Study: trade name Avastin, Lucentis is equally effective for eyes

A new study shows that a cheaper drug for a common eye disease as effective as a more expensive an approved for the condition. By Genentech

Trade name Avastin, a drug that is used in the treatment of macular degeneration.

By Genentech

Trade name Avastin, a drug that is used in the treatment of macular degeneration.

The results are expected by many doctors and patients turn away from the more expensive Lucentis and instead use $ 50 shots of trade name Avastin for wet age-related condition called macular degeneration.Vision improvement after one year was the same for that particular monthly shots of trade name Avastin or Lucentis, the 1 200-patient study found.A concern: more serious side effects occurred under trade name Avastin users. But they are not the type that usually seen with these drugs, and only wider use and more study will tell whether a safer than the other, eye experts said.The results are a blow to the Roche Genentech unit, which sells both medicines. Trade name Avastin is a cancer drug that doctors have used for many years for the treatment of the eye disease, although it is not approved for that purpose. Lucentis Genetech later developed for the eye disease, and it was approved in 2006. A company spokesman said Thursday that the company had no plans to sell trade name Avastin approval for eyes use search.Yet the results are a blessing for patients and insurers because nothing prevents them from using the cheaper trade name Avastin, eye specialists said. Doctors who use it for the eye disease should be a pharmacist to prepare lower doses injection instead of the intravenous route is used to get cancer. "It is always good news for patients if there is more than one option for a condition. It is good news for the country. Now we have the potential for significant savings at a time when healthcare costs skyrocketing is out, "had said Dr. Paul Sternberg, Chairman of the Vanderbilt Eye Institute. Hey no role in the study, which was led by Maureen Maguire at the University of Pennsylvania. Results were published online Thursday by the New England Journal of Medicine and will be presented on an examination of the eye Conference on Sunday. Anyone want to now use Lucentis will have to justify its costs to insurers and policymakers, Dr. Philip Rosenfeld of Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami wrote in a main article with the study. He has no ties with Genentech but has consulted for several other companies developing eye treatments.More than 250,000 Americans are treated every year for macular degeneration, "said Dr. Paul Sieving, Director of the Institute for the national eye, the Federal agency that paid for the study. The disease occurs when the growth of abnormal blood vessels is damaging the part of the retina responsible for central vision, and the two drugs are targeted to a protein that spurs growth of blood vessels.The drugs injected by the white part of the eye in the central cavity. Numbing drops are used and patients generally feels pressure more than pain, Sternberg explained. "The first time that you tell a patient they are going to have to receive they are taken aback and anxious, but they are remarkably tolerated, "he said of the shots.In the study, patients received one of four treatments: trade name Avastin or Lucentis every four weeks, or trade name Avastin or Lucentis on a variable depending on the response to the drug for one year plans.Vision improvement was almost identical for both drug monthly given, and no differences were seen in how many got significantly better or worse. The drugs are less likely to inject on an as-needed basis, no differences between the drugs but produced less vision improvement than monthly dosage did.Approximately 24% of the trade name Avastin users and 19% of the on Lucentis had a serious adverse reaction, usually a necessity for hospitalization. The study is too small to clear security questions to answer, and these differences require more study, researchers said.A statement by a spokesman for trade name Avastin from Genentech said that advantage for the eye disease evidence would take "considerable resources and years of clinical development", and that the best interests of patients are better served by exploring new medicines.Although Genentech both drugs does not sell, PDL BioPharma Inc. gets royalties on Lucentis, and Novartis AG has exclusive rights to the outside of the US

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Tornadoes kill dozens South 215in

PLEASANT GROVE, Ala. (AP) — dozens of Tornadoes ripped through the South, flattening homes and businesses and at least 215 dead in six States in the deadliest outbreak in nearly 40 years. As day broke Thursday, people in hard-hit Alabama surveyed flattened, debris-strewn neighborhoods and told of pulling bodies from rubble after the storms passed Wednesday afternoon and evening. By Butch Dill, AP

A resident searches what remains of his home Thursday after a tornado Wednesday in Pleasant Grove, just west of the Centre of Birmingham, Ala. hit

By Butch Dill, AP

A resident searches what remains of his home Thursday after a tornado Wednesday in Pleasant Grove, just west of the Centre of Birmingham, Ala. hit

"It happened so fast it was incredible," said Jerry Stewart, a 63-year-old retired firefighter who was picking through the remains of his son's home wrecked in Pleasant Grove, a suburb of Birmingham. "They said the storm was in Tuscaloosa and it would be here in 15 minutes. And before I knew it, it was here. "He and his wife, along with their daughter and two grandchildren, survived by hiding under their veranda. Friends in the street that did the same were not as lucky Stewart said that he pulled out the bodies of two neighbors whose house was ripped off its foundation.Alabama's state emergency management agency said it had confirmed 131 deaths, while there are 32 in Mississippi, Tennessee, registration bonus, 13 in Georgia, eight in Virginia were and one in Kentucky. The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said that the 137 tornado reports received in Wednesday night.Some of the worst damage was in Tuscaloosa, a city of more than 83,000 that is home to the University of Alabama. Neighborhoods were leveled by a massive tornado caught on video by a tower mounted news-camera that barreled through Wednesday afternoon. "When I looked back, I saw trees and stuff coming through, "said Mike Whitt, a resident on VERY Regional Medical Center, which ran from the hospital's parking deck when the wind started swirling and he heard a roar.On Thursday morning, he ran through the neighbourhood next to the hospital, home to a mix of students and townspeople, watching dozens of houses without roofs. Household items were scattered on the ground a drum, running shoes, insulation, towels and a bottle of shampoo. Streets were impassable, the sidewalk strewn with pieces of trees, houses and cars with their windows blown out. Dr. David Hinson was employed in the hospital when the tornado hit. He and his wife had to walk several blocks to go to their House, which was destroyed. Different houses down, he helped pull three students from the rubble. One was dead and two were badly injured. He and others used bits of rubble as improvised stretchers to carry them to an ambulance. "We just did the best we could get them out and stabilized them and to help them get, "he said. "I don't know what happened to them."University officials said there did not appear to be substantial damage on campus, and dozens of students and the local population resided in a 125-bed in the campus recreation center.The storm system spread destruction from Texas to New York, where dozens of roads were flooded or washed out. The Governors of Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia issued emergency declarations for parts of their States. Dave Imy, a meteorologist with the weather service, said that the death were that most in a tornado outbreak killed 315 people in Alabama, In 1974., where as many as one million people without power, Governor Robert Bentley said 2,000 National Guard troops were activated and helped had devastated areas to search for people still missing. He said the National Weather Service forecasters and does a good job of alerting people, but there is only so much that can be done to deal with powerful Tornadoes a mile wide.President Barack Obama said that he had spoken with Bentley and his request for federal emergency aid approved. "Our thoughts go out to all those who are affected by this devastation, and we recommend the use of the heroic efforts of those who have worked tirelessly to respond to this disaster, "Obama said in a statement.The storm came on the heels of another system that killed 10 people in Arkansas and one in Mississippi earlier this week. Less than two weeks earlier, a smaller batch of twisters rode through Alabama, touching off warning sirens, harmful for businesses and downing power lines in Tuscaloosa, but there were no deaths there then.In Kemper County, Miss., in the East Central part of the State, died sisters Florrie green and Maxine McDonald, and their sister-in-law Johnnie Green, all in a mobile home that was destroyed by a storm. "They were thrown in that pines there, "said Mary Green, Johnnie Green's daughter-in-law, pointing to a wooded area. "They had to go look for their bodies."And in Pleasant Grove, Samantha nagel examined the damage in the blue-collar Subdivision where hers the only House was still intact. The storm struck heavy pick-up trucks in ditches and blotted out tidy brick houses, leaving behind a mess of mattresses, electronics and toys scattered on a grassy plain where dozens of used to live. "We were in the bathroom stick to each other and stick to the dear life, "said nail. "If it wasn't for our concrete walls, our home would have gone if the rest of them."//

In a pinch to take off pounds in the summer? Experts will tell you how

You pile on a few unwanted pounds during the winter months? It's not too late to shed them in time for swimsuit season-and-shorts.Start now and you would drop 5 pounds or so before Memorial Day. You could double that loss of 4 July and even better in shape by August. To help you meet your goal, of the United States today nanci hellmich asked different diet book authors and leading experts to provide their best food and exercise exercise tips: handout

Dawn Jackson Blatner is a nutritionist who advises the simple ask question "am I hungry?"

Handout

Dawn Jackson Blatner is a nutritionist who advises the simple ask question "am I hungry?"

Dawn Jackson BlatnerAuthor of The Flexitarian Diet: •ask yourself these three magic words for eating everything: "am I hungry?" It's a quick way more connected to what is causing you to eat — whether it's physical hunger or emotions such as stress or boredom. •Write your calorie intake. It can help keep you honest and increase weight loss. •want a combination of products and protein are snacks. Products has water and fiber to fill you, and protein has stamina. So try a peer and string cheese or eat peanut butter on celery or apple. •satisfy your sweet tooth with tasty trade-offs. Choose individual servings of desserts such as dark chocolate-covered frozen bananas or try dessert-flavored tea as English toffee.Bob GreeneBest-selling author, Oprah's personal trainer and one of the authors of the life you want: get motivated, Lose Weight, andBe Happy: • free 30 to 60 minutes per day to exercise. "I have heard every excuse on the planet — except a good one," he says. •distract yourself while exercising. While watching TV show or a movie or listening to music to work out. And social people must walk or work with a buddy. •organize your food in three meals and one or two snacks per day. And when you find yourself eating outside these times, look at the possibility of such food is emotional nature. Write in your journal what could be the source of the emotion which enables you to eat. •Write ways you can enjoy that do not relate to food, as well as ways that you could improve your life. Handout

Author of transformation and the best-selling body-for-Life

Bill PhillipsAuthor of transformation and the best-selling body-for-Life: •weight-train intensely for about 45 minutes, three times per week, as Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Run 20 minutes of aerobic exercise three times a week – Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Sunday takeoff.• Alternative training the major muscles of upper and lower body. For example, the first week, train the upper body Monday, the lower body upper body Wednesday and Friday. The second week, the lower body upper body Monday, Wednesday, and the lower body workout Friday.Liver plan your training. Plan some time you exercise goes, what specific exercises you are doing, how much weight you will lift and how long does it take you to finish the session. Keep accurate records. by Norman y. Lono

Author of reading before you eat it.

Bonnie Taub-DixAuthor Read It before you eat It: •motivate yourself. Get a pair of jeans or pants too tight and hang them in the kitchen instead of the Cabinet to keep yourself inspired.• Let enough sleep. The scientists have found that sleep deprivation levels of a hormone hunger increases and decreases levels of a hormone that makes you feel full. The effects can lead to overeating and weight gain. Try a late afternoon nap instead of cookies.• Have attention benefits. A 3-ounce portion of meat, poultry or fish is about the size of the palm of your hand or a deck of cards; 1 teaspoon butter or margarine, a standard postage stamp; a cup of cold cereal, berries or popcorn, a baseball.• Eat out without expanding out. Take a look at the menu online in advance. Salad dressing on the side. by Todd Plitt, USA TODAY

Co-author of the Skinny on weight loss without hunger.

Louis AronneCo-author of The Skinny on losing weight without being hungry:• Eat a high-protein breakfast as Greek yogurt, protein or cottage cheese. It helps you hunger and cravings later in the day. •eat as much raw or cooked vegetables if you can. During meals and in between meals, it will help fill you, if you eat them first.• Try to drink water, unsweetened tea, green tea or plain or flavored seltzer for each meal. •food from appetizer-size plates. Research shows that small plates make food appear larger and can help you eat less. •slowly eating. That fullness signals time to reach more of your brain. Firstly, the lowest calorie food such as vegetables, will have the same effect.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ 's. Report corrections and clarifications, contact standards Editor Brent Jones. For consideration of publication in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and State for authentication. View our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

High-schoolers who are less likely to complete college work

Students who work more than 15 hours per week in high school Show lower rates of college completion, suggests a new study assessment of the damage of high school work intensity. Photodisc/Getty Images

Researchers found that by age 29 or 30, more than half of high school students who are less than 15 hours per week had a Bachelor's degree completed had worked.

Photodisc/Getty Images

Researchers found that by age 29 or 30, more than half of high school students who are less than 15 hours per week had a Bachelor's degree completed had worked.

The study, which is published in last month's issue of the journal developmental psychology, supports other recent research that high school students who work long hours are probably to show increased problem behavior and reduced school involvement has found.The new study, conducted at the University of Michigan, used data from a national survey of high school seniors called Monitoring the Future Project. The survey has followed more than 68,000 students, beginning with the class of 1976. Researchers found that by age 29 or 30, more than half of high school students who are less than 15 hours per week had a Bachelor's degree completed had worked. But for every five additional hours worked more than 15 hours per week, students experienced an 8% decline in college completion. Only about 20% of those who had worked 31 hours or more per week in high school completed college.But other factors in addition to long hours of work would be to blame? "There Is a debate about whether all these things linked to more hours working the debt of the work or the debt of other previous things that drug use forecasting, do badly in school and longer working hours "says lead researcher Jerald Bachman, a professor and research scientist at the University of Michigan. For some students, work can be an escape an already not academic record, says Steve Schneider, a school counselor at Sheboygan High School in Sheboygan, Wis. Students that intense work hours "are those students who usually have not been successful in the classroom anyway" he says.The ability to start making money also seems seductive but could hurt students later says Julie Hartline, a school counselor at Campbell High School in Smyrna, GA. She says that her responsibility to beyond that adolescent mind-set to her students that they can make more money later if they "stick this out."But keeping a routine filled with six or seven hours at school, time spent on sports and extracurricular activities, and then for another five or six hours on a job, followed by homework, a substantial pressure on students who then feel tired and have trouble focusing the next morning. "It is more than just attitudinal withdrawal, it becomes almost a physical withdrawal, "Schneider says. "The ultimate withdrawal would," I'm just not come to school tomorrow. " "Although part-time work a beneficial learning experience for students, counselors can say it is important to help students priority to keep them from falling behind, and parents and employers both message must take as a student seems to be slipping."There may be times when the children do not make wise choices, "said Schneider. He says that if a student wants to suddenly more hours at work, it's OK for parents and employers to step in and ask "what are you to have these hours?" and "are you sure you want to do that?"For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ 's. Report corrections and clarifications, contact standards Editor Brent Jones. For consideration of publication in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and State for authentication. View our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

Live-Action of anti-abortion ' sting ' videos raise moral questions

WASHINGTON — anti-abortion activist Lila Rose has shared the stage with Sarah Palin, given its exploits praised on Fox News and comparisons drawn to heroic Gentiles who sheltered Jews during the Holocaust. By Live-Action, religion news service

Anti-abortion activist Lila Rose, which utilizes undercover ruses film sting videos on Planned Parenthood clinics, addresses of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.

By Live Action, religion news service

Anti-abortion activist Lila Rose, which utilizes undercover ruses film sting videos on Planned Parenthood clinics, addresses of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.

So why are some conservative Christians so worried about her work?Telegenieke the 22-year-old will handle that the seventh annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Wednesday, along with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell. Rose, who two years ago to Catholicism, is founder and President of Live Action, which she calls "a new media pro-life organization." The Group has released dozens of secretly taped videos in which Rose and other activists posing as pimps or underage girls seeking abortions, contraception or exams of ignorant Planned Parenthood clinics.Joseph Cella, a conservative political consultant who founded the prayer breakfast, called rose a poster child for Jesus counsel that Christians are "cunning as serpents and as harmless as doves." "Lila is one of the bright young leaders of the pro-life movement," said Cella. "They will be around for a long time."Cella acknowledged, though, that rose's work a "family" bickering between the conservative Christians. In fact provoked, the Live Action debate seems less an internal spat than a university seminar, with philosophers and political scientists consumed by a clear but complex question: Is it ever moral to lie?Rose said Live Action the deceptive tactics serve a larger truth. "The goal of all our visual investigative work is to abuse and injustice against those who are defenceless, "she said.Its purpose, Planned Parenthood, receives about $ 360 million in federal funding. By law, none of that money can be used for abortions, the nationwide group says 3% of its services.Rose's brand of activism is similar to that of James O'Keefe, the conservative provocateur whose work led to the Federal defunding of the community group ACORN and the dismissal of two staff members of the National Public Radio. Rose and O'Keefe worked together on similar video projects several years ago at the University of California, Los Angeles. In Live Action videos released in February, Planned Parenthood workers seem willing to help deemed pimps obtaining medical care and abortions for underage prostitutes.Attachment of the videos, House Republicans — and 11 Democrats — to defund Planned Parenthood voted in February; the resolution later died in the Senate. Planned Parenthood calls the tapes "hoaxes" that are "clearly doctored and cannot be trusted. But also a New Jersey employee layoffs and promised to retrain staff on rules for reporting hazards to young girls.Many conservative Christians rejoiced on the hit for Planned Parenthood, but Princeton University scholar Robert p. George was not among them.The "sting" videos are a form of lying, which the Catholic Church teaches "everywhere and always wrong", wrote George in a blog post February. "We must not allow our business to be compromised by lying, "continued to George, a leading intellectual who advises the u.s. Catholic Bishops. "We should not believe in the power of the truth to those who are against us in the great battle on the protection of human life at all stages and conditions transform abandoned."Ensure that other Catholic scholars defending rose's deceptions means joining the Western trend toward moral relativism, which church leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI, hotly contested.A recent editorial in the flagship that Evangelical magazine Christianity today said "turbulence" on methods of Live action "has embittered what could have been included in a sweet victory." The magazine also questioned whether rose's "ethical shortcuts" to rely heavily on scandal against abortion legalized.Discussing the morality of undercover work is actually an old Christian tradition, according to Christopher Tollefsen, a professor of philosophy at the University of South Carolina. St. Augustine tried to settle the argument back in the fourth century: he wanted to stop Christians from rival sects eradicating heresy spying.Rose said she with her spiritual director has consulted and other Catholics, who offered reassurance that the history is also full of Saints who cheats for charities.Take, for example, the Hebrew midwives lied to protect children from a murderous Pharaoh and priests who forged baptismal certificates to save Jews during the Holocaust. "The bottom line is this, "said Rose. "It is a tradition in our Church, and we expose the truth to instruct and enlighten, posing as genuine cases that happen every day."Peter Kreeft, a Catholic philosopher at Boston College, agrees with Rose. "The closest analogy I can think of ... is spying, "Lobster wrote in a recent column."If Live Action is wrong, then so is all espionage, including espionage Nazi atomic bomb projects and saving the world from a nuclear holocaust. "Rose's lawyer, Peter Breen of the Thomas more Society, calls the debate Live Action "much ado about nothing." "Their behavior seems no different than what a Police Department would participate, or ' 60 minutes ', or ' Dateline, '" said Breen. "They engage in investigative journalism to learn the truth. "For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ 's. Report corrections and clarifications, contact standards Editor Brent Jones. For consideration of publication in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and State for authentication. Our corrections, go to corrections. usatoday.com. We've updated the guidelines for the conversation. Changes include a brief overview of the monitoring process and an explanation about how to use the "report abuse" button. Read more.

Obama releases long form birth certificate

WASHINGTON — President Obama, trying to squelch an escalating and distracting controversy, released on Wednesday a long-form birth certificate from 1961 that showed just what he has always insisted: He was born at Kapiolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu.

AP

The White House handed out a copy of the long form of President Obama's birth certificate Wednesday morning.

AP

The White House handed out a copy of the long form of President Obama's birth certificate Wednesday morning.

So is the issue settled?

Even Obama doesn't think the signed-and-sealed document will convince some "birthers" who suspect he was born abroad and therefore might be ineligible to be president.

"I know that there's going to be a segment of people for which, no matter what we put out, this issue will not be put to rest," the president said in an extraordinary morning appearance in the White House briefing room. "But I'm speaking to the vast majority of the American people as well as to the press: We do not have time for this kind of silliness. … We've got big problems to solve. And I'm confident we can solve them, but we're going to have to focus on them ? not on this."

In New Hampshire, real estate mogul Donald Trump, who has used the birther issue to fuel a possible presidential campaign, bragged that he had "accomplished something that nobody else was able to accomplish" in forcing the document's release.

The notion that Obama lied about his birthplace has become one of those persistent conspiracy theories in American political life, from who-shot-JFK to the forces behind the 9/11 attacks.

"There is fertile ground for these kind of charges" about Obama, says Robert Goldberg, a historian at the University of Utah and author of Enemies Within: The Culture of Conspiracy in Modern America. "Knowing how Americans love conspiracy theories, this plays into American fears and anxieties, whether about black people or about the world around them."

Such controversies are stoked by skepticism about information from the government and other institutions, the vitriol and polarization in American politics, the echo chamber of cable news and the Internet, and even the profusion of movies and TV shows that depict governmental and global conspiracies, Goldberg says.

The release of official documents or reports by commissions rarely settle such issues for everyone.

Joseph Farah, CEO of the conservative website WorldNetDaily and publisher of a new book that investigates whether Obama is eligible to be president, says the issue isn't over.

"Assuming it is completely legitimate and the real deal, I think it raises more questions than it answers," he says of the birth certificate, saying the fact that Obama's father wasn't a U.S. citizen also could raise questions about his eligibility for the presidency. And Farah says he wants to see "the original document."

It remains in a bound volume at the state Department of Health in Hawaii in files that aren't open to public view.

Gaining traction

A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll released Monday indicated the issue has been gaining traction.

Only 38% of Americans said they thought the president was "definitely" born in the United States; 18% said he "probably" was. Nearly one in four, 24%, said he was probably or definitely born in another country. Nineteen percent said they didn't know enough to say.

Those who think the president was born outside the United States tend to be among his fiercest critics. Most are Republicans, conservatives and supporters of the Tea Party movement. Three of four disapprove of the job he is doing as president.

Trump raised the "decibel level" so high that the White House couldn't ignore it, says Al Cardenas, chairman of the American Conservative Union.

"I think he had somewhat of an arrogance before, in thinking he wasn't going to respond to an accusation of this nature, but obviously if it warranted that much national attention he should have dispensed with it and moved on," he says. "You scratch your head wondering why it took the president so long to put this to rest, if indeed that long form puts it rest."

Democratic consultant Phil Singer says the White House release was smart.

"This is a non-issue that, for whatever reason, takes up space that would otherwise be dedicated to the good things that the president is doing. So it makes every piece of sense in the world to try to take the issue off the table," says Singer, a spokesman for Hillary Rodham Clinton when she ran against Obama in the 2008 Democratic primaries.

"It probably would have been a good thing if they'd done it when the issue first surfaced," he says, "but better late than never."

During the 2008 campaign, when initial questions were raised about where Obama was born, he requested a copy of his birth certificate from Hawaii and posted it on his campaign's website.

The "Certification of Live Birth" answered the questions then, White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer says.

That changed in recent weeks, as the issue was revived by Trump and others who questioned why Obama hadn't released the longer "Certificate of Live Birth" from Hawaii. It includes some additional information, such as the name of the hospital, and is signed by the mother, the doctor and the local registrar.

The White House had tried to ignore the issue, dismiss it and use humor to ridicule it. When Obama was introduced at the annual Gridiron Dinner last month in Washington, the president stopped the band as it played Hail to the Chief and said, "Can we go with that song we talked about?"

A refrain of Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA followed, to laughter from the audience of journalists and officials. "Some things just bear repeating," Obama quipped.

But the issue seemed to be gaining velocity. "Essentially the discussion transcended from the nether regions of the Internet into mainstream political debate in the country," Pfeiffer says.

Obama said he decided it was time to respond when the debate over the deficit-reduction plans advanced this month by the White House and House Republicans was overshadowed by the birther debate. Getting the long-form certificate required Obama to write a letter to Hawaian officials seeking a waiver for its release.

His personal attorney, Judy Corley, flew to Honolulu to pick up two copies of the certificate, returning to Washington on Tuesday.

"We're going to have to make a series of very difficult decisions" on federal spending and deficits, Obama said. "But we're not going to be able to do it if … we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers."

Actually, a weekly analysis of leading news outlets by Pew's Project for Excellence in Journalism found that the economy commanded 39% of coverage the week the deficit plans were released, compared with 4% on the Obama administration and the birther issue.

On the other hand, last week Trump ranked second only to Obama as a newsmaker.

'A strong lineage of race'

Civil rights leaders see what Jesse Jackson calls "a strong lineage of race" in the questions raised about Obama, the nation's first African-American president.

"This was a bogus issue and untrue accusations designed to take away President Barack Obama's legitimacy, the heart of his integrity," Jackson says, adding that birthers' message to the president is that "you are not born here, you are not one of us, you are a liar."

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., the highest-ranking African American in Congress, also sees a racial overtone, likening it to the scrutiny Jackie Robinson faced when he became the first black player in major league baseball in 1947.

Obama "has not put the issue to bed," Clyburn says. "All he did was lay out the truth for everyone to see."

Farah denies a racism is a factor, calling the allegation "the last refuge for scoundrels who have run out of arguments."

In its politics, the birther issue was a bigger problem for Republicans than for Obama, Pfeiffer argues. It has divided GOP ranks and put the spotlight on an issue that is secondary for most Americans.

Some Republican presidential hopefuls, including former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, have steered clear of the birther issue. But former House speaker Newt Gingrich took a skeptical tone when told of the document's release.

"All I would say is, why did it take so long?" he told a reporter for TPM.com. "The whole thing is strange."

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin posted a mocking tweet that read, "Media: admit it, Trump forced the issue."

"If that's as good as it gets on the Republican side to run a candidate for president, I can't wait for this election," says Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat close to Obama. "It is almost a comic variety of political campaigning when you consider the serious issues facing our nation, that that's the best they can do."

Obama portrayed himself as trying to address the big challenges facing the country on jobs and the economy while his critics engage in a sideshow.

He and first lady Michelle Obama then flew to Chicago to tape an appearance on Oprah and headlined political fundraisers in New York before returning to the White House late Wednesday night.

Still, the birther issue was a distraction for him, too.

"The fact that the president of the United States has to bend toward these conspiracy theorists, has to accept on some level their premise and take valuable time out of his schedule to confront this ? that's startling," Goldberg says. "My sense is that is only going to entice them and energize them."

Trump sounded like a candidate undeterred by the loss of the issue that had drawn him attention, saying he would announce his decision whether to run for president later this month on the finale of his TV reality show, Celebrity Apprentice.

"I think if I do run, I'll do very well," Trump said. "I think I'd beat Obama."

Then he pivoted to another issue involving Obama's personal qualifications, saying he had read that Obama was a poor student at Occidental College and asking how he had won admission to Columbia University and Harvard Law School.

"I don't know why he doesn't release his records" from his school days, Trump said.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.

Friday shuttle launch drawing Tower high interest

. The nation's eyes are on the space shuttle launch Friday as gravely injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords sends her strapping astronaut husband Mark Kelly into space.

By Chris O'Meara, AP

Mark Kelly, commander of the space shuttle Endeavour, arrives at Kennedy Space Center with his fellow crew members in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Tuesday. Kelly's wife, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, left Houston for Cape Canaveral late Wednesday morning.

By Chris O'Meara, AP

Mark Kelly, commander of the space shuttle Endeavour, arrives at Kennedy Space Center with his fellow crew members in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Tuesday. Kelly's wife, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, left Houston for Cape Canaveral late Wednesday morning.

This next-to-last shuttle flight, unremarkable but for an endearing love story of a congresswoman and an astronaut, is drawing unparalleled public and media interest. Even President Obama and his family will travel to Florida's Kennedy Space Center to watch the launch.

Space program analysts say the flurry of interest is an aberrant blip destined to fade as NASA spends the next decade focused on engineering instead of derring do. After the last space shuttle flies its last mission in June and all four shuttle vehicles are mothballed, manned spaceflight ? NASA's most dramatic program ? takes a long hiatus while NASA scientists and engineers attempt the next big thing on a tight budget.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., an astronaut who served as a payload specialist on the space shuttle Columbia, says NASA's potential is unlimited.

"We're going to Mars," he says.

In a speech last year, Obama said NASA's astronauts will go first to an asteroid and then to Mars. Congress in October authorized money for National Aeronautics and Space Administration to develop a heavy lift rocket with the goal of sending astronauts to Mars in 2030.

"The destination and the timetable are still very much in the air," says veteran space analyst Marcia Smith, editor of SpacePolicyOnline.com and former director of the Space Studies Board at the National Academy of Sciences.

The space shuttle Endeavour will leave earth for the last time at 3:47 p.m. Friday under Kelly's command. The crew's most important task on its 14-day mission to the International Space Station is to deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2, a particle physics detector that searches for unusual sub-atomic matter.

Gabrielle Giffords U.S. Congresswoman, D-Ariz.

Office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Endeavour will also deliver spare parts to the space station, including antennae, circuit breaker boxes and an extra arm for the Dextre robot. Crewmembers will take four spacewalks and complete a long list of chores, including swapping out experiments and doing maintenance on the station.

The experiments are exciting, Nelson says. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer will conduct "one of the most sophisticated astronomical experiments around," he says. "It'll absorb cosmic rays. As a result of this, we think we will have a chance of understanding the origins of the universe."

Still, he concedes that it's not the spectrometer that has captured the public's imagination.

The mission "is getting an enormous amount of attention because of Mark Kelly and Gabby Giffords, as it should be," Nelson says.

Giffords has been hospitalized since she was shot in the head Jan. 8 while meeting constituents at a Tucson supermarket. Kelly spent weeks at her bedside in a Tucson hospital. Giffords transferred to a rehabilitation hospital in Houston in part so Kelly could resume his mission training.

The couple met on a fellowship to China in 2003 and married in November 2007. Their relationship had often been long distance, as Kelly trained in Houston for his shuttle missions and Giffords traveled between her Arizona congressional district and her duties in Washington. Since they met, she has never missed his launches.

Giffords will attend the launch Friday, watching from a private viewing area inaccessible to the public and media. Kelly, who arrived at Kennedy Space Center Tuesday to prepare for the launch, said he was happy his wife could be there for his last shuttle flight. Kelly has flown three previous missions, twice as a pilot and one as commander.

Media requests are up 70% ? to about 1,500 ? from the previous launch, says NASA spokesman Allard Beutel. He attributes the increased media focus to a number of factors: Giffords, the second-to-last shuttle launch and the president's visit.

The public has also shown interest in the launch, which is scheduled at a family-friendly afterschool time. Kennedy Space Center can accommodate 40,000 people, he said.

"We expect a large crowd outside the gates," Beutel said. "Kids love coming to see the space shuttle."

Giffords is happy about any attention to the space program, says her spokesman C.J. Karamargin.

Karamargin visited with Giffords last week at the Houston rehabilitation hospital. While there, Karamargin received the email confirming that Obama and his family would attend the launch. Karamargin charged into Giffords' hospital room to announce the news.

"It was a great moment," he said. "She smiled broadly and said, 'Awesome.' The president has the power to draw national attention to the space program."

"The congresswoman is one of the most ardent champions of the space program in Congress because of the power it has shown through its history to ignite the curiosity and imagination of America's school children," Karamargin said.

The shuttle program, however, has not ignited the American passion for space the way the Apollo missions once did.

"The shuttle's whole purpose was to make spaceflight routine. It's not jazzy," Smith says. "People don't pay attention until there's some big discovery or some sort of tragedy."

The final space shuttle mission, the launch of Atlantis, is June 28. It, too, will deliver supplies and spare parts to the space station. After that, the shuttles will be delivered to museums. U.S. astronauts will hitch rides to the space station on Russian vehicles, while commercial companies, with seed money from NASA, develop new rockets to transport astronauts into low earth orbit.

"NASA will still have astronauts full time off the planet and on the space station" conducting more than 150 experiments, Beutel said.

It's not at all clear where U.S. manned space program will go next and how it will get there.

The moon, Obama said a year ago in a speech at the Kennedy Space Center, is off the table. "We've been there before," Obama said then. "There's a lot more space to explore."

Obama challenged NASA to design a new "heavy lift" rocket tht can send a crew capsule, propulsion system and large quantities of supplies into deep space by 2016

"By 2025, we expect new spacecraft designed for long journeys to allow us to begin the first-ever crewed missions beyond the Moon into deep space," he said. "We'll start by sending astronauts to an asteroid for the first time in history."

Obama's timetable sends humans to orbit Mars and return safely to earth by the mid-2030s, followed by landing on Mars.

The Mars plan "will rekindle the interest in doing superhuman things like the excitement generated" by the Apollo missions, Nelson said.

The plans are ambitious and will be costly.

The U.S. Human Spaceflight Committee, convened by the White House in 2009 to consider the future of human spaceflight and headed by retired aerospace executive Norman Augustine, concluded the resources allocated to U.S. space exploration fell short of the national aspirations.

"There's no way we're going to have the budget we had during the Apollo era," Beutel says. "We'd love to accelerate the technology, but we've got work within the reality of the budget. It may take us a while to get there, but we're going to get there."

Congress authorized $19 billion for the space program in 2011, $19.45 billion in 2012 and $19.96 billion in 2013.

"People like the shuttle program, they like human spaceflight, they like NASA, they just don't like to pay for it," says Roger Launius, senior curator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum who served as chief NASA historian from 1990 to 2002.

The human drama of manned spaceflight helps draw the public to the space program, Launius says. Without a narrative, Launius says, it's hard for people to make a connection.

The combination of Giffords' extraordinary story and the end of the shuttle program has swelled interest and may ultimately help boost political support, said John Logsdon of the George Washington University Space Policy Institute.

"It's going to cause a lot of attention," he said. "It almost forces the president to say something about space."

For Giffords, the launch marks a personal milestone.

"She did not want to miss this event. This is something she must do," Karamargin said. "It's a goal she's been working toward. We're hopeful that the great strides she has made since Jan. 8 will get a great boost from this."

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New checklist could detect autism by age 1

An early screening test for autism, designed to detect signs of the disorder in babies not older than 1 year old, could revolutionize the care of autistic children, experts say, diagnosed and treated by them years earlier than usual.The 24-item checklist takes just five minutes to complete and can be filled out in a pediatrician's waiting room, when parents children for their routine 12-month checkup, says a study of more than 10,000 infants, published today in the Journal of Pediatrics. The checklist — online now available — ask parents or other carers about their child communication skills, babbling and first words to contact with the eyes. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and others.Doctors referred to children who are not screening for more definitive tests and, if necessary, treatment. Researchers followed them up to 3 years. The screening accurately diagnosed about 75% of the children.On average, people started with autism therapy by age of 17 months.That's a huge progress, experts say. About 1 in 110 children have autism or autism-like condition, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Today, says most autistic children are not diagnosed until 5 years, the CDC.Children diagnosed late miss opportunities to therapy while their brains are growing and most simply furnished, says Geraldine Dawson of the non-profit organization Autism Speaks, who also helped finance the research.Intensive behavioral therapy offers the best hope for autistic children help improve language and behavior, a recent analysis found in the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends screening of all children of Autism at 18 to 24 months, relatively few doctors Pediatrics. Although doenDawson says.

• No big smile or other joyous expressions with 6 months.

• Do not back-and-forth exchange of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by 9 months.

• No babbling by 12 months.

• No words by 16 months.

• No two-word meaningful sentences (without imitating or repeating) by 24 months.

• Loss of speech or social skills at any age.

Source: Autism Speaks

That could change, thanks to the success of this study, says Alison Singer, the President of the Autism Science Foundation, an advocacy group.Authors of the study note that the checklist not all catch cases of autism, such as those for the first time in older children appear.But because it is free and easy to use, all pediatricians should be able to quickly begin using it, says the singer, who wishes her daughter, Jodie, now 13, had been screened early. "We lost a lot of time wondering and waiting before they get a diagnosis on 2, "says the singer. "I can't help but wonder where my daughter would be today if she is fixed at 1 year old."For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ 's. Report corrections and clarifications, contact standards Editor Brent Jones. For consideration of publication in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and State for authentication. View our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

China village shows aging population

Beijing (AP)-China's population is ageing fast, the Government said Thursday, although its leaders refuse to relax strict family planning controls that are part of the cause. By Alexander F. Yuan, AP

Older women are in a wheelchair pushed by aid workers while touring a park in Beijing, April 28.

By Alexander F. Yuan, AP

Older women are in a wheelchair pushed by aid workers while touring a park in Beijing, April 28.

The results of a national census carried out at the end of last year Show the number of elderly people in the country of 1.34 billion increased, while that of young people plunged sharply. The 2000 census results, announced Thursday, also indicates that half the population now live in cities.The 2000 census adds data to the gang in China in the past ten years, as economic reforms raise standard of living and get more people from farms in the cities while smaller families get world-changing shifts and the ageing population.China's rapid aging has fueled concerns about how long the country could support the high economic growth, will be as fewer young people available to work in factories and the roads that transformed in's the world's second-largest economy after the United States .the 2000 census results show that people of 60 years and above include build 13.3 percent of the population of almost 3 percentage points from 2000. Young people of 14 years and below accounted for 16.6%, down 6.3 percentage points from ten years ago.Ma Jiantang, Commissioner of the National Bureau of statistics, told reporters that while nationwide the population ages, the trend is more pronounced in coastal areas and more developed areas where the population is relatively large and land is scarce.The results also showed that 49.7 percent of the population now lives in cities, up from about 36 percent ten years ago.The total population figure of 1.34 billion was released earlier this year. The rose with 73.9 million is equal to the population of Turkey, or California, Texas and Ohio combined in the Decade, a slower rate than in previous decades. The reduced growth reflects the results of one-child policy of the country, most urban couples to one child and rural families to two limited.Wang Feng, a population expert and Director of the Brookings-Tsinghua Center for public policy in Beijing, said that the census results confirmed that China's population has turned a corner, with massive migration flows and a birth rate of not more than 1.5 children per couple. "That is shockingly low for a large country like China, "said Wang. He said that the numbers showed that China about 40 million people of 60 years or older in the last ten years have added."We're looking at a province of China or a large country in the world and that's how many elderly people have been added, said Wang. "This is only the beginning of an accelerated process that fertility is now so low, ageing of the population will only get more serious."There is growing speculation among Chinese media, experts and ordinary people about whether the Government will soon relax the one-child policy, introduced in 1980 as a temporary measure to curb the rising population growth and more people have two children.But leaders have a wish the status quo. President Hu Jintao told that one of the top leaders of the Communist Party convened Tuesday to discuss population issues that China's policy of strict family planning to keep the birth rate will keep low. Asked about possible changes in the policy, repeated statistics bureau Commissioner Ma Hu's position.China credits family planning its limits by 400 million additional births and helping a traditional preference for large families who had perpetuated poverty. But there are serious concerns about the side effects of the policy, such as selective abortion of girls and are a rapidly aging population.The official Xinhua News Agency said Hu briefly touched on concerns about population structure and the growing number of older people at the meeting of Tuesday, saying that social security and services for older people need to be improved. He also called on officials to strategies to deal with more retirees.

Times Square Church founder dies in Texas crash

DALLAS, Texas (AP)-Rev. David Wilkerson, founding pastor of Times Square Church in New York City and author of the best-selling book, "The Cross and the Switchblade," has died. He was 79. Wilkerson Wednesday afternoon died in a car accident in East Texas, Texas Department of public safety spokeswoman Tela mange said. Wilkerson's car smashed head-on into a tractor-trailer rig after veering into oncoming traffic on U.s. 175 West of Cuney, Southeast of Dallas, said Mange.Wilkerson founded the non-denominational Protestant Times Square Church in 1987 in an area of Manhattan that was subsequently riddled with x-rated movie houses, strip clubs, prostitution and drugs. Also, he founded Teen Challenge, which utilizes a Biblically based recovery program for drug addicts.In "The Cross and the Switchblade" Wilkerson wrote about his early years in New York City to drug addicts and gang members. The 1963 book became a bestseller and was made into a movie starring Pat Boone. His family confirmed his death in a statement posted on the website for Wilkerson's World Challenge Inc. ministries, says he "went to be with Jesus." "We appreciate your prayers and our heart is saddened, but we look forward to the joy of knowing David Wilkerson spent his life well," the statement said.Wilkerson was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, according to the Ministry of public security of Texas. His wife, Gwendolyn, was also in the car and was wearing a seat belt, said Mange. She was taken to a hospital, where she was in stable condition with cuts and bruises, mange said.Along with his wife, David Wilkerson is survived by four children.

Space tourism comes closer to liftoff

Parameter name: request For years, when John Spencer talked about tourists taking forays into space, he often was met with giggles or a blank stare.

Mark Greenberg

Virgin Galactic's spacecraft.

Mark Greenberg

Virgin Galactic's spacecraft.

"The laugh factor on this was really intense," says Spencer, founder of the Space Tourism Society, an advocacy group based in West Los Angeles. But with corporate visionaries pouring millions of dollars into the building blocks of such an industry, Spencer says, few people are laughing now.

"It's happening," he says. "There's a market. There's a waiting line. … Our ultimate goal is: Tens of thousands of space tourists actually leave Earth, go to orbital cruise ships, lunar ships, lunar resorts, and have a great time."

The notion of an ordinary person taking a trip beyond Earth's atmosphere is no longer the stuff of science fiction. Several already have gone, and hundreds more have paid for trips that could begin as soon as next year. Even as NASA's shuttle program is drawing to a close — its next-to-last launch is scheduled for Friday, when the shuttle Endeavour is to begin a two-week mission to the International Space Station— private companies are soliciting passengers for commercial trips to space.

Ten years ago Thursday, businessman Dennis Tito became the first private person to pay to fly in space on April 28, 2001, doling out $20 million to travel on the Soyuz, a Russian rocket, to the International Space Station. Now, space travel is beginning to mirror the airline industry, with its own travel agents, carriers and hubs.

Companies such as Virgin Galactic, founded by billionaire and aviation enthusiast Richard Branson, and XCOR Aerospace in Mojave, Calif., are building spacecraft and selling tickets for suborbital flights that will allow passengers to see the Earth's curvature and experience weightlessness.

Commercial spaceports are sprouting from Upham, N.M., to Kodiak, Alaska. And Space Adventures, the Virginia-based company that since 2001 has arranged eight private trips to the Space Station, has booked one passenger for an excursion around the far side of the moon and has a passenger seat to fill on the first private lunar mission, which could happen as soon as 2014.

The moon-bound passengers also would fly on the Soyuz. Other space aviation companies, some solely with private dollars and others with the help of some government funding, are spending tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars to create vehicles that could ferry tourists into space.

A ticket to ride doesn't come cheap, costing at least $95,000, but space entrepreneurs believe that they can facilitate travel to near space more affordably than NASA and fulfill the desire by some non-astronauts to go beyond Earth.

Stephen Attenborough, Virgin Galactic's commercial director, sees similarities between the growing space travel industry and notions of commercial aviation a century ago, when few people would have believed that plane rides would be commonplace.

"My sense is we're on a very similar path here," he says. "At the moment, most people would assume they'd never go to space. I think they're going to be wrong. … My view of the future is that, maybe in 30 to 40 years, most people who want to go to space will have the opportunity to do it, and that it will be affordable."

Dreaming of space  

Branson has made his mark on flight, from starting the Virgin Atlantic airline to being the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a hot-air balloon. But he's long set his sights higher.

"I've dreamed of going into space ever since the moon landing when I was a teenager," says Branson. "I assumed that once man had gone to the moon that ordinary people like myself would have that opportunity years ago."

When that didn't happen, Branson took matters into his own hands and registered the name Virgin Galactic in 1991.

The company eventually connected with engineer Burt Rutan, creator of the first privately developed manned space vehicle, dubbed SpaceShipOne. SpaceShipTwo, being created for Virgin Galactic, will be able to carry six passengers 68 miles into the air. Currently conducting test flights in Mojave, the company is considered by some to be the leading contender for becoming the first commercial spaceline in the world. Commercial flights could start by the end of next year.

George Whitesides, Virgin Galactic's CEO, is quick to say, however, that this isn't a new space race. "I'm more focused on building a vehicle that is as safe as possible than I am in flying first," he says.

For the fledgling space tourism industry, perfecting the technology has been only one piece of the puzzle. Pioneers in the field also have had to make sure there's a pool of passengers willing, and financially able, to fly.

A trip to the International Space Station on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, for example, costs roughly $50 million, according to Space Adventures. A seat on the Lynx Mark II, a suborbital vehicle being developed by XCOR, is a relative bargain in comparison, costing $95,000. Spots on Virgin Galactic's craft go for $200,000 each.

"This is not just about starting a business. It's about hopefully starting a whole new industry, and in order to do that as the leader in the field, we need to do it well, and we need to make money," says Attenborough. When the business started, "There was a lot we didn't know at that point, and one (question) was … whether anybody would really want to take a trip at the sort of prices that we knew we'd need to start the business with."

Plenty did: 425 people have signed up for the journey, putting down roughly $60 million in deposits. "It's the democratization of space, and to put poets in space and artists as well as scientists and movie stars and business people, the results of that I think will be huge and shouldn't be underestimated.'

Producer Dallas Austin has booked his trip and was among a few in early April to fly alongside the Virgin Galactic mothership, WhiteKnightTwo, which landed at San Francisco International Airport— its first time touching down at such a hub.

He's had friends question how safe such a journey would be, and his reply is simple: "There's no way I'm not going into space." Austin says that, for an ordinary person, a trip to space can be life-changing. "You'll really see how insignificant our problems are, to see (the world) from a different perspective.

Test flights next year 

XCOR expects by the end of next year to begin test-flying the Lynx Mark I, a two-seat craft, to be followed by the more advanced Mark II, which could start commercial flights in 2013, says spokesman Mike Massee. More space vehicles could follow, he says, "depending on the demand."

Massee wouldn't give a specific figure but says the number of passengers who have paid for the roughly 35-minute trip is in the double digits. It will take a little more than four minutes to travel about 60 miles up in the air, to the edge of space. Then the vehicle begins to re-enter the atmosphere, gliding back home. "What you see at those altitudes is the sky turns dark in daytime," he says. "You can see stars and easily the curvature of Earth. And aside from the visual experience … it's also the ultimate roller-coaster ride."

Boeing, one of the biggest aircraft manufacturers in the world, has a keen eye on space as well. "Part of (our) vision is to become the Boeing commercial airplane of space travel," says John Elbon, vice president and program manager of Boeing's commercial crew program, which is developing a seven-seat commercial space capsule. "We hope to … either operate those vehicles or provide them to other operators to enable commercial access to space."

Private space ventures are looking to take more than tourists into space. Their goal is to carry scientists and cargo beyond Earth as well.

As the shuttle program comes to an end, private companies are looking to fill a new niche. Fifty years after the first human went into space, private companies would take over the task of building and providing transportation for NASA astronauts and others into low Earth orbit, freeing the government to focus its resources on the deeper reaches of space.

Last week, NASA awarded $270 million to four companies, including Boeing and Blue Origin, an aerospace research and development company started by Amazon's founder, Jeff Bezos, to continue developing or creating designs for vehicles that could take over where the space shuttle leaves off, carrying NASA astronauts into near space.

"At this time … we believe we can hand over more of that to a commercial entity with some good oversight and insight from the NASA community," says Ed Mango, program manager for NASA's commercial crew program. "And NASA can focus on even harder stuff, which is going beyond low Earth orbit."

NASA envisions the vehicles being used to transport non-astronauts as well, such as scientists, engineers and perhaps space tourists, though Mango says tourism is not NASA's priority.

NASA "should be trying to find ways by which we can do things in space for a less-expensive price so it helps life back on Earth," says Mango, noting how medical scientists could possibly do research at the International Space Station or another lab.

Spaceports across the USA 

But spaceports are springing up around the country. The FAA has approved eight, and Spaceport America in New Mexico, where Virgin Galactic is the anchor tenant, dedicated its runway in October.

Still under construction, but with its first phase nearly complete, Spaceport America will resemble its airport peers with newsstands, gift shops and restaurants, but also have innovative installations, such as, say, a booth where visitors can experience weightlessness.

"A lot of (the installations) will be aimed at motivating and inspiring students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics," says Chris Anderson, executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority. "Like back in the days when President Kennedy challenged us to go to the moon and inspired a generation of scientists and engineers. I'm hoping this will excite people again."

Branson sees his spacecraft as only the beginning. "I think in the very first year … Virgin Galactic will create more astronauts than have been created in the last 70 years," he says. "And then I think from small beginnings, from suborbital flights, (the industry) will grow into orbital flights. From orbital flights, that will grow into intercontinental flights at a fraction of the (time)…. We'll be able to put satellites into space at a much more affordable price than they have in the past. And so I think commercial spaceship companies will bring the cost down of every aspect of access to space."

Tom Shelley, president of Space Adventures, says his company started in 1998 with the intention of arranging trips on suborbital flights. But until that option became a reality, the business focused on simulated space experiences instead, such as a visit to the cosmonaut training facility in Russia, where you could experience the feeling of a moon walk through buoyancy.

But now the sky's the limit, for the public and for the businesses plowing the new frontier.

"It's just exciting," Shelley says. "Somebody may be first, but all these companies are going to win in the long run."

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Tibetan exiles get new PM in the old role of Dalai Lama

DHARMSALA, India (AP) — Harvard lawyer Lobsang Sangay will the next Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in exile, officials announced Wednesday, a role that will see him take on political leadership of the Dalai Lama. Ashwini Bhatia, AP

Legal expert Lobsang Sangay has won the election as head of the Tibetan Government in exile, the acquisition of the Dalai Lama's political role.

Ashwini Bhatia, AP

Legal expert Lobsang Sangay has won the election as head of the Tibetan Government in exile, the acquisition of the Dalai Lama's political role.

The Dalai Lama had said that he would give political but retains the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists. The change, still must be written in the Constitution, the community reverses tradition in which the top monk led the Tibetan Government of 300 years.The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize said, however, in the 21st century is correct for the leaders to be elected and representative. He has also proposed that negotiations with Beijing which has vilified the Dalai Lama for his vocal opposition to China's heavy-handed rule on Tibet would be less complicated under another Tibetan figurehead.Sangay, a senior fellow at Harvard Law School with extensive experience in international law and conflict resolution, won the election with 55 percent of the votes cast by tens of thousands of Tibetans all over the world, chief election Commissioner, Jamphel Choesang said in the northern Indian city of Dharmsala, where the Government in exile is based.Sangay has said that he would move to Dharmsala from Boston when he won the elections. It was not immediately clear when Sangay would office. "On the one hand, we have the Dalai Lama, who historical legitimacy and global popularity, "he told The Associated Press in an interview in March. "And on the second, we have a democratic Government in exile. We show China that, if Tibetans may choose, they are capable of forming a stable democratic Government. "Successive rounds of talks between Chinese officials and representatives of the Dalai Lama don't have clear progress towards the parties together. Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama to separate Tibet from China, despite its claims to only work for a high degree of autonomy under Chinese rule.The exiled Tibetan community in Dharmsala said it would not celebrate Wednesday the election results as it was a Chinese crackdown on a Tibetan Buddhist monastery high in the Himalayan foothills of Western Sichuan province of China protest.China occupied Tibet in 1950 and claims the region has for centuries part of its territory, although many Tibetans, which linguistically and ethnically Chinese are separated, say they were effectively independent.

Study: ' trapped ' linked to Alzheimer's disease in the elderly

Seniors who "housebound" seem to have nearly double the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, a new study suggestsThe research does not prove that shall be limited to the home causes dementia, and other factors may explain the Association. Still, the findings raise questions about the possible cost of insulation, said lead researcher Bryan d. James, a postdoc at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center in Chicago. "People who leave their homes as many are not engage with their environment "and to meet new people, said James. "They cannot use their thoughts so much."But James and his colleagues noted that the underlying disease of the brain can also declare the results — that is, people might not get out so much because the insidious operation of Alzheimer's or another form of dementia can affect the way a move by the world long before they affect memory or speech.Alzheimer's disease affects an estimated 5.2 million people in the United States. That number is expected to grow to whopping 7.7 million Americans by 2030 as the Baby Boom generation ages.The new study, published online 15 April in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, looks something known as "life space." "(Living space) is actually a measure that the last time in vogue with gerontologists has come," said James. "Usually it is a measurement of mobility, find out if people get around their environment, how much they see that differs from their bank or bedroom or living room."Researchers followed 1,294 seniors from two separate studies of older adults whose health was being tracked. At the beginning of this study, none of the elders showed signs of dementia. 180 developed over an average of 4.4 years, Alzheimer's disease. the researchers found that people who reported that they never their homely environment during a particular week left over were twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease in the five years of follow-up if those who traveled out of town. The research, James said, offers "a new way to see who will probably be more for the development of dementia in the future."The study also found that those who did not go further than their driveway or front yard were also more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, which is an early demo of Alzheimer's disease can be.There are some pitfalls in the investigation. Some of the participants lived in retirement homes and entire life may have led without leaving the buildings where they live; However, they were still counted as housebound.Still, the researchers found that the relationship between isolation and Alzheimer's disease remained even when they are their stats adjusted so that they would not be thrown off by factors such as depression, social networks, disease and disability, as well as age, gender, education, race or preclinical dementia.Why does all this matter? "People are interested in figuring out who develop Alzheimer's disease and new ways to more people likely to develop it," said James. "Maybe with the limited interventions we have available, we can make them aimed at people who are not leaving their homes."Dr. James r. Burke, Director of the memory disorders clinic of Duke UniversityMedical Center, said isolation can provide an indication of possible dementia problems before they become clear. "This will be especially important when disease-modifying therapies available, so that the evaluations can be launched and interventions considered before significant cognitive problems," Burke said.This paper is in line with, but extends previous findings that physical activity, intellectual engagement and social stimulation important to slow cognitive decline, "Burke added.

Press to encourage a more lethal drugs for rare diseases

. Every other week, 7-year-old twins Addison and Cassidy Hempel have an experimental medicine injected into their spines in hopes of battling a rare, fatal disease.

By Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

The Hempel twins are receiving alternative treatment for Niemann Pick Type C disease, a rare disorder where harmful amounts of cholesterol accumulates in vital organs.

By Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

The Hempel twins are receiving alternative treatment for Niemann Pick Type C disease, a rare disorder where harmful amounts of cholesterol accumulates in vital organs.

And it's their mom who made that possible.

From her home in Reno, Chris Hempel persuaded scientists to share their research and managed to get the government to sign off on her daughters' unusual experiment. Hempel says getting help to fight a rare disease shouldn't be so hard.

But it's a huge challenge to generate drug company interest in the expensive testing of medicines for diseases so rare — like her girls' Niemann-Pick Type C — that the market is only a few hundred or few thousand people a year.

There are treatments for just 200 of the roughly 7,000 rare diseases, illnesses that affect fewer than 200,000 people, often far, far fewer. Yet add those diseases together, and more than 20 million Americans have one.

Now a movement is beginning to spur more rare-disease treatments: The National Institutes of Health this fall will open a center to speed genetic discoveries into usable therapies, doing some of the riskiest early-stage research in hopes companies then will step in.

A new International Rare Diseases Research Consortium is pushing for at least 200 more treatments by 2020, in part by pooling the work of far-flung scientists and families.

Rather than starting from scratch, the Food and Drug Administration is pointing the way for manufacturers to "repurpose" old drugs for new use against rare diseases, publishing a list of those deemed particularly promising.

And bipartisan legislation recently introduced in the Senate, called the Creating Hope Act, would offer drug makers another financial incentive — a voucher promising fast FDA evaluation of their next blockbuster drug in return for developing a therapy for a rare or neglected disease that disproportionately affects children. It's unclear what the prospects for passage are.

"We have to give drug companies a reason to go into this market," says Nancy Goodman of Kids v Cancer, a group pushing the legislation. Her son Jacob died at age 10 from a type of brain cancer that has no good treatment.

"My kids may not be curable, but they are treatable," adds Hempel, the Nevada mom. "Who's going to take this over?"

Pharmaceutical giants are starting to show some new interest in rare diseases, traditionally a niche market for small biotech companies. The practical reason: Blockbusters are drying up, says Dr. Ed Mascioli of Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drug company.

"The industry as a whole has a pipeline problem. It's increasingly difficult to develop drugs for common diseases," says Mascioli. He heads a separate research unit that Pfizer opened last year to search for medications for certain distinctively gene-based rare diseases, such as muscular dystrophy and hereditary emphysema.

Some other companies, including Novartis AG and GlaxoSmithKline PLC, also have begun rare-disease programs.

But NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins says all the activity also reflects a larger promise. "Getting a home run with a rare disease sometimes points you in a direction that will be beneficial for common diseases," he told The Associated Press.

That's Chris Hempel's argument: Niemann-Pick Type C, or NPC, causes cholesterol and other fats to build up to toxic levels inside cells, harming various organs and especially the brain until patients lose the ability to talk, walk and swallow. Only 500 children worldwide are known to have it. But a drug that could flush out that build-up, Hempel contends, just might point to a new route to fighting heart disease or Alzheimer's.

For NPC, Hempel hopes to repurpose cyclodextrin, a sugar-like compound that's already used in numerous products. But by itself, it wasn't deemed to have any drug effects — until scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center made the surprise finding that cyclodextrin helped mice with NPC.

When her daughters were diagnosed in late 2007, Hempel desperately searched scientific journals for any hint of a treatment and ran across the Texas research.

What works in mice often fails in people, and it can take years of additional research before animal experiments lead to human studies.

"They don't have years," says Dr. Caroline Hastings of Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland in California, who leads the twins' cyclodextrin treatment. "They really had nothing to lose."

Subsequent studies in cats at the University of Pennsylvania show promise, too. Hempel found a Florida supplier of cyclodextrin, and worked with Hastings to file FDA applications for "compassionate use" testing of cyclodextrin in the twins. She even persuaded Johnson & Johnson, which uses cyclodextrin as an inactive ingredient in an anti-fungal medicine, to share proprietary data about the compound's human safety and other issues to address FDA questions.

Addison and Cassidy already have serious symptoms; they'd quit talking. The cyclodextrin was first infused into their bloodstreams in 2009, but Hempel says it wasn't penetrating the brain. So late last year, FDA allowed injections into the spinal fluid, which bathes the brain. It's too soon to know how they'll fare, but the family thinks the girls are more alert, and Hastings says tests show their hearing has improved.

Now, the NIH is planning a formal study of cyclodextrin in a number of NPC patients, to begin within about a year.

Hempel isn't alone in her quest to repurpose common drugs. Consider progeria, a disease that rapidly ages children until they die of a heart attack or stroke, usually before their teens.

Collins' lab at NIH uncovered the gene defect behind progeria, research that he says he pursued only because of meeting another mom, Dr. Leslie Gordon, founder of the Progeria Research Foundation, and her son, Sam, who has the disease. Today, clinical trials are underway using a failed cancer drug named lonafarnib that promises to block some of the progeria mutation's effect.

"We're very excited about the opportunities in progeria," says Dr. Gary Gilliland of Merck & Co., which donates the drug and is watching carefully to see if the studies make further pursuit worthwhile.

There are an estimated 150 progeria patients worldwide, but Gordon points to growing evidence that the culprit protein may play a role in the heart disease that comes with regular aging, too.

However, progress is slow. Just because initial research shows a drug looks promising doesn't guarantee broader testing. For example, a National Cancer Institute-funded team is pushing to test a certain class of drugs against a childhood cancer, Ewing's sarcoma. But none of half a dozen manufacturers has yet agreed to provide the drugs, says Dr. Peter Adamson of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The reason, he says: They're not showing enough promise in more common adult cancers.

EDITOR'S NOTE — Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington.

Barbour exit leaves void in wide open GOP field for president

WASHINGTON-Mississippi gov. Haley Barbour s decision to pass on a 2012 presidential bid has done little to narrow down the Republican field, what remains wide open even in his absence. By Rogelio V. Solis, AP

White House strategists see other roles open for Haley Barbour.

By Rogelio V. Solis, AP

White House strategists see other roles open for Haley Barbour.

News Barbour s decision surprised many Republicans, many of whom considered him a strong choice for the nomination given his experience and ability as a fundraiser. There were a lot of people around the country that wild saw Haley and wanted to run to support him, veteran GOP strategist Charlie Black said. Regardless, he remains one of the four or five most important Republicans in America and someone who will undoubtedly play a major role in helping those who our 2012 candidate. Several GOP strategists predicted Barbour's announcement was the first of several to be announced in the next two monthsso far, quickening the lethargic pace of the 2012 race for the Republican nomination. I think we're going to see a fit between now and June 1, said Steve Lombardo, a former advisor to Mitt Romney's 2008 campaign.Barbour said In a statement, 63, it was a difficult, the choice of personal and apologized for disappointing supporters. (A) the candidate for the President today is embracing a 10-year commitment to an all-consuming, to the virtual exclusion of all else, he said. His (or her) supporters expect and deserve no less than absolute fire in the belly of their candidate. I can't offer that with total certainty, and certainty is required. Few thought Barbour s exit would be the end of the ex-lobbyist and former Republican National Committee chairman s national political career. He probably just threw his hat in the ring for Vice-President, Lombardo said.Grover Norquist, leader of Americans for tax reform, a conservative advocacy group, said Barbour would make an ideal White House chief of staff because he appeals to a broad strip of the Republican Party. Haley Barbour as Chief of staff means that any Republican would feel they had part ownership of the White House. Barbour s absence of the race would give an impetus for other candidates, especially those with a similar background. There are a lot of people across the country who are looking for an accomplished Governor who had a great record at reducing government, Black said. Haley fits that Bill, but so does (former Minnesota Governor Tim) Pawlenty, and so does (Indiana gov. Mitch) Daniels. It s hard to say that it favors one over the other. Pawlenty announced the formation of an exploratory Committee last month. Daniels has indicated that he will take a decision regarding his political fortunes after the legislator Indiana pause at the end of this month. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, plans to announce today the formation of a presidential exploratory Committee, Drew Ivers, Paul s 2008 Iowa caucus campaign manager, told the Associated Press. For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ 's. Report corrections and clarifications, contact standards Editor Brent Jones. For consideration of publication in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and State for authentication. Our corrections, go to corrections. usatoday.com. We've updated the guidelines for the conversation. Changes include a brief overview of the monitoring process and an explanation about how to use the "report abuse" button. Read more.

Community college rankings inadequate, critics say

 WASHINGTON — The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program released a list of what it considers the 120 "best" community colleges in the country Monday, kicking off a multistep, data-driven process for identifying a single institution to receive its $1 million award for "community college excellence."

And though prize officials say they are simply trying to spotlight institutions that are successful in helping students earn college credentials, to try to help others learn from their methods, critics argue that the selection process unfairly attempts to rank and compare community colleges using data systems that are inadequate to the task.

The Aspen Prize, which was introduced at last year's White House Summit on Community Colleges, attempts "to recognize community colleges with outstanding academic and workforce outcomes in both absolute performance and improvements over time." Prize officials hope that by "focusing on student success and lifting up models that work," they will be able to "honor excellence, stimulate innovation and create benchmarks for measuring progress."

Several key Obama administration officials, including Education Secretary Arne Duncan, were on hand for a rollout event Monday at the Newseum, mostly offering their support for the Aspen Prize and its goal of spotlighting top performers in the community college sector. Their support of this competitive prize led many in attendance to compare it to the administration's Race to the Top program, which pitted states against one another for federal funding of K-12 reform efforts. (The Washington Post's Valerie Strauss wrote a blog post after the event arguing that "what community colleges really need across the board are resources. And that requires smart state and federal policy, not another contest.")

Keith Bird, former chancellor of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, co-chairs the prize's data/metrics advisory panel. He discussed how the prize sponsors came to identify the 120 "best" community colleges. He said that prize officials started using information from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the primary federal database for colleges and universities. To narrow the nearly 1,200 community colleges in the country down to 120, Bird said, his group used an equation giving equal weight to "performance" as measured in degrees completed and persistence from semester to semester; "improvement in recent years"; and "performance with minority and low-income students." (More detailed information on the methodology and prize eligibility can be found here.)

For more breaking news, features and commentary from the world of higher education, visit: insidehighered.com.

Bird said that, next, a selection committee will collect new data from the 120 eligible institutions to determine a top-10 list of institutions, which will be unveiled in September. He noted that this next committee will use three data points measuring "student success" to whittle this list down further: "completion outcomes," "labor market outcomes" and "learning outcomes." Though he acknowledged that there are not readily available and common measures of things such as "labor market outcomes," he said he hoped participating institutions would share with the committee the ways in which they measure success in these areas. Eventually, he added, another prize jury would make site visits to the top 10 institutions and conduct further analyses before it announces a winner in December.

The current list of 120 institutions includes community colleges from 32 states. Large, well-known institutions such as Miami Dade College, which has more than 170,000 students, are included, as are small institutions such as Carver Career Center, in West Virginia, with only about 200 students.

The process has its critics, many of whom cite irregularity in data collection in determining differences between community colleges. Mark Schneider, a vice president at the American Institutes for Research, voiced some of his concerns during the question-and-answer period at the event. Though Schneider expressed misgivings about the use of IPEDS to measure completions ? given its shortcomings in tracking successful transfers in and out of community colleges, for example ? he was willing to concede that it is the best data source currently available by which to compare institutions. Still, he took issue with how the prize was judging institutions on their "learning outcomes" and "labor market outcomes."

"I'm really curious, since I've been thinking about this for many, many years, [what] the measures [are] that you have for both of those other two categories," said Schneider, former commissioner of the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics.

"The learning outcomes is a giant enchilada, if you will; I have no idea how you measure it. You have [the Community College Survey of Student Engagement], but that's just process, that has nothing to do with actual learning. With the work outcomes, of course, you want to know if people are employed ? but that's a spotty process?. What are your data definitions? How are you verifying if what one college says we've done is the same as another college ? because ultimately you are comparing different schools and the question is, are you really measuring on the same metrics?"

Jane Oates, assistant secretary for employment and training administration at the U.S. Department of Labor, defended the process from Schneider's critique, arguing that community colleges can submit information like employer survey and coursework portfolios to meet these measures.

"The nice part about the metrics of this prize, and former NCES commissioners may not agree with this, but there's validity in measures that show real results," Oates said. "If a local hospital is hiring your RN graduates over someone else's graduates from a different sector, that says something, and that should be a data validator that we look at as we move forward, because most of the kids who go to college anywhere need a job ? those without trust funds. But definitely we know those who go to a community college ... go forward to get that education to get a better job and get themselves more opportunity. We need to be open to what indicators ... may be different in Kentucky and Massachusetts and New Jersey and California, and we should be open to that."

Joshua Wyner, executive director of the Aspen College Excellence Program, told Inside Higher Ed after the event that he stood by the list of 120 community colleges as including those who have "achieved greater excellence on IPEDS measures than others." In the next step of narrowing down the list of 120 institutions to 10, he said it was the goal of the prize to "bring sense and comparability to nonstandard data systems." He admitted that there would be some level of subjectivity to the process in terms of determining the reliability and validity of the data.

"I welcome criticism of this list, if people would have specific ways to suggest improving it," Wyner said. "In fact, I want that kind of conversation. I want people to question what it means to be excellent in community colleges. What I'm not interested in or don't think we can continue to do is to say, 'Well, because we haven't done X, there's no valid way to measure these institutions.' For too long we've wallowed in the diversity of community colleges and how different they are and how the non-credit side and credit side compare and the regionalism, and we've recognized very clear differences between community colleges and throw up our hands and say, 'They're not even comparable, so don't even try.' I think that's really damaging to say."

Wyner also defended the list, noting that the prize is looking at community college success at an institutional level. In other words, those well-known community colleges that have benefited from efforts to improve select programs but have not "moved the needle" more broadly are not on this list.

"I would rather use imperfect, but I would argue rational, data that are campus-wide to identify the best than the processes we've engaged in in the past," Wyner said.

Officials from some colleges that were not featured on the initial list of the best 120 institutions noted their disappointment in the selection process.

"It's disappointing that [neither] Montgomery College [nor] any other community college in Maryland would ... be considered in the 120 eligible institutions for the prize," said Elizabeth Homan, a spokeswoman for Montgomery College. "We noticed that they used IPEDS data, which doesn't always demonstrate community college success?. For transfer institutions like Montgomery College, we have many students who transfer before they earn their degree. Certainly Montgomery College considers itself a top community college, and we're proud of the success our students have achieved, whether they graduate or transfer or come to us for just a few classes to help them with their career."

Other outside observers were dubious of any attempt to "rank" community colleges. For instance, The Washington Monthly ranked what it called "America's Best Community Colleges" last year using CCSSE data, to the dismay of many community college advocates who argued the data were not meant to be used in such a way. And though Aspen officials avoided using the word "rank" when talking about their list of 120 institutions at Monday's event, the word features prominently in an Aspen press release describing the list.

"We really don't think ranking community colleges is appropriate or particularly helpful for our institutions," said David S. Baime, senior vice president of government relations and research at the American Association of Community Colleges. "I think one good thing about Aspen is that it places institutions on a multifaceted metric of performance as opposed to just one number?. Still, if people view this as a ranking, we think that's beside the point."

J. Noah Brown, president of the Association of Community College Trustees, concurred.

"Personally, I'm not a fan of ranking," Brown said, arguing instead that the Aspen prize is simply highlighting top performers in the sector to bring good ideas to other community colleges interested in improving their completion efforts.

The Aspen Institute answered the frequently asked question ? whether the winner of the prize will truly be the "best community college in the country" ? in the following manner:

"The Aspen Institute recognizes that community colleges in the U.S. serve a huge variety of functions for immensely diverse populations of students," the website reads. "The selection criteria for the Prize have been designed to be comprehensive and cognizant of that variety, while also defining institutional excellence in a standardized way. Specifically, the winner of the Prize will be an institution that has demonstrated excellence in both performance and improvement over time, equity in outcomes among all student populations, and a deliberate and sustained focus on using data to guide practice and policy to improve outcomes. In the end, the comprehensive nature of our three-round process will yield a list of finalist institutions and a winner that have achieved truly exceptional results for students."

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.