Scientists uncover how grapefruits provide a secret weapon in medical drug delivery

May 21, 2013 ? Lipids (right panel first three tubes) derived from grapefruit. GNVs can efficiently deliver a variety of therapeutic agents, including DNA, RNA (DIR-GNVs), proteins and anti-cancer drugs (GNVs-Drugs) as demonstrated in this study.

Grapefruits have long been known for their health benefits, and the subtropical fruit may revolutionize how medical therapies like anti-cancer drugs are delivered to specific tumor cells.

University of Louisville researchers have uncovered how to create nanoparticles using natural lipids derived from grapefruit, and have discovered how to use them as drug delivery vehicles. UofL scientists Huang-Ge Zhang, D.V.M., Ph.D., Qilong Wang, Ph.D., and their team today (May 21, 2013), published their findings in Nature Communications.

"These nanoparticles, which we've named grapefruit-derived nanovectors (GNVs), are derived from an edible plant, and we believe they are less toxic for patients, result in less biohazardous waste for the environment, and are much cheaper to produce at large scale than nanoparticles made from synthetic materials," Zhang said.

The researchers demonstrated that GNVs can transport various therapeutic agents, including anti-cancer drugs, DNA/RNA and proteins such as antibodies. Treatment of animals with GNVs seemed to cause less adverse effects than treatment with drugs encapsulated in synthetic lipids.

"Our GNVs can be modified to target specific cells -- we can use them like missiles to carry a variety of therapeutic agents for the purpose of destroying diseased cells," he said. "Furthermore, we can do this at an affordable price."

The therapeutic potential of grapefruit derived nanoparticles was further validated through a Phase 1 clinical trial for treatment of colon cancer patients. So far, researchers have observed no toxicity in the patients who orally took the anti-inflammatory agent curcumin encapsulated in grapefruit nanoparticles.

The UofL scientists also plan to test whether this technology can be applied in the treatment of inflammation related autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

A Common Sense Approach

Zhang said he began this research by considering how our ancestors selected food to eat.

"The fruits and vegetables we buy from the grocery today were passed down from generation to generation as favorable and nutritious for the human body. On the flip side, outcomes were not favorable for our ancestors who ate poisonous mushrooms, for example," he said. "It made sense for us to consider eatable plants as a mechanism to create medical nanoparticles as a potential non-toxic therapeutic delivery vehicle."

In addition to grapefruit, Zhang and his team analyzed the nanoparticles from tomatoes and grapes. Grapefruits were chosen for further exploration because a larger quantity of lipids can be derived from this fruit.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/cX9NdHi9O30/130521132217.htm

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Democratic Senate finance committee chair: 'IRS abandoned good ...

By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 13:47 EDT

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The political appointee who headed the IRS during the US tax agency?s abusive treatment of conservative groups insisted on Tuesday that he was not involved in the scandal.

US senators grilled retired IRS boss Douglas Shulman about what he readily acknowledged was ?inexcusable? behavior by agents who, from 2011, singled out right-leaning groups for excessive scrutiny.

The IRS actions have become one of a series of alleged abuses of executive power that have cast a shadow over President Barack Obama?s second term, and Tuesday?s hearing was not the first into the case.

Last week, House lawmakers questioned outgoing IRS chief Steven Miller, who Obama had forced to resign in the wake of the revelations.

?I was dismayed and I was saddened to read the inspector general?s conclusions that actions had been taken creating the appearance that the IRS was not acting as it should have,? Shulman told the Senate finance committee.

?The actions outlined in that report have justifiably led to questions about the fairness of the approach taken here.?

Shulman, who retired from the IRS in November, described a vast agency tasked with overseeing tax-exempt groups and carefully scrutinizing those applying for such non-profit status.

But, while he said the targeting occurred between 2010 and June 2011, he insisted that ?in June of 2011 I was not aware of this.?

The Finance Committee chairman, Democrat Max Baucus, blasted the IRS and accused Shulman and Miller of essentially being asleep at the switch.

?The IRS abandoned good judgment and lost the public?s trust,? Baucus said.

Top committee Republican Orrin Hatch insisted there was ?more than a hint of political bias? by IRS agents who put conservative groups with words like ?Tea Party? or ?Patriot? in their names under burdensome review.

But Hatch expressed frustration with the IRS officials? refusal to say who knew about the centralizing of the groups in its early stages, and how far up the chain of command it went.

?One way or another, we?re going to learn the facts about what went on here,? Hatch said.

Obama has said he knew nothing about the abuse until the internal IRS report leaked this month.

The White House acknowledged Monday it was told in April that an inspector general was finalizing an audit into Internal Revenue Service abuses, but stressed that Obama aides made no attempt to intervene or influence findings.

Attention turned to portions of tax law that delineate non-profit status, and discrepancies between the federal statute and the IRS regulations in determining what are known as ?501(c)(4) organizations.?

Such groups, which are not required to reveal their donors, spent millions of dollars to political activity in 2012, with some critics saying they played outsized roles in shaping the presidential campaign.

Baucus noted that under a decades-old federal statute, such groups must ?exclusively? be engaged in social welfare or community good, while the IRS regulations say the groups must be only ?primarily? engaged in social welfare.

?Clearly a Mack truck is being driven through a 501(c)(4) loophole,? Baucus said, arguing that once the immediate scandal clears the law itself should be reformed to make it clearer which groups should qualify.

[Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) via Center for American Progress Action Fund / Flickr]

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Source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/21/democratic-senate-finance-committee-chair-irs-abandoned-good-judgment/

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Sen. Ted Cruz: Immigration Bill "Makes the Problem Worse" - The ...

Ted Cruz, Republican Senator from Texas

Sen. Ted Cruz responded to the Senate Judiciary committee?s passage of the immigration bill today with a written statement:

WASHINGTON, DC?? U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) today voted against moving S. 744 out of the Senate Judiciary committee, citing concerns that the legislation does not effectively secure the border or adequately improve legal immigration, while failing to respect the rule of law. The bill passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee 13-5.

?I want common sense immigration reform to pass. Our immigration system is broken and I think there are large bipartisan majorities that want it to pass, but this bill has two major problems,? the senator said in his closing comments. ?Number one, it doesn?t stop illegal immigration. If anything it makes the problem worse by not securing the border and by incentivizing future illegal immigration. Number two, I believe in its current form, the bill will not become law, and if Congress cannot pass immigration reform, that is a terrible outcome.

?Unfortunately, every Democrat on this committee voted against measures that would put real teeth into border security and that would have improved legal immigration. I hope when this bill goes to the floor of the Senate, those who want immigration reform to pass will look to bipartisan areas of cooperation to improve this bill and to fix the problem.?

View Cruz?s statement made in the Senate Judiciary committee below. Cruz introduced five amendments, one of which was to actually secure the border. He explains this, and all of his problems with the bill, in the video.

by

Source: http://www.thebrennerbrief.com/2013/05/21/sen-ted-cruz-immigration-bill-makes-the-problem-worse/

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Senate panel approves immigration bill

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., right, confers with the committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, May 20, 2013, as the committee assembles to work on a landmark immigration bill to secure the border and offer citizenship to millions. The panel is aiming to pass the legislation out of committee this week, setting up a high-stakes debate on the Senate floor. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., right, confers with the committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, May 20, 2013, as the committee assembles to work on a landmark immigration bill to secure the border and offer citizenship to millions. The panel is aiming to pass the legislation out of committee this week, setting up a high-stakes debate on the Senate floor. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Judiciary Committee members Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, and Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. confer on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, May 20, 2013, as the committee assembled to work on a landmark immigration bill to secure the border and offer citizenship to millions. The panel is aiming to pass the legislation out of committee this week, setting up a high-stakes debate on the Senate floor. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Far-reaching legislation to grant a chance at citizenship to millions of immigrants living illegally in the United States cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a solid bipartisan vote Tuesday night after supporters somberly sidestepped a controversy over the rights of gay spouses.

The 13-5 vote cleared the way for an epic showdown on the Senate floor on the measure, which is one of President Barack Obama's top domestic priorities yet also gives the Republican Party a chance to recast itself as more appealing to minorities.

The committee's action sparked rejoicing from immigration activists who crowded into a Senate committee room to witness the proceedings. "Yes, we can!" they shouted as they clapped rhythmically to show their pleasure.

In addition to creating a pathway to citizenship for 11.5 million immigrants, the legislation creates a new program for low-skilled foreign labor and would permit highly skilled workers into the country at far higher levels than is currently the case.

At the same time, it requires the government to take costly new steps to guard against future illegal immigration.

There was suspense to the end of the committee's deliberations, when Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who serves as chairman, sparked a debate over his proposal to give same-sex and heterosexual spouses equal rights under immigration law.

"I don't want to be the senator who asks people to choose between the love of their life and the love of their country," he said, adding he wanted to hear from others on the committee.

In response, he heard a chorus of pleas from the bill's supporters, seconding private appeals from the White House, not to force a vote that they warned would lead to the bill's demise.

"I believe in my heart of hearts that what you're doing is the right and just thing," said one of them, Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. "But I believe this is the wrong moment, that this is the wrong bill."

In the hours leading to a final vote, the panel also agreed to a last-minute compromise covering an increase in the visa program for high-tech workers, a deal that brought Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah over to the ranks of supporters.

Under the compromise, the number of highly skilled workers admitted to the country would rise from 65,000 annually to 110,000, with the possibility of a further rise to 180,000, depending in part on unemployment levels.

Firms where foreign labor accounts for at least 15 percent of the skilled work force would be subjected to tighter conditions than companies less dependent on H-IB visa holders.

The compromise was negotiated by Hatch, whose state is home to a growing high tech industry, and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. It is designed to balance the interests of industry, which relies increasingly on skilled foreign labor, and organized labor, which represents American workers.

AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka attacked the deal sharply as "anti-worker," although he also made clear organized labor would continue to support the overall legislation.

Robert Hoffman, senior vice president for government affairs at the Information Technology Industry Council, welcomed the deal. "We obviously want to keep moving the bill forward and building support for the legislation, and this agreement allows us to do so," he said.

The issue of same-sex spouses hovered in the background from the start, and as the committee neared the end of its work, officials said Leahy had been informed that both the White House and Senate Democrats hoped he would not risk the destruction of months of painstaking work by putting the issue to a vote.

"There have been 300 amendments. Why shouldn't we have one more?" he told reporters at one point, hours before called the committee into session for a final time to debate the legislation.

A few hours later, Republicans and Democrats both answered his question bluntly.

"This would fracture the coalition. I could not support the bill," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who was a member of the bipartisan so-called Gang of Eight that drafted the core elements of the bill.

Republicans and Democrats alike also noted that the Supreme Court may soon issue a ruling that renders the controversy moot.

Despite the concern that bipartisan support for the legislation was fragile, there was no doubting the command over committee proceedings that backers held.

In a final reminder, an attempt by Sen. Ted Cruz., R-Texas, to delete the pathway to citizenship failed on a 13-5 vote.

In defeat, he and others said they, too, wanted to overhaul immigration law, but not the way that drafters of the legislation had done.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, recalled that he had voted to give "amnesty" to those in the country illegally in 1986, the last time Congress took a major look at immigration. He said that bill, like the current one, promised to crack down on illegal immigration, but said it had failed to do so.

The centerpiece provision of the legislation allows an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally to obtain "registered provisional immigrant status" six months after enactment if certain conditions are also met.

Applicants must have arrived in the United States before Dec. 31, 2011, and maintained continuous physical presence, must not have a felony conviction of more than two misdemeanors on their record, and pay a $500 fine.

The registered provisional immigrant status lasts six years and is renewable for another $500. After a decade, though, individuals could seek a green card and lawful permanent resident status if they are up to date on their taxes and pay a $1,000 fine and meet other conditions.

Individuals brought to the country as youths would be able to apply for green cards in five years.

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AP White House Correspondent Julie Pace contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-05-21-Immigration/id-34ebee79b5af4fc1a13749fc0f8e63f1

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Ed Sheeran On Writing His New Album In 'A Couple Of Weeks' And Why No One Cares About His Personal Life

On the scale of "pop stars teens like that their parents have heard of," Ed Sheeran probably ranks somewhere in between Justin Bieber and Austine Mahone. And the 22-year-old's powerful but honey-coated voice and softhearted lyrics aren't all that dissimilar from theirs, either.

But unlike Bieber, Cody Simpson, Mahone, and too many other young singers to count, Sheeran didn't take the YouTube route to fame. The British singer did it the "old-fashioned way" -- performing his own, original music in real-life venues.

In 2009, Sheeran played 312 gigs, inspired by James Morrison's record of 200 gigs in a year. The next year, he bought a ticket to L.A. and was lucky enough to be discovered by Jamie Foxx playing the open-mic circuit. After he self-recorded two EPs, the Internet buzz around him finally mobilized, and in 2012, Britain fell in love with the singer-songwriter.

This year, America caught up. Sheeran performed a duet of his song "A Team" with Elton John at the 2013 Grammy's and the track was up for "Song Of The Year." Also worth noting is his not-so-small social media army of teenage followers, many of whom he shares with his boy band friends, One Direction.

But when I chatted with Sheeran in NYC earlier this month, he insisted that his personal life has been left mostly untouched by rabid fans and celebrity gossip. This could mean that he is the Adele to Justin Bieber's Taylor Swift, having successfully captured a media narrative which presents him as a step above his peers in maturity and talent. Or maybe he is just still too new to American audiences.

Either way, if it is true that fame has left him pure-of-heart, it's a big feat. After all, this past weekend he performed at the Billboard Music Awards and was seated in the front row next to Selena Gomez, despite tweeting that he didn't fit in at the event. Perhaps that's the key to Sheeran's likeability: he may be sitting at the "cool kids' table," but he still doesn't seem to realize how popular he really is.

Here's what the singer had to say about his new album, his next tattoo and what you do after your dreams come true.

You've said in a few interviews that you've really prepared yourself for this moment. What about fame has really surprised you?
Sheeran: Nothing, it's everything that people said it would be. Everything. The good parts and the bad parts.

What'd they say it would be?
They said your friends would not just [decrease by] half -- [they would] halve, halve, halve, and then halve again. You'd [also] live out every single dream you have for yourself in a matter of months and have to make new dreams for yourself, which has happened.

Do you have new dreams?
Oh, every single new dream I make for myself is achieved within a month anyway, so I keep having to make new dreams.

What's it this month?
I guess playing a stadium, and I'm doing that Saturday.

Cool. Where?
Detroit. That might be my next tattoo. I might get, "D."

You're described as a "new artist," kind of like fun., even though you've been around forever. Does that bother you?
No, I think I am a new artist to the music industry as a whole. It doesn't bother me, I might even be considered a new artist on the second album.

A lot of your peers -- Taylor Swift and One Direction of course come to mind -- are scrutinized in the tabloids for their personal lives. Is that something you're conscious of?
I genuinely, genuinely don't think anyone gives a s*** about my personal life. People only really started giving a s*** when they thought I was dating Taylor.

HuffPost Teen readers probably beg to differ.
I don't do anything interesting, and all the controversial stuff that One Direction might get written about [because of], I write about in my songs anyway. I think people kind of expect it from me, so they're not too shocked. If I write a song called, "Drunk," and then I'm seen walking out of a club drunk, people aren't going to be like "Oh my God!" They're going be like, "Oh yeah, that's what [he's] expected to do, I guess." But if you sing about going "crazy, crazy, crazy" and then fall out of a club...

Did you have a particular audience in mind when you were writing this new album?
No. I think the moment you start trying to please a fan base is when you start going downhill. I'm going to always, always write about what I want even if it doesn't necessarily cater to most of them.

Yeah, at HuffPost Teen we work with a lot of smart teenage girls and it bothers me when people treat them like their presence in a fan base is like this black mark you have to overcome.
There are just certain things you shouldn't feel worried about. Like, I remember putting "Drunk" on the album and people being like, "you have a young base therefore if you do a song called, 'Drunk,' their parents might be annoyed." I was drinking at 13. Like, that's kind of normal.

Your last album seemed to focus on one specific girl, and there was a lot about love. Any new themes in this new album that fans can look forward to?
Well, it's not about that specific girl. It's not about that girl anymore, no more about her. So that's positive.

She seemed cool, though. You said so many wonderful things about her.
Yeah, yeah she's cool. I've written more songs about more things.

That's specific. Anything else about it that you can tell us?
I was looking for it to be done in December and I went through it yesterday. It's pretty much done. Which is quite exciting.

How long did it take you?
A couple of weeks.

To write the whole album?
Yeah.

Really?
I mean there are some songs I've had for a while, but to finish it, yes.

Are you going to be doing any rapping?
I am actually, I am. Not, like, gangsta rapping.

No? That's disappointing.
I'm not doing all of that.

A popular quote [wrongfully] attributed to you is, "I can't tell you the key to success but the key to failure is to try and please everyone."
I said once in an interview, "there's a very good Bill Cosby quote which is..." and [fans] just cut out the Bill Cosby part.

What does that quote mean to you?
It just means do your own thing and don't try and please people for the sake of it. Do it because you enjoy it. There is no key to success.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/21/ed-sheeran-i-genuinely-do_n_3304554.html

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Israeli peace negotiator: Stalemate bad for Israel

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israel's chief peace negotiator said Tuesday that the current stalemate with the Palestinians is harmful for Israel, days before U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to arrive in Israel for his latest push to restart long-dormant talks.

Tzipi Livni told a parliamentary committee that resuming negotiations was "first and foremost an Israeli interest."

Direct negotiations have been largely frozen since the two sides were reportedly close to a deal in late 2008. The Palestinians demand a freeze in Jewish West Bank settlement construction before talks resume. Israel insists negotiations should take place without preconditions and that the matter of the settlements should be resolved along with all other issues through peace talks.

Livni said the stalemate delivers a blow both to Israel's legitimacy and its freedom to act militarily if needed. She warned that the Palestinian narrative of the conflict is gaining traction.

Kerry is due in Israel Thursday to try and restart the stalled talks.

Also Tuesday, Israel's military said soldiers shot and wounded a Palestinian as he threw a firebomb in the West Bank during a violent protest. The teenager's family says he was not involved.

The military said dozens of Palestinians threw rocks at soldiers near a settlement Tuesday when troops noticed a protester aiming a firebomb at them. Soldiers called on him to stop, then fired warning shots and later fired at his lower extremities when he refused, it said.

The wounded Palestinian's family said Ata Sharaki was playing with a friend next to the fence of the settlement when he was shot. They said he is 13 years old.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israeli-peace-negotiator-stalemate-bad-israel-110250639.html

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Activists say 28 Hezbollah members killed in Syria

In this Saturday, May 18, 2013 citizen journalism image provided by Qusair Lens which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrians inspecting the rubble of damaged buildings due to government airstrikes, in Qusair, Homs province, Syria. The town of Qusair has been besieged for weeks by regime troops and pro-government gunmen backed by the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group. The siege is part of a withering offensives forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad have been pushing in recent weeks to regain control of the towns and villages along the Lebanese frontier. (AP Photo/Qusair Lens)

In this Saturday, May 18, 2013 citizen journalism image provided by Qusair Lens which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrians inspecting the rubble of damaged buildings due to government airstrikes, in Qusair, Homs province, Syria. The town of Qusair has been besieged for weeks by regime troops and pro-government gunmen backed by the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group. The siege is part of a withering offensives forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad have been pushing in recent weeks to regain control of the towns and villages along the Lebanese frontier. (AP Photo/Qusair Lens)

This citizen journalism image provided by Qusair Lens which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian rebels preparing to repel a coordinated attack by government forces, in Qusair, Homs province, Syria, Sunday, May 19, 2013. Syrian troops backed by tanks and warplanes launched an assault Sunday on a strategic rebel-held town near the Lebanese border, pounding the area with airstrikes and artillery salvos that killed tens of people and forced residents to scramble for cover in basements and makeshift bunkers, activists said. (AP Photo/Qusair Lens)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Fierce street fighting in a Syrian town near the Lebanese border has killed at least 28 elite members of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group, activists said Monday, as Syrian government forces pushed deeper into the strategic, opposition-held town.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks Syria's civil war, said that more than 70 Hezbollah fighters have also been wounded in the fighting around the town of Qusair. If confirmed, the casualties would be a significant blow to the Iranian-backed Shiite group, which has come under harsh criticism at home for its involvement in the war next door.

A staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Hezbollah is heavily invested in the survival of the Damascus regime and is known to have sent fighters to aid government forces. The Lebanese group's growing role in the conflict also points to the deeply sectarian nature of the war in Syria, in which a rebellion driven by the country's Sunni majority seeks to overthrow a regime dominated by the president's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

The increasingly overt Hezbollah involvement in the Syrian conflict is almost certain to threaten stability in Lebanon, which is sharply split along sectarian lines, and between supporters and opponents of Assad.

The Observatory, which relies on a wide network of activists on the ground in Syria, cited "sources close to the militant group" for the death toll but declined to reveal their identity. It said at least 50 Syrian rebels were also killed in the battle for Qusair on Sunday, including two commanders.

Qusair has been the target of a withering government offensive in recent weeks, and the countryside around the town has been engulfed in fighting as regime troops backed by Hezbollah fighters seized villages while closing in on Qusair itself. The opposition estimates that some 40,000 civilians are currently in the town.

The intensity of the fighting reflects the importance that both sides attach to the area. In the regime's calculations, Qusair lies along a strategic land corridor linking Damascus with the Mediterranean coast, the Alawite heartland. For the rebels, overwhelmingly Sunni Qusair has served as a conduit for shipments of weapons and supplies smuggled from Lebanon to opposition fighters inside Syria.

Regime troops and Hezbollah fighters, who laid siege to Qusair weeks ago, launched an offensive to regain control of the town, with Hezbollah's elite fighters advancing from the east and south, an opposition figure said.

He added that it took Hezbollah troops a few hours to take control of the town's main square and municipal building. By the end of the day Sunday, they had pushed out rebel units, including the al-Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, from most of Qusair, he said on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation by both sides.

He said fighting was focused in the northern part of the town on Monday.

The account matched that of Syria's state news media, which said President Bashar Assad's troops took control of most of Qusair on Monday. State-run TV said forces restored stability to the entire eastern front of the town, killing scores of "terrorists" there ? the term used by the Syrian regime to refer to all rebels.

An official in the Homs governor's office told the AP on Monday that more than 60 percent of the city is in government hands after scores of gunmen were killed or surrendered Sunday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to give information to the media during an ongoing military operation, said more than 1,500 residents fled the city due to intensified fighting.

Qusair-based opposition activist Hadi Abdullah denied official reports that the army was advancing in the town, saying they were still trying to storm it.

"They go in and out, until now I can say with confidence that they have not been able to enter the town and stay there," Abdullah said.

Hezbollah members have made use of their expertise in guerrilla tactics to significantly boost regime forces in the fight for Qusair. Their presence, along with that of Hezbollah-backed Shiite fighters, is meant to shore up overstretched government troops fighting on several other fronts.

Residents on the Lebanese side of the border just across from Qusair reported seeing more than 30 plumes of smoke billowing from inside Syria and hearing the heavy thud of artillery and airstrikes late into the night Sunday and on Monday morning.

"Nobody could sleep last night from the sounds of battle," said Ali Jaafar, deputy mayor of the Lebanese border town of Hermel, adding that residents did not send children to school Monday for fear of fighting spilling over into Lebanon.

Lebanese security officials confirmed at least four funerals were being held Monday morning for Hezbollah fighters or their supporters killed in Syria. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations.

Army units "restored security and stability" to most of the city on Monday and killed "many terrorists," the majority of them foreign fighters who have been fighting alongside opposition forces, the state news agency said. The military also destroyed rebel hideouts and seized "large amounts of weapons and ammunition," it said, adding that government troops are fighting pockets of resistance in southern and northern districts of Qusair Monday.

The Syrian regime claims there is no civil war in the country but that the army is fighting foreign-backed terrorists trying to topple Assad's government.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in Syria since March 2011.

At least 1.5 million Syrians have sought shelter in neighboring countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, while millions more have been displaced inside Syria and are in urgent need of basic aid, according to the United Nations.

The international aid organization Oxfam appealed for more funds to help Syrian refugees, saying warmer weather will increase health risks due to lack of shelter, water and basic sanitation in Lebanon and Jordan. The Britain-based group said in a statement Monday that diarrhea and skin infections have already been noted among refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. The two countries host the bulk of 1.5 million Syrian refugees.

In addition to funds, aid organizations have also complained of a lack of access to civilians in areas most affected by fighting, saying that government bureaucracy often delays convoys for weeks from reaching civilians in dire need of basic supplies.

In a statement Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross condemned the killing of a driver for the group's affiliate branch in northern Syria. The ICRC said Abdo Darwish, a driver for the Red Crescent Society in Hassakeh was killed May 14 on his way to work. He was wearing his Syrian Red Crescent uniform, "clearly indicating his affiliation with the Movement, when he was targeted by snipers," the ICRC said.

Syria's civil war has claimed the lives of 20 Red Crescent volunteers, the statement said, adding that all of those who died had been killed while carrying out their humanitarian duties.

___

Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-05-20-ML-Syria/id-04dd399a5069423e8aa0b365a86728cc

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Lovelorn frogs bag closest crooner

May 20, 2013 ? What lures a lady frog to her lover? Good looks, the sound of his voice, the size of his pad or none of the above? After weighing up their options, female strawberry poison frogs (Oophaga pumilio) bag the closest crooner they can, finds research in BioMed Central's open access journal Frontiers of Zoology. This seemingly short-sighted strategy turns out to be the optimal mate choice strategy for these colourful frogs.

Males of the species congregate in the Costa Rican rain forest 'lek-style' to display and call together, giving females the chance to weigh up multiple males at once. But despite their best efforts, build and territory size, females tend to mate with the closest calling male, Ivonne Meuche from the University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany, and colleagues report.

The find was confirmed by playback experiments where females, played recordings of various male calls, failed to discriminate between different call rates or frequencies, preferring instead, the nearest speaker.

Female mate choice is a tricky business. Some species chose the first mate that is 'good enough' whilst others seek out and compare many mates before returning to choose the fittest. But the simplest, least costly option is to mate with the first or nearest male encountered, regardless of quality. The strategy doesn't seem an evolutionary winner as it means that nearby, unfit frogs sometimes get to pass on their genes at the expense of more distant, genetically-superior specimens. But it does make sense in certain situations.

Non-choosy behaviour like this has been noted in fishes, and some frog species with a lek-like mating system. It's thought the strategy works for them because it reduces 'costs' in terms of search time and competition for mates. Female strawberry poison frogs may also benefit little from 'shopping around' because strong inter-male competition means the available mates are all much of a muchness.

The team also noted that females unable to find a mate within a certain time period ended up laying unfertilised eggs that never hatch. So in species, like the strawberry poison dart frog, where the choosing sex outnumbers the chosen sex, it makes sense to 'grab the nearest guy' rather than run the risk of not mating at all.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/BoBpdJzuBGM/130520095103.htm

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High court to weigh in on legislative prayers (The Arizona Republic)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/307004901?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Union leads march in Rome calling for job creation

ROME (AP) ? A union of Italian metal workers has led thousands of people in a march through the heart of Rome to press the new government for measures to spur job creation.

FIOM union leader Maurizio Landini said Saturday's protest was held because Italy is "going nowhere" in terms of signs of economic growth amid a stubborn recession. The union is aligned with a left-wing labor confederation.

After weeks of political paralysis following inconclusive elections in February, Italy now has a "grand coalition" government, including bitter rivals from the center-left and center-right blocs in Parliament.

Unemployment for young people is at about 39 percent, while the overall jobless rate is 11.5 percent.

The previous government used spending cuts and higher taxes to battle Italy's debt. Italians are demanding job creation measures soon.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/union-leads-march-rome-calling-job-creation-164627115.html

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Streetlight Manifesto: Ungrateful

Streetlight Manifesto's new record, The Hands That Thieve, is an instant classic in the ever-shrinking world of really stellar ska music simply by virtue of being a Streetlight Manifesto album. But what "Ungrateful" brings to the table is something a little subtler; it's a great Catch 22 song.

"Ungrateful" harkens back to the spring of 1998 with a sort of alarming intensity. Its earnestly self-defeated lyrics contrasted against an utterly triumphant melody?mandatory shout-chorus included?check off all the most important of boxes on the ska-checklist. It's a delightfully pared-down ditty on an album otherwise filled with more characteristically (and characteristically awesome) Streetlight songs.

But basically what I am trying to say here is that this is a good song; listen to it. And if you're a fan, the rest of the album is fantastically catchy too. Check it out and you'll be glad you did. [Spotify, Amazon, RISC]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/streetlight-manifesto-ungrateful-508392749

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Wyo. student who threatened to rape self on Facebook was convicted of assault

The 28-year-old University of Wyoming student who allegedly threatened herself with rape in a Facebook hoax in April was convicted of aggravated assault in 2005 after she brandished a gun at an employer who fired her.

Meg Lanker-Simons, now a newly-minted UW graduate, was charged with interference with a police investigation after she allegedly posted on an anonymous Facebook forum that she wanted to engage in angry sexual intercourse ? with someone named ?Meg Lanker Simons.?

The posting on UW Crushes read:

?I want to hatefuck Meg Lanker Simons so hard. That chick runs her liberal mouth all the time and doesn?t care who knows it. I think its so hot and makes me angry. One night with me and shes gonna be a good Republican bitch.?

It turns out that the April 24 incident isn?t the strident leftist?s first rodeo in Wyoming?s criminal system. As the Laramie Boomerang reports, Lanker-Simons had an aggravated assault conviction in 2005 as the result of a bizarre gun-brandishing incident.

After Lanker-Simons was fired from a radio station in the fall of 2005, she returned and pulled a Glock 22 .40 caliber handgun from her purse. She waved the semi-automatic pistol around. She pointed it at the man who sacked her. He testified that he was ?in fear for his life,? notes the Boomerang.

The radio station was evacuated. Police caught Lanker-Simons as she tried to flee the scene in her vehicle. They held her at gunpoint.

In July 2006, Lanker-Simons ? then known as Meghan Michelena ? was sentenced to six years of probation. Her term of probation was subject to a number of conditions. She had to undergo counseling, complete community service, pay fines and apologize to her victims. She was also prevented from owning any guns.

The alleged Facebook hoax brought national attention to the Cowboy State?s flagship college. Initially, the administration stood firmly behind Lanker-Simons. ?No student should have to deal with such threatening language,? said one sternly-worded official statement. A school official also denounced ?rape culture,? according to KOWB.

Concerned fellow feminists also threw a rally for Lanker-Simons ? complete with all manner of signs condemning rape threats ? before police concluded that Lanker-Simons herself was behind the threats.

This month, Lanker-Simons participated in the University of Wyoming?s commencement ceremonies despite the charges against her. She graduated with a bachelor?s degree in psychology.

Lanker-Simons is also a blogger and a local radio host.

In 2010, Lanker-Simons and Bill Ayers sued the University of Wyoming after school officials decided to cancel a speech by Ayers, a former Weather Underground radical and mentor to President Obama. Also in 2010, her husband, Andrew Simons, ran a failed Democratic campaign for Wyoming secretary of state.

According to the Boomerang, the interference charge is a misdemeanor punishable by a prison sentence up to a year and a fine up to $1,000.

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Wyo. student who threatened to rape self on Facebook was convicted of assault

'IT'S SCARY': Records show IRS officials independently targeted conservative training materials

Lawmakers to investigate EPA FOIA scandal

Colorado sheriffs sue the state over new gun control laws

Top 5: Best videos of the Toilet Run at Preakness [VIDEO]

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wyo-student-threatened-rape-self-facebook-convicted-assault-174802295.html

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GOP Lawmakers Criticize IRS as Hearing Opens (WSJ)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/306466454?client_source=feed&format=rss

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FCC nominee Wheeler will divest holdings if confirmed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tom Wheeler, nominated to become the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, pledged to divest stakes in AT&T Inc, Dish Network Corp, Google Inc and dozens of other tech and telecoms companies if he is confirmed.

Divestments are common for nominees to avoid conflicts of interest. Wheeler's plan was disclosed in an agreement posted online by the Office of Government Ethics.

Wheeler is now a venture capital investor at Core Capital Partners and chairs the FCC's Technology Advisory Council. In the past, he ran the National Cable Television Association and then the wireless industry group CTIA.

Within 90 days of being confirmed by the Senate as FCC chairman, Wheeler plans to leave his investment company and divest holdings in 78 companies. The investments include Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, China Mobile Ltd, tactical radio maker Harris Corp, Windstream Corp and media companies Liberty Media Corp, News Corp, Time Warner Inc and Time Warner Cable Inc.

Wheeler will also drop investments in the four biggest U.S. wireless operators: Verizon Communications Inc, AT&T, Sprint Nextel Corp and Deutsche Telecom AG, which owns T-Mobile.

Most of his shareholdings in each company were valued at less than $15,000. However, documents showed his stakes in AT&T and Verizon were worth between $500,000 and $1 million.

"I will divest these assets within 90 days of my confirmation and will invest the proceeds in non-conflicting assets," Wheeler wrote.

He also pledged that, until he is divested, he will not "participate personally and substantially" on any matter that might have a direct effect on those financial interests.

Wheeler will also resign as board chairman at SmartBrief Inc, an online news service he co-founded, and as a board member at Internet company EarthLink Inc. He will also quit other positions he has at various organizations and foundations, including the Foundation for the National Archives.

The Senate has yet to schedule confirmation hearings for Wheeler. Friday is the last day for current FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who is joining the Aspen Institute think tank.

Senior Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn will take over as acting FCC chief until Wheeler's confirmation.

President Barack Obama has yet to nominate a new Republican commissioner to replace Robert McDowell, who has also left the agency.

(Reporting by Alina Selyukh; Editing by John Wallace and Andre Grenon)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fcc-nominee-wheeler-divest-telecoms-holdings-confirmed-191222854.html

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Glance: Europe's Key Institutions

Following the chaotic bailout of Cyprus, top European Union officials are saying it's time to rethink how the region manages its crisis ? and who should be involved.

Here is a look at the key institutions involved in Europe's economic policymaking:

?EUROPEAN UNION

An economic and political partnership among 27 European countries. It has a combined population of half a billion people and an annual economic output of some 12.8 trillion euros ($16.5 trillion). The president of the European Council, the body which brings together the leaders of the 27 EU countries, is Herman Van Rumpoy.

?EUROPEAN COMMISSION

The EU's executive arm. As well as drafting and enforcing European laws, it also runs the EU's budget, manages the day-to-day business of implementing EU policies and represents the EU internationally ? for example in the forthcoming trade talks with the U.S.. The current president of the Commission is Jose Manuel Barroso.

?EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

The EU's main legislative body. It has three main roles: debating and passing European laws; scrutinizing other EU institutions to make sure they are working democratically; and debating and adopting the EU's budget.

?EUROZONE

The name given to the economic group of 17 EU countries that use the single European currency, the euro. The 17 countries are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. There is no one leader of the eurozone but its economic management is run by the....

?EUROGROUP

The meeting of the 17 finance ministers of the eurozone. It is responsible for ensuring that there is financial stability and economic growth among its members. It has also become the main decision-making body for agreeing eurozone emergency bailouts and assistance. The current president of the Eurogroup is Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

?EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

The eurozone's central bank. Its main task is to maintain price stability in the eurozone, which it does mainly by setting interest rates for the region. Its current president is Mario Draghi.

?INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

Formed in 1944, the IMF is a global organization of 188 countries that provides loans, monitors and issues recommendations to help improve the economies of its members. It contributes money to the eurozone's bailouts and helps monitor the region's economy. Its current managing director is Christine Lagarde.

?TROIKA

Is a committee set up to manage and monitor the bailout loans for the eurozone countries and consists of the European Commission, ECB and IMF. No eurozone country gets a bailout until an inspection team from the troika makes sure the right political and economic measures are in place to ensure the loan gets paid back.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/glance-europes-key-institutions-154118667.html

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Cop's 'daddy mode' kicks, helps lift SUV off trapped girl

Harrowing dash-cam footage shows officer Steve Nunez of the New Mexico State Police and some good Samaritans lifting an overturned SUV off of a little girl last week.

Nunez spoke with KOAT.com about the incident. "It's always hard to see anybody in that situation, but especially children," he said. "And daddy mode kicked in."

Nunez explained that the 8-year-old girl was face down under the SUV. "Momentarily she stopped breathing," he told KOAT.

Nunez and a bystander tried to lift the SUV, but couldn't. The officer called over more good Samaritans, and eventually they were able to put the SUV onto its side and pull out the girl. In the dash-cam footage, Nunez can be seen running back to his patrol car to radio for medical help.

The girl was rushed to the University of New Mexico hospital. KOAT reports that she is expected to make a full recovery.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/police-officer-good-samaritans-lift-suv-off-trapped-182618868.html

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France's Hollande urges euro zone government, common debt

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande called on Thursday for an economic government in the euro zone that would have its own budget, the right to issue debt, a harmonized tax system and a full-time president.

Speaking at a news conference marking his first year in office, a day after economic data showed France had slipped back into recession, the Socialist leader said he sought to create a full political European Union within two years.

His proposals seemed likely to encounter stiff resistance from Germany, Europe's leading power, which opposes mutualising debt among European states and is reluctant to give the euro zone its own secretariat or create new divisions in the EU, of which 10 countries are not in the 17-nation single currency.

It also comes as Britain's government faces growing domestic pressure to hold a referendum on leaving the bloc.

"My initiative has four points that I am putting to our partners. The first is to create an economic government with the euro zone countries which would meet every month with a real president appointed for a long period and who would be devoted to this task," Hollande said.

"This economic government will debate the main political and economic decisions to be taken by the member states, harmonize tax policy, start the convergence of social policies from the top and launch a battle against tax fraud."

The other planks were:

- an initiative to bring forward planned EU spending to combat youth unemployment, now at record levels across southern Europe;

- a European energy community to coordinate the transition to renewable energy sources;

- "a new stage in fiscal integration with a budget capacity that would be granted to the euro zone and the gradual possibility of raising debt".

Hollande, whose approval rating has fallen further than any previous elected president in his first year, sought to reassure his left-wing electorate that he remained true to his Socialist colors, saying France could keep its generous welfare state provided it was made more efficient.

He expressed full confidence in Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and played down criticism of clashes among his ministers on economic policy, saying there might eventually be a reshuffle but not now.

But he said the current pension system was unsustainable and, ahead of a reform due later this year, said the French would have to work longer in future to receive a full pension.

He stuck to a promise to reverse the rising trend in unemployment by the end of the year, despite widespread skepticism among economists that this can be achieved while the economy remains flat.

He also called for a 10-year public investment plan in the digital sector, the promised energy transition, public health and in big transport infrastructure projects.

Hollande said it was paradoxical that Europe, which remained the world's number one economic power, was regarded "as a sick, declining, doubting continent.

"It is my responsibility as the leader of a founder member of the European Union... to pull Europe out of this torpor which has gripped it, and to reduce people's disenchantment with it."

(Reporting by Mark John and Ingrid Melander; Writing by Paul Taylor)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/frances-hollande-says-wants-euro-zone-government-143842679.html

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Arrests in New Orleans parade shootings cheered

Shawn Scott, 24, a suspect in the Mother's Day parade shooting is led out of the New Orleans 5th District Police Station, Thursday, May 16, 2013 in New Orleans. Shawn and Akein Scott. two brothers with a history of drug arrests and suspected ties to a neighborhood gang each face 20 counts of attempted second-degree murder in a shooting spree that brought a sudden bloody end to a neighborhood Mother's Day parade. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Shawn Scott, 24, a suspect in the Mother's Day parade shooting is led out of the New Orleans 5th District Police Station, Thursday, May 16, 2013 in New Orleans. Shawn and Akein Scott. two brothers with a history of drug arrests and suspected ties to a neighborhood gang each face 20 counts of attempted second-degree murder in a shooting spree that brought a sudden bloody end to a neighborhood Mother's Day parade. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Shawn Scott, 24, a suspect in the Mother's Day parade shooting is led out of the New Orleans 5th District Police Station, Thursday, May 16, 2013 in New Orleans. Shawn and Akein Scott. two brothers with a history of drug arrests and suspected ties to a neighborhood gang each face 20 counts of attempted second-degree murder in a shooting spree that brought a sudden bloody end to a neighborhood Mother's Day parade. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Shawn Scott, who with his younger brother Akien is accused of the Mother's Day second-line shooting which injured 20 people, is taken from the 5th District Police Station to Orleans Parish Prison in New Orleans on Thursday, May 16, 2013. (AP Photo/The Times-Picayune, Michael DeMocker)

Shawn Scott, 24, a suspect in the Mother's Day parade shooting is led out of the New Orleans 5th District Police Station, Thursday, May 16, 2013 in New Orleans. Shawn and Akein Scott. two brothers with a history of drug arrests and suspected ties to a neighborhood gang each face 20 counts of attempted second-degree murder in a shooting spree that brought a sudden bloody end to a neighborhood Mother's Day parade. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Shawn Scott, 24, a suspect in the Mother's Day parade shooting is led out of the New Orleans 5th District Police Station, Thursday, May 16, 2013 in New Orleans. Shawn and Akein Scott. two brothers with a history of drug arrests and suspected ties to a neighborhood gang each face 20 counts of attempted second-degree murder in a shooting spree that brought a sudden bloody end to a neighborhood Mother's Day parade. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Days after sudden gunfire brought a chaotic and bloody end to a Mother's Day neighborhood parade in New Orleans, news of six arrests gave an organizer of the traditional event reason to celebrate again.

"I'm just ecstatic," Edward Buckner, president of the Original Big 7 Social Aid and Pleasure Club, said Thursday.

Two brothers were booked with 20 counts each of attempted second-degree murder in Sunday's shooting spree in which 19 people were struck by bullets and one was injured while fleeing. Authorities said three people remain in critical condition.

Akein Scott, 19, was captured Wednesday night. A $10 million bond was set for him in the shooting case Thursday and he was ordered held without bond, pending another hearing on an unrelated gun and weapon charge. His brother, Shawn Scott, 24, was arrested Thursday morning. The district attorney's office had said Shawn Scott would make an initial court appearance Friday, but court records show bond was set at $10 million for him in a hearing Thursday evening. An additional $91,000 in bond was added for other drug and weapon charges.

Four others were arrested for allegedly helping Akein Scott avoid capture. They are charged with being accessories after the fact to attempted second-degree murder and obstruction of justice, police said.

Motives for the shootings have not been given but police said the shootings were believed to be drug related and that the Scott brothers are thought to be members of a gang called the Frenchmen and Derbigny Boys.

News of the arrests in a case of violence that brought unwanted national attention to the tourist-dependent city was welcomed by San Francisco freelance journalist Mark Hertsgaard, shot in the leg as he watched the parade.

"I love New Orleans and I love anything that helps to heal New Orleans from this event, including bringing justice to the perpetrators," Hertsgaard said Thursday in a telephone interview from his home in San Francisco.

Sunday's shooting happened during a "second line" parade, so called because watchers of the procession of musicians and festively clad marchers often join in, forming a second line of marchers.

Buckner said the Original Big 7 club plans to re-stage the parade on June 1. Sunday's parade drew an estimated 400 along its route through a neighborhood in New Orleans' 7th Ward.

The abrupt end came when bullets started flying in the crowd. Surveillance camera video released early Monday showed one man apparently firing into the crowd, immediately scattering the assembled parade-watchers as some fell to the ground. Police said Akein Scott has been identified by an unnamed witness as the person seen on the video. Shawn Scott's role was not immediately clear.

Their arrests pleased Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who held a news conference at the shooting site Thursday at noon, along with police chief Ronal Serpas and District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro. Dozens of uniformed officers and an array of police vehicles were in the background at an intersection that is off the beaten path for most tourists but less than two miles from the popular French Quarter.

Landrieu, who strongly promotes the city's tourism industry and its successful hosting of Super Bowls, music festivals and the annual Mardi Gras celebration, said the arrests are the latest evidence of the city's determination to stop the gunplay that mars its image.

"We all came back here to make it clear that the culture of death and violence on the streets of New Orleans is unnatural, it's unacceptable, and the people of New Orleans have had enough," Landrieu said.

He credited tips from citizens to the Crimestoppers organization, which contributed to a $10,000 reward in the case, with helping lead to the arrests. He also said the arrests are proof that cooperation among police, the district attorney and federal law enforcement agencies ? U.S. marshals helped in the arrest ? is paying off. He pointed to last week's indictment of 15 people on gang-related charges including the killing of a 5-year-old girl hit when gunfire broke out during an outdoor birthday party last May.

Rafael Goyeneche, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, an independent watchdog group, said it appears there is better cooperation and coordination between police and the district attorney's office in recent years. He credits Cannizzaro, elected district attorney in 2008; Landrieu, elected mayor in 2010; and Serpas, picked to head the police department by Landrieu.

"The police department and the DA's office were basically silo operations as opposed to partners," in years past, Goyeneche said.

___

Associated Press writers Michael Kunzelman and Chevel Johnson contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-05-17-Mother's%20Day%20Parade%20Shooting/id-e24f45d359e6495cb82ee1355b46618e

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