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WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists say NASA is about to propose major cuts in its exploration of other planets, especially Mars. And NASA's former science chief is calling it irrational. With limited money for science and an over-budget new space telescope, the space agency essentially had to make a choice in where it wanted to explore: the neighboring planet or the far-off cosmos. Mars lost. Two scientists who were briefed on the 2013 NASA budget that will be released next week said the space agency is eliminating two proposed joint missions with Europeans to explore Mars in 2016 and 2018. NASA...

More than one in five older Americans skimp on health care to save money, says the Employee Benefit Research Group. A significant number of Americans over the age of 50 skip medication or postpone doctors’ appointments to save money, according to a recent report by the EBRI, a private, nonprofit research institute based in Washington. According to the study, 21.5% cut down on their prescription drugs, switched to cheaper drugs or got free samples, and 19.4% skipped or postponed doctor appointments. An even larger number, 27.5 %, reported having difficulty paying their monthly bills. “We know that consumption tends to...

A group of religious castoffs has been attacking fellow Amish, cutting off their hair and beards in an apparent feud over spiritual differences, including incidents in Holmes and Carroll counties.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan said on Thursday he supports cutting tax breaks for the oil industry as lawmakers search for ways to battle rising gasoline prices. In response to a question at a town hall meeting in Waterford, Wisconsin, the Republican congressman said he agreed that oil company subsidies should end. "We're talking about reforming the safety net, the welfare system, we also want to get rid of corporate welfare," Ryan said to applause. A video of the question and answer was posted online in a blog run by the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress...

Tea Party revels in newfound clout: ‘When we’re cutting, we’re winning’By Matt Viser Globe Staff / April 9, 2011 WASHINGTON — Americans learned yesterday the full power of the Tea Party, with newly elected conservatives calling the shots in the House rather than railing against government from the sidelines. For many in the movement, pushing the government to the brink of closure was a crowning achievement, an emphatic statement that spending must be reined in — and now. “When we’re cutting,’’ said Representative Nan Hayworth, a New York Republican, “we’re winning.’’ “It’s a victory for the American people,’’ declared Representative...

As President Obama concluded his Rose Garden statement revealing that he had replaced Gen. Stanley McChrystal as the top American commander in Afghanistan, a reporter shouted an impromptu question. "Can the war be won?" he yelled. The president didn't answer — perhaps because he doesn't know. You can watch the non-answer here. (video at link) The moment comes as the president starts to walk away: Obama is trying to stick to a July 2011 deadline to draw down troops in Afghanistan — but the McChrystal flap was the latest setback for an administration trying desperately to regain momentum in a...

The American Academy of Pediatrics has reversed a decision made earlier this month to allow for a modified form of female genital mutilation they called a "ritual nick." This is how they described it: "However, the ritual nick suggested by some pediatricians is not physically harmful and is much less extensive than routine newborn male genital cutting. There is reason to believe that offering such a compromise may build trust between hospitals and immigrant communities, save some girls from undergoing disfiguring and life-threatening procedures in their native countries, and play a role in the eventual eradication of FGC. It might...

A Boston man was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole, hours after a jury found him guilty of beating his 70-year-old father to death, then using a power saw to cut up the body before scattering the remains throughout the neighborhood. Brian Lee showed no outward emotion when the jury returned a verdict of guilty on a charge of first-degree murder for the October 2006 slaying of Edward Lee at the victim’s home in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood, prosecutors said. He declined to make a statement at his sentencing Wednesday afternoon, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office...

General Motors Corp. is dropping the franchises of 70 percent of Cadillac dealerships nationwide and southeast Wisconsin is no exception, leaving only two area dealerships confirmed as continuing beyond 2010 — Metropolitan in West Allis and Crest in Brookfield. Metropolitan Cadillac, in fact, is running commercials urging customers whose dealers are closing to switch to its dealership. “My understanding is that there are a lot of Cadillac stores closing,” said Metropolitan president Max Stephenson. “The only two that are staying open are Metropolitan and Crest.” General Motors will not disclose the identities of dealerships that are closing. Only one area...

Julia is a fairly typical 16-year-old girl: she is crazy about boys, concerned about being fashionable, doesn't appreciate homework, loves pizza - and she "cuts". For those who aren't familiar with the term - and whose imaginations might be thinking the worst about what it means to "cut" - I'm afraid I only have very sad news: "cutting" means you take a knife or razor and use it to actually dig into your own flesh. This barbaric practice is common among today's precious teen women. Some school counselors estimate that the majority of middle and high school aged girls have...

Millionaire ex presidents get millions in perks Posted By: Mike Deeson 1 day ago Tampa, Florida - When Barack Obama was sworn in as the nation's 44th president last month, all the focus was on everything new in Washington. However the change of command is as much about out with the old, as it is in with the new. While George Bush held the title of President for 8 years, he is now a member of another unique club, the ex-presidents of the United States. The members of the ex-presidents club also happen to be millionaires. It is a club...

Tribune Co. plans to cut 400 to 500 jobs companywide, including about 100 each at the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, the company announced Wednesday. The cuts, which amount to about 2 percent of the Chicago-based media company's workforce, are a necessary response to a weak economy and "significant declines in advertising volume at our newspapers," Tribune Company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sam Zell said in a memo to employees. "Unfortunately, I can't turn this ship from its course of the past 10 years within just a few months," said Zell, who took the company private in an...

RICHMOND, Va., Jan. 28, 2008 – Health care for wounded troops needs to remain on the cutting edge of technology, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said during a visit to a Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility here. Dr. David Cifu, McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center medical director, tells Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes of Virginia; and Sandy Cartwright, the general’s wife, about treatment facilities at the center in Richmond, Va., Jan. 24, 2008. Cartwright and Forbes visited the center to learn...

To be a "good" Muslim References -  'Palestinian' child abuse -  Evil 'Joy' -  'Blessing' Hitler -  Mourning the wicked -  Australia - Muslim land -  Jihad on all Buddhists -  Spain - Muslim land -  Europe - Muslim land -  Arabs DON'T care about 'Palestinians' -  72 virgins - Loyalty -  'Pallywood' -  (use of) Ambulances for terror -  (use of) Women for terror -  Human Shields -  Middle east background -  September 11 terror plot on London -  Myth on: 'Terrorists are desperate' -  Beheadings -  Ilan Halimi [an example of monsterous wild prolonged torture motivated by hate only] -  Muslims attacking Jews in France -  Ahmadinejad ' Islamic Hitler' -  Cutting -  'Honor killing' -  Jews & Christians as "Apes & Pigs"? - ...

BALTIMORE - The NAACP said it is cutting about 40 percent of its national staff and closing, at least temporarily, its seven regional offices to cover three years of budget shortfalls. The civil rights group will reduce its staff from 119 to 70 through layoffs and attrition to avoid draining more of its shrinking reserves, interim president and chief executive officer Dennis Hayes said. The Baltimore headquarters will remain open and still offer services provided by the regional offices, he said. "We are right-sizing our organization to meet present circumstances," Hayes told The Baltimore Sun for an article published Thursday....

A 35-year-old woman accused of throwing hot oil on her baby boy and hacking off part of his ear will most likely never have custody of her son again, a county official said. Tonya M. Edwards of Cleveland was in City Jail Friday on suspicion of endangering children, domestic violence and felonious assault. She denied cutting her 10-month-old son's ear. "I bit [his] ear by accident," she said, according to a police report. Doctors told police the wound was clearly made by a sharp object, not by teeth. The boy, Micah Belcher Jr., was in good condition at MetroHealth Medical...

CHICAGO, JUNE 5 : Nearly 1 in 5 students at two elite U.S. universities say they have purposely injured themselves by cutting, burning or other methods, a disturbing phenomenon that psychologists say they are hearing about more often. For some young people, self-abuse is an extreme coping mechanism that seems to help relieve stress; for others it is a way to make deep emotional wounds more visible. The results of the survey at Cornell and Princeton are similar to other estimates on this frightening behavior. Counselors say it is happening at colleges, high schools and middle schools across the United...

17 Pct. at 2 Schools Practice Self-Abuse Survey: 17 Percent at 2 Ivy League Schools Practice Cutting, Other Self-Abuse By LINDSEY TANNER The Associated Press CHICAGO Jun 5, 2006 (AP) CHICAGO - Nearly 1 in 5 students at two Ivy League schools say they have purposely injured themselves by cutting, burning or other methods, a disturbing phenomenon that psychologists say they are hearing about more often. For some young people, self-abuse is an extreme coping mechanism that seems to help relieve stress; for others it's a way to make deep emotional wounds more visible. The results of the survey...

Remember in the classic, biblical epic films of the 1950s, how Sodom and Gomorrah were portrayed? Drunken men with multiple piercings and bright red robes, with one loose woman under each arm, cavorting in orgiastic revelry against a background of annoying, mosquito-like music? Maybe a bone through the nose as well? Hollywood took pains to depict these lost souls in the most debauched and irredeemable manner – to justify their subsequent destruction with fire and brimstone as punishment for their great sinfulness. Guess what? Those Hollywood depictions don't even begin to capture the shocking reality of what is going on...

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel, on the forefront of nations fighting terrorist bombings, has decreased the number of suicide attacks by using methods ranging from employing Palestinian informants to asking guards to look each passenger directly in the eye. One bus company even developed a sensor to detect explosives. But experts say good intelligence, relentless military pursuit and a vigilant public - not technological innovation - is behind most of Israel's success in stopping bombers. The steps Israel has taken have a downside: They've turned many public places into virtual garrisons and put guards, by law, outside every restaurant to frisk...