Monday is World AIDS day

 

The 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day will be observed around the world and in Greenwich on Dec. 1. Locally, the events for World AIDS Day will take place at Town Hall on Monday, Dec.1, as coordinated by the Greenwich Department of Health. Included in the events will be free, rapid HIV testing — results are available in 20 minutes. This year's World AIDS Day theme is “Lead — Empower — Deliver.” As of 2007, nearly all countries have national policies on HIV. However, despite these policies, most have not been fully implemented as many lack necessary funding. While treatment for HIV/AIDS has improved and become more widespread since 1996, many people living with HIV still do not have access to medication or care. In 2007 only 31% of people living in low- to middle-income countries who need treatment received it. Lead-Empower-Deliver means that everyone should have the opportunity to be tested and treated without stigma or economic barriers. To achieve the goal of universal access to comprehensive prevention programs, treatment, and care, action is needed now. Communities must encourage leadership of its members. Individuals must feel empowered to know their rights, to take action to access screening and treatment. Worldwide 33 million men, women and children are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS. In the United States, more than 1 million people are living with HIV and one-fourth of them are unaware that they are infected. To reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with this disease, the CDC recommends that people between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested for HIV to know their health status. All communities are affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In the United States, in a unified observance of World AIDS Day, the White House will dims its lights on the evening of Dec. 1. This visual demonstration will signify the commitment to fight the AIDS pandemic and will give tribute to people living with HIV/AIDS and to those who have died from AIDS related illnesses. Here in Greenwich, the day will be observed by asking all citizens to wear a red ribbon and to take advantage of free testing.

Rosie Vows, "There Will B No More" Variety Shows

Saturday, November 29, 2008
Last updated 1:51 p.m. PT

By MATT MITOVICH
TV GUIDE

Christmas has come early. Just days after her  Rosie Live!  turned up DOA in the Nielsens (as well as in countless critics and viewers' notebooks), Rosie O'Donnell has written off her NBC variety show as a one-trick pony.

Ro wrote in her blog,  "there will b no more,"  responding to one fan's inquiry as to the possibility of follow-up variety shows in 2009. Alluding to "no ratings" and "bad reviews" as factors in her decision, O'Donnell maintains that the experiment was "still a thrill 4 me."

Elsewhere in her reader forum, O'Donnell acknowledged that "a live show has risks" and said, "i am happy 2 have had the opportunity."

Rosie Live!  mustered a mere five million viewers in its Thanksgiving Eve broadcast — falling shy of even  Knight Rider's worst performance to date in the time slot.

Burress Reportedly Shoots Himself in Leg

UPDATED (4:55 p.m.)...

New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress was hospitalized Friday night after accidentally shooting himself in the leg, according to several reports.

The Giants indicated in a written statement released today that Burress, 31, had suffered a wound to his right thigh in "an apparent accidental shooting" and was released from a New York City hospital this afternoon. The Giants indicated in the statement that they were gathering facts about the incident and had been in contact with NFL security officials, and added that the shooting "could become a matter for law enforcement officials."

The team did not provide further details and it was not clear how seriously Burress was hurt or when he might be able to play football again. Burress already had been declared out of Sunday's game against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field because of a previous hamstring injury.

The Giants' statement said: "We are aware of the fact that Plaxico was involved in an apparent accidental shooting last night. We have been in contact with Plaxico since shortly after the incident. Plaxico suffered a wound to his right thigh.

"Obviously, our primary concern is for Plaxico's health and well-being, and given the circumstances, we are relieved to say he was released from a New York City hospital at approximately 2 p.m. today. We have been in touch with NFL Security on this matter.

"At this point, we are attempting to gather all the facts surrounding this incident. This incident could become a matter for law enforcement officials, and because of that, we have no comment on any of the details."

Previous reports had indicated that Burress suffered a non-life-threatening injury when he accidentally shot himself in the leg Friday night, hours after the Giants had announced that he wouldn't play against the Redskins.

Burress caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Giants quarterback Eli Manning in last season's Super Bowl upset of the previously unbeaten New England Patriots. He was involved in an offseason contract dispute with the Giants but got a new five-year, $35 million deal just before a season-opening victory over the Redskins at Giants Stadium. The contract included about $11 million in guaranteed money.

The Giants have a record of 10-1 and are regarded as the NFL's top team this season, but Burress has been involved in a series of controversies.

He was suspended for one game without pay by the team after reportedly missing a team meeting in late September. That cost Burress $117,647 of his $2 million salary for this season. He missed an Oct. 5 game against the Seattle Seahawks and rejoined the team the following day.

He was fined $45,000 by the NFL for three separate incidents during an Oct. 19 game against the San Francisco 49ers in which he was penalized for complaining about an offensive pass interference call against him. The league fined Burress $20,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct, $20,000 for complaining about the officiating publicly and $5,000 for throwing a ball into the stands.

He was benched at the outset of an Oct. 26 game at Pittsburgh by Giants Coach Tom Coughlin after missing a treatment session the previous day. Burress entered that game early in the second quarter.

There also was a report by the New York Daily News in September that the NFL was investigating Burress for a possible violation of its personal conduct policy because of two domestic incidents last summer in which his wife had temporary restraining orders issued against him, according to the Daily News report. But both of the orders reportedly were dismissed in state court and Richard Berthelsen, the acting executive director of the NFL Players Association, said at the time that he was unaware of any discussion of possible disciplinary action by the league against Burress under the conduct policy.

The league has taken no action against Burress under the conduct policy to this point.

Burress played in the Giants' triumph at Arizona last Sunday, but left after only three plays when he aggravated a hamstring injury suffered during practice the previous week. He underwent further tests early in the week and the Giants ruled him out of the Redskins game.

Domenik Hixon is scheduled to start Sunday's game in place of Burress, who has 35 catches for 454 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games this season.

Saudi king says oil should be $75 per barrel

By TAREK EL-TABLAWY and ADAM SCHRECK –  1 hour ago

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Saudi Arabia's king says the price of oil should be $75 a barrel, much higher than it is now, but his oil minister indicated Saturday that no measures will likely be taken until OPEC meets again next month.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi said that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will "do what needs to be done" to shore up falling oil prices when the group meets Dec. 17 in Algeria, but for now it was "too early."

Other ministers at the hastily convened OPEC meeting in Cairo did not entirely rule out cuts, including Libyan oil official, Shokri Ghanem, who, ahead of the meeting, said "all options are open."

But Naimi, whose country is the world's largest oil producer, said the bloc needs to wait until the Algeria meeting to assess the impact of earlier production cuts.

Naimi's comments came after Saudi King Abdullah told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Seyassah in an interview published Saturday that oil should be priced at $75 a barrel.

"We believe the fair price for oil is $75 a barrel," he said, without saying how the price could be raised.

The price of crude stood at about $147 a barrel in mid-July. On Friday, the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was trading at about $54 per barrel.

The king was echoed by Qatar's Oil Minister Abdullah Bin Hamad al-Attiya, who told the Arab news channel Al-Arabiya that prices needed to rise to guarantee investment into the oil sector.

"The price between 70 to 80 (dollars a barrel) is the one encouraging in investment and developing new or current oil fields," he said. "It falls below 70 (dollars), the investment would freeze, which will lead to a crisis in supply in the future."

Nigerian Oil Minister Odein Ajumogobia also said they would be "very happy" with oil at $75.

The cartel has already held an emergency meeting in Vienna on Oct. 24 to announce a production cut of 1.5 million barrels per day.

The cut failed to stop the price drop, and the cartel abruptly convened the Cairo gathering on the sidelines of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries' meeting.

Kuwait's oil minister, Mohammed al-Aleem, said he believes there is no need for OPEC to make a decision in Cairo on cutting output. But he warned the market is oversupplied, and didn't rule out the need for OPEC to cut production further.

"We believe a decision could be taken ... but I think it will happen in Algeria," he said.

Al-Aleem said current prices could undercut investment in future projects and were not good for either producers or consumers.

The recent price drop has left OPEC price hawks Venezuela and Iran clamoring for further reductions of at least 1 million barrels a day. Both countries need crude at about $90 per barrel to meet spending needs aimed in part at propping up domestically unpopular regimes.

Other OPEC members, such as Nigeria and Ecuador, face budget problems too, making them reluctant to implement more cuts that might shrink revenues further.

The Saudis are better positioned to cope with the drop in prices. The International Monetary Fund estimates Riyadh needs crude in the range of about $50 per barrel for 2008 fiscal accounts to break even.

The statements by the king, however, indicate that normally dovish Saudi Arabia is ready to see the price rise, indicating cuts will eventually take place.

OPEC itself, along with the International Energy Agency, has significantly revised down its projections for demand growth in 2009.

Meanwhile, global crude inventories are growing, as evidenced by a U.S. government report showing a surprisingly large 7 million barrel build in stocks last week in the world's largest energy consumer.

OPEC's last round of cuts would put its total production at about 30.5 million barrels per day, according to the IEA. That is about 500,000 barrels per day higher than the forecast call on OPEC crude in much of 2009.

A Nov. 24 New York-based Oppenheimer & Co. research report says that for oil to rebound to $65 a barrel, OPEC would need to cut crude production by more than 3 million barrels per day from its September levels — a move it called highly unlikely.

Venus, Jupiter will 'shine' Monday night

Every once in a while, something will appear in the night sky that will attract the attention of even those who normally don't bother looking up. It's likely to be that way on Monday evening, Dec. 1.

A slender crescent moon, just 15 percent illuminated, will appear in very close proximity to the two brightest planets in our sky, Venus and Jupiter.

People who are unaware or have no advance notice will almost certainly wonder, as they cast a casual glance toward the moon on that night, what those two "large silvery stars" happen to be? Sometimes, such an occasion brings with it a sudden spike of phone calls to local planetariums, weather offices and even police precincts. Not a few of these calls excitedly inquire about "the UFOs" that are hovering in the vicinity of our natural satellite.

Very bright objects
Venus has adorned the southwestern twilight sky since late August. No other star or planet can come close to matching Venus in brilliance. During World War II, aircraft spotters sometimes mistook Venus for an enemy airplane. There were even cases in which Venus drew antiaircraft fire.

This winter, Venus is the unrivaled evening star that will soar from excellent to magnificent prominence in the southwest at nightfall. The interval by which it follows the Sun will increase from nearly three hours on Dec. 1 to almost four hours by Jan. 1.

It's probably the first "star" you'll see coming out after sunset. In fact, if the air is very clear and the sky a good, deep blue, try looking for Venus shortly before sunset.

Jupiter starts December just above Venus and is moving in the opposite direction, dropping progressively lower each evening. By month's end Jupiter meets up with another planet — Mercury — but by then Jupiter is also descending deep into the glow of sunset. In January, Jupiter will be too close to the Sun to see; it's in conjunction with the Sun on Jan. 24.

Earthlit ball
A very close conjunction of the crescent moon and a bright star or planet can be an awe-inspiring naked-eye spectacle. The English poet, critic and philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) used just such a celestial sight as an ominous portent in his epic, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner."

In addition, there are juxtaposed crescent moon and star symbols that have appeared on the flags of many nations, including Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Tunisia.

Also on Monday evening, you may be able to see the full globe of the moon, its darkened portion glowing with a bluish-gray hue interposed between the sunlit crescent and not much darker sky. This vision is sometimes called "the old moon in the young moon's arms." Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was the first to recognize it as what we now call "earthshine."

As seen from the moon, the Earth would loom in the sky some 3.7 times larger than the moon does for us.

In addition, the land masses, the oceans and clouds make the Earth a far better reflector of sunlight as compared to the moon. In fact, the Earth's reflectivity varies as clouds, which appear far more brilliant than the land and seas, cover greater or lesser parts of the visible hemisphere. The result is that the Earth shines between 45 and 100 times more brightly than the moon.

The Earth also goes through phases, just as the moon does for us, although they are opposite from what we see from Earth. The term for this is called "complementary phases."

On Nov. 27, for example, there was a new moon for us, but as seen from the surface of the moon that day, there appeared in the lunar sky a brilliant full Earth. A few nights later, as the sliver of a crescent moon begins to appear in our western twilight sky, its entire globe may be glimpsed.

Sunlight is responsible for the slender crescent, yet the remainder of the moon appears to shine with a dim blush-gray tone. That part is not receiving sunlight, but shines by virtue of reflected earthlight: the nearly full Earth illuminating the otherwise dark lunar landscape. So earthshine is really sunlight which is reflected off Earth to the moon and then reflected back to Earth.

Keeping it all in perspective
Keep in mind that this head-turning display of three celestial objects crowded together will be merely an illusion of perspective: the moon will be only about 251,400 miles from Earth, while Venus is nearly 371 times farther away, at 93.2 million miles. Meanwhile, Jupiter is almost 2,150 times farther away than our natural satellite at 540.3 million miles.

Those using binoculars or a small telescope will certainly enjoy the almost three-dimensional aspect of the moon, but Venus will be rather disappointing appearing only as a brilliant blob of light, for right now, it's a small, featureless gibbous disk.

That will change in the coming weeks, however, as Venus approaches Earth and the angle it makes between us and the Sun allows it to evolve into a "half-moon" phase in mid-January, and a lovely crescent phase of its own during the latter part of February and March.

Jupiter, on the other hand, is a far more pleasing sight with its relatively large disk, cloud bands and its retinue of bright Galilean satellites.

All four will be in view on Monday evening, with Callisto sitting alone on one side of Jupiter, Ganymede, Io and Europa will be on the other side. Io and Europa will in fact, appear very close to each other, separated by only about one-sixth the apparent width of Jupiter.

Venus 'eclipse' for Europe
As beautiful as the view of Venus, Jupiter and the moon will be from North America, an even more spectacular sight awaits those living in parts of Western Europe where the moon will pass in front of Venus.

Astronomers refer to this phenomenon as an "occultation," taken from the Latin word "occultÄ re," which means "to conceal."

This eye-catching sight will be visible in complete darkness across much of Eastern Europe. Farther west, Venus will disappear behind the dark part of the moon either during evening twilight or just before the Sun sets.

When Venus emerges, it will look like a brightening jewel on the slender lunar crescent. For virtually all of Europe, the Sun will have set by then, the exception being southern Portugal (including Lisbon).

 

Such favorable circumstances are quite rare for any given location. For example, the last time London was treated to such a favorably placed Venus occultation such was back on Oct. 7, 1961.

And after 2008, there will not be another similarly favorable Venus occultation for the United Kingdom until Jan. 10, 2032.

LeBron should 'shut the hell up,' Barkley says

Hall of Famer Charles Barkley chastised Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James for talking about playing for the New York Knicks or any other teams after he becomes a free agent in the summer of 2010, ESPN reported Friday.

"If I was LeBron James, I would shut the hell up," Barkley said on ESPN radio. "I'm a big LeBron fan. He's a stud. You gotta give him his props. I'm getting so annoyed he's talking about what he's going to do in two years. I think it's disrespectful to the game. I think it's disrespectful to the Cavaliers."

James will become a free agent in 2010 if he declines the player option on his current contract.

Barkley also said during the interview with ESPN's Dan Patrick that James wouldn't be any bigger of a star in New York than he is in Cleveland.

On Tuesday, James' first visit to Madison Square Garden this season came just days after the Knicks made a pair of trades that freed up salary cap space for a potential run at the Cleveland Cavaliers' superstar in the summer of 2010.

James scored 26 points in the Cavaliers' 119-101 victory. It had the pregame feel of the NBA finals — James' press conference of some 50 media members and more than a half-dozen TV cameras was comparable in size to those when Cleveland played San Antonio for the 2007 title.

And far away as it is, James understood the magnitude of his pending free agency, which could come the same day players such as Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh also become available.

"I think July 1, 2010, is a very big day," James said. "It's probably going to be one of the biggest days in free-agent history in the NBA. So a lot of teams are gearing up to try to prepare themselves to be able to put themselves in position to get one of the big free-agent market guys."

James is the biggest. And New York is the biggest stage available, so it would be a natural fit.

But James disagreed that leaving Cleveland is a necessary step to making him a bigger star and giving him a better chance to win championships.

"That's something that's not a factor," James said. "You look at someone like Tim Duncan for instance, who decided to sign short-term deals and decide to take pay cuts to stay in San Antonio to sign guys like Manu (Ginobili) and sign guys like Tony Parker and they won championships. And San Antonio we all know is not a big market at all.

"So for me it's all about winning. It's not about the market that you'd be in, it's all about winning with me and that's what this league has always been about."

So would he take less in Cleveland to help the Cavs bring in another superstar?

"I didn't say that," James joked. "I like the talent part, bringing the talent in, but I didn't say I was taking less."

NBA rules allow the Cavs to offer James a larger contract than any other team. But there has always been the belief that James would someday bolt his native Ohio to play in a bigger market.

New York is ready to welcome him. His picture has been in the local papers for days, and a large billboard featuring his likeness hangs over Seventh Avenue, just a block from the entrance to Madison Square Garden.

"We've got that same billboard in Cleveland. I say the same way I feel about it being there," teammate Daniel Gibson said after the game. "He's a hot commodity. He's the best player in the NBA. Of course guys want him on their team."

James loves the building, where he scored 50 points last March in his previous visit, citing its history of concerts and boxing besides just basketball. And he praised new Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni, saying he enjoyed playing in his system when D'Antoni was an assistant with the U.S. Olympic team.

Throw in the multiple questions he was asked about the Yankees, his favorite baseball team — he thinks CC Sabathia would be an excellent replacement for the retiring Mike Mussina — and it's easy to see James in a Knicks uniform during the 2010-11 season.

But he's uncomfortable talking about the idea right now, especially with the Cavs off to a 11-3 start that's shown they're a contender to reach the finals again this season.

"I think right now, you know I just want to continue to just to focus on what I have at task now, being with the Cavs and us getting better every day to compete for an NBA championship," he said. "To bring that type of distraction to our team would be unfair to my team, my teammates, coaching staff and the rest of the organization."

But James, treated to a loud ovation during pregame introductions, is enjoying the attention. The Knicks are only one of perhaps a dozen or more teams gearing themselves up for a potential LeBron push in two summers.

"I am flattered (by) the rumors going around that they would love me to be part of their team. I can't sit up here and say I'm not flattered by that or like the fact that it's happening," he said. "But right now I'm with the Cavs. But to answer the question, yes. Every team hopes someday maybe to make a push at trying to get me in two years and we'll see what happens."

Two Men Shot Dead Inside Toys 'R' Us

Posted: Nov 28, 2008 02:39 PM EST

Updated: Nov 28, 2008 06:44 PM EST

A woman was detained by deputies outside the Toys "R" Us. She was seen screaming at someone held inside a deputy's cruiser.

A deputy secures the area following the Toys-R-Us shooting on Black Friday.

By News Channel 3

The two people shot and killed inside a crowded Toys "R" Us store in Palm Desert on Black Friday were identified as two Hispanic men, Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said.

"We got a call of shots fired," sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez said. "We went in the store and we have two dead individuals."

There was no immediate word of any relationship between the victims or what caused the shooting to erupt. Deputies say they were not looking for any suspects.

The incident happened just before 11:30 a.m. at the store located at 72314 Highway 111 near Fred Waring Drive.

Several Palm Desert city officials were told by police on what exactly happened.

According to Palm Desert city councilman Jim Ferguson, two men with handguns shot and killed each other.

Ferguson says he asked police whether the incident was a dispute over a toy or whether it was gang-related. He says police told him they are not going to release further details until the victims' relatives are notified.

City spokeswoman Sheila Gilligan says police told her the shooting broke out in the Toys 'R' Us between two groups of individuals who have a dispute with each other.

Several people were detained following the shooting. News Channel 3 cameras captured at least two arrests outside the store including a woman who was heard screaming and banging on a Sheriff's cruiser. Authorities tell News Channel 3 that some of those arrests were not related to the shooting incident itself.

Deputies told News Channel 3 that some shoppers inside were evacuated while others were kept in the store shortly after the shooting as deputies swept the store for suspects.

Toys"R" Us issued a statement expressing its outrage "by the act of violence" and "the fact that anyone would compromise the safety and security of our customers and employees."

"We are working closely with local law enforcement officials to determine the specific details of what occurred," the statement said. "Our understanding is that this act seems to have been the result of a personal dispute between the individuals involved. Therefore, it would be inaccurate to associate the events of today with Black Friday."

Daniel Watson's wife and mother-in-law were inside the store at the time of the shooting. Watson told News Channel 3 that he was on the phone with her wife as shooting rang out. Watson's wife called back to tell her husband that she was safe and her mother escaped the store.

Some Toys "R" Us shoppers who fled the store sought refuge in a gym across the street.

"All of a sudden a dozen to 15 people came in distressed," Jeff Vallaire, who manages the World Gym on Town Center Way in Palm Desert, told City News Service. "One of them had an infant who was crying.

"They said there was a shooting, they heard five or six shots and they fled out the back of the store," Vallaire said.

Vallaire said several law enforcement officers came into the gym and spent roughly an hour interviewing shoppers who had been in the Toys "R" Us store at the time of the shooting.

The area remained crowded with shoppers and a parking lot across the street, which was sealed off in connection with the shooting investigation remained full, Vallaire said.

Riverside County Sheriff's Department as well as officers from the Cathedral City and Indio police departments are on scene.

The shooting comes on the morning of Black Friday, one of the year's busiest shopping days.

News Channel 3 has a crew on the scene and we'll bring you live updates on the air and online at KESQ.com.

Midday & Evening

** until 11-30-08 **

078, 178, 278, 378, 478, 578, 678, 778, 878, 978

230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239

600, 601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608, 609

012, 112, 212, 312, 412, 512, 612, 712, 812, 912

310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319

 

Midday & Evening

** until 11-28-08 **

002, 012, 022, 032, 042, 052, 062, 072, 082, 092

570, 571, 572, 573, 574, 575, 576, 577, 578, 579

 

He who wishes to secure the good of others has already secured his own.

                                                                                                             ~~ Confucius ~~

Accused drunk driver ends up running over himself
Nov 25 08:34 PM US/Eastern

 

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - A 21-year-old man was accused of driving drunk and leading police on a chase that finally ended with him running over himself. The man was treated for minor injuries at a Santa Fe hospital and booked in to the Sandoval County detention center on charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated, fleeing a police officer, careless driving and two other outstanding traffic warrants. A tip to the state's DrunkBuster hot line Sunday afternoon alerted authorities to a possibly drunken driver. State Police Officer Grace Romero spotted the man's pickup truck swerving across both lanes of a highway, driving slowly and then fast. He refused to stop. After narrowly missing other vehicles, police said the suspect drove through a ditch and a barbed-wire fence before stopping. He tried to put the truck into park, but it ended up in reverse. Police said the man fell from his open door and both of his legs were run over by the front driver's side tire.

Mom follows dark path from icy rescue to murder charge

• Story Highlights
• Michelle Kehoe allegedly first told investigators a stranger attacked her and boys
• Authorities say she admitted buying duct tape, knife weeks earlier
• 2-year-old is one of about 300 children slain this year
• Kehoe is scheduled to be arraigned on December 2

(CNN)  -- Less than a year after four strangers risked their lives to save Michelle Kehoe and her sons from an icy Iowa River, the mother is accused of slashing the two boys' throats and leaving them to die.

Kehoe's 2-year-old son was found dead the morning of October 27 outside the family's van, which was parked a short distance from the Hook-n-Liner pond in Littleton, Iowa.

Her 7-year-old son was injured but still alive inside the van. He was rushed to the hospital for surgery, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

Scars on his neck underscore the chilling account he gave police, contained in a police affidavit filed in Buchanan County court. The boy said his mother started with him, taking him from the van before covering his eyes, ears and mouth with duct tape, according to the affidavit. Then, he told police, she cut his throat.

She then moved on to his younger brother, he said. He could hear his brother's cries as she repeated the attack on him, the 7-year-old told police.

Kehoe initially denied involvement in the attacks, blaming them on a stranger. Eventually, she admitted to acquiring the knife and duct tape weeks earlier but could not explain why, the affidavit says.

Kehoe faces life in prison on charges of first-degree  murder, attempted murder and child endangerment resulting in serious injury. She is being held on $2.5 million bail, County Attorney Allan Vander Hart said. She has not entered a plea but is scheduled for arraignment December 2.

Repeated calls to Andrea Dryer, Kehoe's public defender, were not returned. CNN was unable to find any public comments by Dryer on the case.

The attacks have rattled the community of Coralville, a suburb of Iowa City where Kehoe and her husband, Eugene, lived with their sons.

The arrest comes just three months after Iowa Gov. Chet Culver honored four men for diving into the Iowa River to rescue Kehoe and her sons on a cold December afternoon last year.

The governor's office gave the following account: Kehoe was driving the boys to the library when the car hit the curb, skidded on ice and then plunged into the river. As rushing waters filled the car, three passers-by who had watched it veer off the road plunged after it into the icy waters.

Inside the car, Kehoe dislodged her older son from his booster seat and passed him through the window to Cory Rath, who brought the boy ashore. Kehoe removed her younger son, then 14 months old, from his car seat and handed him out the window to Mark Petersen. Petersen began to swim with the boy and then passed the boy to Josh Shepherd, according to the governor's office.

Kehoe, meanwhile, had escaped from the car and was fighting the rough currents pulling her underwater. Bicyclist Steve McGuire noticed her struggling and dropped his bicycle to dive in after her.

The dramatic rescue formed a bond between the Kehoes and their four saviors, especially Rath, who befriended the family. He did not respond to CNN's phone calls but spoke recently with a local television station.

"Your heart sinks to hear that something was happening again," Rath told KGAN, a television station in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. "I mean, we just rescued these kids and mom from the river last December."

Rath told KGAN he was grateful that the older boy had survived but worried about the rough times ahead for him.

"Dying at the age of seven would have been really, really tragic," he told KGAN. "I'm also saddened that there are certainly difficulties he will have in the days and years to come that are troubling to think about."

Police have said they are not re-examining last year's accident in light of the recent attacks on the boys. Prosecutor Vander Hart would not comment on whether they were related.

The 2-year-old's slaying also marks the first homicide in five years in Buchanan County, the prosecutor said.

"Murder cases are pretty few and far in between here. We're a small rural community of 21,000 people," Vander Hart said. "Any time you have a case with these kinds of facts, it's going to draw some kind of attention. But I was not prepared for this degree of attention."

For many, the grisly nature of the attacks is compounded by the fact the boys' own mother is charged with plotting and carrying them out.

Cases of mothers who kill their children, like Susan Smith and Andrea Yates, continue to fascinate the public, even as the rates of filicide -- the act of a parent who kills his or her own child -- have remained fairly stable.

"Because these cases are so tragic, they pull at your heartstrings, but they happen all the time," said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, California.

In 2005, 555 children under the age of five were victims of homicide, compared with 544 in 1976. The rate peaked in 1991 at 778 and bottomed out in 1971 at 511, according to statistics from the Department of Justice.

Another fairly stable statistic: In more than 50 percent of child homicides, the killer is a parent.

"The natural defense to anticipate is  insanity, because why would a mother kill her own child?" Levenson asked. "It certainly can be insanity, but it's not always the case. Perfectly sane people can do horrible things, and they do, every day."

Mothers can be motivated to kill their children by several factors, according to criminologist James Alan Fox, Lipman Family professor of criminal justice at Northeastern University.

Some act on genuine psychotic delusions, as jurors determined to be the case with Texas mother Andrea Yates, who told doctors she drowned her five children because God told her to do so. Others can be motivated by selfish reasons: Susan Smith's alleged motive for killing her children was that she perceived them to be an obstacle in her relationship with her boyfriend.

"It's a crazy thing to do, but crazy describes the behavior, not the mind," Fox said, adding that between 300 and 350 children have been homicide victims in 2008.

"It doesn't make sense to most of us, but that doesn't mean the state of mind of the person is mentally ill. You may know what you're doing and have very selfish motivations," he explained.

Kehoe said she couldn't explain why she did what she did, according to the affidavit. Police said she initially told a false but chilling tale of how a normal, two-hour Sunday drive to visit relatives was interrupted by a brutal attack on her family.

On that Monday morning in October, she showed up on the doorstep of a home in Littleton, claiming that a man she couldn't identify had abducted her and her children. The person who answered the door called 911, and sheriff's deputies located the van with Kehoe's help.

Initially, she denied involvement in the attacks and stood by the statement that she'd been attacked by a stranger.

When pressed by investigators, however, Kehoe said she had purchased a knife a month earlier and duct tape two months earlier, the affidavit states. The document also says that before she and her sons left home Sunday, she wrote a note detailing the abduction by a stranger.

The note was found in the van, according to the affidavit.

The document went on to say: "She stated that it all happened within five minutes and prior to 1:30 pm. She stated she couldn't explain why she had done it. She stated that she couldn't face anyone. She stated that she wanted to die or be locked up where she couldn't hurt anyone."

After speaking with investigators, Kehoe was taken to the hospital to be treated for her own wounds and trauma, said prosecutor Vander Hart, declining to elaborate. She remained there until she was arrested and taken to jail a week ago Saturday.

A plea of not guilty would open the door to a criminal trial, where Kehoe's state of mind would become a key issue, experts say.

Michael Welner, Chairman of the Forensic Panel, interviewed Andrea Yates and testified for the prosecution at her trial. He said the successful insanity defense in Yates' case made what was once an "unthinkable" strategy into a viable defense.

U.S. officials find trace of melamine in baby formula

By Susan Heavey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health officials have found trace amounts of the chemical melamine in one sample of infant formula sold in the United States, a Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

"There's no basis for concern because we're talking about trace levels that are so low ... that there's absolutely no risk," FDA spokeswoman Judy Leon said.

Melamine-tainted formula was found earlier this year in China, where thousands of children fell ill and several died. In September, the FDA sought to assure parents and said there was no similar contamination threat in the United States.

The chemical, normally used to make plastics, has been found in milk power, wheat gluten and other Chinese-made ingredients used in a products ranging from pet food to candy.

Melamine's ability to make foods appear to have higher amounts of protein during testing has made it a cheap but dangerous substitute that can damage the kidneys.

But Leon said that was not the case with the U.S. infant formula, which in September was determined not to be made with any Chinese ingredients.

The new results "are most likely a result of the manufacturing process or what comes into contact with formula in cans. It's not adulteration and it's not contamination," she said.

Leon declined to name the manufacturer of the sample found to contain melamine. U.S.-approved makers include Abbott Nutrition, Bristol-Myers Squibb unit MeadJohnson Nutritionals and Nestle USA.

Representatives of the companies were not immediately available for comment.

The FDA has been expanding tests for melamine in all food products, including infant formula, Leon said. The formula finding came from relatively new, more sensitive tests the agency has deployed in recent weeks.

FDA scientists conducted two tests of the formula sample, one finding a melamine level of 137 parts per billion (ppb) and another measuring 140 ppb. A level of 250 ppb or less is considered a trace amount, Leon said.

But some consumer advocates said it was premature to say there was no risk for infants.

The FDA's earlier determination that 250 ppb of melamine was a trace amount was intended for foods other than infant formula, said Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst with the Environmental Working Group.

"This is out of step with what the FDA said earlier," she told Reuters.

"We need to have a zero-tolerance policy for contaminants in infant formula," Lunder said. "Babies eat only formula for months and months on end. They are exception vulnerable."

Leon said the FDA was in the process of determining what amounts of melamine pose a risk to infants and would release a public advisory later. In the meantime, parents should not change their babies' feeding habits, she said.

"We found one positive test on one sample at a level so low that it has absolutely no impact on the health of babies whatsoever," Leon said. "So there's no reason for any parent to be concerned for any reason."

The FDA was not yet ready to release results of tests of other food products, including dietary supplements, Leon said.

Vick Pleads Guilty to Dogfighting Charge

$873 million Facebook award could add fuel to CAN-SPAM lawsuits

By  Jacqueline Emigh, BetaNews

November 25, 2008, 5:54 PM

Now that courts have awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to both Facebook and MySpace, will more civil lawsuits start smacking spammers directly in their wallets?

In a ruling that looks likely to further the use of the federal CAN-SPAM Act in civil lawsuits, MySpace has been awarded $873 million in damages from a Canadian spammer accused of sending sexually explicit messages to members.

 

The ruling against Adam Guerbuez and Atlantis Blue Capital by federal judge Jeremy Fogel in San Jose, California represents the largest judgment in history for an action brought under CAN-SPAM, according to Max Kelly, Facebook's director of security.

 

"We've all experienced spam -- those unwanted and, sometimes, inappropriate marketing messages. The bad guys behind those messages are always looking to find new ways to annoy people and Facebook's users have been among those targeted. We don't take this affront to our users lying down," Kelly wrote in his blog yesterday.

Signed into law December 16, 2003, CAN-SPAM establishes the United States' first set of national standards for commercial e-mail. The law permits e-mail marketers to send unsolicited commercial e-mail, but only if it meets three basic types of compliance defined in the Act: unsubscribe, content, and sending behavior.

Under "sending behavior compliance," for example, it is illegal under CAN-SPAM to send a message to a harvested e-mail address, through an open relay, or with a false header.

Companies that provide Internet access can sue suspected spammers under the CAN-SPAM Act, as social networks Facebook and MySpace have both already done. In addition, the FTC and other federal and state agencies can enforce the law against organizations under their jurisdiction. The FTC has reportedly brought almost 30 actions against offenders since 2003.

Facebook accused Guerbuez and his apparently fictitious company of sending more than four million illegal messages to members in March and April offering "male enhancement" drugs and other products.

Also under Facebook's complaint, Guerbuez managed to get Facebook logins and passwords of many members, sometimes taking them to phishing sites. Computers would then automatically log into Facebook profiles and send out more spam.

The court found that Guerbuez illegally accessed Facebook's user profile information to start his spamming activities.

In another recent case involving a social networking site, Sanford Wallace
and Walter Rines were found guilty of sending unsolicited advertisements for pornography and gambling Web sites to MySpace users. The two were ordered to pay $230 million to MySpace, the largest reward under CAN-SPAM up to that time.

But it isn't really all about the money, according to Facebook's Kelly, who doubts that Guerbuez will be able to come up with anything close to $873 million to pay the damages.

"We are confident that this award represents a powerful deterrent to anyone and everyone who would seek to abuse Facebook and its users," Kelly wrote.

Facebook is still reportedly investigating spam messages in members' profiles which started offering phony Macy's gift cards last month.

Meanwhile, could the Facebook and MySpace rulings serve as precedents for other anti-spam cases, too? Many civil lawsuits filed by ISPs since 2003 under the CAN-SPAM Act are still pending, although some of these have been settled.