Syrian Olympians train for London in safe, calm

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-olympians-train-london-safe-calm-181004993--oly.html

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NYC Beverage Ban Debated in Marathon Public Hearing | News ...

A packed house turned out for a public hearing held today to discuss New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed ban on the sale of large sugary drinks.

The stage was immediately set for a "lengthy" hearing, with the moderator noting that some board members would be unable to stay for the entire hearing, slated to last two hours and showing every sign of going well beyond that. Early on, a number of elected officials made passionate cases for why they opposed the ban. But as the hearing progressed, a number of university professors and public-health officials came out in support of the ban. More than 30 had spoken by the three-hour mark, with over half in support of the ban.

Board of Health members, all of whom are appointed by Mayor Bloomberg, did not ask questions of the speakers. The board is expected to make a decision on the proposed ban -- which has been debated heavily in the media and in advocacy ads -- in September. It could be implemented as early as March 2013.

The sweeping ban would prohibit the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks, such as energy drinks and some iced teas, at restaurants, movie theaters, sports arenas and street carts. The ban would not affect beverages sold in grocery or convenience stores (so those Big Gulps at 7-Eleven are safe). And it would not apply to drinks with fewer than 25 calories per 8-ounce serving, such as diet sodas and unsweetened iced teas. "Large" is designated as any container holding more than 16 ounces.

Cups or bottles bigger than 16 fluid ounces (the average soda bottle is 20 ounces) would be affected. Restaurants would be required to serve fountain cups that are 16 ounces or less, limiting many to sizes currently classified as small or child. A medium fountain cup at McDonald's is 21 ounces, while a large is 32 ounces, according to its website.

Elected officials including Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, City Councilmember Dan Halloran and City Councilmember Letitia James oppose the ban and called on the Board of Health to focus its energies elsewhere. The officials asked that the Board of Health instead focus on ensuring playgrounds and school gyms are up to date, and that gym is part of the curriculum in all New York City schools. Mr. Markowitz laid out a plan that would include community exercise groups as well subsidies for low and moderate income New Yorkers who would like to join gyms and other health clubs.

Various elected officials also told stories about the local business owners that would be negatively affected in their districts should the ban be enacted. Local bodegas would lose out on sales, they reasoned, as consumers begin frequenting drug stores or convenience stores still allowed to sell large, sugary drinks.

At fast-food and fast-casual restaurants, carbonated soft drinks account for about 10% of sales in the U.S., according to restaurant market-research firm Technomic. That's a sizable portion of top-line sales, but factor in the profitability of soft drinks for the chains -- a 90%-plus profit margin -- and the potential wallop to the bottom line becomes clear, particularly for franchisees.

Officials at the hearing also urged the Board of Health to allow the proposed ban to be handled legislatively and to give New Yorkers a more-convenient forum to speak out. The public hearing was held in Long Island City, beginning at 1 p.m. -- not exactly accessible for the average working New Yorker, Ms. James pointed out.

The beverage and restaurant industries also pushed back against the ban, pointing out there are calorie counts on the front of bottles and cans in New York, while restaurants in the city also post the calorie content of beverages. Robert Sunshine, representing the New York theater industry, also spoke out against the ban, saying the loss in sales could lead to a rise in ticket prices or hiring freezes.

A number of educators and health professionals, including registered dieticians and doctors, spoke out in support of the ban, citing rising obesity rates.

"We believe in the public's right to choose the food and drink they consume. However, we should make healthy choices easier," said Lois Utley, president of the Public Health Association of New York City. "By making the routine choice healthier, we are making it easier for our children. [They'll] come to a new idea for a new normal-size drink."

Kelly Brownwell, director of Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, posited that larger portions lead to over-consumption, and shrinking portion sizes would help people to eat in moderation. He also said that the body does not understand calories in liquids in the same way as it does for solid food, meaning people don't feel full from consuming a large soda and continue to intake calories they don't need.

The New Yorkers for Beverage Choices group, self-defined as a coalition of individuals, businesses and community organizations, was blasted by several speakers as an "astroturfing" effort by the beverage industry meant to portray a "grassroots" movement, when it's anything but. A quick review of the list of members reveals a number of bodegas, movie theaters and pizza joints but also Coca-Cola agency partners such as Starcom, Mediavest, Creative Artists Agency and Ammirati.

If the ban is instituted, it would be Mayor Bloomberg's most aggressive move yet to curb obesity rates and improve New Yorkers' health. Many of the measures adopted in New York have become models for other cities, such as restrictions on smoking and trans fats and the requirement that restaurants post calorie counts next to prices. The city has also been extremely aggressive in running graphic advertisements that criticize smoking and the consumption of sugary beverages. Mayor Bloomberg also supported a state tax on sodas and other sugary drinks, though that effort failed.

Source: http://adage.com/article/news/nyc-beverage-ban-debated-marathon-public-hearing/236284/

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Pioneering study shows drug can purge dormant HIV

ScienceDaily (July 25, 2012) ? Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have published pioneering research showing that a drug used to treat certain types of lymphoma was able to dislodge hidden virus in patients receiving treatment for HIV.

The existence of persistent reservoirs of dormant HIV in the immune system that are not attacked by anti-AIDS drugs is believed to be a major reason why infection reemerges once patients stop taking their medication. The disruption and clearance of these reservoirs is critical to finding a cure for AIDS.

The study was published in the July 25 issue of the scientific journal, Nature.

Researchers at UNC, working in collaboration with scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health, National Cancer Institute, Merck, and the University of California at San Diego, undertook a series of experiments designed to evaluate the potential of the drug vorinostat, a deacetylase inhibitor that is used to treat some types of lymphoma, to activate and disrupt the dormant virus.

Initially, laboratory experiments measuring active HIV levels in CD4+ T cells, which are specialized white blood cells that the virus uses to replicate, showed that vorinostat unmasked the hidden virus in these cells. Subsequently, vorinostat was administered to eight HIV-infected men who were medically stable on antiretroviral therapy and the levels of active HIV virus were measured and compared to the levels prior to administration.

Those patients receiving vorinostat showed an average 4.5-fold increase in the levels of HIV RNA in CD4+ T cells, evidence that the virus was being unmasked. This is the first published study to show the potential for deacetylase inhibitors to attack latency within dormant virus pools in a translational clinical study.

"This work provides compelling evidence for a new strategy to directly attack and eradicate latent HIV infection," said David Margolis, MD, professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology, and epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Targeting latency is the first step on a path that may lead to a cure.

"Long-term, widespread use of antiretrovirals has personal and public health consequences, including side effects, financial costs, and community resistance," said Margolis, who led the study. "We must seek other ways to end the epidemic, and this research provides new hope for a strategy to eradicate HIV completely from the body."

Early results of this study were first presented and reported in March 2012 at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle, Washington.

The research conducted is part of a UNC-led consortium, the Collaboratory of AIDS Researchers for Eradication (CARE), funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The consortium is administered by the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences (NC TraCS) Institute at UNC, one of 60 medical research institutions in the US working to improve biomedical research through the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program.

Funding for this research was provided by the National Institutes of Health, Merck & Co., and the James B. Pendleton Charitable Trust.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of North Carolina Health Care.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. N. M. Archin, A. L. Liberty, A. D. Kashuba, S. K. Choudhary, J. D. Kuruc, A. M. Crooks, D. C. Parker, E. M. Anderson, M. F. Kearney, M. C. Strain, D. D. Richman, M. G. Hudgens, R. J. Bosch, J. M. Coffin, J. J. Eron, D. J. Hazuda, D. M. Margolis. Administration of vorinostat disrupts HIV-1 latency in patients on antiretroviral therapy. Nature, 2012; 487 (7408): 482 DOI: 10.1038/nature11286

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120725132204.htm

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USDA Grant, Loan to Build Tornado Shelter in Denning

The City of Denning will receive federal assistance to build a new community center which will also serve as a tornado shelter. The Denning City Hall, Water Department and several homes in the city were destroyed by a deadly tornado in May 2011.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture?s Office of Rural Development approved a $35,000 grant and an $182,000 loan for the project, according to a news release from U.S. Senators Mark Pryor and John Boozman.? The new community center will be a 1,600 square foot building that will also serve as a tornado shelter for over 150 people.?

It will be complete with a fully equipped kitchen, bathrooms with showers and a backup generator to provide power, according to the release.

Source: http://5newsonline.com/2012/07/23/usda-monies-to-build-denning-shelter/

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Man accused in Ala bar rampage faced troubles

This booking photograph released by the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Department shows Nathan Van Wilkins, 44, who was charged in an early morning shooting that left 17 people injured in a bar in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Tuesday, July 17, 2012. Police said Wilkins was charged initially with one count of attempted murder, but other charges will be filed. (AP Photo/Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Department)

This booking photograph released by the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Department shows Nathan Van Wilkins, 44, who was charged in an early morning shooting that left 17 people injured in a bar in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Tuesday, July 17, 2012. Police said Wilkins was charged initially with one count of attempted murder, but other charges will be filed. (AP Photo/Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Department)

In this Tuesday, July 17, 2012 image captured from video and provided by the Tuscaloosa Police Department, a gunman walks near a Tuscaloosa, Ala., bar. Tuscaloosa police say 17 people were wounded when a gunman opened fire outside a crowded bar in downtown Tuscaloosa. (AP Photo/Tuscaloosa Police Department)

This booking photograph released by the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Department shows Nathan Van Wilkins, 44, who was charged in an early morning shooting that left 17 people injured in a bar in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Tuesday, July 17, 2012. Police said Wilkins was charged initially with one count of attempted murder, but other charges will be filed. (AP Photo/Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Department)

Tuscaloosa Police responded to the scene of a shooting early Tuesday morning July 17, 2012 in downtown Tuscaloosa, Ala., after a gunman who opened fire outside a crowded bar, wounding 17 people. Police were still searching for a suspect. (AP Photo/Tuscaloosa News, Robert Sutton)

Tuscaloosa Police are on the scene of a shooting Tuesday morning July 17, 2012 in downtown Tuscaloosa, Ala. after a gunman who opened fire outside a crowded bar, wounding 17 people. Police were still searching for a suspect. (AP Photo/Tuscaloosa News, Robert Sutton)

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) ? There were signs Nathan Van Wilkins' life was unraveling.

The man charged with opening fire with an assault rifle at an Alabama bar, injuring 17, had declared bankruptcy last year ? court records show it was for the third time since 1991 ? and faced a hearing in a couple weeks. The move prevented a credit union from garnishing his wages at his then-employer, Capstone Oilfield Services, to collect a $15,000 debt. In 2005, his wife of 16 years divorced him.

And when Wilkins walked into a FedEx store where he turned himself in to police, he talked about being high on drugs during the shootings, the store's co-owner said.

Police were not sure of a motive, though they were investigating whether the shootings came from a dispute between rival motorcycle gangs. They accuse the 44-year-old Wilkins of standing outside a crowded downtown Tuscaloosa bar and opening fire from two different positions early Tuesday, sending patrons running or crawling for cover in a chaotic and bloody scene. Bullets ricocheted and glass shards and brick chunks fell around the nightclub.

Wilkins surrendered about 10 hours after the 12:30 a.m. shooting near the University of Alabama campus, police said.

"He came up to me and said, 'I'm the one they are looking for that shot the 17 people in Tuscaloosa," said the FedEx store's co-owner, Ken Barfield.

Wilkins is charged with 18 counts of attempted murder and was being held on $2 million bond, Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steve Anderson said. It wasn't clear whether he had an attorney. A lawyer who represented Wilkins in the bankruptcy case did not return a phone call seeking comment.

The rampage started a couple of miles away about 45 minutes earlier, police said, when Wilkins knocked on the door to a home and waited for a person to answer it. He then started firing, wounding the person. That was included in the 18 counts he is facing.

Outside the Copper Top bar, pools of blood were visible Tuesday afternoon. A trail of bloody footprints could be seen on the sidewalk for about two blocks before crews cleaned the mess.

"There were sparks coming off the ground and then I felt a sting and I knew I'd been hit," said Rachel Studdard, who was sitting on the bar's patio with a group of friends, enjoying the 50-cent draft beer special when the shooting started.

A bullet hit Studdard's toe, and debris hit her in the side and in the leg. She was using crutches to walk Tuesday and still had dried blood on her leg.

Most of the injured were hit by bullet fragments or debris, and they were treated and released, said Brad Fisher, a spokesman at DCH Regional Medical Center. Two people were in intensive care, including one in critical condition.

At least three of the injured were university students.

It appeared the gunshots were fired through the glass of the front double French doors and a door on the side of the building. The front doors were covered by a black material Tuesday and two windows were missing from wooden doors on the side door, where a bullet left a hole in the frame.

Elizabeth Walters was inside when the shooting began. She described a ghastly scene of people clutching wounds as blood splattered on the floor.

"It sounded like it would never end," Walters said. "There was a lull and then it started up again."

After the two bursts of gunfire ended, the music in the bar continued to play for several minutes until someone turned it off.

Wilkins was also suspected of setting three fires to equipment or property owned by his former employer, an oil and gas company. At about 3 a.m., volunteer fire chief Billy Garner said he received a call about fires at two different Capstone Oilfield locations in Brookwood, which is on the way from Tuscaloosa to Jasper where he surrendered to police.

One of the fires damaged a Capstone building and two adjacent buildings. The other was set at a yard where Capstone vehicles and equipment were kept, Garner said. A Capstone vehicle was also set on fire in Northport, he said.

Workers at Capstone declined to talk. It wasn't clear if Wilkins quit his job or was fired.

Wilkins' wife Amy filed for divorce in July 2004, according to Tuscaloosa County court records. She claimed she was beaten and that Wilkins threatened to kill her and sexually assaulted her. They had two children, and a judge ordered him to pay $1,300 a month in child support in the divorce decree in March 2005.

Wilkins also has a record of arrests and legal scrapes in Tuscaloosa County dating to the mid-1980s.

Police said Wilkins walked away from the bar after the shooting and at about 10:30 a.m., he walked into a FedEx store about 45 miles north of the shootings to turn himself in.

Barfield said he talked to the man and offered him something to drink, even though he was terrified.

"I told him to keep his hands out in the open so police could see them when they got here."

___

Associated Press writers Jeff Martin in Atlanta and Bob Johnson contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-07-18-Tuscaloosa%20Bar%20Shooting/id-5407e2adcea740e48095f8807c4196b0

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New Hong Kong leader takes office amid discontent

A protester, center left, is ushered away by security officials after he shouted "(for China) To reverse its condemnation of the brutal June 4, 1989 crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square and to end to one-party rule in China " before Chinese President Hu Jintao's address after Hong Kong's new Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying was sworn in at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center Sunday, July 1, 2012. Hong Kong's new Beijing-backed leader was sworn in on Sunday amid a rising tide of public discontent over widening inequality and lack of full democracy in the semiautonomous southern Chinese financial center. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

A protester, center left, is ushered away by security officials after he shouted "(for China) To reverse its condemnation of the brutal June 4, 1989 crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square and to end to one-party rule in China " before Chinese President Hu Jintao's address after Hong Kong's new Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying was sworn in at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center Sunday, July 1, 2012. Hong Kong's new Beijing-backed leader was sworn in on Sunday amid a rising tide of public discontent over widening inequality and lack of full democracy in the semiautonomous southern Chinese financial center. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Hong Kong's new Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying smiles during the flag raising ceremony to mark the 15th anniversary of the Hong Kong handover to China in Hong Kong Sunday, July 1, 2012. Leung was sworn in on Sunday amid a rising tide of public discontent over widening inequality and lack of full democracy in the semiautonomous southern Chinese financial center. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Chinese President Hu Jintao, right, administers the oath to Hong Kong's new Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, left, as he is sworn in for a five-year term in office at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center Sunday, July 1, 2012. Hong Kong's new Beijing-backed leader was sworn in on Sunday amid a rising tide of public discontent over widening inequality and lack of full democracy in the semiautonomous southern Chinese financial center. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

The Hong Kong Chief Executive-elect Leung Chun-ying, left, speaks besides the newly appointed principal officials during a news conference to announce the lineup in Hong Kong Thursday, June 28, 2012. Chinese President Hu Jintao is due in Hong Kong for weekend ceremonies marking the 15th anniversary of the end of British colonial rule and the inauguration of its third post-colonial leader, Leung Chun-ying. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang, right, hugs with chief executive-elect Leung Chun-ying, after the grand variety show as part of the ceremony on the 15th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong, in Hong Kong Saturday, June 30, 2012. Chinese President Hu Jintao is in Hong Kong to install a new but already unpopular governor of the semiautonomous Chinese territory. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

HONG KONG (AP) ? Chinese President Hu Jintao was interrupted by a pro-democracy heckler Sunday at the swearing in of Hong Kong's new leader, an incident underscoring rising tensions between Beijing and the semiautonomous territory 15 years after it returned to Chinese rule.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets later in the day in an annual protest that is an occasion for ordinary people to air their grievances over a range of issues. There is rising public discontent over widening inequality and lack of full democracy in the southern Chinese financial center.

Self-made millionaire Leung Chun-ying became Hong Kong's third chief executive on the 15th anniversary of China regaining control of the city after more than a century of British colonial control. There were sporadic scuffles between demonstrators and police outside the convention center where his inauguration took place.

A demonstrator who tried to interrupt Hu as he began his address was bundled away by security officials. The man, one of the guests invited to the inauguration, waved a small flag and yelled slogans calling for China's leaders to reverse their condemnation of the brutal June 4, 1989 crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square. He also called for an end to one-party rule in China before security agents swiftly pounced. Hu took no notice and continued to read his speech but the incident marred what was supposed to be a carefully orchestrated visit intended to emphasize strengthening ties between Hong Kong and mainland China.

Leung, a 57-year-old police officer's son who became a millionaire, replaces career bureaucrat Donald Tsang, who took office in 2005 and is barred from another term.

Leung takes over Hong Kong's top job amid swelling public anger over a yawning income gap, skyrocketing property prices and rising unease about mainland China's growing influence on the semiautonomous region.

"We will focus our energies on major and pressing issues," said Leung, who outlined plans to even out Hong Kong's widening inequality. He vowed, for example, to provide more affordable housing and land for property development, though he also said "there is no need for a major reversal of policy."

But Leung could find it hard to push through his social reforms because he takes office with an approval rating far lower than his predecessors, reflecting not only mounting public frustration but also a recent corruption scandal involving illegal additions on his mansion.

Leung was chosen as chief executive in March, winning 689 votes from a 1,200-seat committee of business elites who mostly voted according to Beijing's wishes. Hong Kong's 3.4 million registered voters, who can vote for neighborhood councilors and half of all lawmakers, had no say.

Calls for democracy have been catalyzed by the way in which Leung got his job and by corruption scandals surrounding his predecessor. Ordinary Hong Kongers fear that the political system in place since July 1, 1997 has resulted in the city's billionaire tycoons having too much influence on senior government officials.

Beijing has pledged that Hong Kong could elect its own leader in 2017 and all legislators by 2020 at the earliest, but no road map has been laid out.

Pro-democracy activists were scheduled to hold an annual march later Sunday that is expected to draw tens of thousands. The yearly event began in 2003, when half a million people turned out to protest anti-subversion legislation that was later shelved. The huge number shocked China's authoritarian leaders, who are obsessed with maintaining control. Organizers said last year's event drew more than 200,000 people, although police said the number was much lower.

The scandal over Leung's mansion has added to worries about his integrity because he took advantage of gaffes by rival Henry Tang, including the discovery of a huge, luxurious but illegal basement extension, to win the contest. At the time, he promised that he had no illegal structures but reporters at a local newspaper discovered over the past week that Leung's upscale home in an exclusive neighborhood on Victoria Peak had six, including a small basement.

The scandals have stirred anger among Hong Kong residents, many of whom can only afford tiny apartments.

Leung is not seen as friendly to the billionaire tycoons that dominate Hong Kong and who initially backed Tang. Trained as a land surveyor and holder of a British degree in estate management, he worked his way up to the top of a property consultancy firm.

Some in Hong Kong also fear that Leung is an underground member of China's Communist Party because he was named to lead a committee helping to draft the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution that would take effect on July 1, 1997, while still in his early 30s. Leung denies that and said his volunteer activities helping to develop China's land use rights following the country's economic reform that began in 1978 earned him a good reputation in China.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-07-01-Hong%20Kong-New%20Leader/id-7b35485ec8f745aaa37fd5ca1362f451

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100 degrees plus as millions suffer power outages

As temperatures again reached triple digits Saturday, millions of people in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest were without power after violent storms toppled trees, cut power lines and killed at least 13 people, 6 of them in Virginia.

Ohio also saw up to 1 million homes and businesses without power due to overnight storms, and at least one person died there.

Two cousins, ages 2 and 7, were killed by a falling tree at a campsite in New Jersey's Parvin State Park. Two people were also killed in Maryland, one in Kentucky and one in Washington.

Five other deaths in recent days are thought to have been tied to the heat wave hanging over much of the nation.

100-degree plus temperatures were expected in areas across 25 states, a heat scenario impacting 47 million people, the Weather Channel's Julie Martin said on NBC's TODAY show.

By early Saturday afternoon, cities across the Southeast -- from Tennessee to the Carolinas -- saw triple digits, while Washington, D.C. was in the 90s and Baltimore at 100.

Atlanta saw 106 degrees, breaking its all-time record of 105 degrees, set in 1980.

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The storms cut power more than 2 million homes and businesses across the Mid-Atlantic area -- including 1.5 million in the Washington, D.C., area, NBCWashington.com reported.

"We have more than half our system down," said Myra Oppel, a spokeswoman for Pepco, a utility serving the D.C. area that had 400,000 customers without power after 80 mph gusts knocked down trees and power lines.

"This is definitely going to be a multi-day outage," Oppel added -- not good news for those relying on air-conditioning to deal with the muggy, triple-digit temperatures this weekend.

Repairing damage "is a monumental task," added Ed McDonough, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Emergency Management. "This is something that is going to take days, not hours."

Water restrictions were? ordered in Montgomery and Prince George's counties because the storms had knocked out power to its filtration plants and other facilities.

And the high heat prompted the AT&T National golf tournament at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., to close the competition to spectators and volunteers on Saturday. Play was delayed for hours as crews cleaned up fallen trees.

In suburban Washington, residents were told to call non-emergency phone numbers or go to fire and police stations if they needed help because even 911 emergency call centers were without electricity.

Trees were blamed for two deaths in Springfield, Va. ? a 90-year-old woman in her home and a man driving a car.

Gov. Bob McDonnell in a statement said four others were killed by falling trees in Virginia, which saw its largest non-hurricane power outage in history. Some 250 roads in Virginia were blocked by trees, the state said.

In addition, a park police officer was injured by an uprooted tree in northern Virginia, and an 18-year-old man was struck by a power line. He was in stable condition after receiving CPR.

Damage in the D.C. area included a rooftop blown off a 7-story apartment building, and dozens of damaged homes.

Widespread power outages were reported from Indiana to New Jersey.

On Friday, the nation's capital reached 104 degrees ? its hottest June day on record.

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The heat is also suspected to have been the cause of the deaths of two young brothers in eastern Tennessee, Reuters reported. The boys, aged 3 and 5, had been playing outside Thursday. The younger boy died Thursday, and the older boy on Friday afternoon, according to Eric Blach, administrator for the Bradley County Medical Examiner's Office.

Video: Record Heat and Big Storms Possible (on this page)

In Kansas City, Mo., city health officials said Friday they were investigating the deaths of three area residents, including a baby boy, to determine if they were heat-related, according to Reuters.

Early Saturday, the National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings for parts of Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee and Arizona.

It said the temperatures could get "dangerously hot."

Video: Drought hits cattle ranchers' wallets (on this page)

Weather.com published a map of the U.S. showing areas at risk of severe thunderstorms Saturday, with an area from Iowa to the Mid-Atlantic at risk.

"A powerful derecho developed Friday over Indiana and marched eastward across Ohio, the Virginias and into Maryland and Delaware, causing widespread wind damage with gusts over 90 miles per hour in some cases," it added.

"Another round of widespread damaging winds may materialize in these hard-hit areas," it warned. "A second area of severe weather is possible for the central and northern Plains, but those storms may be more isolated in nature."

Slideshow: Summertime living (on this page)

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency after more than 500,000 customers in 27 counties were left without electricity because of the storm.

More than 20 elderly residents at an apartment home in Indianapolis were displaced when the facility lost power due to a downed tree.

In Ohio, the storms damaged property and toppled three tractor trailers on Interstate 75 near Findlay.

"I'm in Columbus, Ohio," Brittney Mettke posted on msnbc.com's Facebook page. "I haven't had power since 6 pm yesterday and it's about 100 degrees now. It's pretty tough with a toddler. More storms tonight, and temps in the high nineties all week. They are saying about to week to restore power."

"We were hit with 80+mph winds and rain last evening," added Suzanne Peterson Helt, who said she was from Ohio, too. "They say there weren't any toronados near us but when the rain travels horizontally down the street and the roof is missing from the local Subway ... I have to wonder. So many fallen trees at power poles that the State Route I live on was closed for hours while they cleaned up the mess."

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48024138/ns/weather/

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