The life of a young teacher's aide, one of 25 victims gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School last week, was just beginning to fall into place. She was finishing her doctorate, and her boyfriend was getting ready to propose to her on Christmas Eve.
Rachel D'Avino, 29, was a behavioral therapist who had just started working at Sandy Hook Elementary, according to her obituary published in the Waterbury Republican American. Just days before Friday's massacre, D'Avino's 27-year-old boyfriend, Anthony Cerritelli, had asked her parents for permission to pop the question to their daughter.
CLICK HERE for complete coverage of the tragedy at Sandy Hook.
D'Avino's friend Lissa Lovetere Stone, 44, told The Associated Press that she met D'Avino in 2005 when the young woman began to work with Lovetere Stone's autistic son in Bethlehem, Conn., where D'Avino lived.
"I'm heartbroken. I'm numb," Lovetere Stone told the AP. "I think she taught me more about how to be a good mother to a special needs child than anyone else ever had. Her job didn't end when the school bell rang at 3 o'clock."
Police in Newtown told D'Avino's family that she had been a "hero" when the gunfire erupted, shielding children from Adam Lanza's bullets that killed 20 children, ages 6 and 7, before he turned one of his guns on himself.
CLICK HERE for a tribute to the shooting victims.
D'Avino, who received a bachelor's degree from the University of Hartford, was completing her Ph.D. at the University of St. Joseph of Hartford's Institute for Autism and Behavioral Studies. One of her professors, John Molteni, said in a Facebook post that D'Avino was within days of completing her course.
"She was a paraprofessional working with a student with special needs, something she had dedicated her life to doing," Molteni wrote. "She had just completed her coursework to sit for her certification exam on Wednesday."
Molteni also posted that there would be a memorial mass at the University of St. Joseph Tuesday at noon. According to D'Avino's obituary, a funeral service will be held on Friday in Bethlehem.
Pilates is one of the world?s most popular exercise systems. In principle, using the weight of one?s own is to take control of body and mind by exercises. Pilates which gained fairly popularity recently, it promises to person a lot more than to lose weight.
Pilates was developed by Joseph Pilates in the early twentieth century. It supports spine, runs muscles. Pilates is wonderful to exercise for health and fitness.
General properties of Pilates
- Pilates aims to improve the body?s balance. - It base on a large number of repetitions of a movement. - Only some of the tools available for exercise. - Any a weight is not used for exercise. - Exercises for health and fitness you can do with pilates.
The benefits of Pilates
Pilates does not only control your body. In addition, it also controls your mind. Pilates system developed and about it two books by Joseph Pilates, has thought as a whole body and mind while defining about 500 numbers exercises. The six basic principle of Pilates 1) Concentration 2) Control 3) Centering 4) Fluid motion 5) Certainty 6) Breath
So always exercise for health and fitness?
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pilates
- Increase your energy - Improve your?posture -?Improve your?flexibility - Strengthen your core muscles - Enjoy life again?
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BERLIN (Reuters) - German opposition-led states said they will continue to block a tax deal reached by the German and Swiss governments, crushing Berlin's hopes of salvaging the agreement through mediation, a magazine reported.
Last month the Bundesrat upper house of parliament, representing Germany's 16 federal states, threw out the legislation, prompting Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right government to refer it to a special parliamentary mediation committee.
"The deal is dead, and it is going to stay that way," Norbert Walter-Borjans, finance minister of North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW), told Focus magazine in a report made available on Sunday. He acts as a spokesman for those states opposing the deal.
Championed by Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, the agreement would have allowed Germany to tax assets stashed away by its citizens in Swiss bank accounts.
The opposition Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens, keen to make taxation of the rich an issue in campaigning for next September's federal election, have argued the legislation would have let off tax evaders too easily.
The deal would have required Swiss banks to levy a punitive charge on an estimated 150 billion Swiss francs ($160 billion) in undeclared funds squirreled away by Germans in Swiss accounts. Future holdings by German citizens would be treated on a par with those held in Germany, although the account holders identities would not be revealed.
Deep-brain electrical stimulation has been around for awhile -- rousing folks from comas and helping researchers find new ways to treat OCD, depression and maybe even obesity. Now doctors are testing the so-called "brain pacemakers," on Alzheimer's patients and the results are promising, but not conclusive. After a year of treatment, six patients showed higher glucose consumption in PET scans of the learning and memory areas of the brain -- a change that is associated with increased neuron activity. Glucose metabolism typically decrease as a result of the disease. Researchers are seeking more patients for the trial, and are optimistic that the technique could one day be used to stave off some of Alzheimer's debilitating symptoms.
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GOP?s Marco Rubio: ?Tax increases will not solve our $16 trillion debt? Investor?s Business Daily, by?Andrew Malcolm
Original Article
Posted By:SurferLad, 12/8/2012 9:59:41 AM
Hello, I?m Marco Rubio. I have the honor of representing Florida in the United States Senate, and the privilege of addressing you today on behalf of my fellow Republicans. Our middle class has made America different from the rest of the world. Every country has rich people. But only a few places have achieved a vibrant and stable middle class. And none has been more vibrant and more stable than ours. But now a growing opportunity gap has developed between the dreams of millions of Americans and the opportunities for them to actually realize them.
"We must reform our complicated, uncertain, job-killing tax code, by getting rid of unjustified loopholes." Umm are those called deductions? Beware using the vocabulary of the left!
Deductions and high marginal rates are like two poles of a magnate. They cannot exist separately. Republican goal should be to use the elimination of ?loopholes? to drive more equitable tax rates. One hopes Rubio will be among the first to see the light.
It really is an incredibly simple concept. One that even the slowest Liberal in the room should be able to understand. You don?t make an ailing economy better by taking more out of it anymore than you would add more overhead to a floundering company...unless of course you are: A) Stone drunk, high or both B) You have a room temperature IQ C) You are deliberately trying to destroy it.
I like Rubio. He is quick witted, articulate and makes a good speech. In this one he has made a speech which sounds good, is careful not to offend anybody and doesn?t say very much. I guess it was pitched to his audience.
Good stuff from Rubio except for two things: 1. A tax loophole is just a deduction someone else gets. Closing loopholes gives the government more money, which only encourages it. 2. I?m uncomfortable with Rubio talking up the middle class, which identifies Americans in a way that implies that those with less deserve more. That?s just the liberal argument turned upside down.
If it were up to me, we wouldn?t have progressive tax rates. We wouldn?t have tax rates at all: Take the Federal budget, divide it equally by the number of tax payers, and then send them each the bill. Whatever tax amounts that are not paid are automatically cut from next year?s budget. Whoever didn?t pay their tax bill are denied all access to Federal programs, aid, and programs until they start paying. Tax payers who don?t settle up within five years are purged from the voter rolls and placed in debtor?s prison if they try to vote. This would solve America?s problems in eight years.
I absolutely hate it when a point is made like this. It?s incomplete, deserving to get ignored. He needs to go a step further.
?Tax increases will not solve our $16 trillion debt? and if you think you will be spared from BHO?s proposal, think again. You are next to be taxed under the pretext that it didn?t go far enough... Your taxes will have to be raised next. Count on it.
God Bless Rubio! He is extremely deft at being gracious, as he tells the public the marxists are wrong.
A strong Christian... I really think he?s someone special. Pray God keeps him safe.
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GOP?s Marco Rubio: ?Tax increases will not solve our $16 trillion debt?
Investor?s Business Daily, by Andrew Malcolm???
Original Article
Posted By: SurferLad- 12/8/2012 9:59:41 AM ???
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Hello, I?m Marco Rubio. I have the honor of representing Florida in the United States Senate, and the privilege of addressing you today on behalf of my fellow Republicans. Our middle class has made America different from the rest of the world. Every country has rich people. But only a few places have achieved a vibrant and stable middle class. And none has been more vibrant and more stable than ours. But now a growing opportunity gap has developed between the dreams of millions of Americans and the opportunities for them to actually realize them.
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Obama: No budging on higher tax rates
Investor?s Business Daily, by Andrew Malcolm???
Original Article
Posted By: SurferLad- 12/8/2012 9:13:18 AM ???
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Hello, everybody. Over the last few weeks, there?s been a lot of talk about deadlines we?re facing on jobs and taxes and investments. But with so much noise and so many opinions flying around, it can be easy to lose sight of what this debate is really about. It?s not about which political party comes out on top, or who wins or loses in Washington. It?s about making smart decisions that will have a real impact on your lives and the lives of Americans all across the country.
A strange White House memo describing Obama?s talk with Egypt?s Morsi
Investor?s Business Daily, by Andrew Malcolm???
Original Article
Posted By: SurferLad- 12/7/2012 10:06:07 AM ???
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As you may have noticed in recent months, President Obama?s Mideast foreign policies are not going so well. In Libya, Obama pushed out brutal but cooperative dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The country turned lawless. On 9/11, terrorists not reacting to an obscure anti-Islam video sacked the Benghazi consulate, killing four Americans. [Snip] Here?s Thursday?s full read-out of Obama?s phone call to Morsi. See if you too are struck by this one-sided "conversation."
Obama will take oath twice this time, just to be safe
Investor?s Business Daily, by Andrew Malcolm???
Original Article
Posted By: SurferLad- 12/7/2012 9:26:40 AM ???
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Barack Hussein Obama had such a good time reciting the presidential oath of office twice last time, that he?s decided to do it twice twice. What really sticks out from that cold sunny inaugural day in 2009, of course, was the size of Aretha Franklin?s hat, which needed special FAA clearance to ascend Capitol Hill. But many also remember the about-to-be president and the already-Chief Justice of the Supreme Court muffing the oath. [Snip] Well, this time the constitutionally-mandated Jan. 20 date for the old, new president to assume office falls on a Sunday.
China bids today on yet another failed Obama energy loan recipient
Investor?s Business Daily, by Andrew Malcolm???
Original Article
Posted By: SurferLad- 12/6/2012 9:10:32 AM ???
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You won?t hear much about it elsewhere today. But from some downtown Chicago law offices will come the distinct sound of one more nail being driven into the coffin of Barack Obama?s green energy giveaway loans. A123 Systems will be auctioned off. It?s a Michigan lithium ion battery maker which declared bankruptcy back in October, the same day it cashed another $1 million check from the crack Obama investment team. A123 is one of those notorious bad bets like Solyndra that the Obama administration poured billions of taxpayer dollars into.
Obama refuses to leave seat on Rosa Parks bus
Investor?s Business Daily, by Andrew Malcolm???
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Posted By: SurferLad- 12/4/2012 9:18:16 AM ???
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NARCISSISM UPDATE: When we left Barack Obama, the devout self-worshipper had just had the White House website add mentions of him to the online biographies of most presidents from the last century. Not that anyone in particular had asked how the one-time pot-smoking teen related to hallowed White House chief executives from the nation?s past. But obviously the fellow who grew up with an absentee father wanted the world to see some kind of connection to these more accomplished men.
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Obama confers with Mexico?s new president on Taco Bell menu
Investor?s Business Daily, by Andrew Malcolm???
Original Article
Posted By: SurferLad- 12/3/2012 10:11:41 AM ???
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Leno: President Obama and Mitt Romney had lunch the other day at the White House. Romney offered to pay. But Obama said, "No, no, it?s on our grandchildren." Conan: House Speaker John Boehner?s office was invaded by a group of nude female protesters. Boehner?s unsure what they were protesting, but says he?ll definitely keep doing it. Conan: A 69-year-old Florida woman was arrested for stealing hundreds of dollars? worth of lingerie. Authorities released her after she threatened to model the lingerie.
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George Zimmerman sues NBC and reporters
Associated Press, by Mike Schneider???
Original Article
Posted By: jond- 12/6/2012 6:42:12 PM ???
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Orlando, Fla. - George Zimmerman sued NBC on Thursday, claiming he was defamed when the network edited his 911 call to police after the shooting of Trayvon Martin to make it sound like he was racist. The former neighborhood watch volunteer filed the lawsuit seeking an undisclosed amount of money in Seminole County, outside Orlando. Also named in the complaint were three reporters covering the story for NBC or an NBC-owned television station. The complaint said the airing of the edited call has inflicted emotional distress on Zimmerman, making him fear for his life and causing him
Obamacore: The substitution of propaganda for great literature in our schools
Power Line, by Paul Mirengoff???
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Posted By: StormCnter- 12/7/2012 6:05:19 AM ???
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Controversy is brewing over new Common Core State Standards in English that call on public schools to emphasize the reading of ?information text? instead of fictional literature. According to the Washington Post, English teachers across the country are upset by what they consider the government?s effort ?to drive literature out of the classroom.? English teachers are right to be upset, but they shouldn?t take it personally. The government has nothing much against literature, per se. Rather, this initiative is driven in large part by the desire to promote political propaganda in the classroom.
Pop-Star James Taylor: ?I Really Suffered? Under 8 Years of ?Cheney/Bush?
Cybercast News Service, by Elizabeth Harrington???
Original Article
Posted By: KarenJ1- 12/7/2012 9:20:08 PM ???
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James Taylor said he ?really suffered? under eight years of ?Cheney/Bush,? while speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on Friday about election reform. ?It was sort of natural, being so politically active over the years, that I would get involved in the campaign of 2008,? Taylor said. ?I really?I was hugely motivated also by eight years of Cheney/Bush, and I say it in that order on purpose.? ?Those were?it was a tough time for me,? he said. ?I really suffered.? ?It made me deeply ambivalent about my country that we would
The Greatest Christmas Song
American Spectator, by Daniel J. Flynn???
Original Article
Posted By: StormCnter- 12/8/2012 5:35:28 AM ???
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?Tis the season for holiday music that intrudes, annoys, and entraps. Like a zombie, "Feliz Navidad" dies every year only to return -- everywhere. On the car radio, in the mall, on hold, at your kid?s school (provided they omit the holiday?s first syllable) you can?t escape Christmas music. Bah! Humbug! The radio staples are as amorphous as they are ubiquitous. The Pogues offer a Christmas anthem for St. Patrick?s Day in "A Fairytale of New York." Greg Lake?s "I Believe in Father Christmas" hits the ears as a Yuletide hymn for atheists.
Posted By: Oblio- 12/8/2012 6:56:19 AM ???
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President Barack Obama will attend a charity concert where PSY is scheduled to perform after it emerged the South Korean rapper participated in anti-American protests several years ago.A spokesman said Friday that the Obama family will attend the December 21 Christmas in Washington concert, as is custom. News reports cite two instances of the 34-year-old "Gangnam Style" rapper participating in concerts protesting the US military presence in South Korea during the early stages of the war in Iraq.
Despite Tax Increase, California State Revenues in Freefall
Breitbart?s Big Government, by Chriss W. Street???
Original Article
Posted By: Dreadnought- 12/8/2012 10:33:23 AM ???
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California State Controller John Chiang has announced that total state revenue for the month of November 2012 fell $806.8 million, or 10.8%, below budget. Democrats thought they could hammer ?the rich? by convincing voters to pass Proposition 30 to create the highest state income tax in the nation. But it now appears that high income earners have already ?voted with their feet? by moving themselves and their businesses out of state, resulting in over $1 billion shortfall in corporate and income taxes last month and the beginning of a new financial crisis. Passage of Proposition 30 set off euphoria
Golden Spike, helmed by former NASA officials, wants to return human explorers to the lunar surface--for a price
By Rachel Kaufman
GOING UP? Golden Spike says it can deliver humans to the surface of the moon for less than the cost of some robotic planetary missions.Image: Courtesy Golden Spike
WASHINGTON, D.C.?A private spaceflight company that has been operating in secret for two years announced yesterday an ambitious plan to launch manned missions to the moon.
The company, named Golden Spike after the ceremonial railway spike that marked the completion of the first transcontinental railway, would send two-person crews to the lunar surface and back at a cost of $750 million per passenger. If the plan comes to fruition, the first astronauts to step out of a Golden Spike lander could be the first human beings to set foot on the moon since the final Apollo mission in 1972.
Golden Spike's plans rank among the most audacious privately funded space exploration missions ever proposed. The company said its first launch would cost $7 billion to $8 billion but that subsequent trips would be much cheaper, at roughly $1.5 billion. That is less than many robotic missions launched by national space agencies, Alan Stern, president and CEO of the new company, said during a press conference here. "We estimate that there are 15 to 20, or more, expeditions of this type out there," involving nations interested in lunar science but lacking the capability to send astronauts, he said. Stern, who is also the former head of NASA's Science Mission Directorate and the principal investigator of the New Horizons robotic mission now en route to Pluto, said he believed tourists and commercial businesses (such as mining companies) would also be potential customers.
Golden Spike intends to have the first customers on the moon by 2020, a plan that hinges on the use of currently existing (or "soon to be existing") launch vehicles, spacecraft and technologies.
So far, though, the plan remains in the realm of the hypothetical. Golden Spike needs to raise $8 billion before its first rocket lifts off. To fill the company coffers, the firm expects to draw on ticket presales as well as on marketing and advertising. Given the international flavor expected of the missions, "we expect these expeditions to be the equivalent of the Olympics," Stern said. "Think of the advertising time; the naming rights?it's a very important part of our business." Stern would not release details on the company's financials, but acknowledged that "we need to sell a bunch" of seats. "If we sell three or four, we're completely upside down."
Gerry Griffin, chair of the Golden Spike board and former director of NASA?s Johnson Space Center in Houston, concurred. "I don't think there are any technological issues," Griffin said. "It's going to be financial."
Nevertheless, returning to the moon has so far proved both expensive and difficult. Under former Pres. George W. Bush, NASA had planned to put astronauts back on the moon by 2020 as part of the Constellation Program. But budget and technology-development issues have left Constellation dead in the water. And NASA's next-generation Space Launch System is nowhere near operational.
Consequently, no launch vehicle today stands ready to take people to the moon and back, although the Falcon Heavy rocket built by private spaceflight firm SpaceX, which is currently in testing, may fill the void. Golden Spike wrote a concept paper that has been accepted for publication in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics's Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets that discussed using the Falcon Heavy in the context of a moon mission, but Stern cautioned that no official announcement has been made as to which launch vehicle the new company will use.
Downtown Long Beach, California (Photo credit: Konabish ~ Greg Bishop)
The Long Beach Police Department, with the assistance of the United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspector?s Office, and the Internal Revenue Service, served search warrants at 32 locations across the Southland on Thursday as part of a long and intensive investigation that originally began in November of 2009.
The original operation was part of a several month long multi-agency investigation that stemmed from 13 shootings and a murder investigation that spanned over three years.? Multiple search warrants were served and numerous arrests were made of gang members from the Baby Insane Crip criminal street gang, and evidence linking this gang, as well as some of their family members and associates, to a large-scale fraud ring? (the original news release can be found by clicking on the link below).
The L.B.P.D., with the assistance of the U.S. Secret Service and the United States Postal Inspector?s Office, continued the investigation into the members of the gang.? The joint investigation determined that the gang was heavily involved in identity theft and tax fraud and investigators learned that the suspects were stealing personal identifying information to commit various financial crimes, including the filing of fraudulent tax returns
?Through tedious investigative work, it was determined there had been tens of thousands of dollars of loss to the federal government, and several hundred thousand dollars more of attempted fraud identified, totaling over one million dollars combined. The stolen proceeds from these crimes were then used to fund the gang?s extravagant lifestyle,? noted officials from the LBPD.
?Today?s operation utilized over 200 detectives and agents from L.B.P.D., the U.S. Secret Service, and the U.S. Postal Inspector?s Office.? The 32 search warrants were served in Long Beach, Huntington Beach, Harbor City, Van Nuys, Carson, Inglewood, Gardena, Anaheim, Cerritos, and Los Angeles, and 11 individuals were arrested that consisted of members of the Baby Insane Crip Gang, as well as family members and associates. With the assistance of the Department of Children & Family Services, eight children were taken into protective custody,? the statement proclaimed.
Several thousands of dollars in cash was seized, in addition to several tens of thousands of dollars worth of property that included 10 guns (one assault rifle, one shotgun, and eight handguns), major electronics such as numerous large screen plasma tv?s, and stereo and video projection equipment, multiple cars including several high-end vehicles, and a $50,000 boat.
?We would like this operation to serve as another strong message to the gangs in the City of Long Beach and throughout the region, that we will not stand for the destruction you bring to our communities, and will do everything within our power to stop the violence and corruption that you inflict upon society, stated Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell. ?We will continue to unite with our law enforcement partners at the local, county, state and federal levels, and utilize every tool available to us to target not only you, but those who conspire with you to victimize members of our community for your personal gain.?
The L.B.P.D. would like to remind residents to be extremely cautious whenever asked to provide any personal information, whether through the computer, over the phone or in person, and to closely monitor their bank accounts to ensure their information hasn?t been compromised.? Other crime prevention tips, which the community is highly encouraged to practice, can be found by clicking on the link below.
The L.B.P.D. would like to thank the agents of the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspector?s Office, and the Internal Revenue Service, who put in a tremendous amount of time to this investigation and dedicated themselves to this operation.? They have all played a vital role in dealing yet another blow to this gang in an effort to reduce criminal activity and violence in our community.
The arrest information relating to today?s operation are listed below:
Name:???????????? ??????????? Age:?????????? City of Residence:????? Booking Charge: Crystal Armijo ??????????? 27?????????????? Long Beach??????????????? outstanding warrant April Clark?????????????????? 21?????????????? Long Beach??????????????? identity theft Christina Clark??????????? 23?????????????? Long Beach?????????????? identity theft John Hermida???????????? 48?????????????? ?Long Beach???????????????poss.?of stolen property/stolen car Lakanda Horn ??????????? 40?????????????? Carson??????????????????????? identity theft Dominique Lewis?????? 24?????????????? Los Angeles?????????????? ex-felon in possession of firearm Ebony Mosely ??????????? 30?????????????? Harbor City?????????????????outstanding warrant Dejuana Oliver??????????? 22?????????????? Long Beach??????????????? identity theft Lamartin Patterson???? 30 ? ? ? ? ? ? Long Beach????????????????identity theft Torrence Stokes???????? 27?????????????? Los Angeles?????????????? ex-felon in possession of firearm Edward Winston????????? 27?????????????? Long Beach?????????????? outstanding warrant
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Existing drugs may help more breast cancer patientsPublic release date: 7-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Julia Evangelou Strait straitj@wustl.edu 314-286-0141 Washington University School of Medicine
More patients can benefit from highly effective breast cancer drugs that are already available, according to DNA sequencing studies by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and other institutions.
The investigators found that some women with the HER2 negative subtype may benefit from anti-HER2 drugs even though standard tests don't indicate they are candidates for the drugs.
"These patients are going to be missed by our routine testing for HER2 positive breast cancer," says Ron Bose, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine. "Currently they're not going to receive a HER2 targeted drug because we don't have a way to identify them. And we predict they are going to have a more aggressive form of breast cancer."
Bose, who treats patients at Washington University's Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, will present the data Dec. 7 at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
Today, a type of breast cancer known as HER2 positive is treated with drugs that inhibit the function of the HER2 protein. To be classified as HER2 positive, a patient must have more than the normal two copies of the HER2 gene. Too much HER2 drives tumor growth and some HER2 positive patients may have as many as 20 copies of the gene. Doctors test for this gene "amplification" in every patient diagnosed with breast cancer. It must be present for a woman to receive anti-HER2 drugs.
But instead of multiple copies of the gene churning out too much HER2, some patients deemed HER2 negative based on standard testing may have mistakes in just a few "letters" of the DNA in their two gene copies that result in excess activity of the protein. Bose and his colleagues estimate that these undetected HER2 mutations rather than the HER2 amplification -- may be driving tumor growth in 1.5 to 2 percent of all breast cancer patients. With about 230,000 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed in the United States each year, even this modest percentage translates into more than 4,000 patients per year.
The study, led by senior author Matthew J. Ellis, MD, PhD, of Washington University, and published online Dec. 7 in the journal Cancer Discovery, analyzed data from eight DNA sequencing studies, which together included about 1,500 patients. Two of the sequencing studies were conducted by The Genome Institute at Washington University, in collaboration with study co-author Elaine R. Mardis, PhD, co-director of the genome institute.
Of the 1,500 patients, 25 were found to have HER2 mutations without gene amplification. Not all mutations appeared to have the same effect, however. After analyzing 13 of the mutations, seven were found to drive cancer growth. In the laboratory analysis, most of these mutations responded well to the anti-HER2 drugs lapatinib and trastuzumab, both approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Although two of the mutations were resistant to lapatinib in lab tests, they responded well to neratinib, a newer anti-HER2 drug that is currently in phase II clinical trials.
Bose also cautions that some mutations were found to be "silent," meaning they did not drive the tumor's growth and therefore would likely not respond to anti-HER2 drugs.
The study's findings have led directly to the launching of a phase II clinical trial to test whether patients with HER2 mutations (but not the amplification) will benefit from anti-HER2 drugs. The trial will include patients with stage IV breast cancer classified as HER2 negative. Their HER2 genes will be sequenced to look for mutations. If mutations are present, they will be treated with neratinib in addition to the standard treatment they would otherwise receive.
At Washington University, the trial will be led by Cynthia X. Ma, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine. The other centers participating in the study are the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Bose points to this study as an example of the potential value in sequencing the DNA of cancer patients, even when limited to a single gene of interest such as HER2.
"If we can identify mutations that we can act on, that information will help us better guide treatment," Bose says. "In this case, we don't even have to develop new drugs against HER2 mutations. It's just a matter of finding the patients."
###
Bose R, Kavuri SM, Searleman AC, Shen W, Shen D, Koboldt DC, Monsey J, Goel N, Aronson AB, Li S, Ma CX, Ding L, Mardis ER, Ellis MJ. Activating HER2 mutations in HER2 gene amplification negative breast cancer. Cancer Discovery. Online Dec. 7, 2012.
This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH grant numbers R01CA095614, U01HG00651701, and U54HG003079), the Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation, the 'Ohana Breast Cancer Research Fund, and the Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Siteman Cancer Center Cancer Frontier Fund. Data access was provided by the Cancer Genome Atlas Network.
Washington University School of Medicine's 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked sixth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.
The Siteman Cancer Center, the only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in Missouri, is ranked a top 10 cancer facility by U.S. News & World Report. Comprising the cancer research, prevention and treatment programs of Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, Siteman is also Missouri's only member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.
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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.
Existing drugs may help more breast cancer patientsPublic release date: 7-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Julia Evangelou Strait straitj@wustl.edu 314-286-0141 Washington University School of Medicine
More patients can benefit from highly effective breast cancer drugs that are already available, according to DNA sequencing studies by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and other institutions.
The investigators found that some women with the HER2 negative subtype may benefit from anti-HER2 drugs even though standard tests don't indicate they are candidates for the drugs.
"These patients are going to be missed by our routine testing for HER2 positive breast cancer," says Ron Bose, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine. "Currently they're not going to receive a HER2 targeted drug because we don't have a way to identify them. And we predict they are going to have a more aggressive form of breast cancer."
Bose, who treats patients at Washington University's Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, will present the data Dec. 7 at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
Today, a type of breast cancer known as HER2 positive is treated with drugs that inhibit the function of the HER2 protein. To be classified as HER2 positive, a patient must have more than the normal two copies of the HER2 gene. Too much HER2 drives tumor growth and some HER2 positive patients may have as many as 20 copies of the gene. Doctors test for this gene "amplification" in every patient diagnosed with breast cancer. It must be present for a woman to receive anti-HER2 drugs.
But instead of multiple copies of the gene churning out too much HER2, some patients deemed HER2 negative based on standard testing may have mistakes in just a few "letters" of the DNA in their two gene copies that result in excess activity of the protein. Bose and his colleagues estimate that these undetected HER2 mutations rather than the HER2 amplification -- may be driving tumor growth in 1.5 to 2 percent of all breast cancer patients. With about 230,000 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed in the United States each year, even this modest percentage translates into more than 4,000 patients per year.
The study, led by senior author Matthew J. Ellis, MD, PhD, of Washington University, and published online Dec. 7 in the journal Cancer Discovery, analyzed data from eight DNA sequencing studies, which together included about 1,500 patients. Two of the sequencing studies were conducted by The Genome Institute at Washington University, in collaboration with study co-author Elaine R. Mardis, PhD, co-director of the genome institute.
Of the 1,500 patients, 25 were found to have HER2 mutations without gene amplification. Not all mutations appeared to have the same effect, however. After analyzing 13 of the mutations, seven were found to drive cancer growth. In the laboratory analysis, most of these mutations responded well to the anti-HER2 drugs lapatinib and trastuzumab, both approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Although two of the mutations were resistant to lapatinib in lab tests, they responded well to neratinib, a newer anti-HER2 drug that is currently in phase II clinical trials.
Bose also cautions that some mutations were found to be "silent," meaning they did not drive the tumor's growth and therefore would likely not respond to anti-HER2 drugs.
The study's findings have led directly to the launching of a phase II clinical trial to test whether patients with HER2 mutations (but not the amplification) will benefit from anti-HER2 drugs. The trial will include patients with stage IV breast cancer classified as HER2 negative. Their HER2 genes will be sequenced to look for mutations. If mutations are present, they will be treated with neratinib in addition to the standard treatment they would otherwise receive.
At Washington University, the trial will be led by Cynthia X. Ma, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine. The other centers participating in the study are the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Bose points to this study as an example of the potential value in sequencing the DNA of cancer patients, even when limited to a single gene of interest such as HER2.
"If we can identify mutations that we can act on, that information will help us better guide treatment," Bose says. "In this case, we don't even have to develop new drugs against HER2 mutations. It's just a matter of finding the patients."
###
Bose R, Kavuri SM, Searleman AC, Shen W, Shen D, Koboldt DC, Monsey J, Goel N, Aronson AB, Li S, Ma CX, Ding L, Mardis ER, Ellis MJ. Activating HER2 mutations in HER2 gene amplification negative breast cancer. Cancer Discovery. Online Dec. 7, 2012.
This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH grant numbers R01CA095614, U01HG00651701, and U54HG003079), the Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation, the 'Ohana Breast Cancer Research Fund, and the Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Siteman Cancer Center Cancer Frontier Fund. Data access was provided by the Cancer Genome Atlas Network.
Washington University School of Medicine's 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked sixth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.
The Siteman Cancer Center, the only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in Missouri, is ranked a top 10 cancer facility by U.S. News & World Report. Comprising the cancer research, prevention and treatment programs of Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, Siteman is also Missouri's only member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.
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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.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Western powers are whipping up fears of a fateful move to the use of chemical weapons in Syria's civil war as a "pretext for intervention", President Bashar al-Assad's deputy foreign minister said on Thursday.
He spoke as Germany's cabinet approved stationing Patriot anti-missile batteries on Turkey's border with Syria, a step requiring deployment of NATO troops that Syria fears could permit imposition of a no-fly zone over its territory.
"Syria stresses again, for the tenth, the hundredth time, that if we had such weapons, they would not be used against its people. We would not commit suicide," Faisal Maqdad said.
U.S. President Barack Obama and other NATO leaders have warned that using chemical weapons would cross a red line and have consequences, which they have not specified.
Assad would probably lose vital diplomatic support from Russia and China that has blocked military intervention in the 20-month-old uprising that has claimed more than 40,000 lives.
A senior Russian lawmaker and ally of President Vladimir Putin said Syria's government is incapable of doing its job properly, a sign that Moscow may already be trying to distance itself from Assad.
"We have shared and do share the opinion that the existing government in Syria should carry out its functions. But time has shown that this task is beyond its strength," Vladimir Vasilyev, who heads President Putin's party group in the State Duma lower house, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.
Syria's Maqdad said Western reports the Syrian military was preparing chemical weapons for use against rebel forces trying to close in on the capital Damascus were simply "theatre".
"In fact, we fear a conspiracy ... by the United States and some European states, which might have supplied such weapons to terrorist organizations in Syria, in order to claim later that Syria is the one that used these weapons," he said on Lebanon's Al Manar television, the voice of Hezbollah.
"We fear there is a conspiracy to provide a pretext for any subsequent interventions in Syria by these countries that are increasing pressure on Syria."
UNCONTROLLABLE
Exactly what Syria's army has done with suspected chemical weapons to prompt a surge of Western warnings is not clear. Reports citing Western intelligence and defense sources are vague and inconsistent.
The perceived threat may be discussed in Dublin on Thursday when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meet international Syria mediator Lakhdar Brahimi to try to put a U.N. peace process for Syria back on track.
The talks come ahead of a meeting of the Western-backed "Friends of Syria" group in Marrakech next week which is expected to boost support for rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Brahimi wants world powers to issue a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a transitional administration.
In addition to the possible use of chemical bombs by "an increasingly desperate" Assad, Clinton said Washington was concerned about the government losing control of such weapons to extreme Islamist armed groups among the rebel forces.
U.S. officials said Washington was considering blacklisting Jabhat al-Nusra, an influential rebel group accused by other rebels of indiscriminate tactics that has advocated an Islamic state in Syria and is suspected of ties to al Qaeda.
An explosion in front of the Damascus headquarters of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent killed at least one person on Thursday, Syrian state television said.
It blamed "terrorists from al Qaeda" -- a term often employed to refer to rebel forces.
Meanwhile, activists said the army pummeled several eastern suburbs of Damascus, where the rebels are dominant, with artillery and mortar fire. The suburbs have also been cut off from the city's water and electricity for weeks, rebels say, accusing the government of collective punishment.
COLLAPSE
Rebels say they have surrounded an air base 4 km (2-1/2 mikes) from the center of Damascus, a fresh sign the battle is closing in on the Syrian capital.
They also said they were battling soldiers on the road to Damascus International Airport, 20 km (12 miles) out of the capital where several airlines have canceled flights due to security concerns.
Maqdad, in his interview on Thursday, argued that reports of such advances were untrue: "What is sad is that foreign countries believe these repeated rumors."
But residents inside the capital say the sound of shelling on the outskirts has become a constant backdrop and many fear the fight will soon come to Damascus.
The Western military alliance's decision to send U.S., German and Dutch Patriot missile batteries to help defend the Turkish border would bring European and U.S. troops to Syria's frontier for the first time in the civil war.
The actual deployment could take several weeks.
"Some countries now are now supplying Turkey with missiles for which there is no excuse. Syria is not going to attack the Turkish people," Maqdad said.
But a veteran Turkish commentator, Cengiz Candar of the Radikal newspaper, said Ankara fears Syria's 500 short-range ballistic missiles could fall into the wrong hands.
The government is "of the view that Syria was not expected to use them against Turkey, but that there was a risk of these weapons falling into the hands of 'uncontrolled forces' when the regime collapses", he wrote.
(Additional reporting by Steve Gutterman and Gabriela Baczynska in Moscow, Andrew Quinn and Mark Hosenball in Washington; writing by Douglas Hamilton; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- In an audacious flex of political muscle, Republicans in a single day reached the brink of a goal that for years has seemed an all-but-impossible dream: making the labor bastion of Michigan a right-to-work state.
The GOP majority used its superior numbers and backing from Gov. Rick Snyder to ramrod legislation Thursday through the House and Senate, brushing aside denunciations and walkouts by helpless Democrats and cries of outrage from union activists who swarmed the state Capitol hallways and grounds. At one point, police used pepper spray to subdue demonstrators who tried to rush the Senate chamber.
"Shame! Shame on you!" protesters chorused from the gallery as the Senate voted. Earlier, security guards removed a man who yelled, "Heil Hitler! Heil Hitler! That's what you people are." Another shouted, "We will remember in November."
Rules require a five-day wait before the House and Senate vote on each other's bills, which would prohibit making payment of union fees a condition of employment. They are scheduled to reconvene Tuesday, when Michigan could become the 24th state with right-to-work laws if the measures are quickly enacted and Snyder signs them, as he has pledged to do.
A victory in Michigan, a cradle of organized labor, would give the right-to-work movement its strongest foothold yet in the Rust Belt, where the 2010 election and tea party movement produced assertive Republican majorities that have dealt unions one body blow after another.
But compared with Indiana and Wisconsin, where votes to curb union rights followed weeks or months of pitched battles, Michigan acted in the blink of an eye. GOP legislative leaders were saying as late as Wednesday it was uncertain whether the issue would come up in a lame-duck session moving toward adjournment. Snyder had said repeatedly since his election two years ago the topic was divisive and not on his agenda.
Thursday morning, however, the governor called a news conference with House Speaker Jase Bolger and Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville to announce that not only would right-to-work legislation be considered, it would be placed on a fast track. By sundown, bills had been introduced and passed without committee votes or public hearings.
Republicans insisted the measures had been given adequate consideration, saying the topic was familiar ? particularly after the protracted campaign that preceded voters' overwhelming November rejection of a proposed constitutional amendment that would have barred right-to-work laws.
"We've come to the point where this issue is on the table," Snyder told The Associated Press in an interview. "It's time to step up and make a decision and not let this fester."
He and legislative leaders denied opponents' contention that the bills were designed to weaken unions by depriving them of funds needed to bargain effectively or were retaliation for the ballot initiative, which organized labor spearheaded. They said a "freedom to work" law would make unions more responsive to members' needs and give employees freedom to decide whether to accept union representation.
"This does not change collective bargaining and this is not anti-union," Bolger said. "It is pro-worker."
Senate Majority Floor Leader Arlan Meekhof said a number of factors influenced the decision to push ahead, including Snyder's endorsement and the ballot initiative, which put right-to-work in the spotlight. Primarily, however, Republicans recognized they had enough votes to capture a long-sought prize, he said.
"I wouldn't say there was a sense of urgency, but a sense of opportunity," Meekhof said.
Democrats contended Republicans, who lost five House seats in the November election, wanted to act before a new legislature takes office next month. In passionate floor speeches, they accused the majority of ignoring the message from voters and bowing to right-wing interest groups.
"These guys have lied to us all along the way," Senate Democratic leader Gretchen Whitmer said. "They are pushing through the most divisive legislation they could come up with in the dark of night, at the end of a lame-duck session and then they're going to hightail it out of town. It's cowardly."
Eight protesters were arrested for resisting and obstructing, state police Inspector Gene Adamczyk said. At one point, officers barred entry to the Capitol as a safety measure, saying the building was overcrowded. It was reopened after unions successfully petitioned Ingham County Circuit Judge Joyce Draganchuk for an order overturning the move.
In the end, the bills sailed through ? even though some Republicans were opposed. The Senate approved a measure dealing with private-sector workers 22-16. As Democrats stormed out of the chamber, a second bill applying to government employees was passed, 22-4.
The House approved a private-sector employee bill 58-52. Both chambers are expected to approve two identical measures next week. Leaders said they would include exemptions for police and firefighters, who are covered by existing law requiring binding arbitration for their labor disputes.
A $1 million appropriation was tacked onto the bills for what a House spokesman described as implementation and worker education activities. Spending bills are legally protected from being overturned by statewide referendums.
United Auto Workers President Bob King, who joined the protesting crowd, said the bills' passage was "a very partisan, polarizing attack."
A White House spokesman said President Barack Obama continues to oppose right-to-work laws.
"Michigan ? and its workers' role in the revival of the U.S. automobile industry ? is a prime example of how unions have helped build a strong middle class and a strong American economy," the spokesman said.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits dropped much more than expected in the latest week, as the impact of Superstorm Sandy abated.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that new jobless claims fell 25,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 370,000. Economists had expected claims to decline to around 380,000.?The prior week's data was revised upward to 395,000, which is?2,000 more than initially estimated.
The drop in claims in the latest week brings them down to the 360,000-370,000 pre-Sandy range. The four-week moving average, considered a more accurate gauge of labor market trends, rose 2,250 to 408,000, which still reflected the impact of the storm.
A Labor Department official said there was nothing unusual in the state-level data, but noted claims tend to post their largest percentage increase in the last week of November, catching up from the Thanksgiving holiday.
In addition, seasonal layoffs in sectors like construction, start picking up this time of the year and remain elevated until early January. This will make claims a less useful gauge of labor market conditions in the weeks ahead.
The claims report has no bearing on Friday's employment data. Economists estimate the monster storm, which slammed the densely populated East Coast, could subtract between 25,000 and 75,000 jobs from November's nonfarm payrolls.
The closely watch employment report, which will be released on Friday, is expected to show payrolls increased only 93,000 last month after advancing 171,000 job in October, according to Reuters survey of economists. The unemployment rate is seen holding steady at 7.9 percent.
The claims report showed the number of people still receiving benefits under regular state programs after an initial week of aid dropped 100,000 to 3.21 million in the week ended November 24.
Meanwhile,?Planned layoffs at U.S. firms rose for the third month in a row in November, partly driven by the bankruptcy of Hostess Brands, a report showed on Thursday.
Employers announced 57,081 job cuts last month, the highest level since May and up nearly 20 percent from 47,724 in October, according to the report from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
November's job cuts were also up 34.4 percent from the 42,474 seen a year ago.
Still, 2012 is shaping up to be a better year than last year. With one month to go, employers have announced 490,806 cuts in 2012, lower than 2011's total of 606,082 layoffs.?
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Public release date: 7-Dec-2012
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