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Published: January 31st, 2012 | Tags: Super Bowl XLVI, Mark Herzlich, Media Day, New York Giants

 INDIANAPOLIS — Mark Herzlich knows what it takes to defeat a powerful opponent.

 His Giants have yet to play the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, but the rookie linebacker won the biggest battle of his life when he overcame Ewing’s sarcoma, a type of bone cancer.

 That story of survival led Herzlich to tweet this message upon the Giants’ Monday night arrival at Indianapolis International Airport: “2 yrs ago I was told I might never walk again. Just WALKED off plane in Indy to play in The #SuperBowl. #TakeThat**** Cancer.”

 “I was very pleased and very happy that so many people got to see it because that’s part of what my goal is and what my mission is,” Herzlich said Tuesday at Media Day. “This week’s all about football and all about playing, but there are people that are out there going through cancer right now and saying, ‘He’s doing it. I can do it.’ …

 “It’s a real privilege and a blessing to play in it. I’ve come from a different, tough place in my life with being sick, and just two short years later, to be able to play in the Super Bowl, that’s great.”

 According to Herzlich, football was the second-biggest motivator, only behind his family, in his battle with cancer. He even made a highlight tape of himself from Boston College’s 2008 season to help him “through the bad days” of chemotherapy.

 Since he was a Boston College student at the time of his diagnosis, Herzlich received a lot of support in New England. Although most of those fans will pull for the Patriots on Sunday, a few likely will cheer for Herzlich, too.

 “It’s interesting to have Boston fans root for any sort of Giant, but I appreciate everything, and the support I got all through school was unbelievable,” Herzlich said. “Even today, I got tweets from people saying, ‘I am a Patriots fan. I hope you lose, but I wish you well in your life and career.’ ”

 — Matt Florjancic, Special to NFL.com

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 New York Giants' rookie linebacker Mark Herzlich stepped off the plane in Indianapolis to play against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI and immediately took to Twitter to express his gratitude. He was thankful not just to be there, but to be alive.

 "2 yrs ago I was told I might never walk again. Just WALKED off plane in Indy to play in The #SuperBowl. #TakeThatSh*tCancer," he tweeted.

 In 2009, Herzlich was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. The cancer was isolated to his left leg and the initial prognosis was not positive for the promising Boston College football star.

 "They felt the NFL was a long shot," Herzlich's father, Sandy, told ESPN last summer. "They were first happy if they could save his life and they were happy if they could save his leg."

 Herzlich was told there were three possible outcomes.

 "The worst-case scenario is obviously [that] it gets into other parts of your body and it completely kills you," he told ESPN. "Second worst-case scenario is if they saw a small fracture in the bone and it was seeping out. Then they would have to amputate my leg right away within hours of finding it out. … Then better than that would be to remove that portion of the leg, putting in a cadaver bone and being in a cast for six months from the waist down, not ever being able to run again."

 It turns out there was a fourth and even better option.

 Herzlich responded phenomenally to aggressive chemotherapy and radiation. He was given the choice to forgo surgery and continue treatment, saving his football career, but increasing the likelihood that the cancer could return, or have surgery, ending his football aspirations, but likely eliminating the cancer.

 Herzlich decided to keep his dream alive.

 After missing the 2009 college football season to undergo treatment, he took the field for Boston College in 2010. He started in all 13 games, but did not catch the eye of NFL scouts and went undrafted.

 Herzlich continued training and eventually signed as a free agent with the New York Giants.

 Now, one year into his NFL career he's walked off the plane in Indianapolis and is getting ready to run onto the field at Lucas Oil Stadium, two things, that just three years ago seemed nearly impossible.

 ESPN contributed to this report. |||||

– Rookie Giants linebacker Mark Herzlich is happier than most to be playing in the Super Bowl: “2 yrs ago I was told I might never walk again. Just WALKED off plane in Indy to play in the Super Bowl. Take That Sh*t Cancer," Herzlich tweeted after arriving in Indianapolis yesterday. Herzlich was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer in 2009. He had been expected to be a first-round draft pick from Boston College, but instead spent the year undergoing treatment, choosing chemotherapy and radiation over a leg amputation that would have ended his dream of playing in the NFL, ABC reports. Herzlich, who went undrafted and joined the Giants as a free agent this season, says he sees his arrival in Indianapolis to take on the New England Patriots as an opportunity to inspire. "This week’s all about football and all about playing," he tells NFL.com, "but there are people that are out there going through cancer right now and saying, ‘He’s doing it. I can do it.’"


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Ryan Lochte Parents Swimming in Debt, Facing Foreclosure

 Ryan Lochte -- Parents Swimming in Debt, Facing Foreclosure

 EXCLUSIVE

 US Olympic swimming championmight have to parlay his newfound fame into a quick payday to help out the folks ... because TMZ has learned, his parents are allegedly buried in debt ... and could lose their home.According to a lawsuit filed in Volusia County, FL ... CitiMortgage claims Steven and Ileane Lochte took out a mortgage loan for $258,000 back in 2007 and they were to pay $1,609.58/month.But according to the bank, the Lochtes stopped making payments in February 2011 -- and now owe $242,239 (plus interest) on the home. The bank is suing to foreclose on the house in order to get its money back.But there's a lot on the line -- according to the lawsuit, if the sale of the Lochtes' home doesn't satisfy the couple's entire debt ... the bank wants the Lochtes to pay the difference.Mrs. Lochte filed a motion to dismiss the case last month, but a judge has yet to rule.Attempts to reach the Lochtes were unsuccessful. ||||| The parents of U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte are facing foreclosure in Florida.

 According to a lawsuit filed in May in Volusia County, CitiMortgage is suing to foreclose on Steven and Ileana Lochte. The bank is seeking to recoup $250,000. The news was first reported by TMZ.

 Court records show that Ileana Lochte asked the court to dismiss the case last month. Messages left Saturday for her attorney were not immediately returned.

 The Lochtes divorced last year. Court records did not show whether Steven Lochte had an attorney. Both parents have been in London recently to watch their son compete.

 Ryan Lochte has won five medals, including two gold medals, in swimming events at the London Olympics. |||||

– Ryan Lochte has won five medals so far in London. If his success translates into endorsement deals, the money might come in the nick of time to save his parents' house: TMZ reports that CitiMortgage is suing to foreclose on their place in Florida. The couple still owe about $240,000 but have stopped making payments. Steven and Ileane Lochte divorced last year, but both are in London for the Games, according to AP. (Ileana made headlines earlier with her "one-night stand" comment, and subsequent walkback, regarding her son's lifestyle.) Click for more on the foreclosure story.


The world’s most famous dodo, which inspired Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, met an untimely and murderous end, scientists have discovered.

 The Oxford Dodo is the most well-preserved example of the extinct bird on Earth and still contains soft tissue and DNA which could be used one day to resurrect the species.

 It was always thought the Oxford Dodo survived the fate of its kin, and was brought back alive from Mauritius, ending up as an exotic curiosity on the streets of London. ||||| The last of the dodos left this planet somewhere in the mid to late 17th century, brought to extinction by early European explorers and invasive species of animals introduced to its native island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.

 Extinct but not forgotten.

 The Oxford University Museum of Natural History in the U.K. houses the last remains of a dodo in the world. It's one of the museum's most precious treasures because most dodo remains today are skeletons reconstructed from bones found on Mauritius.

 The "Oxford dodo," on the other hand, includes the mummified bird's skull and foot and even skin and soft tissue, making it the only specimen that retains any viable DNA. It's invaluable to research, says the university's Prof. Paul Smith.

 Now, using 21st-century forensic scanning technology, Smith and other U.K. researchers have uncovered new evidence that shows the world-famous Oxford dodo had a violent death.

 "We noticed these serious metallic high-density particles embedded inside the specimen," researcher Mark Williams, of the University of Warwick's Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), told CBC News.

 The skull of the Oxford dodo, housed at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in the U.K. (Oxford University Museum of Natural History)

 Williams is the first to scan the remains of the dodo using a high-resolution CT scan and software that created a 3D replica of the dodo's skull.

 This technology allowed the researchers to see inside the specimen for the first time without actually damaging the centuries-old remains.

 "When we were first asked to scan the dodo, we were hoping to study its anatomy and shed some new light on how it existed," Williams said. "In our wildest dreams we never expected to find what we did."

 What they found was that the metallic particles were ammunition.

 'Brutal way to go'

 Williams said his team looked back at the data "and realized the pattern of these lead shots is in the back of the dodo's head. So clearly, when you look at it, he was shot in the back of the head with a shotgun."

 He called it a "pretty brutal way to go."

 "These birds were hunted to extinction. Their habitat was destroyed. When you look at the specimen like this one and see between 20 and 30 lead pellets embedded right in the skull, you are looking at a snapshot of its violent death," he said.

 This is a scan image of the skull of the Oxford dodo. Researchers at the University of Warwick found particles in the skull, later identified as lead shot pellets. (WMG, University of Warwick)

 Researchers had always assumed the nearly 400-year-old specimen had died of natural causes, its remains then transferred to the U.K. museum as an exhibit. Now they say they have proof the Oxford dodo was hunted down and killed.

 Smith said it was a "really great surprise."

 "The specimen that we thought we knew so well had lots ... of lead pellets embedded with the skin, embedded within the bone."

 "Having small lead pellets to shoot game fowl only started at almost the same time as the bird became extinct," Williams said. "We could be looking at the first examples of lead shots ever used to hunt game birds."

 Williams said the forensic work isn't done. He's hoping to do a chemical analysis of the lead pellets.

 "Using those analyses, we may be able to trace which particular ore field the lead came from, and therefore what country it was mined in, and potentially what country the shot was made in so that we could then determine who killed the dodo," says Smith.

 The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto is the only museum in Canada that has a dodo skeletal display. It's been part of the museum's collection since 1938 and on display for the past 10 years. (Brian Boyle/Royal Ontario Museum)

 His number one suspect? "I think there's a good chance this bird was either shot in its habitat or maybe even kept captive on a ship and shot for food."

 Paleontologist Kevin Seymour says the murderer could have been anyone.

 "It's kind of cool to know more information about that individual [dodo], but it isn't surprising that lots of people went to Mauritius and ate these animals," says Seymour, assistant curator of the Department of Natural History at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto — the only museum in Canada with a dodo skeletal display.

 "They were basically eaten to extinction. And that this one was shot isn't too surprising to me, that people went there and hunted them for food."

 But Williams says he's dismayed by this latest discovery about the demise of the dodo, a flightless bird labelled — some say unfairly — as clumsy and dull-witted.

 "Shock and sadness, really," says Williams. "This animal was extinct 60 years after it was discovered. In the blink of an eye, it was gone." ||||| Image copyright University of Warwick Image caption A dodo model on display in Oxford - the actual dodo remains are usually kept under lock and key

 For a bird that has been extinct for more than 350 years, you probably think there is not much left to learn about the dodo. But you would be wrong, thanks to the latest research at the University of Warwick.

 The specimen that the team based at WMG has been studying is a very famous dodo indeed. It belongs to the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and it is so precious it is kept under lock and key.

 From a scientific point of view it is interesting because what the museum has is a mummified foot and head. It is our most complete set of remains of a single dodo left in existence and the only dodo soft tissue to be found anywhere - and soft tissue can be used for DNA analysis.

 Image copyright University of Warwick Image caption These are the best preserved remains of the dodo anywhere in the world

 But it is also a literary dodo. This specimen fascinated Charles Dodgson (perhaps better known as Lewis Carroll) and also illustrator John Tenniel. Carroll would write the dodo into his book Alice in Wonderland and Tenniel would add his famous illustrations of the bird.

 Killed by humans

 Finally, of course, this dodo is also a symbol. A symbol of the terrible impact humanity can have on our environment. These large flightless birds lived happily on Mauritius until Dutch explorers arrived in 1598. Just over 150 years later they were extinct. Killed by humans, or more accurately by the rats and cats we brought with us that ate the young and the dodo eggs.

 Oh yes, it was not hungry sailors who did for the plump dodo, contrary to popular opinion. In fact, the dodo was not even that plump - that is a misconception based on observations of fat, captive specimens and poorly stuffed dead ones.

 There is a great article on the BBC website discussing the treatment of the science of the dodo after they were wiped out and it makes pretty grim reading. If nothing else it explains why our best dodo specimen is just a foot and a head.

 Image copyright University of Warwick Image caption The University of Warwick has used the latest technology to scan the mummified dodo remains

 A chance to put the Oxford dodo into the state-of-the-art scanners at WMG at Warwick University was not just an amazing opportunity, it was also a chance to right a historical scientific wrong - to treat the sad story of the demise of the dodo with a bit more respect this time around.

 Higher power

 Because the dodo is dead, the scanners the team was using could be cranked up to a higher power and better resolution than if they were being used on living tissue. The result is our most comprehensive look yet at this distant relative of the pigeon.

 Image copyright University of Warwick Image caption Bird brain

 First and most shocking discovery? We know what killed the Oxford dodo. Often assumed to be a captive specimen that probably died of ill treatment or disease rather than old age, it turns out the bird was actually shot in the back of the head and the neck. A number of lead shot pellets, typically used to hunt wildfowl during the 17th century, were found by the team.

 Next, it might even be possible to tell which country produced the shot that actually killed the Oxford dodo.

 The team also seems to be hinting at other discoveries yet to be announced. Perhaps finally after centuries of neglect, the dodo is getting the attention and respect it really deserves. ||||| Dodos went extinct more than 300 years ago, but scientists are only now opening up a cold case after learning that one of the birds — the prized dodo specimen that likely inspired author Lewis Carroll to create a dodo character in the 1865 book "Alice in Wonderland" — was brutally murdered.

 After recently loading the famous dodo into a micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scanner, researchers noticed that the scans showed weird fleck marks in the flightless bird's neck and the back of its head.

 A closer inspection revealed that those flecks were tiny lead pellets, meaning that someone shot the dodo from behind, killing the wildfowl, the researchers announced Friday (April 20). [In Photos: The Famous Flightless Dodo]

 The murderous finding came as a complete surprise, said Paul Smith, the director of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in England, where the dodo specimen — called the Oxford dodo — is on display. For years, curators thought that the specimen was the same bird that was brought to London in 1638, when the animal was still alive, Smith said. This famous dodo was a curiosity show, and people could pay to see and feed it.

 A digital image created by the micro-CT scan of the famous Oxford dodo. Credit: WMG, University of Warwick

 It was thought that the curiosity-show dodo died and the remains of its body was later acquired by John Tradescant the Elder, whose family provided the founding collection for the University of Oxford museums. But the great performing dodo was never shot (at least that we know of), which raises the question: Where did the Oxford dodo come from if it's not the same one that performed in the London curiosity show so many years ago?

 "There is now a mystery regarding how the specimen came to be in Tradescant's collection," Smith told Live Science. The even greater mystery is, "Who killed the dodo?" Smith said.

 Dodos (Raphus cucullatus) were native to Mauritius, an island east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Europeans first took notice of the bird when Dutch explorers found the animals in 1598. But after decades of hungry sailors eating the birds, habitat loss and invasive rats, cats, dogs and pigs eating their eggs, dodos went extinct on their native island in 1662.

 The Oxford dodo is the only specimen in the world that still contains skin and other soft tissues with extractable DNA. In a 2002 study published in the journal Science, researchers examined this dodo's DNA and found that the bird is, indeed, a giant flightless pigeon whose closest living relative is the Nicobar pigeon.

 Researchers decided to study the Oxford dodo specimen again so they could get a better idea of how dodos fed and what they ate, Smith said. So, Oxford researchers coordinated with scientists at the University of Warwick's Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) in England, where the bird was micro-CT scanned.

 The white dots on this digital image of the dodo's skull shows the location of the deadly lead pellets. Credit: WMG, University of Warwick

 Curiously, the lead shot didn't penetrate the dodo's thick skull, the scans revealed. But these shots still killed the bird, the researchers said.

 "This is a flightless bird, so obviously, somebody snuck up behind the poor thing and just shot it in the head," said Mark Williams, leader of the Product Evaluation Technologies and Metrology research groups at WMG, University of Warwick, who is studying the Oxford dodo.

 Now that the cold case is open, the researchers plan to analyze the lead shot to see where it was mined.

 "At the moment, we don't know where the bird was actually shot," Williams told Live Science. "Was it shot in the U.K.? More likely, was it shot in the Mauritius and then transferred to the U.K.? Was it shot for food on a ship? We really don't know."

 Original article on Live Science. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Scientists used the latest forensic scanning technology to look inside the world's most famous dodo specimen in the hope of learning more about the anatomy of the bird that went extinct on Mauritius 350 years ago. "In our wildest dreams we never expected to find what we did," says University of Warwick researcher Mark Williams. They uncovered what the CBC labels a "dodo whodunit." Though scientists had assumed the dodo kept at Oxford University Museum of Natural History died of natural causes, inside its mummified skull were 20 to 30 "metallic high-density particles" that left no doubt how the male bird met its end: "He was shot in the back of the head with a shotgun," Williams says, adding "we could be looking at the first examples of lead shots ever used to hunt game birds." Now begins the search for the culprit: Museum director Paul Smith says a chemical analysis of the lead pellets will hopefully reveal "what country the shot was made in so we could then determine who killed the dodo." The Oxford specimen—the most complete dodo to be found and the only one to contain soft tissue and viable DNA—was previously thought to be from a dodo displayed in London in 1638 before its natural death, per the Telegraph. "Was it shot in the UK? More likely, was it shot in the Mauritius and then transferred to the UK? Was it shot for food on a ship?" Williams wonders, per Live Science. The dodo was later acquired by King Charles II's gardener and passed to Oxford, where it is said to have inspired Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll, reports the BBC. (Dodos shed their feathers.)


Article:
REPORTING LIVE FROM KENDALL, I'M JOHN TURCHIN, LOCAL10 NEWS COVERAGES. Calvin: OUT. Reporter: A WORD THAT A PEMBROKE PINES POLICE OFFICER WAS ALLEGEDLY DENIED SERVICE AT AN ARBY'S RESTAURANT BECAUSE SHE'S A COP. BUT THE MANAGER ON DUTY SAYS THIS IS ALL ONE BIG MISUNDERSTANDING. OUR LOCAL10 NEWS REPORTER TERRELL FORNEY JOINING US LIVE NOW WITH THE STORY. TERRELL. Terrell: CALVIN, THAT MANAGER OPENING UP TO US OFF CAMERA JUST ABOUT AS HER WAS ABOUT TO HEAD INTO WORK ON PINES BOULEVARD NEAR FLAMINGO ROAD. HE SAYS IT WAS A BADDIE ATTEMPT AT HUMOR. HE MAY STILL HAVE HIS JOB TONIGHT BUT THE CONTROVERSY IS CERTAINLY GROWING AROUND WHAT HAPPENED. DON'T EAT HERE. THEY HATE COPS TRENCH THE BOYCOTT OF A POPULAR FAST FOOD CHAIN HAS ALREADY STARTED AT THIS PEMBROKE PINES ARBY'S. IT'S NOT SOMETHING TO MAKE LIGHT OF AND MAKE A JOKE ABOUT. I DON'T FIND THINGS LIKE THAT VERY FUNNY. I HOPE THE REST OF THE NATION DOESN'T, EITHER. Terrell: HE IS WIVES OF LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ARE TALKING ABOUT THE MONDAY NIGHT INCIDENT INVOLVING PINES POLICE SERGEANT JENNIFER MARTIN WHO ORDERED A MEAL IN THE RESTAURANT'S DRIVE-THROUGH. IN YOU A DETAIL POLICE REPORT SHE SAID A SHIFT MANAGER STEPPED IN FOR AN EMPLOYEE AND SAID "HE DOESN'T WANT TO SERVE YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE A POLICE OFFICER." SOMEBODY TURNED A LOVER AWAY. DID YOU HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT IS THAT. IN NO, NOT REALLY. I'M NOTE AT LIBERTY TO SAY EVEN IF I WAS. IT'S UPSETTING TO SEE THIS IS HAPPENING ACROSS THE NATION AND PEOPLE ARE ANG SO NASTY AND DISRESPECTFUL TO PEOPLE WHO GO OUT AND PROTECT EVERYONE'S LIVES EVERY DAY. Terrell: REACTION POURING IN ON SOCIAL MEDIA. FACEBOOK COMMENTS WITH ONE SAYING "GOODBYE ARBY'S. ANOTHER ONE WRITING, I DON'T THINK I WILL EVER EAT THERE AGAIN. THEN THIS TWEET, SO DISAPPOINTED IN ARBY'S. THERE IS NO POSITIVE WAY TO SPIN THIS STORY. THE ENTIRE SOUTH FLORIDA LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITY IS NOT LETTING THIS ONE SLIDE. I HOPE IT'S AN ISOLATED INCIDENT. WE'RE GOING TO WATCH VERY CAREFULLY HOW ARBY'S LEADERSHIP DEALS WITH THAT. IF THEY DON'T DEAL WITH IT APPROPRIATELY WE'RE GOING THE MAKE SURE WE BOYCOTT THAT RESTAURANT ACROSS AMERICA. Terrell: AND PBA NOW WANTS A PUBLIC APOLOGY TO EVERY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER INSTEAD OF THE ONE GIVEN TO JUST THE CHIEF OF THE PEMBROKE PINES POLICE DEPARTMENT WHO GOT ONE TODAY FROM THE CEO OF ARBY'S. WE'RE TOLD THAT THE CHIEF WAS VERY APPRECIATIVE AND HE ACCEPTED THAT APOLOGY, BUT WHEN WE AT LOCAL10 REACHED OUT TO ARBY'S VIA EMAIL AND PHONE CALLS, IT WAS RADIO SILENT. WE'RE STILL WAITING ON OUR PHONE

 PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. -

 The chief of police in Pembroke Pines has received an apology after one of his officers was denied service at a fast-food restaurant in the city.

 Pembroke Pines police spokeswoman Amanda Conwell said a uniformed officer was denied service Tuesday night at the Arby's on Pines Boulevard. The reason, Conwell said, was because the customer was a police officer.

 "I am offended and appalled that an individual within our community would treat a police officer in such a manner," Police Chief Dan Giustino said in a news release. "It is unacceptable, and I will be contacting the Arby's CEO to demand an apology."

 Conwell said Giustino called the restaurant's corporate office and spoke to Arby's executives, who apologized on behalf of their organization. She said Arby's CEO Paul Brown and senior vice president of operations Scott Boatwright assured Giustino that the employee's behavior was "unacceptable and not representative of the company's values."

 "Chief Giustino was appreciative and accepted their apology and now considers this matter closed," Conwell said.

 According to an offense report filled out by the officer, identified as Sgt. Jennifer Martin, the officer ordered her food in the drive-through of the restaurant and drove to the window to pay.

 READ: Arby's incident report

 Martin claims that the clerk, Kenneth Davenport, took her credit card. She said the restaurant's manager, Angel Mirabal, then approached the window and said, "He doesn't want to serve you because you are a police officer."

 The officer said she told Mirabal that she was uncomfortable and "wasn't certain I wanted to dine at the restaurant."

 According to the report, Mirabal assured Martin that everything was OK, handed her the food and laughed while telling her that Davenport was allowed to refuse her service.

 Martin said that she went inside the restaurant, and Mirabal provided her with a refund and his contact information. She said Davenport refused to give her his contact information.

 Conwell said the incident happened on the same evening that a woman and her daughter visited the Pembroke Pines Police Department to drop off cookies and a "thank you" card.

 "We are very proud of the partnerships we have built within our city, and for an incident like this to have happened is very disappointing for everyone," Giustino said.

 Local 10 News reporter Terrell Forney asked an employee at the restaurant if she had heard about the incident.

 "No, I didn't," the employee said. "I'm not really at liberty to say even if I was."

 Despite employees claiming to be unaware of the incident, a group of police officers' wives held a protest outside of the restaurant Wednesday.

 "It's upsetting to see that this is happening across the nation and people are acting so nasty and disrespectful to people (who) go out and protect everyone's lives every day," protester Adina Alsina told Local 10.

 Broward County Police Benevolent Association President Jeff Marano said that the police union is calling for a national boycott of the fast-food chain. He said that Arby's should not only apologize to the Pembroke Pines Police Department, but to every police officer.

 "This behavior is unacceptable," Marano said. "The disdain and lack of respect for law enforcement, as well as the fatal attacks on the men and women in uniform in America, is due to a lack of leadership -- starting with our commander-in-chief, President Barack Obama."

 However, Davenport's grandfather said his grandson was just making a joke to the officer. Thomas McCutcheon said he raised his grandson "to be honest and respectful of everybody."

 McCutcheon said Davenport's words were "taken out of context and blown into something much bigger than what it should be."

 According to the police union, there have been 83 deaths of law enforcement officers while in the line of duty so far this year in the U.S.

 The police union has asked that the employee who refused to serve the officer be fired.

 "Children will be children," McCutcheon said. "Nineteen years old don't make you grown."

 Follow Terrell Forney on Twitter@TVTerrell

 Follow Local 10 News on Twitter@WPLGLocal10 ||||| PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. (WSVN) -- Arby's restaurants in Broward and Miami-Dade counties are trying to settle a beef with police by offering all uniformed cops free meals in South Florida, Friday.

 So far, no officers are taking them up on the deal at the Pembroke Pines shop, at at 11755 Pines Blvd., where this all began when a pair of employees at first refused to serve a Pembroke Pines Police sergeant. Meanwhile, the CEO of Arby's is meeting with the presidents of the Miami-Dade and Broward Police Benevolent Associations at the Pembroke Pines restaurant in question.

 Speaking outside the shop, Miami-Dade PBA president John Rivera said, "We appreciate his prompt attention to this. We still want to have a conversation about this and make sure this is something that is not gonna happen again at Arby's. Look, at the end of the day, police officers are under attack in America. This is that little straw that broke the camel's back."

 The Arby's manager who allegedly denied food to a Pembroke Pines Police officer has been fired by the company while the clerk involved was suspended. Thomas McCutcheon, the grandfather of Kenneth Davenport, the clerk who was suspended Thursday, spoke about his future with the fast food restaurant. "He came home somewhat depressed, but somewhat has an outlook that he might return to Arby's at a later date," he said.

 McCutcheon said he is worried that the incident will affect his grandson's chance of finding another job in the future. "The management wrote down all that he had to say, and decided that they will make a decision later on if they will permanently terminate him or if he's just suspended," said McCutcheon. "All I want to do is clear his name and to get an apology in paper that he did not cause this problem."

 The incident triggered an outpouring of support from its competitors, Thursday morning. McDonald's partnered with Magic 102.7 FM to deliver bag after bag of pancakes and McMuffins to the department. "We have a surprise to you guys," said a woman as she delivered the food to the Pembroke Pines PD.

 Whole Foods also put out a spread for law enforcers, and local residents brought boxes of Dunkin' Donuts and coffee. "Thank you, thank you very much," said a Pembroke Pines Police officer. "We appreciate the outpouring of support that we've received from the community throughout this whole ordeal, and we're just very, very appreciative and humbled by it."

 Tuesday night, a clerk at the Arby's located reportedly didn't want to serve Pembroke Pines Police Sgt. Jennifer Martin at the drive-thru. When she finally received her order, she didn't feel comfortable eating it, so she left it behind.

 Davenport said it was a big misunderstanding. When asked if he would ever refuse to serve food to a police officer who paid for it, he replied, "For what? She hungry, I'm gonna give her some food."

 Arby's CEO Paul Brown has called to apologize to the department, and the police department said the matter is closed. On Thursday, Brown released a statement announcing the company would offer a free combo meal to local police officers in uniform on Friday at any of their restaurants in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. ||||| Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter

 PEMBROKE PINES (CBSMiami) – Is it an example of a diminished respect for police or a poor attempt at humor?

 That’s the question after a Pembroke Pines Police Officer alleged that an Arby’s employee refused to serve her because she’s a cop.

 Kenny Davenport said he was working when Pembroke Pines Police Sergeant Jennifer Martin pulled up to the drive thru.

 Davenport said that he couldn’t serve Martin, but not because she’s a police officer. He said it was because he was so busy with other customers that he had to ask his manager for help. Davenport said that’s when his manager made the unfortunate joke to Martin about not being able to take her order.

 “We don’t hate cops,” Davenport said. “We don’t hate anybody. We’re just trying to get people out of the drive thru.”

 According to a police report on the incident, the police officer was told by the manager, “(Davenport) doesn’t want to serve you because you are a police officer.”

 After that, the officer said she wasn’t certain she wanted to dine at the restaurant but the manager assured her everything was okay and handed the officer the food, according to the report.

 The manager allegedly laughed about it and said the clerk was allowed to refuse to serve the officer.

 That’s when the officer said she was unsure about the condition of her food, decided not to eat there and asked for a refund, the report states.

 A South Florida police union is calling for a national boycott of Arby’s after police say an officer was denied service.

 “I am offended and appalled that an individual within our community would treat a police officer in such a manner. It is unacceptable,” stated PPPD Chief Dan Giustino.

 The incident prompted wives of officers to stage a protest at the restaurant.

 “I wanna cry. My husband spent 25 years. My son is an officer,” said protester Wendy Sorrell.

 In reaction to the incident, the Dade County Police Benevolent Association is calling for the employees involved to be fired.

 “It is beyond comprehension and deeply troubling that a business would deny service to a law enforcement officer just for being a law enforcement officer. In this case, after the clerk refused to serve the officer, the manager came up to the window laughing and said that the clerk had the right to refuse service to the officer. This is yet another example of the hostile treatment of our brave men and women simply because they wear a badge. It is unacceptable and warrants much more than an apology. We support our brothers and sisters who wear the badge in Broward County and across the United States. Until corrective action is taken and the employees involved in this incident are terminated, we are calling for a national boycott of Arby’s,” said Florida and Dade County PBA president John Rivera.

 The incident is considered to be isolated.

 “We are very proud of the partnerships we have built within our city, and for an incident like this to have happened is very disappointing for everyone,” said Chief Giustino.

 Police said Arby’s responded to the incident after Chief Giustino contacted the corporation.

 Arby’s Chief Executive Officer Paul Brown and Senior Vice President of Operations Scott Boatwright contacted Chief Giustino to apologize on behalf of the organization. Both men assured the chief, “the employee’s behavior was unacceptable and not representative of the company’s values,” according to police.

 The company issued a statement on the matter saying, “We take this isolated matter very seriously as we respect and support police officers in our local communities. As soon as the issue was brought to our attention, our CEO spoke with the Police Chief who expressed his gratitude for our quick action and indicates the case is closed. We will be following up with our team members to be sure that our policy of inclusion is understood and adhered to.”

 However, Davenport’s grandfather believes the episode is being blown out of proportion. He said that he and his grandson, whom he raised, have respect for the police. He believes the whole thing is centered on a dumb joke gone awry.

 “Officers lives matter,” he said. “Everybody’s life matters. Somebody made a joke and she just didn’t take it the right way. She didn’t think they were joking. She thought it was a serious matter. Now their job as an officer is very serious and I appreciate all that they do.”

 Kenny Davenport maintains that neither he nor anyone else disrespected Sergeant Martin but he sees little use in explaining himself.

 “There’s no point in talking,” he said. “I’m 19. She’s an officer and I’m colored.” |||||Summary:

– The incident that caused a Florida police union to call for a boycott of Arby's was just a manager's bad joke, says the now-suspended employee involved—but he doesn't expect anybody to believe him because he's a black teenager and it's his word against that of a police officer. Kenny Davenport tells CBS Miami that he told Pembroke Pines Police Sgt. Jennifer Martin that he couldn't serve her not because she was a cop, but because the drive-thru was so busy he had to ask his manager for help. The 19-year-old says the manager then made the bad joke about Davenport not wanting to serve Martin because she was a police officer. When the manager eventually brought the officer some food, she decided she didn't want to eat it. Davenport says he didn't disrespect Martin and he would never refuse to serve an officer. "She hungry, I'm gonna give her some food," he says. The manager involved has been fired and the police department says it has received an apology from the CEO of Arby's and now considers the matter closed, reports Local 10 News. Arby's says all police officers in uniform in Miami-Dade and Broward counties can have a free meal today, reports WSVN, but Pembroke Pines officers may still be dealing with yesterday's leftovers: After the Arby's incident made the news, officers were provided with free meals from McDonald's and Whole Foods, as well as boxes of doughnuts donated by the public.


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– Gina Haspel won the endorsement of the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday, with the panel voting 10-5 to advance her nomination as CIA director to the full Senate. Haspel, who would be the first woman to lead the Central Intelligence Agency and the second person to lead the agency after being undercover her entire career, was a controversial pick by President Trump thanks to her role in the CIA's controversial post-9/11 "enhanced" interrogation program, per ABC News. But at least five Democrats in the Senate have said they will back her, "all but assuring" she'll be confirmed, per the Wall Street Journal. Republican Senate leaders want to hold the vote this week, but it could get pushed to next week.

WASHINGTON—The Senate Intelligence Committee recommended Gina Haspel as the next Central Intelligence Agency director, clearing the path for her confirmation by the full chamber.

 The committee on Wednesday voted 10-5 to advance Ms. Haspel’s nomination to be the first woman to lead the agency, forwarding it to the full Senate. Republican leaders in the Senate are hoping to confirm her this week, though the vote could slip into next week. She has the support of at least six Democrats, all but assuring her confirmation.

 ... ||||| Trump’s pick to be the next CIA director, Gina Haspel, won approval from the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday morning, receiving a "favorable recommendation" in a 10-5 vote.

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

 The committee voted behind closed doors Wednesday morning.

 The positive review sets her up for a final vote before the full Senate in the coming days. She is all but assured to win Senate confirmation and become the first woman to lead the Central Intelligence Agency.

 Haspel currently has the support of the majority of Republicans and endorsements from five Democrats.

 The committee's chairman gave her a positive public endorsement after the vote.

 “Gina Haspel is the most qualified person the President could choose to lead the CIA and the most prepared nominee in the 70 year history of the Agency,” Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., said in a statement. “She has acted morally, ethically, and legally, over a distinguished 30-year career and is the right person to lead the Agency into an uncertain and challenging future. I’m pleased to see the Committee favorably report her nomination to the full Senate, and I look forward to her swift confirmation.”

 Two of the committee's seven Democrats are supporting Haspel, including Virginia's Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the panel.

 The favorable recommendation comes after Haspel told Congress, in a letter sent to Warner on Monday, that she now feels the spy agency should not have employed the harsh interrogations program used on al Qaeda detainees that included waterboarding.

 In the letter, Haspel also acknowledged that it was "a mistake" for the CIA not to have briefed Congress about the program at its inception.

 "With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the CIA should have undertaken," she wrote in the letter to Warner.

 "While I won't condemn those that made these hard calls, and I have noted the valuable intelligence collected, the program ultimately did damage to our officers and our standing in the world," Haspel continued.

 She had not expressed those feelings publicly, during her contentious confirmation hearing last week. Haspel told the committee that she would not resurrect the agency's controversial rendition, detainee, and interrogation program if she became CIA director, but went no further.

 "I don't believe that torture works," she told the committee, but stopped short of saying whether the interrogation program was "immoral" or should have been carried out.

 After the vote on Wednesday, many Democrats expressed concern about Haspel's nomination.

 "Gina Haspel and the CIA have committed one of the most blatant abuses of power in recent history, aided and abetted by a total failure of Congressional oversight," Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oreg., said in a statement Wednesday. "I have very grave concerns about Ms. Haspel and believe her background makes her unsuitable to be CIA director."

 Currently serving as the agency's deputy director, Haspel is well-regarded within the agency. She joined the CIA in 1985 and has held a series of high-ranking positions at the intelligence agency throughout her lengthy career, including senior leadership positions within the agency's National Clandestine Service, which oversees the agency's spy operations overseas and its most covert operations programs.

 At the request of Congress, the CIA has declassified documents shedding light on Haspel's career in covert operations, particularly in her reported role at the agency's "black site" in Thailand.

 The committee's report on the CIA's rendition program said senior al Qaeda operatives Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri were detained at that location.

 The report said that while at the black site in Thailand in 2002, Zubaydah was subjected to the controversial practice of waterboarding 83 times and to other "stress" techniques such as being slammed against walls, deprived of sleep and placed in a coffin-sized box for up to 226 hours.

 Two Republicans, Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and John McCain of Arizona, are opposed to Haspel's nomination. McCain is not expected to be in Washington for Haspel's confirmation vote.

 In March, McCain noted that Haspel's CIA career "has intersected with the program of so-called 'enhanced interrogation techniques' on a number of occasions."

 "The torture of detainees in U.S. custody during the last decade was one of the darkest chapters in American history," McCain said in a statement. "Ms. Haspel needs to explain the nature and extent of her involvement in the CIA's interrogation program during the confirmation process."

 Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, McCain's Arizona colleague, has said he's undecided. |||||


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– Fox News is basking in this year's frigid winter because it apparently disproves global warming. "Yeah, that global warning thing is really kicking into high gear, isn't it?" sniggered Foxman Steve Doocy recently as he reported record lows across the nation. Dufus! "The ability to distinguish trends from complex random events is one of the traits that separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom," snorts the Guardian, adding that a brief weather pattern has nothing to do with a climate trend. "The cold snap doesn't disprove global warming at all —it's just a blip in the long-term heating trend," a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research tells AP. With global warming, he added, "we'll still have record cold temperatures. We'll just have fewer of them." In fact, 2009 ranks as one of the ten warmest years since 1880. So enjoy the cold while you can.

It's as predictable a feature of the British winter as log fires and roasting chestnuts: a national outpouring of idiocy every time some snow falls.

 Here's what Martyn Brown says in today's Express:

 As one of the worst winters in 100 years grips the country, climate experts are still trying to claim the world is growing warmer.

 There's a clue as to where he might have gone wrong in that sentence: "country" has a slightly different meaning to "world". Buried at the bottom of the same article is the admission that " ... other areas including Alaska, Canada and the Mediterranean were warmer than usual." But that didn't stop Brown from using the occasion to note that "critics of the global warming lobby said the public were no longer prepared to be conned into believing that man-made emissions were adding to the problem."

 The ability to distinguish trends from complex random events is one of the traits that separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom. It is also the basis of all science; detecting patterns, distinguishing between signal and noise, and the means by which the laws of physics, chemistry and biology are determined. Now we are being asked to commit ourselves to the wilful stupidity of extrapolating a long-term trend from a single event.

 The Express would have us return to the days in which the future course of human affairs could be predicted by solar eclipses and the appearance of comets. It has clearly made a calculated decision in recent months that climate scepticism plays to its readership - and therefore shifts papers - just as the daily drip-feed of conspiracy theories about Princess Diana and Madeleine McCann has done in the past.

 Brown is by no means alone in his idiocy. On Sunday, the Telegraph and the Mail published almost identical articles; one by Christopher Booker, the other by his long-term collaborator, Richard North. Both claimed that the Met Office had predicted a mild winter, and that it had made this prediction because it has been "hijacked" by a group of fanatics - led first by its former chief executive Sir John Houghton, now by the current boss Robert Napier - who stand accused of seeking to to corrupt forecasts to make them conform to their theories on climate change.

 If this story were true, it would be huge: the UK's official weather forecasting service is deliberately changing its forecasts to make them fit a political agenda. It would also be fantastically stupid, as forecasts can always be checked against delivery. Booker and North offer no evidence to support this humongous conspiracy theory, just a load of unrelated facts cobbled together in the usual fashion.

 Even their premise – that the Met Office "confidently predicted a warmer than average winter for Britain" - is wrong. Here's what it actually said:

 Early indications are that it's looking like temperatures will be near or above average. But there's still a one in seven chance of a cold winter – with temperatures below average.

 No confidence there, no certainty, and no single prediction. But Booker and North use the presumed contrast between the forecast (which was, of course, for the whole winter) and the current event to imply not only that climate change is a giant conspiracy coordinated by the Met Office, but that long-term temperatures are not rising. North suggests that the regional cold snap derails the global temperature prediction for the whole of 2010.

 Echoing each other's fantasies, extracting sweeping conclusions from single events, these two are like the Old Man and Ross in Macbeth.

 John Redwood, the Tory MP for Wokingham, was at it in the Commons yesterday, too, when putting a question to Ed Miliband, after the secretary of state for climate change and energy had made a statement about the Copenhagen climate change conference.

 Redwood: Why are we in the northern hemisphere having such a very cold winter this year? Which climate model predicted that? Miliband: I can hardly believe that question, Mr Deputy Speaker. The weather fluctuates, as anyone knows, and the notion that a cold spell in Britain disproves the science of climate change is something that I believe not even the Right Hon. Gentleman believes.

 Redwood was evidently not happy with the "weather fluctuates" response and returned to the issue this morning on his blog:

 I was expecting some answer that told me you can have severe winters within a pattern of global warming, with reference to some climate change model analysis which allowed for adverse variations within the assumed pattern of warming. How wrong I was. Instead Mr M threw his toys out of the pram, declined to offer a civil answer to a civil question, and told me the science of global warming was settled! Some other MP from a sedentary position offered the profound advice that I needed to understand climate was different from weather.

 It's a pity really that he didn't listen to the profoundly obvious advice being offered by the MP in the sedentary position, but that would have undermined his climate scepticism that oh-so-conveniently chimes with his free-market, anti-EU, rightwing views. But isn't that the story with so much of the climate scepticism on offer these days? It seems to be far less about genuine scientific scepticism and more about confirmation bias of a politicised world view.

 One wonders, too, how Australia's legion of climate sceptics are currently spinning today's news from the country's Bureau of Meteorology which states that the past 10 years were officially the hottest decade since records began.

 Yes, it is colder than usual in some parts of the northern hemisphere, and warmer than usual in others. Alaska and northern Canada are 5-10C warmer than the average for this time of year, so are North Africa and the Mediterranean. The cold and the warmth could be related: the contrasting temperatures appear to be connected to blocks of high pressure preventing air flow between the land and the sea.

 This is called weather, and, believe it or not, it is not always predictable and it changes quite often. It is not the same as climate, and single events are not the same as trends. Is this really so hard to understand? ||||| Beijing had its coldest morning in almost 40 years and its biggest snowfall since 1951. Britain is suffering through its longest cold snap since 1981. And freezing weather is gripping the Deep South, including Florida's orange groves and beaches.

 Soldiers return to duty at the tomb of unknown soldier during heavy snow falls in Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010. Poland has recently seen a bout of winter weather with temperatures as... (Associated Press)

 Icicles hang from the branches of a Palm tree Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010, in Lakeland, Fla. Farmers spray their crops to help protect them against the cold temperatures. Temperatures in the area dipped... (Associated Press)

 Monkeys cuddle together to warm themselves during a cold and foggy morning at the Dhaka zoo, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010. Six cold wave related deaths have been reported in the country... (Associated Press)

 Icicles cling to oranges Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2010, in Lakeland, Fla. Farmers spray their crops to help protect them against the cold temperatures. Temperatures in the area dipped into the mid-20's, and... (Associated Press)

 In this image provided by the U.K. Ministry of Defence, Shane Wilkinson drives his team of Siberian Huskies on an early morning training run on a snowy road near in Wilton, southern England Wednesday... (Associated Press)

 Whatever happened to global warming?

 Such weather doesn't seem to fit with warnings from scientists that the Earth is warming because of greenhouse gases. But experts say the cold snap doesn't disprove global warming at all _ it's just a blip in the long-term heating trend.

 "It's part of natural variability," said Gerald Meehl, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. With global warming, he said, "we'll still have record cold temperatures. We'll just have fewer of them."

 Deke Arndt of the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., noted that 2009 will rank among the 10 warmest years for Earth since 1880.

 Scientists say man-made climate change does have the potential to cause more frequent and more severe weather extremes, such as heat waves, storms, floods, droughts and even cold spells. But experts interviewed by The Associated Press did not connect the current frigid blast to climate change.

 So what is going on?

 "We basically have seen just a big outbreak of Arctic air" over populated areas of the Northern Hemisphere, Arndt said. "The Arctic air has really turned itself loose on us."

 In the atmosphere, large rivers of air travel roughly west to east around the globe between the Arctic and the tropics. This air flow acts like a fence to keep Arctic air confined.

 But recently, this air flow has become bent into a pronounced zigzag pattern, meandering north and south. If you live in a place where it brings air up from the south, you get warm weather. In fact, record highs were reported this week in Washington state and Alaska.

 But in the eastern United States, like some other unlucky parts of the globe, Arctic air is swooping down from the north. And that's how you get a temperature of 3 degrees in Beijing, a reading of minus-42 in mainland Norway, and 18 inches of snow in parts of Britain, where a member of Parliament who said the snow "clearly indicates a cooling trend" was jeered by colleagues.

 The zigzag pattern arises naturally from time to time, but it is not clear why it's so strong right now, said Michelle L'Heureux, a meteorologist at the Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The center says the pattern should begin to weaken in a week or two.

 Jeff Masters, director of meteorology for Weather Underground, a forecasting service, said he expects more typical winter weather across North America early next week.

 That will be welcome news in the South, where farmers have been trying to salvage millions of dollars' worth of strawberries and other crops.

 On Miami Beach, tourists bundled up in woolen winter coats and hooded sweatshirts Wednesday beneath a clear blue sky. Some brazenly let the water wash over their feet and a few even lay out in bikinis and swimming trunks. A brisk wind blew and temperatures hovered in the 50s.

 "Last year we were swimming every day," said Olivia Ruedinger of Hamburg, Germany. "I miss that."

 __

 Raphael Satter in London, Cara Anna in Beijing, and Christine Armario in Miami contributed to this report. |||||


– A Delaware family that became seriously ill in the US Virgin Islands was poisoned by an odorless and highly toxic pesticide that should never have been used indoors, according to Environmental Protection Agency investigators. Methyl bromide was used to fumigate a unit at the Sirenusa resort on St. John days before the family was hospitalized on March 20. It was also "used in other apartments around the same time that it was applied here, and also in different apartments in the complex within the past year," an EPA official tells NBC News. Weeks after they became ill, two teenage boys are still in critical condition after being airlifted to a hospital on the US mainland; their father is in stable condition. "We have confirmed that the problem is indeed methyl bromide," which was banned from indoor use in the US—including the Virgin Islands—decades ago, an EPA official tells the AP, describing the gas as a "potent neurotoxin" that "can cause convulsions, coma, cognitive deficits, inflammation of the lungs." The Justice Department has begun an investigation and Terminix, the pest control company involved, says it is cooperating, CNN reports. "Many questions remain why an odorless pesticide of this level of toxicity could be manufactured, distributed, and applied in a residential area resulting in this family's injuries," the family's lawyer said in a statement.

Expand this summary.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An odorless pesticide sprayed at a Caribbean resort has left three members of a Delaware family hospitalized for weeks after they became seriously ill during their Virgin Islands vacation, and federal officials said Tuesday that investigators found the toxic chemical has been used at the resort several times before.

 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials said the agency is looking into the use of the pesticide methyl bromide at the Sirenusa Condominium Resort in Cruz Bay, St. John. The agency is contacting people, including resort employees, to determine how many others might have been exposed to the pesticide, which is prohibited in residential settings. The Justice Department also is investigating the company that may be responsible.

 The Esmond family of Wilmington, Delaware, was staying at the resort when they began having seizures March 20.

 A family spokesman said Steve Esmond, his wife, Theresa Devine, and their two teenage sons were airlifted to hospitals on the U.S. mainland. The sons are in critical condition. Esmond has regained consciousness, but his sons have remained in a coma weeks after the exposure, family spokesman James Maron told The News Journal of Wilmington. Devine was treated and released.

 "They are confident in their medical professionals and are hopeful for a full recovery," Maron said in a written statement Tuesday. "The Esmond family thanks everyone for their support and concern for their recovery from this unthinkable tragedy of pesticide poisoning."

 Esmond is head of a private middle school in Wilmington, and Devine is a dentist.

 Use of the pesticide was confirmed the day after the family became ill, which has helped inform doctors on how to treat the family, said Judith Enck, the EPA's regional administrator in New York City, which has jurisdiction over the U.S. Virgin Islands.

 "We have confirmed that the problem is indeed methyl bromide," she said. "Methyl bromide is a potent neurotoxin. It's a gas. It can cause convulsions, coma, cognitive deficits, inflammation of the lungs. A lot depends on how much a person is exposed to and for what period of time."

 The EPA banned the chemical for residential use in 1984 primarily for health concerns. That ban extends to U.S. territories, including the Virgin Islands, Enck said.

 So far the investigation has revealed a certified applicator working for Memphis, Tennessee-based Terminix applied the methyl bromide in the complex while targeting an indoor beetle that consumes wood, Enck said. The company is now under a criminal investigation led by the U.S. Justice Department.

 Terminix issued a statement saying the safety of its customers and employees is a top priority.

 "First and foremost, the family is in our thoughts and prayers," spokesman Michael Wassmer said. "We're cooperating with authorities in their investigation, and we're conducting our own thorough internal investigation."

 Investigators also learned methyl bromide has been used in the complex before, the EPA said, but it's not clear why the ban was ignored.

 "Certified pesticide applicators know this is not approved for indoor residential use," Enck said. "The health effects are quite serious."

 Sea Glass Vacations LLC, which rents units at Sirenusa, said in a statement that it has terminated its contract with Terminix and the home under investigation is unoccupied. The rental company earlier said the unit below the Esmond family's dwelling was treated for pests by Terminix.

 "We are sending our thoughts and prayers to the family impacted by this tragic incident," the company said. "We remain committed to full cooperation with all local and federal authorities."

 The EPA is continuing to test and monitor the property and is continuing to investigate the details of the family's exposure, Enck said, "to make sure it never happens again anywhere."

 ___

 Associated Press writer Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed to this report. ||||| Story highlights Chemical damages ozone and is being phased out, though it's used in strawberry fields, EPA says

 A Delaware family becomes ill at a resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands

 Preliminary EPA results find methyl bromide was present in the unit where they stayed

 (CNN) A Delaware father is in stable condition and improving as his two boys remain in critical condition after they became sick -- perhaps from pesticide exposure, federal officials say -- during a trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands.

 Steve Esmond, his teenage sons and the teens' mother fell ill more than two weeks ago in St. John, where they were renting a villa at the Sirenusa resort.

 The family has confidence in their medical professionals and is hopeful for a full recovery, according to a statement released Monday from the family's attorney, James Maron.

 The teens' mother, Theresa Devine, was treated at a hospital and released, and is in occupational therapy, Maron said.

 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Friday that the presence of a pesticide at the rented villa in St. John may have caused the illnesses, which were reported to the EPA on March 20.

 Paramedics were called to the villa, which the family was renting.

 JUST WATCHED Banned pesticide allegedly sickens family at resort Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Banned pesticide allegedly sickens family at resort 01:37 PLAY VIDEO

 Esmond was found unconscious; the boys and their mother were having seizures, Maron said. The lawyer did not say who called the paramedics.

 Elias Rodriguez, an EPA spokesman, said the agency's preliminary test results "do show that there was a presence of methyl bromide in the unit where the family was staying."

 Exposure to methyl bromide can result in serious health effects, including central nervous system and respiratory system damage, according to the EPA.

 The use of the pesticide is restricted in the United States because of its acute toxicity. It's not allowed to be used indoors. Only certified professionals are permitted to use it in certain agricultural settings.

 In strawberry fields

 For example, the pesticide is injected into the soil of some U.S. strawberry fields, said Judith Enck, an EPA regional administrator.

 "We trust that the strawberry producers are making sure that there's not excess pesticide residue on strawberries," Enck said. "You definitely want to wash them really good.

 "This is a pesticide that's been around for a long time, and ironically because of its impact and damage to the ozone layer, it's being phased out because of the air impacts of this fumigant," Enck added.

 Field workers at a Connecticut nursery were poisoned by the chemical in 1990, according to the Journal of Industrial Medicine.

 In 2011, warehouse workers in California fell ill after exposed to grapes imported from Chile fumigated with methyl bromide, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

 Banned in many places

 Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, said many parts of the world banned the chemical, a neurotoxin. The agent is to be used only outdoors.

 The chemical is also odorless and colorless, Gupta said.

 JUST WATCHED What can you do to prevent pesticide poisoning? Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH What can you do to prevent pesticide poisoning? 02:13 PLAY VIDEO

 "It's not something that you would have any warning of," Gupta said.

 The chemical is often mixed with tear gas so people can be aware of its presence, he added.

 The EPA said it is working with local government agencies to investigate whether the family was made ill after a fumigation at the resort on March 18 and whether any environmental regulations or laws were violated.

 Enck, the EPA regional administrator, said paramedics were called early on March 20.

 Sea Glass Vacations, which acts as a rental agent for several units at Sirenusa, said the unit directly below the one where the family stayed was recently treated for pests, but that the family's unit was not treated.

 The company said it licensed an outside company, Terminix, for the pest control services.

 On Monday, it ended its contract with Terminix.

 In an email to CNN before the termination, a spokesman for Terminix wrote that the company is "committed to performing all work ... in a manner that is safe for our customers, employees, the public and the environment" and is "looking into this matter internally, and cooperating with authorities."

 The U.S. Department of Justice has initiated a criminal investigation.

 "Many questions remain why an odorless pesticide of this level of toxicity could be manufactured, distributed and applied in a residential area resulting in this family's injuries," Maron said.

 The attorney added: "The family is confident that the responsible parties will be brought to justice and held accountable." ||||| Play Facebook

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 The toxic chemical that sickened a Delaware family at a Virgin Islands resort last month had been used there other times over the past year, the Environmental Protection Agency said.

 The EPA was notified on March 20 that the family was hospitalized after a fumigation days earlier at Sirenusa Resort in Cruz Bay, St. John. The agency found that the apartment below where the family stayed had been fumigated with methyl bromide.

 An EPA spokeswoman said Thursday that the chemical was also used in other units in October 2014.

 Methyl bromide, an odorless pesticide and neurotoxin, was banned for indoor residential use in 1984 by the EPA, which also holds authority over the U.S. Virgin Islands.

 Initially, the EPA had said methyl bromide had been used in more than one apartment in March. But on Thursday, spokeswoman Mary Mears clarified that it was just one that month.

 Inhaling the chemical can "be fatal or cause serious acute illness or delayed lung or nervous system injury," according to the EPA.

 Stephen Esmond, his wife Theresa Devine, and their two teenage sons were hospitalized in Philadelphia after their exposure. Devine had been discharged as of Monday and Esmond is in stable condition — but the two boys are still in critical condition, a family spokesman told NBC News.

 Methyl bromide was used in a first-floor apartment. Esmond and his family were staying on the second floor of that unit, Enck said.

 Enck said the chemical was used by pest control company Terminix.

 Sea Glass Vacations LLC, the company that manages many of the rental units at Sirenusa, said it was unaware Terminix allegedly used the chemical, and it has cancelled all of its contracts with Terminix.

 The United States Department of Justice has also opened a criminal investigation into the case, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission report filed by ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Terminix.

 "We are sending our thoughts and prayers to the family impacted by this tragic incident, as well as those around them," Sea Glass Vacations said in a statement. "We remain committed to full cooperation with all local and federal authorities currently investigating this matter."

 The company said only one unit was fumigated by Terminix in the recent case. Sea Glass Vacations said Terminix may have used the chemical when fumigating four other units in October. Terminix has been providing pest control at the property since late 2013. Terminix did not respond to a request for comment.

 The EPA is investigating whether there have been any other reports of medical symptoms in the complex over the past year. The Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry is interviewing tourists who stayed in the apartments where methyl bromide was used and interviewing housekeeping staff, Enck said.

 The Department of Justice could bring criminal charges forward if the EPA investigation finds evidence of wrongdoing.

 "The first and top priority is protecting public health," Enck said. "Second is told responsible parties accountable for any violation of environmental laws."

 IN-DEPTH

 — Elizabeth Chuck |||||


News article:

SEOUL, South Korea — More than 70 years after the end of World War II, South Korea and Japan reached a landmark agreement on Monday to resolve their dispute over Korean women who were forced to serve as sex slaves for Japan’s Imperial Army.

 The agreement, in which Japan made an apology and promised an $8.3 million payment that would provide care for the women, was intended to remove one of the most intractable logjams in relations between South Korea and Japan, both crucial allies to the United States. The so-called comfort women have been the most painful legacy of Japan’s colonial rule of Korea, which lasted from 1910 until Japan’s defeat in 1945.

 The Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers, announcing the agreement in Seoul, said each side considered it a “final and irreversible resolution” of the issue.

 The apology and the payment, which, unlike a previous fund, will come directly from the Japanese government, represent a compromise for Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who has often been reluctant to offer contrition for his country’s militarist past. ||||| Image copyright AFP Image caption Activists for comfort women erected a statue of a girl which they call a 'peace monument' outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul in 2011

 Japan and South Korea have agreed to settle the issue of "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese brothels during World War Two, in their first such deal since 1965.

 Japan has apologised and will pay 1bn yen ($8.3m, £5.6m) - the amount South Korea asked for - to fund victims.

 The issue has been the key cause for strained ties. South Korea has demanded stronger apologies and compensation.

 Only 46 former "comfort women" are still alive in South Korea.

 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Lee Ok Seon: "I was forced to have sex with many men each day"

 The announcement came after Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met his counterpart Yun Byung-se in Seoul, following moves to speed up talks.

 Later Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe phoned South Korean President Park Geun-hye to repeat an apology already offered by Mr Kishida.

 "Japan and South Korea are now entering a new era," Mr Abe told reporters afterwards. "We should not drag this problem into the next generation."

 Ms Park issued a separate statement, saying a deal had been urgently needed - given the advanced age of most of the victims.

 "Nine died this year alone," she said. "I hope the mental pains of the elderly comfort women will be eased."

 It is estimated that up to 200,000 women were forced to be sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during WW2, many of them Korean. Other women came from China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan.

 Japan-South Korea's 'comfort women' deal

 Image copyright AFP Image caption South Korean activists for comfort women have been holding weekly demonstrations outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul

 Japan will give 1bn yen to a fund for the elderly comfort women, which the South Korean government will administer

 The money also comes with an apology by Japan's prime minister and the acceptance of "deep responsibility" for the issue

 South Korea says it will consider the matter resolved "finally and irreversibly" if Japan fulfils its promises

 South Korea will also look into removing a statue symbolising comfort women, which activists erected outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul in 2011

 Both sides have agreed to refrain from criticising each other on this issue in the international community

 Read more: 'Comfort women' - a painful legacy

 After the meeting in Seoul, Mr Kishida called the agreement "epoch-making".

 "Prime Minister Abe expresses anew his most sincere apologies and remorse to all the women who underwent immeasurable and painful experiences and suffered incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women," Mr Kishida told reporters.

 The wording of the deal does not explicitly state that the "comfort women" will receive direct compensation, but states that the fund will provide "support" and bankroll "projects for recovering the honour and dignity and healing the psychological wounds".

 Some former "comfort women", such as Lee Yong-soo, have taken issue with this.

 The 88-year-old told the BBC: "I wonder whether the talks took place with the victims really in mind. We're not after the money. If the Japanese committed their sins, they should offer direct official government compensation."

 Image copyright AFP Image caption Lee Yong-soo (centre) has taken part in protests outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul

 Another former "comfort woman", 88-year-old Yoo Hee-nam, said: "If I look back, we've lived a life deprived of our basic rights as human beings. So I can't be fully satisfied.

 "But we've been waiting all this time for the South Korean government to resolve the issue legally. As the government worked hard to settle deal before the turn of the year, I'd like to follow the government's lead."

 In Japan journalist Nobuo Ikeda reflected the view of many on Twitter that the country had lost out, although others thought the deal could have been worse for Mr Abe.

 "Japan pays 1 billion yen and our PM apologises but South Korea will 'consult about the girl's statue' - that's not a diplomatic negotiation," Mr Ikeda tweeted.

 Kevin Kim, BBC News, Seoul

 Image copyright AP Image caption Japan's PM Shinzo Abe (L) and South Korea's Park Geun-hye (R) agreed in November to accelerate talks on the issue

 With only days left until the end of the year, the timing of the talks was highly symbolic and the expectations for results were high.

 Earlier in the year, the South Korean president called for a resolution to the "comfort women" dispute by the year's end, marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

 However, few believed that a quick breakthrough could be reached on a thorny issue that has strained the region for decades and some critics say the talks have been rushed to preserve the symbolism.

 It's unclear if Japan's admission of responsibility was legal or just humanitarian, and Tokyo's offer of 1bn yen has been described as a measure to help the women, not as direct government compensation.

 The dozens of surviving women have asked for a formal apology specifically addressed to themselves and direct compensation. They say past expressions of regret have been only halfway and insincere.

 Japan revisionists deny WW2 sex slave atrocities

 Negotiators appear to have overcome several obstacles including disagreements over the wording of the agreement and the amount of compensation. Tokyo was reportedly initially considering paying only around 100 million yen.

 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida spoke of the Japanese prime minister's ''sincere apologies and remorse''

 Japan has repeatedly apologised or acknowledged its responsibility for wartime sex slaves, most notably in a 1993 statement by the then-chief cabinet secretary Yohei Kono.

 It had also resisted giving greater compensation, arguing that the dispute was settled in 1965 when diplomatic ties were normalised between the two countries and more than $800m in economic aid and loans was given to South Korea.

 A private fund was also set up in 1995 for the victims and lasted for a decade, but money came from donations and not from the Japanese government. ||||| SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea and Japan reached a landmark agreement on Monday to resolve the issue of “comfort women”, as those who were forced to work in Japan’s wartime brothels were euphemistically known, an issue that has long plagued ties between the neighbors.

 Former South Korean "comfort women" watch a news report as they wait for the result of meeting between foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan at the "House of Sharing," a special shelter for former "comfort women", in Gwangju, South Korea, December 28, 2015. REUTERS/Hong Ki-won/Yonhap

 The foreign ministers of the two countries said after a meeting in Seoul that the “comfort women” issue would be “finally and irreversibly resolved” if all conditions were met.

 South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to take the opportunity to boost bilateral ties following the agreement, in which Japan made an apology and promised about one billion yen ($8.3 million) for a fund to help former “comfort women.”

 The accord was welcomed by the United States, which has been keen for improved relations between its two major Asian allies in the face of an increasingly assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea.

 Strains between Tokyo and Seoul have prevented the two countries from signing an agreement to share sensitive military information, so a year ago they signed a three-way pact under which Seoul routes its information to the United States, which then passes it on to Japan, and vice versa.

 Park “hoped that since the two governments worked through a difficult process to reach this agreement, they can cooperate closely to start building trust and open a new relationship,” her office quoted her as saying to Abe.

 Abe told reporters in Tokyo that Japan has apologized and expressed its remorse, but added future Japanese generations should not have to keep on doing so.

 “We should never allow this problem to drag on into the next generation,” he said, echoing remarks he made marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two on August 15. “From now on, Japan and South Korea will enter a new era.”

 Japan was “painfully aware of its responsibilities” for the affront to the women’s honor and dignity, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told a news conference in Seoul with his South Korean counterpart.

 “Prime Minister Abe expresses anew his most sincere apologies and remorse to all the women who underwent immeasurable and painful experiences.”

 Calling the agreement “epoch-making”, Kishida told reporters later: “I believe this has set up a stage for advancement of security cooperation between Japan and South Korea, as well as among Japan, the United States and South Korea”.

 White House national security adviser Susan Rice said the United States supported the agreement and its full implementation.

 “This comprehensive resolution is an important gesture of healing and reconciliation,” she said in a statement.

 Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida (L) is greeted by South Korea's President Park Geun-hye at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, December 28, 2015. REUTERS/Baek Seung-ryol/Yonhap

 A senior U.S. Department of State official said the agreement was particularly important given the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

 “The world simply can’t afford for Japan, Korea and the U.S. to operate at anything less than full capacity in terms of our security cooperation,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

 “FINALLY AND IRREVERSIBLY”

 Japan will work with South Korea to run a program to restore the honor and dignity of former “comfort women,” Kishida said.

 United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon - a former South Korean foreign minister - welcomed the agreement and said in a statement he hoped it would “contribute to improving the bilateral relationship between the two countries.”

 Scholars continue to debate the number of women exploited. Activists in South Korea say there may have been as many as 200,000 Korean victims, only a few of whom came forward.

 Only 46 survivors remain of the 238 women in South Korea who came forward, and their average age is 89.

 Slideshow (8 Images)

 South Korea’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said he valued Japan’s efforts.

 “On the premise that the steps pledged by the Japanese government are earnestly carried out, the Korean government confirms that the matter (of comfort women) is finally and irreversibly resolved,” Yun told the news conference.

 The two countries have been trying for decades to overcome divisions over the “comfort women” issue, but past efforts have not succeeded.

 Japan had been insisting South Korea state its intention to lay the issue to rest this time, since many officials resent what they see as South Korea’s use of the “comfort women” issue for domestic political gain despite past steps taken by Tokyo.

 South Korea, for its part, wanted a clearer statement by Japan of its responsibility for the women’s suffering.

 Former Japanese diplomat Kunihiko Miyake said the timing was right for the deal, since Abe wanted to resolve the dispute this year, the 70th anniversary of World War Two’s end, and Park doubtless felt it was better to do so well ahead of a parliamentary election set for next year.

 A powerful symbol of success would be the fate of a statue symbolizing “comfort women” that has been put up in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul and has been an irritant to Tokyo.

 Although South Korea did not agree to remove the statue, Yun said Seoul recognizes Japan’s concerns and will hold discussions with the group that erected it to address the issue.

 The two countries have been pushing to improve relations since Abe met Park last month. That meeting took place partly under pressure from Washington. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– South Korea and Japan say they've reached a deal to resolve a disturbing legacy of World War II—the issue of sex slaves, or "comfort women," forced to work in Japanese brothels for soldiers. An estimated 200,000 women, many of them Korean, were forced to take part, though only 46 remain alive today in South Korea, reports the BBC. Under the deal, Japan will pay $8.3 million to a fund to help victims, though the New York Times says the agreement has vague wording that doesn't "clarify whether the responsibility that the Japanese government acknowledged was legal or moral." Still, the countries say that if Japan does what it has promised, the issue will be "finally and irreversibly resolved." But the newspaper quotes one survivor who says it does not go far enough. "I will ignore it completely,” says 88-year-old Lee Yong-soo, who wants Japan to unequivocally admit legal responsibility. The deal doesn't go that far, though it comes with an apology from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: He "expresses anew his most sincere apologies and remorse to all the women who underwent immeasurable and painful experiences and suffered incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women," says Japan's foreign minister. South Korea says it will now consider removing a statue memorializing victims erected by activists outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul in 2011. The pact is expected to clear the way for stronger military relations between the two nations, a development that Reuters notes will be welcomed by the US because of an increasingly aggressive China.


News article:

The American Cancer Society Guidelines for the Prevention and Early Detection of Cervical Cancer

 The American Cancer Society recommends that women follow these guidelines to help find cervical cancer early. Following these guidelines can also find pre-cancers, which can be treated to keep cervical cancer from forming. All women should begin cervical cancer testing (screening) at age 21. Women aged 21 to 29, should have a Pap test every 3 years. HPV testing should not be used for screening in this age group (it may be used as a part of follow-up for an abnormal Pap test).

 Beginning at age 30, the preferred way to screen is with a Pap test combined with an HPV test every 5 years. This is called co-testing and should continue until age 65.

 Another reasonable option for women 30 to 65 is to get tested every 3 years with just the Pap test.

 Women who are at high risk of cervical cancer because of a suppressed immune system (for example from HIV infection, organ transplant, or long-term steroid use) or because they were exposed to DES in utero may need to be screened more often. They should follow the recommendations of their health care team.

 Women over 65 years of age who have had regular screening in the previous 10 years should stop cervical cancer screening as long as they haven’t had any serious pre-cancers (like CIN2 or CIN3) found in the last 20 years (CIN stands for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and is discussed later in the section Work-up of an abnormal Pap test result under the heading How biopsy results are reported). Women with a history of CIN2 or CIN3 should continue to have testing for at least 20 years after the abnormality was found.

 Women who have had a total hysterectomy (removal of the uterus and cervix) should stop screening (such as Pap tests and HPV tests), unless the hysterectomy was done as a treatment for cervical pre-cancer (or cancer). Women who have had a hysterectomy without removal of the cervix (called a supra-cervical hysterectomy) should continue cervical cancer screening according to the guidelines above.

 Women of any age should NOT be screened every year by any screening method.

 Women who have been vaccinated against HPV should still follow these guidelines. Some women believe that they can stop cervical cancer screening once they have stopped having children. This is not true. They should continue to follow American Cancer Society guidelines. Although annual (every year) screening should not be done, women who have abnormal screening results may need to have a follow-up Pap test (sometimes with a HPV test) done in 6 months or a year. The American Cancer Society guidelines for early detection of cervical cancer do not apply to women who have been diagnosed with cervical cancer, cervical pre-cancer, or HIV infection. These women should have follow-up testing and cervical cancer screening as recommended by their health care team. Importance of being screened for cervical cancer

 Cervical cancer was once one of the most common causes of cancer death for American women. The cervical cancer death rate dropped significantly with the increased use of the Pap test for screening. But the death rate has not changed much over the last 15 years.

 Screening tests offer the best chance to have cervical cancer found early when successful treatment is likely. Screening can also actually prevent most cervical cancers by finding abnormal cervical cell changes (pre-cancers) so that they can be treated before they have a chance to turn into a cervical cancer. ||||| (CNN) The risk of dying from cervical cancer might be much higher than experts previously thought, and women are encouraged to continue recommended cancer screenings.

 Black women are dying from cervical cancer at a rate 77% higher than previously thought, and white women are dying at a rate 47% higher, according to a study published in the journal Cancer on Monday.

 The study found that previous estimates of cervical cancer death rates didn't account for women who had their cervixes removed in hysterectomy procedures, which eliminates the risk of developing the cancer.

 "Prior calculations did not account for hysterectomy because the same general method is used across all cancer statistics," said Anne Rositch, assistant professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore and lead author of the study.

 That method is to measure cancer's impact across a total population without accounting for factors outside of gender, she said.

 There were about 12,990 new cases of cervical cancer in the United States last year and 4,120 cervical cancer deaths, according to the National Cancer Institute

 'A better understanding of the magnitude'

 JUST WATCHED Study: Lifestyle has a bigger role in causing cancer Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Study: Lifestyle has a bigger role in causing cancer 01:41

 The data were limited to only 12 states in the country, but the researchers noted that the data still provided a nationally representative sample of women.

 Then, the researchers collected data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System on how many women in 2000 to 2012, 20 and older, reported ever having a hysterectomy. They used that data to adjust the cervical cancer deaths rates.

 Before the adjustment, the data showed that the cervical cancer killed about 5.7 out of 100,000 black women and 3.2 per 100,000 white women. After adjusting for hysterectomies, the rate was 10.1 per 100,000 black women and 4.7 per 100,000 white women.

 The data showed that the racial disparity seen in cervical cancer death rates for black and white women was underestimated by 44% when hysterectomies were not taken into account.

 "We can't tell from our study what might be contributing to the differences in cervical cancer mortality by age and race," Rositch said. "Now that we have a better understanding of the magnitude of the problem, we have to understand the reasons underlying the problem."

 JUST WATCHED Protecting your kids from HPV Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Protecting your kids from HPV 02:18

 Cervical cancer is highly preventable in the United States because of the availability of screening tests and a vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 "Racial disparity may be explained by lack of access or limited access to cervical cancer screening programs among black women when compared to whites," said Dr. Marcela del Carmen, a gynecologic oncologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, who was not involved in the new study.

 "This gap and disparity need to be addressed with initiatives focusing on better access to prevention or screening programs, better access to HPV vaccination programs and improved access and adherence to standard of care treatment for cervical cancer," she said.

 The new findings add to the current understanding of cervical cancer's impact on different communities, said Dr. John Farley, a practicing gynecologic oncologist and professor at Creighton University School of Medicine at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Arizona.

 "It lets us know that there is substantial work to do to investigate and alleviate the racial minority disparity in cervical cancer in the US," said Farley, who was not involved in the study but co-authored an editorial about the new findings in the journal Cancer on Monday.

 "Those who get cancer, many times, do not have access to screening," he said.

 Even though cervical cancer mortality rates are higher than previously thought, Farley said that he thinks the current screening recommendations for cervical cancer are still adequate. However, he added, more women should have access to screenings and other preventive measures.

 Rositch said, "It may be that some women are not obtaining screening according to our current guidelines, not necessarily that guideline-based care is insufficient."

 How to prevent and screen for cervical cancer

 The American Cancer Society recommends that women begin cervical cancer screenings at age 21 by having a Pap test every three years. Then, beginning at 30, women should have a Pap test combined with a HPV test every five years. However, the recommendations are not universal among all expert groups.

 Symptoms of cervical cancer tend to not appear until the cancer has advanced, which is why screening and HPV vaccinations are urged.

 "We have a vaccine which can eliminate cervical cancer, like polio, that is currently available, and only 40% of girls age 13 to 17 have been vaccinated," said Farley, co-author of the editorial. "This is an epic failure of our health care system in taking care of women in general and minorities specifically."

 Women over 65 might not need to continue screening if they don't have a history of cervical cancer or negative Pap test results, according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

 Join the conversation See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter.

 A study published in the journal JAMA Oncology last week found that among a group of 1,868 men in the United States, about 45% had genital HPV infections and only about 10% had been vaccinated.

 "Male HPV vaccination may have a greater effect on HPV transmission and cancer prevention in men and women than previously estimated," the researchers wrote in that study. ||||| The death rate from cervical cancer in the United States is considerably higher than previously estimated and the disparity in death rates between black women and white women is significantly wider, according to a study published Monday in the journal Cancer.

 The rate at which black American women are dying from the disease is comparable to that of women in many poor developing nations, researchers reported. What makes the findings especially disturbing, said experts not involved in the research, is that when screening guidelines and follow-up monitoring are pursued, cervical cancer is largely preventable.

 “This shows that our disparities are even worse than we feared,” said Dr. Kathleen M. Schmeler, an associate professor of gynecologic oncology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. “We have screenings that are great, but many women in America are not getting them. And now I have even more concerns going forward, with the” — expected — “repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which covers screening, and the closing of family planning clinics, which do much of that screening.”

 The racial disparity had been noted in earlier studies, but it had been thought to have narrowed because cervical cancer death rates for black women were declining. But this study said that the gap was far greater than believed. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– Many more American women are dying from cervical cancer than previously thought, with black women in particular dying at rates akin to those in sub-Saharan Africa, the New York Times reports. Although cervical cancer is highly preventable, African-American women are dying at a rate 77% higher that previously estimated, CNN reports. For white women, the rate was 47% higher. "This shows that our disparities are even worse than we feared,” Dr. Kathleen M. Schmeler tells the Times. New research in the journal Cancer excluded from death rates women who had undergone hysterectomies; previous research had included them even though they were not at risk because their cervixes were removed. Last year, there were 12,990 new cases of cervical cancer in the US, and 4,120 deaths, per the National Cancer Institute. The new study re-examined those figures. For black women, the news was shockingly bad, with 10.1 per 100,000 dying of cervical cancer (compared to 4.7 for white women), a rate seen in underdeveloped countries, per the Times. Reasons for the racial disparity included poor access to screenings and the HPV vaccine. Experts said screening options must be expanded for at-risk women, and warned that the gap could widen if the Affordable Care Act is repealed and women's health clinics shuttered. While screenings work well, "many women in America are not getting them," says Schmeler. Symptoms for cervical cancer do not appear until late, which is why the American Cancer Society recommends screenings and a pap test every three years from age 21, and every five years after age 30. (HPV-related cancer is "epidemic.")