With hopes dimming that Kaiba would survive, doctors tried the medical equivalent of a "Hail Mary" pass. Using an experimental technique never before tried on a human, they created a splint made out of biological material that effectively carved a path through Kaiba's blocked airway.
What makes this a medical feat straight out of science fiction: The splint was created on a three-dimensional printer.
"It's magical to me," said Dr. Glenn Green, an associate professor of pediatric otolaryngology at the University of Michigan who implanted the splint in Kaiba. "We're talking about taking dust and using it to build body parts."
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) is planning to push an amendment to the upcoming farm bill that would repeal the secret provision known as the Monsanto Protection Act, a rider attached anonymously to a spending bill that sailed through Congress in March. An outcry greeted the news of the legislation once the public learned that it had been passed by Congress with no debate and signed into law by President Barack Obama.
The provision allows Monsanto and other companies to continue selling genetically engineered seeds, even if a court has blocked them from doing so. Merkley will press for a floor vote on his repeal amendment when the farm bill is taken up next week, a Merkley aide told HuffPost.
Federal courts have recently ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had failed to consider the potential harm some genetically engineered crops may have, and acted too hastily in approving their sale. The industry fought back with the farm bill rider, preventing the enforcement of court rulings.
Home prices surged during the first quarter at their fastest pace in nearly seven years, the latest sign of a sustained warm-up in an economic recovery that has otherwise been marked by starts and stops.
The housing-market revival—and an accompanying report on consumer confidence—adds new grist for a debate inside the Federal Reserve about how far to push its easy-money policies, including an $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program which has helped to keep mortgage rates near historic lows, boosted asset prices and begun to stimulate hiring and spending.
Fed officials say they have been considering when to wind down the program. Signs of a stronger housing market could give confidence to officials who want to be sure that the economy can stand on its own, without the bond buying. Still, they have been reluctant to get too enthusiastic about signs of an upturn, in part because the economy has disappointed before.read more
The auto industry is about to go on a hiring spree as car makers and
parts suppliers race to find engineers, technicians and factory workers
to build the next generation of vehicles.
The new employees will
be part of a larger, busier workforce. From coast to coast, the industry
is in top gear. Factories are operating at about 95% of capacity, and
many are already running three shifts. As a result, some auto and parts
companies are doing something they've been reluctant to consider since
the recession: Adding floor space and spending millions of dollars on
new equipment.
The auto
industry's stepped-up hiring will help sustain the nation's job growth
and help fuel consumer spending. On Friday, the government said U.S.
employers added 175,000 jobs in May, roughly the monthly average for the
past year and a sign of the economy's resilience.
Health insurers in California will charge an average of $304 a month for the cheapest silver-level plan in state-based exchanges next year, according to rates released Thursday by Covered California, which is implementing the Affordable Care Act there. But many residents will pay a lot less than that for coverage.
Rates will vary by region, age and level of coverage, and many lower-income Californias will qualify for federal subsidies that will greatly lower the premiums. The plans will come in four tiers, ranging from bronze to platinum. The former will charge lower premiums, but carry higher out-of-pocket benefits, and the latter will have the highest premiums but have the lowest out-of-pocket costs.
Subsidies will be based on the cost of silver-level plans and will be available to those earning up to 400% of the poverty line -- roughly $45,000 for an individual or $92,000 for a family of four.
Known as Joe the Barber, the 82-year-old retired businessman has been cutting hair for a quarter-century, charging nothing more than a thank you, and maybe a hug.
Every Wednesday, Cymerys sets up at Bushnell Park in Hartford, Conn., toting a folding lawn chair and a car battery to power his clippers. And then the line forms.
"It's not what you might expect," Cymerys told ABC News. "People from all walks of life can end up there."
May 21, 2013 | President Obama’s newly appointed election reform commission is filled with election officials who have a record of supporting progressive election reforms—even though some of them are known for working in red states under conservative Republicans. Whether Congress listens to this panel’s suggestions is another matter. Half of the 10-member panel are election state and local officials who have participated in numerous retreats sponsored by the Pew Center on the States where they have endorsed voter registration modernization that would be a vast improvement over what’s widely in practice in election administration today. Regardless of political party, they generally agreed that voter registration—which is the gateway to the process—could be made more accurate, cost-effective and efficient. As important, they all don’t think very highly of politicizing the voting process. Their fundamental commitment is making sure eligible voters can cast ballots.
The backbone of their recommendations at Pew in 2010 was creating a system where states use a mix of government databases to draw up lists of eligible voters. Then states are left to decide how they will contact those voters and what people must do to activate their registrations before casting a ballot. This centrist compromise doesn’t entirely please progressives, who want states to universally register everyone. And it doesn’t please conservatives either, who want to make voter registration and the process of voting more difficult, in order to maintain GOP political power in states with increasingly diverse populations.
But, if Obama’s blue ribbon committee draws on the thinking that’s been done by these same people, what’s likely to emerge is a system where the government draws up eligible voter lists, attempts to contact new voters and people who move, and has better voter information databases and tracking ability on Election Day to ensure that anyone who wants to vote has an easier time crossing the finish line and casting a ballot. One impact of this more modernized approach—which would appeal to Republicans—is that a larger state role in enrolling voters would lessen the need for registration drives that have been attacked as unprofessional, such as by ACORN in 2008. However, the fact that states might rely on government data to identify people as eligible voters also would put GOP "voter integrity groups" out of business, because the government would be using data gathered under penalty of perjury.
Santa Rosa, CA – On Friday, June 14th, OFA-CA volunteers held a gun violence prevention on the corner of Old Courthouse Square in honor of the six-month anniversary of the tragic Newtown shootings. It’s been half a year since 20 children and six heroic staff members were senselessly taken at Sandy Hook Elementary School and Congress has yet to pass legislation to help reduce gun violence.
Organizing for Action volunteers and supporters will not stop fighting because it is simply too important to make sure that we pass legislation that keep guns out of dangerous hands. On Friday, they will reiterate to Congress that this issue is not going anywhere, and that it’s time for leaders on Capitol Hill to listen to the voices of their constituents and expand background checks to help protect our children and our communities.
The nearly 1,500 students at Loveland High School produce less waste than some households on a daily basis thanks to the efforts of their peers.
"About three years ago, I started teaching environmental science," said Tracy Burge, Loveland High school teacher. "The school was already recycling, but because that is my passion I decided we were going to step it up."
Watch and listen to Loveland students talk about the initiative. ...
Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA), labeled a “loser” by Mitt Romney during the U.S. election, is giving President Barack Obama’s green-energy strategy its biggest win after almost two years of failures pounced upon by Republicans.
The maker of the electric Model S car as early as today will become the first recipient of a U.S. Energy Department vehicle loan to pay off its debt. The Palo Alto, California-based company will do so nine years ahead of schedule, with taxpayers making at least $12 million on the $465 million lent.
Tesla’s payoff may quell critics who said Obama shouldn’t have acted like a venture capitalist in picking green-energy companies to receive government loans and grants. Republican lawmakers have held up the bad bets made on plug-in carmaker Fisker Automotive Inc., its battery supplier A123 Systems Inc. (AONEQ) and solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC as examples of rewarding untested companies for political reasons.
The Obama administration plans to restart transfers of detainees out of Guantánamo Bay as part of President Obama’s efforts to close the prison, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The president is planning to lift the restrictions on sending detainees to Yemen in the coming weeks, the Journal reports, citing unidentified U.S. officials.
In a speech at National Defense University on Thursday, Obama will lay out his case for closing Guantánamo, which he has said is no longer necessary and hurts U.S. interests abroad.
A new study
focusing on low-income women in St. Louis, MO concludes that expanding
access to free contraception — just as the health care reform law does
through its provision to provide birth control without a co-pay
— leads to significantly lower rates of unintended teen pregnancy and
abortion. Researchers found that when women weren’t prohibited by cost,
they chose more effective, long-lasting forms of birth control and experienced many fewer unintended pregnancies as a result.
Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St.
Louis worked in partnership with the local Planned Parenthood affiliate
to track over 9,200 low-income women in the St. Louis area, some of whom
lacked insurance coverage, during a four-year Contraceptive CHOICE study.
The CHOICE project simulated Obamacare’s birth control provision by
allowing teens and women to select from the full range of FDA-approved
contraceptive options and receive their preferred method at no cost.
They found
that birth rates among the teens who received free birth control in the
CHOICE project were less than a fifth of the national teen birth rate —
just 6.3 births per 1,000 teens, compared to 34.3 per 1,000 teens
nationwide in 2010 — and abortion rates were less than half of both the
regional and national rates.
And researchers are confident that these positive findings could
extend to the rest of the nation, estimating that the national
simulation of their CHOICE program
could prevent one abortion for every 79 to 137 women given a choice
between free birth control options. “As a society, we want to reduce
unintended pregnancies and abortion rates. This study has demonstrated
that having access to no-cost contraception helps us get to that goal,”
Alina Salganicoff, director of women’s health policy at the Kaiser
Family Foundation, told the Associated Press.
Dashana Teloma tried not to cry Friday as she hugged a new stainless steel Electrolux refrigerator at Crisis Assistance Ministry’s furniture bank.
For months now, the 25-year-old homeless mom has been working to get out of a shelter and into an apartment. But she lacked the refrigerator required for government rent assistance. Electrolux took care of that as part of a corporate act of kindness that included giving 100 refrigerators and 125 vacuum cleaners to charities that help the poor.
Most of the products went to charity programs that help homeless families get into housing. Teloma, a mother of two preschoolers, is part of one such program at the Salvation Army Center of Hope shelter for women and children.
PORTLAND, Ore. – In response to President Obama’s challenge to expand employment opportunities for youth, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced $4.2 million in grants to support conservation employment and mentoring opportunities for more than 600 young people ages 15-25 on public lands across the country.
The grants, which support the Obama Administration’s efforts to develop a 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC), include $1.27 million from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), which helped leverage $2.65 million from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and $275,000 from Wells Fargo.
“This initiative is a model of how public-private partnerships can both conserve our land and provide opportunities for our young people to obtain jobs skills and broaden their horizons by connecting with the great outdoors,” said Secretary Jewell. “Through the 21CSC, we hope to expand these partnerships that foster economic opportunities and create a connection with nature for young people that lasts a lifetime.”
Every Friday morning 17-year-old Sarel Ramphele puts on his gold-trimmed suit, grabs his trumpet and walks the 6 kilometres from his home in Blood River to the neighbouring village. Under a makeshift iron roof in the yard of an unused house he meets with scores of other young people to rehearse for what has become an improbable musical success story in one of South Africa's poorest regions.
Based in Limpopo, a rural region whose lifeblood is its eponymous river, Bezzi's Youth Brass Band is one local woman's answer to a distinct lack of youth engagement in the area.
"There are absolutely no entertainment facilities for young people around here," says Janet Bezuidenhout, 42, who set up the band just under three years ago. "The teenagers are just idling around."
Ramphele joined the band when he was just 14 and last year was appointed lead trumpet player. He relishes having something to work towards. "I used to spend a lot of time on the streets doing nothing. The band keeps my mind fresh and helps me develop," he says.
Here’s a rare bit of good news on health care costs: Americans are
having an easier time paying their medical bills than they did just a
year ago.
New data
from the Center for Disease Control show there were 57.8 million
Americans who had trouble paying their health care bills in the first
six months of 2011. That number fell by 3.6 million, hitting 54.2
million in the same span of 2012.
Many of those gains accrued, perhaps surprisingly, to public health
program enrollees, people signed up for programs like Medicaid.
Americans who bought individual health plans in 2012 saved $2.1
billion thanks to Obamacare consumer protections that limit how much
insurers can profit off of Americans’ premiums, according to a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). The vast majority of those savings stem from individual health plan providers lowering the premiums they charge Americans in an effort to comply with the reform law.
The Kaiser study comes shortly after several major California insurers announced
that they would have to pay back $36 million to small businesses and
their employees after charging them too much. Obamacare mandates that
insurers on the individual market spend at least 80 percent of the
premiums they charge on actual medical services, or reimburse the amount
they overspent to their customers.
But insurers can avoid writing those checks after-the-fact if they
just lower their premiums to begin with — and KFF’s study concludes
that’s what many individual plan providers have been doing. KFF estimates
that individual market insurers lowered their premiums by $856 million
in 2011 and by $1.9 billion in 2012 to comply with the so-called “80/20
rule”:
May 21, 2013 | President Obama’s newly appointed election reform commission is filled with election officials who have a record of supporting progressive election reforms—even though some of them are known for working in red states under conservative Republicans.
Every Friday morning 17-year-old Sarel Ramphele puts on his gold-trimmed suit, grabs his trumpet and walks the 6 kilometres from his home in Blood River to the neighbouring village. Under a makeshift iron roof in the yard of an unused house he meets with scores of other young people to rehearse for what has become an improbable musical success story in one of South Africa's poorest regions.
Apple Needs to Make it in America
