From Justin Timberlake to Katy Perry, we look at other stars who might also EGOT one day.
By James Montgomery
Adele
Photo: Christopher Polk/ Getty Images
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702649/adele-oscar-egot.jhtml
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As a matter of first impression, the California Court of Appeal recently issued a decision in Shuster v. Bac Home Loans Servicing, LP, holding that the omission of a trustee from a deed-of-trust does not preclude enforcement of non-judicial foreclosure? pursuant to the deed-of-trust.
Facts of the Case:
In 2006 the homeowner-borrowers purchased a home in Simi Valley California.? The deed-of-trust designated Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (?MERS?) as the beneficiary but did not designate a trustee under the deed-of-trust.
In 2010, when the homeowners defaulted on the home loan, MERS designated Recon Trust as the Trustee.? At the foreclosure sale, the Trustee sold the property to a third party purchaser.
The homeowner brought an action for cancellation of the foreclosure deed and for wrongful foreclosure.? The homeowners alleged that they had a right to set aside the sale, primarily because the deed-of-trust failed to designate a trustee.? The homeowners asserted that because of this omission the deed-of-trust was transformed into a ?mortgage? that could only be foreclosed through judicial foreclosure.? Here, the home had been foreclosed through a non-judicial foreclosure/trustee?s sale.
The trial court dismissed the lawsuit finding that the complaint (that had been amended twice) did not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action.
Holding:? The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court?s dismissal of the homeowner?s complaint, finding that the omission of the trustee from the deed-of-trust did not prevent enforcement of the deed-of-trust. ?Dismissal of the complaint was also proper because the complaint did not allege tender of the amounts due under the loan (although other recent case law brings this requirement into question).
Takeaway:? The Court was keen on following the reasoning of other state cases that rejected similar arguments made by homeowners.? Here it appears that courts may strive to reject these types of ?technical error? arguments in order to set aside a foreclosure sale.? Specifically, the Court stated, in issuing its holding, that the hardship of foreclosure will not became a haven for those who do not appear to make any good faith effort to resolve the issue, but instead attempt to seek shelter behind ministerial omissions.
If you are dealing with a matter similar to the?contents?of this article and believe you need real estate legal representation, please contact the Law Offices of Peter N. Brewer at (650) 327-2900, or visit our website at www.BrewerFirm.com.
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Feb. 25, 2013 ? According to a study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), impacts to bird communities from a single rural, "exurban" residence can extend up to 200 meters into the surrounding forest. The study also determined that sensitive bird species such as the hermit thrush and scarlet tanager prefer unbroken forests with no houses. Others, like the blue jay and black-capped chickadee, seem to like having, and often thrive with, human neighbors.
As part of the study, scientists sampled the presence of 20 species of birds both near and far from 30 rural residences in the Adirondack Park. Calculating their occurrence at increasing distances from the residences, they determined that "human-adapted" species are 36 percent more likely to occur near the homes than in the surrounding mixed hardwood-conifer forests, and that "human-sensitive" species were 26 percent less likely. Beyond 200 meters, occupancy rates were similar to the surrounding forest.
The report appears in the current online edition of the Journal of Landscape and Urban Planning. Authors of the study are Drs. Michale Glennon and Heidi Kretser of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Rural exurban development is residential development existing outside of cities and towns, and is generally characterized by larger lot sizes (5-40 acres or more) and lower density than suburban development. Exurban residences exist within an otherwise unaltered ecosystem.
Exurban homes change the environment by bringing vehicles, noise, lights, pets, people, and food sources into the forest, as well as by physically altering and fragmenting habitat. These changes can have myriad impacts, including altered species behavior and composition, increased human wildlife conflicts, new predator-prey dynamics, and decreased biotic integrity (a measure of how pristine a wildlife community is).
"Adirondackers take great pride in their surroundings and try not to unduly disturb the natural setting in which they live," said WCS Adirondack Program Science Director Michale Glennon. "A key finding of the study is that the ecological footprint of development can be much larger than its physical footprint. We found that even a small home and lawn can change bird communities some 200 meters away, which means more than 30 acres of the surrounding landscape, depending on what types of activities are occurring on the residential property. It is important that we learn how birds and other wildlife react to particular kinds of human activities, and find ways to minimize the negative impacts for wildlife in exurban areas."
The study found that species sensitive to human impacts include the black-throated blue warbler, black-throated green warbler, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, ovenbird, scarlet tanager and the winter wren. The presence of some species, like the scarlet tanager, are a good indicator of undisturbed forest health.
WCS Livelihoods and Conservation Coordinator Heidi Kretser said, "Some wildlife species are sensitive to exurban development and are less likely to be found near those residences than adapted species. More sensitive and less common species could ultimately be displaced from the area as a result of this kind of development."
The study was modeled after one conducted in a shrub-oak ecosystem in Colorado where scientists calculated a 180-meter ecological effect zone based on their results. Glennon and Kretser believe that the similar results in two different ecosystem types may indicate that human behaviors associated with exurban homes play a larger role in shaping avian community characteristics nearby than do habitat alterations created by construction and clearing.
While breeding bird communities were used to measure the impacts of exurban development in the study, the authors note that birds can serve as valuable indicators of overall biodiversity.
WCS Adirondack Program Director Zoe Smith said, "The Adirondack Park is one of the last large, intact, wild ecosystems in the northeastern United States, and it is becoming increasingly important as we face global threats like climate change. As we strive to find a healthy balance between conservation and the needs of humans within the park, we need to fully understand the impacts of different development patterns. This research is another step toward that understanding and can help inform decisions on development and land-use in this rural landscape."
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/Li8Wee4mNTQ/130225131535.htm
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Intel teased a dual-core Clover Trail+ earlier this year at CES 2013, and now it's revealed the rest of the story on the new Atom-based mobile processors at MWC 2013 in Barcelona. While based on the same 32nm architecture of the previous Medfield generation, the new Z2580, Z2560 and Z2520 chips will pack dual 2.0GHz, 1.6GHz and 1.2Ghz CPU cores, respectively, along with two PowerVR SGX 544 GPU cores. That should make the new chip a lot more competitive than the previous generation, performance-wise, though battery life may suffer next to 28nm chips from the likes of Qualcomm. Still, Intel says that the new chips will burn less juice at idle than Medfield, meaning cell life could vary widely depending on usage.
On the radio side, Intel's at last bringing support for 42Mbps DC-HSPA+ along with 11.5 Mbps HSUPA cat 7 with its XMM 6360 silicon, but there'll still be no multimode (on-chip) LTE support for now. However, it also launched its new XMM 7160 radio as a separate chip, supporting 15 LTE bands along with HSPA+ and saying that it'll appear on its upcoming 22nm SoC chips -- which the company said were on track to arrive by the end of the year. Finally, Intel flaunted a new Clover Trail+ reference design, featuring a Z2580 CPU, 2GB of RAM, a max 256GB(!) of NAND, WUXGA support (1,920 x 1,200) and a rear 16-megapixel camera. Hopefully, there'll be a large battery to go along with all that -- check the PR after the break for more.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Intel
Via: Ananadtech
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/wJj0Qsrhcds/
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Microsoft will refund Windows Azure customers impacted by an outage last week caused by an expired SSL certificate. In a brief blog post, General Manager Steven Martin cited the scope of the attack as the reason for refund.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/PGGfryMwHqw/
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While the Sony press event this week has largely been received as a wasted opportunity, it speaks more to the fate of the game console than the PS4. Microsoft may win the next generation, but will winning really look like total victory or merely an example of being the best loser? With microconsoles shaking up the entire industry from top to bottom, the game console as we know it looks doomed.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/re8W674GNYw/
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(PRWEB UK) 23 February 2013
Digital Sports Group today announced that The PFA profile for the professional footballer has been been updated. The PFA player profiles provide a unique and unrivaled insight into a professional footballers career with full career stats, news biographies and features.
Raheem signed for from Queen?s Park Rangers as a 15 year old and in his first full season appeared for both the U18s and reserves.
In 2011-12, he made occasional appearances for the Academy team but was a regular in the reserves scoring seven goals. In March, he was promoted to the first team squad making his Barclays Premier League debut when he came off the bench against Wigan Athletic at Anfield. That appearance as a 17 year old made him the third youngest ever Liverpool first team player.
Head of Operations at DSG, Matthew Tait had this to say ?Raheem Sterling is a fantastic player and we have been working hard to provide the most fantastic resource that is both enjoyable to use and useful. Working with the PFA provides unique biographical information and insights that can be found nowhere else online. We are proud of our partnership with the Professional Footballers Association and the unrivalled access this provides us to the players.?
DSG became the official digital partner of the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) earlier this year and have since launched a number of Player profile fan pages on social media site Facebook as well as providing official player pages on their football news site football.co.uk
Source: http://uk.prweb.com/releases/2013/2/prweb10454516.htm
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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) ? A winner of the TV talent show "Latin American Idol" who was once loved by thousands in her native Dominican Republic was charged with drug smuggling after police found heroin stuffed in the heels of her platform shoes, authorities said Thursday.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/photos/photos-of-the-day-1340925511-slideshow/
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First things first: We still haven't seen the PlayStation 4. That said, if you'd like to see someone other than a Sony rep or developer putting their hands all over that DualShock 4 with touchpad and share button -- we asked, but apparently network TV still trumps internet -- then say no more. Managing Director of Guerilla Games Hermen Hulst came by the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon show with a prototype unit (not shown) loaded up with the Killzone: Shadow Fall demo we saw at the press conference. Jimmy and guest Anthony Anderson played a bit, with varying degrees of success and were predictably impressed by the new system, due to release by the end of this year. Unfortunately, there's no new information to be had, unless you wanted to know what the ceilings in the game look like (clearly, Anderson prefers to play shooters inverted). Watch the video embedded after the break, we're going to doublecheck ?uestlove's Instagram to see if he got any backstage or setup shots of the system behind the curtain.
Via: Kotaku
Source: Latenight (YouTube)
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/22/jimmy-fallon-gets-his-hands-on-the-ps4-for-some-killzone-shadow/
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(Reuters) - The owner of the stricken Carnival Triumph cruise ship was hit by a lawsuit seeking class action status for stranding more than 3,000 passengers for five days on a ship without electricity or adequate sanitation.
Carnival Corp should be held liable for physical and emotional anguish inflicted on the passengers as well as punitive damages, according to the lawsuit by Matt and Melissa Crusan. The lawsuit was filed on Monday in U.S. federal court in Miami.
The Triumph was towed into Mobile, Alabama, on Thursday, four days after a fire knocked out the ship's power while it was off the coast of Mexico.
The lawsuit alleged the world's largest cruise company failed to provide a seaworthy ship. In addition, "motivated solely by financial gain" Carnival negligently brought the Triumph to Mobile, where it would be repaired, rather than a closer Mexican port. That decision extended the trip by 350 miles, the plaintiffs said.
Passengers were exposed to disease as sewage and "human waste sloshed around the vessel as the vessel listed while drifting and/or while under tow," according to the lawsuit.
Carnival does not comment on pending litigation, said company spokesman Vance Gulliksen.
The lawsuit seeks to represent all of the passengers on the stricken cruise.
The complaint said that the Triumph ticket limits passengers' rights to bring a class action, but that provision should be voided by Carnival's negligence in using an unseaworthy vessel and not towing the ship to the nearest port.
Carnival has offered Triumph passengers $500, reimbursement for their transportation and many onboard costs, and given them a credit toward a future cruise equal to the amount they paid for the Triumph vacation.
Attorney Charles Lipcon, of Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina & Winkleman in Miami, which filed the lawsuit, said in an email that if the compensation was offered with no strings attached, passengers should accept it and still consider suing.
Jim Walker, who specializes in representing cruise ship passengers, told Reuters last week that the compensation offer was probably more than Triumph passengers would likely win in court. Walker is not involved in this suit and said he is unlikely to bring a case.
"We have a different opinion and think that passengers can do much better than the Carnival offer," said Lipcon.
The class action lawsuit is at least the second by a Triumph passenger. On Friday, Cassie Terry of Brazoria County, Texas, sued Carnival.
Like the Crusans, Terry sued for the conditions aboard the ship, which lacked working toilets and proper ventilation.
The case is Matt Crusan and Melissa Crusan v Carnival Corp, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, No. 13-20592.
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Carol Bishopric and Lisa Shumaker)
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The Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Meira Kumar releasing the book entitled ?Justice, Judocracy and Democracy in India: Boundaries and Breaches? authored by Shri Sudhanshu Ranjan, in New Delhi on February 20, 2013. The Chief Justice of India, Shri Justice Altamas Kabir is also seen.
Photo no.CNR - 48466
Source: http://pib.nic.in/release/phsmall.asp?phid=45585
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VICENZA, Italy (AP) ? Self-made Italians like Amedeo Tartarini never expected to need help.
Tartarini's goldsmith business thrived for decades in Italy's postwar boom. He was one of legions of small businessmen who made Italy an industrial power. With a house, money in the bank and a teeming workshop, the affable artisan never questioned his financial security ? until it was too late.
As Italy's financial crisis deepened, Tartarini ignored signs his business was failing, but persevered in the belief that skill would outshine cheaper competition from China. Hard work and quality, he was convinced, would protect him from the forces of globalization. They did not.
"I always trusted it wouldn't end this way for me," Tartarini said, his eyes darkened with regret. "I had to sell all I had to continue, hoping to make it."
In many rich countries, a person like Tartarini, who has lost his home, his business and his life's savings, might have ended up on the street. Instead, he has managed to keep afloat thanks to friends and community spirit. Italy's extraordinary social safety nets, rooted in centuries of tradition, have helped soften the blow for millions of Italians ? and, so far at least, insulated the nation from the scenes of explosive unrest that have unfolded in other crisis-hit southern European countries. Italy heads into general elections this weekend that promise to determine what shape these crisis buffers will take in the future.
Institutions like family, hometown loyalty and church activism have combined with a generous welfare state to maintain social peace, despite escalating episodes of individual financial collapse. Meanwhile, Italians' own obsession with keeping up appearances at all costs ? a cultural trait known as "la bella figura," or cutting a fine figure ? has made them allergic to public displays of misery, while masking the true extent of national hardship.
The No. 1 factor in Italy's social equilibrium: The Family. The postwar economic-boom generation of prudent savers is lovingly maintaining those that followed. Grandparents care for grandchildren, while parents help finance, or even buy, that first home for just-married children. And young Italians may be just as inclined to live at home with mom and dad well into their 30s, with no social stigma. An organic extension of family is "campanilismo" ? a fierce loyalty to the village bell-tower ? which has meant that Italians look out for each other in their home communities, which are often better suited than the state to find the best ways to help those in need.
Experts see good and bad in this Italian way of life.
On the one hand, it has helped to maintain not only social stability, but also high living standards, in Italy's worst economic crisis since the end of World War II. On the other, it has been a social crutch that has eroded competitiveness, sapped opportunity for young people and perhaps put Italy on the path of long-term ? if decidedly genteel ? decline.
Tableaus of daily life in Italian towns and cities provide abundant evidence of social buffers at play.
Italy's vast network of volunteers offer services at little or no cost, with such organizations as retired corps of Alpine soldiers staffing recycling centers or managing parking at public events in exchange for a fraction of what it would cost to contract out the job.
Visit any Italian playground on a workday, particularly in the wealthy north, and small children are tended by a grandmother or grandfather, supplementing a paucity of daycare for children under 3 and providing after-school care for older children ? mostly so mothers can work. Research by the IRES think tank finds that this help sustains the employment of 800,000 women ? who in turn generate 2.4 percent of GDP.
The research concludes that grandparents' contributions don't just sustain and deepen familial relationships, "but are fundamentally linked to the economic systems of social services." Older Italians, defined here as over 54, contribute every year around ?18.3 billion ($24.5 billion) to the Italian economy, or 1.2 percent of GDP, according to IRES. That sum amounts to roughly what Italy's economy has grown annually for the last two decades.
"It is reasonable for 35-year-olds to be living with their parents, and whole families may be relying on a grandfather's pension. One or two incomes may support four or five people, and it is not considered dysfunctional," said Raj Badiani, an IHS Global Insight analyst.
Other economic factors are at play in preventing social tumult despite youth unemployment of 37 percent:
? Italy's robust underground cash economy allows many young people to work four or five months a year in sectors such as tourism, allowing them to pad their pockets with cash ? albeit with corrosive consequences for the nation's tax receipts.
? Unlike Spain, Italy has avoided a housing bubble. Housing prices are steady in a country with 80 percent home ownership. It means legions of families, many of modest means, may have a home in the city and another in the countryside, perhaps in a town where their family originated, allowing them to take the kind of holidays that foreigners fantasize about ? passing days in idyllic settings and feasting on cheap local specialties.
? And Italians are exemplary savers, unlike their government, which has been placed under international scrutiny for its poor handling of public debt, now over 126 percent of GDP and expected to worsen.
A new study by Pioneer Investments and Unicredit found Italian savings are four times its public debt, or ?8.5 trillion compared with a debt of nearly ?2 trillion. In other words, Italy's public debt is 22 percent of its private wealth ? which puts it in line with Germany and the United States. Italy in 2011 had higher household financial assets than France and Germany, and was above the eurozone average, according to the Italian Banking Association.
"It has been this high rate of financial wealth and the capacity of Italian families to save compared with other European countries that has protected Italy from the crisis," said Giovanni Sabatini, general director of the Italian Banking Association.
As the crisis wears on, Sabatini says, "family debts are growing, and the capital is being eroded ... But the starting point was very elevated, which still guarantees the solidity of the system."
There is a flip side: While family welfare provides a cushion, it does not allow efficient distribution of resources and leaves the younger generation at the mercy of those that came before. It's not for nothing that Italy is known as a gerontocracy, where the strings are pulled by the elderly ? from the highest levels of government to big business to the extended family.
"If there were a way to institutionalize the passage of this wealth, things would be more natural compared to the current condition, which is tied to generosity," said Marcello Calabro, who ran the study for Pioneer.
Social buffers have also encouraged many people, like Tartarini, to ignore signs of the crisis and carry on in the hope they can outlast it. And "la bella figura" can create an illusion that all is well when in fact things are falling apart.
"It is a crisis of identity," said the Rev. Giovanni Sandona, coordinator for the Catholic charity Caritas in northeastern Italy. "It is not just an economic crisis."
When Tartarini's world crumbled, he found he could rely on friends and Catholic charity.
These days, Tartarini takes whatever handyman jobs found by the nuns at his Vicenza parish. And friends take him on trips to the grocery store, where they pay for his, too.
Tartarini, in well-worn work clothes and heavy black shoes, spent a recent morning preparing to move with his wife and 25-year-old son from a rented accommodation he could no longer afford into a free vacated apartment belonging to the parish church of Nove, a ceramic-making town north of Vicenza. Caritas has reached out to parishes with empty residential properties to house people who have lost their lodging in the crisis.
"For me, it's an incredible thing," Tartarini said. "I had a few days in which I didn't know where I would go."
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What happens when ordinary people decide to pay it forward? Extraordinary change...
Wyatt Smith, who teaches at George Washington Carver High School in Birmingham, Ala., wants to show his students the world.
Wyatt Smith makes a deal with his students: Learn Chinese. Go to China.
Birmingham to Beijing sends inner-city high school students in Birmingham, Ala., on a study abroad in Beijing ? if they first learn Chinese.
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/rYYCHfF9C1Q/Reader-recommendation-What-Work-Is
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Source: http://www.articleswide.com/article/16595-The_Quality_Steel_Doors.html
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KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian security forces have surrounded about 100 armed men believed to be from a breakaway rebel faction in the southern Philippines, Malaysian police and a government official said on Thursday, but a Philippine official said they were unarmed Filipinos who had been promised land.
The standoff in Malaysia's eastern Sabah state on Borneo island threatened to stir tension between the Southeast Asian neighbors whose ties have been periodically frayed by security and migration problems caused by a porous sea border.
"Our firepower is more than enough to arrest them but the government has chosen to negotiate with them so they leave peacefully to return to the south of the Philippines," Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, on a visit to Sabah ahead of national elections, was quoted as saying by state-run Bernama news agency.
Malaysian police said in a statement the situation was under control, but did not say whether the men had agreed with a request to surrender.
A high-ranking Malaysian government source with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters the gunmen were suspected to be from a faction unhappy with the Philippines' recent peace deal with the main Muslim rebel group.
Raul Hernandez, a spokesman for the Philippine Foreign Ministry, said his government was trying to get information about the incident and was in touch with Malaysian officials.
A senior Philippine military official said navy boats and an aircraft had been sent to the border area. He dismissed the Malaysian account of the group, saying they were unarmed Filipinos who had been promised land in Sabah.
He said a meeting over the land claim had attracted a large crowd and drawn the attention of Malaysian authorities.
"We know that these people arrived there five days ago and most of them are from nearby islands," said the official, who asked not to be identified.
"Some of them were already residents in Sabah for a long time and they normally cross the border without any problem."
Another Philippine military officer said the men were followers of the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu - an island group off the southern Philippines - who had been invited to Sabah by a Malaysian opposition politician to discuss land issues.
Malaysia pays a token amount to the Sultanate each year for the "rental" of Sabah state - an arrangement that stretches back to British colonial times.
The number of illegal Muslim immigrants from the impoverished southern Philippines has surged in recent decades, stirring social tension with indigenous Christian inhabitants in Sabah.
The Philippine government signed a landmark peace deal with Muslim rebels late last year to end a 40-year conflict in the south, but some factions have voiced opposition.
In 2000, a group of militants from the southern Philippines kidnapped 21 tourists from the Sabah diving resort of Sipadan. In 1985, 11 people were killed when gunmen believed to be from the southern Philippines entered Lahad Datu in Sabah, shooting at random before robbing a bank.
(Reporting By Siva Sithraputhran and Niluksi Koswanage in Kuala Lumpur; Manuel Mogato in Manila; Editing by Stuart Grudgings and Nick Macfie)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/versions-differ-malaysia-philippines-border-standoff-072807846.html
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On Tuesday, February 12, President Obama discussed higher education briefly in his State of the Union Address. The President repeated a popular refrain, calling on colleges to restrain soaring tuition costs in light of the fact that Americans with some higher education are more likely to maintain steady employment and earn a comfortable
income (or, as the President declared, be part of the middle class). As have many others when discussing this topic, the President juxtaposed college access and affordability against college costs without making the important connection to overall funding. As is clear at the University of Washington (UW) and many of its public peers, public funding (both state and federal) that traditionally provided the financial backbone for such institutions has become unstable, showing precipitous declines. It is in this context that tuition and other forms of auxiliary support have increased to maintain some semblance of consistent funding.
After having evaluated the scorecard,? the following two key points are worth noting and exploring.
Please see a full Planning & Budgeting brief on line.
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Source: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kuow/events.eventsmain?action=showEvent&eventID=1327399
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EASTON, Pa. (AP) ? Talk about grade inflation.
Graduate student Megan Thode wasn't happy about the C-plus she received for one class, saying the mediocre grade kept her from getting her desired degree and becoming a licensed therapist ? and, as a result, cost her $1.3 million in lost earnings.
Now Thode is suing her professor and Lehigh University in Bethlehem, claiming monetary damages and seeking a grade change.
A judge is hearing testimony in the case this week in Northampton County Court. Lehigh and the professor contend her lawsuit is without merit.
Thode took the class in fall of 2009. Her instructor, Amanda Eckhardt, testified this week that she stood by the grade, saying Thode failed to behave professionally and thus earned zero out of 25 points in class participation, bumping her down a full letter grade.
"I ... believed she received the grade she earned," Eckhardt said.
The C-plus prevented Thode, an otherwise A student, from going on to the next class and advancing in her professional therapist studies, according to The Express-Times of Easton. She wound up getting a master's degree in human development instead.
Her attorney, Richard Orloski, argued Eckhardt targeted Thode because she is an outspoken advocate for gay marriage. Eckhardt testified that while she believes marriage is between a man and woman, she would never allow her personal views to influence her treatment of students. She said Thode had outbursts in class, did not participate appropriately, was emotionally unstable and failed to heed a warning letter.
Stephen Thode, the plaintiff's father and a longtime finance professor at Lehigh, testified on his daughter's behalf and said her participation score was highly irregular.
"I have never heard of a case, not just at Lehigh, where a student achieved a zero in class participation where they attended and participated in every class," he said.
Northampton County Judge Emil Giordano is presiding over the nonjury trial and will issue a ruling on Thode's lawsuit after testimony concludes.
___
Information from: The (Easton, Pa.) Express-Times, http://www.lehighvalleylive.com
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pa-grad-student-sues-says-c-plus-cost-165627691.html
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BOSTON (Reuters) - Adobe Systems Inc is investigating a report by a cybersecurity firm that hackers exploited previously unknown bugs in its Reader and Acrobat software to launch sophisticated attacks on personal computers.
FireEye, a Silicon Valley company that helps businesses fight cyber attacks, told Reuters it obtained so-called PDF files tainted with malicious software, which can take advantage of the newly discovered bugs.
It declined to identify any victims of the attacks.
A spokeswoman for Adobe said that the company is investigating the report, which surfaced late on Tuesday. She declined to elaborate.
This has been a busy year so far for Adobe's security team. In January, the company pushed out security updates to fix vulnerabilities in Reader, Acrobat and Flash, as well as a program known as ColdFusion that is used to build websites.
Last week, it rushed out a fix for Flash Player after security software maker Kaspersky Lab identified a critical bug that enabled hackers to install "back doors" and take control of PCs running on Microsoft Corp's Windows operating system or Apple Inc's Mac OS X.
Adobe's software has long been a popular target for hackers, who attack PCs by finding bugs in widely used programs that they can then exploit to insert viruses on computers. Experts estimate that Reader and Acrobat programs for accessing PDF documents and Flash Player for accessing Internet content are installed on more than 1 billion PCs.
Hackers exploiting the most recently discovered vulnerability use PDF files to infect PCs, according to FireEye.
When the victim opens the PDF, a visa application form appears onscreen, and a virus installs a covert communications channel with a remote computer known as a "command and control" server, which hackers use to control infected PCs, said Zheng Bu, senior director of research at FireEye.
He said the virus also installs a third malicious file on the infected computer, but declined to elaborate.
Adobe has yet to provide advice on how to protect PCs against attack. FireEye said computer users should avoid opening unfamiliar PDFs, especially when coming from unknown sources.
FireEye said on its blog it has observed attacks on PCs running Adobe Reader 11, the most-recent version of the software, as well as Reader 9 and Reader 10.
Adobe said on its own security blog that the issue also affected Acrobat XI, the current version of the software used to create PDF documents.
(Reporting By Jim Finkle; Editing by Bernard Orr)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/adobe-reviews-report-another-security-bug-software-220632504--sector.html
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NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Tracee Ellis Ross (L) and Regina King attend BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Actress Tracee Ellis Ross attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Actress Tracee Ellis Ross attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Regina King attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Beverly Bond attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Actress Gabrielle Union attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Actress Gabrielle Union attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Singer Keyshia Cole attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CREST Style And Smile Booth at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Singer Keyshia Cole attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CREST Style And Smile Booth at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Singer Alicia Keys attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Singer Alicia Keys poses at BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Actress Kerry Washington attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Actors Eva Longoria (L) and Kerry Washington attend BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: La La Anthony attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: La La Anthony attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Singer Janelle Monae attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 After Party at Millesime - The Carlton Hotel on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Singer Janelle Monae attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 After Party at Millesime - The Carlton Hotel on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Susan L. Taylor attends Black Girls Rock! 2012 at the Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Rob Kim/FilmMagic)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Singer Dionne Warwick attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CREST Style And Smile Booth at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Actress Taraji P. Henson attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Actress Taraji P. Henson attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Cheryl 'Salt' James (L) and daughter Corin Wray attend BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CREST Style And Smile Booth at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Jeanette Jenkins attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CREST Style And Smile Booth at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Singer Bridget Kelly attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Singer Ciara attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Singer Ciara attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Actress Eva Longoria attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Mona Scott-Young attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Singer Marsha Ambrosius attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Singer Marsha Ambrosius attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Shorty Da Prince attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Singer India Arie attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: (L-R) Leanne 'Lelee' Lyon, Cheryl 'Coko' Clemons, and Tamara 'Taj' Johnson-George of SWV attend BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: (L-R) Tamara 'Taj' Johnson-George, Cheryl 'Coko' Clemons, and Leanne 'Lelee' Lyons of SWV attend BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CREST Style And Smile Booth at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Dr. Hawa Abdi attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CREST Style And Smile Booth at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Singer Anthony Hamilton attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: (L-R) Shorty Da Prince, BET CEO Debra Lee, Paigion, Bow Wow and Miss Mykie attend BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: TV personality/ radio host Sway Calloway attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 After Party at Millesime - The Carlton Hotel on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Eric Benet attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: La La Anthony (L) and Meagan Good attend BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Steven Hill attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Laura Govan attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Brooke Ellis (R) and Tia Hardeman attend BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: BET CEO Debra Lee attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: (L-R) Miss Mykie, Meagan Good and Paigion Walker attend BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Actor/ comedian Tony Rock attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 After Party at Millesime - The Carlton Hotel on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: (L-R) Tracee Ellis Ross, Keyshia Cole, and Regina King attend BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 CHEVY Red Carpet at Paradise Theater on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for BET)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Actor Idris Elba attends BET's Black Girls Rock 2012 After Party at Millesime - The Carlton Hotel on October 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for BET)
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/13/regina-king-new-season-of-southland_n_2678737.html
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TIP! Rewiring and plumbing are the best places to start in renovation. Plumbing and electrical repairs often require inner wall access, so plan these repairs first before you paint walls or do renovations.
It can be very stressful to live in a home that needs repairs. When funds are tight and a contractor is out of your budget, it only becomes more stressful. Many repairs are time-sensitive, and you might not have the time to do home repairs. Nonetheless, you could be mistaken. Basic home repairs do not require much time to complete and are well worth the effort. This information will ensure that you get the most out of your home projects by giving you helpful advice on fixing the things that need done in an efficient fashion.
TIP! Shop around for good deals on quality supplies for your home improvement projects. Getting new floors can be expensive, and when you compare prices you get a good deal.
If you are planning a major landscaping project, plan it so that the style and construction complement the rest of your home. Hardscapes and plantings that blend with the exterior of your home present a cohesive and attractive look.
TIP! Personalize your home, but don?t make it too different from the other houses in the area. You don?t want to stick out as the only homeowner on the cul-de-sac with a tower on top of your home.
Many people assume putting in ceramic tile is hard to do, but the opposite is true. The tiles can have designs on them or they can be one solid color. This home improvement project can really increase the decor of your home.
TIP! Splash a fresh coat of paint on your home?s entrance and replace your old, faded welcome mat. This is because your entrance is very important when it comes to welcoming guests to your home.
For storing materials, try placing them between floor joists or ceiling rafters. Two by fours or molding can all be stored in this area. Nail furring strips across a couple of exposed floor joists. Alternatively, nail them across your rafters. Slip the material in there for easy storage.
TIP! Be up front with your contractor in regards to your budget when planning extensive home improvements. Honesty helps your contractor plan for the project.
Check your quotes, not just for price, but also for presentation. Look to see if the quotes are on professional letterhead. If they have a letterhead, it is less likely that it is a company that is trying to scam you, since they are so professional. This shouldn?t be the only thing you look for as a sign of reliability from a business, but it is a start.
TIP! Make sure you perform regular maintenance on your septic tank. Certain chemicals can be bought that help avoid overflowing and speed up decomposition.
Therefore, you should stop worrying if home improvement projects are imposible for you. In a short amount of time, you can make vast improvements to your home if you use the information given in this article. Almost anything can be fixed yourself, saving time and money. Good luck and have fun repairing!
Source: http://www.zaxradio.com/uncategorized/tips-to-get-the-best-deal-on-home-improvement/
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Ignoring demonstrators in the hearing room and frustrated Senators on the committee dais, CIA nominee John Brennan used a hearing to strongly defend Obama Administration plans to use drones to target Americans overseas who are linked to Al Qaeda.
"I think the American people would be quite pleased to know that we've been very disciplined, very judicious, and that we only use these capabilities as a last resort," Brennan said in testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Despite tough questions on drones, interrogation policy and more, Brennan seemed to emerge from the hearing all but assured of confirmation to the post; he started his intelligence career 25 years ago as a CIA analyst.
"The CIA's mission is as important to our nation's security today as at any time in our nation's history," Brennan told Senators.
Brennan's testimony came amid building controversy as Senators were still digesting the legal rationale behind the President's decision to target Americans overseas, if they were linked to Al Qaeda.
The revelations particularly left Democrats on the panel frustrated, not only over being left out of the loop on the tactic, but also opposed to the policy itself.
"It's the idea of giving any President unfettered power to kill an American without checks and balances that's so troubling," said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR).
Other Democrats were also left frustrated by the lack of information and the direction of U.S. anti-terror policy, which many thought would not push new boundaries after the Bush Administration.
"It is vitallly important for Congress and the American public to have a full understanding of how the executive branch interprets the limits and boundaries of this authority," wrote a group of Senators to the President.
"Everyone ? not just select members of Congress ? has a right to know when the government believes it can kill American citizens," said Chris Anders of the American Civil Liberties Union, which called on the White House to release more information about the targeting of Americans overseas.
While Democrats were wringing their hands about the drone issue, Republicans left it alone, questioning Brennan sharply about intelligence leaks from the White House, which he denied any role, saying he is a witness, not a subject in the ongoing Justice Department investigation.
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FILE - In this May 16, 2012 file photo, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. gestures during a committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Senate on Tuesday is expected to put aside its partisan divisions to approve a renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, a law credited with protecting millions of victims of domestic violence over its 20-year history. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
FILE - In this May 16, 2012 file photo, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. gestures during a committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Senate on Tuesday is expected to put aside its partisan divisions to approve a renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, a law credited with protecting millions of victims of domestic violence over its 20-year history. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? By a robust bipartisan majority, the Senate voted Tuesday to renew the Violence Against Women Act with new assurances that gays and lesbians, immigrants and Native American women will have equal access to the act's anti-domestic violence programs.
The 78-22 Senate vote to reauthorize the two-decade-old act that has shielded millions of women from abuse and helped reduce national rates of domestic violence turns the focus to the House, where Republican leaders are working to come up with their own version.
"Over 160 million women across the country are watching and waiting to see if the House will act on this bill and finally provide them the protections from violence they deserve," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
The act expired in 2011, putting efforts to improve its many federal programs on hold. Last year both the Republican-led House and the Democratic-controlled Senate passed renewal bills, but they were unable to reach a compromise.
This year House Republicans, sensitive to their lackluster showing among women voters in the November election, have vowed to move expeditiously on the issue. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., has taken the lead in negotiating the terms of a House bill.
On Monday 17 House Republicans wrote Cantor and Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, urging immediate action. The act's "programs save lies, and we must allow states and communities to build upon the successes of current VAWA programs so that we can help even more people," they wrote.
The Senate bill, while promoted by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and other Democrats, is cosponsored by a Republican, Mike Crapo of Idaho, and garnered 23 Republican votes.
During debate, the major divisive issue was a provision that allows tribal courts to prosecute non-Indians accused of assaulting Indian women on reservations. Republicans, arguing that subjecting non-Indians to Indian courts was unconstitutional, offered two amendments to strip that section from the bill, but both were defeated.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who chairs the Indian Affairs Committee, said Indian women are raped and assaulted at 2? times the national rate, and less than 50 percent of domestic violence cases on reservations, often far from federal courts, are prosecuted. "This is about the life and death of women who need a better system to help prosecute those who are committing serious crimes against them."
Supporters of the bill say a 1978 Supreme Court decision that denies Indian tribes the power to try non-Indian citizens makes an exception for proceedings that are acceptable to Congress. The National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women says the provision is tailored to make sure that all rights guaranteed under the Constitution are given to non-Native defendants.
The Indian court issue is expected to be a hurdle as lawmakers try to reconcile the Senate bill with the eventual House bill. Two House Republicans ? Reps. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who is of Native American heritage, and Darrell Issa of California ? have been pushing a compromise that would give defendants the right to request that their trial be moved to a federal court if they felt they were not getting a fair trial. Others have argued that those tried in Indian courts should have better defined rights to appeal to federal courts.
The original 1994 Violence Against Women Act, also known as VAWA, was negotiated by Vice President Joe Biden, then a senator from Delaware, and Biden has been in contact with Cantor in the efforts to come up with a new bill.
The White House, which supports the Senate bill, says that among the positive changes created by VAWA are a decline in intimate partner violence by 67 percent between 1993 and 2010 and an increase in victims reporting domestic and sexual violence to police, resulting in more arrests.
The act provides grants to state and local authorities for legal assistance, transitional housing, law enforcement training, stalker databases and domestic violence hotlines. The Senate bill extends the act for five years and provides $659 million for VAWA programs, down 17 percent from the last reauthorization in 2005.
The legislation includes a provision, backed by a bipartisan group headed by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, that would speed up the analysis of DNA evidence in rape cases. There's now a rape kit backlog estimated at 400,000, with evidence that might link an assailant to a victim now sitting on police department shelves for months and even years.
The Senate on Tuesday also approved an amendment by Leahy reauthorizing a law that funds programs to combat human trafficking both inside and country and around the world.
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