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Suicide or Murder? Cops Investigate Mysterious Death of North Carolina Woman

 Sarah Catherine Long was found dead on July 23, lying in her bed with a single gunshot wound above her left ear. In her hand was a .357 Taurus revolver.Police in Davidson, North Carolina, initially classified the death as a suicide. But soon, they began to notice inconsistencies surrounding her death. Among the most troubling: the gun was found in her left hand, and Long was right-handed. The medical examiner couldn't definitively determine whether Long died of the gunshot wound, and he found no blood on the hand Long would have fired with.Nearly four months later, authorities are still investigating whether there was foul play in the death of the 41-year-old woman."This is an ongoing death investigation and it is considered 'suspicious,' " Cristina Shaul, a spokeswoman for the town of Davidson, tells PEOPLE.Although Long was married at the time of her death, she was having an affair with a married man. Just days after Long's body was found, her lover, William Becker, came forward and produced documents showing that she had left her $1 million fortune to him.According to a search warrant obtained by PEOPLE, neighbors saw Becker at Long's home on July 19, the last time she was seen alive. One neighbor reported hearing a loud bang.The warrant, written by Davidson police Sgt. Stephen Ingram, says Becker told authorities that Long had been diagnosed with cervical cancer and became depressed. Authorities, however, interviewed Long's doctor, who said she only had abnormal cells on her cervix – a diagnosis she had dealt with before and could cure with a minor outpatient procedure.Police also interviewed Long's estranged husband, Christopher Reeves, who said he talked with her on the day of her death and she seemed "fine."In separate documents obtained by The Charlotte Observer , police say Becker's wife told them that he had given her a smoothie that tasted funny."She asked if it contained medicine," Ingram wrote. She said Becker took the drink from her and flushed it down the toilet. According to the documents, Becker later told his wife that he had added a sleep aid to the drink to help her rest.On Nov. 3, police seized Long's computer, router and Yahoo Mail account in hopes of recreating the last days of her life.Investigators are awaiting forensic results that will tell them if Long was drugged and whether gunpowder residue was found on her hands. A police spokeswoman told CBS's 48 Hours that authorities have identified a person of interest, but they could not divulge any additional details. ||||| WCNC Sarah Catherine Long, 41, was found dead inside of her Davidson, N.C. townhouse on July 23 in what was initially ruled a suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot.

 A secret lover, a $1 million fortune, and a potentially planted handgun have led to authorities reexamining the death of a married North Carolina woman whose cause was initially ruled suicide.

 Authorities in Davidson have launched a suspicious death investigation into Sarah Catherine Long's July demise after a number of oddities arose including a handgun found in the right-handed woman's left hand, the Charlotte Observer reported.

 Only days after her body was found, authorities say a married man, who claimed to have been having a seven-month affair with the 41-year-old, produced documents showing that she left him everything in her will — a fortune totaling nearly $1 million.

 That man, William Becker, was incidentally also the first to tip police off to her death after calling authorities under the claim that he hadn't seen her in days, according to a search warrant obtained by the Observer.

 When authorities responded to his call by checking on her at her townhouse on July 23 she was found on her bed with a bullet through her left temple, according to the warrant.

 But investigators now believe someone was with her when she died.

 After speaking with Becker, police say he told them that Long had been depressed and had been recently diagnosed with cervical cancer — a claim Long's doctor later argued as untrue.

 "Mr. Becker began crying as he said that he should have taken her to the hospital. I noticed that there were no tears as Mr. Becker cried," the search warrant read.

 WCNC Just days after Long's body was found, a man who claimed to have been her secret boyfriend for the last seven months told authorities that she left him everything in her will — a $1 million fortune.

 When police interviewed Becker's wife, more red flags apparently popped up.

 The woman allegedly told police that her husband may have tried to poison her with a smoothie on May 8, WCNC reported.

 After complaining that the drink tasted funny, and apparently asking more questions than his liking, she said her husband flushed the beverage down the toilet.

 No arrests have been made in the case but search warrants filed last month by police show detectives are actively investigating who, if anyone, was in her home on the night she died.

 On Oct. 13, a search warrant for Long's AT&T wireless router, four laptops, a thumb drive, memory card and two Barnes & Noble Nooks were requested by a Davidson detective, the Observer reported.

 As cited in the request, authorities hope the router may have picked up a cellphone or any other electronic device belonging to someone who was inside of Long's residence on the night she died.

 If that's the case, that information could be extracted and matched to its owner.

 ngolgowski@nydailynews.com ||||| A woman is being accused by her friends of collecting more than $18,000 for terminal cancer that she never had. (12/4/2014)

 A woman is being accused by her friends of collecting more than $18,000 for terminal cancer that she never had. (12/4/2014)

 Woman accused of collecting more than $18,000 for cancer she didn't have

 Woman accused of collecting more than $18,000 for cancer she didn't have

 A pest control experts says they move inside during the cold weather...

 Watch out for brown recluse spiders during the winter

 Watch out for brown recluse spiders during the winter

 After a day of duck hunting, Raymond Verhoeven and Bradley Taylor posed for photos with the day's kill and St. Francis County Sheriff Bobby May can't stomach it.

 Man picks up rock and finds something 'from above'

 Man picks up rock and finds something 'from above'

 The mugshot of a Cary teen arrested on drug charges is going viral nearly a month after her arrest.

 The mugshot of a Cary teen arrested on drug charges is going viral nearly a month after her arrest.

 31 people are in trouble with the law after a three day prostitution sting in Richmond. Police told NBC12 they targeted specific areas where residents and business owners complained about the illegal activity.

 By Laura Geller - bio | email RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) – 31 people are in trouble with the law after a three day prostitution sting in Richmond. Police told NBC12 they targeted specific areas where residents

 One person in custody following "suspicious" fires overnight in Carolina Beach.

 One person in custody following "suspicious" fires overnight in Carolina Beach.

 Investigators were conducting the operation in the parking lot of the Bi-Lo store on the 700 block of Highway 27 when, around 4 p.m., they saw two vehicles meet up for a drug transaction.

 Investigators were conducting the operation in the parking lot of the Bi-Lo store on the 700 block of Highway 27 when, around 4 p.m., they saw two vehicles meet up for a drug transaction.

 The price of one of the oldest houses in Raleigh has been dropped $50,000 after the home was moved from its original location on Wake Forest Road.

 The price of one of the oldest houses in Raleigh has been dropped $50,000 after the home was moved from its original location on Wake Forest Road.

 The home was moved Feb. 3 to a nearby location on Hillmer Drive. (Photo by Jeff Reeves/WNCN)

 The home was moved Feb. 3 to a nearby location on Hillmer Drive. (Photo by Jeff Reeves/WNCN)

 New search warrants are revealing more details about the days leading up to the mysterious death of Sarah Catherine Long. Long was found with a single gunshot wound to the left side of her head at her Davidson home in July.

 At first, her death was considered a suicide, but several factors led police to reclassify the case as a homicide.

 According to search warrants, a neighbor told police the last time she saw Long was on Friday, July 18. She said Long was walking with a man, later identified as William Drew Becker.

 The warrants say Becker showed police documents that the 41-year-old victim left him everything in her will. It totaled about $1.5 million dollars. Becker claimed they were lovers and she was sick with cervical cancer.

 Another neighbor told officers that she saw Long on July 19 wearing a long dress and standing outside her home with a man.

 That same day, another neighbor who lives next door, told police she heard a heavy slam coming from Long's bedroom. That's the day police believe Long died.

 Her body was found four days later after police received a call from a concerned citizen, later identified as Becker.

 A week after Long's death, on Tuesday, July 29, the Mecklenburg County medical examiner told police he could not detect any blood on Long's left hand, the hand she was suspected of using to take her own life.

 In the warrants, both police and the examiner agreed that the gun was found in an odd position. After talking with family, police also learned Sarah Long was right-handed.

 On August 6, Long's OBGYN told detectives that Long did not have cervical cancer.

 Davidson Police say they are examining electronic evidence collected at Long's home, as well as reviewing Long's financial information.

 The search warrant states that investigators believe Long's financial records could determine who long was with the evening she died. At this time no arrests have been made in this case.

 A spokesperson for Davidson Police says they are looking into a person of interest, but are not releasing their name.

 Copyright 2014 WBTV. All rights reserved. ||||| DAVIDSON In hopes of identifying her killer, police have seized the Yahoo! Internet accounts of a woman found dead in her townhouse in July.

 Davidson police Detective Vernon Siders Jr. seized Sarah Catherine Long’s accounts by court order late last week, including text messages and saved, opened, unopened and deleted emails, according to a search warrant.

 Siders also seized information on financial transactions done through Long’s Yahoo! accounts, the search warrant said. The warrant doesn’t disclose what he found.

 A Superior Court judge issued the warrant on Thursday, and Siders seized the emails, text messages and other information through Yahoo! Inc.’s compliance team in Sunnyvale, Calif., according to the warrant.

 Siders didn’t return a voicemail message left by the Observer on Tuesday.

 Long was found dead in her bedroom on July 23 with a gun in her hand, according to previous search warrants.

 She died of a single gunshot wound to the left side of her head, Dr. Michael Sullivan, Mecklenburg County’s chief medical examiner at the time, wrote in an autopsy report obtained by the Observer.

 Police said Long’s death initially appeared to be from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a previous search warrant returned.

 But based on witness statements, police said, they believe someone else was inside Long’s house on Old Meeting Way the night she died, according to other search warrants. Police are now treating the death as a homicide.

 Responding officers found Long in her upstairs bedroom, clutching a .357 Taurus revolver in her left hand. Police said Long was right-handed, according to the warrants.

 Siders said in the previous warrants that he was approached by William Becker, who told the detective he was a friend of Long and that she was depressed and had recently been diagnosed with cervical cancer. Long’s doctor told police three weeks after Long was found dead that she did not have cervical cancer, according to the warrants.

 One search warrant said Becker told a detective about his relationship with Long. They’d met in December and began dating in April. Both were married, and the relationship was a secret, Becker told investigators, according to the warrant.

 The warrant indicates that Long’s will left Becker all of her assets – nearly $1 million.

 Attempts by the Observer to reach Becker in recent months have been unsuccessful. |||||

– A gun found in the left hand of a right-handed suicide victim. A secret married lover. And a $1 million inheritance. These are all clues in the mysterious July death of Sarah Catherine Long, 41, who police in Davidson, NC, at first believed killed herself, People reports. But now, they say she was murdered. Long's married lover, William Becker, tipped off police, claiming not to have seen her in four days, the New York Daily News reports. She was found dead in her condo on July 23 with a gun in her left hand and a gunshot wound above her left ear. But Long was right-handed and that hand wasn't bloody. Days after her death, Becker came forward claiming Long left him a $1 million fortune in her will. He also said she was depressed because she had cervical cancer, which her doctor refutes, WBTV reports. Meanwhile, Becker's wife told police he gave her a smoothie in May that tasted of medicine, which she says he dumped in the toilet when confronted; she thinks he was trying to poison her. Investigators are awaiting results that will determine if Long was drugged. Neighbors saw Long enter her house with a man at about 10:20pm on July 19, the night police think she died. Police are now analyzing Long's texts, four laptops, wireless router, Yahoo account, and financials, the Charlotte Observer reports. They're hoping that the router might have linked to the cellphone of the man she was with the night of her death. (In North Carolina, a sinister mystery surrounds the hanging death of a teen whose family says he didn't kill himself.)


Beijing: US President Donald Trump has said he would potentially intervene in the extradition case against Huawei finance executive Meng Wanzhou if it helped get a better trade deal with China.

 Trump's comments came before a Vancouver court made a decision on Tuesday, US time, to grant Meng $US7.5 million ($10.3 million) bail, and prompted a strong response from analysts who feared it would confirm suspicions in China the arrest of Meng was politically motivated.

 In this courtroom sketch, Meng Wanzhou, right, the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, listens to the judge during a bail hearing in Vancouver, Canada. Credit:The Canadian Press/AP

 The diplomatic fallout from her arrest by Canadian authorities, acting on behalf of the US, has deepened with a former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig detained in China.

 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government was taking the "the situation of a Canadian detained in China" very seriously and had been in direct contact with Chinese diplomats and were offering consular assistance to the family. ||||| U.S. President Donald Trump sits for an exclusive interview with Reuters journalists in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. December 11, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would intervene in the Justice Department’s case against a top executive at China’s Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL] if it would serve national security interests or help close a trade deal with China.

 Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada Dec. 1 and has been accused by the United States of misleading multinational banks about Iran-linked transactions, putting the banks at risk of violating U.S. sanctions.

 When asked if he would intervene with the Justice Department in her case, Trump said in an interview with Reuters: “Whatever’s good for this country, I would do.”

 “If I think it’s good for what will be certainly the largest trade deal ever made – which is a very important thing – what’s good for national security – I would certainly intervene if I thought it was necessary,” Trump said.

 A Canadian court on Tuesday granted Meng bail while she awaits a hearing for extradition to the United States, a move that could help placate Chinese officials angered by her arrest.

 Trump also said the White House has spoken with the Justice Department about the case, as well as Chinese officials.

 “They have not called me yet. They are talking to my people. But they have not called me yet,” he said when asked if he has spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping about the case. |||||

Write a summary.

– Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou is out on bail in Vancouver—and whether her next destination is her home in China or a cell in the US could be up to President Trump. In an interview Tuesday with Reuters, Trump said he would consider intervening with the Justice Department in the case it was good for trade deals. "Whatever's good for this country, I would do," he said. "If I think it’s good for what will be certainly the largest trade deal ever made—which is a very important thing—what’s good for national security—I would certainly intervene if I thought it was necessary." Chinese officials have warned that the US and Canada could face retaliation for the arrest of Meng, who was detained Dec. 1 in Canada at the request of US authorities. If Canadian authorities consent, Meng could be extradited to the US to face fraud charges related to the alleged violation of sanctions against Iran. Trump said that he has yet to speak to China's President Xi Jinping on the matter, but White House officials have contacted Chinese officials and the Justice Department. Trump's claim that he would intervene to help trade deals contradicts statements made by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who called the case a "criminal justice matter" unrelated to trade talks, Politico reports. In China, Trump's remarks have raised suspicions that Meng's arrest was politically motivated, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. (China has reportedly detained a former Canadian diplomat.)


Summarize this article:

Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption The couple announced their engagement in November

 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding will be held on Saturday 19 May 2018, Kensington Palace has announced.

 The pair confirmed their engagement in November and said the service would be at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

 The date breaks with tradition as royal weddings usually take place on a weekday - the Queen wed on a Thursday and the Duke of Cambridge on a Friday.

 The wedding will be on the same day as the FA Cup Final, which Prince William normally attends as FA president.

 The time of the match has yet to be confirmed, but in recent years it has taken place at 17:30 GMT.

 The Royal Family will pay for the wedding, including the service, music, flowers and reception.

 The event will take place just a month after the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expected to welcome their third child to the family.

 Ms Markle will be baptised into the Church of England and confirmed before the wedding.

 Earlier this week, Kensington Palace announced the couple will be spending Christmas together at Sandringham with the Queen.

 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Harry and Meghan: Engagement interview in full

 The prince and the American actor, 36, carried out their first official engagement in Nottingham on 1 December.

 Prince Harry made a public appearance at Sandhurst earlier on Friday - 11 years after he graduated from the military academy - for the Sovereign's Parade.

 No Bank Holiday

 BBC Royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said the Saturday date was "unusual, but not unprecedented" and would give people the opportunity to go to Windsor for the celebrations.

 He added: "Downing Street clearly hasn't been persuaded [into giving a Bank Holiday]… these things are so ruled by precedent."

 Image copyright PA Image caption Prince Harry and Ms Markle on their first official engagement in Nottingham

 Reacting to the clash with the cup match, an FA spokesman said the organisation was "delighted" for Prince Harry and Ms Markle.

 He added: "Saturday 19 May promises to be a wonderful day with such a special royal occasion being followed by English football's showpiece event, the Emirates FA Cup Final.

 "With millions coming together to watch both events at home and around the world, it will be a day to celebrate."

 Image copyright Reuters Image caption The couple visited a gallery and school in Nottingham ||||| Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding is to take place on Saturday May 19, Kensington Palace has announced.

 The pair, whose engagement was confirmed last month, are tying the knot at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle.

 The couple's chosen day clashes with another big event - it is also the FA Cup final at Wembley.

 As President of the Football Association, Harry's older brother the Duke of Cambridge usually attends the high-profile match and presents the trophy.

 But this year, William, who is tipped to be Harry's best man, looks likely to be otherwise engaged with wedding duties. |||||

– Prepare for an onslaught of media buzz each time a bit of minutiae about the upcoming Meghan Markle-Prince Harry wedding emerges. Friday's relevant detail: their actual wedding date. It had previously been noted the ceremony would take place sometime next spring, but now an actual date has been announced, and it's a break from convention, per the BBC. The couple will wed in St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018, which is unusual for a royal wedding as it falls on a Saturday. Royal couples usually take their vows on a weekday: Harry's parents, Charles and Diana, wed on a Wednesday, for example, while brother William wed Kate Middleton on a Friday. The Telegraph notes the date may have been picked to avoid having to declare a bank holiday, as well as to allow Middleton time to recover from the birth of her third child, due in April. One person who will have to trade in one big event for another: Harry's best man, Prince William, who usually presides over the FA Cup soccer finals and presents the trophy. This year's championship is being held on the same day as Harry and Meghan's wedding.


– Federal agents have been watching websites where hackers illegally distribute credit card data—and their work has paid off. Today, they arrested 11 people in the US and 13 overseas, reports Reuters. Under the two-year sting, agents set up a fake online forum of their own where people could trade stolen account numbers. The arrest foiled about $200 million in bogus purchases involving more than 400,000 compromised cards, authorities say. All of the suspects are males between the ages of 18 to 25, which might have been apparent by screen names like “JoshTheGod" and “IwearaMAGNUM.” Some of those charged face 40 years in prison if convicted. Their arrests will cause a "significant disruption to the underground economy," an FBI spokeswoman tells the New York Times.

Expand this summary.

For hackers in search of information like credit card numbers and software to spy on computers, the site called Carder Profit appeared to be a veritable eBay for thieves.

 Instead, it was a creation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 On Tuesday, after a two-year undercover operation, authorities in 13 countries arrested two dozen people who are accused of fraud involving computer crime.

 Federal officials said Operation Card Shop, as the sting is being called, was unusually broad and represented a significant step in combating credit card fraud, which has grown notably more sophisticated recently.

 “These guys represent the complete ecosystem of Internet fraud,” said one senior law enforcement official who requested anonymity because of the confidentiality of the investigation. “We drew them out of the shadows with the Web site as bait.”

 Hackers have become increasingly successful recently in obtaining credit card information and other personal data, sharing it on secure Web sites, often on overseas servers. Last year, hackers in Eastern Europe obtained the names, account numbers, e-mail addresses and transaction histories of more than 200,000 Citibank customers.

 The online forum, one law enforcement official said, was “like a restricted eBay,” open only to people who had a reputation and who had been vouched for by someone on the site. Besides the financial data, hacking tips, malware, spyware and access to stolen goods, like iPads and iPhones, were also possible on the site, the official said.

 Federal officials maintained that the sting operation prevented potential losses of more than $200 million. Credit card providers were notified of more than 400,000 compromised credit and debit cards, the officials said.

 Many of the 11 individuals arrested in the United States offered specialized skills and products on the sting site. One, who used the screen name xVisceral, offered remote access tools known as RATS that would spy on computers and Web cameras; the programs sold for $50 a copy.

 Another, Mir Islam, known as JoshTheGod, sold stolen credit card information and had data on 50,000 credit card accounts, according to the United States attorney for the Southern District. He was arrested after buying cards from an undercover agent and trying to use one at an A.T.M. on Eighth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

 Mr. Islam is accused of helping to operate additional forums, UGNazi.com and Carders.org, both of which were seized by the F.B.I. A lawyer for Mr. Islam declined to comment.

 Other people arrested offered to ship stolen merchandise and arrange drop services so items like sunglasses, air purifiers and synthetic marijuana could be picked up.

 Two individuals were arrested in New York, nine elsewhere in the United States and 13 in a dozen other countries, according to an F.B.I. spokeswoman.

 In addition to arresting purveyors of stolen credit card information, authorities also aimed to trap people who created fake credit cards. The information included credit card numbers, addresses, Social Security numbers, mothers’ maiden names and details of bank accounts.

 Some people who bought software and other items on the sting site purchased products from retailers like Apple and Walmart.

 “The coordinated law enforcement actions taken by an unprecedented number of countries around the world today demonstrate that hackers and fraudsters cannot count on being able to prowl the Internet in anonymity and with impunity, even across national boundaries,” said Preet Bharara, United States attorney for the Southern District of New York.

 In addition to luring hackers onto the site, federal authorities also monitored the discussion threads that sprang up, as specialized hackers sold their wares. The site was created in June 2010 and shut last month.

 “From New York to Norway and Japan to Australia, Operation Card Shop targeted sophisticated, highly organized cybercriminals involved in buying and selling stolen identities, exploited credit cards, counterfeit documents and sophisticated hacking tools,” Janice K. Fedarcyk, assistant director for the F.B.I., said in a statement.

 She said the arrests would cause “significant disruption to the underground economy.”

 The overall number of arrests had been reported earlier as 26.

 Credit card fraud has exploded in recent years, with increasingly sophisticated hackers teaming up with criminal organizations overseas. In the case of Operation Card Shop, the arrests took place in nations like Britain, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Norway and Germany. Search warrants and interviews were obtained in Australia, Canada, Macedonia and Denmark.

 “They didn’t just take down one kid and a Web site,” said Dave Marcus, director of advanced research and threat intelligence at McAfee, a major provider of computer security software. “They took down a very organized group of people.”

 While the international reach of the operation was notable, the number of stolen cards pales in comparison with some earlier breaches. This year, Global Payments, an Atlanta-based transaction processor, reported a breach affecting 1.5 million credit cards. And in 2008, the underground market for the data was flooded with more than 360 million stolen personal records, mainly credit and debit files. ||||| NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. law enforcement officials on Tuesday said 24 suspected hackers had been arrested in a sting operation spanning four continents that targeted online financial fraud of stolen credit card and bank information.

 In a two-year investigation, FBI agents posed as hackers on Internet forums, watching as other hackers swapped methods for breaching data security walls and creating fake credit cards that would work for Internet and in-person purchases.

 The probe prevented $205 million in possible losses on over 411,000 compromised consumer credit and debit cards, U.S. authorities in New York said.

 Eleven people were arrested in the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office said. The thirteen others were arrested in countries from Britain to Japan, the authorities said. Officials in Australia also conducted searches.

 "Clever computer criminals operating behind the supposed veil of the Internet are still subject to the long arm of the law," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.

 During the operation, the FBI said, it not only monitored the hackers' activities but also contacted "multiple" people and institutions hit by the hackers and showed them how to repair their security breaches and protect themselves in the future.

 No credit card companies or banks were named in Tuesday's court documents.

 The 24 people arrested were all men aged 18 to 25. Some face up to 40 years or more in prison if convicted on conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges and access device fraud charges.

 The FBI operation centered around a "carding forum" that it had secretly created in June 2010, and was in charge of running unbeknownst to its participants, authorities said.

 The forum, called "Carder Profit," was essentially an online market for registered users to exchange stolen account numbers. It was shut down in May.

 Two people were arrested in the New York area and were later released on bail after appearing in Manhattan federal court.

 One of the men, Mir Islam, known online as "JoshTheGod," was charged with trafficking in 50,000 stolen credit card numbers. Authorities said Islam had admitted to helping emerging hacker outfit UgNazi, which said it had launched a cyber attack against the microblogging platform Twitter last week.

 Islam, 18, who lives in the New York borough of the Bronx, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge James Francis in flip-flop sandals and jeans. His parents, who are from Pakistan, watched the proceeding from a back bench. Islam was released on a $50,000 bond.

 Fellow Bronx resident Joshua Hicks, 19, also known as "OxideDox," was charged with one count of access device fraud. Wearing red basketball shorts, Hicks was released on a $20,000 bond after a brief hearing before the same judge.

 Meanwhile on Tuesday, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Wyndham Worldwide Corp and three subsidiaries, alleging that the hotel operator failed to keep customer data secure.

 That failure resulted in the theft of hundreds of thousands of consumers payment card numbers, which were sent to an Internet address registered in Russia and $10.6 million in fraudulent charges, according to the complaint.

 The cases are U.S. v Joshua Hicks and U.S. v. Mir Islam, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Nos 12-1639 and 12-1701

 (Reporting By Basil Katz; Editing by Carol Bishopric, Gary Hill) |||||


– The world is about to have its first country to accept gay marriage through a popular vote. Though final results aren't expected for hours, both sides say the "yes" side has won an easy victory in yesterday's referendum, reports the Irish Times. One of the main opponents conceded as much in a tweet: "Congratulations to the Yes side," wrote David Quinn of the Iona Institute, a Catholic think tank. "Well done." It's not a huge surprise given that all major political parties backed the idea, and massive turnout boded well for proponents. "The numbers of people who turned out to vote is unprecedented," says the nation's equality minister. "This has really touched a nerve in Ireland today." Reuters is typical in its coverage in describing the result as a "dramatic social shift" in the predominantly Catholic country, one in which homosexuality was still illegal just two decades ago.

Expand this summary.

Columnist with The Sunday Times and Irish Catholic. Director of Iona Institute. Author of 'How we killed God (and other tales of modern Ireland)'.

 Dublin ||||| DUBLIN The people of Ireland backed same-sex marriage by a landslide in a referendum that marked a dramatic social shift in a traditionally Catholic country that only decriminalized homosexuality two decades ago.

 After one of the largest turnouts in a referendum there, 62 percent of voters said 'Yes', making Ireland the first country to adopt same-sex marriage via a popular vote.

 'Yes' supporters crowded into the courtyard of Dublin Castle to watch in blistering sunshine as results trickled in from around the country were shown on a large screen. They cheered with joy as the final tally was announced and then burst into a rendition of the national anthem.

 "We woke up today to a new Ireland. The real Irish Republic that I have dreamed of my whole life," said Jean Webster, a 54-year-old administrator who came out as a lesbian eight years ago after separating from her husband.

 Government ministers waved a rainbow flag from the stage in front of the crowd and one lesbian senator proposed to her partner live on national television.

 "The answer is yes to their future, yes to their love, yes to equal marriage. That 'Yes' is heard loudly across the world as a sound of pioneering leadership from our people," Prime Minister Enda Kenny told a news conference. "Ireland, thank you."

 The Catholic Church, which teaches that homosexual activity is a sin, saw its dominance of Irish politics collapse after a series of child sex abuse scandals in the early 1990s and limited its 'No' campaigning to sermons to its remaining flock.

 The archbishop of Dublin said the result presented a challenge.

 "It is a social revolution. It's very clear that if this referendum is an affirmation of the views of young people, then the Church has a huge task ahead of it," Archbishop Diarmuid Martin told national broadcaster RTE.

 "The Church needs to do a reality check."

 TABOO

 Ireland follows several Western European countries including Britain, France and Spain in allowing gay marriage, which is also legal in South Africa, Brazil, Canada and some U.S. states, while homosexuality remains taboo and often illegal in many parts of Africa and Asia.

 U.S. Vice President Joe Biden tweeted: "We welcome Ireland's support for equality. #LoveWins"

 After Irish expatriates flocked home to vote, 60 percent of registered voters cast their ballot, the highest in two decades.

 "This is a big placard from the people of Ireland to the rest of the world saying this is the way forward," said David Norris, who began a campaign for gay rights in the late 1970s.

 The proposal was backed by all political parties, championed by big employers and endorsed by celebrities, all hoping it would mark a transformation in a country that was long regarded as one of the most socially conservative in Western Europe.

 Only a third of the country backed the decriminalization of gay sex for men over 17 in 1993, according to a poll at the time. When voters narrowly legalized divorce in 1995, only five of the 30 constituencies outside Dublin backed the proposal.

 This time, all bar one of the 43 voting areas approved the marriage measure.

 "It changes everything, the worries and fears I had as a young gay kid in Ireland, they're all gone," said Ger O'Keefe, 27, a 'Yes' campaigner from Waterford.

 "This will tell kids now that you don't need to be afraid."

 (Editing by Robin Pomeroy) ||||| Full list of results

 Ireland has officially passed the same-sex marraige referendum with 1.2 million people voting in its favour. The result was confirmed just before 7pm on Saturday although the result was clear from very early in the count. The Yes vote prevailed by 62 to 38 per cent with a large 60.5 per cent turnout.

 In total, 1,201,607 people voted in favour with 734,300 against, giving a majority of 467,307. The total valid poll was 1,935,907.

 Roscommon-South Leitrim was the only county to reject same-sex marriage. The No vote there finished with 51.4 per cent.

 Donegal, against some expectations, approved the amendment to the Constitution by a small margin. Donegal South West was on a razor edge with 50.1 per cent voting Yes, representing a margin of just 33 votes.

 A referendum presented simultaneously on reducing the permissible age for presidential candidates was roundly defeated.

 The Yes vote in Dublin in the same-sex marriage referendum was particularly pronounced.

 Dublin Midwest recorded a Yes vote of 70.9 per cent, Dublin South West returned 71.3 per cent, Dún Laoghaire 71.6 per cent, Dublin North West 70.6 per cent and Dublin South Central 72.3 per cent, all in keeping with the 70 per cent-plus positive vote that had been anticipated in the capital.

 As the result emerged on Saturday afternoon thousands of people gathered in the courtyard of Dublin Castle amid scenes of widespread jubilation.

 Senior politicians welcomed the result, with Minister for Health Leo Varadkar saying the overwhelming Yes vote makes Ireland a “beacon of light” for the rest of the world in terms of liberty and equality.

 “It’s a historical day for Ireland,” he told RTÉ, a “social revolution”, adding that had any constituencies voted No, it would only have been a handful. In the end there was just one. Mr Varadkar revealed publically during the referendum campaign that he was gay.

 Well done, Ireland. -H — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) May 23, 2015 Ireland did it! The 1st country to legalize marriage equality by popular vote, but they won't be the last! What an incredible accomplishment — Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) May 23, 2015

 Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said it was now time to focus on other myriad inequalities in Irish society.

 “I have the strong belief - there is a strong belief in the church - about the nature of marriage and the family,” he said, after the result was beyond dispute.

 “I would like to have seen that the rights of gay and lesbian men and women could have been respected without changing the definition of marriage. That hasn’t happened, but that is the world we live in today.”

 The eyes of the world have been trained on Ireland with the story featuring prominently in international media throughout the weekend.

 Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the referendum turnout showed the “palpable movement” of people wanting to be involved.

 He particularly noted how young people had travelled around the country to “to put a single mark” on a ballot paper, demonstrating the value of the issue at hand.

 Paul Moran of Millward Brown told RTÉ voter turnout had proved vital and that youth had driven the result, if not entirely deciding it. Social media has played a central role, he said.

 No campaigners congratulated the Yes side. Prominent No campaigner and director of the Iona Institute David Quinn seemed to concede the vote shortly after counting began when he tweeted: “Congratulations to the Yes site. Well done.”

 The Iona Institute issued a statement congratulating the Yes side “on their win” which they described as “a handsome victory”.

 “We hope the Government will address the concerns voters on the No side have about the implications for freedom of religion and freedom of conscience,” it concluded.

 No campaigner Senator Ronan Mullen said he was not surprised by the seemingly “very substantial majority” in the Yes vote but remains concerned about changes to the Constitution and its negative impacts.

 Nobody in the No campaign thought it was going to be easy, he said.

 “We are operating in a political time and place in Irish culture”, up against a very skilled Yes campaign which had the support of all political parties.

 Senator Fidelma Healy Eames, who also campaigned for a No vote, said the referendum “for me was never anti-gay”. She said she had switched her vote from Yes to No simply because of her concerns around constitutional change and its effect on a child’s birthright.

 The No advocacy group Mothers and Fathers Matter expressed “warm congratulations” to the Yes side but said that one in three Irish people - the vote ratio - were not represented by the political establishment.

 Yes campaigner and Fianna Fáil Senator Averil Power said gay campaigners who told their stories on the doorsteps of voters had “helped to change Ireland for all of us”, not just the gay community.

 She said she had seen many of them reduced to tears by the experience they had during the campaign. For them, it was often “an incredibly difficult thing to do”.

 Senator David Norris, who fought from the 1970s to 1993 to have homosexuality decriminalised, welcomed the result. “I believe that by the end of today gay people will be equal in this country. I think it’s wonderful,” he said.

 Minister for Children James Reilly said while the same-sex marriage referendum yes vote is strong in Dublin, it is also strong around the country. He says a lot of voters have been thinking about their grandchildren and giving them the same opportunities in life, should they be gay.

 US vice president Joe Biden tweeted: “We welcome Ireland’s support for equality #LoveWins.”

 As with the last referendum, media facilities were made available at Dublin Castle, and a large international contingent was in attendance.

 Following calls from politicians and members of the public on Friday Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW Simon Harris announced that Dublin Castle would also be open to 2,000 members of the public. |||||


Article:
Argentine farmworker Fabian Tomasi was never trained to handle pesticides. His job was to keep the crop-dusters flying by filling their tanks as quickly as possible, although it often meant getting drenched in poison.

 CORRECTION TO REMOVE SENTENCE ABOUT GLYPHOSATE, WHICH CONTAINS INCORRECT DATA, AND ADD A SUBSTITUTE SENTENCE - In this May 2, 2013 photo, empty agrochemical containers including Monsanto's Roundup products... (Associated Press)

 In this April 16, 2013, photo, Felix San Roman walks on his property in Rawson, in Buenos Aires province, Argentina. San Roman says that when he complained about clouds of chemicals drifting into his... (Associated Press)

 In this Sept. 23, 2013, photo, empty pesticide containers ready for recycling are collected inside an enclosure by the farming business association in Gualeguaychu, in Entre Rios province, Argentina.... (Associated Press)

 In this Sept. 25, 2013, photo, a protest sign directed to Argentine President Cristina Fernandez and Cordoba Province governor Jose Manuel de la Sota that reads in Spanish; "Stop looting and contaminating!... (Associated Press)

 In this Sept. 26, 2013, photo, Sofia Gatica participates in a protest to block trucks from entering the site where Monsanto Company is building its largest Latin American seed production plant, in the... (Associated Press)

 In this March 31, 2013, photo, Camila Veron, 2, born with multiple organ problems and severely disabled, stands outside her home in Avia Terai, in Chaco province, Argentina. Doctors told Camila's mother,... (Associated Press)

 In this March 31, 2013, photo, Erika, left, and her twin sister Macarena, who suffer from chronic respiratory illness, play in their backyard near recycled agrochemical containers filled with water that... (Associated Press)

 In this April 1, 2013, photo, Silvia Alvarez leans against her red brick home while keeping an eye on her son, Ezequiel Moreno, who was born with hydrocephalus, in Gancedo, in Chaco province, Argentina.... (Associated Press)

 In this April 16, 2013, photo, activist Oscar Alfredo Di Vincensi talks on a cell phone inside his tent during his one-man hunger strike demanding that agrochemical spraying not be allowed within 1,000... (Associated Press)

 In this March 9, 2013, photo, residents gather to speak with Dr. Damian Verzenassi on health concerns they have about agrochemicals in the main square of Alvear, in Santa Fe province, Argentina. In the... (Associated Press)

 In this Sept. 25, 2013, photo, cattle are corralled near the town of Berabevu, in Santa Fe province, Argentina. As Argentine ranchers turn to higher-profit soybeans, formerly grass-fed cattle are fattened... (Associated Press)

 In this Sept. 24, 2013, photo, a tractor known as a "mosquito" dusts a field near Parana, in the Entre Rios province, Argentina. Most provinces forbid spraying next to homes and schools, ranging in distance... (Associated Press)

 In this May 31, 2013 photo, girls use slingshots next to a biotech soybean plantation in Avia Terai, in Chaco province, Argentina. The country's entire soybean crop and nearly all its corn and cotton... (Associated Press)

 In this April 1, 2013 photo, Aixa Cano, 5, who has hairy moles all over her body that doctors can't explain, sits on a stoop outside her home in Avia Terai, in Chaco province, Argentina. Although it’s... (Associated Press)

 In this March 31, 2013, photo, Erika, right, and her twin sister Macarena, who suffer from chronic respiratory illness, stand inside their home in Avia Terai, in Chaco province, Argentina. The twins'... (Associated Press)

 In this May 3, 2013, photo, students stand outside their rural school in Pozo del Toba, in Santiago del Estero province, Argentina. Most Argentine provinces limit how close spraying can be done in populated... (Associated Press)

 In this April 16, 2013 photo, soybeans ready for harvest are bathed in afternoon light near Rawson, in Buenos Aires province, Argentina. American biotechnology has turned Argentina into the world’s third-largest... (Associated Press)

 In this Sept. 24, 2013, photo, a tractor used for spraying agrochemicals is reflected in a car's side view mirror on a road in Parana, in Entre Rios province, Argentina. Glyphosate represents two-thirds... (Associated Press)

 In this Sept. 24, 2013 photo, students play soccer during recess at a rural school near Concepcion del Uruguay, Entre Rios province, Argentina. Teachers say the farm that abuts their school yard has been... (Associated Press)

 In this March 29, 2013, photo, former farmworker Fabian Tomasi, 47, shows the condition of his emaciated body as he stands inside his home in Basavilbaso, in Entre Rios province, Argentina. Tomasi’s job... (Associated Press)

 In this July 8, 2013 photo, Dr. Andres Carrasco, a molecular biologist at the University of Buenos Aires, pauses during an interview in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Carrasco found that injecting very low... (Associated Press)

 In this May 3, 2013, photo, students ride a motorbike past a field of biotech corn on their way to school in Pozo del Toba, Santiago del Estero province, Argentina. American biotechnology has turned Argentina... (Associated Press)

 Now, at 47, he's a living skeleton, so weak he can hardly leave his house in Entre Rios province.

 Schoolteacher Andrea Druetta lives in Santa Fe Province, the heart of Argentina's soy country, where agrochemical spraying is banned within 500 meters (550 yards) of populated areas. But soy is planted just 30 meters (33 yards) from her back door. Her boys were showered in chemicals recently while swimming in the backyard pool.

 After Sofia Gatica lost her newborn to kidney failure, she filed a complaint that led to Argentina's first criminal convictions for illegal spraying. But last year's verdict came too late for many of her 5,300 neighbors in Ituzaingo Annex. A government study there found alarming levels of agrochemical contamination in the soil and drinking water, and 80 percent of the children surveyed carried traces of pesticide in their blood.

 American biotechnology has turned Argentina into the world's third-largest soybean producer, but the chemicals powering the boom aren't confined to soy and cotton and corn fields.

 The Associated Press documented dozens of cases around the country where poisons are applied in ways unanticipated by regulatory science or specifically banned by existing law. The spray drifts into schools and homes and settles over water sources; farmworkers mix poisons with no protective gear; villagers store water in pesticide containers that should have been destroyed.

 Now doctors are warning that uncontrolled pesticide applications could be the cause of growing health problems among the 12 million people who live in the South American nation's vast farm belt.

 In Santa Fe, cancer rates are two times to four times higher than the national average. In Chaco, birth defects quadrupled in the decade after biotechnology dramatically expanded farming in Argentina.

 "The change in how agriculture is produced has brought, frankly, a change in the profile of diseases," says Dr. Medardo Avila Vazquez, a pediatrician and neonatologist who co-founded Doctors of Fumigated Towns, part of a growing movement demanding enforcement of agricultural safety rules. "We've gone from a pretty healthy population to one with a high rate of cancer, birth defects, and illnesses seldom seen before."

 A nation once known for its grass-fed beef has undergone a remarkable transformation since 1996, when the St. Louis-based Monsanto Co. promised that adopting its patented seeds and chemicals would increase crop yields and lower pesticide use. Today, Argentina's entire soy crop and nearly all its corn and cotton are genetically modified, with soy cultivation alone tripling to 47 million acres (19 million hectares).

 Agrochemical use did decline at first, then it bounced back, increasing ninefold from 9 million gallons (34 million liters) in 1990 to more than 84 million gallons (317 million liters) today as farmers squeezed in more harvests and pests became resistant to the poisons. Overall, Argentine farmers apply an estimated 4.3 pounds of agrochemical concentrate per acre, more than twice what U.S. farmers use, according to an AP analysis of government and pesticide industry data.

 Glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto's popular Roundup brand of pesticides, is one of the world's most widely used weed killers. It has been determined to be safe, if applied properly, by many regulatory agencies, including those of the United States and European Union.

 On May 1, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency even raised the allowable levels of glyphosate residues in food, concluding that based on studies presented by Monsanto, "there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will result to the general population or to infants and children from aggregate exposure."

 Argentina's 23 provinces take the lead in regulating farming, and rules vary.

 Spraying is banned within 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) of populated areas in some provinces and as little as 50 meters (55 yards) in others. About one-third of the provinces set no limits at all, and most lack detailed enforcement policies.

 A federal environmental law requires applicators of toxic chemicals to suspend or cancel activities that threaten public health, "even when the link has not been scientifically proven," and "no matter the costs or consequences," but it has never been applied to farming, the auditor general found last year.

 In response to soaring complaints, President Cristina Fernandez ordered a commission in 2009 to study the impact of agrochemical spraying on human health. Its initial report called for "systematic controls over concentrations of herbicides and their compounds ... such as exhaustive laboratory and field studies involving formulations containing glyphosate as well as its interactions with other agrochemicals as they are actually used in our country."

 But the commission hasn't met since 2010, the auditor general found.

 Government officials insist the problem is not a lack of research, but misinformation that plays on people's emotions.

 "I've seen countless documents, surveys, videos, articles in the news and in universities, and really our citizens who read all this end up dizzy and confused," Agriculture Secretary Lorenzo Basso said. "I think we have to publicize the commitment that Argentina has to being a food producer. Our model as an exporting nation has been called into question. We need to defend our model."

 In a written statement, Monsanto spokesman Thomas Helscher said the company "does not condone the misuse of pesticides or the violation of any pesticide law, regulation, or court ruling."

 "Monsanto takes the stewardship of products seriously and we communicate regularly with our customers regarding proper use of our products," Helscher said.

 ___

 Argentina was among the earliest adopters of the new biotech farming model promoted by Monsanto and other U.S. agribusinesses.

 Instead of turning the topsoil, spraying pesticides and then waiting until the poison dissipates before planting, farmers sow the seeds and spray afterward without harming crops genetically modified to tolerate specific chemicals.

 This "no-till" method takes so much less time and money that farmers can reap more harvests and expand into land not worth the trouble before.

 But pests develop resistance, even more so when the same chemicals are applied to genetically identical crops on a vast scale.

 So while glyphosate is one of the world's safest herbicides, farmers now use it in higher concentrates and mix in much more toxic poisons, such as 2,4,D, which the U.S. military used in "Agent Orange" to defoliate jungles during the Vietnam War.

 In 2006, a division of Argentina's agriculture ministry recommended adding caution labels urging that mixtures of glyphosate and more toxic chemicals be limited to "farm areas far from homes and population centers." The recommendation was ignored, according to the federal audit.

 The government relies on industry research approved by the EPA, which said May 1 that "there is no indication that glyphosate is a neurotoxic chemical and there is no need for a developmental neurotoxicity study."

 Molecular biologist Dr. Andres Carrasco at the University of Buenos Aires says the burden from the chemical cocktails is worrisome, but even glyphosate alone could spell trouble for human health. He found that injecting a very low dose of glyphosate into embryos can change levels of retinoic acid, causing the same sort of spinal defects in frogs and chickens that doctors increasingly are registering in communities where farm chemicals are ubiquitous.

 This acid, a form of vitamin A, is fundamental for keeping cancers in check and triggering genetic expression, the process by which embryonic cells develop into organs and limbs.

 "If it's possible to reproduce this in a laboratory, surely what is happening in the field is much worse," Carrasco said. "And if it's much worse, and we suspect that it is, what we have to do is put this under a magnifying glass."

 His findings, published in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology in 2010, were rebutted by Monsanto, which said the results "are not surprising given their methodology and unrealistic exposure scenarios."

 Monsanto said in response to AP's questions that chemical safety tests should only be done on live animals, and that injecting embryos is "less reliable and less relevant for human risk assessments."

 "Glyphosate is even less toxic than the repellent you put on your children's skin," said Pablo Vaquero, Monsanto's corporate affairs director in Buenos Aires. "That said, there has to be a responsible and good use of these products because in no way would you put repellent in the mouths of children and no environmental applicator should spray fields with a tractor or a crop-duster without taking into account the environmental conditions and threats that stem from the use of the product."

 Out in the fields, warnings are widely ignored.

 For three years, Tomasi was routinely exposed to chemicals as he pumped pesticides into the tanks of crop-dusters. Now he's near death from polyneuropathy, a debilitating neurological disorder, which has left him wasted and shriveled.

 "I prepared millions of liters of poison without any kind of protection, no gloves, masks or special clothing," he said. "I didn't know anything. I only learned later what it did to me, after contacting scientists."

 "The poison comes in liquid concentrates, in containers with lots of precautions to take when applying it," Tomasi explained. "But nobody takes precautions."

 With soybeans selling for about $500 a ton, growers plant wherever they can, often disregarding Monsanto's guidelines and provincial law by spraying with no advance warning, and even in windy conditions.

 In Entre Rios, teachers reported that sprayers failed to respect 50-meter (55-yard) limits at 18 schools, dousing 11 during class. Five teachers filed police complaints this year.

 Druetta also filed complaints in Santa Fe, alleging that students fainted when pesticides drifted into their classrooms and that their tap water is contaminated. She is struggling to get clean drinking water into her school, she said, while a neighbor keeps a freezer of rabbit and bird carcasses, hoping someone will test them to see why they dropped dead after spraying.

 Buenos Aires forbids loading or hosing off spraying equipment in populated areas, but in the town of Rawson, it's done directly across the street from homes and a school, with the runoff flowing into an open ditch.

 Felix San Roman says that when he complained about clouds of chemicals drifting into his yard, the sprayers beat him up, fracturing his spine and knocking out his teeth. He said he filed a complaint in 2011, but it was ignored.

 "This is a small town where nobody confronts anyone, and the authorities look the other way," San Roman said. "All I want is for them to follow the existing law, which says you can't do this within 1,500 meters (of homes). Nobody follows this. How can you control it?"

 Sometimes even court orders are ignored.

 In January, activist Oscar Di Vincensi stood in a field near a friend's house waving a ruling against spraying within 1,000 meters (1,100 yards) of homes in his town of Alberti. A tractor driver simply ignored him, dousing him in pesticide.

 Di Vincensi's video of that incident went viral on YouTube earlier this year.

 ___

 Dr. Damian Verzenassi, who directs the Environment and Health program at the National University of Rosario's medical school, decided to try to figure out what was behind an increase in cancer, birth defects and miscarriages in Argentina's hospitals.

 "We didn't set out to find problems with agrochemicals. We went to see what was happening with the people," he said.

 Since 2010, this house-to-house epidemiological study has reached 65,000 people in Santa Fe province, finding cancer rates two times to four times higher than the national average, including breast, prostate and lung cancers. Researchers also found high rates of thyroid disorders and chronic respiratory illness.

 "It could be linked to agrochemicals," he said. "They do all sorts of analysis for toxicity of the first ingredient, but they have never studied the interactions between all the chemicals they're applying."

 Dr. Maria del Carmen Seveso, who has spent 33 years running intensive care wards and ethics committees in Chaco province, became alarmed at regional birth reports showing a quadrupling of congenital defects, from 19.1 per 10,000 to 85.3 per 10,000 in the decade after genetically modified crops and their agrochemicals were approved in Argentina.

 Determined to find out why, she and her colleagues surveyed 2,051 people in six towns in Chaco, and found significantly more diseases and defects in villages surrounded by industrial agriculture than in those surrounded by cattle ranches. In Avia Terai, 31 percent said a family member had cancer in the past 10 years, compared with 3 percent in the ranching village of Charadai.

 Visiting these farm villages, the AP found chemicals in places where they were never intended to be.

 Claudia Sariski, whose home has no running water, says she doesn't let her twin toddlers drink from the discarded poison containers she keeps in her dusty backyard. But her chickens do, and she uses it to wash the family's clothes.

 "They prepare the seeds and the poison in their houses. And it's very common, not only in Avia Terai but in nearby towns, for people to keep water for their houses in empty agrochemical containers," explained surveyor Katherina Pardo. "Since there's no treated drinking water here, the people use these containers anyway. They are a very practical people."

 The survey found diseases Seveso said were uncommon before _ birth defects including malformed brains, exposed spinal cords, blindness and deafness, neurological damage, infertility, and strange skin problems.

 Aixa Cano, a shy 5-year-old, has hairy moles all over her body. Her neighbor, 2-year-old Camila Veron, was born with multiple organ problems and is severely disabled. Doctors told their mothers that agrochemicals may be to blame.

 "They told me that the water made this happen because they spray a lot of poison here," said Camila's mother, Silvia Achaval. "People who say spraying poison has no effect, I don't know what sense that has because here you have the proof," she added, pointing at her daughter.

 It's nearly impossible to prove that exposure to a specific chemical caused an individual's cancer or birth defect. But like the other doctors, Seveso said their findings should prompt a rigorous government investigation. Instead, their 68-page report was shelved for a year by Chaco's health ministry. A year later, a leaked copy was posted on the Internet.

 "There are things that are not open to discussion, things that aren't listened to," Seveso concluded.

 Scientists argue that only broader, longer-term studies can rule out agrochemicals as a cause of these illnesses.

 "That's why we do epidemiological studies for heart disease and smoking and all kinds of things," said Doug Gurian-Sherman, a former EPA regulator now with the Union of Concerned Scientists. "If you have the weight of evidence pointing to serious health problems, you don't wait until there's absolute proof in order to do something."

 ___

 Warren can be reached on Twitter at (at)mwarrenap ||||| The agrochemicals that have powered a global commodities boom have been ruled safe if used properly by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and many other regulators. But an Associated Press investigation in Argentina found that pesticides are used haphazardly and in ways unanticipated by regulatory science, and specifically banned by law. Doctors say people are getting sick. The findings include:

 In this Sept. 25, 2013, photo, cattle are corralled near the town of Berabevu, in Santa Fe province, Argentina. As Argentine ranchers turn to higher-profit soybeans, formerly grass-fed cattle are fattened... (Associated Press)

 In this Sept. 23, 2013, photo, empty pesticide containers ready for recycling are collected inside an enclosure by the farming business association in Gualeguaychu, in Entre Rios province, Argentina.... (Associated Press)

 In this Sept. 24, 2013 photo, students play soccer during recess at a rural school near Concepcion del Uruguay, Entre Rios province, Argentina. Teachers say the farm that abuts their school yard has been... (Associated Press)

 OVERUSE OF CHEMICALS:

 The Monsanto Co. promised adopting genetically modified crops would enable faster, cheaper production with fewer chemicals. True at first, but the overall chemical burden has grown eightfold since 1990 in Argentina as farmers blend in more toxic chemicals to kill resistant weeds and squeeze in up to three harvests a year. An AP analysis shows Argentine farmers now use twice as much pesticide per acre as their U.S. counterparts.

 OUT OF CONTROL:

 Pesticides applied in windy conditions drift into buildings and contaminate drinking water; farmworkers mix poisons without supervision, in populated areas and with no protective gear; people store water in used pesticide containers that are resold rather than destroyed. A presidential commission was formed to study the health impacts of these violations, but it hasn't met in three years. Despite soaring complaints, Argentina's federal government has never cited a single agrochemical user since then for failing to follow national spraying regulations.

 DECLINING HEALTH:

 Cancer rates in provincial towns surrounded by soy farming are 2 to 4 times higher than the national average. Rates of birth defects in another province quadrupled since 1996, when Argentines adopted America's "no-till" farming method using genetically modified seeds and companion pesticides. A study of children in one neighborhood surrounded by industrial agriculture found 80 percent carry pesticides in their blood. |||||Summary:

– Argentina is the third-largest soybean producer in the world, and also grows a lot of cotton and corn. Nearly all of it is now genetically modified, since Monsanto convinced farmers to switch to its seeds and chemicals in 1996. But the agrochemicals the country's farmers use to keep up with demand, and fight off resistant pests could be making the country seriously sick, an investigation by the AP has found. In some areas where the chemicals are used, birth defects and cancer rates have spiked up to four times the national average. Though the chemicals are said to be safe when used properly, the people handling them often have no training or the right protective equipment. "I prepared millions of liters of poison without any kind of protection, no gloves, masks or special clothing," says one farmer, now near-death due to a neurological disorder. "I didn't know anything. I only learned later what it did to me, after contacting scientists." Argentine farmers use twice as much pesticide per acre as US farmers, and often spray close to homes, despite bans on doing so. A study in one area found high levels of agrochemical contamination in the soil and drinking water, and 80% of the local kids had traces of pesticides in their blood. Of course, it's nearly impossible to prove a link between the chemicals and individual's diseases, but doctors are calling on the government to open an investigation. Click to read the full report here or just the main finding here.


Write an article based on this summary:

– Feeling gloomy about life, the universe, and everything? Then take note of a new study that links optimism to heart health and a handful of other health positives, EurekAlert reports. Analyzing data on more than 5,100 adults, researchers found that the most optimistic are twice as likely to be "in ideal cardiovascular health compared to their more pessimistic counterparts," says lead author Rosalba Hernandez. "This association remains significant, even after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and poor mental health." Optimists were found to have better total cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, and body-mass indexes, and to get more physical activity. "It's an incentive to try to be optimistic," CBS New York quotes a physician as saying. That's "oftentimes difficult in the times we live in, in the world we live in and the sad news all the time," the physician goes on. "But if you knew that you could actually save your life, I think that’s a pretty good prescription." Published in Health Behavior and Policy Review, the paper looks at 11 years of data on people aged 45 to 84 across six US regions. They were assessed every 18 months to two years by seven health metrics (including blood pressure, BMI, and dietary intake) and filled out surveys about their optimism and physical and mental health. It's likely the first study linking heart health and optimism in the general population, although a 2012 Harvard study did connect overall happiness with cardiovascular health, the New York Times reported at the time. (Another study finds that those who feel younger than their age will live longer.)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The key to a healthy heart?

 Optimism.

 As 1010 WINS’ Kevin Rincon reported, a study conducted by several universities published in the journal Health, Behavior and Policy Review found that happier people had better heart health by a ratio of 2-to-1.

 Study: Optimistic People Twice As Likely To Have Healthy Hearts Kevin Rincon reports playpause

 “It’s incentive to try to be optimistic, which is oftentimes difficult in the times we live in, in the world we live in and the sad news all the time,” one physician told Rincon. “But if you knew that you could actually save your life, I think that’s a pretty good prescription.”

 The results of the study didn’t change for people who are rich, poor, young, old or even if they had poor mental health.

 “Happier people, they live longer. They feel more fulfilled,” one New York man said. “And people that are sad, they don’t live as long.”

 You May Also Be Interested In These Stories

  ||||| Photo

 THE FACTS

 Laughter may not exactly be the best medicine. But a cheerful outlook on life may be good for your heart. So concludes new research on the impact of happiness and optimism on cardiovascular health.

 Scientists have known about the reverse relationship between psychological health and heart health for some time; studies show that depression and anxiety can worsen outcomes for heart patients. But the findings on happiness and its medical impact over the years have not been as consistent.

 Really? Anahad O’Connor tackles health myths.

 In a new analysis, researchers at Harvard sought a more definitive conclusion by reviewing the results of more than 200 studies looking at cardiovascular risks and emotional state, making this the largest report on the subject to date. Over all, the researchers found that traits like optimism and hope, and higher levels of happiness and satisfaction with one’s life, were linked with reductions in the risk of heart disease and stroke.

 Such associations can be hard to untangle. Does being optimistic directly protect health, or is it the reverse — that people who watch their weight, exercise often and are generally in good health simply have more reason to be happy and optimistic? While researchers cannot say for sure, some studies have found a protective effect for optimism even after controlling for things like socioeconomic status, body weight and smoking.

 One study last year, for example, looked at 8,000 people and found a lower risk of heart disease among those who reported more happiness or satisfaction in areas like career, sex life and family, but not in areas like romance and standard of living. The relationship remained after accounting for the subjects’ demographic data as well as their health behaviors.

 THE BOTTOM LINE

 Optimism and happiness are associated with lower cardiovascular risk, but whether a positive outlook directly protects health is still under investigation.

 ANAHAD O’CONNOR

 scitimes@nytimes.com ||||| Optimists are twice as likely to be in ideal cardiovascular health

 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- People who have upbeat outlooks on life have significantly better cardiovascular health, suggests a new study that examined associations between optimism and heart health in more than 5,100 adults.

 "Individuals with the highest levels of optimism have twice the odds of being in ideal cardiovascular health compared to their more pessimistic counterparts," said lead author Rosalba Hernandez, a professor of social work at the University of Illinois. "This association remains significant, even after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and poor mental health."

 Participants' cardiovascular health was assessed using seven metrics: blood pressure, body mass index, fasting plasma glucose and serum cholesterol levels, dietary intake, physical activity and tobacco use - the same metrics used by the American Heart Association to define heart health and being targeted by the AHA in its Life's Simple 7 public awareness campaign.

 In accordance with AHA's heart-health criteria, the researchers allocated 0, 1 or 2 points - representing poor, intermediate and ideal scores, respectively - to participants on each of the seven health metrics, which were then summed to arrive at a total cardiovascular health score. Participants' total health scores ranged from 0 to 14, with a higher total score indicative of better health.

 The participants, who ranged in age from 45-84, also completed surveys that assessed their mental health, levels of optimism, and physical health, based upon self-reported extant medical diagnoses of arthritis, liver and kidney disease.

 Individuals' total health scores increased in tandem with their levels of optimism. People who were the most optimistic were 50 and 76 percent more likely to have total health scores in the intermediate or ideal ranges, respectively.

 The association between optimism and cardiovascular health was even stronger when socio-demographic characteristics such as age, race and ethnicity, income and education status were factored in. People who were the most optimistic were twice as likely to have ideal cardiovascular health, and 55 percent more likely to have a total health score in the intermediate range, the researchers found.

 Optimists had significantly better blood sugar and total cholesterol levels than their counterparts. They also were more physically active, had healthier body mass indexes and were less likely to smoke, according to a paper on the research that appears in the January/February 2015 issue of Health Behavior and Policy Review.

 The findings may be of clinical significance, given that a 2013 study indicated that a one-point increase in an individual's total-health score on the LS7 was associated with an 8 percent reduction in their risk of stroke, Hernandez said.

 "At the population level, even this moderate difference in cardiovascular health translates into a significant reduction in death rates," Hernandez said. "This evidence, which is hypothesized to occur through a biobehavioral mechanism, suggests that prevention strategies that target modification of psychological well-being - e.g., optimism - may be a potential avenue for AHA to reach its goal of improving Americans' cardiovascular health by 20 percent before 2020."

 Believed to be the first study to examine the association of optimism and cardiovascular health in a large, ethnically and racially diverse population, the sample for the current study was 38 percent white, 28 percent African-American, 22 percent Hispanic/Latino and 12 percent Chinese.

 Data for the study were derived from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, an ongoing examination of subclinical cardiovascular disease that includes 6,000 people from six U.S. regions, including Baltimore, Chicago, Forsyth County in North Carolina, and Los Angeles County.

 Begun in July 2000, MESA followed participants for 11 years, collecting data every 18 months to two years. Hernandez, who is an affiliated investigator on MESA, is leading a team in conducting prospective analyses on the associations found between optimism and heart health.

 "We now have available data to examine optimism at baseline and cardiovascular health a decade later," said Hernandez, who expects to have an abstract completed in 2015.

 ###

 Co-authors of the current study were Kiarri N. Kershaw of Northwestern University; Juned Siddique, Honghan Ning and Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, all of Northwestern University; Julia K. Boehm of Chapman University; Laura D. Kubzansky of Harvard University; and Ana Diez-Roux of Drexel University.

 The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the National Center for Research Resources funded the research. |||||


Article:
Pierce Brosnan, the former James Bond actor, has been stopped by airport security as he tried to board a plane in America with a large knife.

 The star had the 10-inch hunting blade confiscated from his hand luggage after it showed up during screening at Burlington International Airport, in Vermont.

 Brosnan, 62, was reportedly left embarassed and angry when the knife was taken away by US Transportation Security Administration agents.

 A ban on knives was introduced following the September 11 terror attacks and rules state that sharp objects must be placed in checked luggage. All knives - apart from rounded or plastic butter knives - are banned in plane cabins.

 Pierce Brosnan was stopped by officials at Burlington International Airport (Rex)

 Brosnan, who appeared as 007 in four of the double agent films including GoldenEye and Die Another Day, was stopped by airport officials on Sunday.

 Lieutenant Shawn Burke, from the Burlington Police Department, said airport authorities told him about Brosnan's encounter with Transportation Security Administration officials.

 He said the Irish actor "was encountered by TSA at one of their checkpoints" and was allowed to continue his journey after the issue was resolved.

 In images showing the incident, Brosnan is seen removing his belt in the security area and speaking to staff.

 The Mrs Doubtfire actor visited Ireland last month and wrote in an Instagram post: "Good bye my sweet home of Ireland that I can call you now after all these years abroad a wandering."

 It just needs a good thatch roof and It will be right as rain .... Fair thee well, till we meet again ...Dalkey days for ever in my heart A photo posted by Pierce Brosnan (@piercebrosnanofficial) on Aug 3, 2015 at 6:26am PDT

 He also posted a series of messages on Twitter:

 It just needs a good thatch roof and It will be right as rain .... Fair thee well, till we meet again? https://t.co/XM5oQaUuSp — Pierce Brosnan (@PierceBrosnan) August 3, 2015

 Soon now soon to long the days with out you soon now soon https://t.co/S24Q5quLet — Pierce Brosnan (@PierceBrosnan) August 3, 2015

 The Associated Press said Brosnan's publicist has not returned messages seeking comment. ||||| Pierce Brosnan Stopped by TSA ... Tried to Board Plane With a Knife

 Exclusive Details

 Pierce Brosnan tried to board a plane Sunday afternoon with a knife in his bag, but 007 couldn't slip it by TSA agents ... who called him out on it.

 A TSA official from the Burlington International Airport in Vermont tells TMZ ... it is unclear if Brosnan knew the knife was in his carry-on bag, but once they saw the weapon ... they pulled the bag aside and called over Brosnan.

 The official says they gave Brosnan the option to surrender the knife, or put it in his checked baggage. He took door #2, and went on his way.

 No arrest. No citation. |||||Summary:

– Let's just say this wouldn’t have happened to the real James Bond. Pierce Brosnan, who played the iconic 007 agent in four flicks, was stopped at Vermont’s Burlington International Airport on Sunday attempting to carry a 10-inch hunting knife on board a flight, police say. TSA agents found the bone-handled blade stashed in his carry-on luggage and seized it, apparently to Brosnan's chagrin and anger, reports the Telegraph. A source says Brosnan—traveling with his 14-year-old son, Paris—had to remove his belt for a pat-down, then was screened in a private area. He apparently told his son, "I can't believe they're doing this." TMZ reports officials asked Brosnan to surrender the knife or put it in his checked luggage; he chose the latter. The Burlington Police Department says officials then let the actor board a flight. Or as the Mail puts it, they chose to "live and let fly."


Summarize this article:

The acting director of the Transportation Security Administration has been reassigned after an internal investigation revealed security failures at dozens of the nation’s busiest airports, where undercover investigators were able to smuggle mock explosives or banned weapons through checkpoints in 95 percent of trials.

 Interested in ? Add as an interest to stay up to date on the latest news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Add Interest

 Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said in a statement Monday that Melvin Carraway would be moved to the Office of State and Local Law Enforcement at DHS headquarters “effective immediately.”

 "I thank Melvin Carraway for his eleven years of service to TSA and his 36 years of public service," Johnson said in the statement, adding that Acting Deputy Director Mark Hatfield will lead the TSA in the interim.

 Officials close to the secretary said the decision was made based on the findings in the Homeland Security Inspector General’s report, in which a series of tests were conducted by the department's Red Teams who pose as passengers. It found that TSA agents failed 67 out of 70 tests, with Red Team members repeatedly able to get potential weapons through checkpoints, according to officials briefed on the report.

 In one case, agents failed to detect a fake explosive taped to an agent’s back, even after performing a pat down that was prompted after the agent set off the magnetometer alarm, according to officials briefed on the report.

 Evan Vucci/AP Photo

 Johnson on Monday also released a six-point memo outlining actions he’s taken in wake of the security failures, including directing TSA leadership "to immediately revise its standard operating procedures for screening to address the specific vulnerabilities identified by the Inspector General’s testing." ||||| WASHINGTON Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said on Monday he reassigned the acting administrator for the Transportation Security Administration after earlier ordering improved security at U.S. airports.

 The moves follow media reports that checkpoint screeners failed to detect mock explosives and weapons in 95 percent of tests carried out by undercover agents.

 Johnson said in a statement that Melvin Carraway would be reassigned to serve in the Office of State and Local Law Enforcement at Department of Homeland Security headquarters, while TSA Acting Deputy Director Mark Hatfield would lead the agency until a new acting administrator was appointed.

 Airport screeners, who are employees of the TSA, did not detect banned weapons in 67 of 70 tests at dozens of airports, ABC News said, citing officials briefed on a report by Homeland Security's inspector general.

 Johnson, whose department oversees the TSA, was briefed last week on the trials, which were completed recently, ABC News said.

 In one test, the network said an undercover agent was stopped when he set off an alarm at a checkpoint but that TSA screeners then failed to find a fake explosive device taped to his back when they patted him down.

 Johnson issued a statement on Monday saying the results of the security checks were classified but that he had directed the TSA to revise screening procedures "to address specific vulnerabilities identified" in the undercover operation. He also ordered training for all TSA officers and supervisors across the country and testing of airports' screening equipment.

 Johnson said there would be more random covert testing at checkpoints.

 "The numbers in these reports never look good out of context but they are a critical element in the continual evolution of our aviation security," Johnson said. "We take these findings very seriously in our continued effort to test, measure and enhance our capabilities and techniques as threats evolve."

 Johnson noted that President Barack Obama had nominated Coast Guard Vice Admiral Pete Neffenger to be the next TSA administrator, and urged the U.S. Senate to confirm his nomination as quickly as possible.

 (Writing by Bill Trott and Eric Walsh; Editing by Peter Cooney) |||||

– The TSA's acting director has been replaced by the acting deputy after an embarrassing report showed TSA agents failed 95% of tests in which fake explosives and weapons were smuggled through security. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says Mark Hatfield will replace Melvin Carraway until the Senate can confirm President Obama's nomination of Coast Guard Vice Adm. Peter Neffenger as the agency's next administrator, which he hopes can be done "as quickly [as] possible," reports the New York Times. Carraway—who only became acting director in January, Politico notes—will move to Homeland Security's Office for State and Local Law Enforcement "effective immediately," Johnson says, per ABC News. Johnson, who thanked Carraway for his 11 years of service at the TSA, has called on the agency to retrain airport agents and supervisory personnel, retest screening equipment, and boost the number of covert tests in airports. "The numbers in these reports never look good out of context, but they are a critical element in the continual evolution of our aviation security," he says, per Reuters. "We take these findings very seriously in our continued effort to test, measure, and enhance our capabilities and techniques as threats evolve." Johnson says he will meet with companies who manufacture airport security equipment and will be given biweekly updates from officials supervising new security standards.


Here is a news article: Billionaire businessman Donald Trump Donald TrumpTrump attending Women's Open on Saturday in NJ Castro to Trump: Cuba doesn't need 'lessons' from the US Trump golf course may not host Scottish Open due to concern over 'politics' MORE stands atop the 2016 GOP presidential field in the first national poll since he was roundly criticized for his comments about Sen. John McCain’s war record.

 ADVERTISEMENT

 Trump holds 18 percent support among Republicans in a CNN/ORC International Poll released Sunday morning. Jeb Bush follows in second place with 15 percent.

 Since a similar poll in late June, Trump’s support has risen 6 percentage points.

 “There's a movement going on, this is more than me,” Trump said while discussing the latest poll results Sunday morning on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “People are tired of these incompetent politicians in Washington I can't say I’m unhappy or anything, I'm just not that surprised.”

 The poll also found that most Republican voters want Donald Trump to remain in the GOP presidential race.

 Fifty two percent of registered Republicans and Republican-leaning independents want the outspoken real estate magnate to stay in the race, according to the CNN/ORC poll.

 Thirty three percent want him to drop out, however, and 15 percent say he should run as an independent.

 Trump told The Hill in an exclusive interview last week that he would consider a third-party run if RNC leaders were unfair to him during the primary process.

 Among all respondents, 40 percent expect former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to be the Republican nominee.

 Eighteen percent think Trump will be the nominee and 11 percent think Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will emerge as the GOP nominee.

 Thirty one percent of Republicans, however, expect Bush to represent the party in 2016. Twenty two percent predicted Trump will be the nominee and 14 percent selected Walker.

 The poll of 1,017 adults was conducted between July 22 and 25th, after Trump mocked McCain’s time as a prisoner of war, drawing condemnation from a broad spectrum of Republicans. The poll has a 3.5 percentage point margin of error.

 --Sarah Ferris contributed to this report, which was updated at 11:41 a.m. ||||| (CNN) In the first national telephone poll since Donald Trump earned rebukes from Republican leaders over his comments about Senator John McCain's military service, the real estate mogul has increased his support among GOP voters and now stands atop the race for the party's nomination.

 The new CNN/ORC Poll finds Trump at 18% support among Republicans, with former Florida governor Jeb Bush just behind at 15%, within the poll's margin of error.

 They are joined at the top of the pack by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, with 10% support among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who are registered to vote. Trump's backing has climbed 6 points since a late-June poll, while support for Bush and Walker has not changed significantly.

 None of the other 14 candidates tested in the new CNN/ORC survey earned double-digit support.

 Though Trump currently tops the race for the nomination, his advantage is by no means firm. A majority of Republican voters, 51%, say they see the field as wide open, and that it's too soon to say which candidate they will ultimately get behind. Among that group that see the contest as wide open, Bush has 14% support, while Trump has the backing of 13% and Walker stands at 9%.

 Trump does much better among those Republicans who say they've narrowed it down to one or two candidates, 24% of that group backs him, 16% Bush and 12% Walker.

 Trump's popularity among Republican voters does not translate to the broader pool of registered voters. When tested in hypothetical general election matchups against top Democrats, he trails both frontrunner Hillary Clinton and upstart Senator Bernie Sanders by wide margins. Bush and Walker run just behind Clinton and about even with Sanders.

 Trump's unfavorability rating is sky high. Overall, 59% of all registered voters have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, though that dips to 42% among GOP voters.

 None of the other Republicans landing near the top of the field have such a negative image nationwide, though many remain little known.

 Clinton is the only candidate who is about as well-known as Trump, and while she is more well-liked than the developer, her favorability rating is net negative among registered voters nationally: 49% have an unfavorable view while 44% have a positive impression.

 Still, the poll suggests Republican voters haven't yet had their fill of Trump. A majority (52%) say they'd like to see Trump continue his run for the GOP nomination, including nearly six in 10 conservatives, tea party supporters and white evangelicals. Even among those Republican voters who support someone other than Trump, 42% say they'd like him to remain in the field.

 The Republican electorate is more enthusiastic about next year's vote than the Democrats are. The poll finds 46% of Democratic voters say they are extremely or very enthusiastic about voting for president next year, compared with 55% of Republican voters. But enthusiasm is down in both parties compared with June of 2011, when 61% of Republican registered voters and 55% of Democratic registered voters were that enthusiastic.

 In another positive sign for Trump's candidacy, among those Republicans who are enthusiastic about voting next year, Trump holds a larger edge over his competition: 22% say they would back him for their party's nomination, compared with 14% who back Bush and 12% behind Walker.

 Overall, about three-quarters of Republicans are satisfied with their choices, more so than in 2011 at this time (about two-thirds were satisfied then), but still, just 23% say they are "very satisfied" with the field.

 Meanwhile, an NBC News/Marist poll on Sunday showed Trump leading among New Hampshire GOP primary voters and narrowly trailing Walker in Iowa.

 Trump took 21% of the New Hampshire GOP primary vote, with Bush running second at 14%, while in Iowa Trump was at 17% and Walker at 19%, according to the NBC/Marist survey

 On the Democratic side, the CNN poll found Clinton remains the clear frontrunner, though Sanders has increased his support slightly since last month's poll. Clinton is backed by 56% of registered Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters, while Sanders has inched up to 19% from 15% in June. The rest of the field is about even with where they were before.

 The CNN/ORC International Poll was conducted July 22-25 among a random national sample of 1,017 adults, including 898 registered voters. Results for all registered voters have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. The registered voter sample included 419 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents as well as 392 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents. |||||
A summary of this is?

– Some media outlets might want to evict Donald Trump from their politics sections, but he appears to be doing pretty well among Americans surveying the political arena. As CNN reports in a new CNN/ORC national poll, Trump is polling at the top of the considerable heap of Republican presidential contenders, at 18%. Jeb Bush comes in second at 15%, Scott Walker at 10%, and no other GOP candidate cracked double digits. Of note: The poll was conducted after Trump started swinging at John McCain's war record, indicating he's emerged unscathed; the new poll puts Trump up 6 points over a similar poll at the end of June. "There's a movement going on," Trump told CNN this morning in response, per the Hill. "People are tired of these incompetent politicians in Washington ... I'm just not that surprised." Trump is racking up similar numbers in Iowa, per an NBC/Marist poll out today: He's at 17%, though he's trailing Walker's 19% in that state, reports Politico. Bush has 12% there. The story is a little more marked in New Hampshire, where Trump is pulling down 21% to Bush's 14% and Walker's 12%. And Trump's divisiveness shows in his unfavorability ratings: 53% of New Hampshire Republicans view him unfavorably, notes Politico, while that number is 44% in Iowa, and what CNN calls a "sky high" 59% of all registered voters in its poll.


News article:

We probably all saw this coming, given that this was one of the biggest media stories of the last week — Saturday Night LIve opened the show with a comment from Rush Limbaugh on the fallout from his remarks about Georgetown student Sandra Fluke. Up and coming cast MVP Taran Killam played the cranky radio host, who chastised the “sluts” at Turbo Tax and other sponsors for deserting him after his unpopular rants about birth control.

 The sketch was amusing in its dedication to coming up with bizarre sponsors for Limbaugh’s show (“Depends For Racists,” anyone?) but even Killam’s shouty, dedicated delivery couldn’t distract from the reality that the sketch was the same joke repeated about twenty times, making it feel longer than Rush’s actual show. HEY-O! “There could be a nuclear apocalypse, and I would still be right here calling the cockroaches sluts.” I’m sure that’s true, Rush, but luckily we didn’t have to stick around to see it — that was the sign off for the sketch. You can see the cold open below, via NBC:

 Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com ||||| March 10, 2012 10:54 am ET by MMFA Staff

 Radio-Info.com reported on Friday that 98 advertisers have told Premiere Radio Networks, which syndicates Rush Limbaugh's radio show, that they want to avoid advertising on Limbaugh's show and other programs with content "deemed to be offensive or controversial":

 The list includes carmakers (Ford, GM, Toyota), insurance companies (Allstate, Geico, Prudential, State Farm) and restaurants (McDonald's, Subway).

 The advertisers were reportedly included in a Premiere memo circulated to radio station traffic managers and obtained by Radio-Info.com, laying out the growing reach of the advertiser exodus, which has now ensnared other controversial radio hosts:

 They've specifically asked that you schedule their commercials in dayparts or programs free of content that you know are deemed to be offensive or controversial (for example, Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh, Tom Leykis, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity). Those are defined as environments likely to stir negative sentiment from a very small percentage of the listening public.

 Advertisers have dropped their ads from Limbaugh's show in the wake of his misogynistic attacks on Sandra Fluke. The online feed at WABC, Limbaugh's flagship station, has increasingly turned to free public service announcements during Limbaugh's show. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Rush Limbaugh may be bleeding sponsors—one count now has the number fleeing his show up to 98—because of his "slut" comment, but Saturday Night Live had some suggestions last night about who might fill the advertising void. A few of the highlights, as per Mediaite: Misaki Dolphin Poppers: "Start your day off right, with bits of dolphin." Depends for Racists: "If you pee a little every time you see a Mexican, you need Depends for Racists." Schoder's fake rape whistles: "Help is not on the way." Syria Tourism Board: Because, "Ah! No! There's nowhere to hide!"