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Voting rights of whites violated in Mississippi county, judge says By Jack Elliott Jr. ASSOCIATED PRESS July 1, 2007 JACKSON, Miss. – A federal judge has ruled that a majority black county in eastern Mississippi violated whites' voting rights in what prosecutors said was the first lawsuit to use the Voting Rights Act on behalf of whites. U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee ruled late Friday that Noxubee County Democratic Party leader Ike Brown and the county Democratic Executive Committee “manipulated the political process in ways intended and designed to impair and impede participation of white voters and to dilute...

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Joe Wilcox Joe Wilcox Entomology is one of my passions, but I take a different view of bugs than Microsoft—and not just by kind. The company is once again counting security bugs, and possibly to a fault. There are some things you count and compare, and some things you don't. Security flaws should be in the "don't" category, not that Microsoft seems to get it. For years, the company has used number of flaws as a measure for touting security improvements. Counting is a great security by PR approach, but little more. Today, Jeff Jones, Microsoft's security strategy director, released...

Nobody knows what causes , the nervous system disease that affects more than 400,000 Americans, but new research sheds light on why the body is attacking itself and how to reverse it. Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered how one protein could turn the tide against the degeneration found in the brains of MS patients, and actually reverse some of the worst effects of the disease. The protein - alphaB-crystallin - is not usually found in the brain, but in the lens of the eye. It only develops in the brain in response to nerve cells...

UCI College Republicans say school administrators gave preference to a Muslim Student Union event over theirs. Three members of UC Irvine's College Republicans have filed a complaint with the campus administration, saying that officials unfairly moved their group two weeks ago to make room for a Muslim Student Union event. In a statement filed May 22, students Reut Cohen, Brock Hill and Julian Babbitt said administrators told their club to move its booth on Ring Road during the Muslim Student Union's "Israel: Apartheid Resurrected" event on May 17. The College Republicans, they said, had booked the spot by the administration...

PASS CHRISTIAN, Miss. (AP) — Bishop Thomas J. Rodi says he is deeply saddened by a lawsuit filed by more than 150 members of Holy Family Parish, formerly St. Paul Parish in Pass Christian.The suit, filed May 1, names Rodi, the Diocese of Biloxi and Holy Family pastor the Rev. Dennis Carver as defendants. The bishop's response was published Friday in the Gulf Pine Catholic, the diocese's newspaper, and was reprinted on http://www.sunherald.com.The lawsuit asks the court to compel the diocese to rebuild the church on the beach and get an accounting of donations made to the church after Hurricane...

Testosterone can help protect against brain shrinkage in men with multiple sclerosis (MS), a small, preliminary trial suggests. Patients who applied a gel containing the hormone every day for a year showed less brain shrinkage than expected for people of their age with MS. The study participants also showed an increase in muscle mass over the course of the one-year trial.

HOUSTON --A U.S. citizen accused of working alongside al-Qaida members pleaded guilty Thursday to a charge of receiving training from a foreign terrorist organization, authorities said. During a court hearing, Daniel Joseph Maldonado, 28, a Muslim convert who grew up in New Hampshire and was also known as Daniel Aljughaifi and Abu Mohammed, admitted to traveling in December to a terrorist camp in Somalia, where he was trained to use firearms and explosives in an effort to help the Islamic Courts Union topple the government and install an Islamic state. Members of al-Qaida were present at the camp.

Seeing as the rise of YouTube and Google video has pretty much made Adobe's Flash the de facto standard for web streaming, you'd have to be a fool to try and introduce a browser plugin for a new format. Either a fool, or a company with deep pockets. How deep? Try "This is madness! This is Sparta!" deep. Yeah, it's Microsoft. Their Silverlight plugin, which works not only with IE, but with Safari and Firefox (ha ha, Opera users) and essentially provides a browser plugin that lets everyone stream WMV files like they do with flash files. The improvement upon...

To all Freepers and family members who have MS (multiple sclerosis): how much of the cost of your injectable does your insurance cover, if you use betaseron or copaxane or avonex? I was shocked this year to learn my wife's medicine is now a non-preferred drug and that we pay 30% of the cost, which is $500 a month. Now that's a lot better than paying the full price, but it is still very high. I have always had it covered as a flat co-pay before - say $50. Are there ways to reduce the cost or do I have...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists intrigued by the fact that multiple sclerosis can slip into remission when women are pregnant said on Tuesday a pregnancy-related hormone may offer great promise for treating the neurological disease. Researchers at the University of Calgary said a study involving mice showed that a hormone called prolactin triggers production of myelin, a fatty substance that insulates nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. In multiple sclerosis, the immune system, which normally protects the body, is believed to attack the myelin that coats nerve cells, causing a worsening loss of sensation and movement that can range...

BRANDON, Miss. -- A Brandon woman is working to remove what she calls a symbol of Mississippi's history of racism. The arrest of 71-year-old James Seale on Wednesday in connection with the 1964 kidnappings of two black teenagers grabbed national headlines, serving to some writers as a sign that Mississippi is making amends with a racist past. But Darlene Collier, founder of the Flag Has Got To Go, said Mississippians are too eager to hang on to symbols of that past. Collier created and started selling T-shirts urging people to take down Confederate flags shortly after a 2001 vote failed...

A prolonged bout of intestinal parasites seems to slow the decline of patients with multiple sclerosis, according to a study released today. The results suggest that immune-modulating molecules from parasites could be developed into drugs to ease autoimmune diseases, and that by conquering parasite infections, modern medicine may have inadvertently increased our vulnerability to these illnesses. Autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) occur far more often in developed countries than in developing countries. And parasitic infections, which have been beaten down in the United States, are still common in South America and elsewhere in the developing world, says neuroimmunologist...

Testimony in the trial of Chicago resident Muhammad Salah and Abdelhaleem al-Ashqar of Northern Virginia, continued yesterday. FBI Agents gave testimony focusing on items found in Ashqar's home during a search of his Oxford Mississippi residence on December 26, 1993, in addition to wiretaps of his phone and fax lines. Special Agent Bradley Benabidez testified that the FBI acquired over 2400 hours of audio during the year that they maintained a wiretap. Benabidez further described the December 1993 search of Ashqar’s home where a team of agents from the FBI photographed over 1600 documents. A few of those documents which...

It's minus 120 degrees and all I'm wearing is a hat and socks. Cryotherapy is the latest treatment for a range of illnesses including arthritis, osteoporosis, and even MS. New Age madness or a genuine medical breakthrough? The airlock door to the cryo-chamber slides open before me. A powerful whoosh of cold air escapes and a few curls of frozen smoke snake out around my legs. It’s like standing in front of a giant refrigerator, but instead of taking out a pint of cold milk I’m about to step inside. The temperature is minus 120 degrees and all I’m wearing...

Charlie Rangel opens his mouth...and mocks the South: (hat tip: reader CRB) “It’s not just committees — our influence within the House Democratic caucus will grow enormously,” Mr. Rangel said in an interview. To that end, he sketched out an expansive federal agenda: Teaming up with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on gun control, passing new tax incentives for urban job programs, and redirecting federal money to New York in return for the outsize tax collections that the federal government makes here. “Mississippi gets more than their fair share back in federal money, but who the hell wants to live in...

Vitamin shots may help protect multiple sclerosis patients from severe long-term disability, a study suggests. Currently, there is no effective treatment for the chronic progressive phase of MS, when serious disability is most likely to appear. Researchers cut the risk of nerve degeneration in mice with MS-type symptoms by giving them a form of vitamin B3 called nicotinamide. The Children's Hospital Boston study appears in the Journal of Neuroscience. MS, which affects about 85,000 people in the UK, is a disease of the central nervous system. It causes the break down of the myelin sheath, a fatty protein, which coats...

LAS VEGAS - Jerry Lewis' annual Labor Day telethon raised a record $61 million to fight muscular dystrophy, bolstered by a huge donation from a group of firefighters and the lack of a major hurricane before the show. "We did good," said Lewis, 80, looking choked up as the final figure, $61,013,855, flashed across the tote board Monday. "I can only thank you from the bottom of my heart for so many little people that can't thank you, can't show their appreciation in any way." Leading the contributors was the International Association of Fire Fighters, which donated a record $23.5...

06/14/06 -- Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and the University of Calgary have found that stem cells derived from adult skin can create neural cell types that can be transplanted into and function in mouse models of disease. This research is reported in the June 14, 2006 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. SickKids researchers previously discovered what type of cells can be made from these stem cells (called skin-derived precursors, or SKPs) based on the role played by neural-crest stem cells during embryogenesis. In addition to generating the peripheral nervous system, neural crest stem cells generate...

Embryonic stem cells have not cured or successfully treated a single patient. Contrast that with the more than 70 conditions that are treatable using non-embryonic stem cell therapies. One of the hottest debates in bioethics today surrounds research using stem cells taken from either in vitro fertilization or cloned human embryos. From state legislatures and the halls of Congress to the United Nation, the controversy over whether to ban (or fund) such research rages. Human cloning for embryonic stem cell research creates human embryos virtually identical to a patient’s genetic composition. The embryo’s stem cells are then harvested — a...

INVERNESS, Scotland, November 18, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A British teen who has multiple sclerosis now claims she is walking after umbilical cord stem cell therapy she traveled abroad to receive. Wheelchair-bound since 2003, 19 year-old Amanda Bryson told The Herald that she has been walking daily since immediately after her treatment from a private clinic in the Netherlands Friday. Believed to be the only British beneficiary of the umbilical cord stem cell therapy, Bryson said this week, "It sounds shocking, but I could feel the difference after just five minutes. Since the treatment I have been transformed. I am doing...

Adult stem-cell research may lead one day to cures for terminal and debilitating diseases "I hope we will always be guided by both intellect and heart, by both our capabilities and our conscience." -President George W. Bush1 Few areas of scientific study hold as much potential as adult stem-cell research. This research is already generating medical breakthroughs and treatments for debilitating diseases and disabilities, such as spinal cord injuries, sickle cell anemia and Parkinson's. Indeed, scientists laud stem-cell treatments as the "miracle cure" of the 21st century. Unlike so many areas of biotechnology, adult stem cells do not spark a...

OXFORD, Miss. -- A mental evaluation was ordered Thursday for Michael Pruitt, who is accused of kidnapping and shooting a 6-year-old Marshall County girl. During the hearing in Lafayette County Circuit Court, defense attorney John L. Dolan asked that the issue of bond be taken up at a later date. Dolan also requested a mental evaluation for Pruitt and Asst. Dist. Atty. Lelani Hill agreed to the request. Pruitt will remain in jail until the mental evaluation can be scheduled, officials said. "Due to the nature of the charges, the state does not have any objections," Hill told Circuit Judge...

Multiple Sclerosis sufferers were offered the hope of a normal life today after doctors discovered a pioneering drug treatment. A five-year study, which is due to be published in next month's Journal of Neurology, found that patients with the aggressive form of MS had a reduced relapse rate of 90 per cent under the regime. Background • Click here for our short guide to MS A treatment offering fresh hope for sufferers of multiple sclerosis has been discovered by British scientists. They are pioneering a regime which uses a combination of drugs to halt the ravages of the devastating neurological...

A Mississippi soldier was laid to rest Saturday in Laurel. Expected to be in attendance at Sgt. Clarence McSwain's funeral were members of the Westboro Baptist Church. The church is known for its protests at military funerals. Several veterans met up in Meehan before hitting I-59 South. The riders are not associated with any group in particular, but Henry "Thumper" Yandle is with Rolling Thunder. He says he's not worried about the group showing up. "It has been said that they'll be there. It's been said that they'd be at a lot of them that they've never showed up to....

Bobby Glen Wilcher, convicted of two Scott County murders back in 1982, is one of 70 Mississippi Death Row inmates. I’ve written about all of them individually in the past. But Wilcher’s case is the one I know the most about and the one most compelling to me — for I know the families of his victims and their friends. Wilcher told U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate earlier this month that he wanted to drop all his appeals and have the state proceed with his execution. Wingate granted Wilcher’s motion. The state set a date for his execution of...

Millions of Windows users may unwittingly be test subjects for an unfinished Microsoft antipiracy tool.The software maker has been delivering a prerelease version of Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications software to PCs as a "high priority" item in the built-in update feature in Windows. The tool, also known as WGA Notifications, is used to validate the authenticity of Windows software installed on a PC. The move is a first for the software maker. Microsoft normally asks people to join test programs before it initiates the download of any such trial software. "I don't think that we have done it before," David...

Microsoft is cutting the cord on its antipiracy tool. The software maker this month plans to update the Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications program so that it only checks in with Microsoft once every two weeks, instead of after each boot-up, a company representative said Friday. By year's end, the tool will stop pinging Microsoft altogether, the representative said. The changes come after a critic likened the antipiracy tool to spyware. He found that the program, designed to validate whether a copy of Windows has been legitimately acquired, checks in with Microsoft on a daily basis. Microsoft did not disclose in...

DAVENPORT, Iowa (CNS) -- While cleaning shelves in the music and arts room at the Humility of Mary Center in Davenport, Sister Nancy Wooldridge thought to herself, "What can I do with all this sheet music? I can't recycle it -- it must be of value." Shelves and boxes were full of sheet music featuring classical, traditional and religious arrangements, lesson books, accompaniment music and other material that the sisters had collected over the years. The retired music teacher, a member of the Congregation of the Humility of Mary, talked with other sisters in the motherhouse about ideas as to...

In California, Fox Gets Warm Embrace and a Cold ShoulderBy JOHN M. BRODER Published: May 26, 2006 SACRAMENTO, May 25 — In an echo of the debate on immigration under way in Washington, the California Legislature gave visiting President Vicente Fox of Mexico a two-edged welcome on Thursday. Democratic and Latino members, including the Assembly speaker, Fabian Núñez, embraced Mr. Fox, while some Republicans boycotted his evening address to a joint session of the Legislature. Other Republicans attended the speech, but wore yellow buttons reading "No más!" to protest Mr. Fox's support for liberalizing American policies on immigration. In his...

Patricia is injected with about one million cord blood stem cells Patricia Frost is a desperate woman. The multiple sclerosis she has fought for 14 years has slowly taken over her body and speech.The 66-year-old has not been able to walk for a decade and lost the use of her arms within the past year - leaving her unable to feed, wash or dress herself.  After being told there is nothing more her British doctors can do for her, except to help ease her pain, Patricia decided to take a huge gamble with her health.  Along with her husband,...

PARIS -- "Bonjour, mademoiselle" -- is that a sexist insult? A classic pickup line? Or just a friendly greeting for millions of Frenchwomen every day? Whatever it is, it could become a thing of the past. A group of French feminists wants to get rid of the word "mademoiselle," or "miss," saying the term turns a female into an inferior being defined by her marital status. "When you get letters, the postman or anyone passing by your mailbox can see whether you are married or not. It's nobody's business," said Mathilde, an unmarried 40-year-old, who has started a petition for...

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., May 2, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The results of a study published in the April issue of Stem Cells and Development suggest that human stem cells derived from bone marrow are predisposed to develop into a variety of nerve cell types, supporting the promise of developing stem cell-based therapies to treat neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. Stem Cells and Development, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., carries the paper, entitled "Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Express Neural Genes, Suggesting a Neural Predisposition." (online here http://www.liebertpub.com/scd)The surprising results lend a new perspective...

The probate judge who ordered the dehydration death of brain-injured Terri Schiavo will join Michael Schiavo and other key proponents of her death as a guest speaker at a bioethics conference. Florida Circuit Court Judge George Greer on Monday will address attendees of the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics 10th anniversary symposium, entitled "The legacy of the Terri Schiavo case: Why is it so hard to die in America?" Greer intends to speak to the need for courts, not legislators, to decide the fate of incapacitated individuals like the 41-year-old Florida woman whose husband obtained Greer's authority to remove...

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's computer manufacturers must install operating software before their goods leave the factory gates, the latest effort to address the thorny issue of piracy before President Hu Jintao visits the United States. The order was given in a notice issued jointly by the Ministry of Information Industry, the State Copyright Bureau and the Ministry of Commerce on March 31 and released to reporters on Monday. Chinese counterfeiting is a major irritant in U.S.-China trade and American software firms have said they want to see progress on the issue at the 2006 meeting of the U.S.-China Joint Commission...

THE explosive story of Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged woman who became caught in the middle of a US battle over the right to die, could become a Hollywood movie, industry reports said. A year after Schiavo died following the removal of her feeding tube, Hollywood has bought the rights to make a movie from husband Michael Schiavo's book Terri: The Truth, Daily Variety said. Schiavo died in March last year after a bitter and divisive years-long battle between Michael Schiavo and Terri Schiavo's parents over whether she should be removed her from life support. The family feud exploded into a...

...The therapy in question is Tysabri, and for many MS patients it appears to halt progression of the degenerative neurological disorder. But a year ago... corporate partners Biogen and Elan "voluntarily" withdrew their drug because of FDA pressure and litigation fear after two patients developed a rare brain infection. That infection might have been linked to Tysabri, since the drug works by suppressing parts of the immune system. But these patients also had other immuno-suppressive therapies, and in any case the MS patients were almost all willing to run the risk.... But shortly before the deadline, the FDA announced it...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A high dose of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.'s multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone is more effective at limiting relapses and brain lesions than the standard dose, without more side effects, researchers said on Wednesday. "For some people a higher dose may work better," said Dr. Jeffrey Cohen of the Cleveland Clinic's MS research center and lead investigator of a small nine-month trial comparing the two doses. The study, funded by Israel-based Teva, found that a 40 milligram injection of Copaxone reduced inflammatory disease activity 38 percent more than a 20 mg dose. Rates of side effects, mainly...

I just learned from FReeper cgk who has multiple sclerosis that many of her symptoms are returning. Her doctor has determined that she can be treated at home and does not need to be hospitalized at this time. She is grateful for this because it will allow her to stay home with her little girl. Please post your prayers to cgk. Thank You and God Bless you all.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Randy Walker swears he would have died from his diabetes after Hurricane Katrina had a sheriff not seized two FEMA trucks filled with ice and distributed it to residents, many of whom had to keep their insulin cold. Now, that sheriff could be prosecuted on charges of interfering with a federal operation. Forrest County Sheriff Billy McGee commandeered two 18-wheelers full of ice from Camp Shelby, a Federal Emergency Management Agency staging area, after five days passed with little relief for residents living without electricity in the wake of the deadly storm. "Man, I was wanting...

Microsoft program manager Stephen Toulouse today publicly challenged Apple to hire a security expert and overhaul the way information is released when Mac OS X updates are released. "Look, the only way you can tackle security issues is by getting out ahead of them and clearly communicating to your users the threat, and the clear guidance on how to be safe," Toulouse said. "Here's the reality, for the next couple of years the Mac OS will experience increasing security threats and mark my words, the company will have to seek outside expertise in the form of a head of security...

Protein Fragment May Generate First Simple Test For Multiple Sclerosis Johns Hopkins scientists report the discovery of a protein found only in cerebrospinal fluid that they say might be useful in identifying a subgroup of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) or identifying those at risk for the debilitating autoimmune disorder. MS strikes over 10,000 Americans each year, most of whom are women, and causes weakness, numbness, a loss of muscle coordination, and problems with vision, speech, and bladder control. It is a disorder in which the immune system destroys myelin, the covering of nerves that helps transmit signals. Cerebrospinal fluid...

THE immune cells that attack the brains and nerves of people with multiple sclerosis could be turned into a weapon against the disease.This month sees the beginning of a trial of a personalised vaccine for MS, designed to rein in and destroy the renegade white blood cells that attack myelin cells lining the brain and nerves of patients.To make the vaccine, PharmaFrontiers of Woodlands, Texas, takes blood from an MS patient and extracts a sample of these renegade cells. The cells are then multiplied and weakened with radiation before being re-injected into the patient, whose immune system will then recognise...

Microsoft's Anti-Spyware program is causing troubles for people who also use Symantec's Norton Anti-Virus software; apparently, a recent update to Microsoft's anti-spyware application flags Norton as a password-stealing program and prompts users to remove it. According to several different support threads over at Microsoft's user groups forum, the latest definitions file from Microsoft "(version 5805, 5807) detects Symantec Antivirus files as PWS.Bancos.A (Password Stealer)." When Microsoft Anti-Spyware users remove the flagged Norton file as prompted, Symantec's product gets corrupted and no longer protects the user's machine. The Norton user then has to go through the Windows registry and delete multiple...

If new features won't get you to upgrade to Vista, security enhancements should, Windows chief Jim Allchin has urged.Microsoft has already touted the bells and whistles it is putting into Windows Vista, the operating system successor to XP that's due out by the end of the year. There will be flashy new graphics, a spiffed-up user interface and advanced search features. Other changes include improved touch-screen support and a Windows sidebar that can display all kinds of information such as upcoming appointments, just-in e-mail messages and a clock. But if none of that strikes your fancy, Vista will still be...

Microsoft Corp. is on the defensive over its decision to hand over search data to the U.S. government, saying the company would never compromise the privacy of its customers. On the company’s MSN Search Weblog (http://blogs.msdn.com/msnsearch/default.aspx), Ken Moss, general manager of MSN Web Search, said that Microsoft did not divulge any personal user information when it provided the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) with data from its search service. Moss said that the privacy of Microsoft customers is “non-negotiable” and the company aims to continue to protect customer data and information. However, Microsoft thought it best to cooperate with the...

Fat Hormone Tied to Multiple Sclerosis Italian Study: Blocking the Hormone Leptin Curbed Similar Disease in Mice By Miranda Hitti WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD on Thursday, January 12, 2006 Jan. 12, 2006 -- Blocking the hormone leptin may help prevent or slow multiple sclerosis (MS).The report comes from Italian researchers and appears in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.The Italian study didn't include any people. Instead, the scientists studied female mice with an MS-like disease.Leptin is a hormone that's mostly made by fatty tissue of the body. Commonly associated with obesity, leptin plays a role in regulating weight and appetite.Leptin also affects...

New Planned Parenthood Head Faces Home State Clinic Cuts By Randy Hall CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor January 20, 2006 (CNSNews.com) -- The Planned Parenthood Federation of America is marking the 33rd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision on Jan. 22 with a new president. However, even as Cecile Richards takes the reins of the nation's most frequent provider of abortions, the organization may be forced to curtail services and even shut down clinics in an ironic location: her home state of Texas. The likely cutbacks are the result of amendments to the two-year budget passed in 2005 by the Texas...

Although Microsoft is hard at work trying to ship Windows Vista this year, the company is beginning to set its sights on the next horizon, Vienna. Vienna, once labeled Blackcomb, is the new code name for the successor to Vista. It is not clear when Vienna might ship or what features it might contain. Microsoft confirmed the name change on Friday, but declined to comment on Vienna's stage of development. "The 'Blackcomb' code name has been changed to 'Vienna,' but we do not have any other details to share on timing or focus," Microsoft said in a statement to CNET...