTS SPERM DONOR PAY CHILD SUPPORT The state of Kansas is trying to force a man who donated sperm to a lesbian couple to pay child support, Page 6
US ECONOMY ADDS 155K JOBS; RATE REMAINS 7.8 PCT. U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs in December, a steady gain that shows hiring held up during the tense negotiations to resolve the fiscal cliff. Page 7
ATOM SMASHER HIATUS SETS STAGE FOR MORE DISCOVERY The world's largest and most powerful atom smasher goes into a 2-year hibernation in March, Page 8
MARTIAN ROCK FROM SAHARA DESERT UNLIKE OTHERS Scientists believe an asteroid or some other large object struck Mars, dislodging rocks and sending them into space. Page 8
Volume 731 Issue 452
Established 1998
December 31, 2012
G O O G L E C H A I R M A N HEADING TO NORTH KOREA SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- When he lands in North Korea, even Google's executive chairman will likely have to relinquish his smartphone, leaving him disconnected from the global information network he helped build.
stressed the need to build North Korea's e c o n o m y . In the early 1970s, communist North Korea had the stronger economy of the two Koreas. But North Korea's economy stagnated in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union as the regime resisted the shift toward capitalism in the world around it.
Eric Schmidt is a staunch advocate of global Internet Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt arrives for a seminar at Yonsei access and the University in Seoul, South Korea. Schmidt is preparing to travel to one of the power of Internet last frontiers of cyberspace: North Korea. He will be traveling to North Korea on a private trip led by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson that could take connectivity in lifting place as early as this month, sources told The Associated Press on By 2011, North people out of poverty Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. The sources, two people familiar with the group's Korea's national and political oppres- plans, asked not to be named because the visit had not been made public. income per capita sion. This month, he plans to travel to the country with languished at about $1,200 while South Korea's was the world's most restrictive Internet policies, where locals $23,467, according to the Bank of Korea in Seoul. need government permission to interact with foreigners - in person, by phone or by email - and only a tiny porAnd as the Internet began connecting the world - a tion of the elite class is connected to the Internet. movement South Korea embraced - North Korea reinforced its moat of security. Travelers arriving in But his visit may be a sign of Pyongyang's growing Pyongyang are ordered to leave their cellphones at the desire to engage with the outside world. North Korea's airport and all devices are checked for satellite commuyoung leader, Kim Jong Un, talks about using science nications. Foreigners and locals are required to seek and technology to jumpstart the country's moribund permission before interacting - in person, by phone or by economy, even if it means turning to experts from email. enemy nations for help. However, leader Kim Jong Un declared Monday In recent years, "North Korea has made a lot of that North Korea is in the midst of a modern-day "indusinvestment in science and technology, not just for military trial revolution." He is pushing science and technology purpose but also for the industry and practical reasons," as a path to economic development for the impoversaid Lim Eul-chul, a professor at South Korea's ished country, aiming for computers in every school and Kyungnam University. digitized machinery in every factory. More than 1.5 million people in North Korea now use cellphones with 3G Google's intentions in North Korea are not clear. technology. Two people familiar with the plans told The Associated Press that the trip was a "private, humanitarian mission." But giving citizens open access to the Internet has They asked not to be named, saying the delegation has not been part of the North's strategy. While some North not made the trip public. Schmidt will be traveling with Koreans can access a domestic Intranet service, only a former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a seasoned select few have clearance to freely surf the World Wide envoy, and Kun "Tony" Namkung, a Korea expert with Web. long ties to North Korea. Schmidt speaks frequently about the importance of "Perhaps the most intriguing part of this trip is sim- providing people around the world with Internet access ply the idea of it," Victor Cha, an Asia expert who trav- and technology. eled to North Korea with Richardson in 2007, wrote in a blog post for the Center for Strategic and International As Google's chief executive for a decade until 2011, Studies think tank in Washington. Schmidt oversaw Google's ascent from a small California startup focused on helping computer users Kim Jong Un "clearly has a penchant for the mod- search the Internet to a global technology giant. Google ern accoutrements of life. If Google is the first small step now has offices in more than 40 countries, including all in piercing the information bubble in Pyongyang, it could three of North Korea's neighbors: Russia, South Korea be a very interesting development." and China, another country criticized for systematic Internet censorship. But this trip will probably be less about opening up North Korea's Internet than about discussing information After being accused of complying with China's strict technology, Lim said. North Korea may be more inter- Internet regulations, Google pulled its search business ested in Google services such as email and mapping, as from the world's largest Internet market in 2010 by rediwell as software development, than in giving its people recting traffic from mainland China to Hong Kong. Internet access, he said. In April, Schmidt and Jared Cohen, a former U.S. Kim Jong Un, who took power a year ago, has
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Legal Street News Monday December 31, 2012
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P A K I S T A N S A Y S U S D R O N E S K I L L S E N I O R T A L I B A N F I G U R E Residents in Angoor Adda and Wana, the biggest town in South Waziristan, said mosque louds p e a k e r s announced Nazir's death. One resident, Ajaz Khan, said 5,000 to 10,000 people attended the funeral of Nazir and six other people in Angoor A d d a .
P E S H AWA R , Pakistan (AP) -- Two U.S. drone strikes on northwest Pakistan killed a senior Taliban commander who fought American forces in Afghanistan but had a truce with the Pakistani military, intelligence officials said Thursday.
The commander, Maulvi Nazir, was among nine people killed in a missile strike on a house in the village of Angoor Adda in the Ahmed Yar, a South Waziristan tribal who region near the border Pakistani militant commander Maulvi Nazir meets his associates in South resident the with Afghanistan late Waziristan, Pakistan near the Afghani border. Five Pakistani security officials said attended said Wednesday night, five the commander, Nazir, was reportedly among nine people killed in a missile strike funeral, on a house in the village of Angoor Adda in the South Waziristan tribal region early Nazir's body was Pakistani security offiThursday. badly burned and cials said on condition of his face unrecognizable. anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Reports of individual deaths in such cases are often difficult to independently verify. Pakistani and foreign journalists At least four people were killed in a separate drone strike have a hard time traveling to the remote areas where many of on Thursday morning near Mir Ali, the main town of the North these strikes occur, and the U.S. rarely comments on its secreWaziristan tribal region. tive drone program. America's use of drones against militants in Pakistan has Nazir was active in many parts of Afghanistan and had increased substantially under President Barack Obama and the close ties with Arab members of al-Qaida as well as the Afghan program has killed a number of top militant commanders over Taliban, said Mansur Mahsud, the head of the Islamabad-based the past year. FATA Research Centre, which studies the tribal regions. But the drone strikes are extremely contentious in Pakistan, "His death is a great blow to the Afghan Taliban," he said. seen as an infringement on the country's sovereignty. And while the U.S. maintains that it targets militants, many Pakistanis The Taliban is a widely diverse group. The Afghan Taliban complain that innocent civilians have also been killed. is made up mostly of Afghans who fight against U.S. and NATO troops. In Pakistan the group has been divided with some fightNazir's killing could cause even more friction in the ing the Pakistani government because of its support for the U.S. already tense relations between Washington and Islamabad. Other Taliban groups in Pakistan, such as Nazir's, focus their Pakistan is believed to have struck a nonaggression pact with energies on fighting American and NATO troops in Afghanistan Nazir ahead of its 2009 military operation against militants in but have a truce with the Pakistani military. South Waziristan. Fighters under Nazir's command focused their attacks on American forces in neighboring Afghanistan, earning him the enmity of the U.S. But many in Pakistan's military viewed Nazir and militant chiefs like him as "good Taliban," meaning they focus attacks only on foreign forces in Afghanistan, keeping domestic peace by not attacking Pakistani targets.
Nazir, who was believed to be about 40 years old, had property in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. He used to be a member of Hizb-e-Islami, a militant Islamist group run by former Afghan prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The group has thousands of fighters and followers across the north and east of Afghanistan.
ing Nazir outraged many Pakistanis in June when he announced that he would not allow any polio vaccinations in territory under his control until the U.S. stops drone attacks in the region. Pakistan is one of three countries where polio is still endemic. Nine workers helping in anti-polio vaccination campaigns were killed last month by militant gunmen and the killings this week of five female teachers and two aid workers may also have been linked to their work on the polio campaigns.
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Nazir had survived several assassination attempts includat least two previous American drone strikes.
In November, a suicide bomber tried to kill him as he was arriving at an office where he used to meet with local residents and hear their complaints. Nazir and more than a dozen other people were wounded in the attack, and seven were killed. No group claimed responsibility, but suspicion immediately fell on rival militants including the head of the Tehrik-eTaliban (TTP), Hakimullah Mehsud, who had been jockeying
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Street News Monday, December 31,2012
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F L U ? M A L A R I A ? D I S E A S E FORECASTERS LOOK TO THE SKY of the virus. But the danger wasn't spread uniformly. In Texas, the Dallas area was particularly hardhit, while other places, including some with similar weather patterns and the same type of mosquitoes, were not as affected.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Only a 10 percent chance of showers today, but a 70 percent chance of flu next month. That's the kind of forecasting health scientists are trying to move toward, as they increasingly include weather data in their attempts to predict disease outbreaks.
"Why Dallas, and not areas with similar ecological conditions? We don't really know," said Roger Nasci of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He is chief of the CDC branch that tracks insect-borne viruses.
In one recent study, two scientists reported they could predict - more than seven weeks in advance - when flu season was going to peak in New York City. Theirs was just the latest in a growing wave of computer models that factor in rainfall, temperature or other weather conditions to forecast disease.
Some think flu lends itself to outbreak forecasting - there's already a predictability to the annual winter flu season. But that's been tricky, too.
Health officials are excited by this kind of work and the idea that it could be used to fine-tune vaccination campaigns or other prevention efforts. disease
Seasonal flu reports come from doctors' offices, but those show At the same time, experts note that outJeffrey Shaman poses for a portrait in his office at Columbia University's Department of Environmental Health Sciences breaks are influenced as much, or more, in New York. In the study of New York City flu cases published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy the disease when it's already spreading. Some researchers by human behavior and other factors as of Sciences, the authors said they could forecast, by up to seven weeks, the peak of flu season have studied tweets on Twitter by the weather. Some argue weatherand searches on Google, but their work has offered a based outbreak predictions still have a long way to go. jump of only a week or two on traditional methods. "We predicted what would happen later that year," said And when government health officials warned in early Glass, a Johns Hopkins researcher who worked Gregory December that flu season seemed to be off to an early In the study of New York City flu cases published last on the project. start, they said there was no evidence it was driven by month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of the weather. Sciences, the authors said they could forecast, by up to More recently, in east Africa, satellites have been used to seven weeks, the peak of flu season. predict rainfall by measuring sea-surface temperatures This disease-forecasting concept is not new: Scientists and cloud density. That's been used to generate "risk have been working on mathematical models to predict They designed a model based on weather and flu data maps" for Rift Valley fever - a virus that spreads from anioutbreaks for decades and have long factored in the from past years, 2003-09. In part, their design was based mals to people and in severe cases can cause blindness weather. They have known, for example, that temperaon earlier studies that found flu virus spreads better or death. Researchers have said the system in some ture and rainfall affect the breeding of mosquitoes that when the air is dry and turns colder. They made calculahas given two to six weeks advance warning. cases carry malaria, West Nile virus and other dangerous distions based on humidity readings and on Google Flu eases. Trends, which tracks how many people are searching Last year, other researchers using satellite data in east each day for information on flu-related topics (often Africa said they found that a small change in average Recent improvements in weather-tracking have helped, because they're beginning to feel ill). temperature was a warning sign cholera cases would including satellite technology and more sophisticated double within four months. computer data processing. Using that model, they hope to try real-time predictions as early as next year, said Jeffrey Shaman of Columbia "We are getting very close to developing a viable foreAs a result, "in the last five years or so, there's been quite University, who led the work. casting system" against cholera that can help health offian improvement and acceleration" in weather-focused in African countries ramp up emergency vaccinacials disease modeling, said Ira Longini, a University of "It's certainly exciting," said Lyn Finelli, the CDC's flu surtions and other efforts, said a statement by one of the Florida biostatistician who's worked on outbreak predicveillance chief. She said the CDC supports Shaman's authors, Rita Reyburn of the International Vaccine tion projects. work, but agency officials are eager to see follow-up Institute in Seoul, South Korea. studies showing the model can predict flu trends in Some models have been labeled successes. places different from New York, like Miami. Some diseases are hard to forecast, such as West Nile virus. Last year, the U.S. suffered one of its worst years In the United States, researchers at Johns Hopkins Despite the optimism by some, Dr. Edward Ryan, a since the virus arrived in 1999. There were more than University and the University of New Mexico tried to preHarvard University professor of immunology and infec2,600 serious illnesses and nearly 240 deaths. dict outbreaks of hantavirus in the late 1990s. They used tious diseases, is cautious about weather-based predicrain and snow data and other information to study pattion models. "I'm not sure any of them are ready for prime Officials said the mild winter, early spring and very hot terns of plant growth that attract rodents. People catch time," he said. summer helped spur mosquito breeding and the spread the disease from the droppings of infected rodents.
E G Y P T : C O N S E Q U E N C E S ' Continued from page 2 with Nazir for power in South Waziristan. The TTP is an umbrella group of militants formed to oust the Pakistani government and install a hardline Islamist regime. They have been behind much of the violence tearing apart Pakistan in recent years. Nazir's non-aggression pact with the Pakistani military allowed the army to launch a massive operation in South Waziristan against the TTP which displaced more than 800,000 people and drove Hakimullah Mehsud from the region. In retaliation for the assassination attempt, Nazir expelled members of the Hakimullah's Mehsud tribe from Wana. Nazir was meeting with supporters to discuss how to deal with the TTP when the missiles struck on Wednesday night, said Mehsud from the FATA center. Nazir's group quickly appointed his close aide Bawal Khan as a replacement, according to one of Nazir's commanders. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. But it remains to be seen what the new leader's policies will
be and whether the tension with the TTP could lead to a power struggle in the region. "Trouble will follow," said Mehsud. The former chief of intelligence in northwest Pakistan, retired brigadier Asad Munir, said Nazir's killing will complicate the fight against militants in the tribal region, and could prompt Nazir's group to carry out retaliatory attacks against the Pakistani army in South Waziristan. It will also raise questions among military commanders here who would like the U.S. to use its firepower against the Pakistani Taliban, which attacks domestic targets, and not against militants like Nazir who aren't seen as posing as much of a threat to the state, Munir said. He added that the risk now for Pakistan is that the remnants of Nazir's group could join ranks with the Pakistani Taliban in its war with the government and army. Drone strikes have been on the rise during Obama's presi-
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dency. According to the Long War Journal, which tracks drone strikes, there were 35 strikes in Pakistan during 2008, the last year President George W. Bush was in office. That number shot up to 117 in 2010 and then dropped the 46 last year. The strike that killed Nazir was the first of 2013. The program has killed a number of top militant commanders over the past year, including al-Qaida's then-No. 2, Abu Yahya al-Libi, who died in a drone strike in June on the Pakistani village of Khassu Khel in North Waziristan. In August, another missile strike in North Waziristan killed Badruddin Haqqani, who has been described as the day-to-day operations commander of the Haqqani network, which has been blamed by the U.S. for carrying out some of the most high-profile attacks against American and NATO troops in Afghanistan.
4 Legal Street News Monday December 31, 2012
F L O R I D A
A C C I D E N T
S T A T I S T I C S
Data From the Official Website of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. www.flhsmv.gov
THIS W EEK
______________________________________Legal Street News Monday, December 31, 2012
AUTO ACCIDENTS
IN SOUTH FLORIDA
Two Lakeland men are dead after a crash on State Road 60
Texting + Drunk Driving = 'Perfect Storm'
December 24, 2012
A 33-year-old construction worker whose wife was out of town had consumed three Miller Lite beers in 90 minutes the night of July 2, 2012. Later that night, his Dodge Ram struck a stopped car at the intersection of U.S. Route 19 and Main Street in New Port Richey, causing a four-car pileup, according to the Tampa Bay Times. While the New Port Richey police report said that an officer noticed the man’s “dazed expression, bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, along with the ‘obvious odor’ of booze on his breath,” the report also said the construction worker admitted he had been “texting and not paying attention.”
Two Lakeland men are dead after a crash on State Road 60 in the southern part of the county. Florida Highway Patrol troopers said Alexander Herrera was traveling westbound on S.R. 60 when he lost control of the Toyota Matrix in the rain. The Matrix crossed into the eastbound lanes and into the path of Wade and Brenda Neely, who are from Port St. Lucie. The front of the Neely’s Chrysler struck the right side of the Matrix. Troopers said the Matrix then traveled onto the southbound shoulder of S.R. 60 where it partially overturned. Herrera was ejected. Herrara, 37, and his passenger, 38-year-old Misael Alonso, were pronounced dead on the scene. The Neelys were taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center with critical and serious injuries. The
crash
remains
under
investigation.
Injured Vero Beach motorcyclist in stable condition December 26, 2012 INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A motorcyclist injured Saturday was in stable condition at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce, a hospital spokeswoman said Tuesday. Randy Dale Baker, 54, of the 3400 block of First Street, Vero Beach, was injured when he swerved to avoid a collision at 26th Street and 43rd Avenue Saturday afternoon. The Florida Highway Patrol said Alane M. Decheubell, 49, of the 5400 block of 25th Place, Vero Beach was westbound on 26th when she was distracted by a cellphone and ran through a red light at 43rd. Baker avoided hitting her but lost control of the motorcycle and hit a low concrete barrier on a nearby canal, FHP said. Baker was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, FHP said.
Driver killed in Bayshore crash had drugs in system,
December 27, 2012
“It was a perfect storm,” New Port Richey police Chief James Steffens told the Times in regards to the combination of texting behind the wheel while intoxicated. The Times also noted that tests showed blood alcohol levels of 0.15 and 0.146, or nearly twice the legal limit for intoxication in Florida. “This is a very good example of something being 100 percent preventable.” The Times noted that texting while driving “remains legal in Florida, but the issue has been hotly debated.” Steffens told the Times, “I think it will be for a long time to come.” The video above shows Florida State Representative Irv Slosberg saying it was time for a texting ban following a fatal accident last September. While we are still waiting for the Sunshine State to enact a texting ban similar to what many other states across the country have in place, Steffens pointed out that a texting driver can still be charged with careless driving. This accident makes us recall the study by Car and Driver that found texting while driving is actually more dangerous than drunk driving, but the danger is clearly increased when both of those factors are involved. Drunk driving or texting while behind the wheel are both dangerous activities on their own, but the danger for other motorists is increased exponentially when a motorist is doing both at the same time.
Congress crash through Boca raton
Overturned fuel tanker shuts down part of I-4 in Polk County December 28, 2012 Lakeland, Florida - An overturned gas tanker has shut down all eastbound lanes of Interstate 4 in Polk County. The Florida Highway Patrol suggests motorists use Exit 28 (Memorial Boulevard) or the Polk Parkway as detours. Tolls for eastbound SR570 have also been temporarily suspended to help drivers detour around the crash.
FHP says at about 5 am, the tractor trailer was on eastbound I-4, west of Kathleen Road. The driver reportedly fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of the vehicle. The tractor trailer hit a guard rail and overturned onto the roadway. At the time of the crash, the tanker was carrying 8,700 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel. FHP says 1,100 gallons or more leaked onto the interstate. The driver, 33-year-old Lucius Lawrence, was taken to the hospital for minor injuries. He has been cited for careless driving. As of 9:30 a.m., I-4 remains shut down as Hazmat crews continue to clean up the spilt fuel. Traffic is backed up all the way to Ybor City. It may be several more hours before the road is reopened.
Man on riding mower hit, killed by car December 29, 2012 ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. -- A 55-year-old man was hit and killed by a car Tuesday as he was by mowing the grass on US 1. Sowards was on the northbound side's outside grass shoulder. Sowards came to a culvert, according to a release from the Florida Highway Patrol, and drove his mower tractor into the outside travel lane of US 1, into the path of a 4-door Lexus, also headed northbound. The impact caused Sowards to be ejected from the tractor, causing him to strike his head on the roadway. Sowards was pronounced deceased at the scene. The driver of the Lexus, who was wearing a seatbelt, was not injured.
December 28, 2012 8:55 a.m., crash on southbound I-95 near Congress Avenue through Boca Raton, no travel lanes blocked;
December 26, 2012 The University of South Florida student who died in a crash on Bayshore Boulevard in May had drugs in his system, according to officials. According to Tampa Police, 19-year-old Michael Agana had marijuana and LSD in his system on May 11 when his Toyota Camry crashed through the concrete barriers on Bayshore and ended up in the bay.
8:12 a.m., crash on northbound I-95 near Sunrise Boulevard, no travel lanes blocked; Volume-related delays and congestion are evident beyond Sunrise Boulevard; 8:10 a.m., debris on northbound I-75 near Indian Trace in Weston, use caution through the area.
Agana later died at Tampa General Hospital. Officials said while drugs are believed to have contributed to the crash, the investigation is still ongoing
A 29-year-old Sarasota woman is in critical December 26, 2012 MARION COUNTY -The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crash that killed a man late Friday night. Officials said 22-year-old Daniel Lee Hunt was driving southbound US-27, south of Southeast 80 Street at high rate of speed at about 11:25 p.m. Hunt lost control of his Chevy Camaro, causing it rotate onto the grass shoulder and collide with two trees. Hunt was pronounced dead at the scene.
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K A N S A S W A N T S S P E R M D O N O R PAY C H I L D S U P P O RT TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- The state of Kansas is trying to force a man who donated sperm to a lesbian couple to pay child support, arguing that the agreement he and the women signed releasing him from all parental duties was invalid because they didn't go through a doctor.
were either incorrect or out of service, and Schreiner did not respond to a message sent by Facebook. The department first filed a petition against Marotta in Shawnee County District Court in October, asking that he be required to reimburse the state for the benefits and make future child support payments.
Under Kansas law, a doctor's involvement shields a man from being held responsible for a child conceived through artificial insemination. At least 10 other states have similar laws, including California, Illinois and Missouri, according to the Kansas Department for Children and Families. William Marotta and the couple he helped have a daughter didn't go through a doctor, so the department is asking a state court to hold him responsible for about $6,000 that the child's biological mother received through public assistance - as well as future child support. The department also asked the court to appoint an attorney to represent the now 3-year-old girl, independently of her mother. Marotta is asking that the case be dismissed, arguing that he is not the child's legal father. A hearing is set for Tuesday. Department spokeswoman Angela de Rocha said Wednesday that when a single mother seeks benefits for a child, the department routinely tries to determine the child's paternity and require the father to make support payments to lessen the potential cost to taxpayers. She argued that the law regarding artificial insemination is an incentive for donors and prospective mothers to work with a doctor. "I believe that is the intent of the law, so that we don't end up with these ambiguous situations," she told The Associated Press. Marotta, a 46-year-old Topeka resident, answered an ad on Craigslist in 2009 from Angela Bauer and Jennifer Schreiner, a local couple who said they were seeking a sperm donor. After exchanging emails and meeting, Marotta and the couple signed an agreement in which the women agreed to "hold him harmless" financially. It also said the child's birth certificate would not list a father. But the state agency argues the agreement isn't valid, because instead of working with a doctor, Marotta agreed to drop off containers with his sperm at the couple's home, according to prepared court documents the department gave to the AP late Wednesday. The women handled the artificial insemination themselves using a syringe, and Schreiner eventually became pregnant, according to the docu-
Along with the 1994 law regarding artificial insemination, the department cited a 2007 Kansas Supreme Court ruling. In that case, the court decided that a sperm donor who works through a licensed physician can't legally be considered a child's father - and doesn't have K a n s a s C i t y C o u r t h o u s e the right to visit or help raise the ments. The couple broke up in 2010, and last child - absent a formal, written agreement. year, Schreiner received public assistance from the state to help care for the girl. However, that case involved a sperm donor who was seeking access to a child but had only an "My ex-partner and I wanted to have a baby," informal, unwritten agreement with the child's Schreiner said in a written statement to the mother. Marotta's attorneys contend the state is department in January 2012, also included in the reading it incorrectly. department's latest filing. "We were a gay couple so we had a sperm donor." Still, Linda Elrod, a law professor and director of Washburn University's Children and Family Law Marotta told The Topeka-Capital Journal that he program, said the law seems clear: Sperm is "a little scared about where this is going to go, donors who don't want to be held liable for child primarily for financial reasons." His attorney didsupport need to work with a doctor. n't return a phone message Wednesday from the AP, and there was no listing for his home phone "Other than that, the general rule is strict liability number in Topeka. for sperm," said Elrod, who filed a friend-of-thecourt brief in the Supreme Court case. Phone numbers listed for Schreiner and Bauer
GOOGLE CHAIRMAN HEADING NORTH Continued from page 1 State Department policy and planning adviser who heads Google's New York-based think tank, will publish a book about the Internet's role in shaping society called "The New Digital Age." Son Jae-kwon, a visiting scholar at Stanford, compared Schmidt to Chung Ju-yung, the late founder of the South Korean conglomerate Hyundai who strode across the DMZ dividing the two Koreas with a pack of cattle in 1998. But this time, it's computer technology, not cows. "Internet is the cattle of the 21st century," Son said. "It is what North Korea needs most." The Richardson-Schmidt trip comes at a delicate time politically. In December, North Korea defiantly shot a satellite into space on the back of a three-stage rocket, a launch Pyongyang has hailed as a major step in its
quest for peaceful exploration of space. Washington and others, however, decry it as a covert test of long-range ballistic missile technology designed to send a nuclear-tipped warhead as far as California. The U.N. Security Council quickly condemned the launch, and is deliberating whether to further punish Pyongyang for violating bans on developing its nuclear and missile programs. The visit also follows North Korea's announcement that an American citizen has been jailed in Pyongyang on suspicion of committing "hostile" acts against the state. Richardson will try to address his detainment, the sources said. Washington and Pyongyang do not have diplomatic relations. North Korea and the U.S. fought on opposite sides of the three-year Korean War before signing a truce in 1953. However, North Korea has indicated interest in repairing relations with Washington. Last year, a group of North Korean economists and diplomats visited Google headquarters in Mountain View, California. And North Korean-affiliated agencies already use at least one Google product to get state propaganda out to the world: YouTube.
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_____________________________________________________Legal Street News Monday, December 31, 2012
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U S E C O N O M Y A D D S 1 5 5 K J O B S ; R AT E R E M A I N S nearly 70 percent of economic growth.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs in December, a steady gain that shows hiring held up during the tense negotiations to resolve the fiscal cliff.
Manufacturing is getting a boost from the best auto sales in five years. Car sales jumped 13 percent in 2012 to 14.5 million. And Americans spent more at the tail end of the holiday shopping season, boosting overall sales that had slumped earlier in the crucial twomonth period.
The solid job growth wasn't enough to reduce the unemployment rate, which remained 7.8 percent last month, the Labor Department said Friday. The rate for November was revised up from an initially reported 7.7 percent.
"There is little doubt that the seeds of faster growth are being planted," James Marple, an economist at TD Bank, said in a note to clients.
Each January, the government updates the monthly unemployment rates for the previous five years. The rates for most months don't change.
But most economists expect little improvement in hiring this year. A 2 Taneshia Wright, of Manhattan, fills out a job application during a job fair in New York. U.S. employers percentage point cut in the Social added 155,000 jobs in December, a steady gain that shows hiring held up during the tense negotiations Security tax expired Jan. 1. That to resolve the fiscal cliff. means a household with income of The government said hiring about $50,000 will have about $1,000 less to was stronger in November than it first estimatAll the job gains last month came from private spend. And the government will may impose ed. November's job increases were revised up employers. Governments shed 13,000 jobs, spending cuts this year. 15,000 to 161,000. October's increase was mostly in local school systems. nearly unchanged at 137,000. Both the higher taxes and spending cuts, The stable hiring pace shows that employers along with uncertainty about future budget The "gain is perhaps better than it looks given didn't panic during the high-stakes talks fights, could restrain growth and hiring. that firms were probably nervous about adding between Congress and the White House over workers with the fiscal cliff looming," said Paul tax increases and spending cuts that weren't That "likely means acceleration in the labor Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics. resolved until New Year's. market will remain elusive for the time being," said Ellen Zentner, an economist at Nomura Even so, hiring hasn't been strong enough to That's an encouraging sign for the coming Securities. quickly reduce still-high unemployment. The months, because an even bigger federal budgjob gains for December almost exactly et showdown is looming. The government Don Brown, chief executive of Arteriocyte, a matched the average monthly pace for the must increase its $16.4 trillion borrowing limit medical device maker, plans to hire more peopast two years. Hiring has been steady but by around late February or risk defaulting on ple this year. But he is worried about potential modest as the economy has grown slowly its debt. Republicans will likely demand deep cuts in government spending that could cut since the recession ended more than three spending cuts as the price of raising the debt into his Cleveland-based company's revenue. years ago. limit. For 2012, employers added 1.84 million jobs, an average of 153,000 jobs a month, roughly matching the job totals for 2011. Robust hiring in manufacturing and construction fueled the December job growth. Construction firms added 30,000, the most in 15 months. That increase likely reflected hiring needed to rebuild after Superstorm Sandy and also gains in home building that have contributed to a housing recovery. Manufacturers added 25,000 jobs, the most in nine months. Other higher-paying industries also added jobs. Professional and business services, which include positions in information technology, management and architecture, gained 19,000. Financial services added 9,000 and health care 55,000.
Lower-paying industry sectors were mixed. Restaurants and bars added 38,000 jobs. Retailers cut 11,300, a sign that the holiday shopping season might have been sluggish. But those cuts followed three months of strong gains.
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Friday's report did point to some weakness in the job market. For example, the number of unemployed actually rose 164,000 to 12.2 million. Approximately 192,000 people entered the work force last month, but most of them didn't find jobs.
One such cut is a 2 percent reduction to the reimbursements Medicare provides to doctors and hospitals. It was delayed temporarily as part of the agreement this week. If that cut is implemented later this year, it would lower revenue for the hospitals and surgeons that buy his company's advanced products.
The unemployment numbers come from a government survey of households; the number of jobs added each month comes from a separate survey of businesses.
"Our entire customer base is unsure about what their reimbursement landscape is going to be," Brown said.
A broader category that includes not only the unemployed but also part-time workers who want full-time jobs and people who have given up looking for work was unchanged in December at 22.7 million.
The Obama administration's health care reform also imposed a 2.2 percent sales tax on medical devices. Brown estimates that will cost the company $400,000. He had hoped that tax would be eliminated as part of the fiscal cliff talks.
Despite the still-modest job growth, the economy is showing signs of improvement. Layoffs are declining. And the number of people who sought unemployment aid in the past month is near a four-year low. Banks are lending a bit more freely. The jobs report showed that hourly pay is staying slightly ahead of inflation. Hourly wages rose 7 cents to $23.73 last month, a 2.1 percent increase compared with a year earlier. Inflation rose 1.8 percent over the same period. The once-depressed housing market is recovering. A measure of U.S. service firms' business activity expanded in December by the most in nearly a year. And Americans spent more in November. Consumer spending drives
Arteriocyte hired 10 new workers last year and now employs 76 people. The new hires included research scientists, two marketing specialists, and a sales representative. The company hopes to make five to 10 additional hires this year, but may not be able to do so if the Medicare cut occurs.
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Legal Street News Monday, December 31, 2012
A T O M S M A S H E R H I A T U S S E T S S T A G E F O R M O R E D I S C O V E R Y when a badly soldered electrical splice overheated, causing extensive damage to the massive magnets and other parts of the collider some 300 feet (100 meters) below the ground.
GENEVA (AP) -- The world's largest and most powerful atom smasher goes into a 2-year hibernation in March, as engineers carry out a revamp to help it reach maximum energy levels that could lead to more stunning discoveries following the detection of the so-called "God particle."
It cost $40 million to repair and improve the machine. Since its restart in November 2009, the collider has performed almost flawlessly and the power produced has been ramped up to ever-new record levels, creating a treasure trove of new data to sift through.
With the reopening of its $10 billion proton collider in early 2015, the stage will be set for observing more rare phenomena - and unlocking more mysteries, said James Gillies, chief spokesman for the European particle physics laboratory known as CERN. The Large Hadron Collider under the Swiss-French border will operate for two more months then shut down through 2014, allowing engineers to lay thousands more superconducting cables aimed at bringing the machine up to "full design energy," Gillies told The Associated Press on Friday.
European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN, is illuminated outside Geneva, Switzerland. The world's largest and most powerful atom smasher goes into a 2-year hibernation in March 2013 , aiming to reach maximum energy levels that may lead to more stunning discoveries after hunting down the so-called "God particle. But physicists at the European Center for Nuclear Research, known by its French acronym CERN, won't exactly be idle as the US $10 billion proton collider goes on hiatus for maintenance and retooling
Physicists at the European Center for Nuclear Research, known by its French acronym CERN, won't exactly be idle as the collider takes a break. There are still reams more data to sift through since the July discovery of a new subatomic particle called the Higgs boson - dubbed the "God particle - which promises a new realm of
understanding of the universe. For the next two months, the Large Hadron Collider will be smashing protons with lead ions, then undergo several weeks of testing before it shuts down. The collider launched in September 2008, but had to be switched off just nine days later
But because of the 2008 accident, the collider could only run at an energy level far below what it was designed to do. To fix that, Gillies said, engineers over the next two years will install 10,000 redesigned superconducting cables that connect between the magnets. That will vastly improve its capacity to simulate the moments after the Big Bang nearly 14 billion years ago.
"It will bring you more collisions. Which means that the more collisions you have, the more likely you are to see rare events," he said. "The Higgs particle was just one of many on the wish list that we'd like to find, so higher energy increases your discovery potential."
M A RT I A N R O C K F R O M S A H A R A L E N S M A K E R D E S E R T U N L I K E O T H E R S COOKE OPTICS TO RECEIVE TECHNICAL O S C A R traced to the moon and Mars.
Scientists believe an asteroid or some other large object struck Mars, dislodging rocks and sending them into space. Occasionally, some plummet through Earth's atmosphere.
Short of sending a spacecraft or astronaut to the red planet to haul back rocks, Martian meteorites are the next best thing for scientists seeking to better understand how Earth's neighbor transformed from a tropical environment to a frigid desert.
About 65 Martian rocks have been recovered on Earth, mostly in Antarctica or the Sahara. The oldest dates back 4.5 billion years to a time when Mars was warmer and wetter. About half a dozen Martian meteorites are 1.3 billion years old and the rest are 600 million years or younger. The latest meteorite NWA 7034 - nicknamed "Black Beauty"- was donated to the University of New Mexico by an American who bought it from a Moroccan meteorite dealer last year.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Scientists are abuzz about a coal-colored rock from Mars that landed in the Sahara desert: A yearlong analysis revealed it's quite different from other Martian meteorites.
Researchers performed a battery of tests on the meteorite and based on its chemical signature confirmed that it was blasted to Earth from Mars. At 2.1 billion years old, it's the second-oldest known Martian meteorite that formed from a volcanic eruption.
Not only is it older than most, it also contains more water, tests showed. The baseball-size meteorite, estimated to be 2 billion years old, is strikingly similar to the volcanic rocks examined on the Martian surface by the NASA rovers Spirit and Opportunity, which found water-bearing minerals.
There's also evidence that it was altered by water. Though the amount released during heating was small - 6,000 parts per million - it was still much more than other Martian meteorites. Scientists said this suggested there was interaction with water near the surface during a time when the planet was mostly dry and dusty.
"Here we have a piece of Mars that I can hold in my hands. That's really exciting," said Carl Agee, director of the Institute of Meteoritics and curator at the University of New Mexico who led the study published online Thursday in the journal Science.
More tests are under way to determine how long the rock floated in space and how long it had been sitting in the Sahara.
Most space rocks that fall to Earth as meteorites come from the asteroid belt, but a number can be
University of Alberta meteorite expert Chris Herd said the find was welcome since most Martian rocks that rain on Earth tend to be younger. And the latest find does not appear to be too contaminated, he said.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The first Oscar recipients of the new year were announced Thursday by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Lens makers Cooke Optics Limited will receive an Award of Merit Oscar at the academy's Scientific and Technical Awards banquet Feb. 9 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The academy says Cooke Optics is receiving the award "for their continuing innovation in the design, development and manufacture of advanced camera lenses that have helped define the look of motion pictures over the last century." The academy announced nine recipients of awards honoring various other technical movie-making achievements. Portions of the Scientific and Technical Awards presentations will be included in the Academy Awards broadcast on Feb. 24.