Video: Study: Salt Lake City too polluted for babies

>>> it has been a public health issue for months. the air pollution over northern utah. they say that dangerous air is making the state a risk why i place to have a baby.

>> the pollution levels in around around salt lake city have been bad enough to concern parents of school age kids.

>> i had to send a note to our school to tell the teacher, please don't make him play outside at recess. i am worried about what he is breathing.

>> perspective moms should worry do. high pollution levels have an adverse impact of maternal exposure on fetal growth . low birth weight is often related to diabetes, diabetes and several types of cancer for infants that survive. some have not says salt lake city doctor. the link to pollution has not been confirmed.

>> the two operations i just got finished with were operation for fetal demise, spontaneous abortions, if you will.

>> how bad does the air get here? in peak pollution times, the comparison between new and unused air filters . the experts now say, think of a pregnant woman's lungs whose respiratory tissue is stretched out to a single tennis court size filter.

>> think of that rising up and down 20 times per minute. that's how much air pollution ruffle a person can take in.

>> all of which has some salt lake city women thinking about adding to the family.

>> i hope everything is okay.

>> we want to wait.

>> weather inversions are not a new phenomenal. 19th century settlers complained of being trapped in fog for months. now, it is not fog but sclupollution that can't escape. that presents a new health risk for perspective mothers and the children they bear.

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50838996/

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Jesse Jackson Jr., wife agree to plead guilty

FILE - In this March 20, 2012, file photo taken in Chicago, then-Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill. speaks at a Democratic primary election night party. The former and his wife Sandra were charged Feb. 15, 2013, with spending $750,000 in campaign funds on personal expenses. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)

FILE - In this March 20, 2012, file photo taken in Chicago, then-Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill. speaks at a Democratic primary election night party. The former and his wife Sandra were charged Feb. 15, 2013, with spending $750,000 in campaign funds on personal expenses. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2011 file photo, Chicago Alderman Sandi Jackson, wife of U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., is seen in her Chicago office. On Friday, Feb. 15, 2013, Sandi Jackson, who resigned from the City Council in January 2013, was charged with filing false joint tax returns. Her husband was charged with spending $750,000 in campaign funds on personal expenses. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)

FILE - In this March 9, 2012 file photo, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. , D-Ill., and his wife, Chicago Alderman Sandi Jackson, ask each other for their support and votes as they arrive at a polling station for early voting in Chicago. On Friday, Feb. 15, 2013, Jackson, who resigned last year after nearly 17 years in office, was charged with spending $750,000 in campaign funds on personal expenses. His wife, Sandi, who resigned from the City Council in January 2013, was charged with filing false income tax forms. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? In a spectacular fall from political prominence, former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife agreed Friday to plead guilty to federal charges growing out of what prosecutors said was a scheme to use $750,000 in campaign funds for lavish personal expenses, including a $43,000 gold watch and furs.

Federal prosecutors filed one charge of conspiracy against the former Chicago congressman and charged his ex-alderman wife, Sandra, with one count of filing false joint federal income tax returns for the years 2006 through 2011 that knowingly understated the income the couple received. Both agreed to plead guilty in plea deals with federal prosecutors.

The son of a famed civil rights leader, Jackson, a Democrat, entered Congress in 1995 and resigned last November. Sandi, as she's known, was a Chicago alderman, but resigned last month amid the federal investigation.

Jackson used campaign money to buy such things as a $43,350 on a gold-plated, men's Rolex watch and $9,587.64 on children's furniture, according to court papers filed in the case. His wife spent $5,150 on fur capes and parkas, the document said.

"I offer no excuses for my conduct, and I fully accept my responsibility for the improper decisions and mistakes I have made," the ex-congressman said in a written statement released by his lawyers. "I want to offer my sincerest apologies ... for my errors in judgment and while my journey is not yet complete, it is my hope that I am remembered for things that I did right."

The government said, "Defendant Jesse L. Jackson Jr., willingly and knowingly, used approximately $750,000 from the campaign's accounts for personal expenses" that benefited him and his co-conspirator, who was not named in the one-count criminal information filed in the case. The filing of a criminal information means a defendant has waived the right to have a grand jury consider the case; it is used by federal prosecutors when they have reached a deal for a guilty plea.

The prosecutors' court filing said that upon conviction, Jackson must forfeit $750,000, plus tens of thousands of dollars worth of memorabilia items and furs. The memorabilia includes a football signed by U.S. presidents, a Michael Jackson and Eddie Van Halen guitar, a Michael Jackson fedora, Martin Luther King Jr. memorabilia, Malcolm X memorabilia, Jimi Hendrix memorabilia and Bruce Lee memorabilia ? all from a company called Antiquities of Nevada.

Published reports said Jackson could face 46 to 57 months in prison under sentencing guidelines, but there was no immediate confirmation of what, if any, sentence he and prosecutors had agreed to recommend to U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton, who was assigned the case.

Tom Kirsch, an attorney for Jackson's wife said she has signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors and would plead guilty to one tax count.

Kirsch said his client and her husband have supported each other. He said the episode has been stressful for Sandi Jackson, but she "expected to be held responsible ... and wants to put (it) behind her and her family."

The charge against Sandi Jackson carries a maximum of three-year prison sentence. But Kirsch says the agreement "does not contemplate a sentence of that length."

The court papers said that Jackson filed false financial reports with the U.S. House of Representatives in an attempt to conceal his and his wife's conversion of campaign funds for their personal benefit.

A black and red cashmere cape cost $1,500, a mink reversible parka cost $1,200 and a black fox reversible cost $1,500, prosecutors wrote.

___

Associated Press writer Michael Tarm in Chicago contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-15-Jesse%20Jackson%20Jr/id-ebd3fcaab1194d93a1a51ed22044b021

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PFT: Goodell reportedly made nearly $30M in '11

AP

Titus Young, the 2011 second-round draft pick who lasted less than two years with the Lions, has now lasted less than two weeks with the Rams.

Rams coach Jeff Fisher confirmed today that the Rams have waived Young, ten days after they picked him up off waivers from Detroit. Fisher declined to get into specifics, but he said that after spending a few days with Young at the team facilities, the Rams? coaching staff decided he wasn?t a good fit.

?We felt Titus is better suited for another organization,? Fisher said.

Reading between the lines in Fisher?s comments, it sounds like the same attitude problems that plagued Young?s career in Detroit cropped up again during his brief stay in St. Louis.

?We felt like by claiming Titus we would have the opportunity to spend a good deal of time with him,? Fisher said. ?We spent that time with him, we spent probably four or five days with him, and as an organization, at the end of the interview process, you might call it, we felt it was best to go in another direction.?

Fisher described Young as ?an outstanding young talent? and made clear that there were no injury or health issues, which pretty much leaves the off-field concerns as the only reason the Rams wouldn?t want him.

Although he showed flashes of talent with the Lions, Young proved to be more trouble than he was worth. Penalties and talk that he wasn?t working enough in practice plagued his rookie season, and in his second year with the team he stepped up his trouble-making by sucker-punching teammate Louis Delmas in practice, and by purposely lining up in the wrong spot on the field to protest his belief that the Lions were throwing too many passes to Calvin Johnson and not enough to Young.

The Rams were the only team to put in a waiver claim for Young, and now the Rams have decided they don?t want him, either. At this point, the odds seem good that the 23-year-old Young has played his last NFL game.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/15/report-goodell-made-nearly-30-million-in-2011/related/

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Gunmen's "royal army" ID adds twist to Malaysia border standoff

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - About 100 armed men holed up in a village in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah identified themselves as the "royal army" of the Sultanate of Sulu in the southern Philippines, adding more mystery to a bizarre border standoff.

Malaysian officials said on Thursday they suspected the intruders were a faction of a Philippine Muslim rebel group, while Philippine officials said they were unarmed Filipinos who had been promised land.

The drama on Borneo island has threatened to stir tension between the Southeast Asian neighbors whose ties have been periodically frayed by security and migration problems caused by a porous sea border.

The Malaysian police chief told reporters late on Thursday that the group had identified themselves as representing the Sultanate of Sulu, a string of islands in the southern Philippines that has a historic claim to Malaysia's Sabah state.

"We have sent a team to negotiate with them. Discussion is proceeding well and we have told them to leave Sabah peacefully, as we do not want any situation which can threaten the security of the people," Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar told a news conference, according to state news agency Bernama.

He said the group had agreed to leave Sabah once their demands were met, without specifying the demands.

"So far, the situation is not tense and they (the group) appear to be behaving well," Ismail said in a separate statement to Bernama.

The Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur has sent a team to Sabah to coordinate with local authorities and to ascertain the identities of the group.

Malaysia pays a token amount to the Sultanate of Sulu each year for the "rental" of Sabah state - an arrangement that stretches back to British colonial times.

In 2000, a group of militants from the southern Philippines kidnapped 21 tourists from the Sabah diving resort of Sipadan.

In 1985, 11 people were killed when gunmen believed to be from the southern Philippines entered Lahad Datu in Sabah, shooting at random before robbing the local branch of Standard Chartered Bank.

(Reporting By Anuradha Raghu and Al-Zaquan Amer Hamzah; Editing by Stuart Grudgings and Nick Macfie)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gunmens-royal-army-id-adds-twist-malaysia-border-033758405.html

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AMR, US Airways merge to make world's largest airline

NBC News staff and wire reports ? ? ? 1 day

After a long and often painful courtship, American Airlines and US Airways are headed for the altar in a merger deal that would create the world's largest airline and change the face of the domestic airline industry.

The airlines' boards officially announced the deal early Thursday, after news of the merger leaked widely Wednesday night. The new airline will be named American Airlines in homage to a brand that has fallen on harder times recently but is still widely recognized around the nation and the world.

But it will be run by US Airways CEO Doug Parker, who relentlessly pursued the merger even as AMR Corp., the parent company of American Airlines, was reorganizing in bankruptcy. The two carriers valued the deal at $11 billion.

The merger, if approved by American's bankruptcy judge and by federal regulators, reduces the number of major airlines in the United States to four: The new American Airlines (the largest); United Airlines; Delta Air Lines; and Southwest Airlines. Combined, the four control about 70 percent of the domestic air travel market.

The merged airline will offer more than 6,700 daily flights to 336 destinations in 56 countries.

While passengers are unlikely to notice any changes at first, eventually the merger likely will mean higher fares, especially for business travelers under certain conditions.

Related story: 5 things the American Airlines-US Airways merger means for you

American has been in bankruptcy since November 2011. The boards of the two aviation giants approved the deal Wednesday night, people familiar with the matter said.

The all-stock merger would finalize the consolidation of legacy U.S. air carriers that helped put the industry on a more solid financial footing.

AMR's bankruptcy creditors will own 72 percent of the combined airline, which will be based in Fort Worth, Texas. US Airways shareholders will own the rest.

The board approval came after AMR's unsecured creditors committee, which includes all three of AMR's major unions, met earlier on Wednesday to approve the proposed merger agreement, according to people familiar with the deal. The merger came after AMR initially rebuffed US Airways' overtures months ago. But US Airways persisted, winning over creditors and unions to finally land its larger rival.

The merged company will have a board of 12 members: four from US Airways including its chief executive Doug Parker, three from AMR including chief executive Tom Horton and five to be designated by the AMR creditors, two of the people said.

That will shrink to 11 members in 2014 after Horton steps down following the combined company's first annual meeting, the person added. Parker becomes chief executive of the new airline.

AMR's unsecured creditors are expected to be made whole on their claims in the form of stock in the merged company and also get accrued interest, the people said. AMR's shareholders will get a small equity stake as well, they added.

The deal comes more than 14 months after the bankrupt parent of American Airlines filed for bankruptcy, and would mark the last combination of legacy U.S. carriers, following the Delta-Northwest and United-Continental mergers.

A tie-up with US Airways would create the world's top airline by passenger traffic and help American and US Air better compete with United Continental Holdings and Delta Air Lines .

The $11 billion valuation of the combined American-US Airways compares to the roughly $12.4 billion market capitalization for Delta, and $8.7 billion for United Continental.

Customers can continue to book travel as well as track and manage flights and frequent flyer activity through AA.com or USAirways.com. At this time, there are no changes in the frequent flyer programs of either airline. All miles on either airline will continue to be honored.

The Associated Press, CNBC and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/amr-us-air-combine-make-worlds-largest-airline-1C8369090

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VA decision on burial rights departs from past

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The government has cleared the first burial of a same-sex spouse of a veteran in a national cemetery, but it's far from certain how easy it will be for other gay military couples to win the same benefit.

Who gets buried where is one of the practical decisions that the federal government is grappling with following repeal of the military's don't ask, don't tell policy.

At first glance, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki's decision to grant burial to a same-sex spouse in Oregon represents a big departure from past federal policy. In 2004, the VA warned the state of Massachusetts that burying the same-sex spouse of a veteran in a state veterans' cemetery could lead to the federal government taking back nearly $12 million in grant money.

Then in 2008, the National Cemetery Association published a directive stating that individuals in same-sex civil unions or marriage are not eligible for burial in a national cemetery or state veterans cemetery that received federal money. Those directives were based on the language of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines a spouse as a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. The law is being challenged before the Supreme Court.

Then along came retired Lt. Col. Linda Campbell and her spouse, Nancy Lynchild. Campbell, with help from Oregon officials, pressed the VA to allow Lynchild to be buried at the VA's Willamette National Cemetery.

"My commitment to our country, shown through the service that makes me eligible for burial at Willamette, and the significance of the permanent, lifelong commitment I shared with Nancy, should be sufficient to secure a waiver for her and allow us to be buried together," Campbell wrote to the VA on Jan. 2 shortly after Lynchild's death.

Shinseki has the authority to deem others eligible for burial at a VA cemetery as he believes necessary, regardless of the wording of the Defense of Marriage Act. The VA said in a statement he did not base his decision to grant burial rights based on the couple's marital status but on evidence of a "committed relationship between the individual and the veteran." Also, the department made clear the decision was not intended to create any right or benefit for anyone other than Lynchild.

Still, proponents of the decision said it's a clear indication that individual waiver requests will be taken seriously by Shinseki if other same-sex couples seek to be buried in one of the VA's 131 cemeteries.

"I think you see a lot of the military changing and it makes sense. They are showing every sign of wanting to do what they can do within the bounds of the law," said Gary Buseck, legal director at the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, an advocacy group.

Campbell's request began last year when she expressed her frustration to Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian. In turn, Avakian contacted the VA and noted that Oregon law required equal access to all goods and services for registered domestic partners. He also spoke with the White House, which made clear it was deferring to the VA and wanted to let the process run its course. He said the VA was also communicating with the White House, but he could not say to what degree.

"The attitude at the end was clear that they were working very hard to make this work," Avakian said. "And I'm deeply grateful they spent the time thinking this through carefully and coming to the right conclusion."

Despite the VA's insistence that Shinseki's decision only applied to Campbell and Lynchild, Avakian said he believed the decision sent a clear message that would make it easier for future same-sex couples to gain veterans' burial benefits.

"I don't think there's any way to get around the fact that is a precedent-setting strong message," he said.

When asked if the Obama administration welcomed Shinseki's decision, White House spokeswoman Shin Inouye said: "The president has made clear that his administration will treat same-sex couples as fairly as possible, consistent with existing law, and VA's actions are consistent with that policy."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-02-15-US-Same-Sex-Military-Burial/id-e01a4897b7084905a81b35c537b303d8

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1 hour left to win a copy of Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 or a $20 iTunes vouch...

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