Mars One says 80,000 have applied for one-way mission to red planet
Dutch company plans to choose crew for private mission with reality TV show, in order to meet $6bn cost
Adam Gabbatt in New York
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 8 May 2013 14.31 EDT
Almost 80,000 people have applied to take part in a one-way mission to Mars, each of them completing a rigorous application that stresses the need for a “Can Do!” attitude, asks individuals about their sense of humour and requires the submission of an application fee that can be as much as $75.
Mars One, the Dutch company behind the proposed mission, says it has received applications from more than 120 countries. It also says that the role of Mars explorer/guinea pig is “the most desired job in history”. More than 17,000 of the applicants are from the US – the most of any country so far.
“These numbers put us right on track for our goal of half a million applicants,” said the founder of Mars One, Bas Lansdorp. “Mars One is a mission representing all humanity and its true spirit will be justified only if people from the entire world are represented. I’m proud that this is exactly what we see happening.”
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, resolving years of internal debate, is on the verge of backing a Federal Bureau of Investigation plan for a sweeping overhaul of surveillance laws that would make it easier to wiretap people who communicate using the Internet rather than by traditional phone services, according to officials familiar with the deliberations.
The Valley Hospital Awarded an “A” for Patient Safety for Third Consecutive Time
May 8, 2013 – For the third consecutive time, The Valley Hospital has been honored with an “A” for patient safety. Hospitals nationwide received Hospital Safety Scores of A, B, C, D, or F based on preventable medical errors, injuries accidents, and infections in a report released this week by The Leapfrog Group, an independent, national not-for-profit organization of employer purchasers of health care.
Of the 2,514 general hospitals issued a safety score in the Leapfrog report, only 780 – roughly the top 31percent – earned an “A.”
The Hospital Safety Score was compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading experts on patient safety and is designed to give the public information they can use to protect themselves and their families. Today’s release is the latest update to the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Score, which was first released last June.
“We are pleased and proud to once again be among the select group of hospitals to have received an “A” for patient safety,” said Mitchell Rubinstein, M.D., Vice President of Medical Affairs, The Valley Hospital. “This top grade is a reflection and a result of our longstanding focus on and commitment to patient safety and quality care.”
“Earning an ‘A’ on the Hospital Safety Score demonstrates that this hospital has exhibited excellence in our national database of patient safety measures,” said Leah Binder, President and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “I’d like to congratulate The Valley Hospital for your achievements and encourage you to continue to put a priority on the safety of your patients.”
To see The Valley Hospital’s scores as they compare nationally and locally, visit the Hospital Safety Score website at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org, which also provides information on how the public can protect themselves and loved ones during a hospital stay. People can also check their local hospital’s score on the free mobile app, available at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.
Calculated under the guidance of The Leapfrog Group’s eight-member Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 26 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single score representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from infections, injuries, and medical and medication errors. The panel includes: John Birkmeyer (University of Michigan), Ashish Jha (Harvard University), Arnold Millstein (Stanford University), Peter Pronovost (Johns Hopkins University), Patrick Romano (University of California, Davis), Sara Singer (Harvard University), Tim Vogus (Vanderbilt University), and Robert Wachter (University of California, San Francisco).
About The Leapfrog Group
The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) is a national nonprofit organization using the collective leverage of large purchasers of health care to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality, and affordability of health care for Americans. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders, and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members.
About The Valley Hospital
The Valley Hospital, a 451-bed, acute care, not-for-profit hospital located in Ridgewood, NJ, is part of Valley Health System, which also includes Valley Home Care and Valley Medical Group. Valley is an affiliate of NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions. These include 10 consecutive recognitions for service excellence by J.D. Power and Associates for inpatient and emergency department care, and two major awards for patient safety and quality care from the Leapfrog Group, which ranked Valley among the top hospitals in the nation. Valley is ranked No. 1 in NJ by Healthgrades for overall cardiac services, cardiac surgery, and coronary interventional procedures. Valley has also been honored twice with “Magnet” designation – the nursing profession’s highest honor. Key services include cardiology, oncology, women’s and children’s services, emergency care, orthopedics, and neurosciences.
For more information please visit www.valleyhealth.com.
Gun crime has plunged, but Americans think it’s up, says study
By Emily Alpert This post has been corrected, as indicated below.
May 7, 2013, 12:46 p.m.
Gun crime has plunged in the United States since its peak in the middle of the 1990s, including gun killings, assaults, robberies and other crimes, two new studies of government data show.
Yet few Americans are aware of the dramatic drop, and more than half believe gun crime has risen, according to a newly released survey by the Pew Research Center.
In less than two decades, the gun murder rate has been nearly cut in half. Other gun crimes fell even more sharply, paralleling a broader drop in violent crimes committed with or without guns. Violent crime dropped steeply during the 1990s and has fallen less dramatically since the turn of the millennium.
The number of gun killings dropped 39% between 1993 and 2011, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in a separate report released Tuesday. Gun crimes that weren’t fatal fell by 69%. However, guns still remain the most common murder weapon in the United States, the report noted. Between 1993 and 2011, more than two out of three murders in the U.S. were carried out with guns, the Bureau of Justice Statistics found.
The bureau also looked into non-fatal violent crimes. Few victims of such crimes — less than 1% — reported using a firearm to defend themselves.
Despite the remarkable drop in gun crime, only 12% of Americans surveyed said gun crime had declined compared with two decades ago, according to Pew, which surveyed more than 900 adults this spring. Twenty-six percent said it had stayed the same, and 56% thought it had increased.
Call for Entries – RAI 54th Annual Young People’s Exhibition
Ridgewood Art Institute 54th Annual Young People’s Exhibition
CALL FOR ENTRIES
ELIGIBILITY
The Ridgewood Art Institute invites all young artists in Ridgewood and surrounding communities to enter this exhibition. Student members of the Ridgewood Art Institute may enter up to two original works. Non-member students age 7-17 may enter one original work. School and independent work of any size is acceptable. No computer generated or 3-dimensional art will be accepted.
ENTRY INFORMATION
Entries must be delivered to the Ridgewood Art Institute on Saturday, May 18th between 11 am and 4 pm. In addition to filling out an entry form on receiving day, the following information must be printed on the back of the artwork: Name, Title, Age, Address, Telephone Number, School and Grade. All pictures must be framed, WIRED (no saw tooth hangers) and ready to hang.
JUDGING
All entries will be judged by the Ridgewood Art Institute’s instructors.
AWARDS
Scholarships will be awarded for free instruction at the Ridgewood Art Institute in traditional painting and drawing. Cash prizes, merchandise awards, certificates of merit and honorable mentions will also be awarded. Recipients of a Ridgewood Art Institute scholarship will be ineligible for another scholarship for the next 3 years.
RECEPTION, AWARDS CEREMONY & EXHIBITION DATES
An opening reception and awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, June 2nd from 2 pm – 4 pm for all entrants, their family and friends. The exhibition will close on June 15th.
REMOVAL OF WORKS
All works must be picked up on Saturday, June 15th between 11am – 4pm.
LIABILITY
The Ridgewood Art Institute will not be responsible for loss or damage of the entries or for works
left beyond removal date.
The Ridgewood Art Institute is a non-profit arts group made up of professional and amateur artists from Bergen and Passaic Counties. The purpose of the Institute is to promote an interest in the fine arts in Ridgewood and surrounding communities. For more information call (201) 652-9615 or visit our web site at ridgewoodartinstitute.org
Click here for additional info : https://tinyurl.com/cw9jbgs
Benghazi “whistleblowers” head to House committee
By Lindsey Boerma /
CBS News/ May 8, 2013, 5:52 AM
Hoping to funnel into one chronological timeline the rampantly varying accounts of how President Obama’s administration responded last Sept. 11 in the wake of an attack on a U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday will hear from three “whistleblowers” expected to offer testimony enormously at odds with the administration’s characterization of a strike that killed four Americans.
Testifying are Mark Thompson, acting deputy assistant Secretary of State for counterterrorism; Greg Hicks, former deputy chief of mission in Libya; and Eric Nordstrom, former regional security officer in Libya. Excerpts of an interview Hicks did with investigators that were released to CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday boomeranged the Benghazi politics back into the spotlight four months after hearings on the issue in the House and Senate.
According to Hicks, “everybody in the mission” believed it was an act of terror “from the get-go.” But on Sept. 16 – five days after the attack – U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice hit the Sunday show circuit, peddling the theory that the strike began “spontaneously” out of protests in Egypt and was not a premeditated terrorist act. Rice’s spot on “Face the Nation” that day was preceded by the new president of Libya, Mohammed al-Magariaf, who said his government had “no doubt that this was pre-planned, predetermined.”
Official: We knew Benghazi was a terrorist attack “from the get-go”
Issa: “No question” Clinton’s circle involved in Benghazi “cover-up”
Diplomat: U.S. Special Forces told “you can’t go” to Benghazi during attacks
“I’ve never been as embarrassed in my life, in my career, as on that day,” Hicks told investigators of Rice’s appearances.
New Jersey searching for solutions to rampant heroin problem Tuesday May 7, 2013, 11:13 PM
BY REBECCA D. O’BRIEN
STAFF WRITER
The Record
The scene could have played out in dozens of inner cities nationwide over the past 50 years: As kids poured out of Paterson School 6 into the bustling streets of the city’s 4th Ward, a weary-eyed 17-year-old boy, his arms covered in tattoos and his face spotted with acne, left his apartment and approached a sedan idling on the corner.
His customer was waiting with a wad of $20 bills, and the boy quickly reached for bundles of heroin tucked in his pocket But the buyer — an undercover narcotics detective, sitting next to a reporter invited for a ride-along — asked about getting more. “Yeah, yeah,” the boy said, increasingly anxious, “What do you want?
https://www.northjersey.com/news/New_Jersey_searching_for_solutions_to_rampant_heroin_problem.htm
Bergen County Freeholders’ budget proposal includes cut in County Police spending
Tuesday, May 7, 2013 Last updated: Tuesday May 7, 2013, 10:08 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER
The Record
The Bergen County Freeholders on Tuesday introduced a 2013 county budget that slices an additional $2.3 million from County Executive Kathleen Donovan’s spending proposal, including a $700,000 cut in salaries for the County Police.
The Freeholders’ $498 million budget would still translate to a $24.63 annual tax increase for the owner of the average home, assessed at $324,200. That’s about $4.55 cents less than the tax hike that Donovan proposed in January.
The vote to introduce the spending plan passed unanimously; however, the cuts to the County Police are likely to generate heat when the measure is up for public hearing and a vote of adoption on June 5.
Bookends Hosts Burt Bacharach and George Lopez on May 8th
Burt Bacharach,Bookends May 8th 6pm
Wednesday, May 8th @ 6:00pm
Music Producer, Burt Bacharach, will sign his new book: Anyone Who Had a Heart
Books available May 7th
George Lopez at Bookends May 8th 7:30pm
Wednesday, May 8th @ 7:30pm Comedian & Talk Show Host,George Lopez, will sign his new book:I’m Not Gonna Lie
Books available: May 7th
Appearing authors will only autograph books purchased at Bookends and must have valid Bookends Receipt.Availability & pricing for all autographed books subject to change.
Bookends cannot guarantee that the books that are Autographed will always be First Printings.Autographed books purchased at Bookends are non-returnable.
While we try to insure that all customers coming to Bookends’ signings will meet authors and get their books signed, we cannot guarantee that all attendees will meet the author or that all books will be signed. We cannot control inclement weather, author travel schedules or authors who leave prematurely.
Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726
Bergen County Flood Advisory in effect until 9:45AM EDT WED
BERGEN COUNTY IN NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY
UNTIL 945 AM EDT
AT 816 AM EDT
BETWEEN 3/4 AND 1 1/4 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN ACROSS THE AREA SINCE 6 AM. AN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN WILL TRACK THROUGH THE REGION THROUGH 945 AM
WITH AN ADDITIONAL 1/4 TO 3/4 OF AN INCH OF RAIN EXPECTED. EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CA– USE FLOODING OF URBAN AREAS
HIGHWAYS
STREETS AND UNDERPASSES AS WELL AS OTHER DRAINAGE AREAS AND LOW LYING SPOTS. ADDITIONALLY
SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS WILL FLOOD QUICKLY
POSSIBLY COVERING ROADS AND FLOODING NEARBY LOW AREAS. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. MOST FLOODING DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. TURN AROUND AND FIND ANOTHER ROUTE. BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION IF THE FLOODING THREAT INCREASES
When It Comes to Health-Care Reform, the IRS Rules
Published: Monday, 6 May 2013 | 10:13 AM ET
By: Mark Koba
Senior Editor, CNBC
Get ready for the Internal Revenue Service to play a dominant role in health care. When Obamacare takes full effect next year, the agency will enforce most of the laws involved in the reform—even deciding who gets included in the health-care mandate.
“The impact of the IRS on health-care reform is huge,” said Paul Hamburger, a partner and employee benefits lawyer at Proskauer.
“Other agencies like Social Security will be checking for mistakes, but the IRS is the key enforcer,” Hamburger said. “It’s also going to help manage who might get health care.”
In its 5-4 ruling last year, the Supreme Court upheld the law’s mandate that Americans have health insurance, saying that Congress can enforce the mandate under its taxing authority and through the IRS.
As a result, the agency has to administer 47 tax provisions under Obamacare.They include the right to levy a penalty against businesses and individuals who don’t provide or acquire insurance. Noting that the IRS will collect the penalties, the decision labeled them a tax.
The IRS also has to determine how to distribute annual subsidies to 18 million people who make less than $45,000 a year and thus qualify for subsidies in buying health coverage, as well as how to deliver tax credits to small businesses that buy coverage for workers.
In addition, the agency will collect taxes on medical devices and a Medicare surtax on people making more than $200,000 a year, as well as conducting compliance audits of tax-exempt hospitals.
World War II veteran was a witness to Elbe Day history
TUESDAY MAY 7, 2013, 1:55 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
There are days, and then there are historic headline days.
World War II veteran Crandon Clark, who lived in Ridgewood for more than 50 years until a recent move, was part of such a day in April 1945.
The 68th anniversary of that day, called “Elbe Day,” was April 25. Few people besides Clark may recall the name, but many history buffs recall the moment when American soldiers, advancing from the east, met the Soviet Army’s soldiers, coming from the west, at Torgau, Germany on the Elbe River and effectively cut Germany in two.
This moment marked a crucial step toward the end of the war in Europe. Five days later, Adolf Hitler committed suicide.
Study: Distracted driving deaths underreported
TUESDAY MAY 7, 2013, 12:54 PM
JOAN LOWY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Seventeen-year-old Kelsey Raffaele’s last words were over a cellphone to a friend: “I’m going to crash!” The car she was driving had clipped a snow bank and spun into oncoming traffic, where it was T-boned by an SUV. She died at a hospital without regaining consciousness.
Police chalked the accident up to mistakes made by a novice driver, unaware that she had been on the phone at the time. Her phone was found later in the back seat, and the possibility that distracted driving might have been a cause is missing from statistics kept by police and the federal agency that compiles crash data.
Crash deaths in cases where drivers were on the phone are seriously underreported, according to a recent analysis of state and federal data by the National Safety Council, an advocacy group. The underreporting makes the problem of distracted driving appear less significant than it actually is, and impedes efforts to win passage of tougher laws, the council says.
Pacquiao Takes Fight in Macau, U.S. Federal Income Tax Rate Proves Too High
Boxing Superstar’s Next Fight Will Be Outside the U.S.
As reported by Yahoo! Sports, boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao’s next fight will take place on November 24th; however, for the first time since 2006, the fight will take place outside of the U.S. The official destination of this multimillion dollar sporting event is The Venetian in Macau, China. As ATR reported in February, the possibility of Pacquiao’s next fight not taking place on U.S. soil due to a punitive federal income tax rate of 39.6 percent was greater than most would suspect.
Read more: https://atr.org/pacquiao-takes-fight-macau-u-s-a7603#ixzz2Se5sbyjU
Follow us: @taxreformer on Twitter
