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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The state made preparations on Wednesday to use a never-tried lethal drug combination to put a man to death for the slaying of a pregnant woman that went unsolved until he inadvertently helped authorities, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block the execution.

 FILE-In this undated file photo provided by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction shows Dennis McGuire. A condemned Ohio killer facing a never-tried lethal injection method has arrived... (Associated Press)

 Dennis McGuire, jailed on an unrelated assault charge, told investigators he had information about the woman's Feb. 12, 1989, death. His attempts to blame the crime on his brother-in-law quickly unraveled, and soon he was accused of being Joy Stewart's killer, prosecutors said. More than a decade later, DNA evidence confirmed McGuire's guilt, and he acknowledged that he was responsible in a letter to Gov. John Kasich last month.

 The state planned to execute McGuire on Thursday with a new process adopted after supplies of its previous drug dried up when the manufacturer put it off limits for capital punishment. The two-drug combination has never been used in a U.S. execution.

 The state opposed McGuire's last-minute appeal, in which he claimed a jury never heard the full extent of his chaotic and abusive childhood.

 "One can scarcely conceive of a sequence of crimes more shocking to the conscience or to moral sensibilities than the senseless kidnapping and rape of a young, pregnant woman followed by her murder," Preble County prosecutors said in a filing with the state parole board last month.

 McGuire, 53, was moved from death row in Chillicothe on Wednesday morning to the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, where executions are carried out. He was calm and cooperative and requested a last meal that included roast beef and fried chicken, prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said.

 McGuire spent part of Wednesday visiting with his son, daughter and other family members, Smith said.

 His attorneys argue he was mentally, physically and sexually abused as a child and has impaired brain function that makes him prone to act impulsively.

 "Dennis was at risk from the moment he was born," the lawyers said in a parole board filing. "The lack of proper nutrition, chaotic home environment, abuse, lack of positive supervision and lack of positive role models all affected Dennis' brain development."

 The U.S. Supreme Court gave no explanation in rejecting McGuire's appeal and denying a stay of execution.

 The state says similar challenges have failed several times over the decades since Stewart's death.

 Documents obtained by The Associated Press show McGuire unsuccessfully sought a reprieve in recent weeks to try to become an organ donor. In November, Kasich, a Republican, granted a death row inmate an eight-month reprieve to let the prison system study his request to donate a kidney to his sister and his heart to his mother. Kasich said McGuire couldn't identify a family member who would receive his organs, as required under prison policy.

 Ohio officials planned to use intravenous doses of two drugs, the sedative midazolam and the painkiller hydromorphone, to put McGuire to death. The method has been on the books as the backup method since 2009 but never had to be used.

 McGuire's attorneys say he is at substantial risk of a medical phenomenon known as air hunger, which will cause him to experience terror as he strains to catch his breath.

 The state presented evidence disputing the air hunger scenario and saying McGuire waited far too long to file the appeal, which came this month.

 A federal judge sided with the state and said the execution can proceed. At the request of McGuire's lawyers, Judge Gregory Frost on Wednesday ordered the state to photograph and then preserve the drugs' packaging boxes and vials and the syringes used in the execution.

 ___

 Andrew Welsh-Huggins can be reached on Twitter at https://twitter.com/awhcolumbus. ||||| (CNN) -- An Ohio man is set to be put to death Thursday by a two-drug cocktail never before used in a U.S. execution.

 Dennis McGuire was convicted in 1994 of the aggravated murder of Joy Stewart in Preble County, according to the state's governor, who has denied a request for clemency.

 Like many states, Ohio has been forced to find new drug protocols after European-based manufacturers banned U.S. prisons from using their drugs in executions -- among them, Danish-based Lundbeck, which manufactures pentobarbital.

 Ohio ran out of pentobarbital in September, according to JoEllen Smith, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

 In response to that shortage, the department amended its execution policy to allow for the use of midazolam, a sedative, and hydromorphone, a painkiller, she said.

 Death penalty states scramble for lethal injection drugs

 The combination has never before been used in a U.S. execution.

 "Lawyers for McGuire contend that he will suffocate to death in agony and terror. The state disagrees. But the truth is that no one knows exactly how McGuire will die, how long it will take or what he will experience in the process," Elisabeth A. Semel, clinic professor of law and director of the Death Penalty Clinic at U.C. Berkeley School of Law, wrote in an opinion piece for CNN this week.

 The state was set to execute Ron Phillips using the two-drug cocktail last year, but Ohio Gov. John Kasich granted the convicted killer a stay of execution pending a review of possible organ donation to his family members.

 Unless there is court action or a reprieve, McGuire will be executed at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville.

 There are currently 139 men and one woman on death row in Ohio, according to the corrections department website.

 Death penalty in the U.S. gradually declining

 Serial killer Joseph Franklin executed after hours of delay

 A death row interview

 CNN's Ross Levitt and Deborah Feyerick contributed to this report. ||||| LUCASVILLE, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio inmate condemned to die appeared to gasp several times during his prolonged execution Thursday with the first use of a lethal injection process never before tried in the U.S.

 Death row inmate Dennis McGuire made several loud snorting or snoring sounds during the more than 15 minutes it appeared to take him to die. It was one of the longest executions since Ohio resumed capital punishment in 1999.

 Ohio officials used intravenous doses of two drugs, the sedative midazolam and the painkiller hydromorphone, to put McGuire to death. The method has been part of Ohio's execution process since 2009, though was never used.

 McGuire's adult children sobbed a few feet away in a witness room as they watched him die at the state death house in Lucasville in southern Ohio.

 "I'm going to heaven, I'll see you there when you come," McGuire said. He opened and shut his left hand several times before the drugs took effect, appearing to wave to his children.

 McGuire's attorneys argued he would experience "agony and terror" as he struggled to breathe, while state attorneys disputed that scenario. A federal judge sided with the state but acknowledged the new method was an experiment. At the request of McGuire's lawyers, Judge Gregory Frost ordered the state to photograph and then preserve the drugs' packaging boxes and vials and the syringes used in the execution.

 McGuire, 53, was sentenced to death for the 1989 rape and fatal stabbing of Joy Stewart in Preble County in western Ohio. The newly married Stewart was eight months pregnant at the time.

 Stewart's slaying went unsolved for 10 months until McGuire, jailed on an unrelated assault and hoping to improve his legal situation, told investigators he had information about the woman's Feb. 12, 1989, death. His attempts to blame the crime on his brother-in-law quickly unraveled and soon he was accused of being the Joy Stewart's killer, according to prosecutors.

 More than a decade later, DNA evidence confirmed McGuire's guilt, and he acknowledged that he was responsible in a letter to Gov. John Kasich last month.

 "One can scarcely conceive of a sequence of crimes more shocking to the conscience or to moral sensibilities than the senseless kidnapping and rape of a young, pregnant woman followed by her murder," Preble County prosecutors said in a filing with the state parole board last month.

 His attorneys argued McGuire was mentally, physically and sexually abused as a child and has impaired brain function that makes him prone to act impulsively.

 "Dennis was at risk from the moment he was born," the lawyers said in a parole board filing. "The lack of proper nutrition, chaotic home environment, abuse, lack of positive supervision and lack of positive role models all affected Dennis' brain development."

 Documents obtained by The Associated Press show McGuire unsuccessfully sought a reprieve in recent weeks to try to become an organ donor. In November, Kasich granted a death row inmate an eight-month reprieve to let the prison system study his request to donate a kidney to his sister and his heart to his mother.

 Kasich said McGuire couldn't identify a family member who would receive his organs, as required under prison policy.

 ___

 Andrew Welsh-Huggins can be reached on Twitter at https://twitter.com/awhcolumbus ||||| AP Photo/Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Undated photo of Dennis McGuire.

 A convicted killer scheduled to be executed Thursday with an untested drug cocktail tried to delay his date with death by offering to become an organ donor after another condemned prisoner won a temporary reprieve with the same request.

 But Ohio Gov. John Kasich turned down two requests from Dennis McGuire because the inmate could not identify a family member that would benefit from his organs, according to documents originally obtained by the Associated Press.

 Kasich earlier granted an eight-month delay to child-murderer Ronald Phillips, who wants to donate a kidney to his mother and his heart to his sister. The state is studying the feasibility.

 Before the governor's reprieve, Phillips, 40, was slated to be the first person in the state executed under a new drug protocol: a combination of the sedative midozolam and the painkiller hydropmorphone.

 But with Phillips awaiting word on possible organ donation, McGuire is now set to become the first to die by the never-tried method, which was adopted after the manufacturer of the primary drug, pentobarbital, stopped selling it to prisons.

 McGuire's lawyers had argued the execution should be scrapped because it could cause a painful and terrifying phenomenon called "air hunger" before death, but a federal judge ruled against them earlier this week.

 McGuire, 53, who was convicted of raping and stabbing to death a pregnant woman in 1989, was moved to Ohio's death house at 10 a.m. on Wednesday and was scheduled to meet with family and friends.

 "Following the visits he will be given his special meal (roast beef, toasted bagel with cream cheese and onion, butter pecan ice cream, fried chicken, potato salad, fried potatoes with onion and Coca-Cola)," according to a statement from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

 The execution process is slated to begin at 10 a.m. Thursday. |||||

– Dennis McGuire was put to death today with a two-drug combination previously untested in the US, and at more than 15 minutes, it was one of the longest executions in Ohio since the state resumed capital punishment in 1999. McGuire, whose lawyers had attempted to delay his execution by arguing that he would likely feel "terror" following the lethal injection, appeared to gasp a few times as he died, making several loud snorting or snoring sounds, the AP reports. Before his execution, he told his sobbing adult children, "I'm going to heaven, I'll see you there when you come." McGuire had sought a reprieve by offering to become an organ donor, but was rejected because he couldn't identify a family member who would receive his organs, according to documents obtained by the AP. McGuire, who raped and murdered a pregnant woman in 1989, was executed with the untested combination of the sedative midozolam and the painkiller hydropmorphone because of a shortage of the execution drug pentobarbital, NBC reports. His lawyers had contended "that he will suffocate to death in agony and terror. The state disagrees," the director of UC Berkeley's Death Penalty Clinic told CNN before the execution. (One Wyoming state senator, concerned about the shortage of execution drugs, is trying to bring back firing squads as an alternative.)


– Archaeologists in Greece are nearly ready to enter what they say is the biggest ancient tomb ever unearthed in the country. The tomb at the ancient site of Amphipolis in the Macedonia region, around 65 miles northeast of Thessaloniki, dates from around 300 BC—the time of Alexander the Great, though experts don't believe it belongs to the warrior-king, who died in what is now Iraq, the Telegraph reports. Two carved sphinxes flank the entrance to the tomb, which is surrounded by a 540-yard marble outer wall. "It looks like the tomb of a prominent Macedonian of that era," a culture ministry official tells Reuters. Archaeologists have spent the last couple years excavating the ancient burial mound under which the tomb was found, and they plan to enter the tomb within the next two weeks, reports NBC, which adds that there is one clue to its possible occupant: Researchers believe a 16-foot stone lion unearthed in the area a century ago and associated with Laomedon of Mytilene, one of Alexander the Great's military commanders, once stood atop the tomb. (Click to read about an "evil eye" box uncovered in an ancient cemetery.)

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ATHENSArchaeologists have unearthed a vast ancient tomb in Greece, distinguished by two sphinxes and frescoed walls and dating to 300-325 B.C., in the country's northeast Macedonian region, the government said on Tuesday.

 It marks a significant discovery from the early Hellenistic era, although a Culture Ministry official said there was no evidence yet to suggest a link to Alexander the Great, who died in 323 B.C. after an unprecedented military campaign through the Middle East, Asia and northeast Africa, or his family.

 The official said the Amphipolis site, situated about 100 km (65 miles) northeast of Greece's second-biggest city Thessaloniki, appeared to be the largest ancient tomb to have been discovered in Greece.

 Archaeologists, who began excavating the site in 2012, expect to enter the tomb by the end of the month to determine out who was buried there.

 "It looks like the tomb of a prominent Macedonian of that era," said a second culture ministry official, declining to be named. Alexander the Great died in Babylonia, in what is modern Iraq, and his actual burial place is not known.

 Archaeologists have found two sphinxes, thought to have guarded its entrance, a 4.5-metre-(yard)-wide road leading into it, with walls on both sides covered by frescoes. It is circled by a 497-metre-long marble outer wall.

 Experts believe a five-meter-tall lion sculpture previously discovered nearby once stood atop the tomb.

 "It is certain that we stand before an especially significant finding. The land of Macedonia continues to move and surprise us, revealing its unique treasures," Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Tuesday during a visit to the site.

 (Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas writing by George Georgiopoulos; editing by Mark Heinrich) ||||| Archaeologists excavating an ancient mound in northern Greece have uncovered what appears to be the entrance to an important tomb from about the end of the reign of warrior-king Alexander the Great. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who visited the tightly guarded site Tuesday, said the discovery "is clearly extremely important" and dates between 325-300 B.C. Alexander, who started from the northern Greek region of Macedonia to build an empire stretching as far as India, died in 323 B.C. and was buried in Egypt. His fellow royals were traditionally interred in a cemetery near Vergina, far to the west, where the lavishly furnished tomb of Alexander's father, Philip II, was discovered in the 1970s. But archaeologists believe the apparently unlooted Amphipolis grave, which is surrounded by a surprisingly long and well-built wall with courses of marble decorations, may have belonged to a senior ancient official.

 Excavator Katerina Peristeri has argued that the mound was originally topped by a large stone lion that was unearthed a century ago some 5 kilometers from the site. In the past, the lion has been associated with Laomedon of Mytilene, one of Alexander's military commanders who became governor of Syria after the king's death. "The excavation will answer the crucial question of who was buried inside," Samaras said.

 A tourist takes a picture of a 4th century B.C. marble Lion of Amphipolis, some 5 kilometers (3 miles) from a large funeral mound currently under excavation by Greek archaeologists. The mound, which is believed to contain a significant grave dating to the end of Alexander the Great’s reign, and excavators believe this lion originally formed part of a tomb monument that crowned the artificial hill. Alexandros Michailidis / AP

 The tomb is expected to be opened in the next two weeks. So far, workers have unveiled a flight of 13 steps that lead to a broad path, flanked by masonry walls, which end in a built-up arch covering two headless, wingless sphinxes — mythical creatures that blend human, bird and lion characteristics. A strong police guard has been mounted around the fenced-off mound.

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 Great news coming from Amphipolis,#Greece:archaeological discovery brings @PrimeministerGR Samaras to the area. http://t.co/6MD87RLnus — Amb of Greece to US (@C_Panag) August 12, 2014

 — The Associated Press |||||


Article:
Google's security bounty programs can be quite lucrative for those who discover problems, and the company has just published a report looking back at the security landscape in 2015. Entitled Google Security Rewards - 2015 Year in Review, the report reveals the financial rewards that have been paid out in the last 12 months.

 In all, Google has paid out more than $2 million to more than 300 people, but Sanmay Ved is probably one of the more interesting reward recipients. He's the guy who -- very briefly -- managed to buy Google.com before having it taken off his hands. Google offered him a $6,006.13 reward, but there's a little more to the story.

 If you're wondering about the slightly strange amount, Google explains that if you squint and use a little imagination, the figure spells out the word Google. Sanmay decided to donate his reward to charity, and when Google learned about this, the reward was doubled. While Sanmay may have been one of the more unusual reward recipients, Tomasz Bojarski got the crown for the most prolific, discovering no fewer than 70 bugs on Google.

 2015 was the year that Android was added to the to the Security Reward program initiative resulting in payments of over $200,000 to researchers. Google shares a graphic that shows some of the highlights from 2015:

 In 2015, Google's Vulnerability Research Grants was used to provide researchers with the funds they need to carry out their work. One example of how these funds were used includes research into a YouTube problem:

 We’ve already seen positive results from this program; here’s one example. Kamil Histamullin a researcher from Kasan, Russia received a VRP grant early last year. Shortly thereafter, he found an issue in YouTube Creator Studio which would have enabled anyone to delete any video from YouTube by simply changing a parameter from the URL. After the issue was reported, our teams quickly fixed it and the researcher was rewarded $5,000 in addition to his initial research grant. Kamil detailed his findings on his personal blog in March.

 Find out more about Google's reward programs over on the Google Security blog.

 Photo Credit: tanuha2001 / Shutterstock.com ||||| Android Joins Security Rewards

 Android was a newcomer to the Security Reward program initiative in 2015 and it made a significant and immediate impact as soon as it joined the program.

 We launched our Android VRP in June, and by the end of 2015, we had paid more than $200,000 to researchers for their work, including our largest single payment of $37,500 to an Android security researcher.

 New Vulnerability Research Grants Pay Off

 Last year, we began to provide researchers with Vulnerability Research Grants , lump sums of money that researchers receive before starting their investigations. The purpose of these grants is to ensure that researchers are rewarded for their hard work, even if they don’t find a vulnerability.

 We’ve already seen positive results from this program; here’s one example. Kamil Histamullin a researcher from Kasan, Russia received a VRP grant early last year. Shortly thereafter, he found an issue in YouTube Creator Studio which would have enabled anyone to delete any video from YouTube by simply changing a parameter from the URL. After the issue was reported, our teams quickly fixed it and the researcher was was rewarded $5,000 in addition to his initial research grant. Kamil detailed his findings on his personal blog in March.

 Established Programs Continue to Grow

 We continued to see important security research in our established programs in 2015. Here are just a few examples:

 Tomasz Bojarski found 70 bugs on Google in 2015, and was our most prolific researcher of the year. He found a bug in our vulnerability submission form.

 You may have read about Sanmay Ved, a researcher from who was able to buy google.com for one minute on Google Domains. Our initial financial reward to Sanmay—$ 6,006.13—spelled-out Google, numerically (squint a little and you’ll see it!). We then doubled this amount when Sanmay donated his reward to charity.

 We also injected some new energy into these existing research programs and grants. In December, we announced that we'd be dedicating one million dollars specifically for security research related to Google Drive.

 We’re looking forward to continuing the Security Reward Program’s growth in 2016. Stay tuned for more exciting reward program changes throughout the year. ||||| Google

 Google shelled out some cash last fall after losing and regaining ownership of Google.com. Now the company has revealed how much the slip-up cost.

 Former Google employee Sanmay Ved purchased Google.com for $12 at 1:20 a.m. ET on September 29. He bought the domain name on the Google Domains registration service website after the company somehow lost ownership of it.

 He owned Google.com for one minute. The transaction was reversed when Google sent Ved a cancellation order, which returned ownership to the company.

 Conflicts over domain ownership aren't always settled amicably or cheaply. So-called domain squatters often try to get ahead of potential, hypothetical products and register domain names -- say, "Appleflyingcar.com" -- on the cheap in hopes of netting a big sale to the company that needs the site. Or they may create a website name that combines a celebrity's name and a word like "naked."

 In this case, it seems Google may have missed a deadline to renew Google.com, creating an opportunity for someone to slip in and nab it. Neither Google nor Ved has publicly revealed exactly how the domain name became available.

 In a security blog post Thursday, the company revealed that it wanted to give Ved $6,006.13. Look at the amount as letters instead of numbers, and it comes close to spelling "google." "Squint a little and you'll see it!" Google said.

 Google doubled that offer after Ved said he would donate the money to charity, both the company and Ved said, though neither specified the exact figure.

 Google's payout ended up going to the Art of Living India foundation, which runs free schools for children in poverty-stricken areas of India.

 Now playing: Watch this: Masters of a new domain

 Ved, whose LinkedIn account describes him as an MBA candidate at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, detailed the incident in a post there last fall. He noted that Google was able to reverse the transaction because it owned the Google Domains registration service.

 Microsoft bumped into a similar issue in 2003 when it lost ownership of the Hotmail.co.uk website, The Register reported at the time. The software giant failed to cancel the transaction. However, the person who bought the domain name returned it the same day. ||||| Exclusive Microsoft was busy covering up an almighty cock-up last night after forgetting to renew its hotmail.co.uk domain name.

 Despite being warned that the domain for its popular Web mail service was up for renewal, it seems Microsoft - or whoever had the task of managing its hotmail.co.uk domain - overlooked this vital piece of administration.

 As a result, last month Microsoft lost its claim to the domain and it was duly returned to the open market to be picked up by whomever fancied it

 Luckily, the domain was snapped up on the same day - October 23. The new owner - a good hearted soul - then proceeded immediately to contact Microsoft, inform the giant of its slip and arrange to hand back the domain.

 However, Microsoft didn't want to know. Despite phone calls and emails - and being fobbed off by Microsoft drones - our man behind this public-spirited deed was completely blanked by the software empire.

 Microsoft only took notice when The Register contacted the company yesterday afternoon to enquire why its hotmail.co.uk site was registered to a private individual.

 It was then we were told that the matter was under investigation and being "escalated". Worryingly, no one in the UK could deal with the matter so it was up to the US to sort things out.

 Of course, while Microsoft's spinstresses tried to stall for time, the company was busy scurrying behind the scenes to sort out this embarrassing episode. It managed to contact hotmail.co.uk's new owner, grovel at their mistake and sort out the mess. By all accounts, hotmail.co.uk will be returned in a few days.

 A spokeswoman for Nominet UK - the registry for all .uk domains - confirmed that hotmail.co.uk had failed to be renewed and was placed back into pool of available domains.

 For Nominet's part, she confirmed that "all the standard renewal procedures were followed regarding hotmail.co.uk".

 "I would like to remind companies and their agents that it is their responsibility to renew their domains," she said.

 Despite repeated attempts to seek comment from Microsoft, the software giant has failed to cobble together any form of statement that might shed light on this situation.

 In December 1999, Microsoft forgot to renew the domain name Passport.com, and so rendered its Hotmail service partially crippled. A Linux programmer, Michael Chaney, paid the $35 fee and promptly handed over ownership to Microsoft. Here is his story. ®

 ® ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. |||||Summary:

– Google handed out more than $2 million to more than 300 people in 2015 who spotted bugs and security issues, but one award in particular stands out, reports Beta News. The odd sum of $6,006.13 went to Sanmay Ved, a former Google employee and current MBA candidate at Babson College in Massachusetts. Why the weird amount? It kind of spells "Google" numerically. "Squint a little and you’ll see it!" says Google's Online Security Blog in a post on the 2015 awards. It seems Ved was messing around with the Google Domains interface late one night in September (because don't we all?) when to his surprise the domain name Google.com appeared as available for purchase. For $12. So he found himself buying—with a credit card and all—one of the world's most famous domains. His moment of glory was quite literally just that—within a minute Google canceled the transaction, which Google can do because it owns the registration service itself. Ved says he doesn't know exactly what caused the glitch on Google's end, but he details the geekily sordid affair on his LinkedIn account. CNET speculates that Google missed a renewal deadline, and Ved was able to capitalize. A nice footnote: When Ved elected to donate his award to charity—it went to this education foundation—Google doubled it. Microsoft ran into a similar problem back in 2003 but did not immediately cancel the sale of Hotmail.co.uk. Fortunately for Microsoft, the buyer returned it that same day, the Register reported at the time. (Speaking of domains, Google has bought the entire alphabet.)


Article:
Imagine for a moment that all of the nation's fast-food establishments--all the striped awnings and golden arches, the drive-thru windows, the beckoning dollar deals and wafting odor of French fries--were to vanish overnight. Would the number of our kids who carry an unhealthful amount of extra weight plummet?

 The answer is very likely no, says a study published Thursday in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Because if you shut off the supply of 24-ounce fountain drinks, bacon cheeseburgers, fried chicken and stuffed tacos, the children who frequently eat at fast-food restaurants will go home and do what they generally do when not eating at a fast-food restaurant: They'll snarf cookies and chips, chug sugar-sweetened soda from a bottle, and heat up frozen pizzas.

 In a new study, researchers from the University of North Carolina led by nutrition professor Barry Popkin have found that even when they are not eating at fast-food restaurants, children who frequent them tend to eat food that would probably make many of them overweight or obese anyway. The authors of the latest research combed through a national database of Americans' health and nutrition behaviors and grouped 4,466 American kids--from ages 2 to 18--according to what they ate when they were not eating food purchased at a fast-food restaurant.

 RELATED: Foods that affect your risk of cancer

 Participants were designated "Western diet" consumers if their consumption from non-fast-food sources was relatively high in saturated fats and added sugars. Those classified as following a "prudent diet" ate more fruits and vegetables, leaner proteins and less added sugar and saturated fat.

 After doing so, they went back to the children's detailed food consumption records and categorized them as nonconsumers of fast food (those whose food tracking records indicated no calories consumed from a restaurant or eating establishment without servers), low consumers (whose food tracking records indicated that no more than 30% of their calories came from such an establishment), and high consumers (for whom more than 30% of calories consumed came from a fast-food restaurant).

 The result: Those who followed the Western dietary pattern when not dining at fast-food restaurants--even those who were considered "nonconsumers" of fast food--had the highest rates of being overweight or obese. Those who followed a "prudent diet" when not dining on fast food--even those who were considered high consumers of fast food--were significantly less likely to be overweight or obese.

 On average, low consumers of fast food were 1.5 times as likely to follow a Western diet pattern of consumption than people who were considered nonconsumers of fast food. High consumers of fast food were 2.2 times as likely to do so.

 "Our findings suggest that the location where foods are obtained may not be as important as the nutritional quality of the foods consumed," the authors wrote. They also suggest that "the effect of public health efforts targeted at fast food restaurants may also be overestimated, such that these efforts may be necessary but not sufficient to reduce child obesity if the remainder of the diet is not addressed."

 The study was sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the authors--Jennifer M. Poti, Kiyah J. Duffy and Popkin--declared they had no financial conflicts of interest with respect to the article. ||||| Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

 A new study from researchers at the University of North Carolina has found that fast food isn’t necessarily the cause of childhood obesity – it’s a symptom.

 The study, which was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, said poor dietary habits that obese children learn at home are the main cause of their weight problems.

 “This is really what is driving children’s obesity,” said study author Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. “Eating fast foods is just one behavior that results from those bad habits. Just because children who eat more fast food are the most likely to become obese does not prove that calories from fast foods bear the brunt of the blame.”

 In the study, researchers looked at data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) collected between 2007 and 2010. The team analyzed dietary intake in nearly 4,500 children between 2 years and 18 years old. The children were categorized as being non-consumers of fast food, low consumers (less than or equal to 30 percent of calories from fast food) or high consumers (more than 30 percent of calories from fast food).

 The researchers discovered that fast food is only a small portion of a larger dietary pattern established by children’s parents and caregivers. The obese children’s diet often includes too few fruits and vegetables and too much processed food and overly-sweet beverages. This unhealthy diet pattern is often reinforced in the meals students are offered as school lunches.

 “The study presented strong evidence that the children’s diet beyond fast- food consumption is more strongly linked to poor nutrition and obesity,” said study author Jennifer Poti, doctoral candidate in UNC’s Department of Nutrition. “While reducing fast-food intake is important, the rest of a child’s diet should not be overlooked.”

 Popkin noted that a better understanding of the patterns behind childhood obesity is important in the attempt to foster healthier habits, such as the reduction of sugary drink consumption and the greater inclusion of fresh vegetables and fruits.

 “Children who rely on fast foods may tend to have parents who do not have the means, desire or time to purchase or prepare healthy foods at home,” Popkin said. “This is really what is driving children’s obesity and what needs to be addressed in any solution.”

 Another study published this week from University of Illinois researchers found three main predictors for preschool obesity risk: a lack of adequate sleep, having parents with high body mass index (BMI) and having their eating habits restricted for weight control purposes.

 Published in the journal Childhood Obesity, the study included data from a survey sent to over 300 children and their parents living in east-central Illinois. The study’s conclusion was based on the first round of data collected when the youngsters were two years old.

 “What’s exciting here is that these risk factors are malleable and provide a road map for developing interventions that can lead to a possible reduction in children’s weight status,” said study author Brent McBride, director of the university’s Child Development Laboratory. “We should focus on convincing parents to improve their own health status, to change the food environment of the home so that healthy foods are readily available and unhealthy foods are not, and to encourage an early bedtime.” |||||Summary:

– Fast food isn't making your kids fat—not really. What's truly behind the trend of childhood obesity are the sodas, frozen pizzas, and cookies consumed at home, school, and whenever kids aren't in a McDonald's or Burger King booth—a "Western diet" high in saturated fats and added sugars, according to a new study. Researchers looked at the eating habits of 4,466 American kids, aged 2 to 18, and grouped them based on what they ate when they weren't eating fast food. What they found: Those with the highest rates of being overweight or obese ate a Western diet—even if they ate no fast food; on the flip side, those who were high fast-food consumers but otherwise ate a "prudent" diet were much less likely to be overweight or obese, the Los Angeles Times reports. The more often a child ate at fast food spots, however, the more likely he or she was to follow a similar diet at home. But "just because children who eat more fast food are the most likely to become obese does not prove that calories from fast foods bear the brunt of the blame," one author says, per Red Orbit. In fact, health campaigns targeting fast-food restaurants may be "overestimated" in that they are "not sufficient to reduce child obesity if the remainder of the diet is not addressed."


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– "I think it's time to bring him home," says Richard Johnson, and he's putting up a huge reward in hopes of making that happen. The man from Boulder, Colo., is referring to son Ryder, who hasn't been seen since Jan. 17. The 20-year-old was seen at 3pm on that day, just after his shift at the Eldora Ski Resort near Nederland; there have been no confirmed sightings since and leads have dried up, reports the Daily Camera. Ryder Johnson's car was found parked at Gross Dam Road that evening, and the Gross Reservoir was searched afterward. Now, friends and family have put together a $100,000 reward for information leading to the younger Johnson, the arrest of anyone potentially involved, or items he had on him when he vanished. The Denver Channel reports the reward's distribution will be at the family's discretion. "It's been pretty frustrating," said Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle in early February. "They're just not finding anything," he said of his investigation. The Camera reported that foul play is possible, but there's no evidence to that end. The other "working theories" are that he went into the mountains and harmed himself, or vanished to start a new life. Pelle called those two the "strongest possibilities." A severed foot found in a hiking boot in June at the ski resort was determined not to belong to Johnson; KDVR reports 180 acres around the resort were searched after the boot was found. The reward will expire on Jan. 17, 2017.

BOULDER, Colo. -- A Boulder father is offering up a big reward for anyone who can help find his son who has been missing for more than seven months.

 Ryder Johnson was last seen in January after finishing his shift at the Eldora Ski Resort near Nederland.

 Investigators found his vehicle parked at the Gross Dam parking lot in Boulder, more than 20 miles away from where he was last seen.

 “He liked the flagstaff road area and kind of the overlooks of Boulder,” said Richard Johnson, Ryder’s father.

 The Boulder County Sheriffs' Office continues their search for the 21-year-old, but Johnson says, so far there are not many leads. “Not much from the original scene,” he said.

 Now with the help of friends, Johnson is offering a $100,000 reward for anyone with information leading up to criminal charges against anyone responsible, finding his son, or at least any items his son had when he went missing.

 Johnson said the reward will be up to the family’s discretion.

 He last spoke with his son two days before he went missing.

 “I've come to a place where you just push forward, he said, “you just search but you don't speculate, but I think it's better that way.”

 Searchers placed flyers along trail heads in Boulder County, specifically near the Gross Reservoir.

 The reward will be offered up through Jan. 17, 2017, marking the year since Ryder Johnson went missing. Johnson’s search for his son however, will keep going for as long as it takes.

 “Justice needs to be served,” he said, “and I think it’s time to bring him home.”

 --------- Sign up for Denver7 email alerts to stay informed about breaking news and daily headlines.

 Or, keep up-to-date on the latest news and weather with the Denver7 apps for iPhone/iPads, Android and Kindle. ||||| The family of Ryder Johnson, the Lafayette man who went missing in January, is now offering a reward of $100,000 for leads on his whereabouts.

 Johnson, 20, was last seen at 3 p.m. Jan. 17 leaving his job at Eldora Mountain Resort near Nederland, and his car was found later that night parked at 5800 Gross Dam Road in southwest Boulder County.

 But aside from the car, weeks of searching the area turned up no signs of Johnson. Boulder County sheriff's officials said Thursday there have been no new leads in the case and no confirmed sightings.

 Johnson's parents are now offering a $100,000 reward for information that finds Johnson or has information that could lead to an arrest if foul play was in fact involved in his disappearance.

 The reward is being funded by donations from friends and family, and the deadline to claim the reward is Jan. 17, 2017 — the one-year anniversary of his disappearance.

 "Our family continues to be grateful for the outpouring of support from the community and the professionalism and persistence of the Boulder County Sheriff's Office," said Johnson's father, Rick.

 While investigators never were able to rule out foul play, sheriff's officials said that it is likely Johnson disappeared on his own volition.

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 In the days after his disappearance, rescue crews searched Gross Reservoir and Walker Ranch with drones, boats and rescue crews. Family members have also organized various searches of the area.

 Johnson is described as a white male standing 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 155 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last known to be wearing a red and black coat with an Eldora ski jacket and black pants.

 Anyone with information about Johnson's whereabouts is asked to call the sheriff's office at 303-441-4444.

 Mitchell Byars: 303-473-1329, byarsm@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/mitchellbyars ||||| × Severed foot found at Eldora ski resort does not belong to missing employee

 BOULDER, Colo. — The severed foot found in a boot at the base of Eldora Mountain Resort in June does not belong to a resort employee who has been missing since January, the Boulder County Coroner’s Office said Friday.

 The coroner’s office released the results of DNA tests that did not identify the victim but ruled out Ryder Johnson. It was previously reported the boot was not believed to belong to Johnson.

 Johnson was last seen leaving the resort on Jan. 17. His vehicle was found later that day near Gross Reservoir in the 5800 block of Flagstaff Road.

 The boot is a Rugged Outback men’s Apex Leather waterproof boot, size 13, for the left foot.

 An employee reported finding the boot containing what he believed to be human remains on June 1.

 Personnel from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, Nederland Fire Protection District, Rocky Mountain Rescue Group and the resort searched the area for additional remains, along with three cadaver dogs from Front Range Rescue Dogs, but didn’t find anything.

 Crews searched 180 acres around the ski resort, including eight miles of Nordic trials that were searched by horseback, officials said.

 Anyone with information that might be related to the investigation is asked to contact Det. Mark Spurgeon at 303-441-3615. ||||| Ryder Johnson last seen on Jan. 17 leaving job at ski resort

 Almost three weeks after he was last seen, a 20-year-old Lafayette man remains missing as detectives and search crews have no viable leads about where he may be.

 Ryder Johnson, 20, was last seen at 3 p.m. Jan. 17 leaving his job at Eldora Mountain Resort near Nederland, and his car was found later that night parked at 5800 Gross Dam Road in southwest Boulder County.

 A thorough search of the area turned up no sign of Johnson, and weeks of subsequent investigation has turned up no leads on where he may have been heading or what he may have been doing.

 "It's been pretty frustrating," Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said Thursday. "It is a very sad thing for that family. No parent should have to go through that, that's for sure."

 Pelle said he recently had a meeting with investigators and rescue personnel to go over what they have already done and what more could be done. At this point the case is still open, but Pelle said the investigation is simply not as active because they've exhausted all of their leads.

 "They're just not finding anything," Pelle said.

 Investigators do have a few "working theories" as to what may have happened.

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 "One of them is that he intentionally wandered off into the mountains and harmed himself," Pelle said. "The other working theory or possibility is that he intentionally disappeared and left his stuff behind him and trekked off to start a new life. Those are the strongest possibilities."

 But Pelle said disappearing requires outside help and resources that Johnson did not appear to have. He also said investigators cannot completely rule out foul play.

 "There's really no signs of that, but at this point we can't eliminate any possibility," Pelle said. "We don't have enough information to do that."

 Johnson is described as a white male standing 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 155 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last known to be wearing a red and black coat with an Eldora ski jacket and black pants.

 Anyone with information about Johnson's whereabouts is asked to call the sheriff's office at 303-441-4444.

 Mitchell Byars: 303-473-1329, byarsm@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/mitchellbyars. |||||


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– It has to rank among the saddest of studies: a new look at suicides among young children. Researchers reviewed two decades of CDC data, from 1993 to 2012. Though they write in JAMA Pediatrics that "suicide is a leading cause of death among school-aged children younger than 12 years," they found that suicides among those ages 5 to 11 are very rare, reports the AP: There were 657 during the period studied, or one roughly every week-and-a-half (per the CDC, the daily average for all ages is 105 suicides). But while the suicide rate remained stable during that time, "that stability obscured racial differences," observes Psych Central. The suicide rate decreased in white children, but increased significantly in black children, from from 1.36 to 2.54 per 1 million between the study's first five years and its last five. (In white children, the shift was from 1.14 to 0.77.) That shot suicide up from No. 14 on the list of causes of death among black kids of this age to No. 9; it's No. 11 for white kids. The researchers noted that 84% of those who committed suicide were boys and just 16% girls, and the rate worsens when viewed through a gender lens as well. For black boys, the rate climbed to 3.47 per million. The findings represent a big shift, per lead author Jeffrey Bridge. "Historically, the suicide rate among US black individuals has been lower than that of white individuals across age groups," reads the study. "To our knowledge, this is the first national study to observe higher suicide rates among US black individuals compared with white individuals." Hanging and suffocation were the main methods for young children. Bridge advises parents to look for warning signs like prolonged unhappiness and withdrawing from favorite activities. (Related: Why men kill themselves more often than women.)

Importance Suicide is a leading cause of death among school-aged children younger than 12 years but little is known about the epidemiology of suicide in this age group.

 Objective To describe trends in suicide among US children younger than 12 years by sociodemographic group and method of death.

 Design, Setting, and Participants Period trend analysis of national mortality data on suicide in children aged 5 to 11 years in the United States from January 1, 1993, to December 31, 2012. Data were analyzed per 5-year periods, between 1993 to 1997 and 2008 to 2012.

 Main Outcomes and Measures Number of suicide deaths and crude suicide rates. Period trends in rates of suicide were estimated using negative binomial regression incidence rate ratios (IRRs).

 Results The overall suicide rate among children aged 5 to 11 years remained stable between 1993 to 1997 and 2008 to 2012 (from 1.18 to 1.09 per 1 million; IRR = 0.96; 95% CI, 0.90-1.03). However, the suicide rate increased significantly in black children (from 1.36 to 2.54 per 1 million; IRR = 1.27; 95% CI, 1.11-1.45) and decreased in white children (from 1.14 to 0.77 per 1 million; IRR = 0.86; 95% CI, 0.79-0.94). The overall firearm suicide rate (IRR = 0.69; 95% CI, 0.57-0.85) and firearm suicide rate among white boys (IRR = 0.72; 95% CI, 0.59-0.88) decreased significantly during the study. The rate of suicide by hanging/suffocation increased significantly in black boys (IRR = 1.35; 95% CI, 1.14-1.61), although the overall change in suicide rates by hanging/suffocation or other suicide methods did not change during the study.

 Conclusions and Relevance The stable overall suicide rate in school-aged children in the United States during 20 years of study obscured a significant increase in suicide incidence in black children and a significant decrease in suicide incidence among white children. Findings highlight a potential racial disparity that warrants attention. Further studies are needed to monitor these emerging trends and identify risk, protective, and precipitating factors relevant to suicide prevention efforts in children younger than 12 years. ||||| The seed for this crawl was a list of every host in the Wayback Machine

 This crawl was run at a level 1 (URLs including their embeds, plus the URLs of all outbound links including their embeds)

 The WARC files associated with this crawl are not currently available to the general public. ||||| The overall suicide rate among children between the ages of five and 11 was stable during the 20 years from 1993 to 2012, but that stability obscured racial differences that show an increase in suicide among black children and a decrease among white children.

 For a study published by JAMA Pediatrics, researchers led by Jeffrey A. Bridge, Ph.D., of the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, analyzed 20 years of nationwide mortality data.

 The researchers found that 657 children between the ages of five and 11 died by suicide between 1993 and 2012 — an average of nearly 33 children each year. They also found that 553 (84 percent) of the children were boys and 104 (16 percent) were girls.

 Hanging/suffocation was the predominant method of suicide, accounting for 78.2 percent (514 of 657) of the total suicides, followed by firearms (17.7 percent; 116 of 657) and other methods (4.1 percent; 27 of 657), according to the results.

 The analysis showed that the overall suicide rate remained stable during the 20-year period, going from 1.18 per one million to 1.09 per million.

 However, the researchers found that that stability resulted from divergent trends in suicide for black and white children during those 20 years.

 The suicide rate increased in black children from 1.36 per one million to 2.54 per one million, while the suicide rate decreased in white children from 1.14 per one million to 0.77 per one million.

 The statistically significant racial differences were confined to both black and white boys, with an increase in the suicide rate among black boys (1.78 to 3.47 per one million) and a decrease in the suicide rate among white boys (from 1.96 to 1.31 per one million).

 Although the changes were not statistically significant among girls, the suicide rate among black girls increased from 0.68 to 1.23 per one million during the 20-year period, while the suicide rate among white girls remained stable from 0.25 to 0.24 per one million, according to the study’s findings.

 According to the researchers, the findings prompt questions about what factors might influence increasing suicide rates among young black children, such as disproportionate exposure to violence and traumatic stress, aggressive school discipline, and an early onset of puberty.

 However, the researchers said it remains unclear if any of these factors are related to increasing suicide rates.

 “The stable overall suicide rate among U.S. children aged five to 11 years during 20 years of study masked a significant increase in the suicide rate among black children and a significant decline in the suicide rate among white children,” the authors write.

 “From a public health perspective, future steps should include ongoing surveillance to monitor these emerging trends and research to identify risk, protective and precipitating factors associated with suicide in elementary school-aged children to frame targets for early detection and culturally informed interventions.”

 Source: The JAMA Network Journals |||||


– Christopher "Big Black" Boykin, star of MTV reality show Rob & Big, died Tuesday of an apparent heart attack at the age of 45, TMZ reports. “He was a long time and beloved member of the MTV family and will be greatly missed," Variety quotes MTV as saying in a statement. Rob & Big ran from 2006 to 2008 with Boykin appearing as best friend, bodyguard, and roommate to professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek. The show chronicled various shenanigans, including adopting a mini horse, breaking Guinness World Records, and snaring people with net guns. "We truly were brothers that lived an unexpected unforgettable adventure," Dyrdek tweeted. "I just can't fathom that it would end so suddenly." Boykin, a veteran of the Navy, also started his own clothing line based on his catchphrase, "Do work." He's survived by a 9-year-old daughter.

Expand this summary.

UPDATED: Christopher “Big Black” Boykin, half of MTV’s “Rob & Big” duo, died on Tuesday, his rep confirmed to Variety. He was 45.

 A cause of death has not yet been reported.

 Boykin was skateboarder and entrepreneur Rob Dyrdek’s best friend and bodyguard, starring alongside him in “Rob & Big” for three seasons. The fan-favorite reality series showed the two in their day-to-day lives, filming such adventures as adopting a mini-horse and breaking Guinness world records.

 The show premiered in 2006 and ended in 2008, after Boykin had a child and stopped living with Dyrdek. He would go on to appear in several episodes of Dyrdek’s follow-up to “Rob & Big,” “Fantasy Factory,” as well as three episodes of Dyrdek’s other MTV show, “Ridiculousness.”

 “MTV is deeply saddened to learn the news of Christopher ‘Big Black’ Boykin’s passing,” MTV said in a statement. “He was a long time and beloved member of the MTV family and will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends at this time.”

 Before he was on television, Boykin served in the U.S. Navy. He also started a clothing line named after his catchphrase, “Do work,” in 2007.

 Boykin last tweeted just a day before his death, on Monday. Chanel West Coast, who appeared with Boykin on “Fantasy Factory” and “Ridiculousness,” tweeted after news broke, “RIP Big Black. My heart is crushed. I’ll remember all the times you made me laugh and my prayers go out to your family.”

 RIP @BigBlack. My heart is crushed. I'll remember all the times you made me laugh and my prayers go out to your family ❤🙏🏼😢 — Chanel (@chanelwestcoast) May 10, 2017

 He is survived by a nine-year-old daughter, Isis. ||||| 'Rob & Big' Star Big Black Dead at 45

 Rob & Big Star Christopher 'Big Black' Boykin Dead at 45

 EXCLUSIVE

 Christopher 'Big Black' Boykin, who was the other half of Rob Dyrdek's hit MTV show "Rob & Big" -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

 His rep tells us Chris died Tuesday morning. No official cause of death yet, but multiple people connected to Chris tell us they believe it was a heart attack.

 He was Rob's best friend and bodyguard on their reality show, which ran from 2006 to 2008 -- and also later appeared on 'Fantasy Factory.'

 The pals got into a bunch of random adventures -- like breaking Guinness World Records, exorcising their house, installing an ATM ... and, of course, catching people with their net gun.

 Chris and Rob's relationship became strained while shooting their show. Rob talked about their falling out a couple of years ago.

 They eventually patched things up. Not only did they work together on 'Fantasy Factory' ... but Chris recently posted a throwback pic of them from the show's heyday.

 Before he was a TV star, Boykin served in the U.S. Navy. He's survived by his 9-year-old daughter.

 'Big Black' was 45.

 #RIP |||||


News article:

‘Heartbroken’ Michelle Obama to attend Saturday funeral of Hadiya Pendleton BY MICHAEL SNEED Chicago Sun-Times Columnist

 Updated:

 A “heartbroken” first lady Michelle Obama is planning on attending the Saturday funeral services for slain teenager Hadiya Pendleton, who has become a national symbol for the growing problem of gun and gang violence in the city of Chicago.

 Obama will be accompanied to the funeral by Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to the president, and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

 “As a mother and Chicagoan, the first lady was heartbroken to learn of the tragic loss of Hadiya Pendleton due to senseless gun violence,” said Kristina Schake, the first lady’s communications director. “Too many times, we’ve seen young people struck down with so much of their lives ahead of them. The first lady is traveling to her funeral on Saturday to offer her condolences and support to Hadiya’s family and loved ones.”

 Hadiya was gunned down last month at a North Kenwood neighborhood park.

 Hadiya attended President Barack Obama’s inauguration last month, performing as a baton-twirling majorette with her King College Prep school band at a party sponsored by U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis. The teen had condemned gun violence in a 2008 public service announcement.

 The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Thursday: “She went to the White House to see the president, and now the people in the White House are coming to see her. But they’ll not see her, they’ll view her, and that is so painful.”

 Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said she’s “grateful” the first lady is returning to Chicago to pay her respects to the family of a child who died in a community both women call home.

 “It’s less than a mile from where I live. This impacts the community in which we both live and the ward in which we both live,” Preckwinkle, who lives in the Hyde Park-Kenwood area of Chicago, told the Chicago Sun-Times on Thursday.

 The park where Hadiya was killed is also less the a mile from the Obama family’s Kenwood home.

 “I am grateful that the first lady will be coming to the city. It will increase attention to this issue — the disturbing level of gun violence in our city. I know it will be of great consolation to the Pendleton family,” Preckwinkle said, adding that, she, too will be at the Saturday service.

 During an unrelated news conference this week, Preckwinkle reflected on Hadiya’s death and the loss of a “promising” young woman.

 She said again Thursday: “Frankly the deaths of any of our young people is a tragedy. Sometimes we make distinctions between those who are young and promising and those who are gang-involved,” but she said that “redemption” is always possible, and those youths with problems shouldn’t be forgotten.

 “A lot of troubled teenagers turn out to be responsible adults,” she said.

 Hadiya’s wake and funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Greater Harvest Baptist Church, 5141 S. State. The family chose the church because it can accommodate between 800 and 1,000 people.

 Shatira Wilks, Hadiya’s cousin, said Thursday that the family was now immersed in the logistics accompanying the first lady’s presence at the funeral.

 “Our whole dynamics have changed,” Wilks said.

 Contributing: Lisa Donovan ||||| Michelle Obama will attend the funeral of Hadiya Pendleton.

 WASHINGTON -- First lady Michelle Obama plans to attend Saturday’s funeral in Chicago for 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, who was fatally shot last week about a mile from the Obama family’s Kenwood home

 Pendleton, an honor student and band majorette at King College Prep, had participated in inaugural festivities near Washington about a week before her death.

 The White House announced today that the first lady would attend the Saturday morning services at Greater Harvest Baptist Church on the South Side. The first lady is not expected to make public remarks, and the Obamas’ daughters, Malia and Sasha, are not expected to accompany their mother.

 “As a mother and Chicagoan, the first lady was heartbroken to learn of the tragic loss of Hadiya Pendleton due to senseless gun violence,” said Kristina Schake, communications director for Michelle Obama. “Too many times, we’ve seen young people struck down with so much of their lives ahead of them. The first lady is traveling to her funeral on Saturday to offer her condolences and support to Hadiya’s family and loved ones.”

 Scheduled to speak at the funeral is Gov. Pat Quinn, who mentioned Pendleton during his annual State of the State speech on Wednesday as he called for tougher gun control measures. Quinn said he spoke to the teen’s family this week.

 "There are no words in the English language, or any language, to relieve the pain of parents who lose a child," said Quinn, who has two adult sons.

 A White House source said senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and Education Secretary Arne Duncan also will attend the funeral. Both are Chicagoans.

 Community activists had urged the Obamas to come to Chicago to speak out about recent violence. A petition on the White House website had called on the Obamas to attend Pendleton’s funeral.

 The president reached out to the family last week to offer his condolences, according to people close to the family. Early on, the family had expressed concern that the president’s attendance would overshadow the funeral and make it difficult for Pendleton’s many friends to say their goodbyes to her.

 After learning today that the first lady planned to attend, Shatira Wilks, a cousin who serves as the family’s spokesperson, said they are still committed to making the funeral a celebration of the teen’s life.

 “It’s a nice gesture and we appreciate it,” Wilks said. “But that is who we are.”

 Those close to the family said the parents are still trying to come to grips with what has happened.

 “It’s a lot to take in. It’s an overwhelming experience,” said LaKeisha Stewart, Hadiya’s godmother. “We are very thankful the people are coming to support the family. We realize that this young lady has touched a lot of people and this goes beyond us.”

 Pendleton was killed at Harsh Park on Jan. 29, near the end of the deadliest January for Chicago homicides in a decade. There is a $40,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the teen’s death.

 Visitation is scheduled for 2 to 9 p.m. Friday in Calahan Funeral Home at 7030 S. Halsted St. On Saturday, the wake continues at 9 a.m. followed by the funeral at 11 a.m. in Greater Harvest Baptist Church, 5141 S. State St.

 Tribune reporters Kathleen Hennessey and Monique Garcia contributed to this report.

 dglanton@tribune.com

 kskiba@tribune.com |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Michelle Obama will attend Saturday's funeral for Hadiya Pendleton, the Chicago teen killed not long after performing at President Obama's inauguration, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Alongside Obama will be adviser Valerie Jarrett and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, also Chicagoans, reports the Tribune. No arrests have been made in the shooting, but a $40,000 reward remains. Police think the 15-year-old got shot accidentally amid a turf war between gangs.


California judge throws out Jesse Graham’s $42m lawsuit that alleged the pop star stole his lyrics in a judgment that liberally quotes Swift’s songs

 A California judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed against Taylor Swift in a cheekily worded ruling that quotes lyrics from the pop star’s songs.

 Earlier this month, R&B artist Jessie Braham, who records as Jesse Graham, issued a $42m lawsuit against Swift, accusing the singer of lifting his lyrics for her hit Shake It Off. Braham alleged that although Shake It Off bore no melodic resemblance to his song Haters Gone Hate, Swift took the distinctive lyrics from the chorus of his song, which appears on the album Sexy Ladies.

 Graham sings: “Haters gonna hate/ Players gonna play/ Watch out for them fakers/ They’ll fake you every day.” Swift’s chorus runs: “’Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play/ And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.”

 US district court judge Gail Standish took the opportunity to show off her knowledge of Swift’s repertoire. While throwing out the suit, Standish invoked lyrics from Swift’s other hits, including We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Blank Space and Bad Blood.

 “At present, the Court is not saying that Braham can never, ever, ever get his case back in court. But, for now, we have got problems, and the Court is not sure Braham can solve them,” Standish wrote.

 Standish ruled that Braham did not provide enough factual evidence and that his allegations did not go beyond a speculative level.

 “As currently drafted, the Complaint has a blank space – one that requires Braham to do more than write his name. And, upon consideration of the Court’s explanation in Part II, Braham may discover that mere pleading BandAids will not fix the bullet holes in his case,” Standish wrote.

 If Braham could fix the deficiencies of the lawsuit, he could file a new complaint, the court said.

 Standish concluded: “At least for the moment, Defendants have shaken off this lawsuit.” ||||| Story highlights Lawsuit accused Swift of stealing lyrics for "Shake It Off"

 Jessie Braham claimed 92% of Swift's song came from his song "Haters Gone Hate"

 (CNN) If you sue Taylor Swift, just remember her lyrics might be used against you.

 That's what a California judge did Tuesday when she dismissed a copyright lawsuit against the pop star that accused her of stealing another artist's lyrics for her hit song "Shake It Off."

 United States District Court Judge Gail Standish cheekily quoted lyrics from other Swift songs as she tossed the suit filed by musician Jessie Braham. He claimed that his song "Haters Gone Hate" had the same 22-word phrase that Swift used in her song. Braham said he copyrighted "Haters Gone Hate" in February 2013.

 Braham claimed in the lawsuit that 92% of Taylor Swift's song came from his song.

 Swift's song has the lyrics: "Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play. And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate," as well as "And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake." It was included on her hit album "1989," which she released in 2014.

 Read More |||||

Write a summary.

– If a judge is a big enough Taylor Swift fan to repeatedly quote her lyrics within a ruling, should they not be required to recuse themselves from any case involving the pop star? That's the legal conundrum we're left with after judge Gail Standish used references to at least four of Swift's hits to dismiss a plagiarism lawsuit brought against her by an R&B singer, the Guardian reports. Earlier this month, Jesse Graham—who says he hasn't had a job in nine years—sued Swift for $42 million and a songwriting credit, claiming she stole 92% of the lyrics to her hit Shake It Off from his song Haters Gone Hate, according to CNN. Graham says he copyrighted his song a year before Shake It Off was released. Shake It Off includes the lyrics "Cause the players gonna play; and the haters gonna hate," as well as "And the fakers gonna fake," the Guardian reports. Meanwhile, the chorus to Graham's song goes "Haters gone hate; players gone play; watch out for them fakers; they'll fake you everyday." Standish said the lawsuit was based on speculation and lacked enough evidence. In her ruling, she wrote: “At present, the Court is not saying that [Graham] can never, ever, ever get his case back in court. But, for now, we have got problems, and the Court is not sure [Graham] can solve them." After further references to Swift's lyrics, Standish concludes: "At least for the moment, Defendants have shaken off this lawsuit.”


News article:

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite. People with malaria often experience fever, chills, and flu-like illness. Left untreated, they may develop severe complications and die. In 2016 an estimated 216 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide and 445,000 people died, mostly children in the African Region. About 1,700 cases of malaria are diagnosed in the United States each year. The vast majority of cases in the United States are in travelers and immigrants returning from countries where malaria transmission occurs, many from sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

 CDC’s Malaria Program ||||| We report that during a recent period of hybridization between two major African malaria mosquitoes, Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii, an island of divergence on chromosome 2 introgressed from the A. gambiae into the A. coluzzii genome and its frequency subsequently increased. This introgression was coincident with the start of a major insecticide-treated bed net campaigns in Mali. These observations suggest that increased insecticide exposure acted as a selective force sufficient to drive introgression of an entire genomic island of divergence across the reproductive barrier separating these two species. This study provides a rare example of adaptive introgression in an animal species and elucidates the dynamics of how insecticide resistance evolved in A. coluzzii.

 Abstract

 Animal species adapt to changes in their environment, including man-made changes such as the introduction of insecticides, through selection for advantageous genes already present in populations or newly arisen through mutation. A possible alternative mechanism is the acquisition of adaptive genes from related species via a process known as adaptive introgression. Differing levels of insecticide resistance between two African malaria vectors, Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles gambiae, have been attributed to assortative mating between the two species. In a previous study, we reported two bouts of hybridization observed in the town of Selinkenyi, Mali in 2002 and 2006. These hybridization events did not appear to be directly associated with insecticide-resistance genes. We demonstrate that during a brief breakdown in assortative mating in 2006, A. coluzzii inherited the entire A. gambiae-associated 2L divergence island, which includes a suite of insecticide-resistance alleles. In this case, introgression was coincident with the start of a major insecticide-treated bed net distribution campaign in Mali. This suggests that insecticide exposure altered the fitness landscape, favoring the survival of A. coluzzii/A. gambiae hybrids, and provided selection pressure that swept the 2L divergence island through A. coluzzii populations in Mali. We propose that the work described herein presents a unique description of the temporal dynamics of adaptive introgression in an animal species and represents a mechanism for the rapid evolution of insecticide resistance in this important vector of human malaria in Africa. ||||| Fact sheet on the World Malaria Report 2014

 Malaria is an entirely preventable and treatable mosquito-borne illness. In 2014, 97 countries and territories had ongoing malaria transmission.

 An estimated 3.3 billion people are at risk of malaria, of whom 1.2 billion are at high risk. In high-risk areas, more than one malaria case occurs per 1000 population.

 Disease burden in 2013

 There were an estimated 198 million cases of malaria worldwide (range 124–283 million) in 2013, and an estimated 584 000 deaths (range 367 000–755 000). 90% of all malaria deaths occur in Africa.

 In 2013, an estimated 437 000 African children died before their fifth birthday due to malaria. Globally, the disease caused an estimated 453 000 under-five deaths in 2013.

 Between 2000 and 2013, an expansion of malaria interventions helped to reduce malaria incidence by 30% globally, and by 34% in Africa.

 During the same period, malaria mortality rates decreased by an estimated 47% worldwide and by 54% in Africa. In the under-five age group, mortality rates have declined by 53% globally, and by 58% in Africa.

 New analysis reveals that the prevalence of malaria parasite infection (including both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections) has decreased significantly in Africa since 2000. The number of people infected fell from 173 million in 2000 to 128 million in 2013 – a reduction of 26%. This has occurred despite a 43% increase in the African population living in malaria transmission areas.

 Trends in the scale-up of malaria interventions

 During the past 10 years, coverage with vector control interventions increased substantially in Africa. In 2013, almost half of the population at risk in Africa (49%) had access to an insecticide-treated mosquito net, compared to 3% in 2004.

 In 2014, an estimated 214 million long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) were delivered to malaria-endemic countries in Africa, bringing the total number of LLINs delivered to that region since 2012 to 427 million.

 In 2013, 124 million people were protected from malaria by indoor residual spraying around the world. In Africa, 55 million people, or 7% of the population at risk, lived in households that were regularly sprayed.

 Access to rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and quality-assured artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) has been increasing around the world.

 The volume of RDT sales to the public and private sectors of endemic countries has increased from 46 million in 2008 to 319 million in 2013.

 The number of patients tested by microscopic examination increased to 197 million in 2013, with India accounting for over 120 million slide examinations.

 Globally, 392 million courses of ACTs were procured by endemic countries in 2013, up from 11 million in 2005.

 In 2013, for the first time, the total number of diagnostic tests (RDTs and microscopy combined) provided in the public sector in Africa exceeded the total number of ACTs distributed. This indicates a prominent shift away from presumptive treatment and is thus an encouraging sign.

 In Africa, the proportion of women who receive intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) for malaria has been increasing over time, although the levels remain below national targets. An estimated 15 million of the 35 million pregnant women did not receive a single dose of IPTp in 2013.

 Progress in adopting and rolling out preventive therapies for children has been even slower. As of 2013, only six of the 16 countries where WHO recommends preventive therapies for children under five have adopted the treatment as national policy. Only one country has adopted the recommended preventive therapy for infants, but has not yet started rolling out the programme.

 Drug and insecticide resistance

 Emerging parasite resistance to antimalarial medicines and mosquito resistance to insecticides, if left unaddressed, could render some of the current tools ineffective and trigger a rise in global malaria mortality.

 In recent years, parasite resistance to artemisinin has been detected in five countries of the Greater Mekong subregion: Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam. In areas along the Cambodia–Thailand border, P. falciparum has become resistant to most available antimalarial medicines, and multi-drug resistance is a major concern.

 Between 2010 and 2013, 53 countries globally have reported mosquito resistance to at least one insecticide. Of these, 41 have reported resistance to two or more insecticide classes. The most commonly reported resistance is to pyrethroids, the most frequently used insecticide in malaria vector control.

 Progress towards global targets

 The malaria-specific Millennium Development Goal (MDG 6 target C: to have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria) has already been met.

 In terms of country-level progress, a total of 64 countries are currently on track to reverse the incidence of malaria nationally by 2015.

 Of these, 55 are on track to meet the World Health Assembly and Roll Back Malaria Partnership target of reducing malaria incidence by 75% by 2015.

 Funding remains inadequate

 International and domestic funding for malaria control and elimination totalled US$ 2.7 billion in 2013. Although this represents a threefold increase since 2005, it is still significantly below the US$ 5.1 billion that is required to achieve global targets for malaria control and elimination. ||||| Progress

 Who needs your help?

 We work with our UN partners to protect refugees and families who are most vulnerable to malaria. Some have fled conflict, others have been displaced by natural disasters or political unrest and have left everything behind. After all they have endured, these families shouldn’t have to fear a deadly mosquito bite. ||||| Interbreeding of two malaria mosquito species in the West African country of Mali has resulted in a "super mosquito" hybrid that's resistant to insecticide-treated bed nets.

 "It's 'super' with respect to its ability to survive exposure to the insecticides on treated bed nets," said medical entomologist Gregory Lanzaro of UC Davis, who led the research team.

 The research, published Jan. 6 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, "provides convincing evidence indicating that a man-made change in the environment -- the introduction of insecticides -- has altered the evolutionary relationship between two species, in this case a breakdown in the reproductive isolation that separates them," said Lanzaro, who is director of the Vector Genetics Laboratory and professor in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology in the School of Veterinary Medicine.

 "What we provide in this new paper is an example of one unusual mechanism that has promoted the rapid evolution of insecticide resistance in one of the major malaria mosquito species."

 Anopheles gambiae, a major malaria vector, is interbreeding with isolated pockets of another malaria mosquito, A. coluzzii. Entomologists initially considered them as the "M and S forms" of Anopheles gambiae. They are now recognized as separate species.

 Interbreeding of two malaria mosquito species in the West African country of Mali has resulted in a "super mosquito" hybrid that's resistant to insecticide-treated bed nets.

 "It's 'super' with respect to its ability to survive exposure to the insecticides on treated bed nets," said medical entomologist Gregory Lanzaro of UC Davis, who led the research team.

 "What we provide in this new paper is an example of one unusual mechanism that has promoted the rapid evolution of insecticide resistance in one of the major malaria mosquito species."

 Anopheles gambiae, a major malaria vector, is interbreeding with isolated pockets of another malaria mosquito, A. coluzzii. Entomologists initially considered them as the "M and S forms" of Anopheles gambiae. They are now recognized as separate species.

 The insecticide resistance came as no surprise. "Growing resistance has been observed for some time," Lanzaro said. "Recently it has reached a level at some localities in Africa where it is resulting in the failure of the nets to provide meaningful control, and it is my opinion that this will increase."

 Lanzaro credits insecticide-treated nets with saving many thousands, probably tens of thousands of lives in Mali alone. The World Health Organization's World Malaria Report indicates that deaths from malaria worldwide have decreased by 47 percent since 2000. Much of that is attributed to the insecticide-treated bed nets. However, it was just a matter of time for insecticide resistance to emerge, medical entomologists and epidemiologist agree.

 Now there's "an urgent need to develop new and effective malaria vector control strategies," Lanzaro said. A number of new strategies are in development, including new insecticides, biological agents -- including mosquito-killing bacteria and fungi -- and genetic manipulation of mosquitoes aimed at either killing them or altering their ability to transmit the malaria parasite.

 ###

 First author on the paper is Laura Norris, a postdoctoral scholar in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology who was supported by a National Institutes of Health training grant awarded to Lanzaro. She has since accepted a position with the President's Malaria Initiative in Washington, D.C.

 Other co-authors include, at UC Davis, Anthony Cornel, Yoosook Lee, Bradley Main and Travis Collier; and Abdrahamane Fofana of the Malaria Research and Training Center at the University of Bamako, Mali. Three grants from the National Institutes of Health funded the research.

 Lanzaro has researched mosquitos in Mali for 24 years with Cornel, who is an associate professor in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and headquartered at the UC Kearney Agriculture and Research Center, Parlier. Both are graduate student advisors in the department, training medical entomologists of tomorrow. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– For years, campaigns such as Nothing But Nets have been trying to control the scourge of malaria—a blood disease spread by mosquito bites—by sending insecticide-laced nets to hard-hit regions (mostly in Africa). But a University of California-Davis study has some bad news: Researchers have discovered a hybrid "super mosquito" that seems to be resistant to the treated nets. The study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that Anopheles coluzzii mosquitoes in Mali that cross-bred with the A. gambiae variety created the superinsect—"'super' with respect to its ability to survive exposure to the insecticides," says Gregory Lanzaro, the study's lead author, in a press release. Although he's not surprised insecticide resistance is rising, it's still worrisome: "It is resulting in the failure of the nets to provide meaningful control." There were about 584,000 deaths from malaria in 2013, 90% of them occurring in Africa, according to the World Health Organization; every 60 seconds a child there dies from the disease, Nothing But Nets adds. But inroads have been made: Intervention tactics, including insecticide-treated nets, helped cut the mortality rate 54% in Africa between 2000 and 2013, the WHO notes—and in 2013, 49% of all African residents at risk for the disease (up from a mere 3% in 2004) had access to insecticide-laced nets. This new finding could throw a wrench in that progress, and new preventative measures will need to be explored. (Another study: Pantyhose help reveal why mosquitoes prefer humans.)


These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| A disturbing new study has linked a common chemical found in head lice treatments to behavioral difficulties in children.

 The research, which was published in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine, found that children who had higher levels of certain pyrethroids — which are synthetic chemicals used in insecticides like head lice treatments and some mosquito repellents — in their system were more likely to display abnormal behaviors at age 6 than those who didn’t.

 Pyrethroids work by damaging the nerves of insects, killing them in the process, and scientists wanted to see if they had a negative impact on children as well. (Permethrin, an active ingredient in the most popular drugstore lice treatments, is a pyrethroid.) For the study, the researchers measured levels of five pyrethroid metabolites in the urine of women in the early stages of pregnancy and, later, in their 6-year-olds to see if there was a link between being exposed to the chemical in utero and childhood, and behavior that could suggest neurodevelopmental damage.

 Nearly 300 women filled out a questionnaire about socioeconomic factors, lifestyle, their child’s behavior, and various things their child had been exposed to. Psychologists visited the families at home to do behavioral assessments of the children, and also took urine and dust samples.

 Behavior was rated using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, a validated behavioral screening test for children, with a focus on altruism (how social children are), internalizing disorders (the inability to share problems and ask for help), and externalizing disorders (being defiant and disruptive).

 Three of the pyrethroid metabolites showed up most often in the urine of mothers and their children: trans-DCCA, cis-DBCA, and cis-DCCA.

 Here’s what researchers determined: Mothers with higher levels of cis-DCCA in their urine during pregnancy were more likely to have children with a higher risk of internalizing behaviors. Higher levels of another metabolite, 3-PBA, in the children’s urine was linked with a higher risk of externalizing behaviors. Overall, children with the highest levels of metabolites in their urine were three times more likely to have abnormal behavior than those with lower levels. As a result, the researchers concluded that pyrethroids might alter neurochemical signaling in the brain.

 The news is understandably disturbing for parents who have treated their children with pyrethroids for lice — and there are a lot of them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that up to 12 million head lice infestations happen each year among children aged 3 to 11. Lice are parasites that live in human hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows and feed on the blood of their host, and they’re not easy pests to get rid of. Hence, the common use of chemical shampoos and treatments for lice infestations — many of which contain pyrethroids.

 Before you panic, know this: The study found that there was a correlation between pyrethroids and behavioral issues in children — not a causation. That means they determined that children who have behavioral issues also have high levels of certain pyrethroids in their system, but didn’t actually find that using pyrethroids causes behavioral problems in children.

 “The findings should be considered preliminary and prompt more rigorous studies,” Amesh A. Adalja, MD, a board-certified infectious disease physician and affiliated scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, tells Yahoo Beauty.

 Shahrouz Ganjian, MD, a board certified pediatrician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., tells Yahoo Beauty that he’s not shocked by the findings. “In the past 15 years, there’s been a lot more research that has found pesticide exposure is linked to ADHD in boys and pediatric cancer,” he says. The study that found a link between ADHD and pesticides was published in the journal Environmental Health. It found a link between pyrethroid pesticide exposure and ADHD, particularly in the areas of hyperactivity and impulsivity. While girls were affected, the link was stronger in boys. However, this was also a correlational study.

 Pyrethroids are among the most common treatments for lice, but other compounds can be used, like alcohol-based treatments and an anti-parasitic drug called ivermectin, Adalja says. However, pyrethroids are “the main recommended treatments for lice,” he adds. Ganjian also recommends Sklice lice treatment, which doesn’t contain pyrethroids and Licefreee, which he calls “more natural.” |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Here's something else not to like about lice, mosquitoes, and fleas. An insecticide used to kill them—pyrethroids—might be linked to behavior issues in children as young as 6, a French study suggests. The researchers, noting the effects the chemical had on the nervous systems of insects, wondered how it affected humans, notably children. They tested the urine of about 300 pregnant women and, six years later, their children, according to the study published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine. Children with the highest levels of pyrethroids in their urine were three times more likely to have behavioral problems than kids with lower levels. The problems might be external (kids being defiant or disruptive) or internal (a reluctance to ask for help) depending on the specific type of pyrethroid they were exposed to, the study said. "The pesticide class studied are considered 'safe' pesticides and this study is cause for concern as to how safe it really is," says a child psychatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City who reviewed the findings, per HealthDay News. But he cautions that the study finds only a correlation, not cause and effect. Along those lines, a doctor at Johns Hopkins characterizes the study as preliminary and says it should be followed up by further research, reports Yahoo. Still, a pediatric behaviorialist not involved with the research recommended that pregnant women use "common sense" when using insecticides and look for products that don't contain pyrethroids. (In an awful story out of Massachusetts, police say a homemade lice remedy proved fatal for a girl.)


Article:

A 3-year-old North Carolina girl has been missing since her mom put her to bed Sunday night in their Jacksonville home, officials confirm to PEOPLE.

 The following morning at about 6:45 a.m., the girl’s mother, Kristy Woods, called officials to report her daughter Mariah was missing, officials said.

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 “My last memory of her was feeding her and putting her to bed,” Woods told local station Channel 12. “I told her I loved her and she loved me.”

 • Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

 Officials began ground and air searches for the girl, who is 2 feet 9 inches and has brown hair and blue eyes.

 As of Tuesday, the Onslow County Sheriff’s Department, and multiple agencies including the FBI, were still searching, says department spokesperson Maj. Chris Thomas.

 “We’re conducting an investigation,” Thomas tells PEOPLE, who declined to elaborate about details of the case. “We’re still following tips and leads from the AMBER Alert and other sources.”

 Woods told reporters her daughter wears braces on her legs to help her walk, and added she doesn’t believe she would’ve walked away from their house on her own.

 “It’s not making sense to me about where she could be at,” said Woods, “or who she could be with.”

 • For more compelling True Crime coverage, follow our Crime magazine on Flipboard

 Woods pleaded to be reunited with her child.

 “I love her and I’ll never let her go again,” she said. “I just want to hold her tight and see her smile.”

 If you have any information about Mariah, call the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office at 910-989-4070. ||||| Authorities in North Carolina are asking for the public's assistance for information to aid in the search of a 3-year-old girl who disappeared from her home Sunday night.

 Mariah Woods was last seen at her Jacksonville, North Carolina home Sunday night by her mother, who put her to bed, North Carolina ABC affiliate WCTI reported. Officials would not confirm those details to reporters during a press conference Tuesday afternoon in order to protect the integrity of the investigation.

 "We know what the answer is, but we won’t reveal it at this point," said Onslow County Sheriff Hans Miller.

 The Onslow County Sheriff's Office and the FBI overnight Wednesday released surveillance pictures taken Monday morning of a woman and child at a North Carolina Walmart. They are attempting to determine whether the child is Mariah Woods and are asking for the public's help in identifying both the woman and child.

 FBI/ONSLOW COUNTY SHERIFF

 FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Stanley Meador said investigators are especially interested to speak to "anyone who has had contact with the family" since Sunday, while Miller said that any clue, such as children's clothes, can be helpful.

 "We will explore every investigative lead that comes to our attention," Miller said.

 .@FBICharlotte is asking for the public's assistance to locate 3-year-old Mariah Woods, missing since November 27, 2017: https://t.co/MuJOfZH2rR #FBI pic.twitter.com/UVcz2P6gQj — FBI Most Wanted (@FBIMostWanted) November 28, 2017

 Miller assured the public that authorities were using "every available resource" to search for Mariah, including drones as well as helicopters provided by the Marine Corps, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and a neighboring sheriff's department.

 The first priority is to find Mariah, bring her back and then find out what happened to her, Miller said.

 After Mariah's disappearance, her mother, Kristy Woods, reached out to the public with an emotion-filled plea.

 “Please, bring her back ... my baby. She’s my everything,” said Woods. “Just to be able to touch her and hold her and not let her go again, I’d give anything."

 An amber alert was issued for Mariah soon after she was reported missing at approximately 6 a.m., according to Jacksonville Sheriff Hans Miller.

 #AMBERAlert Update!

 Mariah was last seen on November 26, 2017 at 11:00 p.m. at 2404 Dawson Cabin Road in Jacksonville, #NorthCarolina.https://t.co/D2vblnGoy9 — NCMEC (@MissingKids) November 28, 2017

 Mariah is described as a white female with brown hair and blue eyes, about 2 feet, 9 inches tall and weighing 30 pounds.

 "[Officials are] working everything that can be worked to find this little girl,” Miller said Monday.

 Four volunteer fire departments, the Onslow County Sherriff’s Department and K9 units conducted a search in the wooded area behind the girl’s home as well as surrounding wooded areas, WCTI reported.

 "We don’t know what happened," Miller said Monday. "It’s entirely premature to try to determine what happened."

 Miller said they will continue to search in "expanding circles" as the investigation continues.

 Officials have interviewed both Woods’ mother and her live-in boyfriend and conducted a search of their home and vehicle, WCTI reported. The Onslow County Sheriff’s Department is also asking neighbors in the area to check their yards, sheds and other areas for any evidence of a little girl.

 Mariah's biological father, Alex Woods, expressed skepticism about his daughter's disappearance when speaking to WCTI.

 "For someone to just walk right up in there, grab the 3-year-old out of bed, she didn't cry, she didn't scream, nobody heard nothing?" Alex Woods said. "Four people in the house, two adults and two kids. Somebody just comes up and snatches baby and walks out?" |||||
What is a summary?

– Law enforcement officers and volunteers have flooded the area around a North Carolina home in the search for a 3-year-old girl whose mother says she vanished after she was put to bed Sunday night. Mariah Kay Woods was reported missing around 6:45am Monday after her mother discovered she was gone from their home in Jacksonville, Onslow County, People reports. "My last memory of her was feeding her and putting her to bed," mother Kristy Woods told reporters. "I told her I loved her and she loved me." Woods said her daughter wears leg braces to help her walk, meaning she would have been unlikely to wander off alone. An Amber Alert was issued early Monday and the FBI has now joined the search, ABC reports. Wooded areas around the home have been searched and neighbors have been asked to thoroughly check their yards and sheds for any sign of a little girl. Mariah is described as white, 2 feet, 9 inches tall and 30 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. WRAL reports that the FBI has released surveillance images of a woman and a little girl taken Monday morning in a Walmart in Morehead City, NC, around 40 miles away from Jacksonville. Authorities are trying to determine whether the girl, whose face is seen in profile, is Mariah.