INSIDE: Get lean with turkey burgers, Page 6 Wednesday, May 29, 2013
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CSX CRASH
LEGISLATURE
Train hits truck, derails Collision, explosion cause building damage and hazmat response BEN NUCKOLS Associated Press
Patrick Semansky / Associated Press
A fire burns at the site of a CSX freight train derailment on Tuesday, May 28, in Rosedale, Md., where fire officials say the train crashed into a trash truck, causing an explosion that rattled homes at least a half-mile away and collapsed nearby buildings, setting them on fire.
ROSEDALE, Md. — A freight train crashed into a trash truck and derailed Tuesday in a Baltimore suburb. The explosion rattled houses and sent a plume of smoke into the air that could be seen for miles, officials and witnesses said. The CSX train went off the tracks at about 2 p.m. in Rosedale, a Baltimore suburb. Hazardous material teams were on the scene, but Baltimore County
Executive Kevin Kamenetz said no toxic inhalants were burning and officials did not order an evacuation. The truck driver was taken to the hospital in serious condition, but the two CSX workers aboard were not hurt, fire officials said. About an hour after the blast, the black smoke drifted to Baltimore and covered the eastern part of the city. The face of one warehouse near the train tracks had blown off. Fire Chief John Hohman said the explosion damaged two warehouses and harmed other buildings, but none collapsed. Please see TRAIN, Page 2
Giraffe twins born in Texas ranch
T
alk about a rare pair. Twin giraffes were born at Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch earlier this month, making them the second reported set of living twins born in the United States, according to Laurie Bingaman Lackey, giraffe pedigree tracker for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Weighing 95 pounds and standing 4.5 feet tall, Wasswa, a female, was born first on May 10. Her brother, Nakato, weighing 125 pounds and standing 5.5 feet tall, followed soon after. The giraffes, the 19th and 20th born at the 400-acre ranch in New Braunfels, are reportedly doing well. Because of concerns that the mother would not be able to produce enough milk for both, staffers will hand-feed Nakato to ensure he receives adequate nutrition. Their mother, Carol, was born at the ranch in 2005. This is the third time she has given birth. Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch is currently home to eight giraffes, including the twins’ 10-year-old father Marshall. Giraffe twins are extremely rare. Three-quarters of twin pregnancies abort early or are stillborn. Wasswa and Nakato are only the ninth set of living twins born in zoos around the world, Lackey said. —Associated Press
District maps likely to stand
GOP legislators now want court-drawn districts to become permanent PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press
AUSTIN — Texas Republicans are ready to accept the once hotly disputed maps a federal court redrew. After an election cycle thrown into tumult by legal wrangling over redistricting maps, Republicans in the Legislature began a 30-day special session Tuesday with the goal of making the court-drawn voting maps permanent ahead of 2014 campaigns. Now that he has called lawmakers back, Gov. Rick Perry is expected to give them more to do than simply hammer out voting maps, though he said he hasn’t decided whether to add anything to the special session’s agenda. “I’m not going to anticipate anything until we’ve had a chance to look at all the pieces of legislation,” he said. “The (legislators) are here, Please see SPECIAL, Page 2
SYRIA
EU allows missiles for rebels Russia renews promise to provide weapons to Assad’s government JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press
Tiffany Soechting / Associated Press
Nakato, a male twin giraffe, gets his mom Carol’s attention shortly after birth in New Braunfels, Texas. Officials with the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch say twin giraffes have been born, marking just the second time such a birth has occurred in the United States. Female calf Wasswa was born first on May 10, followed by brother Nakato.
BEIRUT — Russia on Tuesday criticized the European Union’s decision to allow the arming of Syrian rebels, saying it undercuts international efforts to negotiate an end to the civil war. A rebel general said he is “very disappointed” weapons will not arrive fast enough to help opposition fighters defend a strategic Syrian town. The EU’s decision, coupled with Russia’s renewed pledge to supply Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime with advanced missiles, could transform the civil war into an East-West proxy fight. Meanwhile, Israel threatened to strike such air defense missile systems if delivered to Syria, portraying them as a threat to the Jewish state and raising the risk of regional conflict. The possibility of an arms race in Syria overshadowed attempts by the United States and Russia to bring representatives of the Assad regime and Syria’s political oppoPlease see SYRIA, Page 2
ECONOMY
Working mothers fill breadwinner role Study finds trend driven by more women with degrees and in workforce HOPE YEN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A record number of American women are now the sole or primary breadwinners in their families, a sign of the rising influence of working mothers, a study finds. Mothers now keep finances afloat in 40 percent of households with children, up from 11 percent in 1960. While most of these families are headed by single mothers, a growing number are married mothers who bring in more income than
A1-2_052913_SWJ.indd 1
their husbands, according to a are more mothers balancing work study released Wednesday by the and family these days,” she said, Pew Research Center. “but the economic contribuBut as the numbers have shifted tions mothers are making to their public attitudes households have have remained The economic grown immensemixed regarding ly.” working moth- contributions mothers The trend is ers’ effects on driven mostly are making to their families. by long-term Kim Parker, households have demographic associate dichanges, includgrown immensely. rector with the ing higher rates KIM PARKER of Pew Social and education Demographic and labor force Trends Project, said the change is participation dating back to the another milestone for the trans- 1960s women’s movement. Today, formation of family structure and women are more likely than men family dynamics. to hold bachelor’s degrees and “The rise of breadwinner moms make up 47 percent of the Amerihighlights the fact that, not only can workforce.
Changes in the ecoonmy have played a role. The jump in working mothers increased from 37 percent in 1968 to 65 percent in 2011, reflecting in part increases for those looking for jobs to lift family income after the recession. In all, 13.7 million U.S. households with children under 18 now include mothers who are the main breadwinners. Of those, 5.1 million, or 37 percent, are married and 8.6 million, or 63 percent, are single. Among all U.S. households with children, the share of married breadwinner moms has jumped from 4 percent in 1960 to 15 percent in 2011. For single mothers, Please see INCOME, Page 2
Breadwinner moms Wives out-earn husbands in more than one in five married households with children: Wife earns more
Husband earns more
100 percent 80 60
2011: 74.9%
40 20 0
2011: 22.5% ’60 ’70 ’80 ’90 ’00 ’10
SOURCE: Pew Research Ctr.
AP
5/29/13 10:22 AM
Wednesday, May 29, 2013 Page 2 —
TRAIN: No unsafe chemicals burn —Continued from Page 1
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ECONOMY
Wednesday, May 29, 2013 — Page 2
Train derailment in Rosedale, Md.
CSX spokesman Gary Sease PA. said in an email that sodium chlorate is on one of the trains, MD. which the Department of Trans- W.VA. portation classifies as a hazardDEL. ous material. But Hohman said Baltimore Wash. D.C. the chemical is not in one of the cars that was still burning into 50 mi VA. the evening. 50 km Photos showed at least a dozen train cars off the tracks, including AP Associated Press at least one tanker car. Sease said four of the cars that derailed car- about 70 nearby homes that they ried terephthalic acid, which is could leave and take provided used to make plastics and poly- shelter. But no one was being ester and is not hazardous. forced to evacuate. Kevin Lindemann, 29, a salesTawan Rai, a worker at a nearman for an industrial pipe sup- by Dunkin’ Donuts, said he saw plier near the tracks, said he a fire and flames by the railroad and about 10 co-workers felt the tracks at first, then felt a thunderRichard Drew / Associated Press ground shake, ran to a window ing blast that sent smoke pourTraders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Stocks surged in early trading and saw several cars on their ing into the sky. following a three-day weekend after U.S. home prices rose the most in seven years. MD TRAIN DERAIL 052813: Map sides and flames, he said, were “The whole building shook, locates site ofwas a Maryland 50 feet high. and there just dust train every“We kind of panicked prettyderailment; where,” Rai adding that no 1csaid, x 1 1/2 inches; with quick,” he said. “We didn’t waitBC-MD-Train windows broke. Derailment; PH; ETA 4 p.m. around to see what was hapThe National Transportation pening. So as soon as we saw theEditor’s SafetyNote: BoardIt is and the Federal mandatory to include all flames, I took a quick picture andsources Railroad Administration plangraphic to that accompany this when got in my truck and drove away. send teams to investigate. repurposing or editing it for publication I wasn’t sticking around for the Bertha Pressley and her husexplosion.” band, Tom Brown, said their Hohman said firefighters had town home about five miles considered letting the blazes away shook and they initially Improvements in burn out but later decided to feared a bomb or other disaster. Positive signs for the economy employment, housing hose them down. Firefight“We felt that big boom,” Brown Consumer confidence rose to a five-year high and home ers were informing residents of said. “I felt the house shake.” market show recovery
High-income consumers hopeful about economy prices made their biggest annual gain in seven years.
SPECIAL: Perry could add tasks to agenda —Continued from Page 1
and if there are some things that need to be tweaked, we’ll address those as we can.” But even if they focus only on redistricting, it will still be a dramatic departure for lawmakers who paid no attention to the issue during the regular session. Political boundaries are drawn every decade based on updated U.S. Census Bureau data. The 2010 count revealed a booming Texas population driven almost entirely by minorities. Redistricting maps drawn in 2011 created only one minority seat of the four congressional seats added. Minority rights groups said that typified discrimination in new state House and Senate boundaries. A three-judge federal panel in San Antonio ultimately threw out
the Republican-drawn maps and made its own for last year’s elections. The court is scheduled to bring state and minority rights groups back together today for the first time in months. Now, though, state officials have shifted their position and want to see the court-drawn maps adopted so that future legal battles won’t affect upcoming elections. Dewhurst said adopting the court-drawn map does not mean the 2011 Republicandrawn maps were flawed But Dewhurst conceded that the GOP risks getting less favorable maps if Republicans don’t take the one on the table now. As state Sen. Kirk Watson, head of the Senate Democrats, put it, “Texas does not have an enviable history when it comes to these things.”
CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX
AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON — Home prices are surging, job growth is strengthening and stocks are setting record highs. All of which explains why some Americans are more hopeful about the economy than at any other point in five years. Investors on Tuesday celebrated the latest reports on consumer confidence and housing prices, which together suggest that growth could accelerate in the second half of 2013. Greater confidence could spur people to spend more and help offset tax increases and federal spending cuts. And the fastest rise in home prices in seven years might lead more Americans to put houses on the market, easing supply shortages that have kept the housing recovery from taking off. Surging stock prices and steady home-price increases have allowed Americans to regain the $16 trillion in wealth they lost to the Great Recession. Higher wealth tends to embolden people to spend more. Some economists have said the increase in home prices alone could boost
100
May 76.2
80
March 10.9%
15 percent 10 5
60
0 -5
40
-10 -15
20
’08
’09
’10
’11
’12
-20
’06 ’07 ’08 ’09 ’10 ’11 ’12
SOURCES: The Conference Board; Standard & Poor’s
AP
consumer spending enough to of roughly $50,000. For those offset a Social Security tax increase households, the confidence index that has reduced paychecks for jumped to 95.1 from 85.3. most Americans this year. Michael Quintos, head of a US ECONOMY 052813: Graphic shows the The Conference Board consumer survey Chicago advertising agency that confidence index and the said consumers are also more op- helps small Case-Shiller home pricebusinesses index; 2c x market 3 inches; timistic about the next six months. themselves through social media, with BC-US--Consumer Confidence, That should translate into BC-US--Home greater sees more optimism at work and Prices, BC-US--Economy; consumer spending, substantial among friends and relatives. ETA 3 p.m. growth in hiring and faster eco“A year ago, I had more friends Editor’s Note: It issecond mandatory to include all me sources that accompany nomic growth in the half asking if I knew anybodythis who graphic when repurposing or editing it for publication of 2013, said Thomas Feltmate, an was hiring,” Quintos said. “Now I economist with TD Economics. have more people who are hiring The Conference Board found asking me if I know anyone lookthat optimism is growing mostly ing for a job.” among those earning more than the median household income
INCOME: Study finds working mothers bring home bacon
SYRIA: Rebels want weapons before talks —Continued from Page 1 sition to peace talks at an international conference in Geneva next month to end the two-year conflict. In Syria, the commander of the main Western-backed group of rebel brigades told The Associated Press he needs Western missiles to prevent further regime gains on the battlefield. He said the rebels’ weapons are no match for the Syrian regime’s modern tanks and warplanes. “We are very disappointed,” said Gen. Salim Idris, the Free Syrian Army chief of staff, of the EU’s decision not to send weapons, if at all, until after the Geneva conference. The opposition’s willingness to attend the talks is linked to receiving weapons from Europe right away if the Geneva process breaks down. Opposition leaders also said they will participate in talks only if Assad’s departure from power tops the agenda. Assad’s regime has provided no sign of any intent to cede power in Syria. William Hague, Great Britain’s secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs, said peace talks are a priority and that “as we work for the Geneva conference, we are not taking any decision to send arms to anyone.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denounced the EU’s decision to lift the embargo, saying supplying weapons to nongovernmental groups “goes against all norms of international law.” Lavrov’s deputy affirmed Tuesday that
S&P/CASE-SHILLER HOME PRICE INDEX Percent change from year ago
—Continued from Page 1
Associated Press
Russia will not abandon plans to send longrange air defense missiles to Syria. It is not clear if Russia has already sent some of the missiles, which would be a major boost for Syria’s defense, including against neighboring countries that oppose Assad’s regime. U.S. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said Washington welcomes the EU decision as a show of support for the Syrian opposition. He said the Obama administration will continue to provide nonlethal assistance to the rebels and has not made a decision on whether to arm them.
Further raising the risk of a regional war, Israel warned that it was prepared to attack any such missile shipments. Israeli Defense Moshe Yaalon said Israel believes the Russian missiles have not yet been shipped but that the Israeli military “will know what to do” if they are delivered. Earlier this month, Israeli airstrikes hit suspected shipments of advanced Iranian missiles near Damascus that were purportedly intended for Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia fighting alongside Syrian regime forces.
the share has increased from 7 percent to 25 percent. Though roughly 79 percent of Americans reject the notion that women should return to their traditional roles, only 21 percent of those polled said more mothers of young children working outside the home is a good thing for society, according to the Pew survey. Andrew Cherlin, a professor of sociology and public policy at Johns Hopkins University, said public attitudes toward working mothers have changed little throughout the years. He predicts the growing numbers will lead to more women in favor of family-friendly work policies and safety net policies, such as paid family leave and child-care support. “Many of our workplaces and schools still follow a male-breadwinner model, assuming that the wives are at home to take care of child-care needs,” he said. “Until we realize that the breadwinnerhomemaker marriage will never again be the norm, we won’t provide working parents with the support they need.”
2013 Dow Jones News Fund Interns Carrie Blazina
Volume 16 — May 22-31, 2013 Center for Editing Excellence School of Journalism The University of Texas at Austin S. Griffin Singer
Director UT Center for Editing Excellence
George Sylvie
Assistant Director UT Center for Editing Excellence
Beth Butler
Assistant Director Kent State University
A1-2_052913_SWJ.indd 2
Lourdes Jones Sonia Reyes-Krempin
Administrative Associates UT Austin School of Journalism
Drew Marcks
Faculty Austin American-Statesman
Kent State University The Denver Post
Samantha Clark
San Jose State University The San Francisco Chronicle
Ashley Rene Davis
Linda Shockley
Baylor University The Beaumont Enterprise
Bradley Wilson
University of Montana The Idaho Falls Post Register
Faculty Dow Jones News Fund
Faculty Midwestern State University
Amy Zerba
Faculty The New York Times
Brooks Johnson
Laurence Leveille
Syracuse University The Oregonian, Portland
Danae Lenz
Emily Siner
University of Illinois The Los Angeles Times
Rachel Stella
University of NebraskaLincoln The Dallas Morning News
Lewis University The Tribune, San Luis Obispo
Maribel Molina
University of Texas at Arlington Alabama Media Group
University of Texas at Austin Austin American-Statesman
Natalie Webster
Forrest Roth
University of Oregon Bay Area News Group
The Southwest Journalist is a teaching publication of the Dow Jones News Fund and the Center for Editing Excellence at The University of Texas at Austin. The Southwest Journalist is edited and designed by students attending the 2013 pre-internship training program funded by a grant from the News Fund and news organizations hosting the interns. Printing of the Southwest Journalist by the Austin American-Statesman is gratefully acknowledged.
5/29/13 10:22 AM
I NTE R NAT IO NA L
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
INTERNATIONAL
— Page 3
SOUTH AFRICA
Chinese baby found in public restroom sewer BEIJING — A newborn’s cries from a public restroom in a residential building in eastern China led a tenant to a startling discovery: a baby boy trapped in a sewage pipe beneath a squat toilet. Firefighters, unable to pull the baby out, ended up sawing away an L-shaped section of the pipe and carrying it to a hospital, where it was delicately pried apart to save the infant. Video of the two-hour rescue of Baby No. 59 — so named because of his incubator number in the hospital in the Pujiang area of the city of Jinhua — has gone viral online and across other media. The baby, who weighed about 6 pounds, had a low heart rate and some minor abrasions on his head and limbs, but was mostly unhurt, according to Zhejiang Online, the province’s official news site. The placenta was still attached. It was unclear how the baby ended up in the toilet, but police said they were treating the case as an attempted homicide. The Pujiang county police bureau said on its official microblog account that the boy’s mother has been located and that an investigation was underway, but it gave no further details.
Polio vaccine program suspended after attack PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Pakistani authorities suspended a four-day polio vaccination program Tuesday after gunmen killed a female polio worker and wounded another, officials said. The two women were attacked Tuesday in Kaggawala village on the outskirts of the main northwest city of Peshawar, police officer Mushtaq Khan said. Senior police official Shafiullah Khan said two attackers on foot fired a pistol at the workers. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari blasted what he called a “cowardly” attack and resolved that “the government will not permit militants to deprive our children of basic health care.”
EU: Google searches need changes to avoid monopoly BERLIN — The European Union’s antitrust chief said Tuesday that Google will have to offer more changes to the way it displays search results to settle a pending case. Google’s search engine enjoys a near-monopoly in Europe with a market share of above 90 percent. The EU Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s antitrust authority, has been investigating whether Google is abusing its dominant market position. Google Inc. has offered to more clearly label search results stemming from its own services, such as its news, maps, shopping and flight search functions. It also agreed to display some search results from its competitors and links to their services, the EU Commission said last month.
Costa Rica hackers indicted for money laundering NEW YORK — The founder of an online currency transfer business was indicted in the United States along with six other people in a $6 billion money-laundering scheme, authorities said Tuesday. Arthur Budovsky is the founder of Liberty Reserve, a Costa Ricabased website long favored by cybercrime scammers. Authorities say the network processed at least 55 million illegal transactions worldwide for 1 million users, including 200,000 in the United States. They call the money-laundering case the largest ever. “The scope of the defendants’ unlawful conduct is staggering,” according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Manhattan. In announcing the case, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the network “became the bank of choice Bharara for the criminal underworld.” Its digital currency service was designed to shield the identity of users seeking to launder ill-gotten gains, he said. In a statement, Costa Rica police confirmed that Budovsky had been arrested in Spain on money-laundering charges and that several premises linked to his company had been raided. The indictment calls the network “one of the principal means by which cyber criminals around the world distribute, store and launder proceeds of their illegal activity ... including credit-card fraud, identity theft, investment fraud, computer hacking, child pornography and narcotics trafficking.”
—Associated Press
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Still from video/The Associated Press
In this May 24, 2013, image made from AP Video, former South African President Nelson Mandela’s daughter Makaziwe Mandela speaks to the Associated Press, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Nelson Mandela’s failing health has kept him from speaking much lately. She says, however, that he communicates in other ways, such as handholding. Makaziwe Mandela also complained that journalists are swarming the house trying to be the first to know he has died. “It’s not right,” she said. “You will get the news ... at the right time.”
HISTORIC LEGACY
Mandela remains inspiration to South Africa CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA
dela said May 24 in an exclusive interview with The Associated JOHANNESBURG — Nelson Press in her home. Mandela, in the twilight of life, One of those bad days was doesn’t talk much anymore, his April 29, when state television eldest daughter says. But the for- broadcast footage of a visit by mer South African president, who President Jacob Zuma and othwrote of his regret at being unable er leaders of the ruling African to devote himself to his family National Congress to Mandela, during the fight against apartheid who had helmed the ANC, at his and afterward, reaches out in an- Johannesburg home. Zuma said other way. Mandela was in good shape, but “It’s the hand that he stretches the footage — the first public imout. It is the touching of the hand ages of Mandela in nearly a year that speaks volumes for me. And — showed him silent and unrefor me, if you ask me what I would sponsive, even when Zuma tried treasure, it is this moment that to hold his hand. I treasure with my father,” said The broadcasting of the video Makaziwe Mandela, the oldest of was unfortunate, she said. CritMandela’s three ics allege the surviving chilANC was trying Nelson Mandela has dren, all daughto score polititers. “It means, (given) people a better cal points by its ‘My child, I’m association with hope that, ‘I can be here.’ It means Mandela. The to me that, ‘I’m somebody. Life today party fiercely here. I love you. denies it. can be better than I care.’” Makaziwe Mandela is a yesterday.’ said the “dignity larger-than-life MAKAZIWE MANDELA and privacy” of figure, revered her father, also a for his sacrifice father to the naduring 27 years as a prisoner of tion, is sometimes under threat,. apartheid and his peacemaking She complained that 20 journalrole in South Africa’s shift to a de- ists one day in May converged mocracy inclusive of all races. on her father’s home, where he “My dad has not been in good, receives medical treatment, after perfect health over the past an ambulance left to fetch medimonth. And he has good days and cine from a hospital. he has bad days,” Makaziwe Man“This is really utter madness,” Associated Press
File /The Associated Press
In this Jan. 6, 2005, file photo, former South African President Nelson Mandela talks at a news conference, accompanied by his daughter Makaziwe. she said. “This thing that everybody has got to be the first one to hear when Nelson Mandela goes — it’s not right. All of you will have your opportunity. You will get the news from the presidency at the right time.” During Mandela’s recent hospitalization for pneumonia, which ended April 6, Zuma’s office issued brief, regular updates on his health. On past occasions, conflicting reports from the government contributed to mistrust between authorities and the media. South Africa has held peaceful elections and is a major economic force in Africa, but struggles with high unemployment, crime and corruption. Mandela embodies a morality and unity of purpose that makes South Africans nostalgic for an earlier era
of promise. “He has something that people gravitate to, that they can hold to, that gives them hope,” said Makaziwe Mandela, comparing him to Mother Teresa. “That’s what Nelson Mandela has done, is to give people a better hope that, ‘I can be somebody. Life today can be better than yesterday.’” In his autobiography “Long Walk to Freedom,” Nelson Mandela wrote wistfully of his inability to fulfill his role as a husband to Winnie Mandela during his incarceration, which ended in 1990. The couple divorced in 1996. “When your life is the struggle, as mine was, there is little room left for family. That has always been my greatest regret, and the most painful aspect of the choice I made,” Mandela wrote.
TERRORISM
ASIA
Renegade al-Qaida fighter reprimanded RUKMINI CALLIMACHI
ber Shura Council, or governing body, the letter describes the DAKAR, Senegal — After years council’s relationship with Belof trying to discipline him, the moktar as “a bleeding wound” and leaders of al-Qaida’s North Afri- criticizes his proposal in a recent can branch sent one final letter letter to resign and start his own to their most difficult employee. group. They then begin enumerating In page after scathing page, they described how he didn’t answer their complaints against Belmoktar in 30 successive bulhis phone when they let points. called, failed to turn “Abu Abbas is not in his expense reports, willing to follow anyignored meetings and one,” they add, referrefused time and again ring to him by his nom to carry out orders. de guerre, Khaled Abu The employee, interAbbas. “He is only willnational terrorist Moking to be followed and tar Belmoktar, quit and obeyed.” formed his own group, First and foremost, which would compete they quibble about directly with his forthe amount of money mer employer. Within raised by the 2008 kidmonths, he carried out napping of Canadian two lethal operations Moktar Belmoktar diplomat Robert Fowlthat killed 101 people in all: one of the largest hostage- er, the highest-ranking United Natakings in history at a BP-operated tions official in Niger, and his colgas plant in Algeria in January, and league. Belmoktar’s men held both simultaneous bombings at a mili- for four months, and in a book he tary base and a French uranium later published, Fowler said he did not know if a ransom was paid. mine in Niger May 23. The letter suggests that a;-Qaida Rudolph Atallah, the former head of counterterrorism for Af- in the Islamic Maghreb, initially rica at the Pentagon and one of considered one of the group’s three experts who authenticated weaker wings, rose to prominence by bankrolling its the 10-page letter operation with dated Oct. 3, said (Belmoktar) is not an estimated $89 it helps explain million raised by what happened willing to follow kidnapping forin Algeria and anyone. He is only eign aid workers Niger. and tourists. “He’s sending a willing to be followed The list of message directly slights is long: He north to his for- and obeyed. AL-QAIDA’S SHURA COUNCIL would not take mer bosses in their phone calls. Algeria saying, ‘I’m a jihadi. I deserve to be sepa- He refused to send administrative rate from you.’ And he’s also send- and financial reports. He ignored ing a message to al-Qaida, saying, a meeting in Timbuktu, calling ‘See, those bozos in the north are it “useless.” He even ordered his incompetent. You can talk to me men to refuse to meet with aldirectly.’ And in these attacks, he Qaida emissaries. And he aired drew a lot of attention to himself,” the organization’s dirty laundry in said Atallah, who recently testified online jihadist forums, even while before Congress on Belmoktar’s refusing to communicate with the chapter via the Internet, claiming tactics. The letter shows Belmoktar it was not secure. The sharpest blow in the letter stayed loyal to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb until last year, and was the accusation that, despite traces the history of their difficult this history, Belmoktar and his unit had not pulled off any attack relationship. Signed by the group’s 14-mem- worthy of mention in the Sahara. Associated Press
AP Photo/Kyoto News
South Korean former sex slaves Kim Bok-dong, center left, and Kil Won-ok, center right, arrive for a meeting with supporters in Osaka, western Japan, Saturday, May 25. Kim and Kil, along with other former “comfort women,” want an apology from the Japanese government for its treatment of them during and after World War II.
WWII sex slaves ask Japan to apologize MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press
OSAKA, Japan — More than 70 years ago, at age 14, Kim Bokdong was ordered to work by Korea’s Japanese occupiers. She was told she was going to a military uniform factory, but ended up at a Japanese military-run brothel in southern China. She had to take an average of 15 soldiers per day during the week, and dozens over the weekend. At the end of the day she would be bleeding and could not even stand because of the pain. She and other girls were closely watched by guards and could not escape. It was a secret she carried for decades; the man she later married died without ever knowing. Tens of thousands of women had similar stories to tell, or to hide, from Japan’s occupation of much of Asia before and during World War II. Many are no longer living, and those who remain are still waiting for Japan to offer reparations and a more complete apology than it has so far delivered. “I’m here today, not because I wanted to but because I had to,” Kim, now 87, told a packed audience of mostly Japanese at a community center in Osaka
May 25. “I came here to ask Japan to settle its past wrongdoing. I hope the Japanese government resolves the problem as soon as possible while we elderly women are still alive.” The issue of Japan’s use of Korean, Chinese and Southeast Asian women and girls as sex slaves — euphemistically called “comfort women” — continues to alienate Tokyo from its neighbors nearly 70 years after the war’s end. It is a wound that was made fresh this month when the co-head of an emerging nationalistic party, Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, said “comfort women” had been necessary to maintain military discipline and give respite to battle-weary troops. His comments drew outrage from South Korea and China, as well as from the U.S. State Department, which called them “outrageous and offensive.” Hashimoto provided no evidence but insisted that Tokyo has been unfairly singled out for its World War II behavior regarding women, saying some other armies at the time had military brothels. None of them, however, has been accused of the kind of widespread, organized sexual slavery that has been linked to Japan’s military.
5/29/13 10:23 AM
CRUISE SHIP FIRE
NAT IO NA L
Page 4 —
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
NATIONAL Passengers aboard the Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas cruise ship (at left) gather at sunrise after a fire broke out during the ship’s voyage from Baltimore to the Bahamas. Royal Caribbean said the fire occurred early Monday and was extinguished after about two hours. All 2,224 guests and 796 crew were safe. The fire-damaged ship (below) is docked in Freeport, Bahamas, on Monday.
Marc Bell / Associated Press
Jenneva Russell / Associated Press
Fire cuts cruise voyage in half Royal Caribbean impresses passengers with its preparedness BEN NUCKOLS Associated Press
BALTIMORE — Passengers aboard the Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas cruise that was cut short by an onboard fire began arriving back to Baltimore on charter flights from the Bahamas on Tuesday afternoon. Many are praising the response of the company and crew. “I’ll never go on any other cruise line,” said Craig Dzubak, 26, of Pittsburgh, who was on his first cruise. “They couldn’t have handled it any better.” He said he and his wife, Chelsea, were planning their next cruise while on the flight home. Robert Alexander of Hamilton, N.J., said he was impressed by how well-prepared everyone on board was for emergencies. An actor from the ship’s theater made announcements to passengers after they were evacuated from their rooms, he said. “It just shows the training they do,” Alexander said. “Our head waiter at our dinner table was one of the first responders” to the fire. Meanwhile, Reuben Byrd, the vice president of the Grand Bahama Shipyard said the cause of the fire is unknown and the ship would be repaired at his facility, though a full assessment of damage had not been done yet. The fire began at 2:50 a.m. Monday and was extinguished about two hours later, with
RUTGERS SCANDAL
New AD musters support TOM CANAVAN
no injuries reported. Photos show a substan- public relations efforts after the fire. She said tial area of the stern burned on several decks sending CEO Goldstein to meet with passenof the ship, the length of about three football gers was a “brilliant move.” The company also fields. Tweeted a picture of one meeting. The ship, which left Baltimore on Friday for “It shows that you’re a responsible compaa seven-night cruise, was headed originally ny. It shows that you care. It’s not just, ‘oh well, to CocoCay, Bahamas. Royal Caribbean said this incident happened,’” she said. She noted the ship never lost power and was able to sail that the head of Royal Caribbean’s Azamara into port in Freeport, Club Cruises line, LarBahamas, on Monday ry Pimentel, also met afternoon. The ship “It just shows the training they with passengers in launched in 1996 and do. Our head waiter at our early 2012 after a fire was refurbished last aboard the Azamara dinner table was one of the first Quest disabled one of year. Carnival Corp., also its engines during a responders to the fire. had trouble with fire cruise in Asia. ROBERT ALEXANDER aboard a ship earlier Mike Driscoll, this year. editor of the IllinoisThe Triumph was based publication disabled during a February cruise by an en- Cruise Week, said Royal Caribbean had the gine room fire in the Gulf of Mexico, leaving benefit of hindsight and could use lessons thousands of passengers to endure cold food, from the recent Triumph fire in its response. unsanitary conditions and power outages He said company took charge of the response while the ship was towed to Mobile, Ala. on social media, sending out photos and upFran Golden, a blogger for the cruise maga- dates. He likened it to the company saying, zine Porthole, said the two incidents are dif- “Hey, we’re not hiding anything.” ferent. “I think it’s easier to make people happy Associated Press writers Kasey Jones in when they’re not stuck on a ship for four days Baltimore and Jessica Gresko in Washington without toilets,” she said. contributed to this report. Jeff Todd reported Still, she applauded Royal Caribbean’s from Nassau, Bahamas.
TORNADO AFTERMATH
Tall debris thwarts Moore 400 workers, 250 pieces of equipment help remove rubble TIM TALLEY
Associated Press
Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J. — A high-ranking official at the University of Tennessee has voiced her support for Rutgers’ incoming athletic director Julie Hermann, who is facing allegations she verbally abused players while volleyball coach with the Volunteers. Joan Cronan, women’s athletic director emeritus at Tennessee, said in a statement released Tu e s d a y s h e holds Hermann in high regard and that while the ex-coach’s tenure in the 1990s “was a very frustrating Hermann time for everyone connected with the volleyball program, I do not recall it being an abusive situation.” Hermann said Monday she has not considered resigning following a report that, 16 years ago, she humiliated Tennessee players. She denied having knowledge of a letter players say they submitted to the school. Hermann, 49, acknowledged she made mistakes but said she has matured and believes she is qualified to lead Rutgers, an athletic program mired in scandal. “I believe she is well-prepared for her new role at Rutgers University,” Cronan wrote. Athletic directors at two prominent Big Ten schools said the recent problems at Rutgers should not derail the university’s entry into the league in 2014. Michigan’s Dave Brandon and Ohio State’s Gene Smith each said while there is concern after Rutgers fired men’s basketball coach Mike Rice for physical and verbal abuse, then forced former athletic director Tim Pernetti to resign before the Hermann situation arose, they believe the state university of New Jersey should not be judged solely on those problems. The Rutgers board of governors is the only group that can fire Hermann.
MOORE, Okla. — Before residents of Moore can rebuild, they’ll have to deal with the debris from the deadly tornado that devastated the Oklahoma City suburb: crushed wood, mangled siding and battered belongings that could make a pile reaching more than a mile into the sky. “I could be sad about it, but it’s not going to make anything come back. It’s just a house. It’s just stuff. We have each other,” Jessie Childs said as backhoe operators reduced her house near the Plaza Towers Elementary School to a 10-foot pile of rubble. The school was destroyed in the tornado that carved a 17-mile path of destruction on May 20. In all, 24 people were killed, including seven children in the school. With each load of debris, Moore moves a step closer to recovering from the storm that damaged or destroyed 4,000 homes and businesses. Against a cacophony of snapping lumber and crunch-
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Charlie Riedel / Associated Press
Friends and family members carry the remains of a piano through the rubble at a tornado-ravaged home in Moore, Okla., in this May 25 file photo. Before construction workers can rebuild the town of Moore, they have to overcome a large pile of crushed wood, shattered glass, obliterated belongings and squished siding. ing metal, Clayton Powell sorted through the remains of his home. “You’re sifting through rubble piles trying to find that one photo, memories you can’t restore,” Powell said. “I’m sure there are a few things I haven’t even thought of and won’t miss.” The Oklahoma Department of Transportation brought in 400 of its workers and 250 pieces of equipment, including dump
trucks and front-end loaders, to help with the process, said Transportation Secretary Gary Ridley. As residents pick through the remains of their homes for the few surviving personal treasures, they’ve developed a way for crews to know when it’s OK to take stuff away. “If it’s out on the curb, anybody can come out and get it,” said Charlie Baker of Blanchard.
IRS scandal may fuel tax reform Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The storm engulfing the Internal Revenue Service could provide a boost for lawmakers who want to simplify U.S. tax laws — a code that is so complicated most Americans buy commercial software to help them or simply hire someone else to do it all. Members of Congress from both political parties say the current uproar — over the targeting of conservative political groups — underscores that overly complex tax provisions have given the IRS too much discretion in interpreting and enforcing the law. “This is the perfect example of why we need tax reform,” said Rep. Tim Griffin, R-Ark., a member of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. “If you
Less than six months after a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six educators inside Sandy Hook Elementary School, Treehouse Comedy Productions plans to put on a show at the Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, Conn., to benefit those affected by the massacre. The event, “Stand up for Newtown,” will be held June 7. Treehouse founder Brad Axelrod said he has produced about a dozen shows in Newtown during the years. He thought about doing a benefit immediately after the Dec. 14 shooting, but he decided to give the community time to heal. Bob Schmidt, a Sandy Hook resident and mental health counselor, said that time is now. “Laughter is a great therapy,” he said. “And after something like this, we don’t feel like laughing, but we really need to laugh and enjoy ourselves again.”
Judge: No mention of drugs in George Zimmerman trial SANFORD, Fla. — Attorneys won’t be able to mention Trayvon Martin’s drug use, suspension from school and past fighting during opening statements at the trial of a former neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot the teen, a judge ruled Tuesday. However, Circuit Judge Debra Nelson left open the possibility that the defense could try again later during the trial if it could show relevance. George Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the 17-year-old’s killing and has pleaded not guilty, saying he acted in self-defense. He did not attend Tuesday’s hearing.
Obama, Gov. Christie unite to remember Superstorm Sandy ASBURY PARK, N.J. — President Barack Obama tried his hand at arcade football and joked Tuesday with Gov. Chris Christie, declaring the Jersey Shore is back seven months after Superstorm Sandy bore down on its famed boardwalks and seaside towns. The job of repairing the $38 billion in damage inflicted by the storm is not over, Obama said, but when all is said and done, the Jersey Shore will be better and more resilient than it was before. Politically, the visit plays well for both men. Christie, seeking re-election this year, was able to stand shoulder to shoulder with a president popular among Democrats in a Democraticleaning state. And Obama, dueling with congressional Republicans on a number of fronts, got to display common cause with a popular GOP stalwart.
Catholic teacher fired for pregnancy, breaking contract
TAX LAWS
STEPHEN OHLEMACHER
Man puts on comedy show for Newtown
want to diminish and limit the In a report earlier this year, napower of the IRS, you have got to tional taxpayer advocate Nina E. reduce the complexity of the tax Olson ranked complexity as the code and take them out of it.” most serious problem facing both There are still taxpayers and formidable obthe IRS. People stacles to com- “If you want to simply trying to pleting a major diminish and limit the comply with the tax overhaul rules often make this year or next. power of the IRS, you inadvertent erDemocrats and have got to reduce the rors and overpay Republicans or underpay, she start off with complexity of the tax said, while othopposite views ers “often find code.…” on whether the loopholes that REP. TIM GRIFFIN enable them to government should levy reduce or elimimore taxes and on who should nate their tax liabilities.” pay what share. The two sides The IRS scandal has little, if also don’t not trust one another, anything, to do with most everymaking it difficult to envision day taxpayers, yet some lawmakagreement on which popular ers hope the attention will help tax breaks to keep and which to galvanize support for the first scrap. major tax overhaul since 1986.
CINCINNATI — A Roman Catholic archdiocese and two of its schools violated the civil rights of a teacher who was fired after she became pregnant through artificial insemination, her attorney told jurors Tuesday. Christa Dias lost her job for being pregnant and unmarried, and it is illegal to fire an employee for being pregnant, her attorney Robert Klingler told federal jurors during opening statements of the trial. Dias, who is not Catholic, did not know that artificial insemination would be considered a violation of her contract and Catholic doctrine, he said. Steven Goodin, representing the archdiocese and the schools, said there was no discrimination. He said Dias was fired “for intentionally violating a contract.”
Obama could nominate 3 to court of appeals in D.C. WASHINGTON — A partisan showdown is looming over what is known as the nation’s secondhighest court, with President Barack Obama poised to nominate as many as three choices for the understaffed U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington in the face of a Republican proposal to distribute its vacancies to other parts of the country. The District of Columbia Circuit has been at the center of years of wrangling between the White House and the Senate because its judges have so much influence over national and even international matters. Many cases relate to the balance of power in Washington and review of actions by federal agencies that affect health, safety and the environment for all Americans. The White House is planning to pair Obama’s nominations with an aggressive push to get them confirmed despite a GOP bill to trim the number of judges on the D.C. circuit.
— Associated Press
5/29/13 10:24 AM
T E X AS / SO UTH W E ST TEXAS/SOUTHWEST AUSTIN CONNECTION
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Wednesday, May 29, 2013
San Antonio dumpster fire strands six
SAN ANTONIO — A fire that began in a dumpster and spread to a nearby apartment building has left six San Antonio families without homes. The San Antonio Express-News reports the fire started Monday evening in the dumpster before consuming four vehicles and then moving to the building. Authorities said it is not clear how the fire started but explained wind gusts helped push the flames. The building was evacuated, and no injuries were reported. Firefighters rescued three pets along with a hedgehog and two reptiles. A second building was evacuated as a precaution but was not damaged.
Hacker guilty of swiping files Chicago man got $700,000 in data heist TOM HAYS
Associated Press
NEW YORK — A self-described anarchist and “hacktivist” from Chicago pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges he illegally accessed computer systems of law enforcement agencies and government contractors. One company he hacked was Austin-based Strategic Forecasting Inc., also known as Stratfor, a
publisher of geopolitical information. “For each of these hacks, I knew what I was doing was wrong,” Jeremy Hammond told a judge in federal court in Manhattan. Prosecutors had alleged the cyber-attacks were carried out by Anonymous, the loosely organized worldwide hacking group that stole confidential information, defaced websites and temporarily put some victims out of business. Hammond was caught last year with the help of Hector Xavier Monsegur, a famous hacker known as Sabu who later helped law enforcement infiltrate Anonymous.
A criminal complaint had accused Hammond of pilfering information of more than 850,000 people via his attack on Stratfor. He also was accused of using the credit card numbers of Stratfor clients to make charges of at least $700,000. He allegedly bragged he even snared the personal data of a former U.S. vice president and one-time CIA director. During his guilty plea, Hammond admitted he “took confidential information” from law enforcement agencies and contractors in several states. Hammond, 28, once rallied against plans to hold the 2016 Olympics in Chicago because he felt it would hurt low-income peo-
UT GRAD GOES BACK TO SPACE
SHOOTING
Marine may have killed wife
Gang rape suspects found, arrested after three months
MADISONVILLE — All but one of the people suspected of raping a 16-year-old girl have been arrested, in an apparently drugfueled attack in East Texas that the local police chief described as a “hideous crime.” Madisonville Police Chief Chuck May said officers had detained 10 of 11 suspects in the March attack. Police began making arrests late last week, three months after the reported gang rape inside a trailer. May said the girl was given methamphetamine and then assaulted by several of the people charged. “We just took it one day at a time until we had enough to get indictments,” May said. The defendants were being held on $100,000 bond each, May said.
Fourth Dallas schools admin leaves, faces federal charges DALLAS — The chief of staff for the superintendent of the Dallas school district has resigned in anticipation of being named in a federal indictment. Jerome Oberlton becomes the fourth high-level administrator to leave during the year-long tenure of Superintendent Mike Miles. Miles said on Tuesday he was told a day earlier by Oberlton that he is expecting to be indicted for work as chief information officer for Atlanta Public Schools from 2004 to 2007. Oberlton joined the Dallas district in January. Miles said he was “profoundly shocked” when told of the possible indictment and asked for Oberlton’s resignation. Miles said he has asked district trustees to OK an audit of Oberlton’s work. He said the district conducted a background check on Oberlton prior to his hire and expressed anger that he was not told of the investigation until Monday.
Police looking for ‘Big Daddy,’ suspected of double murder DALLAS — Police are searching for a 25-year-old man they say shot and killed two half-brothers during a confrontation at a nightclub. An arrest warrant affidavit released Tuesday shows Jerome Bernard Deamus is facing a charge of capital murder. He pulled a handgun during the dispute early Sunday morning with 22-year-old Christopher Ferguson and shot him multiple times, according to the affidavit. Deamus was then rushed by 39-year-old Cecil Ferguson, who was shot once in the chest. The affidavit says Cecil Ferguson died at the scene and his half-brother later died at a hospital. The Dallas Morning News reports Deamus is a convicted felon and authorities said his nickname is “Big Daddy.” He has a back tattoo that reads “Dixon.”
New NMSU president seeks former competitor for job LAS CRUCES, N.M. — New Mexico State University Presidentdesignate Garrey Carruthers may hire one of the other finalists for president of the university as its next top academic administrator. The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that the NMSU Faculty Senate will consider if Carruthers can waive normal procedures and hire a finalists as provost. Faculty Senate Chair Dennis Clason said the finalists were carefully vetted during the presidential search process. Carruthers was named NMSU president May 6 and officially begins those duties June 1. The other finalists were former Texas Tech University President Guy Bailey, former University of Nevada-Las Vegas President David Ashley, former Texas A&M University President Elsa Murano and University of Colorado-Denver Dean Daniel Howard.
—Associated Press
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ple; another time, he protested against neo-Nazi groups. In a 2005 feature article about Hammond’s hacking skills, he told the Chicago Reader he could program video games before he was 10. A website for supporters, freejeremy.net, described Hammond as “one of the few true electronic Robin Hoods.” But prosecutors called him a menace. Hammond used online aliases such as “credible threat” and “yohoho.” Hammond faces a maximum sentence of more than 15 years at sentencing on Sept. 6. Secret-spilling group WikiLeaks published much of the material Hammond is accused of stealing.
Mikhail Metzel / Associated Press
BETSY BLANEY Associated Press
NASA
The Soyuz rocket lifts off, the crew waves goodbye as they head inside the rocket on Tuesday, (from top: Fyodor Yurchikhin, Luca Parmitano, and Karen Nyberg), and Karen Nyberg, a University of Texas-Austin grad, floats in the space shuttle Discovery during a 2008 mission.
Kiril Kudryavtsev / Associated Press
Shooting for the stars
NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg, a University of Texas at Austin graduate, blasted into space for the second time early Tuesday, part of an international crew bound for the International Space Station. The Soyuz space ship carrying Nyberg and two other crew members launched from a base in Kazakhstan for the six-hour trip to the ISS, the Associated Press reported. The new crew will spend six months conducting a variety of experiments. At UT-Austin, Nyberg earned her Master’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1996 and a doctorate in 1998. She previously was aboard the space shuttle Discovery on its 123rd flight in 2008, when she spent two weeks in space. On that trip, she became the 50th woman to enter space.
The cramped capsule carrying Nyberg, Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and Italy’s Luca Parmitano orbited the Earth four times before docking with the space station less than six hours after liftoff. Nyberg, a mechanical engineer by training, served in various engineering roles at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston prior to being selected as an astronaut in 2000. A native of Vining, Minn., Nyberg earned an undergraduate degree from the University of North Dakota. Her graduate research was at UT-Austin’s BioHeat Transfer Laboratory, where she investigated human thermoregulation and experimental metabolic testing and control, specifically related to the control of thermal neutrality in space suits.
LIVESTRONG FOUNDATION
CENTRAL TEXAS SCHOOLS
Administrators get big checks
Nike parts with cancer foundation
Associated Press
JIM VERTUNO Associated Press
Nike, which helped build Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong cancer charity into a global brand and introduced its familiar yellow wristband, is cutting ties with the foundation in the latest fallout from the former cyclist’s doping scandal. The move by the sports shoe and clothing company ends a relationship that began in 2004 and helped the foundation raise more than $100 million, making the charity’s bracelet an international symbol for cancer survivors. But the relationship soured with revelations of performanceenhancing drug use by Armstrong and members of his U.S. Postal Service team. Nike it will stop making its Livestrong line of apparel after the 2013 holiday season. Foundation and company officials said Nike will honor the financial terms of its contract until it expires in 2014. Those terms were not disclosed. Officials at Livestrong, which announced the split Tuesday, said the foundation remains strong and committed to helping cancer patients worldwide. “This news will prompt some to jump to negative conclusions about the foundation’s future,” the foundation said. “We see things quite differently. We expected and planned for changes like this and are therefore in a good position to adjust swiftly and move forward with our patient-focused work.”
LUBBOCK, Texas — A Marine killed after going on a shooting spree that left one person dead and several hospitalized in Texas also is suspected of fatally stabbing his wife, whose body was found in a North Carolina motel room hours after the rampage, police said Tuesday. Rubi Estefania Smith of Bakersfield, Calif., was found dead Sunday afternoon in a motel room near Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville, N.C., police said in a news release. She was the wife of Lance Cpl. Esteban J. Smith, the 23-year-old Marine who died Sunday in a gunfight with Texas authorities. Police spokeswoman Beth Purcell said Rubi Estefania Smith appears to have died from a knife wound. A veteran of two combat tours in Afghanistan, Esteban Smith is suspected in a West Texas shooting rampage that left one woman dead and five others wounded. An assault rifle, handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were recovered from Smith’s vehicle. Smith, who was also from Bakersfield, was stationed with the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune. Base spokesman Master Sgt. Jonathan Cress said investigators have determined the firearms used in the shootings were not issued by the military. — Michael Biesecker reported from Raleigh, N.C.
Mark Lennihan / Associated Press
Lance Armstrong, cyclist and Livestrong founder, attends the Clinton Global Initiative in New York in 2010, wearing an iconic yellow Livestrong bracelet, the symbol of the cancer research foundation he founded in 1997 that once bore his name.
The Livestrong Foundation after Armstrong, Nike ✔✔Armstrong was pushed off the board of directors in October and the organization later changed its name to Livestrong. ✔✔Foundation officials say Livestrong is still on solid financial ground. ✔✔Nike’s contract with Livestrong will continue until 2014, but the details of the contract were not disclosed. ✔✔Livestrong reduced its budget nearly 11 percent in 2013 to $38.4 million, but said Tuesday that revenue is already 2.5 percent ahead of projections. ✔✔Last month, Livestrong received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, which evaluates charities based on financial health, accountability and transparency.
The number of Central Texas school employees with salaries in excess of $100,000 has grown dramatically over for the last five years. The Austin American-Statesman analyzed salaries at eight school districts, including Austin, Hays and Round Rock, and reported Tuesday a 78 percent increase in the number of administrators earning more than $100,000. Those earning six figures grew at least twice as fast as the rise in enrollment and school budgets since the 2008-2009 school year. Most of the earners are administrators and make more than double the average pay for teachers, whose salaries range from about $45,600 to $50,200. Superintendents consistently make between three and five times the average teacher salary. For the current school year, the average salaries for principals in the Central Texas school districts analyzed ranged from $98,407 to $128,961, the newspaper said. “Our first financial investment should be with our teachers and our school employees,” said Ken Zarifis, co-president of Education Austin, a labor group representing employees in the Austin school district. “They’re the ones working with our kids day to day, and we need to find a way to pay them before anyone else.” Austin’s operating budget dropped by 16 percent and its total number of employees grew by 3 percent. Much of the increase in those earning more than $100,000 was driven by last year’s pay raises. Susan Holley, associate executive director for the Texas Association of School Administrators, said support personnel were the first to be laid off during budget cuts. Administrators were left doing the work of two or three people “There may be few administrator positions, and they have more responsibility and complexity than before,” Holley said. Bret Champion, superintendent for the Leander school district, said salaries are “market-driven.” He said his district competes with high-tech companies for employees.
5/29/13 10:24 AM
F O OD
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Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Matthew Mead /Associated Press
A Greek-style turkey burger with pepperoncini sauce is a healthy alternative to normally fatty beef burgers for summertime grilling.
LEAN ON MEAT Turkey burgers cut fat, not flavor SARA MOULTON Associated Press
S
ummertime is burger time. Nothing beats throwing a few beef patties on the grill. Not much is required in the way of embellishment, yet you still receive a big return. What’s the magic ingredient? Fat, of course. Beef burgers are high in fat, which guarantees flavor and juiciness. And because fat enhances flavor, it also makes anything else you put in or on the burger taste better, too. Heartbreakingly, as you decrease the fat content in a burger, its flavor tends to wane, too. This is a real problem if you want to dig into a delicious burger but still want the blood to continue sailing through your arteries. The solution? Turkey. I know, I know. You’ve tried turkey burgers and it was like eating wet cardboard. But you haven’t tried my turkey burgers. Let’s start with the basic ingredient — ground turkey. While researching this recipe, I discovered that the labels on ground turkey can be quite confusing. You’d figure that a package labeled “lean” would mean what it
says. Weirdly, it turns out that the calories and fat in a 4-ounce portion of “lean” ground turkey can range from 120 calories with 1 percent fat to 160 calories with 12 percent fat (which is as rich as a lean beef burger). As always, it’s best to read labels and not rely on words such as “lean” or “white meat” when looking for healthy choices. Or better yet, grind your own turkey. Start by buying a small package of turkey tenderloins, the flap of meat that lies just under the breast. As little as a 1 ½ pounds of turkey tenderloins can be ground to produce six burgers. Cut the tenderloins into 1-inch cubes and freeze them for 30 minutes. Pop them in a food processor and pulse until they achieve a medium-grind consistency. Now we come to the crucial part of the recipe, the part I call Turkey Helper. As the blandest and driest of white meats, turkey cries out for flavor and moisture. Any number of vegetables can answer this call, including sauteed onions, bell peppers or mushrooms, shredded raw Napa cabbage, or carrots. But I wanted to give these burgers the Greek treatment, so I moistened them with spinach,
garlic and onions, then seasoned them with crumbled feta and fresh oregano. A staple of Greek cuisine, the goat or sheep milk cheese called feta is so packed with flavor and saltiness that a little goes a long way. And if you’re not a fan of oregano, you can swap in dill or basil instead. In search of an agreeable sauce, I built one out of pepperoncini. Also known as Tuscan pickled peppers, pepperoncini are the little green hot peppers that have spiced up every Greek For the Greek-style tursalad you’ve ever eaten. key burger with pepperThey’re briny, too, oncini sauce recipe visit which is why I added the Southwest Journalsome of their pickling ist at swjournalist.com. liquid to the yogurtmayo base. This creamy sauce comprises the last splash of our Turkey Helper. Nobody in my house cries “Where’s the beef?” when we pull these burgers off the grill.
Some thoughts on healthy living from Carol Gooch, Associated Press columnist. People who have good emotional health are aware of their thoughts, feelings and behaviors. They have learned healthy ways to cope with the stress and problems that are a normal part of life.
To have good emotional health, it’s important to take care of your body by having a regular routine for eating healthy meals, getting enough sleep and exercising to relieve pent-up tension.
Sorting out the causes of sadness, stress and anxiety in your life can help you manage your emotional health.
When you are feeling stressed, anxious or upset, you may not take care of your health as well as you should. You may not feel like exercising, eating nutritious foods or taking medicine that your doctor prescribes.
Poor emotional health can weaken your body’s immune system, making you more likely to get colds and other infections during emotionally difficult times.
Longhorn genes ideal for Texas, taste MICHAEL GRACZYK Associated Press
PONTOTOC, Texas — A new genetic study of Texas longhorns shows the cattle breed — a state symbol as recognizable as the Alamo and cowboy hats — has maintained a distinct Spanish ancestry that dates centuries. The breed has become a favorite for consumers willing to pay a premium for low-fat beef from grass-fed animals. “The animals are very lean by nature of their evolution,” says Debbie Davis, whose family raises longhorns in Bandera County about 75 miles northwest of San Antonio. “It’s a healthier product and people on a high-protein, low-starch diet seek out this beef.” The longhorn’s roots trace back thousands of years, and the animal’s direct descendants crossed the Atlantic with Christopher Columbus. They grew longer horns to protect against New World predators and even rebounded from a
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Michael Graczyk / Associated Press
A Texas longhorn stands at the Double Helix Ranch near Pontotoc, Texas. Research shows the breed’s DNA dates back centuries. post-Civil War beef demand that decimated herds. “I think Texans admire a lot of the characteristics they see in Texas longhorns because it’s some of
the same characteristics humans had to have to thrive in Texas,” said David Hillis, a University of Texas biologist and geneticist involved in the longhorn DNA study.
The study’s authors said the cattle’s genes create a hardy breed, independent and well adapted to the land. “The ones that had the long horns were better able to defend their calves and were able to survive the best,” Hillis said. Horns now grow 70 inches long from tip to tip, the result of ranchers selectively breeding cattle with the best physical characteristics. Ranchers like Davis and Hillis, who herds about 50 at his Texas Hill Country ranch, carefully manage the legendary bovines. Longhorns graze on whatever the rocky ground and minimal rain allow to grow. Researchers confirmed the longhorns of today are direct descendants of Spanish cattle brought by Columbus to Hispaniola in 1493. “Longhorns are unusual in being an ancient breed,” Hillis said. “There’s not many of those left in the world.”
5/29/13 10:27 AM