Thursday, 24 November 2011

Mexico senator drops out of presidential race (AP)

MEXICO CITY ? Mexican Sen. Manlio Fabio Beltrones says he won't seek the presidential nomination for the Institutional Revolutionary Party, leaving former Mexico State Gov. Enrique Pena Nieto effectively unopposed.

Beltrones says in an announcement published Tuesday that he wants to maintain his party's unity as it seeks to regain the presidency it lost in 2000 after 71 years in power.

The move means that two of the three major candidates expected to compete in the 2012 race are unofficially set.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of leftist Democratic Revolution Party was selected as presidential nominee after winning an opinion poll released last week.

President Felipe Calderon's National Action Party has yet to choose a candidate.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mexico/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111122/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_politics

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Wednesday, 23 November 2011

White House defends missile defense after Russian warning (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The White House said on Wednesday that U.S. and NATO plans to deploy a European missile shield by 2020 remain on track, after Russian warned it would arm itself with missiles able to defeat the shield.

"In multiple channels, we have explained to Russian officials that the missile defense systems planned for deployment in Europe do not and cannot threaten Russia's strategic deterrent," said White House national security council spokesman Tommy Vietor.

"Its implementation is going well and we see no basis for threats to withdraw from it," he said, adding "We will not in any way limit or change our deployment plans in Europe."

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday in Moscow that Russia would ramp up its early-warning radar to protect its nuclear missile sites, deploy weapons that could overcome a shield, and potentially target missile defense installations to its south and west.

Washington said Moscow had no reason to worry.

"The United States has been open and transparent with Russia on our plans for missile defense in Europe, which reflect a growing threat to our allies from Iran that we are committed to deterring," Vietor said in a statement.

"We continue to believe that cooperation with Russia on missile defense can enhance the security of the United States, our allies in Europe, and Russia, and we will continue to work with Russia to define the parameters of possible cooperation."

(Reporting by Alister Bull; editing by Philip Barbara)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/russia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111123/pl_nm/us_russia_usa_missiles

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Report: 2 new cases alleged against Sandusky

Two new child sex abuse investigations have been launched against former Penn state football coach Jerry Sandusky. Unlike the previous eight cases, these new alleged victims are still minors. NBC's Peter Alexander reports.

?

Msnbc.com staff and wire reports

Officials with The Children and Youth Services in Pennsylvania are investigating two new cases of child abuse alleged against former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, The Patriot News reported?Tuesday.

If the new allegations -- reported less than 60 days ago --?are found to be credible, it would the first known cases involving people who are still under the age of 18, the newspaper reported.

The state's Children and Youth Services only investigates reports of abuse if victims are minors. All others are handled by police agencies, according to Pennsylvania law.

Sandusky faces 40 criminal counts accusing him of sexually abusing eight boys beginning in the?mid-1990s. Authorities say some assaults happened on Penn State's campus and were reported to administrators but not to police agencies.

Sandusky has maintained his innocence.

Hearing delayed
Also on Tuesday,?a judge delayed Sandusky's preliminary hearing in the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa.

The hearing, set for Tuesday, was rescheduled for Dec. 13, according to court records. The change was made ?to accommodate the logistical needs involved in the hearing,? a posting on the courthouse website read.

Messages seeking comment from Sandusky?s attorney Joe Amendola and the state attorney general's office weren't immediately returned to msnbc.com or NBC News.

Amendola told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday that he was worried that?there would be new criminal allegations against his client.

"My concern is, if they bring new charges based upon new people coming forward, that bail's going to be set and he's going to wind up in jail," Amendola said.?

Sandusky was initially released on $100,000 unsecured bail, which means he didn't have to post collateral to be freed.

Until the preliminary hearing, prosecutors can seek to have bail modified by the district judge, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin told The Associated Press. After that hearing, bail changes would have to be pursued by a county court petition, he said.

Scandal
Meantime, Pennsylvania court officials say all the judges in Penn State's home county have removed themselves from potentially presiding over the child sex-abuse case against Sandusky.

The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts announced Tuesday that out-of-county judges have been named to deal with any related court business in the Centre County case.

?The sex-abuse?allegations have stunned Penn State and altered the image of its legendary?college football coach, Joe Paterno, who was ousted amid the scandal.

Hearings for Gary Schultz and Tim Curley, the two former?Penn State administrators accused of failing to properly report suspected abuse and of?perjury before a grand jury, was set for Dec. 6 in the Dauphin County Courthouse in Harrisburg. Both maintain their innocence.

?

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/22/8959190-report-2-new-cases-of-child-abuse-alleged-against-sandusky

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Tuesday, 22 November 2011

PSU taps ex-FBI director Freeh for investigation (AP)

PHILADELPHIA ? Former FBI director Louis Freeh, tapped to lead Penn State's investigation into the child sex-abuse allegations against a former assistant football coach, said his inquiry will go as far back as 1975, a much longer period than a grand jury report issued earlier this month.

Freeh was named Monday to oversee the university board of trustees' internal investigation into the abuse allegations that ultimately led to the ouster of longtime football coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier.

Freeh said his goal was to conduct a comprehensive, fair and quick review.

Penn State has faced criticism since announcing that its internal investigation would be led by two university trustees, Merck pharmaceutical company CEO Kenneth Frazier and state Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis.

Faculty members on Friday called for an independent investigation of how the university handled abuse allegations, and the faculty senate endorsed a resolution asking for an investigation to be led by a committee whose chair has no links to Penn State.

In announcing Freeh's appointment, Frazier stressed the former FBI director's independence. Freeh will be empowered to investigate employees up to and including the board of trustees itself, Frazier said.

"No one is above scrutiny," Frazier said.

Retired Air Force Col. and astronaut Guion Bluford also will be part of the investigation, Frazier said. Bluford is a 1964 Penn State graduate.

Freeh's investigation firm, Group International Europe, was hired by soccer's governing body this year to look into the bribery case involving FIFA's presidential election. FIFA banned candidate Mohamed bin Hammam for life for bribing voters. The ruling body also banned 11 Caribbean soccer leaders and disciplined others in the corruption scandal.

Freeh founded Group International Europe after leading the FBI from 1993 to 2001. He previously served six years as a special agent.

Former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky is accused of molesting eight boys over a 15-year period. Authorities say some assaults happened on campus and were reported to administrators but not to police.

Amid the scandal, Penn State's trustees ousted Spanier and Paterno. The trustees said Spanier and Paterno failed to act after a graduate assistant claimed he saw Sandusky sexually abusing a young boy in a campus shower in 2002.

Paterno, who has the most wins of any major college football coach, has conceded he should have done more. Spanier has said he would have reported a crime if he had suspected one had been committed.

Sandusky has said he is innocent. He has acknowledged he showered with boys but said he never molested them.

Former school administrators Tim Curley and Gary Schultz are charged with not properly alerting authorities to suspected abuse and with perjury. They maintain their innocence.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111121/ap_on_sp_ot/us_penn_state_abuse

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Monday, 14 November 2011

Commercial Space: Spirit of Apollo or Spirit of Solyndra? (ContributorNetwork)

When Andrew Chaikin talks about the spirit of Apollo, people listen. Chaikin, after all, wrote the definitive history of the Apollo program. He has invoked Apollo to weigh in the ongoing debate between commercial space and NASA.

What was Chaikin's premise?

In an oped published in Space News, Chaikin found that the "spirit of Apollo" was not necessarily in NASA's current space exploration program, but rather in the commercial space sector. He finds that the heavy lift Space Launch System is too evocative of the past, whereas innovation, the future, and the hope of space exploration lays in the commercial space firms such as SpaceX.

If this is so, why is Congress so skeptical of commercial space?

It is not, despite what Chaikin suggests, that Congress opposes commercial space. Congress is deeply skeptical about how the current administration is approaching the matter. In a recent hearing before the House Science Committee, Congress seemed to find not so much the spirit of Apollo, but rather the spirit of Solyndra, a commercial space sector too heavily dependent on government subsidies and without any firm private markets. Something cannot be called, strictly speaking, "commercial" if it is financed primarily by the government and services primarily government markets. Furthermore, the commercial crew program is not designed to send people back to the moon, but rather to build a space taxi service to the International Space Station. It is more evocative, therefore, of the "spirit of the space shuttle" than that of Apollo.

But what about Chaikin's criticism that the Space Launch System is too expensive?

This is a criticism often advanced by proponents of commercial space. But former NASA administrator Mike Griffin and Scott Pace, formally of NASA and both champions of commercial space, recently made a compelling case that of all the alternatives, ones involving a heavy lift rocket is the least expensive if one proposed to venture beyond low Earth orbit.

So Chaikin is just all wet and the tried and true is really Apollo?

Not necessarily. There are a number of schemes that marry the strengths of the NASA Apollo model and commercial space, properly understood. The Nautilus-X scheme, involving a space station at a Lagrange point, and a plan advanced by Paul Spudis, a lunar geologist and advocate for a return to the Moon, and Tony Lavoie of NASA's Marshal Spaceflight Center uses both big heavy lift and commercial space craft to return to the Moon, this time on a more permanent basis.

So the argument of NASA vs. commercial space is a phony one?

Just like the argument of humans vs, robots and moon vs, asteroids vs. Mars. There is a role for both to play in an integrated effort to move humankind beyond low Earth orbit. It is not exactly the spirit of Apollo, which suggests a singular, but limited goal (i.e. send a man to the moon and return him safely to the Earth before this decade is out) but rather something new. Call it, if one wills, the spirit of the Children of Apollo, to invoke the title of a well known book about space.

Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker. He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the L.A. Times and The Weekly Standard.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111112/us_ac/10415903_commercial_space_spirit_of_apollo_or_spirit_of_solyndra

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Sunday, 13 November 2011

For Penn St., a new week after the worst one ever (AP)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ? For Penn State University, there was the past week ? a week of unimaginable turmoil and sorrow, anger and disbelief and shame. And then there is tomorrow.

As Penn State leaves a harrowing week behind and takes tentative steps toward a new normal, students and alumni alike wonder what exactly that means. What comes next for a proud institution brought low by allegations that powerful men knew they had a predator in their midst and failed to take action? What should members of its community do now?

"Our best," said Julie Weiss, 19, a sophomore from Wayne, N.J., pausing outside her dorm to consider the question.

Last week, the worst in its 156-year history, the place called Happy Valley became noticeably less so. Students and alumni felt betrayed as child sex abuse allegations exploded onto the nation's front pages, bringing notoriety to a place largely untouched by, and unaccustomed to, scandal.

As the school's trustees pledge to get to the bottom of the saga, many Penn Staters are feeling sadness, anger, a sense of loss. Some can't sleep. Others walk around with knots in their stomachs or can't stop thinking about the victims. Wherever two or more people congregate, the subject inevitably comes up. Even Saturday's pregame tailgate parties were muted with the subject that hung low over everything.

"Everyone's been struggling to reconcile how something so bad could happen in a place that we all think is so good," said senior Gina Mattei, 21, of Glen Mills, Pa., hours after Penn State played its first game since 1965 without Joe Paterno on the sidelines as head coach. "It's sad to think that something like that could happen HERE, in a place where everyone is really comfortable and has a lot of community spirit."

Penn State's former assistant football coach, Jerry Sandusky, was charged Nov. 5 with molesting eight boys over a span of 15 years, and two university officials were charged with failing to notify authorities after being told about a 2002 incident in which Sandusky allegedly sodomized a boy in the showers of the football building.

The scandal quickly metastasized, costing two more key figures their jobs ? Paterno, the face of Penn State football since 1966, as well as university president Graham Spanier. It also tarnished the reputation of an institution that preached "success with honor" ? that, according to its own credo, was supposed to be better than this.

"Everyone kind of feels like this is just the beginning. We still have a (long) way to go for Penn State to redeem itself and get back to the place where we were," said Mattei, who was selling cupcakes, bagels and Rice Krispie treats on College Avenue on Saturday night to raise money for her honors psychology society.

Some students argue that the question itself ? "How does Penn State regain what it's lost?" ? is flawed. This remains a world-renowned research institution, they point out. It's still the place where students hold THON, a yearly dance marathon that raises millions of dollars for pediatric cancer research. It's far more than football and far bigger than Sandusky, Spanier, even Paterno.

"I don't think that our name is tarnished at all," said Amy Fietlson, 19, a sophomore and aspiring veterinarian from New Jersey. "The integrity of a few individuals who have been involved with this school is definitely tarnished, but for the rest of us that had no way of preventing it or had no involvement in it, we are not tarnished at all. Our integrity remains."

Mattei's boyfriend, Adam DiAntonio, a 22-year-old senior from Chester Heights, Pa., said that "99.9 percent of the university is still committed to the Penn State that everybody has known."

Determined words. In reality, though, it won't be easy, even with a commitment from new president Rodney Erickson to restore confidence and "rebuild our community." Too much damage has been done during a week of growing revelations, mounting anger and shock after nationally televised shock.

The U.S. Education Department is investigating whether the university violated federal law by failing to report the alleged sexual assaults. Some donors are expected to pull back, at least in the short term. One football recruit has already changed his mind about attending Penn State next year. Moody's Investors Service Inc. warned that it might downgrade Penn State's bond rating as it gauges the impact of possible lawsuits.

Then there's the risk that new allegations of wrongdoing ? more abuse victims coming forward, perhaps, or evidence of a wider cover-up than what's already been alleged ? could jolt the campus again.

"I hope and I pray that it doesn't go any further than what we've already seen, which is as tragic as it gets," said George Werner, 47, a Penn State graduate who was tailgating with friends Saturday in the shadow of Beaver Stadium.

Werner, 47, who lives outside Ann Arbor, Mich., said he has struggled with the scandal every day, waking in the middle of the night and unable to go back to sleep. He fears it will be a long, long time before the university gets back to normal. "Maybe not in my lifetime," he says.

His friend and fellow alumnus John Jackson, 49, of Doylestown, Pa., said he doubts Penn State can move on until the depths of the Sandusky case are plumbed.

"They need to do a deep dive and investigate everything and everybody. It's going to be starting from scratch in a lot of ways," Jackson said. "We know how serious this is. The focus needs to be on the children, the harm that was done."

Still, Jackson said, "there's way more good than bad and that's how you move on, as much as people want to lump us in."

On a warm Saturday afternoon, Jackson and Werner joined a crowd looking for catharsis. Beaver Stadium pulsed with its usual energy as more than 100,000 fans waited for kickoff.

"WE ARE! PENN STATE!" they roared in thundering unison. The old chant seemed to take on new significance after a singularly horrific week. It was an incantation, as if saying the words could restore things to the way they were. It was affirmation. It was a chance to show the world that Penn State is still Penn State.

The university is so big ? it's basically a small city unto itself ? that very little can alter the daily routine. Students still took tests, wrote papers, did research. Penn Staters still showed characteristic pride in their school. Saturday night crowds still packed College Avenue's bars, pizza parlors, galleries and clothing stores.

Yet the Sandusky case reached beyond the confines of the football program into every corner of campus and across the vast alumni network, too.

At the Paterno Library, Alexandra Santoyo bent over a table, looking at a USA Today with "VICTIM 1," a reference to one of the children whom Sandusky is accused of abusing, splashed in big letters. Santoyo, a university administrator from Mexico City who's at Penn State for a yearlong study program, said she felt terrible.

Earl Holt, a 2005 graduate who teaches school in Washington, D.C., said students and colleagues have asked him about Penn State. He came to State College over the weekend to see for himself, catching the game and gauging the mood on campus. He said he sensed "an atmosphere of disappointment, but also of wanting to heal the situation and move forward and progress."

After a week in which the focus was on Paterno and the football program, students and alumni moved at week's end to put it back where they felt it belonged ? on the victims. Thousands massed on the lawn of the Old Main administration building for a candlelight vigil Friday night. Students took part in a "blue-out" Saturday, wearing the color of child abuse prevention. Taking a page from THON, a group of Penn State alumni began raising money for sexual violence prevention ? and has already collected more than $300,000. It felt good to do something, people said.

Indeed, 38-year-old Matt Bodenschatz, a Penn State student and a survivor of childhood sexual abuse himself, urged his fellow students to move beyond symbolic expressions of outrage and past their "desperate insistence that "`We are still Penn State.'"

In a column posted Sunday on the website of the local paper, the Centre Daily Times, Bodenschatz said more is needed.

He wrote: "Until and unless you find a way to do something genuine, lasting and sincerely sympathetic for someone at the receiving end of these very real, crippling crimes in our headlines ? even if you never get to meet them or to know any of their names ? then your indignation is unearned and misplaced."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111113/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_penn_state_what_s_next

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Saturday, 12 November 2011

Paterno gone, but questions at Penn State remain

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett makes remarks during a news conference after a Penn State Board of Trustees meeting Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, in State College, Pa. On Wednesday trustees fired football coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier amid a child sex abuse allegations against an assistant coach. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett makes remarks during a news conference after a Penn State Board of Trustees meeting Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, in State College, Pa. On Wednesday trustees fired football coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier amid a child sex abuse allegations against an assistant coach. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, right, and assistant coach Mike McQueary walk the field during practice, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/The Citizens' Voice, Michael R. Sisak) MANDATORY CREDIT

Penn State interim head football coach Tom Bradley looks on during NCAA college footbal practice Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, in State College, Pa. The defensive coordinator was appointed interim coach by Penn State's board of trustees after it fired Paterno on Wednesday night , Nov. 9, in the wake of a child sex-abuse scandal involving former assistant Jerry Sandusky. (AP Photo/The Patriot-News, Joe Hermitt)

(AP) ? The most tumultuous week Penn State has ever endured is drawing to a close.

Questions, however, still linger.

Gov. Tom Corbett will be on hand Friday to help the board of trustees navigate a course through the turmoil from a child sex-abuse scandal that has engulfed the state's largest university and led to the firing of Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno.

Corbett, an ex-officio member of the board, will participate in Friday's regularly scheduled trustees meeting, where a committee will be appointed to investigate the "circumstances" that led to the indictments of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, as well as two university officials.

"Certainly every Pennsylvanian who has any knowledge of this case, who has read the grand jury report, feels a sense of regret and a sorrow to also see careers end," Corbett said after arriving on campus Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Tom Bradley was introduced as interim head coach, marking the first time in almost a half-century the Nittany Lions have been guided by anyone other than Paterno.

"We're obviously in a very unprecedented situation," said Bradley, who was Paterno's lead assistant for the last 11 seasons. "I have to find a way to restore the confidence."

The committee has no timetable.

And no shortage of questions to answer ? from how much Paterno actually knew to the future of his staff, including assistant coach Mike McQueary, who told Paterno but not police about seeing Sandusky in a shower with a young boy in 2002.

McQueary, now the team's wide receivers coach, won't be present for the final home game of the season Saturday against Nebraska because of what the university said were "multiple threats."

"We intend to be as responsible as we can and make whatever changes are necessary," board vice chair John Surma said.

Sandusky, Paterno's onetime heir apparent, has been charged with molesting eight boys over 15 years. Athletic director Tim Curley and university vice president Gary Schultz have been charged with perjury and failure to report the 2002 assault to police, as required by state law.

All three maintain their innocence.

Paterno is not a target of the criminal investigation, having fulfilled his legal requirement by reporting what McQueary told him to Curley and Schultz. But the state police commissioner called Paterno's failure to contact police or follow up on the incident a lapse in "moral responsibility."

Paterno has acknowledged that he should have done more but has not said why he didn't go to the police, nor has he said whether he was aware of any earlier alleged assaults. Aside from a few brief comments outside his house and two statements, Paterno has not spoken publicly since Sandusky was indicted.

McQueary told the grand jury that he saw Sandusky sodomizing a boy of about 10 in the showers at the Penn State football building in March 2002.

McQueary later told Paterno, Curley and Schultz, although it is not clear how detailed his description was. Schultz, in turn, notified Spanier.

Curley and Schultz ? as well as Paterno ? testified that they were told that Sandusky behaved inappropriately in that 2002 incident, but not to the extent of McQueary's graphic account to the grand jury.

McQueary has not spoken publicly. His mother, Anne, said Thursday they have been advised not to comment.

Then 28, McQueary was "distraught" after witnessing the alleged 2002 assault, according to the indictment. Yet it appears he may have continued to participate in fundraising events with Sandusky ? including one held less than a month later.

Sandusky was a coach at a March 28, 2002, flag-football fundraiser for the Easter Seals of Central Pennsylvania, and McQueary and other Penn State staff members participated by either playing or signing autographs, according to a "Letter of special thanks" published in the Centre Daily Times.

The paper also reported that McQueary was scheduled to play in The Second Mile Celebrity Golf Classic in 2002 and 2003. The Second Mile is the charity Sandusky founded in 1997 to provide education and life skills to almost 100,000 at-risk kids each year.

And in 2004, the Centre Daily Times reported that McQueary played in the third annual Subway Easter Bowl Game, an Easter Seals fundraiser that was jointly coached by Sandusky.

Sandusky, a former Penn State player and assistant for 30 years, including 22 as defensive coordinator, had long been considered the likely successor to Paterno. But Paterno told Sandusky around May 1999 that he wouldn't get the top job.

According to the indictment, one of the alleged victims testified that Sandusky was "emotionally upset" after that meeting with Paterno, and Sandusky announced his retirement the next month.

Sandusky said he wanted to spend more time with The Second Mile, as well as taking advantage of a generous retirement package that included continued use of an office and access to the school's athletic facilities. Several of the alleged assaults took place on Penn State property.

Sandusky was just 55 when he retired with a sparkling resume. He stepped off college football's fast track when he would have been considered a top candidate for vacancies at any big-time program.

Bradley spent most of his career at Penn State as a defensive assistant and succeeded Sandusky as defensive coordinator.

Penn State has said Bradley will be interim coach for the rest of the season. It has not said if he will be a candidate for the permanent job, nor has it given any timetable for hiring a new coach.

It's not even clear who will do the hiring, with Curley on leave and provost Rodney Erickson serving as interim school president.

___

Associated Press Writer Genaro C. Armas contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-11-11-Penn%20State-Abuse/id-131e6790abcf4af18fa3f3dcf43a52a8

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Friday, 11 November 2011

Cervical cancer vaccines may cut need for screening (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Using GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix vaccine to protect girls against the HPV virus that causes cervical cancer is so effective that health authorities could reduce the need for later cervical screening, scientists said on Wednesday.

Researchers from Finland and the United States who published two studies in The Lancet Oncology journal found Cervarix "offers excellent protection" against two key strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), particularly when given to young adolescent girls before they become sexually active.

The studies also found the vaccine partially protects against several other cancer-causing HPV types that it is not specifically designed to target, giving protection against a group of strains that together cause about 85 percent of cervical cancer worldwide.

"Provided that organised vaccination programs achieve high coverage in early adolescents before sexual debut, HPV vaccination has the potential to substantially reduce the incidence of cervical cancer, probably allowing the modification of screening programs," said Matti Lehtinen from the University of Tampere in Finland, who worked on the studies.

He said that as a result of the findings health experts in Finland, one of the first countries to introduce nationwide HPV vaccination campaigns in 2007, should consider cutting cervical screening programs down to just a once-in-a-lifetime test at around the age of 25 to 30 to check the vaccine has been fully effective.

"You should not have two measures on top of each other if one is already efficient enough," he said in a telephone interview. "This could certainly mean lots of savings in terms of costs of screening."

GSK's two-strain vaccine targets HPV types 16 and 18 that are responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancers. Rival drugmaker Merck also makes an HPV vaccine called Gardasil which protects against 16, 18 and two other strains of the virus.

Cancer of the cervix is the second most common cancer in women worldwide, with about 500,000 new cases and 250,000 deaths each year, according to the World Health Organization.

Virtually all cases are linked to genital infection with HPV, the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract.

Several developed nations have in recent years introduced nationwide HPV vaccination programs for girls and young women.

In the United States, for example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends girls and women aged between 11 and 26 should get either Cervarix or Gardasil.

Lehtinen said these vaccinations could eventually cut the need for nationwide cervical smear screens that are usually done every few years in women from around the age of 25 onwards.

The two Lancet Oncology studies both looked at Cervarix.

The first, which included almost 20,000 healthy women aged between 15 and 25 from 14 countries across Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America, found the shot gave high rates of protection against high-grade cervical precancers, early development of a condition called adenocarcinoma, and 12 other cancer-causing HPV types.

In a second study the vaccine showed increased cross-protection against other cancer-causing HPV types 31, 33, 45, and 51 in different groups of women.

"Our results show that cross-protective efficacy might provide substantial additional protection against cervical cancer," said Cosette Wheeler from the University of New Mexico in the United States, who co-led the second study.

In a commentary about the findings published in the same journal, Mark Schiffman and Sholom Wacholder from the U.S. National Cancer Institute said that increasing coverage, particularly of as yet sexually-naive young girls, "is now the most important public-health issue in HPV vaccination efforts."

(Editing by Greg Mahlich)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111109/hl_nm/us_cancer_cervical_vaccines

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Thursday, 10 November 2011

Oil soars but motorists don't need to worry yet

In this Oct. 10, 2011 photo, motorists look for an empty gas pump at a Valero gas station in Miami Gardens, Fla. The oil market is choosing to view the barrel as half full, and the price has risen about 28 percent in a month. Should drivers worry that holiday shopping money will instead go to the gas tank? (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

In this Oct. 10, 2011 photo, motorists look for an empty gas pump at a Valero gas station in Miami Gardens, Fla. The oil market is choosing to view the barrel as half full, and the price has risen about 28 percent in a month. Should drivers worry that holiday shopping money will instead go to the gas tank? (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

(AP) ? Oil prices are soaring again, but motorists don't need to worry ? yet.

The price of crude has jumped 22 percent since the beginning of October and is nearing $100 a barrel. For most of the summer, oil prices drifted lower on fears that the U.S. was headed toward another recession. But those concerns have started to wane as the economy stabilizes. Political tensions in the Middle East, which produces 29 percent of the world's oil, also have helped drive up crude prices at the fastest clip since February.

So far, the big jump hasn't translated into a surge in prices at the gasoline pump. Gasoline has crept up less than 1 percent, or 3.1 cents, to $3.41 per gallon, over the same period.

That's partly because people drive less once vacations wind down after Labor Day. This year, Americans have also bought less gasoline because of the weaker economy. That lackluster demand has kept prices in check, even as oil soars. If crude continues to rise, however, gasoline eventually will be forced to follow.

"Enjoy it while you can," said Ben Brockwell, pricing director at the Oil Price Information Service. "We may be in for a spike" in the spring. Brockwell expects gasoline prices ? which peaked at $3.98 per barrel on May 5 ? to flirt with $4 per gallon early next year.

As signs emerge that the U.S. isn't headed for another recession, the price of oil has risen. When economies improve, demand for oil goes up.

At the same time, some of the world's biggest sources of oil appear to be increasingly at risk. Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, is suspected of developing nuclear weapons, according to a United Nations report released Tuesday. Its nuclear program could lead to international trade sanctions, and Israel has threatened military action.

And in Nigeria, one of the top five oil exporters to the U.S., production continues to be hampered by spills, sabotage and thefts of its crude.

Meanwhile, the world's thirst for oil continues to grow. Developing nations in Asia and the Middle East have been importing more barrels as they build factories and their people buy more cars. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Tuesday that global oil demand should rise to a record 92.9 million barrels per day by 2015. That's up 1.9 million barrels per day from the previous forecast.

OPEC said it was making the change to reflect a "swifter than expected" recovery in energy demand since the recession.

Oil prices have climbed from $79.20 a barrel at the beginning of October to $96.80 Tuesday. The last time they rose that swiftly was in the spring, when rebels in Libya started to clash with forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. Oil shot up 25 percent to $105 from February to March as the rebellion cut off Libya's exports, increasing pressure on already-tight world supplies.

Gasoline prices followed oil higher earlier this year. Since October, thought, they seem to be moving to their own beat.

Gasoline prices have leveled off as motorists buy less fuel. MasterCard SpendingPulse, which tracks gasoline purchases around the country, said Tuesday that American drivers have bought less fuel for four months in a row.

Pump prices in the U.S. are increasingly influenced by oil produced in foreign countries, and those varieties haven't risen as sharply as the U.S. benchmark crude. Refineries that make gasoline also are producing cheaper winter fuel blends for this time of year.

The government is forecasting that gasoline prices should continue to fall through the end of the year and analysts say it could touch $3.25 by New Year's.

Chris Kahn can be reached at ?http://twitter.com/ChrisKahnAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-11-08-Oil%20Prices/id-1f539a7596cd4c129bfb9064447b363d

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Busch fined $50,000, warned after Hornaday wreck

Kyle Busch watches the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race from his team's pit at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. Busch was barred Saturday from driving in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide races at Texas this weekend, a rare step taken by NASCAR after he deliberately wrecked championship contender Ron Hornaday Jr. during a caution in the Truck Series on Friday night. (AP Photo/Randy Holt)

Kyle Busch watches the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race from his team's pit at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. Busch was barred Saturday from driving in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide races at Texas this weekend, a rare step taken by NASCAR after he deliberately wrecked championship contender Ron Hornaday Jr. during a caution in the Truck Series on Friday night. (AP Photo/Randy Holt)

Kyle Busch watches the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race from his team's pit at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. Busch was barred Saturday from driving in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide races at Texas this weekend, a rare step taken by NASCAR after he deliberately wrecked championship contender Ron Hornaday Jr. during a caution in the Truck Series on Friday night. (AP Photo/Tim Sharp)

Kyle Busch, top left, watches the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race from his team's pit tower at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. Busch was barred Saturday from driving in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide races at Texas this weekend, a rare step taken by NASCAR after he deliberately wrecked championship contender Ron Hornaday Jr. during a caution in the Truck Series on Friday night. (AP Photo/Tim Sharp)

Michael McDowell drives Kyle Busch's car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. McDowell replaced Busch after Busch was barred from driving in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide races at Texas this weekend. (AP Photo/Randy Holt)

Kyle Busch watches start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race from his team's pit at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. Busch was barred Saturday from driving in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide races at Texas this weekend, a rare step taken by NASCAR after he deliberately wrecked championship contender Ron Hornaday Jr. during a caution in the Truck Series on Friday night. (AP Photo/Tim Sharp)

(AP) ? NASCAR fined Kyle Busch $50,000 on Monday and placed him on probation through the end of the year for wrecking Ron Hornaday under caution at Texas.

NASCAR also warned Busch that he will be suspended indefinitely if he is involved in any other action "detrimental to stock car racing or to NASCAR, or is disruptive to the orderly conduct of an event."

Busch was scheduled to run only in the Sprint Cup Series race this weekend at Phoenix, it's not clear how many events he had planned to enter in next week's season finales at Homestead.

Busch and Hornaday were racing each other early in Friday night's Truck Series race at Texas when Busch deliberately wrecked Hornaday, a championship contender, under caution.

"I lost my cool, no doubt about it," Busch said after the wreck.

NASCAR, which pulled Busch off the track after the wreck with Hornaday, parked Busch for the Saturday and Sunday races at Texas as further punishment. Busch became the first driver since Robby Gordon in 2007 to be suspended from a Cup race. Kevin Harvick was suspended in 2002.

Harvick and Gordon were fined $35,000 each after their suspension, and both were placed on probation through the end of the year. They were also warned with the exact same language used in Monday's warning to Busch.

Busch could still face additional discipline from Joe Gibbs Racing or sponsor M&Ms.

Michael McDowell replaced Busch in Sunday's Cup race, and Busch watched it from atop the JGR pit box.

"I understand why I was taken out of the car for the rest of the weekend. NASCAR officials had to act, and I accept their punishment and take full responsibility for my actions," Busch wrote Saturday in an apology letter posted on his website.

"As a racecar driver, the hardest thing to do is to sit on the sidelines listening to cars on the track when you know you should be out there competing. For this, I have no one to blame but myself."

Busch was a title contender at the start of the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, and he opened it tied with Harvick as the top seed. But he faltered through the first few races and has not been a threat.

He's had a good deal of drama this season, too.

Busch was on probation earlier this season following a post-race, pit-road confrontation at Darlington with Harvick. He was cited for careless and reckless driving, and speeding after driving 128 mph in a 45 mph zone. He later lost his North Carolina driver's license for 45 days as part of sentence that included a $1,000 fine, 30 hours of community service and a year of unsupervised probation.

He clashed in the garage with rival team owner Richard Childress at Kansas in June and intentionally wrecked Elliott Sadler during the truck race at Bristol.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-11-07-CAR-NASCAR-Busch-Fined/id-ca3bdb912ba54dc08d96f7399962e2e4

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Tuesday, 8 November 2011

Toyota withdraws outlook on Thai floods, quake, yen (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) ? Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) withdrew its annual profit guidance on Tuesday as Thai floods threaten output just as it had recovered from supply shortages that battered production after the March earthquake in Japan.

Like Toyota, Honda Motor Co (7267.T) also dropped its earnings forecasts after being hard hit by Thailand's worst floods in at least 50 years, although Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) raised its outlook as it adapts more quickly to the disaster.

Toyota, Japan's top automaker, posted a bigger-than-expected 32 percent slide in quarterly operating profit, crimped in part by a soaring yen as the company was recovering from the earthquake and tsunami.

But it reaffirmed a commitment to manufacture at home even if the yen's strength makes exports less competitive against rivals such as South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) and it outlined plans to cope with the exchange rate.

Once the world's most envied and profitable automaker, Toyota has lost its shine against domestic rival Nissan, which a Toyota executive said may have proven more adept at dealing with the crises affecting both companies this year.

"I can't deny that Nissan may have done some things right, given the outcome of how they recovered from both the earthquake and the floods," Toyota's chief financial officer, Satoshi Ozawa, told a news conference. "If there's something there to learn from, we'd like to do that."

Toyota's three vehicle plants in Thailand, its Southeast Asian export hub, halted work on October 10 because of the floods, and a shortage of parts forced it to cut output in nine other countries including Japan. The three plants will be down at least until November 12, the company has said.

Toyota said operating profit for July-September, its second quarter, was 75.39 billion yen ($966 million), far short of an average estimate of 101.3 billion yen in a Reuters survey of 12 analysts.

Net profit dropped 18.5 percent to 80.42 billion yen, while revenue fell 4.8 percent to 4.57 trillion yen. Global vehicle sales slid 4.7 percent to 1.805 million.

In contrast, Nissan last week lifted its profit forecasts as it achieves robust sales growth and limits the impact of a parts shortage from Thailand with substitute procurement. It expects a restart in Thai production next week.

"Companies now need to adopt new ideas and move faster," said Tetsuro Ii, chief executive officer of Commons Asset Management in Tokyo.

"Some companies, such as Nissan, are doing this well...It's too soon to make a judgment on Toyota's and Honda's long-term prospects, but I can't help but get the impression that they are slow in their reforms," he added.

WITHDRAWS FORECASTS

Before withdrawing its forecasts, Toyota had projected an operating profit of 450 billion yen for the year to March 2012, against a consensus forecast of 486 billion yen in a survey of 21 analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Toyota said the Thai calamity would force it to keep its Japanese production reduced at least until November 18. It was still undecided on production elsewhere, including in Thailand.

Between October 10 and November 12, Toyota will lose production of about 150,000 vehicles from the supply shortage, it said. This week, its Japanese factories were working at 70 to 80 percent of planned levels, while output in the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Pakistan was at 40 percent.

Its North American factories, excluding Mexico, were working at 90 percent of planned output.

Toyota had just started to work overtime and weekends in September, having recovered from the March 11 disasters two months ahead of initial plans.

The two disasters have hit Toyota's sales and market share the world over and will likely place it behind General Motors Co (GM.N) and Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) this year.

Toyota is still by far the most valuable, with a market capitalization of $113 billion.

But the setback could be short-lived, analysts said, since unlike Honda, its own factories in Thailand were not flooded.

"In assessing the impact of the Thai floods on Toyota, we're talking about the people that supply their parts, rather than Toyota itself," said Koji Endo, senior analyst at Advanced Research Japan in Tokyo. "So this disaster looks to be a short-term setback rather than a long-term one."

FIGHTING THE YEN

While Ozawa said he expected Toyota's market share to recover in North America and Europe as production levels return from a post-quake nadir, he stressed that the yen's strength posed a huge obstacle.

Through disciplined cost cuts and other improvements, Toyota's parent-only operations were on track to break even next year assuming a dollar rate of 85 yen and sales of 7.5 million vehicles, Ozawa said.

But with the dollar now around 78 yen, he said he was at a loss as to what more to do. The dollar fell to a record low of 75.31 yen in late October, prompting currency intervention by Japanese authorities.

"If you asked me whether we have any specific numerical forecasts (with the current dollar rate), I would be in a very tough spot," he said.

It was up to the government to weaken the yen and level the playing field of Japanese exporters against overseas rivals, Ozawa said.

In the meantime, Toyota will take three steps to help offset currency losses and keep its commitment of building at least 3 million vehicles annually in Japan without bleeding profits, he said.

For one, Toyota will try to sell more vehicles in Japan, bringing the ratio of domestic sales to exports from around 1.3 million to 1.7 million now, to 1.5 million each.

It will also try to reduce the number of engines and transmission units it ships out of Japan and will redesign components to allow its suppliers to use cheaper materials in local markets overseas.

Ozawa stressed that closing factories in Japan would not help because more than 90 percent of the facilities were fully depreciated. Toyota also has about the right number of workers to build 3 million vehicles a year, he said.

Toyota's shares have fallen 22 percent so far this year, faring worse than Nissan, which is down about 6.5 percent, but better than Honda, which has fallen 26 percent.

Before the results, Toyota shares closed down 1.7 percent at 2,503 yen, in line with the broader Tokyo market (.TOPX).

($1=78.0 yen)

(Additional reporting by Mayumi Negishi, James Topham and Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Matt Driskill and Neil Fullick)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111108/bs_nm/us_toyota

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Rice: Iran's government has 'no legitimacy left'

(AP) ? Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the U.S. should consider even tougher penalties against Iran's government and "be doing everything we can to bring it down."

Rice tells ABC's "This Week" that the U.S. should never take the option of military force off the table when it comes to dealing with Iran.

She says the current Iranian government is trying to obtain a nuclear weapon and has repressed its own people. Rice says "the regime has absolutely no legitimacy left."

Diplomats have told The Associated Press that the U.N. atomic agency plans to disclose intelligence this coming week suggesting that Iran made computer models of a nuclear warhead.

Iran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful aims such as energy production.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-11-06-US-Condoleezza-Rice-Iran/id-9483196ab2a340af9b6bbc2413699e28

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Monday, 7 November 2011

Greece talks under way in bid to avoid bankruptcy

Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou pauses during a meeting with Greek President Karolos Papoulias, at the presidential house in Athens on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011. Embattled Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou launched efforts to form a four-month coalition government, arguing the move is vital to demonstrating Greece's commitment to remaining in the eurozone.(AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou pauses during a meeting with Greek President Karolos Papoulias, at the presidential house in Athens on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011. Embattled Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou launched efforts to form a four-month coalition government, arguing the move is vital to demonstrating Greece's commitment to remaining in the eurozone.(AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

FILE - This Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011 file photo shows Greece's Conservative opposition leader Antonis Samaras addressing conservative members of parliament in Athens. Greece's prime minister struggled Saturday Nov. 5, 2011 to form a temporary coalition government, faced with opposition calls for immediate elections that have extended a political deadlock in the debt-shackled country. George Papandreou has agreed to step aside if necessary to help his Socialist party hammer out a four-month coalition he says is vital to securing a new debt deal worth an additional euro130 billion ($179 billion). But his offer was snubbed hours later by opposition leader Antonis Samaras. "We have not asked for any place in his government. All we want is for Mr. Papandreou to resign, because he has become dangerous for the country," Samaras said in a televised address. "We insisted on immediate elections." (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)

(AP) ? Greek leaders entered a second day of closed-door talks Sunday to end an ongoing political crisis, under intense pressure to ensure the country doesn't go bankrupt in the next few weeks and that it remains in the eurozone.

The Socialist government of Prime Minister George Papandreou, who narrowly survived a parliamentary confidence vote early Saturday, said it has started talks to form a temporary coalition to run the country for the next four months. The government will also hold an emergency Cabinet meeting at 4 p.m. (1400 GMT; 9 a.m. EST).

Papandreou, mid-way into a four-year term, has promised early elections by March and said he would step aside once a new unity government is agreed on.

But the conservative leader of the main opposition New Democracy party said Sunday no talks between the two parties were taking place and Antonis Samaras also reiterated his stance that Papandreou must resign before any coalition discussions can take place.

Samaras made his latest comments after a brief meeting with President Karolos Papoulias, a mainly ceremonial figure who has called for collaboration between the two main parties. It wasn't immediately clear if the Socialists were holding coalition talks with smaller parties as an alternative to the conservative party, or were speaking among themselves about what steps to take.

Greece has been surviving since May 2010 on a first euro110 billion ($152 billion) bailout. But its financial crisis was so severe that a second rescue was needed as the country remained locked out of international bond markets by sky-high interest rates and facing an unsustainable national debt increase.

The new European deal, agreed on by the 27-nation bloc on Oct. 27 after marathon negotiations, would give Greece an additional euro130 billion ($179 billion) in rescue loans and bank support. It would also see banks write off 50 percent of Greek debt, worth some euro100 billion ($138 billion). The goal is to reduce Greece's debts to the point where the country is able to handle its finances without relying on constant bailouts.

Greece's lawmakers must now approve the new rescue deal, putting intense pressure on the country's leaders to swiftly end the political crisis so parliament can convene and put the debt agreement to a vote.

"In these critical moments, the two (main) parties are merely wasting time," said lawmaker Giorgos Kontoyannis, a former New Democracy member of parliament who has joined splinter group Democratic Alliance. "I want to say to my former New Democracy colleagues that our responsibility to our country is individual and not bound by party allegiance."

In return for bailout money, Greece was forced to embark on a punishing program of tax hikes and cuts in pensions and salaries that sent Papandreou's popularity plummeting and his majority in parliament whittled down from a comfortable 10 seats to just two.

Papandreou's government came under renewed threat after his disastrous bid this past week to hold a public referendum on the new euro130 billion ($179 billion) deal. The idea was swiftly scrapped Thursday after an angry response from markets and European leaders who said any popular vote in Greece would determine whether the country would keep its cherished membership in the eurozone. They also vowed to withhold a critical euro8 billion ($11 billion) installment of loans from an existing bailout deal that Greece needs urgently to stave off an imminent and catastrophic default.

After the aborted referendum idea, Papandreou's government survived a confidence vote. Now, EU partners and creditors are pressing Papandreou and other political leaders to form a coalition government as a condition to receive any further rescue funds.

Government spokesman Elias Mossialos told state television Sunday that talks have begun and the name of the new prime minister should be known by Monday, in which case Papandreou would resign. Mossialos later told The Associated Press that his remarks regarding a new premier expressed "a personal wish" and are not an official announcement.

Samaras' party denied any talks were taking place "either in the open or behind the scenes."

The socialists and the main opposition New Democracy differ on the duration of such a caretaker government, with the opposition demanding elections within a few weeks and the government saying the coalition Cabinet should last through the end of February.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-06-EU-Greece-Financial-Crisis/id-d6048113123c43b9bc4c3d0223a034ce

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Sunday, 6 November 2011

Top GOP senators press Pentagon on specific cuts (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Top Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee are pressing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to spell out the "devastating effects" to the military if a special bipartisan panel fails to produce a deficit-cutting plan and nearly $1 trillion in defense cuts kick in.

Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina sent a letter to the Pentagon chief late Thursday saying Congress and the American people need to know specifics of the scale and scope of such reductions. The two lawmakers also met this week to prepare legislation that would undo deeper defense cuts.

The Pentagon is facing some $450 billion in cuts in projected spending over the next 10 years. But if the special bipartisan panel tasked with finding at least $1.2 trillion in deficit cuts by Nov. 23 fails to produce a plan, then automatic, across-the-board cuts would take effect beginning in January 2013. The military would be looking at more than $500 billion in cuts on top of the current reductions.

Panetta has referred to that process as the "doomsday mechanism" and has said it would have "devastating effects" on the Pentagon and on national security.

"We could not agree more and fear the results ... will be a hollow military," McCain and Graham wrote. Missing from the apocalyptic descriptions, they said, "is a frank and honest assessment describing in concrete terms what defense spending cuts of this magnitude would entail."

McCain has said repeatedly he would fight additional defense cuts beyond the half trillion set in motion by the debt accord reached by President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans last summer.

"If there is a failure on the part of the supercommittee, we will be amongst the first on the floor to nullify that provision," McCain told reporters last month. "Congress is not bound by this. It's something we passed. We can reverse it."

McCain and Graham are working on legislation that would undo the automatic defense cuts and instead impose a 5 percent across-the-board reduction in government spending combined with a 10 percent cut in pay for members of Congress. Undoing the defense cuts, however, could add tens of billions of dollars to the deficit.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111104/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_defense_cuts

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