Liver protein crucial for pregnancy

Public release date: 30-Jun-2013
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Contact: William Raillant-Clark
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University of Montreal

Study with mice provides insight into the mechanisms of human reproduction

This news release is available in French.

A protein first shown to function in the liver plays a crucial role in pregnancy in mice and has a key role in the human menstrual cycle, according to researchers at the University of Montreal. Mice that were genetically engineered not to produce the liver receptor homolog-1 (Lrh-1) molecule were unable to create the uterine conditions necessary for establishing and sustaining pregnancy, resulting in the formation of defective placentas. The researchers then showed that Lhr-1 was present in the human uterus and the essential processes related to the success of early gestation. "We previously showed that Lrh-1 is essential for ovulation. Our newest studies have revealed that it is plays an important role in the uterus, raising the possibility that Lrh-1 deficiency contributes to human gestational failure," explained lead author Bruce Murphy, of the university's Animal Reproduction Research Centre. "We worked with mice before looking at human tissues. I believe it premature to propose determination of Lrh-1 in uterine biopsies as a diagnostic tool, but we are working on determining the receptor's pattern of expression across the menstrual cycle."

The researchers also looked at whether hormone replacement therapy might restore normal uterine functions in the mice. "Progesterone did not make a difference. Although hormone therapy allowed for the embryos to implant, we saw problems with the lining in the uterus, compromised formation of the placenta, fetal growth retardation and fetal death," Murphy said. "However, there are new Lrh-1 agonists and antagonists, currently in clinical trials to treat hepatic consequences of type II diabetes, and thus therapeutic intervention might be possible."

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The study was published in Nature Medicine on June 30, 2013, and was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The US National Institutes of Health funded collaborators at Baylor University that contributed to the study. The University of Montreal is officially known as Universit de Montral.

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 30-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: William Raillant-Clark
rw.raillantclark@gmail.com
514-566-3813
University of Montreal

Study with mice provides insight into the mechanisms of human reproduction

This news release is available in French.

A protein first shown to function in the liver plays a crucial role in pregnancy in mice and has a key role in the human menstrual cycle, according to researchers at the University of Montreal. Mice that were genetically engineered not to produce the liver receptor homolog-1 (Lrh-1) molecule were unable to create the uterine conditions necessary for establishing and sustaining pregnancy, resulting in the formation of defective placentas. The researchers then showed that Lhr-1 was present in the human uterus and the essential processes related to the success of early gestation. "We previously showed that Lrh-1 is essential for ovulation. Our newest studies have revealed that it is plays an important role in the uterus, raising the possibility that Lrh-1 deficiency contributes to human gestational failure," explained lead author Bruce Murphy, of the university's Animal Reproduction Research Centre. "We worked with mice before looking at human tissues. I believe it premature to propose determination of Lrh-1 in uterine biopsies as a diagnostic tool, but we are working on determining the receptor's pattern of expression across the menstrual cycle."

The researchers also looked at whether hormone replacement therapy might restore normal uterine functions in the mice. "Progesterone did not make a difference. Although hormone therapy allowed for the embryos to implant, we saw problems with the lining in the uterus, compromised formation of the placenta, fetal growth retardation and fetal death," Murphy said. "However, there are new Lrh-1 agonists and antagonists, currently in clinical trials to treat hepatic consequences of type II diabetes, and thus therapeutic intervention might be possible."

###

The study was published in Nature Medicine on June 30, 2013, and was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The US National Institutes of Health funded collaborators at Baylor University that contributed to the study. The University of Montreal is officially known as Universit de Montral.

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uom-lpc062713.php

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Syrian fighter jets hit central city of Homs

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian warplanes and ground forces bombarded rebel-held neighborhoods in Homs on Saturday as part of the military's ongoing campaign against opposition fighters in the heart of the country's third largest city, activists said.

The army of President Bashar Assad has been on the offensive in recent weeks, reclaiming some of the territory it has lost to the rebels in the past year.

The military, building on its capture of the strategic town of Qusair between the Lebanese border and Homs at the beginning of this month, has overrun a number of villages nearby. It also has hammered the center of the city, a rebel stronghold since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said air strikes hit two districts in the center of the city. It said the army also fired mortar shells into the neighborhoods.

An activist from one of those neighborhoods, Khaldiya, said tanks were also involved in the bombardment, and that the military was trying to push into the area from all sides.

Shelling has been continuous since 10 a.m. in that area and in nearby Old Homs, activist Tariq Bardakhan told The Associated Press via Skype.

"Today is one of the most violent days that Homs has witnessed since the beginning of the revolution," he said.

In an activists' video of the bombardment, several large explosions can be heard as plumes of grey smoke rise from buildings in a densely built-up area of the city.

The narrator of the video says: "These are heavy explosions that hit Homs, God is great." Another shell lands and smoke can be seen rising from behind a mosque. Two minarets are seen in the distance and the narrator says they belong to the historic Khalid Ibn al-Walid mosque in Khaldiya.

The video was posted on the Internet on Saturday and appears consistent with AP's reporting from the area.

The Observatory confirmed clashes around the mosque, and said that part of the building, which dates back to the 13th century and has been damaged in previous fighting, was engulfed in flames.

The Observatory said both sides have sustained casualties, but did not have numbers.

Syrian state TV said the army has had "great success" in the battle for Homs after "killing many terrorists in the Khaldiya district."

Syrian state media refers to rebels fighting to oust Assad from power as "terrorists" and say they are mercenaries of the West and their Gulf Arab allies who are conspiring against Damascus.

The Observatory says more than 100,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since it began as peaceful protests against the Assad regime more than two years ago. It became an armed rebellion after the opposition supporters took up arms to fight the government crackdown.

The United Nations puts the number of civil war casualties at 93,000.

The military has gained momentum after capturing Qusair earlier this month with the help of fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah group, capturing villages on the roads linking the capital to the border area with Jordan and Lebanon.

The rebels have also claimed some victories, marking a successful end to a two-week battle in the south Friday by capturing an army checkpoint in the city of Daraa, the provincial capital of the region that carries the same name.

Daraa is the birthplace of the uprising against Assad and rebels hope to one day launch an offensive from the area to take the capital.

The Observatory reported heavy fighting around the province on Saturday with clashes between the rebels and army troops concentrated in the town of Jassem after the army brought reinforcements.

___

Associated Press writer Yasmin Saker in Beirut contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-fighter-jets-hit-central-city-homs-092130939.html

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Spy program gathered Americans' Internet records

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration gathered U.S. citizens' Internet data until 2011, continuing a spying program started under President George W. Bush that revealed whom Americans exchanged emails with and the Internet Protocol address of their computer, documents disclosed Thursday show.

The National Security Agency ended the program that collected email logs and timing, but not content, in 2011 because it decided it didn't effectively stop terrorist plots, according to the NSA's director, Gen. Keith Alexander, who also heads the U.S. Cyber Command. He said all data was purged in 2011.

Britain's Guardian newspaper on Thursday released documents detailing the collection, though the program was also described earlier this month by The Washington Post.

The latest revelation follows previous leaks from ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who is presumed hiding at a Moscow airport transit area, waiting to hear whether Ecuador, Iceland or another country might grant him asylum. He fled Hong Kong over the weekend and flew to Russia after being charged with violating American espionage laws.

The collection appears similar to the gathering of U.S. phone records, and seems to overlap with the Prism surveillance program of foreigners on U.S. Internet servers, both revealed by Snowden. U.S. officials have said the phone records can only be checked for numbers dialed by a terrorist suspect overseas. According to the documents published by The Guardian on Thursday, the Internet records show whom they exchanged emails with and the specific numeric address assigned to a computer connected to the Internet, known as the IP, or Internet Protocol, address.

The program, described in a top secret draft report from the NSA inspector general, described the efforts of then-NSA Director Gen. Mike Hayden to fill gaps in intelligence gathering after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. One NSA officer quoted in the report described "NSA standing at the U.S. border looking outward for foreign threats" and "the FBI looking within the United States for domestic threats. But no one was looking at the foreign threats coming into the United States. That was the huge gap that NSA wanted to cover."

The draft added that the sweeping phone and Internet data-gathering programs were meant to speed up the process of surveillance of a terrorist suspect overseas, because "the average wait time was between four and six weeks" to get a court order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. "Terrorists could have changed their telephone numbers or Internet addresses" before the NSA received permission to spy on them on U.S.-based phone or Internet systems.

Alexander said at a Baltimore conference on cybersecurity that the NSA decided to kill the Internet data gathering program because "it wasn't meeting what we needed and we thought we could better protect civil liberties and privacy by doing away with it."

He said the program was conducted under provisions of the Patriot Act, and that NSA leaders went to the Obama administration and Congress with the recommendation to shut it down.

Shawn Turner, a spokesman for the director of national intelligence, said the program has not resumed.

The Washington Post had described the Internet surveillance in an earlier report, without publishing the documents or releasing as many details. The Post described it as part of four secret surveillance programs ? two aimed at phone and Internet metadata, while two more target contents of phone and Internet communications.

Alexander, who has been up on Capitol Hill frequently for hearings and meetings since the NSA phone and email surveillance was made public, laid out a broad defense of the programs.

He said he worries that more leaks are coming, adding that "every time a capability is revealed we lose our ability to track those targets."

While never mentioning Snowden by name, Alexander said his irresponsible releases of classified information "will have a long term detrimental impact on the intelligence community's ability to detect future attacks."

He declined to provide more details on what the NSA is doing to prevent such leaks in the future. He has said that the agency is changing passwords and improving its ability to track what system administrators are doing.

On Thursday, he said he was looking at how the leak happened and the people involved. He said the NSA can't do its job without contractors because it doesn't have all the talent or access it needs to do the job.

___

Baldor reported from Baltimore.

___

Follow Kimberly Dozier on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kimberlydozier

Follow Lolita C. Baldor on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lbaldor

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spy-program-gathered-americans-internet-130135139.html

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Vanderbilt dismisses 4 football players

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -

Vanderbilt has dismissed four football players from the team and kicked them off campus while Nashville police investigate whether a sex crime occurred in a campus dormitory.

The school's public affairs department announced Friday that four players ? none of whom it named ? were suspended from the team. The university issued another release Saturday morning indicating they're removed from the team and on interim suspension from the university "effective immediately, pending further investigation and/or a hearing."

School officials say the players can't return to campus "without explicit permission" from the school's office of student conduct and academic integrity.

Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron said Friday that the university's decision was related to the police investigation.

"The well-being of our students is of paramount concern to us, and we will not tolerate any actions that threaten safety and security," Vanderbilt vice chancellor for public affairs Beth Fortune said in a statement released by the university.

Aaron said the department's sex crimes unit began investigating Wednesday after Vanderbilt police notified them about "a matter that is alleged to have occurred at a Vanderbilt University dormitory."

"This is an open and very much active investigation," Aaron said.

Vanderbilt went 9-4 and beat North Carolina State in the Music City Bowl last year for its best season since 1915.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/national/vanderbilt-dismisses-4-football-players-while-nashville-police-investigate-if-sex-crime-occurred

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Katy Perry Was On Lock For Bonnie McKee Vid, But What About George Takei?

McKee tells MTV News about cameos in 'American Girl' clip, which features Kiss, Joan Rivers, Tommy Lee and more.
By Jocelyn Vena

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709797/katy-perry-bonnie-mckee-american-girl.jhtml

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Obama has short list of potential Bernanke successors: source

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House has assembled a short list of candidates to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, a source familiar with the process said on Thursday, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is running the search.

Bernanke is expected to leave when his second term as head of the central bank ends on January 31, after an eventful eight years in helping the U.S. economy recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression.

President Barack Obama hinted in a television interview this month that Bernanke would step down, comparing him to longtime FBI Director Robert Mueller, who agreed to stay two years longer in the job than he had planned, and is now to leave.

Lew has assembled a short list with help from several senior White House officials, the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

There was no information on who is on the list, although Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen, former Obama adviser Lawrence Summers and former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are considered to be likely leading choices.

"We decline to comment on speculation on any personnel matters until the president has made his decisions and is ready to announce them," said Amy Brundage, a White House spokeswoman.

"The president believes that Chairman Bernanke is a vital and excellent partner in promoting our economic recovery and he continues to serve admirably and with distinction during this important time for our country," she said.

BERNANKE SILENT; YELLEN SEEN IN THE LEAD

Bernanke has yet to say whether he would like to serve another four years at the helm of the central bank, but has done little to dampen speculation he is ready to leave.

The likely succession could come at a delicate juncture for U.S. monetary policy.

Bernanke said last week that the central bank expected to lighten up later this year on the amount of money it is pumping into the economy each month through a bond-buying program.

He said the Fed would likely draw that program to a full close around the middle of next year, when policymakers at the central bank expect the jobless rate will have fallen to around 7 percent from its current 7.6 percent.

Those comments spurred a big selloff in stock markets around the globe and sent the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note soaring. It reached a 22-month high of 2.67 percent on Monday.

Fed officials have mounted a concerted effort to convince markets they overreacted to the chairman's remarks, and they have underscored the central bank's commitment to keep overnight interest rate near zero until unemployment drops to at least 6.5 percent. Stock markets have since stabilized and bond yields have fallen back.

The market volatility, however, underscored the tricky task the Fed faces in stepping away from the controversial and unprecedented easing of monetary policy Bernanke led.

To combat the deep recession and heal the scars from the financial crisis that followed the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble, the Fed pressed overnight rates to near zero, where they have been since December 2008. It also more than tripled its balance sheet to $3.4 trillion through a series of bond purchases.

The next chairman of the central bank will likely face the task of unwinding that monetary largesse.

In a Reuters poll of economists earlier this month, the vast majority said Obama was likely to tap Yellen to take over.

Yellen, who has served as Fed vice chair since October 2010, is considered a forceful advocate of aggressive action to lift unemployment. If nominated and confirmed by the Senate, she would be the first woman to lead the central bank.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Douwe Miedema and Tim Ahmann; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-shortlist-succeed-federal-chairman-bernanke-003944227.html

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Kosovo police scuffle with anti-Serbia protesters

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) ? Kosovo police used pepper spray and batons to disperse a crowd of several hundred hardline opposition supporters who tried to stop lawmakers from holding a vote in support of a deal with Serbia.

Dozens were detained by police in riot gear on Thursday outside Kosovo's government and Parliament.

Lawmakers voted 84-3 in favor of the agreement to normalize relations. Members of Self-Determination, an opposition political grouping that opposes talks with Serbia unfolded banners suggesting the deal gives Kosovo territory to Serbia.

Security intervened and removed several opposition members who scuffled with the speaker of the Parliament in an attempt to prevent the deal being put to vote.

The agreement does not resolve the dispute over Kosovo's 2008 secession from Serbia. Serbia does not recognize Kosovo's statehood.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kosovo-police-scuffle-anti-serbia-protesters-140911501.html

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PFT: Pats offering free exchanges on Hernandez jerseys

Getty Images

If the Ravens? qualification for Super Bowl XLVII dusted off long-forgotten memories of the alleged involvement of Ray Lewis in a double murder, the Aaron Hernandez situation has sandblasted them.? And with the Patriots dumping Hernandez the moment he was arrested in connection with the death of Odin Lloyd, the contrast between the respective approaches of the two franchises to situation involving murder became as sharp as possible.

While many believe the Patriots must have had access to inside information about the Hernandez investigation at the time he was cut, the more accurate assumption would be that the Patriots decided early in the process, without the benefit of any specific intelligence about the case, that no employee arrested in connection with a murder investigation is fit to remain employed by the team.

The Ravens came to the exact opposite conclusion.? The man who coached the team at the time, Brian Billick, recently compiled an exhaustive explanation of the team?s reasoning and approach to the Lewis situation.

Billick explains that the team?s decision to rally around Lewis arose from their faith in his ?overall innocence.?? In so doing, Billick implies that the Patriots had no faith in Hernandez?s innocence.

But Lewis was hardly ?innocent.?? Lewis wouldn?t have been arrested, charged, and prosecuted based on no evidence.? Prosecutors routinely walk away from trying to secure a conviction under the very high standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt if they believe that the evidence, while pointing to the defendant?s guilt, nevertheless creates an opening for an ?if it doesn?t fit, you must acquit? concoction of enough doubt to secure an acquittal.? Moreover, judges don?t allow cases to go to trial absent the existence of enough evidence to allow a reasonable jury to conclude that the high bar of proof beyond a reasonable doubt had been met.

For Ray Lewis, the prosecutor eventually decided to cut a deal, and Lewis decided not to tell the prosecutor to pound sand/salt/whatever and force the trial to a verdict.? This wasn?t a case where the charges were dropped with no strings attached.? Lewis pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in order to escape the far more serious charge of murder.

The Ravens had no qualms about welcoming back to the team without suspension or other punishment (other than the $250,000 fine imposed by the league) a man who pleaded guilty to obstructing justice in a murder case.? New England?s swift and decisive action regarding Hernandez this week amounts to a clear statement that, even if Hernandez had simply lied to the police or concealed evidence regarding a murder, any alleged wrongdoing regarding a murder provides enough reason to move on.

Right or wrong, the Ravens treated Ray Lewis far differently than the Patriots treated Hernandez.? And while it seems that Billick may be trying in artful fashion to soften some of the harsh, inescapable realities the Ray Lewis case, the fact remains that the Ravens had no qualms about embracing and defending a man who clearly had enough involvement to result in a judge allowing a murder trial to proceed, and in Lewis eventually entering a guilty plea for a crime related to the killings.? The Patriots, in contrast, opted to have no further involvement with anyone who had done anything, actually or allegedly, that would get him arrested in connection with the intentional death of another human.

For each organization, it sets a precedent that they surely hope they?ll never have to use in a similar case.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/28/pats-offering-free-exchanges-on-hernandez-jerseys/related/

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Trayvon Martin's friend describes final phone call

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) ? A friend who was on the phone with 17-year-old Trayvon Martin moments before he was fatally shot by George Zimmerman testified that she heard the Miami teen shout, "Get off! Get off!" before his telephone went dead.

Rachel Jeantel, 19, recounted to jurors in Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial how Martin told her he was being followed by a man as he walked through the Retreat at Twin Lakes townhome complex on his way back from a convenience store to the home of his father's fiancee.

Jeantel is considered one of the prosecution's most important witnesses because she was the last person to talk to Martin before his encounter with Zimmerman on Feb. 26, 2012.

She testified that Martin described the man following him as "a creepy-ass cracker" and he thought he had evaded him. But she said a short time later Martin let out a profanity.

Martin said Zimmerman was behind him and she heard Martin ask: "What are you following me for?"

She then heard what sounded like Martin's phone earpiece drop into the grass and she heard him say, "Get off! Get off!" The phone then went dead, she said.

Zimmerman, 29, could get life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder for killing Martin. Zimmerman followed him in his truck and called a police dispatch number before he and the teen got into a fight.

Zimmerman has claimed self-defense, saying he opened fire after the teenager jumped him and began slamming his head against the concrete sidewalk. Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic and has denied that his confrontation with the black teenager had anything to do with race, as Martin's family and its supporters have claimed.

Jeantel's testimony came after two former neighbors of Zimmerman testified Wednesday about hearing howls and shouts for help in the moments before the shooting.

Jayne Surdyka told the court that immediately before the shooting, she heard an aggressive voice and a softer voice exchanging words for several minutes in an area behind her townhome at the Retreat at Twin Lakes.

"It was someone being very aggressive and angry at someone," she said.

During the struggle, she said, she saw a person in dark clothes on top of the other person. Martin was wearing a dark sweatshirt and Zimmerman wore red clothing. Surdyka said she saw the person who was on top get off the body after the shot was fired.

Surdyka said she heard cries for help and then multiple gunshots: "pop, pop, pop." Only one shot was fired in the fatal encounter.

"I truly believe the second yell for help was a yelp," said Surdyka, who later dabbed away tears as prosecutors played her 911 call. "It was excruciating. I really felt it was a boy's voice."

During cross-examination, defense attorney Don West tried to show there was a lapse in what Surdyka saw. Defense attorneys contend Martin was on top of Zimmerman during the struggle, but after the neighborhood watch volunteer fired a shot, Zimmerman got on top of Martin.

West also challenged Surdyka about her belief that the cry for help was a boy's voice, saying she was making an assumption.

The other neighbor, Jeannee Manalo, testified that she believed Zimmerman was on top of Martin, saying he was the bigger of the two based on pictures she saw of Martin on television after the fight. Manalo also described hearing howling, but she couldn't tell who it was coming from, and then a "help sound" a short time later.

Under cross-examination, defense attorney Mark O'Mara asked why Manalo had never mentioned her belief that Zimmerman was on top in previous police interviews. He also got her to concede that her perception of Martin's size was based on five-year-old photos on television that showed a younger and smaller Martin.

Martin's parents have said they believe the cries for help heard by neighbors came from their son, while Zimmerman's father believes the cries belong to his son. Both prosecutors and defense attorneys believe they could show whether Zimmerman or Martin was the aggressor in the encounter. Defense attorneys successfully argued against allowing prosecution experts who claimed the cries belonged to Martin.

Jeantel on Wednesday testified that she believed the cries were Martin's because "Trayvon has kind of a baby voice." The defense attorney challenged that, claiming she was less certain in a previous deposition.

Jeantel, 19, also explained that she had initially lied about her age ? she claimed to be 16 ? to protect her privacy when she was initially contacted by an attorney for Martin's family to give a recorded statement over the telephone about what she knew about the few moments before Martin's encounter with Zimmerman. She was expected to finish her testimony on Thursday.

While being cross-examined, Jeantel had several testy exchange with West, including one moment when she prompted the defense attorney to ask his next question: "You can go. You can go."

Before the February 2012 shooting, Zimmerman had made about a half dozen calls to a nonemergency police number to report suspicious characters in his neighborhood. Judge Debra Nelson on Wednesday ruled that they could be played for jurors.

Prosecutors had argued that the police dispatch calls were central to their case that Zimmerman committed second-degree murder since they showed his state of mind. He was increasingly frustrated with repeated burglaries and had reached a breaking point the night he shot the unarmed teenager, prosecutors say.

Defense attorneys argued that the calls were irrelevant and that nothing matters but the seven or eight minutes before Zimmerman fired the deadly shot into Martin's chest.

Seven of the nine jurors and alternates scribbled attentively on their notepads as the calls were played.

___

Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KHightower

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/trayvon-martins-friend-describes-final-phone-call-184329832.html

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South Africa: Mandela improved overnight

Giant photographs of former president Nelson Mandela are displayed at the Nelson Mandela Legacy Exhibition at the Civic Centre in Cape Town, South Africa, Thursday, June 27, 2013. President Jacob Zuma canceled a trip to Mozambique on Thursday in an indication of heightened concern about Mandela, whose health deteriorated last weekend. (AP Photo)

Giant photographs of former president Nelson Mandela are displayed at the Nelson Mandela Legacy Exhibition at the Civic Centre in Cape Town, South Africa, Thursday, June 27, 2013. President Jacob Zuma canceled a trip to Mozambique on Thursday in an indication of heightened concern about Mandela, whose health deteriorated last weekend. (AP Photo)

An arriving wellwisher carries a portrait of Nelson Mandela as he walks down the street outside the entrance to the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa Thursday, June 27, 2013. Makaziwe Mandela, daughter of Nelson Mandela, said Thursday he is in very critical condition but is still opening his eyes and reacting to touch at the South African hospital where he is being treated. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Giant photographs of former president Nelson Mandela are displayed at the Nelson Mandela Legacy Exhibition at the Civic Centre in Cape Town, South Africa, Thursday, June 27, 2013. President Jacob Zuma canceled a trip to Mozambique on Thursday in an indication of heightened concern about Mandela, whose health deteriorated last weekend. (AP Photo)

Granddaughter Ndileka Mandela, center right, with other relatives carry bunches of flowers that were left by wellwishers into the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa Thursday, June 27, 2013. President Jacob Zuma canceled a trip to Mozambique on Thursday in an indication of heightened concern about Mandela, whose health deteriorated last weekend. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

A group of wellwishers run and sing past the entrance to the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa Thursday, June 27, 2013. President Jacob Zuma canceled a trip to Mozambique on Thursday in an indication of heightened concern about Mandela, whose health deteriorated last weekend. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? Nelson Mandela's health improved overnight and his condition remains critical but is now stable, the South African government said Thursday in a statement that brought a measure of relief to the country. One of the former president's daughters said he was still opening his eyes and reacting to the touch of his family even though his situation was precarious.

The report that the health of the 94-year-old anti-apartheid figure had taken a slight turn for the better came amid an increasingly somber mood in South Africa, where religious and traditional leaders have talked openly about the possibility of his death. For some, it dovetailed with the resilience of spirit and physique that Mandela had shown throughout his life, as a boxer, a prisoner, a peacemaker, a president and a humanitarian who inspired the world.

"We know that Madiba is a fighter, he's been a fighter all his life and he's tough," said presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj, using Mandela's clan name. He said the latest medical report had brought "a little bit of relief."

The hint of good news, whether fleeting or not, delighted some South Africans, including those who have delivered flowers and messages of support to the Pretoria hospital where Mandela is being treated. Some felt the national and global outpouring of support for Mandela had helped him, in a kind of reversal of roles with the man who helped his compatriots in the struggle for democracy.

"We are very grateful as South Africans for the promises that we are getting that he is stabilizing right now," said Andy Lembeki, a well-wisher.

President Jacob Zuma's office said he received the update from the medical team that is treating Mandela. Zuma had canceled an international trip on Thursday in a sign of heightened worry, instead visiting Mandela for the second time in two days.

"I canceled my visit to Mozambique today so that I can see him and confer with the doctors," Zuma said in the statement. "He is much better today than he was when I saw him last night."

In April, though, Zuma gave an overly upbeat assessment about Mandela's condition. State television had broadcast footage of a visit by Zuma and other political leaders to Mandela's home. Zuma said at the time that Mandela was in good shape, but the footage showed him silent and unresponsive, even when Zuma tried to hold his hand.

Mandela, who was imprisoned for 27 years during white racist rule and became president in all-race elections in 1994, was taken to a hospital on June 8 for what the government said was a recurring lung infection.

Zuma urged people to pray for Mandela, and continue with their work and daily activities even while he is hospitalized.

The president's office said it was disturbed by what it called rumors about Mandela's health and appealed for respect for the privacy and dignity of the former leader. Unconfirmed reports about Mandela have swirled on social media and other forums.

Makaziwe Mandela, one of Mandela's daughters, echoed the criticism, saying foreign media coverage of her father's illness had become intrusive, particularly at the Pretoria hospital where many journalists have gathered.

"There's sort of a racist element with many of the foreign media, where they just cross boundaries," she said in the SABC interview. "It's like truly vultures waiting when a lion has devoured a buffalo, waiting there for the last carcasses. That's the image that we have, as a family."

She said: "We don't mind the interest. But I just think it has gone overboard."

In comments posted on the SABC website, Makaziwe Mandela said "anything is imminent" because her father, referred to affectionately by many South Africans as "Tata," or "Father," is in a very critical state.

"I want to emphasize again that it's only God who knows when the time to go is," she said. "So we will wait with Tata. He's still giving us hope by opening his eyes, he's still reactive to touch, we will live with that hope until the final end comes."

Beginning a trip to Africa, President Obama said in Senegal on Thursday that his thoughts and prayers were with South Africans and in particular the Mandela family. He said he was inspired, as a law school student in the early 1990s, to see Mandela step forward after decades of imprisonment to help deliver democracy in a spirit of reconciliation with his former captors.

"It gave me a sense of what is possible in the world when righteous people, when people of good will, work together on behalf of a larger cause," said Obama, who described Mandela as a personal hero.

"And if and when he passes from this place, one thing I think we'll all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the ages," Obama said.

In Jerusalem, the visiting archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said Mandela has been in his thoughts and prayers.

"We're praying constantly for President Mandela, especially for his family, for the people of South Africa and for peace in their hearts and minds of what must be a very traumatic time for them," he said at an interfaith meeting.

Mandela's 95th birthday is on July 18, an occasion ahead of which South African organizers and others around the world are planning humanitarian acts to honor the legacy of the former president. Samson Divhula, a statistician in Pretoria, said he hoped Mandela would live at least until his day.

"If God takes him before he reaches his 95th birthday, so be it," he said. "We'll accept it and wish Mandela well and still celebrate his 95th birthday."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-27-AF-South-Africa-Mandela/id-7fb6c7aa6b224b35855f1761cf0f670e

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Gene deletion affects early language and brain white matter

June 27, 2013 ? A chromosomal deletion is associated with changes in the brain's white matter and delayed language acquisition in youngsters from Southeast Asia or with ancestral connections to the region, said an international consortium led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine. However, many such children who can be described as late-talkers may overcome early speech and language difficulties as they grow.

The finding involved both cutting edge technology and two physicians with an eye for unusual clinical findings. Dr. Seema R. Lalani, a physician-scientist at BCM and Dr. Jill V. Hunter, professor of radiology at BCM and Texas Children's Hospital, worked together to identify this genetic change responsible for expressive language delay and brain changes in children, predominantly from Southeast Asia.

Lalani, assistant professor of molecular and human genetics at BCM, is a clinical geneticist and also signs out diagnostic studies called chromosomal microarray analysis, a gene chip that helps identify abnormalities in specific genes and chromosomes, as part of her work at BCM's Medical Genetics Laboratory.

"I got intrigued when I kept seeing this small (genomic) change in children from a large sample of more than 15,000 children referred for chromosomal microarray analysis at Baylor College of Medicine. These children were predominantly Burmese refugees or of Vietnamese ancestry living in the United States. It started with two children whom I evaluated at Texas Children's Hospital and soon realized that there was a pattern of early language delay and brain imaging abnormalities in these individuals carrying this deletion from this part of the world. Within a period of two to three years, we found 13 more families with similar problems, having the same genetic change. There were some children who obviously were more affected than the others and had cognitive and neurological problems, but many of them were identified as late-talkers who had better non-verbal skills compared to verbal performance," said Lalani. Hunter, helped in determining the specific pattern of white matter abnormalities in the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans in children and their parents carrying this deletion. Most of the children either came from Southeast Asia or were the offspring of people from that area. (White matter is the paler material in the brain that consists of nerve fibers covered with myelin sheaths.)

Now, in a report that appears online in the American Journal of Human Genetics, Lalani, Hunter and an international group of collaborators identify a genomic deletion on chromosome 2 that is associated with bright white spots that show up in an MRI in the white matter of the brain . The chromosomal deletion removes a portion of a gene known as TM4SF20 that encodes a protein that spans the cellular membrane. They do not know yet what the function of the protein is. They found this genetic change in children from 15 unrelated families mainly from Southeast Asia.

"This deletion could be responsible for early childhood language delay in a large number of children from this part of the world," says Lalani.

She credits Dr. Wojciech Wiszniewski, an assistant professor of molecular and human genetics at BCM with doing much of the work. Wiszniewski has an interest in genomic disorders and is working under the mentorship of Dr. James R. Lupski, vice chair of the department of molecular and human genetics.

Lupski said, "Professor Lalani has made a stunning discovery in that she provides evidence that population-specific intragenic CNV (copy number variation -- a deletion or duplication of the chromosome) can contribute to genetic susceptibility of even common complex disease such as speech delay in children."

"In a way, this is a good news story," said Hunter. There is evidence from family studies that some of these children may do quite well in the future, said Lalani.

Lalani elaborates. "This is a genetic change that is present in 2 percent of Vietnamese Kinh population (an ethnic group that makes up 90 percent of the population in that country)," she said. "In the 15 families we have identified, all children have early language delay. Some are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, and if you do a brain MRI study, you find white matter changes in about 70 percent of them. We have found this change in children who are Vietnamese, Burmese, Thai, Indonesian, Filipino and and Micronesian. It is very likely that children from other Southeast Asian countries within this geographical distribution also carry this genetic change."

Because these are all within a geographic location, she suspects that there is an ancient founder effect, meaning that at some point in the distant past, the gene deletion occurred spontaneously in an individual, who then passed it on to his or her children and to succeeding generations.

"It is important to follow these children longitudinally to see how these late-talkers develop as they grow," said Lalani. "We have also seen this deletion in children whose parents clearly were late-talkers themselves, but overcame the earlier problems to become doctors and professionals. The variability within the deletion carriers is fascinating and brings into question genetic and environmental modifiers that contribute to the extent of disease in these children.

Language delays mean that they may speak only two or three words at age 2, in comparison to other children who would generally have between 75-100 word vocabulary by this age. While there is evidence that children with this deletion may catch up, it is unclear if they continue to have better non-verbal skills than verbal skills. It is also unclear how the specific brain changes correlate with communication disorders in these children.

In fact, when doctors check the parents of these children, they often find similar white matter changes in the parent carrying the deletion. "Young parents in their 30s should not have age-related white matter changes in the brain and these changes should definitely not be present in healthy children," said Lalani. Hunter said they are not sure how the gene variation relates to the changes in brain white matter and how all of these result in delay in language.

Others who took part in this work include Neil A. Hanchard, Chad Shaw, Qi Tian, Anna Illner, Xueqing Wang, Sau W. Cheung, Ankita Patel, Ian Campbell, Patricia Hixson, Audrey R. Ester, Mahshid S. Azamian, Lorraine Potocki, Gladys Zapata, Patricia P. Hernandez, Melissa B. Ramocki, Regie L.P. Santos-Cortez, Gao Wang, Michele K. York, Monica Justice, Zili D. Chu, Heather P. Crawford, Carlos A. Bacino, Adiaha I.A. Franklin, Robin Goin-Kochel, Pawel Stankiewicz, Arthur L. Beaudet, Mirjana Maletic-Savatic, John W. Belmont, Suzanne M. Leal, Muhammad E. Haque, Marija Stosic, and Penelope Bonnen ; all of BCM; Jason R. Willer, Erica E. Davis, and Nicholas Katsanis, all of Duke University Medical Center in Duham, North Carolina; Nirupama S. Madduri, Misti D. Williams, Thomas M. Morgan, Sumit Pruthi and Reed Omary of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennesee; Gunter Scharer of Children's Hospital in Aurora, Colorado, Pattamawadee Yanatatsaneejit and Apiwat Mutirangua of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand; Anna Eifert of the Department of Speech and Language at Texas Children's Hospital; Jeffery Kerr, Gayle Simpson and Ladonna Immken of Dell Children's Medical Center in Austin, Texas; Patricia I. Bader and Lisa Omo-Griffith of Northeast Indiana Genetic Counseling Center in Fort Wayne; Simeon A. Boyadjiev of University of California Davis; Kay K. Win Harlem Hospital Center in New York; Aye Thida of Allcare Pediatrics in Missouri City, Texas; Matthew Hurlesof Wellcome Trust Sanger Institutue in Cambridge, United Kingdom; Martin Lloyd Hibberd and Chiea Chuen Khor of Genome Institute of Singapore; Nguyen Van Vinh Chau, Sarah Dunstan and Cameron Simmons of the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Thomas E. Gallagher of Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii; Jill A. Rosenfeld of Signature Genomic Laboratories of PerkinElmer, Inc. in Spokane, Washington and Lisa G. Shaffer of Paw Print Genetics in Spokane, Washington.

Funding for this work came from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Gillson Longenbaugh Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (RO1-HL091771) and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (RO1-NS058529-03, Career Development Award K23NS078056 ( Wiszniewski) and 5K08NS062711), the National Human Genome Research Institute (5U54HG006542), the Molecular Medicine Scholars Program at BCM (HL-66991), the McKnight Endowment for Science, Dana Foundation, and the NIH Intellectual and the Developmental Disabilities Research Grant (P30HD024064), the Children's Medical Network endowed chair in pediatric genetics.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/f4YOlHKBWoE/130627125158.htm

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Mexico breaks silence on US immigration bill: 'Walls aren't the solution'

Mexico has been quiet in recent years on the US immigration debate after former President Vicente Fox's vocal push for US reform prompted criticism.

By Lauren Villagran,?Correspondent / June 26, 2013

The Arizona-Mexico border fence near Naco, Arizona, March 29. Mexico breaks its silence on the US immigration reform debate this week, declaring that 'walls aren?t the solution.'

Samantha Sais/Reuters

Enlarge

Mexico broke its silence on the United States immigration reform debate this week, declaring that ?walls aren?t the solution.?

Skip to next paragraph Lauren Villagran

Mexico Correspondent

Lauren Villagran is a freelance correspondent in Mexico City for The Christian Science Monitor and other publications. Previously, she worked for the Associated Press in New York. She holds a degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

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US lawmakers are considering extending the border fence as part of the added security measures that would accompany plans to provide legal status to more than 11 million immigrants, the majority of them Mexican.

Foreign Minister Jos? Antonio Meade said the legislation would benefit Mexico?s countrymen in the US. But he also warned that the proposed fence extension could impact commerce, and the enormous legal flow of products and people across the border each day.

?Walls aren?t the solution to the migratory phenomenon, and they aren?t congruent with a modern and secure border,? he told media on Tuesday. ?They don?t contribute to the development of the competitive region that both countries want to encourage.?

Seventy percent of bilateral commerce happens over the border via trucks, and it?s worth $1 million per minute, Mr. Meade said. More than 1 million people cross the US-Mexico border legally every day.

Mexico has been publicly quiet in recent years on the US debate over immigration reform after former President Vicente Fox's vocal push for US reform appeared to some to be an overreach. He made specific demands, including wanting to see reform by "year end." That was in early September 2001, days before the 9/11 terrorist attacks that would set the country on a new course and see immigration reform fall by the wayside.

During the current US debate, the Mexican government has kept mum ??at least publicly ??on the legislation, saying the debate is an internal domestic issue. But Meade said that Mexico has sustained a ?permanent dialogue? with everyone involved since lawmakers began crafting the bill.

?Our country has let the United States government know that measures that could affect links between [border] communities detract from the principles of shared responsibility and neighborliness that both nations agreed upon.?

On the issue of shared responsibility: Over the past year, Mexico has found itself in the uncomfortable position of deterring increased illegal immigration through its own territory.

Illegal immigration between Mexico and the US fell to net zero last year, meaning that the number of crossers and returnees roughly canceled each other. However, in Texas? Rio Grande Valley, US authorities saw an increase in apprehensions of migrants ??the vast majority from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, according to a report by the Washington Office on Latin America. Mexico recently announced that Marines would take over securing its southern border.

As the US debate over the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 gains steam, Meade noted Mexico?s requests are rooted in its desire for stronger economic development. These include the modernization of the infrastructure and administration of border ports of entry and measures that better facilitate the transit of products and people.

During last month?s meeting in Mexico, Presidents Enrique Pe?a Nieto and Barack Obama promoted the idea of a unified economic region saying they could better compete globally, together.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/7OZNkVDQZ-o/Mexico-breaks-silence-on-US-immigration-bill-Walls-aren-t-the-solution

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Study details cancer-promoting mechanisms of overlooked components in secondhand smoke

Public release date: 25-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Garth Sundem
garth.sundem@ucdenver.edu
University of Colorado Denver

Small PAHs promote the cancer-causing abilities of more known components like BaP

Tobacco smoke, diesel exhaust and oil combustion carry polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs that are known to cause cancer. But of these PAHs, the obviously dangerous high-molecular-weight PAHs like benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) have received the vast majority of research attention. Their low-molecular-weight cousins have been largely overlooked, in part because studies have shown that these compounds alone aren't very successful at mutating genes in cancer-causing ways.

A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal PLoS One explores two of these low-molecular-weight (LMW) PAHs 1-methylanthracene (1-MeA) and 2-methylanthracene (2-MeA) and shows that while they don't necessarily cause cancer, 1-MeA promotes conditions that will likely allow cancer to grow.

"There's a big distinction between initiating cancer and promoting it," says Alison Bauer, PhD, CU Cancer Center investigator and assistant professor at the Colorado School of Public Health. Her study showed that in a mouse cell model using a progenitor cell of lung cancer, the LMW 1-MeA promoted inflammation and increased mitogenic pathways, both of which are linked to tumor promotion. 2-MeA, while nearly structurally identical, did not.

"These LMW PAHs have been considered less of a concern," Bauer says, "but we're finding evidence that's not the case. They're not likely initiating the cancer, but it looks as if they could promote it."

Among other effects, Bauer and colleagues found that 1-MeA disrupts communication between cells, affecting the "gap junctions" across which adjoining cells pass information. 1-MeA also upregulates the gene COX2, which has been shown in other studies to create an over-aggressive inflammatory response and this inflammation in turn can promote tumor growth.

"There are many different PAHs in secondhand smoke," Bauer says. "Some are obviously dangerous like BaP, which directly mutates genes. Others, like 1-MeA, we known very little about. Think about all these PAHs like chess pieces first you have to know how each piece moves and then you can start looking at how they all work together."

Bauer points to these PAH mixtures as the next step in research. Eventually, knowing the effects of these mixtures could help evaluate the risks of different combustion products. The work could also lead to new therapy targets if, perhaps, some of the changes promoted by these LMW PAHs prove preventable or reversible by medicines.

"With smoking rates decreasing, we think this problem is going away, but high levels of secondhand smoke still exist in the U.S., for example in some apartment buildings," Bauer says. "And around the world, in China, Russia, Poland and many other countries, secondhand smoke is still a major issue. Knowing the effects of these LMW PAHs like 1-MeA could help us prevent or treat cancers associated with them."

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 25-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Garth Sundem
garth.sundem@ucdenver.edu
University of Colorado Denver

Small PAHs promote the cancer-causing abilities of more known components like BaP

Tobacco smoke, diesel exhaust and oil combustion carry polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs that are known to cause cancer. But of these PAHs, the obviously dangerous high-molecular-weight PAHs like benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) have received the vast majority of research attention. Their low-molecular-weight cousins have been largely overlooked, in part because studies have shown that these compounds alone aren't very successful at mutating genes in cancer-causing ways.

A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal PLoS One explores two of these low-molecular-weight (LMW) PAHs 1-methylanthracene (1-MeA) and 2-methylanthracene (2-MeA) and shows that while they don't necessarily cause cancer, 1-MeA promotes conditions that will likely allow cancer to grow.

"There's a big distinction between initiating cancer and promoting it," says Alison Bauer, PhD, CU Cancer Center investigator and assistant professor at the Colorado School of Public Health. Her study showed that in a mouse cell model using a progenitor cell of lung cancer, the LMW 1-MeA promoted inflammation and increased mitogenic pathways, both of which are linked to tumor promotion. 2-MeA, while nearly structurally identical, did not.

"These LMW PAHs have been considered less of a concern," Bauer says, "but we're finding evidence that's not the case. They're not likely initiating the cancer, but it looks as if they could promote it."

Among other effects, Bauer and colleagues found that 1-MeA disrupts communication between cells, affecting the "gap junctions" across which adjoining cells pass information. 1-MeA also upregulates the gene COX2, which has been shown in other studies to create an over-aggressive inflammatory response and this inflammation in turn can promote tumor growth.

"There are many different PAHs in secondhand smoke," Bauer says. "Some are obviously dangerous like BaP, which directly mutates genes. Others, like 1-MeA, we known very little about. Think about all these PAHs like chess pieces first you have to know how each piece moves and then you can start looking at how they all work together."

Bauer points to these PAH mixtures as the next step in research. Eventually, knowing the effects of these mixtures could help evaluate the risks of different combustion products. The work could also lead to new therapy targets if, perhaps, some of the changes promoted by these LMW PAHs prove preventable or reversible by medicines.

"With smoking rates decreasing, we think this problem is going away, but high levels of secondhand smoke still exist in the U.S., for example in some apartment buildings," Bauer says. "And around the world, in China, Russia, Poland and many other countries, secondhand smoke is still a major issue. Knowing the effects of these LMW PAHs like 1-MeA could help us prevent or treat cancers associated with them."

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uocd-sdc062513.php

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High court gay marriage decisions due Wednesday

Gay rights advocate Vin Testa waves a rainbow flag in front of the Supreme Court at sun up in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Justices are expected to hand down major rulings on two gay marriage cases that could impact same-sex couples across the country. One is a challenge to California's voter-enacted ban on same-sex marriage. The other is a challenge to a provision of federal law that prevents legally married gay couples from receiving a range of tax, health and pension benefits. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Gay rights advocate Vin Testa waves a rainbow flag in front of the Supreme Court at sun up in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Justices are expected to hand down major rulings on two gay marriage cases that could impact same-sex couples across the country. One is a challenge to California's voter-enacted ban on same-sex marriage. The other is a challenge to a provision of federal law that prevents legally married gay couples from receiving a range of tax, health and pension benefits. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

FILE - This Nov. 2, 2008 file photo shows supporters of Proposition 8, the state?s measure that banned same sex marriages, in front of city hall during a Yes on Prop. 8 rally in Los Angeles. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling that will determine the fate of California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages on Wednesday morning, June 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 5, 2008 file photo, Joni Boettcher, left, kisses her roommate Tika Shenghur during a protest march down Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood , Calif. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling that will determine the fate of California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages on Wednesday morning. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Supreme Court is meeting to deliver opinions in two cases that could dramatically alter the rights of gay people across the United States.

The justices are expected to decide their first-ever cases about gay marriage Wednesday in their last session before the court's summer break.

The issues before the court are California's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denies legally married gay Americans a range of tax, health and pension benefits otherwise available to married couples.

The broadest possible ruling would give gay Americans the same constitutional right to marry as heterosexuals. But several narrower paths also are available, including technical legal outcomes in which the court could end up saying very little about same-sex marriage.

If the court overturns California's Proposition 8 or allows lower court rulings that struck down the ban to stand, it will take about a month for same-sex weddings to resume for the first time since 2008, San Francisco officials have said.

The high court rulings are arriving amid rapid change regarding gay marriage. The number of states permitting same-sex partners to wed has doubled from six to 12 in less than a year, with voter approval in three states in November, followed by legislative endorsement in three others in the spring.

At the same time, an effort to legalize gay marriage in Illinois stalled before the state's legislative session ended last month. And 30 states have same-sex marriage bans enshrined in their constitutions.

Massachusetts was the first state to allow same-sex couples to marry, in 2004. Same-sex marriage also is legal, or soon will be, in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

Roughly 18,000 same-sex couples got married in California in less than five months in 2008, after the California Supreme Court struck down a state code provision prohibiting gay unions.

California voters approved Proposition 8 in November of that year, writing the ban into the state's constitution.

Two same-sex couples challenged the provision as unconstitutional and federal courts in California agreed.

The federal marriage law, known by its acronym DOMA, defines marriage as between a man and a woman for the purpose of deciding who can receive a range of federal benefits. Another provision not being challenged for the time being allows states to withhold recognition of same-sex marriages from other states.

DOMA easily passed Congress and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, the year of his re-election.

Several federal district and appeals courts struck down the provision. In 2011, the Obama administration abandoned its defense of the law but continued to enforce it. House Republicans are now defending DOMA in the courts. President Barack Obama subsequently endorsed gay marriage in 2012.

The justices chose for their review the case of 83-year-old Edith Windsor of New York, who sued to challenge a $363,000 federal estate tax bill after her partner of 44 years died in 2009.

Windsor, who goes by Edie, married Thea Spyer in 2007 after doctors told them Spyer would not live much longer. She suffered from multiple sclerosis for many years. Spyer left everything she had to Windsor.

Windsor would have paid nothing in inheritance taxes if she had been married to a man.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-06-26-Supreme%20Court-Gay%20Marriage/id-443d4b0133b54dcba115bde17e502929

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Diddy hopes to bring music back to TV with Revolt

FILE - This Oct. 16, 2012, file photo, shows Sean "Diddy" Combs at the National Action Network's 3rd Annual Triumph Awards in New York. Diddy announced last week that he reached a deal with Time Warner Cable to launch a music network called Revolt TV this fall. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - This Oct. 16, 2012, file photo, shows Sean "Diddy" Combs at the National Action Network's 3rd Annual Triumph Awards in New York. Diddy announced last week that he reached a deal with Time Warner Cable to launch a music network called Revolt TV this fall. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Diddy had been working on developing a TV network for years. When he was almost shut out of performing on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" around the release of a 2010 album, the rapper-producer realized he needed to launch the network sooner rather than later.

"I had to beg to be on ... 'Dancing With the Stars' and it was something to me that wasn't right about that," he said.

Diddy believed there weren't enough outlets for musicians on TV ? and that moment drove home the point.

He's launching Revolt TV in the fall.

"There's ESPN for sports, CNN, Fox News for news and the AP. There should be a brand for music, and now we have that brand that's going to focus on music and not reality shows," he said. "There's been a gaping hole once some of the other channels stopped having focus on music and focused more on reality, and it left a gaping hole for artists and fans of not having a place to go."

The 43-year-old entrepreneur announced last week that Revolt TV had reached a deal to have his network distributed on Time Warner Cable. Comcast Corp. announced a deal with Diddy's network last year.

Sean "Diddy" Combs has produced shows like "Making the Band" for MTV, and he's hoping to bring the flavor of what's buzzing on the Internet ? viral videos, behind-the-scene music moments and raw interviews ? to TV sets. He's "embracing" what's happening online and plans to tap into that audience.

"We want to have partnerships with YouTube and we want to have partnerships with Facebook and Instagram and Spotify and Beats (by Dre)," he said. "We're all in this together."

MTV, which has shifted to reality TV, occasionally plays music videos, and there are channels like MTV Hits and VH1 Soul that show videos throughout the day. Diddy said Revolt TV will proudly play music videos, but "this is not an MTV 2 (or) 3.0."

"I wanted my MTV and so when I missed it, I didn't want to complain about it, I wanted to do something about it," he said. "They inspired me and helped with the blueprint."

Diddy, whose brand includes movies, fragrances, fashion lines and endorsements, said he's making sure Revolt TV isn't Diddy TV. He said Oprah Winfrey, who launched her OWN network in 2011, warned him of the hardships that would come with owning a network.

"One of the things I did learn from Oprah is that this is a marathon, not a sprint," he said.

____

Online:

http://www.revolt.tv

____

Follow Mesfin Fekadu on Twitter: twitter.com/MusicMesfin

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-06-25-People-Diddy/id-4c80cb5314714ea48509cf2f15775085

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