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By Wendell Roelf

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Ten striking South African miners were taken to hospital on Tuesday after being hit by rubber bullets, police said, as labour strife spread ahead of mid-year pay negotiations.

As well as the violence at a chromium mine, the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) said it wanted a 20 percent industry-wide salary rise after a two-day stoppage at a Mercedes-Benz plant in East London.

"If our demands are not met we will have no option but to go to the streets," union treasurer Mphumzi Maqungo told Reuters. The union, which has 230,000 members, issued the same demand to state power utility Eskom.

The events underscored the fragility of labour relations in Africa's biggest economy since last year's mine unrest in which at least 50 people were killed - including 34 shot dead by police at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine.

The rand plunged beyond 9.50 to the dollar for the first time since early 2009, extending its two-week slide, after police said security guards had fired rubber bullets at stone-throwing wildcat strikers at a chrome mine near the town of Rustenburg, 120 km (70 miles) northwest of Johannesburg.

The mining firm, Germany's Laxness, said the guards had fired rubber bullets into the ground in self-defence and contradicted the police tally, saying only two miners had been hit and three more injured in the commotion.

With economic growth this year forecast at less than 3 percent, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan urged the government, unions and employers to avoid turmoil in mid-year wage rounds known as "strike season".

CONFIDENCE

"If we do not resolve our labour relations challenges, we will be losers. We will see deteriorating confidence, job losses and business failures," Gordhan told parliament in Cape Town.

In previous years, unions have started the bargaining process with lofty wage demands that are then whittled down to something slightly above inflation, now around 6 percent.

However, the usual dance between workers and management has been upset by a vicious turf war between mining unions that spilled over into deadly violence last year.

Last week, Lonmin suffered a wildcat walkout at Marikana after a gunman shot dead a union official in a bar and the National Union of Mineworkers said it would push for a pay rise of 60 percent for some categories of miner.

South Africa's carmakers saw minor labour disruptions in 2012 but investors fear a repeat of the wage-related strikes that crippled the sector two years previously as the economy was struggling to shrug off a 2009 recession.

Car industry bosses dismissed NUMSA's demands, setting the stage for a showdown when a three-year wage deal worth around 10 percent a year expires at the end of next month.

"It is common cause that the employers will not settle at 20 percent," said Thapelo Molapo, chairman of the Automobile Manufacturing Employers' Organisation.

The rand's 6 percent slide in two weeks is likely to stoke inflation and has killed any hopes of a growth-boosting interest rate cut from a central bank policy meeting on Thursday.

The currency has suffered its longest run of losing sessions since June 2008, when Eskom had to impose rolling blackouts.

The power cuts cost billions of dollars in lost output but, with the southern hemisphere winter closing in and demand climbing, the utility admits it may have to flick the switch once more to prevent the system tripping out.

Rising prices, union turmoil and a limping economy could yet damage the African National Congress in an election due early next year, although there is little chance that it will lose its outright majority in parliament.

(Additional reporting by Agnieszka Flak and David Dolan; Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mercedes-south-africa-strike-ends-union-demands-sector-102617891.html

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This is China's stealth combat drone, an airplane that seems very similar to the American Northrop Grumman X-47B. The unmanned combat air vehicle was photographed while performing taxiing tests. Given the development speed of China's other military airplanes, it wouldn't be surprising to see this in flight in the next few weeks.

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In theory, Europe Day should be comparable to Bastille Day in France or the Fourth of July in the US. Instead, it?s hard to find people who actually know what it is.

One history professor did, but this was his take: ?It?s nothing.? Pieter Lagrou, a contemporary European history professor at the Free University of Brussels, says he likes to tell his students the obscurity of the holiday marks "the symbolic deficit of Europe.?

The central question of "What is Europe?" is being picked apart across and beyond the continent. In the midst of debt crisis, nations are fighting to get in, questioning getting out and even splitting in two, and bickering over banking unions and political control and sovereignty.

On the ground ? the level at which citizens take time to raise a flag and celebrate, or at least ponder, their national founding ? it?s also an exceedingly hard question to answer.

Dr. Lagrou used himself as an example. He?s a Dutch-speaking Belgian, living in bilingual Brussels, with a French employer. His regional government and federal government are accountable to him. But so are his EU representatives.

If he, for example, cared deeply about a jobs-creation program, would it be his federal government or the EU that he should contact, and among the latter, who holds the control among the European Commission, the European Council, and the European Parliament?

?The political landscape is increasingly difficult,? he says.

As a journalist new to Europe, I made Brussels, the heart of the European Union, my first stop on the European circuit. Perhaps it would have been better to visit the EU capitals first and then Brussels, where it?s harder than most places to know whom you need to talk to, who holds the power, and how it all works.

I walked through the city, which is the first thing I usually do when I arrive somewhere new. I went to the European district, past the European Parliament and the Commission. I went to the daily Commission press briefing. There were only a few questions asked: about funding proposals in Spain for the unemployed, EU representation at the International Monetary Fund, and Macedonia. All answers were about the same: ?We can?t speculate, we can?t answer at this point.? None of them shed any light on how the EU works.

I told many people that I couldn?t get my head around it. Without fail, they all replied, ?Don?t worry, neither can most Europeans.?

They were joking to a certain extent (at least those who work for the EU). But Lagrou says there is a risk here. To many, the EU has become a giant bureaucracy ?without a face or identity,? he says. In the face of crisis ? as real fault lines are forming between nations, especially over austerity ? many are increasingly losing faith in the project.

Each year, around Europe Day, the EU opens its doors to the public, so citizens get an inside look at the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council of the European Union, the Commission, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, and the Office of the Ombudsman. These kinds of events, of any governmental institution, are often disregarded as hokey. But it might be as important a time as ever to sign up for the tour. I know I wish I had.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/SlyPw3vRIq4/It-s-Europe-Day-but-Europeans-don-t-seem-to-know

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We're geeks. We get it. Our phones, be they Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, or Windows Phone, are among the most important things in our lives. We use them for everything, all the time. But in some situations our phones can get in the way, like on a first date. So, from one geek to another, I'm going to share ten basic tips on how to keep your smartphone from ruining a potentially great new relationship... by keeping it in your pants!

Here are the bullet points, watch the video for the details!

Don't use your phone during a first date. Your attention should be on the person you're with, not the device in your hand.
Turn your ringer off. Turn vibration off. Turn notifications off. Go into bedside mode, do not disturb mode, or whatever it takes to keep your phone quiet.
Turning your phone away isn't as good as putting it away. Really, it has to be out of sight to be out of mind.
If you're expecting an emergency call, be upfront about it. Knowing really is half the battle.
$#!+ happens. If you forget to turn your phone off and it goes off, apologize, put it away, and get back to your date.
If your date leaves the area, that's not an excuse to jump back to your phone. If you do decide to text your friend, make sure you don't get caught.
And don't post anything to a public social network your date might see, especially not without their consent.
If your date leaves their phone behind, that's also not an invitation to start snooping. Take a deep breath and leave their phone alone.
Pay attention to your date. Keep eye contact. Use their name. Make sure they feel like the most important person in the room.
Know when to break the rules. If your date wants a picture, to bump phones for contacts, to set up a second date, then do it!

There they are, my tips for how to have a great, phone-free first date. I'd love to hear your tips too, so hit up the comments and tell me what you think! (Especially if you have any juicy phone-related dating stories to share!!)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/UdSdlm25Bug/story01.htm

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Voters in Portland, Ore., will decide tomorrow (May 21) whether the city will begin fluoridating its water. For weeks, residents have been contentiously debating water fluoridation, the addition of fluoride to public water supplies for the purpose of reducing cavities and tooth decay.

Portland is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States that doesn't add fluoride to public drinking water supplies. Currently, two-thirds of Americans have fluoridated public water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The debate has split the relatively liberal city, causing a "civil war amongst progressives," as the Oregonian put it. Pro-fluoride groups say that fluoridation will help reduce cavities among poor children who don't have access to dental care. Those in the opposing camp object to fluoridation's possible negative health effects, like impaired brain development and function, and say the practice amounts to forced medication of the populace without consent.

If Portland voters decide to keep fluoride out of their water, it would be the fourth time since the 1950s that the city has rejected it, according to government records. That makes it unique amongst large American cities, most of which have implemented it.

The groups against fluoridation include the local union representing Oregon Department of Environmental Quality employees, and the local chapter of the Sierra Club, which has said fluoridation would endanger the health of rivers, wildlife and people.

Portland's chapter of the NAACP has also voted to oppose the measure. "Children growing up in communities of color already face risks from many different environmental chemicals, and they do not need more chemicals added to their drinking water," NAACP political chair Cheryl Carter told Willamette Week, a local publication.

Fluoridation is supported by the American Medical Association, the American Dental Association and the CDC, which lists it as one of the top 10 most important public health measures of the 20th century. It is also supported by dental and medical groups such as Kaiser Permanente and the Oregon Dental Association, as well as several groups that represent people of color and low-income communities, according to Slate.

Groups on both sides have spent money on ads and fliers that have been distributed around the city. Pro-fluoridation groups have a lot more funds than their opponents. As of May 20, the main fluoridating group, Healthy Kids, Healthy Portland, had received $845,870.45. The main anti-fluoridation group, Clean Water Portland, got less than one-third of that, at $269,439.09, according to the Oregon Secretary of State.

A poll of likely voters conducted on May 16, by local ABC News affiliate KATU-TV, found a 13-percentage point lead among those against fluoridation. However, "in a low-turnout election, any outcome remains possible," the station noted.

Fluoridation began on a small scale in the 1940s in Grand Rapids, Mich., and later in towns in New York State. It caused a fair amount of debate about its effectiveness and possible health effects in the 1950s and 1960s, but the arguments faded from the national conversation as the process garnered the support of most large medical and dental groups.

Tooth decay, when left untreated, can lead to serious health problems, such as infections that can spread into the jaw. Tooth decay has declined in the United States since fluoridation began; however, it has also declined in other countries that do not fluoridate, said William Hirzy, a chemist at American University who worked at the Environmental Protection Agency for 27 years before leaving in 2008.

A 2009 study that tracked fluoride consumption and exposure in more than 600 Iowan children found no significant link between fluoride exposure and tooth decay, said Kathleen Thiessen, a scientist at SENES Oak Ridge Inc., an environmental risk-assessment company.

Americans are now exposed to many more sources of fluoride than when the practice of fluoridation began, Hirzy told LiveScience. Until about the year 2000, it wasn't widely acknowledged by the public health community that fluoride primarily works topically. That means there is no benefit to swallowing it and exposing your whole body to the substance, said Hirzy, who is opposed to fluoridation.

And while the issue remains contentious, new evidence suggests that fluoride could be linked to unforeseen health effects at concentrations nearing those put into water. Studies have linked fluoride exposure to bone fractures, thyroid disorders and certain cancers, according to a report by the National Research Council in 2006.

One study published last fall in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives found a link between high fluoride levels found naturally in drinking water in China and elsewhere in the world, and lower IQs in children. The paper looked at the results of 27 different studies, 26 of which found a link between high-fluoride drinking water and lower IQ. The average IQ difference between high and low fluoride areas was 7 points, the study found. ?

However, most of the drinking water in these studies contained fluoride at concentrations several times greater than the level at which it is added to fluoridated water in the United States, where it averages about 1 part per million (ppm). But several of the studies found lower intelligence scores in kids drinking water with only three times more fluoride than is found in fluoridated U.S. water.

Harvard researcher Philippe Grandjean, lead author of the study, wrote in an email to LiveScience that his results "do not allow us to make any judgment regarding possible levels of risk at levels of exposure typical for water fluoridation in the U.S. On the other hand, neither can it be concluded that no risk is present."

But Hirzy told LiveScience that a threefold difference between the levels in U.S. water and the level that may be linked with damage is not enough to protect children. These exposure levels overlap, in part because some kids drink a lot of water. There should ideally be at least a tenfold, and preferably a hundredfold, difference between the levels at which no adverse health effects can be demonstrated, and the so-called "safe" level, he said.

The National Research Council's 2006 report found that the Environmental Protection Agency's upper limit for fluoride, at 4 ppm, was too high to prevent a certain percentage of kids from developing severe dental fluorosis, a condition in which teeth are stained and pitted.

However, Grandjean compared fluoride to other chemicals discussed in his book published this month called "Only One Chance: How Environmental Pollution Impairs Brain Development ? and How to Protect the Brains of the Next Generation."

"When researching for my book, it was clear that fluoride was no different from other chemicals," he wrote. "The potential for adverse effects on brain development has been ignored for many, many years."?Grandjean reiterated, however, that he did not want to take a stance on water fluoridation, and that the point of his book was more general: "We must protect brain development in the next generation," he said.?

Many people don't realize that fluoride in fluoridated water comes not from the fluoride salts used in dental products, but from silicofluorides, which "are one of the by-products from the manufacture of phosphate fertilizers," according to the National Research Council's 2006 report.

"The toxicity database on silicofluorides is sparse and questions have been raised about the assumption that they completely dissociate in water and, therefore, have toxicity similar to the fluoride salts tested in laboratory studies and used in consumer products," the report noted.

Email Douglas Main?or follow him @Douglas_Main. Follow us @livescience, Facebook?or ?Google+. Article originally on?LiveScience.com .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/portland-fluoridation-vote-reignites-debate-212426791.html

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By Bradley S. Dornish, Esquire

In over twenty years of working with real estate investors, and being personally involved in real estate investing for even longer, I have had the opportunity to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of different types of real estate investing.???? That review has led me to the almost perfect analogy to the old fable of the Tortoise and the Hare.

For those too young to remember the old fables, the hare challenged the tortoise to a race believing it was a sure thing the hare would win.? The hare sprinted from the gate at great speed, recognized that he was immediately far ahead of the tortoise, who carried his home on his back as he steadily advanced on the race course.? The hare became comfortable with the size of the lead and stopped to pursue other interests.? The tortoise remained on track steadily moving towards his objective.? In the end, the tortoise crossed the finish line first, much to the surprise of the hare.

I see the almost perfect analogy to real estate investors who focus on flipping or quick turn properties as the hares, and investors who focus on long term holding of rental property as the tortoises.? Flipping properties requires a burst of energy and commitment at the beginning and, indeed, for each project thereafter, and returns in a relatively short period of time between the purchase and the sale, a profit, directly measuring the success of the investment.

In contrast, while buying and renovating long term investment properties requires a similar upfront commitment and energy, the reward for that activity is not quickly realized.? The long term investor does not realize the entire value of the improved real estate by cashing out quickly after the improvements are made.? Rather, the investor retains the asset and simply gets a return on the value of that asset, much of which is diverted to paying down the investor?s mortgage on the property. ?The investor?s monthly increase in available cash is only a small fraction of the cash realized by the flipping, wholesaling or quick turn real estate investor.?

However, the long term investor realizes a large number of benefits from his or her investment activities over the entire time he or she holds the property.? First, there is of course the increase in cash flow from the rent received from the property.? Second, there is the increase in net worth which accrues each month in the amount of the principal paid down on the financing of the property.? Third, there is any appreciation of the value of the property during the period in which the property is held by the investor.? Fourth, there is the availability of depreciation to offset and defer tax liability on other income of the investor.? Fifth, there is the increase in cash flow which comes from the increase in the rental value of the property, roughly keeping up with inflation.? Of course, once the mortgage is paid off, there is a dramatic increase in cash flow and value which I call the ?retirement plan effect? of long term holdings.

For younger investors, this can be accomplished even with financing extending over twenty years or more.? For older investors, a shorter mortgage term is required to reach more quickly the dramatic increase in value and cash flow.? Often, current cash flow can be sacrificed to shorten the mortgage term and increase retirement age cash flow.

Finally, with the mortgage paid off the property is an asset which appreciates roughly to keep pace with inflation and provides a ready source of capital through refinancing or sale to cover more substantial financial needs later in life.? Upon the investor?s demise, the remaining equity value in his or her properties becomes available to heirs as part of the investor?s estate.? Substantial assets can obviate the need for life insurance to pay obligations and can provide a supplemental retirement income for a spouse or can be available to cover the cost of long term health care.? Unless our tax structure changes, a long term capital gain, including the recapture of any depreciation, can be realized on the sale of the investment property, subject to advantageous capital gains tax rates rather than the highest marginal tax rate of the investor.? Further, if depreciated property is passed to heirs in the real estate investor?s estate plan, the heirs receive a step up in basis to the date-of-death value of the property, and do not pay capital gain tax based upon the depreciated basis held by the deceased.

As you can see, none of the myriad of benefits which accrue to the long term real estate investor are available to the flipping, quick turn or wholesaling real estate investor.? Flipping properties is a ?sexier? investment with a quicker return, but the value of that investment is simply limited to a one-time return.

As I write this article, I have in mind two ACRE members who have been real estate investors for over twenty-five years.? One has remained an active flipping and wholesaling investor, quit his ?day job? years ago and has enjoyed a life style which he has been able to achieve from those transactions.? His income has ebbed and flowed in direct relation to the ease of credit available to his back end buyers, and over the years he has shifted from doing most of the construction work himself on his flips to hiring others and supervising their work as age has limited his physical stamina.

The other investor used front end flips, lived in properties during renovation to cut costs, and borrowed money from a wide range of sources to begin to grow a long term portfolio of real estate.? That investor lived a tight financial existence for the early years of his career, but became more and more financially secure and comfortable as time went by.? His many rental units paid for themselves, he built his equity, and for years now, he has enjoyed the financial benefits of a long term investing strategy.? He has a large number of possessions including Florida real estate, high end vehicles and jewelry and pays other people well to maintain and manage his various investment properties, while he himself works fewer hours and significantly less physically than the first investor.? The second investor?s most pressing problems are minimizing his income taxes and maximizing the benefit of his estate plan, while providing for several generations of his family a comfortable living.

The second investor doesn?t have to worry about where he will find his next good deal on a flip, or about who will be available to do the renovations or to buy the property when it is fully renovated.? He doesn?t have to worry about carrying life insurance or long term care insurance because his assets are more than sufficient to cover those concerns and still provide a comfortable inheritance for his family.

To return to the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare, I believe the second investor, the tortoise, has already won the race.? Don?t you agree?

Created May 2013

Source: http://dornish.net/the-tortoise-and-the-hare-in-real-estate-investing

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By Jane Chung

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired a short-range missile from its east coast on Sunday, a day after launching three of these missiles, a South Korean news agency said, ignoring calls for restraint from Western powers.

Launches by the North of short-range missiles are not uncommon but, after recent warnings from the communist state of impending nuclear war, such actions have raised concerns about the region's security.

"North Korea fired a short-range missile as it did yesterday into its east sea in the afternoon, " South Korea's news agency Yonhap reported, citing a military official.

A South Korean defense ministry official confirmed the Yonhap report, but did not provide any details.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was concerned about North Korea's launch of short-range missiles, urging Pyonyang to refrain from further launches and return to stalled nuclear talks with world powers.

Ban, who spoke to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti during a visit to Moscow, called Saturday's launch a "provocative action".

Tension on the Korean peninsula has subsided in the past month, having run high for several weeks after the United Nations Security Council imposed tougher sanctions against Pyongyang following its third nuclear test in February.

The North had for weeks issued nearly daily warnings of impending nuclear war with the South and the United States.

South Korea's Unification Ministry criticized the missile tests as deplorable and urged the North to lower tensions and hold talks over a suspended inter-Korean industrial park in the North's border city of Kaesong.

South Korea pulled out all of its workers from the industrial zone early this month after North Korea withdrew its 53,000 workers as tensions mounted.

(Additional reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel in MOSCOW; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/north-korea-fires-short-range-missiles-two-days-101918143.html

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? North Korea fired three short-range guided missiles into its eastern waters on Saturday, a South Korean official said. It routinely tests such missiles, but the latest launches came during a period of tentative diplomacy aimed at easing tensions.

The North fired two missiles Saturday morning and another in the afternoon, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said by phone. He said the North's intent was unclear. His ministry said it is watching North Korea carefully in case it conducts a provocation against South Korea.

In March, North Korea launched what appeared to be two KN-02 missiles off its east coast. Experts believe the country is trying to improve the range and accuracy of its arsenal.

North Korea recently withdrew two mid-range "Musudan" missiles believed to be capable of reaching Guam after moving them to its east coast earlier this year, U.S. officials said. The North is banned from testing ballistic missiles under U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Earlier this year, North Korea threatened nuclear strikes on Seoul and Washington because of annual U.S.-South Korean military drills and U.N. sanctions imposed over its third nuclear test in February. The drills ended late last month. This past month, the U.S. and South Korea ended another round of naval drills involving a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier off the east coast. North Korea calls such drills preparation to invade the North.

Analysts say the recent North Korean threats were partly an attempt to push Washington to agree to disarmament-for-aid talks.

In response to Saturday's missile test, the U.S. said threats or provocations will only further isolate North Korea from the rest of the world and undermine international efforts to bring peace and stability to Northeast Asia.

"We continue to urge the North Korean leadership to heed President Obama's call to choose the path of peace and come into compliance with its international obligations," said National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden.

This past week, Glyn Davies, the top U.S. envoy on North Korea, ended trips to South Korea, China and Japan. On Friday, an adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe returned from North Korea but didn't immediately give details of his talks with officials there.

On Monday, North Korean state media showed that the country's hard-line defense minister had been replaced by a little-known army general. Outside analysts said it was part of leader Kim Jong Un's efforts to tighten his grip on the powerful military after his father Kim Jong Il died in December 2011.

The United States and Japan are participants in six-nation nuclear disarmament talks along with North and South Korea, Russia and China. North Korea walked out of the talks in 2009 after the United Nations condemned it for a long-range rocket launch.

North Korea possesses an array of missiles. U.S. and South Korean officials do not believe the North's claim that it has developed nuclear warheads small enough to place on a missile. Last week in Washington, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and President Barack Obama warned North Korea against further nuclear provocations.

Tension between the two Koreas remains high after both sides pulled out their workers from a jointly run factory complex earlier this year. The countries remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce instead of a peace treaty.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/skorea-says-nkorea-fires-3-short-range-missiles-075933659.html

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MOSCOW (AP) ? U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is holding out hope that an international conference to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the Syrian civil war will be held in early June.

The U.S. and Russia have agreed to try to bring the Syrian regime and opposition to the negotiating table, but no date has been set.

Neither Syrian President Bashar Assad nor the main Western-backed opposition group has made a commitment to attend.

Ban Ki-moon is in Russia as part of efforts to convene the conference. The state RIA Novosti news agency quoted him saying Sunday that he is hopeful the conference can take place "very soon," possibly in early June.

In addition to the U.S. and Russia, he said he has spoken with Britain, France, China and "all other key parties."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/un-chief-hopes-syria-conference-early-june-103156885.html

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May 18, 2013 at 3:20 pm | In Gardening, How to help, West Seattle news | 5 Comments

At the time of last year?s Furry Faces Foundation plant sale, F3 leader and plant-raiser Teri Ensley?s house still had damage to fix from a fire a few months earlier. Now ? as the 2013 plant sale begins ? Teri is back in her house after rehab and repairs by Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor), work she is so proud of that she?s even incorporated Ventana?s name into the plant sale:

The shelving holding plants on the south side of Teri?s house is dubbed ?Ventana Terrace? now, signage and all. Today is the first of four days of the sale ? till 4 pm, then again tomorrow 10 am-4 pm, and the weekend of June 1-2, 3809 46th SW. It all started with more than 1,000 plants on ?Ventana Terrace? and in the front yard, including herbs, perennials, annuals, vegetables, more ? and the F3 ?Tag Your Pet? campaign is happening there; read about it all in this WSB Forums post.

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Source: http://westseattleblog.com/2013/05/happening-now-selling-plants-to-help-pets-via-furry-faces

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Choosing the first warning signs of undesired pest infestations within your dearest residence might be neural-racking. There are plenty of areas you might have pest infestations entering your home in seconds. Even though you have a shut observe on the entrance ways, your house can nonetheless be subjected to unwanted pests. This information has many typical pest management.

Cleaning rugs assists get rid of the carpeting inside a home. This is a good way to remove the unwanted pests within your carpets and carpets and rugs. You should eliminate the travelling bag later on.

Bed bugs can place dormant for a total calendar year with out food. This is why you should shut off all pockets inside your floors and walls. It can make it difficult on their behalf from camouflaging there.

Make use of a spray if you want to keep little bugs out of your house. Mist regions close to your home, in addition to steps, foundation as well as doors and windows. Try to find crevices and little openings through which unwanted pests can use as an entry ways to your home. Close off up these regions with fillers like caulk.

Outdoor lights can be fantastic, so keep this as low as possible. If you prefer to have outdoor lighting operating all night, try to use orange, like orange, since these usually entice unwanted pests significantly less.

Bedbugs can lay inactive for the entire season with out consuming. So be sure to shut any slots within your walls or flooring. It can protect against these people to conceal there.

You must discover how pest infestations are employing into the future to your residence. For instance, possibly spiders are receiving into the home using a tiny area within a home window, and spiders can crawl by means of cracks in house windows. Start to stop the pests from entering your home when you know how they?re getting into.

Ticks really are a challenging insect, but you have several possibilities in how you can purge your own home of the ticks as well as their chicken eggs. Understand that you need to discard the vacuum handbag needs to be discarded instantly upon doing vacuum-cleaning.

You can find control of the insects as well as other pests that are hurting you. Check out a home remodeling or home improvement center close to you and look for guidance from experts. They can be qualified to know which pesticides work properly for the different kinds of pests.

Take a look at the building blocks plus your surfaces for cracks. These availabilities are easy access factors for unwanted pests to undergo. Pest infestations be in by way of little crevices within the ceiling sometimes.

You need to keep your recycling outside the home if you can. In case you are unable to retailer your recyclables outside the house, then you definitely must rinse out what ever is placed with your container. You should also want to get trying to recycle boxes which can be closed.

It is possible to eliminate bees using foam from harmless miles. Delay until you know the bugs are not any longer residing before eliminating the hive.

If you notice spiders in the home, keep in mind other pests may be appealing to them. Dirt and sweep often to reduce on these complaints to a minimum.

Maintain all of your current food items saved apart safely to avoid cockroach difficulties. A paperclip will not resolve the problem, make sure that covered containers and zip-secure hand bags can be used for meals storing.Any foods ignored is able to keep roaches about. Continue to keep all meals, like flour and sweets, in closed storage containers at the same time.

Carpenter ant infestations are generally the sign of any bigger dilemma. They enjoy wood that may be moist, and for that reason you most likely have leakages and also rotten wooden. Provide an expert decide in which the dilemma and the way to fix it.

Lessen the clutter and you will definitely decrease the little bugs. You can find almost certainly places in your house which can be mess magnets, from desks to counter tops to bookshelves.

Oils of mustard is a wonderful way to repel raccoons that are living in your home. Put the essential oil in the critter?s living space it?s keeping and check around due to its reason for entry. Put in a little bit of fine mesh cords to ensure that it cannot get in to the property yet again.

Pay attention to your lawn and yard circumstances to maintain control over rodent difficulties. Ensure it is an not comfortable in your space. Keep the grass span brief, while keeping your grass trimmed neatly. Performing these issues helps keep rats to result in problems elsewhere.

If pest management is a thing you would like to attempt on your own, bring along distinct pests when you visit buy your pesticide. This helps the pros at the shop to suit the insect towards the proper pesticide to destroy them. You will find bug sprays and products intended for certain pests. This gives you might be using the appropriate poison for the distinct pest.

Vegetation some marigolds if there are traveling by air bugs. Marigolds are acknowledged to keep flying bugs through the region. You might also proceeding so that you can discover some vegetation to maintain pests aside. Mosquito plants and flowers and citronella plants can discourage traveling pesky insects under control.

Ants can occasionally find their very own methods to enter in your home and migrate towards the cooking area location. Ants don?t like cloves, so placing straight down cloves in areas where meals is stored may avoid the foods from turning into contaminated. Also you can dust cloves close to your own home border to prevent them from getting into your property yet again.

Ants will often locate their way into a residence and also the cooking area area. Ants don?t like cloves, so sprinkling some floor cloves in locations where foods are can get rid of them. Also you can spread floor cloves around the house.

Bird foods are something which rats favored treats. If you appreciate to feed birds, make sure your bird food is held in the appropriate compartment. Maintain your plant seeds in a pot that?s rodent-proof and also steel to hold rats out.

For those who have a challenge with rug beetles, getting rid of the rug might have to become the resolve. When you don?t have them out, this is probably not very good for your health.

If you see your meal has unwanted pests inside, toss it aside easily. Place the contaminated food items in a bin exterior and far from home. This may ensure that the unwanted pests don?t sneak back into your house for further food.

Fleas are prevalent during the summer time! For those who have a third party family pet, speak to her or his vet about flea handle. There exists a wide variety of ways for you to cope with fleas available today for pet dogs and kittens and cats as well.

no teletrack online personal loans loans You can now realize that there are a variety of choices within the strategies to management pest infestations. Make use of the advice you may have go through in this article to get the correct means of getting rid of your invasion. When the problem?s too large for you to take care of, request support. Nevertheless you want to deal with your pest matter, you should start getting your strategy into action.

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Source: http://comoprogramarphp.com.br/got-pests-consider-these-helpful-suggestions/

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Emmelie de Forest of Denmark performs her song "Only Teardrops" during a rehearsal for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden, Friday, May 17, 2013. The contest is run by European television broadcasters with the event being held in Sweden as they won the competition in 2012, the final will be held in Malmo on May 18. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Bonnie Tyler of Britain performs her song "Believe in Me" during a rehearsal for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden, Friday, May 17, 2013. The contest is run by European television broadcasters with the event being held in Sweden as they won the competition in 2012, the final will be held in Malmo on May 18. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Cezar of Romania performs the song "It's My Life" during a rehearsal for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden, Friday, May 17, 2013. The contest is run by European television broadcasters with the event being held in Sweden as they won the competition in 2012, the final will be held in Malmo on May 18. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Anouk of the Netherlands performs her song "Birds" during a rehearsal for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden, Friday, May 17, 2013. The contest is run by European television broadcasters with the event being held in Sweden as they won the competition in 2012, the final will be held in Malmo on May 18. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

MALMO, Sweden (AP) ? An ethno-inspired flute and drum tune from Denmark is the bookmakers' favorite to win this year's Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, which also features a bizarre opera pop number from Romania and an Armenian rock song written by the guitarist of Black Sabbath.

Yes, it's that time of the year again.

The televised pan-European extravaganza, known for its kitschy shows, bad taste and bizarre offerings, is still expected to be seen by about 125 million television viewers worldwide.

This year's contest is being hosted in Malmo, southern Sweden, following the victory of the Nordic country's contestant Loreen with "Euphoria" last year.

According to bookmakers, the hippie-chic Emmelie De Forest of Denmark is the favorite to win, driving the song "Only Teardrops" with her deep, Shakira-like voice. Her main challenge comes from the clean-cut techno pop tune "I Feed You My Love" by Norway's Margaret Berger, who rose to fame at home after becoming the runner-up in Norway's version of Pop Idol in 2004.

"I will be nervous before going on stage," De Forest said Friday. "I think we have a really good song that can take us far, but let's see, anything can happen."

Finland's Krista Siegfrid provided this year's controversy, ending her bouncy bubble-gum pop number "Marry Me" with a girl-on-girl kiss that some have interpreted as a stance promoting gay marriage. While the show will not raise eyebrows in most parts of Western Europe ? where Eurovision has long been a bastion of gay culture ? the act may jar sensitivities in parts of eastern and southern Europe.

"The fact is that Finland is the only country in the Nordic countries where gay marriage is not allowed, and I think that's wrong," Siegfrid told The Associated Press. "It's 2013 now and ... I can kiss anyone I want to. It shouldn't be a problem."

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who arrived in Malmo to watch the competition Saturday, said it is a unique event that unites Europe.

"We see the old Yugoslavia, now independent states, after a decade of war they always vote for each other in Eurovision, " Bildt said. "That I think is fun."

This year's competition also sees the return to the international stage of two seasoned European stars. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" singer Bonnie Tyler is representing Britain with "Believe In Me" while Anouk, whose song "Nobody's Wife" was a big hit in Europe in the 1990s, is singing the song "Birds" for The Netherlands.

Among the more notable performances is the Ukraine's Zlata Ognevich with her song "Gravity." Ognevich is carried onstage by the tallest man in the U.S. ? Ukrainian-born Igor Vovkovinskiy. Vovkovinskiy ? who stands 7 feet, 8 inches (234 centimeters) ?wobbles onstage in a fur and feathers, placing the fairy-like Ognevich on a rock where she stands for the rest of the performance.

There is also Armenian rock group Dorians, whose gloomy song "Lonely Planet" has been written by Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi.

Romania's Cezar, who resembles a Dracula reborn as a high-pitched vocalist, is apparently a reputable opera singer, but is attempting a crossover opera pop number with techno beats and pyrotechnics. Three muscular male dancers in red body paint are delivered out of a large red cape.

Two semifinals this week have whittled down the contestants from 40 to 26. The winner is picked by juries and television viewers across the continent, and the winning nation will stage next year's event.

Having won five times, most famously with ABBA's Waterloo in 1974, Sweden is a veteran of Eurovision. This weekend it is taking the opportunity to showcase some of its big music acts. The opening of the competition is set to feature a song especially composed by Swedish super DJ Aviici, together with ABBA members Bjorn Ulveaus and Benny Andersson.

Yet the event ? with a price tag of around 153.5 million Swedish kronor ($23 million) ? won't measure up to last year's lavish competition hosted by oil-rich Azerbaijan in its capital, Baku.

"We have attempted to host Eurovision with less money to show that it is possible to do this without it being too painful for the host country," said Jan-Erik Westman, a spokesman of host broadcaster SVT.

The festive atmosphere was visible throughout the city of Malmo on Saturday, where residents and visitors blended on the streets waving the flags of their favorite countries.

___

Associated Press television producer David MacDougall and Associated Press reporter Jan Olsen contributed to this report.

___

Follow Malin Rising on Twitter: https://twitter.com/malinrising

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-05-18-Sweden-Eurovision/id-aed078ab5e0842c0b2a20ac8f87267d2

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ELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) ? The unlikely pair ? an itinerant hitchhiker turned Internet celebrity and a lawyer three times his age ? met amid the neon lights of Times Square and headed back to a squat brick home on a quiet New Jersey cul-de-sac, authorities say.

Days later, the lawyer was found beaten to death in his bedroom, wearing only his socks and underwear. The hitchhiker was arrested Thursday and charged with his murder.

Caleb "Kai" McGillvary took a star turn in February when he became known to millions as "Kai the Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker" after intervening in an attack on a California utility worker. McGillvary described using a hatchet he was carrying to repeatedly hit a man who had struck a worker with his car, fending off a further attack.

Once lauded as a hero, McGillvary, 24, was arrested at a Philadelphia bus station Thursday evening and charged with the murder of Joseph Galfy Jr., a 73-year-old attorney.

"I believe that everyone is a little safer with this person off the streets," said Union County Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow.

McGillvary will be processed in Philadelphia and sent to back to New Jersey in the coming days, Romankow said. His bail is set at $3 million.

Galfy was found dead in his Clark, N.J., home Monday, two days after authorities said he met McGillvary in New York City. Galfy, who lived alone, was found by police who went to his home to check on his well-being, Romankow said.

Statements posted on McGillvary's Facebook page following the homicide were "sexual in nature," Romankow said.

McGillvary's last post, dated Tuesday, asks "what would you do?" if you awoke in a stranger's house and found you'd been drugged and sexually assaulted. One commenter suggests hitting him with a hatchet ? and McGillvary's final comment on the post says, "I like your idea."

It was a hatchet that helped give McGillvary a brief taste of fame in February when he gave a rambling, profanity-laced interview to a Fresno, Calif., television station about thwarting an unprovoked attack on a Pacific Gas & Electric employee. The interview went viral, with one version viewed more than 3.9 million times on YouTube. McGillvary later traveled to Los Angeles to appear on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

Kimmel asked him what people were saying to him since the Feb. 1 encounter. "Hey, you're Kai, that dude with the hatchet," he responded.

Romankow declined to say what object was used in Galfy's beating.

Romankow said McGillvary, who said in his TV appearance he prefers to be called "home-free" instead of homeless, traded on his fledgling celebrity to meet fans across the country.

Authorities know he was in Times Square based on witness accounts, the prosecutor said.

"He was well-known," Romankow said.

McGillvary spent at least two nights in Galfy's home in Clark, 20 miles west of New York, Romankow said. The dark brick home is neatly landscaped, with carefully-pruned bushes lining a path to the entrance. Red tape labeled "evidence" now is affixed to the front door.

Authorities believe McGillvary took two trips to meet a fan in Asbury Park; Galfy picked him up after the first trip, Romankow said.

On Tuesday, McGillvary boarded a train in New Jersey bound for Philadelphia, Romankow said.

In the popular February interview, McGillvary told the Fox affiliate in Fresno that he was traveling with a man who veered into the utility worker.

After the driver got out of the car, he walked up to the utility worker and allegedly said, "I am Jesus and I am here to take you home." McGillvary pulled a hatchet from his backpack and struck the driver in the head several times to subdue him, The Fresno Bee reported.

"That woman was in danger," McGillvary told KMPH. "He just finished, what looked like at the time, killing somebody, and if he hadn't done that he would have killed more people."

The driver is now facing charges including attempted murder. Last month, he entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, the newspaper reported.

McGillvary also told the television station that he once came upon a man "beating on this woman he calls his" in an orchard and intervened.

"I started smashing him in the head and the teeth," McGillvary said.

In a Facebook post from May 10, written from a mobile phone, McGillvary thanked the people who "invited me in, partied hardy with me," and kept him grounded even though he realized how "crazy fame can be in flippin ones life upside down."

"ive met some of the greatest people in my life in these last three months," he wrote, "and i wouldnt trade these experiences with you for all the money in hollywood."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hatchet-hitchhiker-arrested-nj-homicide-063103847.html

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Emergency personnel work at the scene where two Metro North commuter trains collided, Friday, May 17, 2013 near Fairfield, Conn. Bill Kaempffer, a spokesman for Bridgeport public safety, told The Associated Press approximately 49 people were injured, including four with serious injuries. About 250 people were on board the two trains, he said. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham) MANDATORY CREDIT: CONNECTICUT POST, CHRISTIAN ABRAHAM

Emergency workers arrive the scene of a train collision, Friday, may 17, 2013 in Fairfield, Conn. A New York-area commuter railroad says two trains have collided in Connecticut. The railroad says the accident involved a New York-bound train leaving New Haven. It derailed and hit a westbound train near Fairfield, Conn. Some cars on the second train also derailed. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham) MANDATORY CREDIT

Injured passengers are transported from the scene where two Metro North commuter trains collided, Friday, May 17, 2013 near Fairfield, Conn. Bill Kaempffer, a spokesman for Bridgeport public safety, told The Associated Press approximately 49 people were injured, including four with serious injuries. About 250 people were on board the two trains, he said. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham) MANDATORY CREDIT: CONNECTICUT POST, CHRISTIAN ABRAHAM

Passengers leave the area where two Metro North commuter trains collided, Friday, May 17, 2013 near Fairfield, Conn. Bill Kaempffer, a spokesman for Bridgeport public safety, told The Associated Press approximately 49 people were injured, including four with serious injuries. About 250 people were on board the two trains, he said. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham) MANDATORY CREDIT: CONNECTICUT POST, CHRISTIAN ABRAHAM

Injured passengers are transported from the scene where two Metro North commuter trains collided, Friday, May 17, 2013 near Fairfield, Conn. Bill Kaempffer, a spokesman for Bridgeport public safety, told The Associated Press approximately 49 people were injured, including four with serious injuries. About 250 people were on board the two trains, he said. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham) MANDATORY CREDIT: CONNECTICUT POST, CHRISTIAN ABRAHAM

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) ? Officials described a devastating scene of shattered cars and other damage where two trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in Connecticut, saying Saturday it's fortunate that no one was killed and that there weren't even more injuries.

Seventy-two people were sent to the hospital Friday evening after the crash, which damaged the tracks and threatened to snarl travel in the Northeast Corridor.

"The damage is absolutely staggering," said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, describing the shattered interior of cars and tons of metal tossed around. "I feel that we are fortunate that even more injuries were not the result of this very tragic and unfortunate accident."

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy echoed that, saying it was "frankly amazing" people weren't killed on scene.

Both said new Metro-North Railroad cars built with higher standards may have saved lives.

Officials couldn't say when Metro-North service would be restored. The crash also caused Amtrak to suspend service between New York and Boston.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said commuters should make plans for alternative travel through the area and urged them to consult the state Department of Transportation website for information.

"I think this is going to be with us for a number of days," the governor said.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrived Saturday and are expected to be on site for seven to 10 days. They will look at the brakes and performance of the trains, the condition of the tracks, crew performance and train signal information, among other things.

NTSB board member Earl Weener said he would not speculate on a cause for the collision. He said data recorders on board are expected to provide the speed of the trains at the time of the crash and other information.

"Our mission is to understand not just what happened but why it happened and determine ways of preventing it from happening again," Weener said.

Asked whether there were any signs of foul play and if investigators could rule out any cause, Weener said: "It's too early to rule out anything. We just got on scene. That, of course, will be something we look at immediately."

But Blumenthal referred to the crash as an accident and Malloy said Friday there was no reason to believe it was anything other than that.

About 700 people were on board the Metro-North trains when one heading east from New York City's Grand Central Terminal to New Haven derailed at about 6:10 p.m. just outside Bridgeport, transit and Bridgeport officials said. Passengers described a chaotic, terrifying scene of crunching metal and flying bodies.

"All I know was I was in the air, hitting seats, bouncing around, flying down the aisle and finally I came to a stop on one seat," said Lola Oliver, 49, of Bridgeport. "It happened so fast I had no idea what was going on. All I know is we crashed."

The train was hit by a train heading west from New Haven to Grand Central on an adjacent track, Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Aaron Donovan said. Some cars on the second train derailed as a result of the collision.

A spokeswoman for St. Vincent Medical Center said 46 people from the crash were treated there, with six of them admitted. All were in stable condition, she said.

A Bridgeport Hospital spokesman said 26 people from the crash were treated there, with three of them admitted. Two were in critical condition and one was in stable condition, he said. The other 23 were released.

Malloy said there was extensive damage to the train cars and the track. He said the accident will have a "big impact on the Northeast Corridor."

Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch said the disruption caused by the crash could cost the region's economy millions of dollars.

"A lot of people rely on this, and we've got to get this reconnected as soon as possible," Finch said.

Passenger Frank Bilotti said he was returning from a business trip in Boston on the westbound train when it crashed.

"Everybody was pretty much tossed around," said Bilotti, 53, of Westport, who wasn't injured other than a sore neck.

He said the derailed train cars dug into the banks of the tracks.

"It was just a tremendous dust bowl," Bilotti said.

Firefighters used ladders to help people evacuate, he said.

"There were people on stretchers," he said. "There were people lying on the ground."

Blumenthal credited first responders, saying their "quick reactions and heroic efforts undoubtedly saved lives."

The area where the crash happened was already down to two tracks because of repair work, Malloy said. Crews have been working for a long time on the electric lines above the tracks, the power source for the trains. Malloy said Connecticut has an old system and no other alternate tracks.

The MTA operates the Metro-North Railroad, the second-largest commuter railroad in the nation. The Metro-North main lines ? the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven ? run northward from New York City's Grand Central Terminal into suburban New York and Connecticut.

___

Associated Press writers Michael Melia in Hartford, Conn., and Susan Haigh in Fairfield, Conn., contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-05-18-Trains%20Collide-Conn/id-7eb854fe3acd4989b48543e2c99aa56c

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Republican-controlled House panel moved Thursday to protect the Department of Homeland Security from the big cuts facing other domestic agencies under the party's budget slashing plan.

The Appropriations subcommittee moved to beef up the Border patrol and grants to local governments for first responders and training to disarm bombs. Its work came a day after another panel increased funding for politically sacrosanct programs for veterans.

The measure won support from Democrats. In many areas Republicans boosted spending above President Barack Obama's budget request.

Earlier this year, tea party forces in the GOP-controlled House pushed through a budget that would force non-defense programs to bear cuts more than $90 billion below levels called for in a 2011 budget pact. The GOP House and Democratic-controlled Senate remain at odds over the budget, including the amount for agency operating budgets.

At issue are the 12 annual bills funding the day-to-day budgets of Cabinet agencies. The Appropriations panel is moving ahead even though Democrats and Republicans are $92 billion apart on the overall pot of money to dedicate to agency operating budgets. Democrats are pushing a $1.058 trillion figure; Republicans are backing a $966 billion level that assumes unpopular across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration are left in place. The cuts are the result of Washington's inability to follow up a 2011 budget agreement with additional deficit cuts.

In addition, to placate GOP defense hawks, party leaders have moved to replace defense cuts by forcing domestic programs to take even deeper cuts.

The old-school, pragmatic Republicans atop the Appropriations panel are skeptical that the party's budget plan is workable but with no broader deal in sight they are moving ahead with their bills anyway. The first two measures advancing this week, however, basically ignore the strictures of the GOP budget assembled by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

But Democrats warned that generously funding the homeland security and veterans' budgets will mean even sharper cuts to programs like education, medical research, transportation and clean energy.

"The first few bills we're dealing with are pretty close to the president's request," said top panel Democrat Nita Lowey of New York. "Which means not much pickings left for the rest of the bills."

The chairman of the panel says he's hopeful of getting more money to work with later.

"Obviously we are severely short on our allocation," said Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky. "It very well could be that during the year there could be a replacement for sequestration and/or a budget deal that would give us more."

The homeland security measure would put the Border Patrol on a path to hire 1,600 additional agents, replace cuts sought by Obama to grants for state and local governments, boost cyber security spending and rejects Obama-sought cuts to the Coast Guard.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/house-bill-protects-homeland-security-181913510.html

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