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More disturbing than the violence is hearing a preteen call you a "fag" as he shoots you in the head.

The questionably named Indiana Department of Environmental Management, which should be still smarting from its BP Whiting Refinery scandal

is handing out permits to pollute again, this time to US Steel's mill in Gary, Indiana

According to the Chicago Tribune, Indiana is moving to scrap, relax or omit limits on toxic chemicals and heavy metals dumped into a Lake Michigan tributary.

Gore and UN panel win Nobel prize

Climate change campaigner Al Gore and the UN's

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have been jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Scientists explain chocolate cravings

A small study links the type of bacteria living in people's digestive system to a desire for chocolate.

ast community of microbes

Childhood TV viewing a risk for behavior problems

Daily television viewing for two or more hours in early childhood can lead to behavioral problems and poor social skills, according to a study of children 2.5 to 5.5 years of age conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The Hopkins researchers found that the impact of TV viewing on a child’s behavior and social skills varied by the age at which the viewing occurred. More importantly, heavy television viewing that decreased over time was not associated with behavior or social problems. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under age 2 watch no television while children age 2 and older are limited to no more than two hours of daily viewing.

Why There's No Such Thing as a Good Night's Sleep

o one really knows why human and other animals sleep, or why, after losing sleep night after night, we become crazed.

Francesco Cappuccio at the University of Warwick Medical School in Coventry, Canada, claims that too little sleep will also kill us.

Blackwater involved in 195 shootings, says report

U.S. security contractor Blackwater was involved in at least 195 shooting incidents in Iraq since 2005, said a congressional report

t listed 195 shooting incidents from the start of 2005 until September 12 of this year, an average of 1.4 per week.

Clean Cities program saves 375 million gallons of gas in 2006

Clean Cities coalitions are on track to reach 3.2 billion gallons of gasoline displaced in 2020, exceeding their established goal by 700 million gallons.

Through its almost 90 coalitions, Clean Cities works with government and industry partners (local, state and federal agencies; public health and transportation departments; transit agencies and other government offices; as well as auto manufacturers, car dealers, fuel suppliers, public utilities, public and private fleets, community business groups and professional associations) to increase the nation's economic, environmental and energy security by reducing petroleum consumption in the transportation sector

the state must initiate a government shutdown today, since it is the last business day of the current fiscal year.  The new fiscal year begins Monday, October 1.

AGRICULTURE: 

During the shutdown, food safety inspections, recall effectiveness checks, gas pump inspections, animal disease monitoring, and migrant labor camp inspections will stop; agriculture export and cattle movement permits will not be issued; and horse racing will shutdown.

For the first time ever, the American Dental Association is putting its seal on some Wrigley's chewing gum products

"clinically proven to help prevent cavities, reduce plaque acid and strengthen teeth."

a full study was carried out that proved the products work.

Are sports drinks junk food?

whether sports drinks such as Gatorade, Powerade and “enhanced waters” like Vitamin Water should be considered junk food.

Sports drinks typically have about two-thirds the amount of sugar of soda and more sodium than soft drinks. A 20-ounce bottle of Gatorade has 270 milligrams of sodium, about 12 percent of a teen’s daily allowance.

On Warming, Bush Vows U.S. 'Will Do Its Part'

President Bush assured the rest of the world yesterday that he takes the threat of climate change seriously and vowed that the United States "will do its part" to reduce the greenhouse gases that are warming the planet, but he proposed no concrete new initiatives to reach that goal.

The president's speech at a conference of major economic powers represented a symbolic turn for a leader who once expressed doubt about global warming and angered foreign partners by renouncing the Kyoto treaty.

For example, physical activity seems to affect some key nervous system chemicals -- norepinephrine and serotonin -- that are targets of antidepressant drugs, as well as brain neurotrophins, which help protect nerve cells from injury and transmit signals in brain regions related to mood.

Exercise may also boost people's feelings of self-efficacy and promote positive thinking. Some experts speculate that group exercise, with its social aspect, may have added benefits.

n the second experiment, they asked people to estimate the calorie content of four different sandwiches: a six-inch ham and cheese sandwich (330 calories) and a 12-inch turkey sandwich (600 calories) from Subway; and a McDonalds cheeseburger (330 calories) and a Big Mac (600 calories). Study participants consistently rated the Subway sandwich as having fewer calories than the McDonalds sandwich with the same calorie content.  

the practice of making loans to borrowers who do not qualify for the best market interest rates because of their deficient credit history.

Subprime lending is risky for both lenders and borrowers due to the combination of high interest rates, poor credit history, and adverse financial situations usually associated with subprime applicants.

A subprime loan is offered at a rate higher than A-paper loans due to the increased risk.

In a recent study of 202 depressed adults, researchers found that those who participated in "group-based exercise therapy" showed the same results as those treated with antidepressants, while those who exercised at home showed slightly less improvement, and those who were given a placebo pill remained depressed.

The difference between this study and past ones is the presence of the placebo group, which addresses criticism that the very act of therapy was positively affecting depression studies.

After 16 weeks of treatment, 47 percent of those given antidepressant and 45 percent of those who exercised in a group setting were no longer diagnosed as depressed.

Insurance:

Warranty Protection

Ask: Most companies will waive or reduce fees upon request.

Parking Lots Outnumber People, Add to Pollution

Sprawling suburban parking spaces outnumber drivers by three to one in a Midwestern county, a finding that typifies a troubling trend nationwide that increases urban heating and pollution,

Digitalized aerial surveys taken in 2005

To avoid undercounting

look at the sandwich, the side, the beverages, and the drink and add that up."

when people eat at what they perceive to be "healthy" restaurants, they underestimate the calories,

Paris' Popular Bike Program may Inspire Others

The much-heralded bicycle rental scheme in Paris seems to be a resounding success.

mayor's idea of making the city more ecologically friendly and reducing traffic.