Just give Julius a little loving and he'll be your friend forever! He loves people, petting and attention. And if you happen to have any toys, catnip or food for him, he'll love you even more! It's hard to understand how anyone could abandon such a sweet, affectionate cat. But they did.
Born in 2009, Julius is an adorable boy who would make a wonderful lap cat. In good health, he also has an active, playful side and would like to live in an engaging home. Julius enjoys all kinds of cat toys and taking leash walks. This close to purr-fect kitty is also fine with other cats and loves kids!
If you're looking for an all-around great cat, Julius would love to join your family!
HAROLD
Harold loves people! Especially those who take the time to help him get over his shyness with them. When you first meet this dog, he seems so timid and reserved. But all he wants is a little love and attention. Give him that, and then one day when you greet him, be prepared to receive an armful of happy dog. Harold can't contain his joy over seeing someone he loves -- that's why he jumps up to hug them. But don't worry; he calms down and enjoys quiet affection. And he's smart: he's already learned "sit," "down" and "wait."
Harold is particularly shy around men, and he's also a little too big and excitable for a home with small children. But with big kids and adults, he's fine. Once he knows you, he'll never grow tired of treating you like you're the best thing to come along since dog treats. He's mostly good with other dogs, though a little choosy about who he calls a doggie friend. Harold has been patiently waiting for a home since 2003 and would love it if you gave him a call.
Best Friends adopts to all of the United States and Canada. If you would like to adopt Julius the cat or Harold the dog, please contact Best Friends Animal Society right here. And please tell them Ellen sent you!
See all the animals that need homes... at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? Nearly a decade ago, a suburban Kansas City man desperately searching for his teenage daughter's killer divined an idea: Place a "wanted" poster with the suspect's picture on a billboard.
A year later Leawood, Kan., resident Roger Kemp got his wish and investigators got their man. Two anonymous tipsters who had seen the Kansas City billboards recognized the photo and contacted police.
Today, law enforcement agencies nationwide say billboards ? especially digital ones ? have become a valuable tool in their high-tech crime-fighting arsenal. This week, more than a dozen electronic billboards began flashing pictures of little Lisa Irwin, the missing Kansas City baby who was 10 months old when her parents reported her missing Oct. 4.
Kansas City police said Friday they had pursued 934 of the 1,059 tips they've received, but still have no solid leads. Hundreds of investigators have combed wooded and other areas but each search has come up empty, they said.
Lamar Advertising Co. has put Lisa's picture, a phone number and information about a $100,000 reward on its 15 electronic billboards in the Kansas City metropolitan area as a public service, CEO Bob Fessler said.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has a deal with digital billboard operators nationwide in which the organization can override the messages on the signs and replace them with Amber Alerts whenever they're issued. That happened on the day Lisa disappeared.
The FBI credits digital billboards with helping nab 45 fugitives since pictures were first put on the signs. The Outdoor Advertising Association of America Inc. estimates the FBI will use roughly 40 million donated billboard slots in 2011, each lasting eight seconds.
Ken Kline, vice president with the Outdoor Advertising Association, said that since so many agencies ? local police, FBI, U.S. Marshal's Service and others ? are using the billboards to catch fugitives, there's no way to quantify how many people have been apprehended through their use. He said a "national estimate of multiple hundreds would be conservative."
But acceptance of digital billboards is not universal. Kansas City has a moratorium in place restricting new billboards, and cities nationwide are grappling with an issue some feel is destroying the beauty of their neighborhoods and countryside while also distracting drivers.
"We receive a lot of complaints from individuals who live in neighborhoods, and motorists who are concerned about the additional distractions and dangers billboards pose," said John Regenbogen, executive director of Scenic Missouri, which touts billboard control as one of its top issues. "When digital billboards come into a community, they're often met with outcry from residents."
They also keep missing children in the public eye. Fessler said his company, which donated those first billboards for Kemp's campaign in 2003, wanted to help gather tips in Lisa Irwin's search by keeping her image displayed on the billboards.
"After the Kemp case, we got a lot of phone calls about anything from missing people to cold cases," Fessler said. "We treat it as a public service. We don't charge for it."
Fessler's company has been embroiled in a multi-year dispute with Kansas City over electronic billboards after the city banned them in 2007. The city now has a moratorium that allows the handful of digital billboards to remain, but places strict restrictions on new signs.
Carol Winterowd, who has been active in the fight against billboard proliferation in Kansas City, said there are several alternatives for getting information out.
"We have more (billboards) than we need," she said, adding that posting pictures of criminals and Amber Alerts is fine, while also claiming electronic billboards can be a safety hazard. "Attention should be on the road, not looking at billboards."
Kemp's daughter, Ali, was 19 when she was found raped and murdered June 2002 at a Leawood, Kan., swimming pool where she worked. After Kemp found Ali's body, he relentlessly pursued her killer.
He said he was driving down the highway when the billboard idea hit him. He approached Lamar Advertising about buying a billboard ad, but the company instead donated space for several.
About 16 months later, two people who recognized the person on the billboard contacted police and led them to Benjamin Appleby, a former pool cleaner who had moved to Connecticut and was living under an assumed name. Appleby confessed and eventually was convicted of capital murder.
Kemp doesn't like talking about his daughter's murder ? as his suddenly shaky voice and glassy eyes attest ? and he refers to Appleby only as "that predator." He talks about it, he said, only because sharing Ali's story might help avoid a similar tragedy.
"... It takes a lot out of me," Kemp said. "But I want these predators off the street. If they get away with it, they escalate it. They think they can just get away with stuff. We've got to get them off the street. We cannot tolerate it."
After Appleby's capture, Kemp spread the word about how the billboard ads helped bring his daughter's killer to justice. He has spoken to groups across the country and recently was in Washington to receive the 2011 Presidential Citizens Medal from President Barack Obama for his work with The Ali Kemp Defense Education Foundation, or TAKE, which trains women to fight off attackers.
"Roger Kemp was a key catalyst of the modern application of the 'wanted' billboard," Kline said. "He basically revived an old idea and made it better. In essence he said, if this worked in Ali's case, it could work in other cases. And indeed, it has."
Patients who had a transient ischaemic attack (TIA), sometimes referred to as a "mini stroke", were much less likely to experience further vascular events in the first year if their care was co-ordinated by a special hospital team. That is the key finding from a study published in the November issue of the European Journal of Neurology.
Researchers from the Department of Neurology at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark studied 306 patients admitted to the hospital with a TIA. They found that when the patients were treated by an acute TIA team their cumulated risk of having a stroke in the first seven days was 65% lower than expected. The cumulated risk in the first 90 days fell by 74%.
"The aim of our study was to see if patients had better clinical outcomes if they were under the care of a special team, which integrated outpatient care and stroke unit facilities and provided on-going nurse-led counselling" says lead author Dr Paul von Weitzel-Mudersbach.
"TIA, which is caused by a temporary lack of blood to part of the brain, is a serious condition associated with a high short-term risk of ischaemic stroke. Previous research has shown that the cumulated stroke risk in the first three months after a TIA is ten to 12% in unselected patients and more than 30% in patients with carotid stenosis, a dangerous narrowing of the largest blood vessels that deliver blood to the brain.
"Although urgent intervention has been shown to reduce the risk of stroke, a number of previous studies have shown poor long-term drug compliance in many patients."
The patients were referred directly to the acute TIA team by their family doctor or ambulance, bypassing the emergency department. Patients who had suffered a TIA in the last 48 hours, and those with multiple TIA, faced a high risk of stroke and were admitted to the stroke unit. This offered the option for immediate preventative action, including thrombolysis drugs, to break up blood clots in the case of recurrent stroke. The other patients were seen in the outpatients department within three days of referral.
All the patients seen by the team received acute treatment with antithrombotic and cholesterol lowering drugs and were offered fast-track surgery if they had carotid stenosis. Follow-up included nurse-conducted health counselling after seven, 90 and 365 days. Each contact included the importance of secondary prevention, such as drug compliance and stopping smoking.
Key findings of the study included:
Just under two-thirds of the patients were admitted immediately after their TIA (65%) with the rest being seen as outpatients. Inpatient stays averaged one day.
Over half (58%) were seen within 24 hours of their TIA and 70% within 24 hours of the call for attention. The figures at one week were 76% and 89% respectively.
Just over 5% had a stroke, non-fatal heart attack or died from a vascular event within a year of their TIA.
The cumulated stroke risk was calculated and compared with the ABCD2 score, an established method of identifying individuals with a high early risk of stroke after a TIA. The actual scores in the Aarhus study were 1.6% and 2% after seven and 90 days, significantly lower than the ABCD2 predicted stroke scores of 4.5% and 7.5%.
Early surgery to remove the build up of plaque in the carotid blood vessels was performed in 8.5% of patients. However, the authors believe this only played a minor role in the reduced risk.
The majority of the patients (95%) fulfilled at least one secondary prevention measure: reduced blood pressure, reduced cholesterol, no smoking and self-reported adherence to antithrombotic treatment. 48% achieved three out of the four targets.
Most of the patients (93%) adhered to their antithrombotic treatment.
More than 60% of the patients who smoked at the time of their TIA changed their smoking habits - 31% quit and 29.5% reduced their smoking by at least 50%. Most of the changes happened in the first seven days.
"Our study shows that urgent treatment of patients with TIA is feasible and associated with a substantial reduction in stroke risk during the first three months, which is consistent with previous studies from the UK and France" says Dr von Weitzel-Mudersbach.
"We believe that early and aggressive antithrombotic treatment may play a major role in the reduction of short-term stroke risk in most patients. Meanwhile, the combination of secondary prevention efforts with a relatively high compliance rate - including the essential telephone follow-up provided by a specially trained nurse in the first three months - was probably responsible for the low long-term risk of adverse clinical outcome.
"Treating TIA by deploying a specialist team that can admit patients when the risk of recurrent symptoms is highest and prompt thrombolysis can be used, combined with nurse-conducted health counselling, seems to be effective."
###
Notes to editors
Low risk of vascular events following urgent treatment of transient ischaemic attack: the Aarhus TIA study. Weitzel-Mudersbach et al. European Journal of Neurology. 18, pp1285. (November 2011). doi:10.1111/j.1468-1331.2011.03452.x
The European Journal of Neurology covers all areas of clinical and basic research in neurology, including pre-clinical research of immediate translational value for new potential treatments. Emphasis is placed on major diseases or large clinical and socio-economic importance (dementia, stroke, epilepsy, headache, multiple sclerosis, movement disorders, and infectious diseases).?The journal provides a forum for European activity in clinical neuroscience and medical practice and helps strengthen the links between research workers and clinicians in Europe and other parts of the world. The journal also publishes the official EFNS taskforce papers. http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ENE
Wiley-Blackwell is the international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, with strengths in every major academic and professional field and partnerships with many of the world's leading societies. Wiley-Blackwell publishes nearly 1,500 peer-reviewed journals and 1,500+ new books annually in print and online, as well as databases, major reference works and laboratory protocols. For more information, please visit http://www.wileyblackwell.com or our new online platform, Wiley Online Library (http://www.wileyonlinelibrary.com), one of the world's most extensive multidisciplinary collections of online resources, covering life, health, social and physical sciences, and humanities.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Hospital team significantly reduced risk of further vascular events after 'mini strokes' Public release date: 27-Oct-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Patients who had a transient ischaemic attack (TIA), sometimes referred to as a "mini stroke", were much less likely to experience further vascular events in the first year if their care was co-ordinated by a special hospital team. That is the key finding from a study published in the November issue of the European Journal of Neurology.
Researchers from the Department of Neurology at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark studied 306 patients admitted to the hospital with a TIA. They found that when the patients were treated by an acute TIA team their cumulated risk of having a stroke in the first seven days was 65% lower than expected. The cumulated risk in the first 90 days fell by 74%.
"The aim of our study was to see if patients had better clinical outcomes if they were under the care of a special team, which integrated outpatient care and stroke unit facilities and provided on-going nurse-led counselling" says lead author Dr Paul von Weitzel-Mudersbach.
"TIA, which is caused by a temporary lack of blood to part of the brain, is a serious condition associated with a high short-term risk of ischaemic stroke. Previous research has shown that the cumulated stroke risk in the first three months after a TIA is ten to 12% in unselected patients and more than 30% in patients with carotid stenosis, a dangerous narrowing of the largest blood vessels that deliver blood to the brain.
"Although urgent intervention has been shown to reduce the risk of stroke, a number of previous studies have shown poor long-term drug compliance in many patients."
The patients were referred directly to the acute TIA team by their family doctor or ambulance, bypassing the emergency department. Patients who had suffered a TIA in the last 48 hours, and those with multiple TIA, faced a high risk of stroke and were admitted to the stroke unit. This offered the option for immediate preventative action, including thrombolysis drugs, to break up blood clots in the case of recurrent stroke. The other patients were seen in the outpatients department within three days of referral.
All the patients seen by the team received acute treatment with antithrombotic and cholesterol lowering drugs and were offered fast-track surgery if they had carotid stenosis. Follow-up included nurse-conducted health counselling after seven, 90 and 365 days. Each contact included the importance of secondary prevention, such as drug compliance and stopping smoking.
Key findings of the study included:
Just under two-thirds of the patients were admitted immediately after their TIA (65%) with the rest being seen as outpatients. Inpatient stays averaged one day.
Over half (58%) were seen within 24 hours of their TIA and 70% within 24 hours of the call for attention. The figures at one week were 76% and 89% respectively.
Just over 5% had a stroke, non-fatal heart attack or died from a vascular event within a year of their TIA.
The cumulated stroke risk was calculated and compared with the ABCD2 score, an established method of identifying individuals with a high early risk of stroke after a TIA. The actual scores in the Aarhus study were 1.6% and 2% after seven and 90 days, significantly lower than the ABCD2 predicted stroke scores of 4.5% and 7.5%.
Early surgery to remove the build up of plaque in the carotid blood vessels was performed in 8.5% of patients. However, the authors believe this only played a minor role in the reduced risk.
The majority of the patients (95%) fulfilled at least one secondary prevention measure: reduced blood pressure, reduced cholesterol, no smoking and self-reported adherence to antithrombotic treatment. 48% achieved three out of the four targets.
Most of the patients (93%) adhered to their antithrombotic treatment.
More than 60% of the patients who smoked at the time of their TIA changed their smoking habits - 31% quit and 29.5% reduced their smoking by at least 50%. Most of the changes happened in the first seven days.
"Our study shows that urgent treatment of patients with TIA is feasible and associated with a substantial reduction in stroke risk during the first three months, which is consistent with previous studies from the UK and France" says Dr von Weitzel-Mudersbach.
"We believe that early and aggressive antithrombotic treatment may play a major role in the reduction of short-term stroke risk in most patients. Meanwhile, the combination of secondary prevention efforts with a relatively high compliance rate - including the essential telephone follow-up provided by a specially trained nurse in the first three months - was probably responsible for the low long-term risk of adverse clinical outcome.
"Treating TIA by deploying a specialist team that can admit patients when the risk of recurrent symptoms is highest and prompt thrombolysis can be used, combined with nurse-conducted health counselling, seems to be effective."
###
Notes to editors
Low risk of vascular events following urgent treatment of transient ischaemic attack: the Aarhus TIA study. Weitzel-Mudersbach et al. European Journal of Neurology. 18, pp1285. (November 2011). doi:10.1111/j.1468-1331.2011.03452.x
The European Journal of Neurology covers all areas of clinical and basic research in neurology, including pre-clinical research of immediate translational value for new potential treatments. Emphasis is placed on major diseases or large clinical and socio-economic importance (dementia, stroke, epilepsy, headache, multiple sclerosis, movement disorders, and infectious diseases).?The journal provides a forum for European activity in clinical neuroscience and medical practice and helps strengthen the links between research workers and clinicians in Europe and other parts of the world. The journal also publishes the official EFNS taskforce papers. http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ENE
Wiley-Blackwell is the international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, with strengths in every major academic and professional field and partnerships with many of the world's leading societies. Wiley-Blackwell publishes nearly 1,500 peer-reviewed journals and 1,500+ new books annually in print and online, as well as databases, major reference works and laboratory protocols. For more information, please visit http://www.wileyblackwell.com or our new online platform, Wiley Online Library (http://www.wileyonlinelibrary.com), one of the world's most extensive multidisciplinary collections of online resources, covering life, health, social and physical sciences, and humanities.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
ScienceDaily (Oct. 26, 2011) ? Climate models have a hard time representing clouds accurately because they lack the spatial resolution necessary to accurately simulate the billowy air masses.
But Livermore scientists and international collaborators have developed a new tool that will help scientists better represent the clouds observed in the sky in climate models.
Traditionally, observations from satellites infer the properties of clouds from the radiation field (reflection of sunlight back into space, or thermal emission of the planet). However, to accurately utilize satellite data in climate model assessment, a tool is required that allows an apples-to-apples comparison between the clouds simulated in a climate model and the cloud properties retrieved from satellites.
"The models are becoming more interactive and are taking into account the radiation data from the satellite observations and is an important part of the process of making better climate models," said the Lab's Stephen Klein, who along with LLNL's Yuying Zhang and other collaborators have developed the Cloud-Feedback-Model Intercomparison Project Observation Simulator Package (COSP).
"The models have been improving and refining their representations of clouds and COSP will play an important role in furthering this improvement," Klein said.
Climate models struggle to represent clouds accurately because the models lack the spatial resolution to fully represent clouds. Global climate models typically have a 100-kilometer resolution while meteorological models have a 20-kilometer range. However, to accurately represent clouds as seen in satellite measurements, the scale would need to be from the 500-meter resolution to 1-kilometer range.
"But those small scales are not practical for weather or global climate models," Klein said. "Our tool will better connect with what the satellites observe -- how many clouds, their levels and their reflectivity."
The COSP is now used worldwide by most of the major models for climate and weather prediction, and it will play an important role in the evaluation of models that will be reviewed by the next report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Klein said.
The COSP allows for a meaningful comparison between model-simulated clouds and corresponding satellite observations. In other words, what would a satellite see if the atmosphere had the clouds of a climate model?
"COSP is an important and necessary development because modeled clouds cannot be directly compared with observational data; the model representation of clouds is not directly equivalent to what satellites are able to see," Klein explained. "The COSP eliminates significant ambiguities in the direct comparison of model simulations with satellite retrievals."
COSP includes a down-scaler that allows for large-scale climate models to estimate the clouds at the satellite-scale. The tool also allows modelers to diagnose how well models are able to simulate clouds as well as how climate change alters clouds. The tool already has revealed climate model limitations such as too many optically thick clouds, too few mid-level clouds and an overestimate of the frequency of precipitation. Additionally, COSP has shown that climate change leads to an increase in optical thickness and increases the altitude of high clouds and decreases the amount of low and mid-level clouds.
Other collaborators include: the UK's Hadley Centre, Universit? Pierre et Marie Curie; University of Washington; Monash University, University of Colorado; and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Earth System Research Laboratory.
More information about the COSP appears in the August issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
A. Bodas-Salcedo, M. J. Webb, S. Bony, H. Chepfer, J.-L. Dufresne, S. A. Klein, Y. Zhang, R. Marchand, J. M. Haynes, R. Pincus, V. O. John. COSP: Satellite simulation software for model assessment. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 2011; 92 (8): 1023 DOI: 10.1175/2011BAMS2856.1
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. ? A security firm run by the former director of the FBI has been retained to review security ? and will recommend changes ? on standardized testing procedures following an SAT cheating scandal on New York's Long Island, officials with the nonprofit organizations behind the tests said Tuesday.
The officials from The College Board and Educational Testing Service made the announcement at a hearing of the New York state Senate's subcommittee on higher education. The ETS administers the SAT on behalf of the Princeton, N.J.-based College Board.
Sen. Kenneth LaValle, the subcommittee chairman, convened the hearing after seven current or former students at Great Neck North High School were arrested last month. Authorities said six of the students had an older college student who had attended the high school take their exams in their place in a quest for better scores.
The scandal surfaced when teachers at the school heard rumors of the scheme earlier this year and found that some of the student scores were far better than their high school grades had been previously.
LaValle and others have questioned test security procedures in the wake of the scandal, particularly focusing on the allegation that the accused impersonator, 19-year-old Samuel Eshaghoff, allegedly posed as a female during one of the tests. Eshaghoff also is accused of accepting payments of up to $2,500 for taking the tests. He and the other six, who are accused of misdemeanors, have all pleaded not guilty.
LaValle noted in remarks at the start of the hearing that there is increasing pressure on students to perform well on the tests, which are used by many universities as criteria for admission.
"Education is critically important," LaValle said. "It gives one a ticket to their success. This committee and our legislature and our society cannot tolerate where one group of students play by different rules that give them an advantage over other students. Sadly, the losers in this are the honest, hard-working students who play by the rules."
He said he will introduce legislation early next year to change existing laws that sometimes prevent the College Board or ETS from notifying schools when allegations of cheating have been confirmed.
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, who filed criminal charges in the Great Neck case, said her investigation has widened to other high schools ? both public and private schools ? and more arrests are expected. She was initially expected to testify at the hearing, but withdrew because of potential conflicts with the ongoing investigation.
Former West Virginia Gov. Gaston Caperton, who is now the president of The College Board, said the cheating scandal has prompted an international review of security testing procedures. He said Freeh Group International Solutions, LLC, which was founded by former FBI director Louis J. Freeh, has been retained to assist with security concerns.
Caperton insisted that impostors taking SATs for another student is a rarity. He said security changes being considered include a review of what would be acceptable ID information and possibly using digital photography at testing sites. He did not provide a timetable for when Freeh's company would make recommendations, but appeared willing to accede to whatever changes are suggested.
LaValle sought assurances that the cost of any security upgrades not be passed along to students taking the test. Caperton's spokesman, Peter Kauffmann, said it is too early to know whether additional costs would be incurred.
The College Board, which charges $49 for the test, has faced criticism from some educators over fees. This year it says it granted fee waivers to 350,000 students ? an increase of 77 percent in the last four years ? because of the weak economy.
Bernard Kaplan, the principal at Great Neck North, criticized the lack of security procedures employed by the College Board and ETS. But he said he could not answer questions, citing the ongoing prosecution case involving his school. He noted that Eshaghoff did not allegedly take the tests at Great Neck North, but went elsewhere so he wouldn't be recognized. Some senators have questioned the effectiveness of allowing students to take the exam at locations other than at their own high schools; something that is currently permitted.
"Many, many educators have come to believe that the SATs are over used, over emphasized, and generally given much more credibility than they warrant," Kaplan said. "In fact, what SATs measure best is how well you will do on your next SATs."
Kaplan added: "Very simply, ETS has made it very easy to cheat, very difficult to get caught, and has failed to include schools in the process."
Another critic of standardized testing contended that more can be done to improve test security.
Bob Schaeffer of FairTest, said photos of all students should be taken when they arrive at a school to take the SAT, something that Caperton said is now being considered.
"As the Great Neck scandal demonstrates, the current level of security is inadequate," he said. "Savvy students can circumvent these minimal protections with relative ease, particularly by using modern technologies to forge identity cards, covertly copy exam materials, or secretly transmit correct answers."
MISRATA, Libya ?? A Misrata military council official says Moammar Gadhafi, his son Muatassim and a top aide have been buried in a secret location, with a few relatives and officials in attendance.
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In a text message read to The Associated Press, spokesman Ibrahim Beitalmal is quoted as saying the burial took place at 5 a.m. (12 a.m. EDT) Tuesday, and that Islamic prayers were read over the bodies. The information could not be independently verified.
Al-Jazeera earlier reported that the Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) buried Gadhafi at an unknown location at dawn, citing a source in the council. NBC News confirmed through council sources that the bodies had been taken out of storage overnight and were no longer in Misrata.
The three bodies had been held in cold storage in Misrata since Gadhafi was captured near his hometown of Sirte on Thursday. Gadhafi died in unclear circumstances within hours of his capture, and Libya's new leaders have promised an investigation.
Beitalmal has said the burial site would remain secret to prevent vandalism.
NTC officials said earlier that the ousted Libyan leader would be buried in a secret desert grave, ending a wrangle over his rotting corpse that led many to fear for the country's governability.
Transitional government forces had put the body on show in a cold store in Misrata while they argued over what to do with it.
Story: Siege-hardened Misrata fighters took out fury on Gadhafi
The country's interim rulers ended the public display of the bodies of Gadhafi, his son and army chief on Monday after four days in which thousands of Libyans came to see for themselves that the dictator was really dead.
Guards locked the gates to the compound surrounding the cold storage container where the grim parody of the lying in state typically accorded to deceased leaders had been played out.
"That's enough," said one of the guards. "He's been causing us as much trouble dead as he did alive."
Gadhafi and his son died after being captured, wounded but alive ? some of their final moments captured on video.
'An example to the others'
But few Libyans are troubled about either how they were killed or why they were exposed to public view for so long. Islamic tradition dictates burial within a day.
"God made the pharaoh as an example to the others," said Salem Shaka, visiting the bodies earlier on Monday. "If he had been a good man, we would have buried him.
Story: In his last days, Gadhafi wearied of fugitive?s life
"But he chose this destiny for himself."
Another man, who said he had driven 250 miles to see the bodies, said: "I came here to make sure with my own eyes ... All Libyans must see him."
Meanwhile, NTC leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil is facing mounting international pressure to investigate the circumstances of Gadhafi's death.
Abdul-Jalil ordered an inquiry to establish whether the deposed Libyan leader was killed in an execution-style slaying after being captured alive Thursday by fighters in his hometown of Sirte or whether he died in the crossfire as government officials have suggested.
Video: Clinton: Libya must be accountable for Gadhafi (on this page)
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland reiterated U.S. support for a full investigation but said "it's now time for Libya to move on." She endorsed the NTC's proposed timeline for next steps in the democratic transition, and said Libyans "with no blood on their hands" must be ensured "a place in the new Libya, and that they are safe and they are included."
She also called a Human Rights Watch report that dozens of Gadhafi supporters were found dead with bullet wounds in the back of the head and their hands tied, "extremely disturbing." She said U.S. Ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz raised Washington's concerns with the council and asked them to conduct another investigation.
Deteriorating conditions
Late Monday, an APTN crew saw vehicles driving away from the refrigerator, and Associated Press reporters saw that it was empty. A military commander said the bodies were handed over to authorities for burial.
A steady stream of visitors filed in to view the spectacle on Monday before the closure, but far fewer than on previous days when crowds flocked to the container where the three rotting bodies were laid out on filthy mattresses.
There were still a handful disappointed however.
"Can I just bring my son in?" one old man pleaded.
"No, we're closed," the guard replied angrily.
'I am happy': Libyans line up to see Gadhafi's body
Later, fresh guards came on duty and allowed about 100 people to see the bodies then shut the gates once again.
Fighters guarding Gadhafi's darkening body and that of his son Muatassim and his former army chief had placed plastic sheeting under them as fluids leaked into the market cold store in Misrata where they had been taken after their capture and killing near Gadhafi's home town of Sirte on Thursday.
With the door constantly opening to allow a procession of onlookers, the refrigeration unit failed to stop rapid decomposition. Guards handed out surgical face masks against the stench and had sprayed disinfectant over the corpses overnight.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry defends his plan to cut the corporate tax rate and urges scrapping new regulations on the financial industry.
By Martin Wolk
Texas Gov. Rick Perry?is suggesting that government regulators rather than Wall Street bankers were?behind the financial collapse of 2008.
In an interview with CNBC's John Harwood before unveiling his new economic plan, Perry urged scrapping the?Dodd-Frank Act, which was passed last year and aims to tighten regulation of financial markets after the historic industry collapse that ushered in a deep recession. He also urged scrapping a provision of the earlier Sarbanes-Oxley Act that requires public companies to explain their internal control?procedures.
"You?think the previous regluation of Wall Street was adequate?" Harwood asked.
"Yes, absolutely, I think it was adequate," Perry said. "You?had a bunch of regulators that weren't doing their job."
Click on the video above for the full exchange. (Updated: New video clip has been added.)
Perry also has been raising eyebrows with his plan for an "optional" flat tax that he unveiled Tuesday in an effort to revive his flagging presidential campaign. Filers would have the choice of following the exisiting tax code or Perry's new flat tax, whichever option offered the lower rate.
More on that in the video below.
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CNBC's John Harwood has the details on presidential hopeful Rick Perry's spending plan. Perry says hard decisions will need to be made in order to get the U.S. economy back on track.
Related:
Perry wants flat tax with some deductions Perry keeps pushing 'birther' issue ?
Did anyone really think that Jim Ross making Michael Cole tap out a week ago on Raw SuperShow was going to be the end of their issue? Neither did we.
As this past Monday?s WWE.com Raw SuperShow live chat began (8:30 PM ET), special guest Jim Ross was asked what finishing maneuver he would use if he were a full-time grappler. In what was perhaps a mixture of humor and hubris, the WWE Hall of Famer replied:
Thought the ankle lock worked ok. Heard Cole wet himself. :)
J.R. then stated during the live chat: Cole is a stain on the underwear of life.
However, good ol? JR probably didn?t realize that while calling Raw SuperShow, Michael Cole monitors WWE.com. Shortly after Kevin Nash?s brutal attack on Triple H, Cole took the opportunity to answer J.R.?s online insults on Twitter.
@MichaelCole: Obviously what just happened to Triple H was a tragedy, but the real tragedy is that it didn't happen to @JRsBBQ... #Raw?
Cole?s reply set off an online war of words that would run throughout the entire Monday Night Raw SuperShow broadcast.
J.R. on WWE.com live chat: Cole is SO concerned about Triple H that he's taking cowardly shots at me. That's professional.
@MichaelCole: Hey @JRsBBQ...You and Kermit the Frog looked great in that Muppets promo for next week's #Raw?
J.R. on WWE.com live chat: Instead of getting an update on HHH's condition he is tweeting me. Amazing.
@MichaelCole: RT @JRsBBQ: If u want questions answered, log on to http://wwe.com live chat--Here's one: How'd that Sooner loss taste?
J.R. on WWE.com live chat: Sooner loss tasted like Cole's wife's cooking. Not good. @JRsBBQ?
J.R. on WWE.com live chat: @johncena vs @TheRock needs a 'voice.' let's see, who's available?
At this point, realizing he had the bully pulpit of a globally televised program, Cole raised the stakes and took what was an argument being read by tens of thousands to one witnessed by millions. He upped the ante by issuing a challenge to J.R. for Halloween night, If JR shows up Atlanta and defeats the self proclaimed "Voice of WWE" in "The Michael Cole Challenge", Cole will relinquish Raw's lead announcer position back to Jim Ross.
Cole followed his grandstand challenge with one last salvo on Twitter:
@MichaelCole: If @JRsBBQ is ANY kind of a man, he'll agree to face me next week on #Raw...and if he wins...#iQuit. I might even #SauceIt?
Ross is now faced with a decision to make: Does he show up in Atlanta for a chance to take back his spot as WWE?s alpha announcer, not knowing what the ?Michael Cole Challenge? is? As this is certainly not J.R.?s first BBQ, he expressed his reservations both on the WWE.com live chat and later on Twitter:
JR on WWE.com live chat:? I've got a pretty good track record in Atlanta BTW. However, could the deck be stacked? Is this a conspiracy?
@JRSBBQ: If anyone w/ a brain thinks that next week in ATL @ RAW that between Cole & GM I have a chance in hell to come out ok you're pet coon goofy.
What is "The Michael Cole Challenge"? Does Jim Ross want to be the voice of Raw SuperShow enough to show up and find out, or will the Hall of Famer choose practicality over pride and sit this one out? Will Muppets, Statler and Waldorf take over Raw?s announcing duties and make this all moot? Tune in Monday at 9/8 CT to a special Halloween episode of WWE Raw SuperShow on USA Network to find out.
Actress Scarlett Johansson is finally opening up about her divorce from Ryan Reynolds, which was finalized this past June.
In a candid interview with German magazine GALA, the usually tight-lipped star revealed that she was "quite depressed" after the couple split. The actress relied on her close girlfriends, her twin brother Hunter and her 89-year-old grandmother Dorothy to help her get through the break-up.
"After about a week or so I pulled myself together and started to go to the gym all the time," the actress told the German-language magazine (via the Toronto Sun)
But don't expect the star to reveal what caused her marriage's demise. "That question is too personal," she says. "I will only tell you this: I can be overcritical -- with myself and with other people. And I don't compromise."
Johansson admitted to other flaws too: "I pass judgment on people quite quickly. If I don't agree with someone or if I'm annoyed I will tell people to their face -- no matter how hurtful that might be. That can get me into trouble from time to time."
Johansson and Reynolds married in 2008 and announced their separation at the end of 2010. The pair is known for keeping their relationship private.
We’ve reviewed silicone watch bands from Hex that convert your iPod nano into a watch, and now we’re going to tell you about their newest style for the 6th and 7th generation nano. ?The new Icon Watch Band?has a polycarbonate case and band, and the style reminds me of those expensive ceramic watches that are [...]
MADRID (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's cut Spain's credit rating on Friday, sending the euro lower and underlining the challenges facing Europe's big powers as they prepare to meet G20 counterparts over the euro-zone debt crisis.
S&P, whose move mirrored that by fellow ratings agency Fitch last week, cited high unemployment, tightening credit and high private-sector debt among reasons for cutting the nation's long-term rating to AA- from AA.
"S&P underestimates the scope of the unprecedented structural reforms undertaken, which will obviously take time to bear fruit," Spain's Treasury said in a statement for investors on Friday.
Spanish unemployment, running at 21 percent, is the highest in the European Union, reflecting a stagnant economy, the collapse of a decade-long housing boom and cuts aimed at reeling in a public sector deficit which reached 11.1 percent of GDP in 2009.
High yields on Spanish government bonds point to concerns that it could be the next euro zone economy to require a Greece-style bailout and despite an unpopular austerity program, doubts remain that Spain will meet its deficit target of 6 percent of GDP this year.
Furthermore, the decision to shelve Spain's multi-billion-euro privatization plans, mainly due to tough market conditions, has deprived the state of much needed revenues to cut borrowings and leaves little room for maneuver in its public finances.
A senior official told the Financial Times on Friday that meeting the 6 percent deficit target will be "difficult."
"And if the (2011) deficit is above 6.5 percent, it's worrying," the official said.
S&P announced the downgrade as finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the world's 20 biggest economies were due to meet later on Friday in Paris amid pressure to find an urgent and convincing solution to the deepening debt crisis.
"Despite signs of resilience in economic performance during 2011, we see heightened risks to Spain's growth prospects due to high unemployment, tighter financial conditions, the still high level of private sector debt, and the likely economic slowdown in Spain's main trading partners," S&P said.
It also noted the "incomplete state" of labor market reform and the likelihood of further asset deterioration for Spain's banks, and downgraded its forecast for Spanish economic growth in 2012 to about 1 percent, from the 1.5 percent it forecast in February.
Juergen Michels, economist at Citi in London, said the market was still wary of developments in Spain's regional public finances, and was aware that fiscal problems would not disappear any time soon.
The spread on Spanish 10-year government bond yields versus their German counterpart was little changed compared to Thursday, while Spain's blue chip index was also hardly affected by the rating cut.
JOB DILEMMA
A botched labor market reform in 2010 did little to alleviate joblessness that is concentrated mainly amongst younger Spaniards, and a new government after November 20 general elections will be under pressure to tackle the issue.
The center-right People's Party is expected to win the election easily and deepen austerity measures but they have shied away from presenting specific policy measures for fear of eroding public support.
Like Fitch, which also now rates Spain at AA-, S&P signaled further possible downgrades for Spain, saying there was still a risk the euro zone's fourth-largest economy could slip into recession next year, with a 0.5 percent contraction.
The euro dipped in Asian trade after the downgrade, though it still remained on track for its biggest weekly rally since January. It last traded at $1.3753, having shed around a third of cent.
Finance chiefs from outside the euro zone are expected to speak frankly when they meet their European counterparts at Friday's G20 meeting, given impatience growing over the crisis and its implications for the rest of the world.
Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty set the tone late on Thursday, telling reporters before leaving Ottawa that euro zone actions were short of what was needed.
On Thursday, Fitch cut credit ratings or signaled possible downgrades for several major European banks. It downgraded UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland. It also placed Barclays Bank, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Societe Generale on watch negative.
(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi, Mark Bendeich, Elisabeth O'Leary and Judy MacInnes; Editing by Catherine Evans)
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
The US Coast Guard reports that illegal migration from Cuba is up; meanwhile, hope is dim that the release of the first 'Cuban Five' from jail would pave the way for Cuba to free American Alan Gross.
As reasonable Cuba watchers were tearing our hair out over US envoy Bill Richardson's failed mission to Cuba, and growing increasingly despairing over the bitter tit-for-tat that followed, two fugitives from American justice were apprehended in Cuba and turned over to US marshals, who then escorted them back to New Jersey where they appeared in court on murder, kidnapping, and arson charges. The two stand accused of killing a 23 year-old man just over one year ago. New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez's press release thanking Cuban authorities for their cooperation is here (Just kidding). Makes you wonder when Cuba informed US authorities that it had apprehended the two suspects relative to the August release of the 2010 terrorism report (in which the subject of fugitives living in Cuba was not, for the first time in a number of years, included in that report, which I think makes sense ? it should be a law enforcement issue.
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Meanwhile, Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon, a tireless advocate for the Cuban Five, advises US authories to pull up a chair and get comfortable if they are waiting for Cuba to release USAID subcontractor Alan Gross unilaterally. Alarcon points out, a trade of Rene Gonzalez, who had nearly finished his term in jail (but is still stuck in the US for three years of supervised release) for Alan Gross, two years in on a 15 year sentence, would not have been equitable. But by that rationale, expecting a trade for the other four of the Five wouldn't be reasonable either.
The US Coast Guard reports that illegal migration from Cuba is on its way ? sharply ? back up, after declining for several years. That decline was probably due to several factors ? a program to fast-track backlogged visa requests by Cubans with family in the US to sponsor relatives wanting to join them, and perhaps declining incomes with which American relatives could pay fast boat smugglers to bring their loved ones over. But with the popular family reunification program still in place, why the uptick in illegal trips? The folks at CATO think it means reforms to the Cuban economy aren't working. Perhaps that's not too far off the mark ? the reforms have certainly taken time to implement, and then in a number of cases, they've been revised and restarted. Some small businesses will succeed, but so many face high taxes and arbitrary rules. As Raul Castro made clear in his speech earlier this summer to the Cuban Parliament, resistance by bureaucrats is also a big problem, one with which he's growing impatient.
But what to do about it? He can't go intervening in every instance that rules implementing changes are so tight as to make some reforms meaningless. Word is more changes are coming that will better encourage private enterprise and better release the productive energies of such a highly educated workforce. But I think if he wants these reforms to work, and bureaucrats to get out of the way, the best way to push them out of the way is go further out on a public limb about what the end result should look like. Maybe it's time for Raul Castro to lay out for the public more specifically what changes he wants to see (beyond ending the "stupidities," and advancing the principles of efficiency and each earns according to their contribution). He should emphasize broad economic opportunity with exceptions to that being just that ? exceptions ? and maybe in this way, forcing the bureaucrats' hand and moving the reforms more quickly ahead.
--- Anya Landau French blogs for The Havana Note, a project of the "US-Cuba Policy Initiative,? directed by Ms. Landau French, at the New America Foundation/American Strategy Program.
The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of Latin America bloggers. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here.
My wife and I are about to be through with all of our credit card and similar debt. We have a new mortgage, 2 years left on a car payment and some small student loans. We currently contribute to our companies 401K so that we can get the max match out of the company.
As of right now, we want to start with about $100/week towards our fututure. What are some of the more practical ways to start investing/saving?
I don?t know if I have the risk tollerance to jump into the stock market. Should I go with a Roth IRA? If so, should I let a company manage the funds or would I be better of doing it myself?
In this report, you will see the trends of declining inventory, increased number of sales reflected as our market stabilizes. People from all over the world are buying south Florida real estate this year because they recognize value.
Florida is truly on sale right now!
Most homes, townhomes and condos can be purchased far below the cost to build new. Prudent investors recognize that fact and are acting quickly to buy in one of the nicest areas of the United States.
Two of my associates traveled to China in September to meet with investor groups that are actively buying as many properties as they can. One returned to form a REIT in which the Chinese will buy one hundred million dollars of Florida real estate. That?s remarkable, and this type of story is becoming more and more commonplace.
Will prices stay low?
With so much international interest in our South Florida market, will prices remain low forever? We?ve already seen a dramatic increase in the average price paid for condos, and I suspect we?ll see this trend in all types of ?affordable housing?.
Be sure to check out our ?hot deals? in Featured Investment Opportunities. If you?d like information on these or other buying opportunities, contact us today.
Few wildly successful companies have mastered the art of saying NO to everything. Instead they focus on the things that matter most and execute on them with perfection. The companies described here provide good lesson to all small business owners on how to be successful by learning to say NO.
Read more - http://www.angelbusinessadvisors.com...do-everything/
The first paramedic to arrive in Michael Jackson's bedroom says he was told the emergency had just occurred, but that the pop star's condition contradicted Dr. Murray's report.
The first paramedic to arrive in Michael Jackson?s bedroom on the day he died in 2009 testified on Friday that Mr. Jackson?s condition did not match what his personal physician told emergency workers as they fought to save his life.
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?How long has the patient been down?? Los Angeles Fire Department paramedic Richard Senneff said he asked Dr. Conrad Murray, as first responders began to work on the pop star?s lifeless body.
?It just happened,? Mr. Senneff said Dr. Murray told him.
Senneff said he took it as encouraging news. ?It meant to me this was a patient we had a really good chance of saving,? he told the jury.
But as he and his colleagues continued to fight to revive Jackson, Senneff said, the medical evidence uniformly contradicted Murray?s assertion, suggesting the emergency had not been as recent as the doctor had declared. Senneff later estimated it could have been 20 minutes to an hour earlier.
The comments came on the fourth day of testimony at the Los Angeles County Courthouse, where Murray is on trial for allegedly administering a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol to Jackson.
Prosecutors allege that Murray was using the powerful anesthetic to treat Jackson?s chronic inability to sleep. Propofol is not a recognized treatment for insomnia and is usually administered by specialists in a surgical setting in a fully equipped hospital or clinic.
Murray was allegedly administering the drug to Jackson in his bedroom on a nightly basis without monitoring equipment capable of sounding an alarm should Jackson develop life threatening complications.
Prosecutors allege that is what happened on June 25, 2009. An autopsy showed Jackson died of an overdose of propofol.
Murray, a cardiologist hired to serve as Jackson?s personal physician, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for his alleged role in the death. If convicted he faces up to four years in prison and loss of his medical license.
Defense lawyers suggest that Jackson gave himself the lethal dose of propofol when Murray was out of the room.
The precise time that Jackson stopped breathing and lost consciousness is important in the trial because prosecutors maintain that Murray may have delayed calling 911 in an effort to cover up his and Jackson?s unauthorized use of propofol.
Telephone records suggest Murray was talking on his cell phone instead of constantly monitoring his sedated patient.
At some point around noon on March 25, Murray realized Jackson was in the midst of a medical emergency.
At about 12:05 p.m., according to Jackson?s chef, the doctor burst from Jackson?s bedroom and yelled to the household staff for help.
At 12:12 p.m., he telephoned Jackson?s personal assistant and informed him that Jackson had ?a bad reaction.?
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Choosing a completely free on-line relationship website could typically be confusing. Totally free online courting site lets you try the free relationship companies earlier than making a financial commitment. Totally free online dating permits you ...
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RISMEDIA, September 23, 2011?First Team? Real Estate today launched a new marketing campaign focusing on the profound, positive impact its agents make in their clients? lives.? The campaign comes with the announcement that the company was named the favorite real?
Home > News Item > Local official surprised by Attorney General?s suit against modular developer
LaconiaDailySun reports on ?surprise? legal action by New Hampshire?s Attorney General Michael Delaney?s Office. In a follow up to the story covered earlier this week in MHProNews.com, Shanna Saunders said the city code enforcement office had been working with the developer and home owners to resolve some complains, but never expected the NH AG?s office to file suit. ?I knew people were coming to the office and looking at their files,? Saunders said. Saunders explained the Villa at Paugus Woods was originally approved by the city planning board in 2006 as a cluster subdivision for a U.S. Department of Housing Urban Development (HUD) Code single-family manufactured homes. ?I think when this was approved these had HUD stamped on it,? she said, noting that manufactured housing are built to federal HUD Code standards for manufactured housing and doesn?t required local inspections except for site work, like roads, drainage and the sewer systems and hookups to services like electricity, water and sewage. At some point, the project apparently changed from HUD Code manufactured housing to modular home construction. Former city contract code enforcement officer Jim Van Valkenburgh explained modular home ares engineered and built in factories and the design engineers and subcontractors are the ones responsible for design defects. ?Each modular house also has a manufacturer?s sticker number with an identification number on the outside,? he said. ?This means it was acceptable to our department of safety,? Van Valkenburgh?said. He said that as the contracted code enforcement officer, all inspections were made as mandated by Laconia?s adopted International Residential Code of 2006, so he disagrees with the allegations in Delaney?s lawsuit that says life-safety issues are compromised. ?I would not sign a certificate of occupancy without it meeting the minimum code standards of the residential building code,? he wrote. Brady Sullivan with the Villa at Paugus Woods development stated that he had cooperated with officials and that they would be vindicated.
(Photo credit: NH-DOJ)
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Categories: News ItemTags: 2006, adopted International Residential Code of 2006, Attorney General, Brady Sullivan, city code enforcement office, city contract code enforcement officer, city planning board, Daily Business News, former, HUD Code manufactured Home, IRC, Jim Van Valkenburgh, Laconia, manufactured home marketing sales management, MHMSM.com, MHProNews.com, Michael Delaney's Office, modular home, New Hampshire, originally approved, prefab housing, Shanna Saunders, subdivision, U.S. Department of Housing Urban Development single-family manufactured homes, Villa at Paugus Woods, vindicated
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Public release date: 27-Oct-2011
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Thought the ankle lock worked ok. Heard Cole wet himself. :)
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LaconiaDailySun reports on ?surprise? legal action by New Hampshire?s Attorney General Michael Delaney?s Office. In a follow up to the story covered earlier this week in MHProNews.com, Shanna Saunders said the city code enforcement office had been working with the developer and home owners to resolve some complains, but never expected the NH AG?s office to file suit. ?I knew people were coming to the office and looking at their files,? Saunders said. Saunders explained the Villa at Paugus Woods was originally approved by the city planning board in 2006 as a cluster subdivision for a U.S. Department of Housing Urban Development (HUD) Code single-family manufactured homes. ?I think when this was approved these had HUD stamped on it,? she said, noting that manufactured housing are built to federal HUD Code standards for manufactured housing and doesn?t required local inspections except for site work, like roads, drainage and the sewer systems and hookups to services like electricity, water and sewage. At some point, the project apparently changed from HUD Code manufactured housing to modular home construction. Former city contract code enforcement officer Jim Van Valkenburgh explained modular home ares engineered and built in factories and the design engineers and subcontractors are the ones responsible for design defects. ?Each modular house also has a manufacturer?s sticker number with an identification number on the outside,? he said. ?This means it was acceptable to our department of safety,? Van Valkenburgh?said. He said that as the contracted code enforcement officer, all inspections were made as mandated by Laconia?s adopted International Residential Code of 2006, so he disagrees with the allegations in Delaney?s lawsuit that says life-safety issues are compromised. ?I would not sign a certificate of occupancy without it meeting the minimum code standards of the residential building code,? he wrote. Brady Sullivan with the Villa at Paugus Woods development stated that he had cooperated with officials and that they would be vindicated.