Monday, November 5, 2012

Meningitis outbreak toll: 419 cases, 30 deaths

An outbreak of fungal meningitis has been linked to steroid shots for back pain made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts. The medication was recalled in late September.

Latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Illnesses: 419, including 10 joint infections.

Deaths: 30.

States: 19; Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

___

Online:

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/outbreaks/meningitis.html

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-11-05-US-MED-Meningitis-Outbreak-Toll/id-550f90810dd24337950f26452d498d34

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Medicaid Coverage in New York for Pregnant Women - Insurance ...

by Jen Thorpe | More from this Blogger

pregnant The Medicaid programs in each state have a portion that is designed to cover the health care needs of women who are pregnant. In New York, the main Medicaid program will provide that coverage. The state also has a prenatal care program, and a family planning program.

Medicaid is a public, or government run, form of health insurance. It provides coverage for individuals and families who are low income, and who are unable to afford to buy a health plan from a private insurance company. Medicaid is funded, in part, by the federal government. It is also partially funded by the government of an individual state.

In New York, the Medicaid program is administered by the the New York State Department of Health. The main Medicaid program will cover the health care needs of women who are pregnant. To be eligible, a pregnant woman must come from a family whose income is 200% of the federal poverty level. Medicaid covers family planning and reproductive health service.

New York also has a Family Planning Benefit Program (FPBP). It is for New Yorkers who need family planning services, but may not be able to afford them. The purpose of the program is to increase access to confidential family planning services and to prevent the incidence of unwanted pregnancies.

To be eligible for FPBP, you must be a resident of New York. You must also be a United States citizen, or have satisfactory immigration status. The program is available for men or women who are childbearing age. The person must meet income requirements, and not be currently enrolled in Medicaid or Family Health Plus.

FPBP covers most FDA approved birth control methods, devices, and supplies. It covers emergency contraception services and follow up care, and both male and female sterilization. It also covers preconception counseling and preventative screening and family planning options before pregnancy.

There also is a Prenatal Care program. The New York Medicaid website has tons of information about nutrition before and during a pregnancy, how to have a healthy pregnancy, and where to go to apply for Medicaid prenatal care services. It also has a breastfeeding promotion program. Women who need it can also get help for, and information on, perinatal depression.

New York has an online guide for Preconception Care. This will help women who want to become pregnant achieve that result. Anyone can look at this long list of information for free. It gives women a good starting off point for a conversation with a doctor about how to improve the woman's chances of conceiving and having a healthy pregnancy.

Image by Rachael Savage Photography on Flickr

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I am currently writing for the Insurance, Deals, Genealogy, and Special Needs blogs.I have also written for the Parenting,Money, Homeschooling, Preschool, Health, Food and Weightloss blogs.

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Source: http://insurance.families.com/blog/medicaid-coverage-in-new-york-for-pregnant-women

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Businesses Shine in Sandy Aftermath

Businesses and ordinary citizens have been notably in the lead in bringing aid to victims of Hurricane Sandy.? On the other hand, some celebrities, government agencies, and even the mayor of New York City are taking criticism for poor planning, slow response, and a lack of concern toward victims who are still suffering without food, clothing, shelter, fuel or drinkable water.? Sadly, the aftermath of Sandy is unfolding in an eerily similar way to another devastating hurricane, Katrina, where the damage proved to be worse than initially thought, the full extent of it coming to light day by terrible day.

Businesses Help the Community

The best and brightest. Some like to paint businesses as being greedy, driven only by profit.? Businesses, including small businesses, aren?t always recognized for the good they do in their communities.? Yet they play a key role in natural disasters to help citizens keep? body and soul together ? even when the business owners and their? businesses have been victims and are immersed in the same natural disaster. The Fiscal Times

A helping hand. University of Wisconsin law professor Ann Althouse refers to posts about the efforts of businesses versus those of government to aid those suffering with power outages and other problems following Sandy. The post and the commenters pose the reasonable question: Who is truly helping New Yorkers in need? Althouse

Collective effort. Help in the Hurricane?s aftermath wasn?t limited to businesses in New York City. Businesses from outside the city were quick to lend a helping hand, too. Take this report on businesses acting as collection points for donated supplies bound for victims of Hurricane Sandy. It?s just one example of how small businesses are an integral part of the charitable fabric of our communities. The Saratogan

Setting Priorities

Let them eat cake. While ordinary citizens and some businesses are going above and beyond to assist people in need, some celebrities have been, well, tone deaf.? Take actress Debra Messing.? She was blasted by local New York media for donning a Marie Antoinette costume while attending a lavish event whose resources (such as refrigerators) many say could better have been used to assist storm victims.? Of course, those celebrities may have gotten the impression everything was fine through the overly-hasty high-fives being given by public officials last Tuesday and Wednesday. The New York Post

Marathon mess up. The New York Marathon was scheduled to take place this past weekend, and up until Friday Mayor Bloomberg had declared the show must go on.? New Yorkers were outraged.? In a city where hundreds of thousands are continuing to struggle without necessities and the dead and injured are still being discovered, the Marathon became a lightning rod of criticism.? On Friday the Mayor finally caved to pressure and cancelled the event.? Even then, his statement made it sound as if protests, rather than a desire to help storm victims, are what finally caused the cancellation.? Another example of tone deaf?? The Wall Street Journal

Going the distance. Naturally the marathoners were disappointed ? some had traveled thousands of miles at considerable expense for the event.? A large number showed their grit and civic commitment by volunteering to help storm victims. This photo below from Runners World shows runners who had planned to participate in the now cancelled race, crowding the Staten Island Ferry headed to help Staten Island storm victims. Twitter via Runners World

Government Slow to Respond

Slow responders. Uh oh! While citizens and local businesses have been doing what they can, government on all levels appears to have been caught with their planning pants down. Take the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which despite its stated policy of preparedness, was soliciting bids from vendors for bottled water on? Friday, days after the storm and after rumors of running out of water started making the rounds. Breitbart

Here?s a full text of the FEMA solicitation for 470 tractor trailer or truck loads of bottled water equaling 2.3M gallons, four days after the storm had subsided.? FedBizOpps.gov

The rumor mill. Under a section labeled ?rumor control? on its Website, the Federal Emergency Management Agency insists stories about the organization running out of water are false. However, the site doesn?t state how much water the federal agency is actually distributing or in how timely a manner.? FEMA

Left in the lurch. Other parts of government are feeling the heat from citizens, too.? Residents of hard-hit Staten Island, Rockaway Beach and other places in New York and New Jersey are complaining that government at various levels has been slow to respond. With their community in shambles, residents are caught on camera expressing their frustration, ?Where is FEMA?? Where?s the police?? Where are rescue crews? When are we going to get some help??? CBS New York

Inadequate response. ?Official help has arrived in the last couple of days, but many residents say it?s not enough and poorly organized.? Huffington Post

Photo Credits: Deidre Duffy, Reuters; Debra Messing, The New York Post; Volunteers, runnersworldmag

Source: http://smallbiztrends.com/2012/11/businesses-shine-hurricane-sandy.html

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Monday, October 29, 2012

AngloGold says Tanzania law changes worry investors

ARUSHA, Tanzania (Reuters) - Tanzania should stick to existing agreements in the fast-growing mining sector or investors will lose confidence, the company which owns the country's biggest gold mine said on Saturday.

Major international miners are still in talks with the government two years after it passed mining legislation that included a rise in royalties on gold exports to 4 percent of gross value from 3 percent of netback value.

The law also required mining companies to pay the government 0.3 percent of their annual turnover, up from the previous requirement of a maximum $200,000 a year.

AngloGold Ashanti told Reuters it expected the Dodoma government to respect its mineral development agreement, which it said was a legal contract signed before the new mining legislation was put in place.

"Our investors obviously expect that those contracts should be honored because they've made an investment for the long term," Gary Davies, managing director of AngloGold's Geita gold mine said in an interview.

"What's key is that the goal posts are stable because otherwise investors will need to factor that into their investments. I think any investor would be concerned about that, we are no different."

East Africa's second biggest economy argues it is not seeing the fruits of soaring commodity prices, in particular gold. It plans to increase the mining sector's contribution to the economy to 10 percent of GDP by 2025 from 3.3 percent last year.

But the miners say hiking taxes and increasing royalties is the wrong approach. They say Tanzania should focus on attracting more investors and issuing additional mining licenses.

Tanzania is Africa's fourth biggest gold producer. Gold export earnings jumped 47 percent to $2.226 billion last year.

HINDERING GROWTH

Major gold mining companies in Tanzania include African Barrick Gold Plc, which has four gold-producing mines, AngloGold Ashanti Ltd and Resolute Mining Ltd.

Tanzania's energy and minerals ministry declared in July that all mining companies had agreed to pay the new royalty rate from May and said the government would keep mining contracts under review in a bid to deepen their economic contributions.

African Barrick Gold, which has four gold mines in Tanzania, is however the only company that has so far publicly announced it will pay the new 4 percent royalty rate.

AngloGold's Davies said negotiations continued over several aspects of the 2010 legislation.

"Investors need to have that degree of certainty and stability in order to put large investments over the long term."

The Geita mine recorded revenues in excess of $4.2 billion over the past decade and paid $683 million to the Treasury during the period in corporate tax, royalties, withholding taxes, payroll taxes and other fees, Davies said.

"Last year we produced 494,000 ounces and we are looking to be in a similar range this year," he said.

Laurent Coche, AngloGold's senior vice-president for sustainability in Africa, said the company wanted talks with Tanzania about how to boost growth of the mining sector.

"There is also a need to distinguish between the short-term issues and long-term issues. We would be willing to be part of a conversation around developing the country's mining vision ... looking at 20 or 30 years down the road," Coche told Reuters.

Other mining companies contacted on the matter directed Reuters to the Tanzania Chamber of Minerals and Energy (TCME), which represents the interests of mining investors.

It has said mining contracts all included fiscal stability clauses and that the unstable legal environment was hindering growth in the mining sector.

African Barrick Gold's Tulawaka gold mine and Resolute Mine's Golden Pride mine are both expected to close down in mid-2013 after depleting their reserves, although work is underway to explore possibilities of mine-life extension.

(Editing by Richard Lough)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/anglogold-says-tanzania-law-changes-worry-investors-142939516--finance.html

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Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Rangers, Yanks and Giants get 3 All-Star starters

Texas Rangers' Josh Hamilton hits a home run off Detroit Tigers pitcher Luis Marte during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers won 7-5. (AP Photo/Tim Sharp)

Texas Rangers' Josh Hamilton hits a home run off Detroit Tigers pitcher Luis Marte during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers won 7-5. (AP Photo/Tim Sharp)

New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter (2) taps New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano on the cap after the Yankees' 7-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians in a baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York, Monday, June 25, 2012. Cano had two home runs in the game. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

San Francisco Giants' Buster Posey circles the bases after hitting a home run off Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Brian Fuentes during the seventh inning of an interleague baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Saturday, June 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto, left, is congratulated after hitting a solo home run off Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Derek Lowe in the first inning in an interleague baseball game, Monday, June 18, 2012, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Josh Hamilton is set to lead a Texas parade to the All-Star game. Now, fans will decide if Chipper Jones gets one final appearance or whether it's time for teen sensation Bryce Harper.

Hamilton drew a record total of more than 11 million votes, and the slugger was among seven Rangers chosen Sunday as All-Stars. A trio of San Francisco Giants rallied in the last week to claim spots while three Yankees also made the starting lineup.

"I don't think the Texas Rangers have to apologize because we've got good players," AL manager Ron Washington of Texas said. "I certainly didn't pick my guys being selfish, I picked them very deserving of being All-Stars, bottom line."

Washington fastballer Stephen Strasburg and Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey were two of the 66 players chosen by fans, managers and big leaguers for the showcase July 10 in Kansas City. So was 20-year-old Angels rookie outfielder Mike Trout, who leads the AL in hitting at .339 and drew more than 800,000 write-in votes.

Few of the races for starting spots were close and there seemed to be little complaining about the fans' choices. OK, sure, David Wright could've gotten the nod over Pablo Sandoval.

But there certainly will be campaigning this week when it comes to Jones and Harper after they were left off ? for now, anyway.

The NL and AL each have one spot left, with fans voting online through Thursday to select one of five candidates in both leagues. Jones and Harper are two of the NL possibilities.

At 40, Jones is a seven-time All-Star and plans to retire after this season. Banged up, the Atlanta third baseman has managed to hit near .300.

"This being my last year, it would be fun to go. I'd love to take my kids," Jones said.

At 19, Harper started the season in Triple-A. The Washington outfielder has dazzled since his promotion with his bat, arm and flat-out hustle.

"I'm an old-timer, so I'd probably lean toward Chipper," NL manager Tony La Russa said on the TBS selection show.

The league that wins the All-Star game gains home-field advantage in the World Series. The NL won last year, then St. Louis became the ninth straight home team to win Game 7 in the Series.

Sandoval was picked for the NL at third base despite missing a month with a broken hand and not matching the stats of Wright.

"I'm surprised I made it," said Sandoval, popular for his "Kung Fu Panda" persona. "He's been having a great year but the fans gave me the votes. I can't thank them enough."

Wright was diplomatic about the result.

"That's the way the system is. I understand how the system works and I respect that system. Pablo's having a very good year. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that I don't get a chance to start, but I'm going to do everything I can to help win that game," he said.

Giants catcher Buster Posey, back from a devastating injury last season, was the NL's top vote-getter and beat out Philadelphia's Carlos Ruiz, the league's leading hitter. Wright and Ruiz made the NL team as reserves.

"This is hard to wrap my head around," Posey said. "I watched all the All-Star games and home run derbies when I was a kid. It's surreal I get to play in one and get to watch the home run derby."

Posey, Sandoval and San Francisco outfielder Melky Cabrera overcame late deficits to win starting spots. Giants ace Matt Cain, who pitched a perfect game in June, made the NL pitching staff.

Texas will have a team-record three starters. Hamilton, who hit four homers in a game earlier this season and leads the majors in RBIs, will be in the outfield with Adrian Beltre at third base and Mike Napoli at catcher. A postseason star last year, Napoli has started only about half the time at that spot this year, but still easily outdistanced Minnesota's Joe Mauer.

"No, it's not awkward, the fans voted for him," Washington said. "He's an All-Star, he's going to go to the All-Star game. Who's to say that Napoli may not be the MVP?"

Second baseman Ian Kinsler, shortstop Elvis Andrus, starter Matt Harrison and reliever Joe Nathan also made the AL roster from Texas. The two-time AL champions began the day with a major league-best 50 wins.

"You look up and down our lineup and we've been in the World Series the last two years in a row, and there's a reason," Hamilton said. "It's not just one player, but multiple players that have got us there."

Derek Jeter became a 13-time All-Star shortstop and will start for the AL with Yankees teammates Robinson Cano at second base and Curtis Granderson in the outfield. Injured New York pitcher CC Sabathia was picked, too, and will attend the festivities but not play.

"It's an honor, especially throughout the years the position I played and all the great shortstops that have been out there," Jeter said.

Prince Fielder of Detroit will start at first base. He was the MVP of last year's All-Star game while playing in the NL for Milwaukee.

"Thrilling, everytime," Fielder said.

Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp edged Milwaukee's Ryan Braun by 100,000 votes for the third spot in the NL outfield ? Kemp, beaten out by Braun for the NL MVP award last year, is on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring and looks doubtful to play.

Braun leads the NL in home runs. He was the league's top vote-getter last year, but may have been hurt by drug allegations.

Braun or perhaps Pittsburgh center fielder Andrew McCutchen could wind up starting in Kemp's place.

"I've always been a person that wanted something because I earned it and that's what people wanted," McCutchen said. "It would be awesome to get that but for me I'd still be feeling like I took someone else's place because someone got hurt."

Dickey, at 37, made his first All-Star team. He leads the majors with 12 wins and could become just the second knuckleballer to start an All-Star game. Dutch Leonard did it in 1943, STATS LLC said.

"It's an honor for every person who's ever helped me along the way and every fan that believed that special things could happen if you apply yourself," Dickey said. "So it's a need to be able to celebrate that with a network of people.

Strasburg is 9-3 with a 2.81 ERA and tops the majors in strikeouts for the NL East-leading Nationals. Last season at this time, he was working his way back to the big leagues while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

"It's going to be a tremendous experience, and it's a huge honor for me. It's amazing to think where I was a year ago, so it's great to see all the hard work has paid off, but it's not done," he said in Atlanta. "It's only the halfway point of the year. We've still got a long ways to go."

The fans, players and managers combined to pick 14 first-time All-Stars in the NL, including somersaulting Cincinnati reliever Aroldis Chapman and San Diego closer Huston Street.

"No way. Really?" Street said.

There were nine first-timers in the AL, including designated hitter Billy Butler from the host Royals. Every team gets at least one All-Star.

The AL starters: Fielder, Cano, Jeter, Beltre, Hamilton, Granderson, Napoli, Toronto outfielder Jose Bautista and Boston DH David Ortiz.

The NL starters: Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto, Atlanta second baseman Dan Uggla, shortstop Rafael Furcal and outfielder Carlos Beltran of St. Louis, Kemp, Sandoval, Posey and Cabrera.

The five candidates for the final AL roster spot are all right-handed pitchers: Texas rookie Yu Darvish and fellow starters Jake Peavy of the White Sox and Jason Hammel of Baltimore and relievers Jonathan Broxton of the Royals and Ernesto Frieri of the Angels.

The NL candidates: Jones, Harper, Arizona second baseman Aaron Hill, Atlanta outfielder Michael Bourn and St. Louis third baseman David Freese, MVP of last year's World Series.

Washington said he felt White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski deserved to be on the roster.

"I consider him a winning player," Washington said. "He beats you mentally, he beats you physically, so I feel really bad for Pierzynski."

Said Pierzynski: "If he felt that bad, he would have put me on the team."

"He had an opportunity to do it. He didn't do it," he said.

___

AP Sports Writers Stephen Hawkins, R.B. Fallstrom, Antonio Gonzalez and Howie Rumberg, Associated Press writer George Henry and AP freelance writers Dale Bublitz, Mike Kelly, Amy Jinkner-Lloyd, Mark Didtler and Doug Gould contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-07-01-All-Stars/id-69a883726b9c432886a37dfcb08b3484

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Monday, July 2, 2012

Elton John urges Ukraine to stop attacks on gays

By Richard Balmforth, Reuters

KIEV -- Elton John used an AIDS charity concert in Kiev on Saturday to make an emotional appeal to Ukraine to stop what he called persecution of gays.

Gleb Garanich / Reuters

Singer Elton John performs at a charity concert dedicated to the fight against HIV/AIDS at Independence Square in Kiev on June 30.

The 65-year-old singer broke off during a two-hour performance, part of the Euro 2012 soccer tournament co-hosted by Ukraine, to speak about reports of physical attacks on members of the former Soviet republic's gay community.

John, a regular visitor to the country, drew cheers from thousands of Ukrainians watching his performance on huge street screens when he described Ukraine as "my second home".

"Recently I read about violence against gay people in Ukraine. Beating up gay people is wrong. This for me does not symbolize Ukraine," he said.

"I plead with you: Stop the violence against gay people."

Ahead of the European soccer championship which began on June 8 and ends on Sunday with the final in Kiev, a gay pride march in the Ukrainian capital was called off and one of its leaders was beaten by assailants.

Last Saturday, another leading Ukrainian gay rights activist said he had received hospital treatment after being beaten in Kiev by a group of assailants, who screamed homophobic insults at him.

John, who entered a civil partnership with David Furnish in 2005, regularly champions respect for gay and lesbian rights.

Source: http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/01/12508673-elton-john-urges-ukraine-to-stop-attacks-on-gays?lite

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