ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) ? An emergency agency says a bomb went off near a popular nightclub in Nigeria's capital.
National Emergency Management Agency spokesman Yushau Shuaib said in a statement Saturday that no one was hurt when the bomb went off Friday night in the city of Abuja.
However, the windows of buildings in the neighborhood were shattered and luxury cars were damaged.
The attack comes amid growing sectarian violence in Africa's most populous nation.
A radical sect known as Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks that have killed at least 138 people over the past week.
The group is held responsible for more than 620 deaths this year alone, according to an Associated Press count.
However, strikes on the capital, home to foreign diplomats and local politicians, are rare.
As we've discussed here on numerous occasions in the past, Johanns, Fortenberry, Terry, and Smith have all voted for the Ryan plan on at least two occasions. ?This regressive plan would finance tax cuts for the wealthy by cutting Medicare and programs aimed at helping the poor. ?In addition, the Ryan plan would strip health insurance from millions of Americans and bring back pre-existing condition clauses.
A recent study by prepared by Senate Democrats and reviewed by nonpartisan tax experts indicates those aren't the only regressive features of the Ryan plan. ?This report indicates that the Ryan plan would would sharply cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans and could leave middle-class households facing much larger tax bills. ?This is because the plan reduces taxes (largely for the wealthy) by $4.5 trillion and Ryan has promised to make this plan revenue neutral by getting get rid of all the special-interest loopholes and tax shelters that litter the code. ?Ryan and the Republicans have yet to identify what tax deductions and loopholes they plan to close.
What Ryan and the radical Republicans haven't mentioned is that some of the biggest "loopholes" on the books are popular tax breaks for employer-provided health insurance, mortgage interest, state and local taxes, and retirement savings, which disproportionately benefit the upper middle class. ?What that means is that in order to make the Ryan plan revenue neutral, taxes would have to be increased on the middle class. ?According to this new analysis of the Ryan plan, middle class married couples would pay an additional $2,700 annually in federal taxes. At the same time, families earning more than $1 million a year, meanwhile, could see a net tax cut of about $300,000 annually.
After receiving the results of this new study, the Republicans cried foul calling the report "premature and unfair." ?A Republican Aide to the House Ways and Means Committee said it wasn't fair that this study assumed that the GOP would roll back popular middle class tax breaks. ?Nevertheless, the GOP still hasn't told us how they would make the Ryan plan revenue neutral.
What this means than is that Nebraska Republicans either voted to raise taxes on the middle class or to explode the deficit. ?Johanns, Fortenberry, Terry and Smith owe the voters an explanation. ?Just what did you vote for? ?Do you even know?
These votes in favor the Ryan plan by the Nebraska Republicans also call into question their judgement. ?On the two occasions they voted for this plan they apparently didn't know whether it would raise taxes on the middle class or significantly increase the deficit. (Or they didn't tell us.) The Nebraska Republicans basically bought a pig in a poke. ?
The only way to bring clarity to this situation is for Nebraska voters to elect our slate of Democratic candidates for the Congress. ?Bob Kerrey, Korey Reiman, John Ewing and Mark Sullivan all oppose the Ryan plan. (We should also thank Senator Ben Nelson for his steadfast opposition to this regressive budget plan.) They would stand firm against any efforts to finance tax cuts for the wealthy by shifting the costs to the poor and the middle class. ?They deserve to be elected because they reflect the Main Street values of Nebraska rather than the Wall St. values that Nebraska Republicans support. ?
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Device is effective in managing incontinence after surgeryPublic release date: 21-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Nora Dudley nodudley@lumc.edu 708-216-6268 Loyola University Health System
MAYWOOD, Ill. - A device used to prevent incontinence in women who undergo a common pelvic-floor surgery reduces symptoms but increases side effects in these patients. These findings were published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Women in this study underwent surgery for pelvic organ prolapse. Prolapse occurs when the pelvic organs fall and cause the vaginal wall to protrude outside of the body. About 1 in 5 women will undergo this surgery in her lifetime. Those who undergo surgery for this disorder are at risk for urinary incontinence following the procedure. As a result, surgeons commonly add a midurethral sling at the time of surgery to prevent this disorder.
"One-quarter of women develop incontinence after prolapse surgery, so it is critical that we have an effective option to manage this issue," said Kimberly Kenton, MD, MS, FACOG, FACS, study co-author and director of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Loyola University Health System (LUHS).
"Slings do come with risks though, so one approach might be to only treat patients who develop incontinence after surgery," she said.
This study evaluated 322 women at three months and 12 months following surgery. Half of the women received a midurethral sling and the other half received sham incisions. At three months, the rate of urinary incontinence was 23.6 percent in the sling group and 49.4 percent in the sham group. At 12 months, urinary incontinence was present in 27.3 percent and 43 percent, respectively. However, the rates of side effects were higher in the sling group. These included bladder perforations (6.7 versus 0 percent), urinary-tract infections (31 versus 18.3 percent), major bleeding complications (3.1 versus 0 percent) and incomplete bladder emptying six weeks following surgery (3.7 versus 0 percent). There were no significant differences between groups in changes in overall health, other pelvic-floor symptoms, sexual function and pain.
"Slings continue to be a valuable option for certain women, but we should avoid using them with all patients undergoing a procedure for pelvic-organ prolapse," Dr. Kenton said. "This research reinforces the importance of counseling women on the risks and benefits of prolapse surgery prior to the procedure."
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Device is effective in managing incontinence after surgeryPublic release date: 21-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Nora Dudley nodudley@lumc.edu 708-216-6268 Loyola University Health System
MAYWOOD, Ill. - A device used to prevent incontinence in women who undergo a common pelvic-floor surgery reduces symptoms but increases side effects in these patients. These findings were published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Women in this study underwent surgery for pelvic organ prolapse. Prolapse occurs when the pelvic organs fall and cause the vaginal wall to protrude outside of the body. About 1 in 5 women will undergo this surgery in her lifetime. Those who undergo surgery for this disorder are at risk for urinary incontinence following the procedure. As a result, surgeons commonly add a midurethral sling at the time of surgery to prevent this disorder.
"One-quarter of women develop incontinence after prolapse surgery, so it is critical that we have an effective option to manage this issue," said Kimberly Kenton, MD, MS, FACOG, FACS, study co-author and director of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Loyola University Health System (LUHS).
"Slings do come with risks though, so one approach might be to only treat patients who develop incontinence after surgery," she said.
This study evaluated 322 women at three months and 12 months following surgery. Half of the women received a midurethral sling and the other half received sham incisions. At three months, the rate of urinary incontinence was 23.6 percent in the sling group and 49.4 percent in the sham group. At 12 months, urinary incontinence was present in 27.3 percent and 43 percent, respectively. However, the rates of side effects were higher in the sling group. These included bladder perforations (6.7 versus 0 percent), urinary-tract infections (31 versus 18.3 percent), major bleeding complications (3.1 versus 0 percent) and incomplete bladder emptying six weeks following surgery (3.7 versus 0 percent). There were no significant differences between groups in changes in overall health, other pelvic-floor symptoms, sexual function and pain.
"Slings continue to be a valuable option for certain women, but we should avoid using them with all patients undergoing a procedure for pelvic-organ prolapse," Dr. Kenton said. "This research reinforces the importance of counseling women on the risks and benefits of prolapse surgery prior to the procedure."
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) ? Mitt Romney is looking to woo Hispanics with promises of a stronger economy, facing a large gathering of the influential voting bloc for the first time since immigration was thrust into the forefront of the presidential contest.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee on Thursday is addressing the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.President Barack Obama will speak to the same group Friday.
Romney has struggled in recent days to clarify his immigration policy as he pivots from the harsh rhetoric that defined the monthslong GOP primary to a general election audience in which Latinos will play a critical role. The stakes are high not only for states with larger Hispanic populations such as Florida, Nevada and Colorado, but for a growing number of other battlegrounds ? Ohio, North Carolina and Virginia, among them ? where even a modest shift among Latino voters could be significant.
At least 1 in 6 Americans is of Hispanic descent, according to the Census Bureau.
"We're talking about a significant share of the American electorate that could well decide this election," said Arturo Vargas, executive director of the Latino association. "It's only now that both candidates are turning their attention to the Latino vote."
Romney's speech comes as the Supreme Court prepares to render judgment on a get-tough Arizona law and after Obama announced plans to ease deportation rules for some children of illegal immigrants.
Obama is riding a wave of Latino enthusiasm over his decision to allow hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to stay in the country and work. Under the administration plan, illegal immigrants can avoid deportation if they can prove they were brought to the United States before they turned 16 and are younger than 30, have been in the country for at least five continuous years, have no criminal history, and graduated from a U.S. high school or earned a GED or served in the military.
The new policy could help anywhere from 800,000 young immigrants, the administration's estimate, to 1.4 million, the Pew Hispanic Center's estimate.
Romney has refused to say whether he would reverse the policy if elected, but he has seized on the temporary status of Obama's plan as his prime criticism. The Republican has also highlighted what he calls the president's "broken promises" to deliver comprehensive immigration reform during his first term.
"These people deserve to understand what their status will be long term, not just 4 1/2 months," Romney said on Fox News Radio this week. "And that's why I think it's important for me and for Congress to come together to put together a plan that secures the border, that insists that we have an employment verification system and that deals with the children of those who have come here illegally on a long-term basis, not a stopgap measure."
Both sides are crafting aggressive strategies to appeal to a demographic that is by no means monolithic but has supported Democrats in recent elections. Some Republicans fear ? and Democrats hope ? that Obama could capitalize on this moment to help solidify Hispanic voters as predominantly Democratic this fall and for years to come, much as President Lyndon Johnson hardened the black vote for Democrats as he pushed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
As is typical, Romney intends to focus on the economy when he faces the Latino convention. The former Massachusetts governor argues that his economic credentials would benefit all people who have struggled under Obama's leadership in recent years ? women, younger voters and Hispanics among them.
That's a message that resonates with Latinos, according to Vargas. "Overall, what's on the minds of the folks who will be gathering here is the state of the economy ? the need for more jobs," he said. "Latino workers have suffered."
Regardless of his focus, Romney's appearance will draw attention to his recent rhetoric on the issue.
Facing a Rhode Island audience in April, for example, Romney drew large cheers when he said: "We want people to come here legally. And we like it when they come here speaking English."
He did not support the Obama administration's lawsuit challenging Arizona's hard-line immigration law. And he said that he would veto the DREAM Act, which would have given legal status to some children of illegal immigrants.
Obama so far has vastly outspent Romney on Spanish-language television and radio. But Romney has released targeted TV and radio ads in Spanish, including some that feature one of Romney's sons, a fluent Spanish speaker.
Romney is set to leave Florida later Thursday en route to a three-day retreat with fundraisers in Utah.
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Public release date: 21-Jun-2012
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