New map pinpoints areas of highest human risk for lyme disease in eastern United States

New map pinpoints areas of highest human risk for lyme disease in eastern United States

Thursday, February 2, 2012

A new map pinpoints well-defined areas of the Eastern United States where humans have the highest risk of contracting Lyme disease, one of the most rapidly emerging infectious diseases in North America, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As part of the most extensive Lyme-related field study ever undertaken, researchers found high infection risk confined mainly to the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Upper Midwest and low risk in the South. The results were published in the February issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Given frequent over- and under-diagnosis of Lyme disease, the new map could arm the public and health officials with critical information on actual local risk.

"There has been a lot of discussion of whether Lyme disease exists outside of the Northeast and the upper Midwest, but our sampling of tick populations at hundreds of sites suggests that any diagnosis of Lyme disease in most of the South should be put in serious doubt, unless it involves someone who has traveled to an area where the disease is common," said Dr. Maria A. Diuk-Wasser, Assistant Professor at the Yale School of Public Health and the lead author of the study.

"We can't completely rule out the existence of Lyme disease in the South," she added, "but it appears highly unlikely."

The Lyme disease risk map was developed by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health in collaboration with Michigan State University, University of Illinois and University of California, Irvine, through a cooperative agreement with the CDC, which is seeking a better understanding of where Lyme disease poses a public health menace. Lyme disease is a tick-borne ailment with symptoms that range from a rash, headaches and fever to arthritis and Bell's palsy.

Mobilizing Tick Hunters

The scientists involved in the study assembled a large field staff of more than 80 tick hunters. From 2004 to 2007, they combed through 304 individual sites from Maine to Florida and across the Midwest, dragging a one-meter by one-meter square of corduroy cloth in hopes of snagging the black legged tick Ixodes scapularis that is the main carrier of the Lyme disease pathogen, Borrelia burgdorferi. (The study did not examine risk in the West where Lyme disease is believed to be confined to areas along the Pacific Coast where a different tick species, known as Ixodes pacificus or the western blacklegged tick, carries Lyme.)

The goal of the field work was to provide doctors and public health officials with a better sense of where people are at risk of Lyme disease by using the presence of known Lyme-carrying ticks as the main indicator of danger.

Current geographical assessments of Lyme disease risk are heavily reliant on reports of human infections, which the study notes can be a poor predictor of risk. The researchers point out that using human cases to determine areas of risk can be misleading due to the high level of "underreporting and misdiagnosis" of Lyme disease. They also note that where someone is diagnosed with the disease is not necessarily where they contracted it.

In addition, the study found that infected I. scapularis ticks may colonize a region long before they actually infect a human with Lyme disease, which means risk can be significant even without a confirmed case.

"A better understanding of where Lyme disease is likely to be endemic is a significant factor in improving prevention, diagnosis and treatment," Diuk-Wasser said. "People need to know where to take precautions to avoid tick bites. Also, doctors may be less likely to suspect and test for Lyme disease if they are unaware a patient was in a risky area and, conversely, they may act too aggressively and prescribe unneeded and potentially dangerous treatments if they incorrectly believe their patient was exposed to the pathogen."

The study notes that "accurate and timely" diagnosis is crucial to initiating antibiotic treatments that can help patients avoid the more serious complications of Lyme disease. At the same time, the authors point out that incorrectly suspecting Lyme disease has its own consequences, including potentially life-threatening complications from the antibiotics typically used to treat infections. (While the laboratory test for Lyme disease can produce both false-positives and false-negatives, false-positives are far more likely in non-endemic areas.)

Establishing a Map for Lyme Disease Risk in the Eastern United States

The maps that emerged from the tick survey show a clear risk of Lyme disease in large parts of the Northeast (including eastern Pennsylvania) from Maine going as far south as Maryland and northern Virginia, which is in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. But while conditions could be favorable for the disease to spread into the Tidewater region of Virginia ? the data collected for the study indicates the bulk of the South is free of Lyme disease-carrying ticks.

The researchers also identify a separate and distinct Lyme disease risk region in the upper Midwest. It includes most of Wisconsin, a large area in northern Minnesota, and a sliver of northern Illinois.

However, the scientists confirm that Lyme disease remains on the move as its preference for forests and deer is aided by a century-long re-planting of trees inland once cleared for agriculture, along with a resurgence of deer populations. Diuk-Wasser and her colleagues found evidence to support an "emerging risk" for Lyme disease along the Illinois/Indiana border, the New York/Vermont border, southwestern Michigan, and eastern North Dakota. Also, Diuk-Wasser said new, unpublished field work now underway indicates Lyme disease is probably moving into central Virginia.

Lyme Disease: the Southern Challenge

While the scientists involved in mapping the Lyme disease risk believe most of the South is relatively free of the disease, one challenge to delineating a southern risk frontier is the fact that there are I. scapularis ticks in the region. They were once thought to be a distinct species, Diuk-Wasser said, but scientists now consider them to be the same species, although there are biological differences.

Most notably, tick experts find the Southern I. scapularis exhibit a feeding behavior in the immature stages that is different than that of its northern cousins. The Southern ticks prefer, it appears, the blood of lizards and skinks to small mammals that are more likely to carry the bacteria and show no interest in feeding on humans, which scientists believe makes it unlikely they play an important role as Lyme disease carriers.

Diuk-Wasser noted that one reason some people in the South may believe Lyme disease is a risk in their region is that they may frequently encounter a species known as the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) that is "very aggressive, very abundant" and whose bite can cause a rash that looks similar to the "bull's eye" lesion caused by Lyme disease. However, this disease, known as Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness or STARI, does not feature the neurological and arthritis problems associated with Lyme disease.

Nonetheless, Diuk-Wasser stresses that scientists cannot rule out completely that Lyme disease exists outside of the areas identified in the mapping project. And she pointed out there are limitations to the tick sampling techniques she and her colleagues employed to create the risk map. For example, the field teams conducted their tick collecting in late May, June, July, and August, which is considered peak feeding time. But she said some areas might experience a population surge in early May or earlier. (The climate in April in parts of Tennessee is likely tick friendly, but Diuk-Wasser said other field studies conducted in Tennessee during the spring have not found any Lyme-infected ticks.)

"This is a useful tool that can help physicians, nurses and policymakers make realistic resource decisions," said James W. Kazura, MD, President of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, which publishes the journal, and director of the Center for Global Health and Diseases at Case Western Reserve University. "The scientific research done to create this new risk map for Lyme disease is an example of what is needed in the U.S. today for a variety of diseases given its immense value in making clinical decisions and allocating scarce resources."

###

American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

Thanks to American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117302/New_map_pinpoints_areas_of_highest_human_risk_for_lyme_disease_in_eastern_United_States

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Grambing Hires Percy ?Chico? Caldwell As Its New Athletics Director ...

Percy Caldwell

GRAMBLING, LA ? After interviewing seven finalists recommended by a search committee, President Frank G. Pogue announced this week that Dr. Percy ?Chico? Caldwell will assume the position of Athletic Director at Grambling State University, pending approval by the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors. More than 50 applications were received.

?One of the difficult decisions was narrowing this extensive highly qualified pool of candidates to one individual,? says Dr. Pogue. ?Dr. Caldwell?s experience and professional preparation will empower Grambling?s athletics to the next level of excellence and bridge the gap between Grambling?s historic achievements and success in athletics and the academic mission of the University. He will bring significant strength to the athletic administration including planning, research, marketing and financial management.?

Dr. Caldwell, a former student athlete, received his doctorate from Iowa State University and earned certification as an Administrative Leadership Evaluator. He received a master?s degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation from the University of Alabama and a bachelor?s degree in Sociology/Psychology from Miles College in Birmingham, Alabama.

Dr. Caldwell has held several athletic positions over the course of his career. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1989, named Coach of the Year in 1990 and Athletic Director of the Year in 1991 for the West Virginia Conference. He also served in the United States Army, Military Police Corps.

?To be afforded the employment opportunity at Grambling State University with rich athletics history drawing national attention a great academic institution is special and very exciting. The rich athletics history separates Grambling State University from any other university. The stage is already set, my job will be to start from here assisting Dr. Pogue and his administration continue to operationalize the mission and vision at GSU, says Dr. Caldwell. To be working with Dr. Frank Pogue and the GSU athletics staff will be an amazing opportunity. I am excited to get started.?

Grambling State University has 15 sports program: men?s football, basketball, baseball, cross country, track and field/outdoor; women?s basketball, bowling, track and field indoor/outdoor, cross country, tennis, soccer, softball and volleyball.

Tags: Frank Pogue, Grambling, Percy "Chico" Caldwell

Category: News

Source: http://www.tspnsports.com/2012/02/02/grambing-hires-percy-chico-caldwell-as-its-new-athletics-director.htm

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Why has European growth been so weak for so long?

Interesting Wall Street Journal editorial which discusses why European growth has been weak for so long-namely demographics and excessive government spending. The article mentions Germany and Sweden as two countries that are "better run", which is basically true, but the point that could have been added was that their better relative performance is mostly because they have implemented tax- and social benefits cuts.

Germany by the way is an example of how countries in the short run can compensate for the effects of a shrinking working age population by employing a higher percentage of the people in that age group. They still have room to increase the employment rate for a few more years but with a 5.5% unemployment rate there is a limit to that. Perhaps Germany should encourage some of those newly unemployed Southern Europeans to learn German and move to Germany?

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. This post originally ran on stefanmikarlsson.blogspot.com.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/S31Ec33WjDI/Why-has-European-growth-been-so-weak-for-so-long

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Mies van der Rohe's Tugendhat to reopen again (AP)

BRNO, Czech Republic ? It was completed in 1930, a masterpiece of Modernism by legendary German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

But Villa Tugendhat's early history was rocked by the turbulence of the 20th Century: The Nazis seized it, then came World War II bombardments that smashed its windows. When the Soviet troops liberated Czechoslovakia, living space became a large stable. It has languished in disrepair ever since.

Now, a two-year renovation that cost $9 million is almost complete. In March, the glass-fronted building that houses a thick, honey-colored onyx wall, floor-to-ceiling windows, winter garden and clean white lines throughout will be open to the public. Czech officials are confident it will become one of the most popular tourism venues in the region.

"It's been a huge challenge," said Michal Malasek, whose construction company was tasked with the daunting challenge of refurbishing the villa while staying faithful to its design. "I have never worked on anything of such prestige."

Some 80 percent of the villa's original features have been preserved, making it "the most authentic Mies van der Rohe building on the European continent," said Iveta Cerna, an architect from Brno's municipal museum who has looked after the villa since 2002.

Good fortune played its part: An original bathtub, missing since the 1940s, was found in a nearby house; and a curved wall of Macassar ebony was discovered at a dining hall inside Brno's Law School where it had been taken to spruce up a bar built for Nazi officers.

Brno experienced a building boom in the late 1920s that reflected the growing confidence of the city in the independent Czechoslovakia, created in 1918. Grete and Fritz Tugendhats, co-owners of wool factories and part of a large German-speaking Jewish community in the city, were able to commission the home of their dreams from Mies van der Rohe.

"I truly longed for a modern spacious house with clear, simple shapes," Grete Tugendhat said in a 1969 lecture in Brno. Her husband died in 1958 and never saw it again after the Jewish family fled Czechoslovakia in 1938, a year before the Nazis took power.

Grete Tugendhat came back from her home in Switzerland to visit the house several times, first in 1967. She died in 1970. Efforts by the family to claim their former property back after the collapse of communism in 1989 failed.

After the war, the building hosted a private dance school before it was taken over by the communist Czechoslovakia in 1950; it served as a rehabilitation center for children with spine defects till the end of 1960s. The city of Brno has been its owner since 1980.

On a recent sunny day, workers were polishing the staircase of Italian white travertine that leads from the terrace to the garden. In the living space, the curved ebony wall was wrapped in cloth to prevent any damage. In winter months, when the sun is low and its beams are penetrating the onyx wall at the right angle, it changes its color in some parts to shine in orange and dark red hues.

"We know from Grete that Mies himself was surprised by this unique effect," said Cerna, the Brno architect. "(The house's) charm is in the changes. It changes with weather, it looks different each season of the year.

"I am always surprised by light condition here."

Combining a design of pure geometric forms with advanced technologies and exotic materials, Mies van der Rohe satisfied the owners' wish for innovation and originality.

The three-story building with a flat roof occupies the top of a steep garden that faces southwest. It is carried by a network of 29 steel, cruciform-shaped columns anchored in concrete.

Some replica parts had to be obtained in the last two years: Huge glass panes, one-centimeter (0.39 inch) thick, were made in Belgium while the white linoleum that originally covered the floor was provided by the same German company that made it more than 80 years ago.

Fritz and Grete Tugendhat lived in the villa with their three children for eight years in the 1930s. Grete said she fell in love with it "from the first moment."

One of their daughters, Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat, now works as a professor of art history at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna.

"For me, this is actually the most beautiful interior room in modern architecture," she told AP. "Usually, it's only in old churches that a room has such a meditative effect."

Hammer-Tugendhat and her husband are leading members of an international committee of experts overseeing the villa's reconstruction, co-financed by the city, EU funds and the state.

The villa's central living open space has its south and east walls made of huge steel-frame windows that allow a magnificent view of Brno's historical monuments and connect rather than separate the building with the garden.

Mies van der Rohe also designed the furniture, including his famed chairs, and equipped the building with air conditioning and security systems.

In 1938, the Tugendhats had to leave the country to escape the Nazis, first for Switzerland and later for Venezuela.

Mies van der Rohe, whose work did not meet Hitler's taste for monumental architecture, also fled the Nazis, purportedly using his brother's passport to get out of Germany. He settled in Chicago to work for the Illinois Institute of Technology and designed a number of significant buildings in his new land, including Lake Shore Apartments in Chicago, the Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois, the Seagram Building in New York City and Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington D.C. He died in 1969.

The Gestapo seized the building after invading Czechoslovakia and ? insensitive to the original design ? made changes, including erecting several extra walls inside and outside and increasing the height of the chimney.

All but one of the large windows was smashed by Allied bombings.

During the liberation by the Red Army in 1945, the living space was used as a stable for the officers' horses ? and all but one of the shelves of a huge ebony bookcase was burned.

The Communists, who took power here in 1948, tried their hand at renovating the villa in the 1980s ? but did more harm than good. The original bathroom equipment and the sole remaining pane of a wall of glass were destroyed because they didn't fit their plan.

The deal that split Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1992 was signed in the villa, adding to its historical significance.

The idea to restore the villa dates back to 2001 when UNESCO declared it a world heritage site. Copies of original plans and photographs from the MoMA in New York City as well documents from family and from Brno archives, including pictures taken by Fritz Tugendhat, were used to help restore the building.

City officials now are trying to buy the original pieces of furniture from the families that own them.

"It would be something extraordinary to get them all," said Brno mayor Roman Onderka.

A grand opening is scheduled for Feb. 29 and the villa will be reopen to the public March 6. Officials said they have already been flooded by requests from potential visitors.

___

APTN videojournalist Philipp-Moritz Jenne in Vienna contributed to this report

___

If you go:

Villa Tugendhat (or Tugendhat House) in Brno, Czech Republic

Website: http://www.tugendhat.eu/en/

When it opens: March 6, 2012

How to get there: Brno has an international airport, it is also accessible by train, bus or car from Prague that is located 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of Brno.

Entrance Fee: Up to 350 koruna ($18).

The villa is closed to the public on Mondays.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_re_eu/eu_czech_villa_tugendhat

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Major GOP 'super PACs' raised millions in 2011 (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The most significant "super" political committees in this year's presidential campaign revealed the names of their wealthy donors Tuesday. The casino mogul who with his wife contributed $10 million to Newt Gingrich's group gave five times more than the group collected from all other sources.

The new financial reports, which offered a detailed accounting of money collected and spent by super PACs, underscored how millionaires and billionaires are influencing the presidential election behind the scenes.

The group supporting Mitt Romney, Restore Our Future, said it collected $17.9 million in contributions since July, most of which it spent on advertisements supporting Romney or attacking Gingrich. The top four donors to the group were hedge fund managers. The pro-Romney group waited to file its report until hours after Romney was projected the winner in Florida's important GOP primary, just ahead of the midnight deadline.

Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife, who collectively gave $10 million this month to the pro-Gingrich group, Winning Our Future, were not listed in the latest filings because the reporting period covered 2011. But the group's reports showed only $2 million in donations, making the Adelsons by far the paramount backers in Gingrich's Republican candidacy.

Adelson, a staunch advocate for Israel, was rewarded in Gingrich's speech in Florida late Tuesday with a renewed promise by the candidate that, if elected, he would relocate the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Adelson has long supported such a move.

American Crossroads, the Republican group backed by former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove, said it raised $51 million along with its nonprofit arm last year. Most of its $11 million in contributions over the past three months came from roughly a dozen wealthy donors.

While most recent public attention has focused on super PACs spending major sums for negative TV ads assailing Romney and Gingrich, Tuesday's figures are a sign of even greater spending to come in the general election battle between the Republican nominee and Democratic President Barack Obama.

The super PACs' war chests underscore the extraordinary impact the groups will have on this year's race. In GOP primaries so far, groups working for or against presidential candidates have spent roughly $25 million on TV ads ? about half the nearly $53 million spent on advertising so far to influence voters in the early weeks of the race.

Crossroads' financial reports identify wealthy donors who had given contributions reaching as high as seven figures by the end of 2011. Among the largest contributors was Dallas businessman Harold Simmons, who gave the group $5 million in November and whose holding company, Contran Corp., donated an additional $2 million.

Simmons is a major donor to GOP and conservative causes who pumped as much as $4 million into the "swift boat" campaign that helped sink Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry in 2004. Simmons, an early supporter of Texas Gov. Rick Perry's presidential run, also was a fundraising "bundler" putting donations together for Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Winning Our Future and other such groups are the products of a 2010 Supreme Court ruling that removed restrictions on corporate and union spending in federal elections. The super PACs can't directly coordinate with the candidates they support, but many are staffed with former campaign workers who have an intimate knowledge of a favored candidate's strategy.

Since this summer, the groups have spent tens of millions of dollars on ads in key GOP primary states like Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida. The PACs have also unleashed millions on expenses typically reserved for campaigns, including direct mailings, phone calls and get-out-the-vote efforts.

Indeed, outside spending by individuals isn't new. Liberal-leaning billionaire George Soros gave more than $20 million to help groups supportive of Kerry ? these groups were known as "527" organizations ? and his 2004 White House bid. But the high court's Citizens United ruling essentially gave a green light to individuals who want to pump unlimited sums into outside groups that would in turn support candidates.

The Obama campaign on Tuesday disclosed a list of 61 people who raised at least half a million dollars for the president's re-election efforts. Among them were movie producers Jeffrey Katzenberg and Harvey Weinstein and embattled former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, whose $70,000 in contributions from himself and his wife were refunded by the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

A handful of other financial filings began trickling in to the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday afternoon, including those from the Gingrich campaign. It said the former House speaker raised $10 million during the fourth quarter, in addition to $5 million this month. Those totals are separate from super PAC money being spent on his behalf by outside groups.

Perry, the Texas governor who was an early star in the Republican primaries, raised an anemic $2.9 million this past quarter, compared with $17.2 million within the first two months of his entering the race last summer. The Jon Huntsman-leaning Our Destiny super PAC raised about $2.8 million ? with more than $1.8 million coming from the former candidate's father, Jon Huntsman Sr.

Endorse Liberty, a group supportive of libertarian-leaning Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, said it raised $3.9 million for online advertising in key primary states.

___

Associated Press writers Stephen Braun and Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.

____

Follow Jack Gillum on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jackgillum

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120201/ap_on_el_pr/us_campaign_money

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Marine gets jail time, reduced rank in hazing case (AP)

KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii ? A Hawaii-based Marine lance corporal will spend 30 days in jail and have his rank reduced to private first class for punching and kicking a fellow Marine who killed himself shortly afterward, a judge ruled late Monday, saying she found no evidence the abuse led to the suicide.

Lance Cpl. Jacob Jacoby, 21, who pleaded guilty to assault, acknowledged he punched and kicked Lance Cpl. Harry Lew, of Santa Clara, Calif., out of anger and frustration that the fellow Marine repeatedly fell asleep while on watch for Taliban fighters.

The case involves the actions of Marines at an isolated patrol base the U.S. was establishing to disrupt Taliban drug and weapons trafficking in Helmand province.

Jacoby, one of three Marines accused of hazing, told a judge he wanted to talk to Lew to find out why he kept falling asleep and to help him stay awake. But Jacoby said he got angry when Lew spoke to him in a disrespectful manner, even though Lew was putting the lives of the Marines at their patrol base in danger by dozing off.

Squad members and officers had tried different methods to get Lew to stay awake, including referring him up the chain of command for discipline and taking him off patrols so he could get more rest.

But on Lew's last night, when he fell asleep again, those efforts escalated into alleged acts of violence and humiliation, according to the charges. The Marines were accused of punching and kicking him, making him do pushups and pouring sand in his face.

A central issue in the case has been whether the Marines intended to humiliate and harm Lew or discipline him so he would stop falling asleep while on watch duty.

Before Lew put the muzzle of his machine gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger, he scrawled a note on his arm: "May hate me now, but in the long run this was the right choice I'm sorry my mom deserves the truth."

Navy Capt. Carrie Stephens, the judge in Jacoby's special court-martial on Monday, said she found no evidence that Jacoby's abuse of Lew caused Lew to kill himself. She said she didn't take the suicide into account when determining the sentence.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors withdrew charges that Jacoby humiliated and threatened Lew.

Before sentencing, Jacoby said he was sorry and that he wanted to take responsibility for his actions.

"I allowed my emotions and frustrations to get the best of me, and acted out against a fellow Marine," Jacoby said.

He said he will never forget the pain and humiliation of being court-martialed and believes he can use his experience to help other Marines.

Marine Capt. Jesse Schweig said the government was confident Jacoby is capable of rehabilitating himself.

But the prosecutor asked the judge to sentence Jacoby with an eye on deterring similar behavior. Jacoby should be given a bad conduct discharge, he said.

"If this is how you're going to approach and motivate your peers, then you do not need to be a part of the service," Schweig said in closing remarks at the sentencing hearing.

Navy Lt. John Battisi, Jacoby's attorney, said Jacoby lost his temper and struck Lew. But Battisi argued Jacoby made sure to hit Lew on his body armor where he was best protected.

Battisi also asked the judge to keep in mind the circumstances the Marines were in, and that the chain of command hadn't addressed Lew's sleeping problem and instead had left the issue in Jacoby's hands that night.

"We're asking him to control his emotions and gain emotional maturity in the heat of battle," Battisi said in his closing remarks.

Lew committed suicide April 3 at a patrol base in Helmand province, shortly after the abuse. The 21-year-old was a nephew of U.S. Rep. Judy Chu.

Two other Marines also are accused of hazing Lew before he shot himself with his machine gun in his foxhole. Sgt. Benjamin Johns, the leader of the squad the Marines belonged to, and Lance Cpl. Carlos Orozco III will have their own separate courts-martial later.

Both Marines watched the court proceedings Monday.

Lew's father, Allen Lew, testified during the sentencing hearing that his son wanted to join the Marines because he felt it was "the best."

He said was shocked to hear about his son's death, and his legs buckled when Marines came to his house at 7:30 a.m. with the news in April.

"My son died ? I have only one son," Lew said. He said he doesn't understand how Marines could do the things they did to their own.

Chu, D-Calif., attended the hearing. "I want to make sure that there is justice for Harry. And I want to support these brave persons, his parents," she told reporters beforehand.

The attorney representing Johns said he was concerned the presence of a politician will taint the process and interfere with justice.

"How do I get a fair jury? What implicit message is she trying to send to those panel members?" said Tim Bilecki, a defense attorney who specializes in military clients.

Chu said that wouldn't be the case. "I'm not going to be saying anything in the trial. All I'm doing is being here. I'm here for the family to support them," she said.

In September, Chu testified about Lew's death at a House Armed Services hearing on the status of suicide prevention programs in the military. Leaders from the Navy, Army, Air Force and Marine Corps answered lawmakers' questions about identifying service members at risk and other steps they are taking to stop suicides.

The military witnesses spelled out several steps ? from sharing information with Veterans Affairs and working with the National Institutes of Health to focusing on peer-to-peer mentoring.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_re_us/us_marines_alleged_hazing

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Who Won Big at the SAG Awards?

The cast of The Help had much reason to celebrate at the 2012 SAG Awards. The Civil Rights drama swept in all of its categories, winning outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role, outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role and the night's highest honor, outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/sag-awards-2012-winners/1-a-423173?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Asag-awards-2012-winners-423173

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