Ours Country

Adopted Russian Boy Rejected by U.S. Mother Adjusts in Foster Care

2012-04-13T16:44:00.003-07:00

Artyom Saleviev's mischievous grin quickly fades when asked about the five months he spent in the United States.

"I do not want to talk about this," he said quietly, as he looked down at the floor. Asked if he would ever go back he said nothing and emphatically shook his head no.

In 2010 Artyom made headlines around the world after his American adoptive mother Torry Hansen put the then seven-year-old boy back on a plane to Russia alone with a letter that said she didn't want him anymore.

Artyom's new foster mother still cannot believe what happened to him.

"It's inhumane," Vera Egorova told ABC News in an interview in the home where she cares for him and several other children. Artyom is her 17th foster child.

"He should have been accompanied by adults and not just sent like a package by plane with his documents. It's bad. As a woman and a mother I could have never done this," she said.

The case sparked outrage in Russia and the government froze adoptions to the United States while it sought assurances that Russian children would be properly cared for by their adoptive parents. An accord was finally reached last year and the Russian parliament may soon ratify it in the coming weeks.

In the meantime the world has seen very little of Artyom since he was the scared little boy being whisked away by authorities.

Russian officials say he spent time in a hospital and in various institutions before finally ending up here, at an orphan colony in the suburbs of Moscow.

Now nearly ten years-old - his birthday is on Monday - Artyom remembers only a few words of English.

"My name is Artyom," he said sheepishly without looking up from his Legos.

He's perhaps small for his age, slim, and soft spoken. Like many boys his age, he enjoys watching television, playing with his toys, and horsing around with friends. He also seems to like showing off to the camera. When ABC News filmed him playing on the playground he immediately climbed to the top of the jungle gym and jumped off into a pile of snow, but not before glancing over to make sure the camera was rolling.

Ms. Egorova says he has taken to calling her "mama." She says he's struggling at school and is prone to acting up in class, but she attributes that to the trauma he experienced and the class time he has lost as a result.

Egorova says she has seen none of the "psychopathic" issues that Torry Hansen wrote about in her letter which caused her to reject Artyom. She says many foster children are traumatized by what they have experienced and Artyom is no different.

"We did a lot of tests and visited several specialists and they say there are no disorders," she said.

A U.S. court last month ordered Torry Hansen to pay child support for Artyom's care. A hearing has been set for May 17 to determine how much she will pay, which will depend on her income level and how much it costs to take care of the boy in Russia.

A lawyer representing Artyom visited Russia this week to meet him and to determine how much money to request, as well as to ensure that it will reach him.

Ray Stoner, an attorney for the National Council for Adoptions, says he's confident the judge will give them what they are looking for. He hopes no other child will ever share Artyom's experience.

"What we're trying to assure is that something like this never happens again. And that there's a consequence to what Ms. Hansom did. And that send an important message on behalf of all parents," he told ABC News.

"This is an issue that transcends America, or Russia, this is just the way that children should be treated in any civilized society," Stoner said.

In the meantime, the top Russian official for adoptions, Children's Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov, said he expected no further delays for American families hoping to adopt a Russian child.

"There are (sic) not any artificial obstacles for this process," he told ABC News.

Ms. Hansen was unable to be found for comment, despite efforts to locate her.

Obama paid a lower tax rate than his secretary, White House confirms

2012-04-13T16:40:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama's secretary paid taxes at a higher rate than he did in 2011 despite having a "substantially lower income," the White House said Friday, casting the disparity as an argument for Congress to adopt the so-called "Buffett Rule."

"The president's secretary pays a slightly higher rate this year than the president on her substantially lower income, which is exactly why we need to reform our tax code and ask the wealthiest to pay their fair share," Amy Brundage, a White Housespokeswoman, told Yahoo News by email.

Obama on Friday released his 2011 tax filings, showing that he paid $162,074 in total taxes on adjusted gross income of $789,674, an effective rate of 20.5 percent. The first couple paid $31,941 in Illinois income tax. Obama's secretary, Anita Decker Breckenridge, made $95,000 in 2011, according to the White House's public report on pay in the West Wing.

The president has been making the case for the Buffett Rule legislation that would raise taxes on the very richest Americans in order to ensure they do not pay a lower rate than middle-class filers. Obama has used the measure as a political cudgel to assault Mitt Romney, who has dismissed the proposal as a campaign gimmick. The Buffett Rule is named after billionaire financier Warren Buffett, who has said that he pays a lower effective tax rate than his secretary. Legislation to enact it faces a vote in the Democratic-held Senate on Monday. It is expected to fail, but even if it succeeds it is sure to die in the Republican-led House of Representatives.

Yahoo News earlier Friday turned to the Obama campaign's Buffett Rule calculator to conduct a little experiment. The calculator is an oversimplified tool, but it reported that married filers with Breckenridge's income would typically pay an effective rate of 20.9 percent (a hair above Obama's 20.5 percent), while filers married with children would pay 17.6 percent (somewhat less than the married-with-children president). While we know Breckenridge is married, without data like her husband's income, the calculator's information is chiefly for entertainment purposes.

JetBlue pilot indicted for flight disruption

2012-04-12T10:56:00.003-07:00

A JetBlue Airways captain accused of disrupting a Las Vegas-bound flight when he left the cockpit screaming about religion and terrorists has been indicted, according to court documents posted Thursday.

A grand jury in Lubbock indicted Clayton F. Osbon on one count of interference of a flight crew — the same charge he's been held on since shortly after the March 27 incident.

Osbon's attorney, Dean Roper, declined to comment, the attorney's secretary said Thursday.

Witnesses on Flight 191 say Osbon ran through the cabin yelling about Jesus and al-Qaida. The first officer locked him out of the cockpit and passengers wrestled the captain to the floor. They restrained him with seat belt extenders and zip tie handcuffs while the first officer diverted the flight to land in Amarillo.

Osbon is undergoing a court-ordered psychiatric exam to determine whether he was legally sane and can stand trial.

Under federal law, a conviction for interfering with a flight crew can bring up to 20 years in prison. The offense is defined as assaulting or intimidating the crew, interfering with its duties or diminishes its ability to do operate the plane.

Investigators say Osbon told his co-pilot, "things just don't matter," and rambled incoherently about religion shortly after the flight departed from New York. His behavior became more erratic as the flight wore on, prosecutors say, and ended with the tense struggle in the cabin.

Passengers said the pilot seemed disoriented, jittery and constantly sipped water when he first stormed from the cockpit and marched through the cabin. Then, they said, he began to rant about threats linked to Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan after crew members tried to calm him down at the back of the plane.

The prosecution motion that sought the psychiatric exam said the events of that day "establish a likelihood that Osbon may be suffering from a mental disease or defect."

A flight attendant's ribs were bruised while trying to restrain Osbon, but no one on board was seriously hurt.

A day after the incident JetBlue suspended Osbon pending a review of the flight.

Novelty grenade in package causes World Financial Center building to evacuate

2012-04-12T10:53:00.000-07:00

An inert World World II-era grenade, mounted on a plaque and delivered in the mail, caused the lower-Manhattan building 2 World Financial Center to evacuate this morning.

The New York World Financial Center is located across the street from where the twin towers fell on 9/11.

According to news reports, the Japanese bank Nomura Holdings was evacuated after a suspicious package that was X-rayed appeared to reveal a grenade.

Office workers were milling about on the corner and some headed to a local bar. An employee told theWall Street Journal, "People were a little nervous getting outside. But once we left the building everything was fine. Everyone's pretty calm right now."

The NYPD bomb squad was dispatched. Officials determined that what appeared to have been an explosive device through the building X-ray machine was actually a novelty hand grenade on a plaque that read "complaint department, pull the pin," police spokesman Paul Browne said, giving the all-clear.

Three Baltimore school employees split Mega Millions jackpot

2012-04-10T17:36:00.000-07:00

Two Maryland public school teachers and a school administrator have claimed the second of three Mega Millions jackpot tickets, according to officials.

The self-described "Three Amigos" say they plan to purchase new homes, start children's college funds and organize trips to Europe. Their winning was one of three jackpot tickets sold for the record-breaking $656 million jackpot awarded on March 30.

"If it can't be you, these people are precisely the people you would want to see win," said Maryland Lottery director Stephen Martino.

The three winners have chosen to remain anonymous but did allow the lottery officials to reveal some details about them. All three reportedly currently work multiple jobs just to pay their monthly bills. Even with their newfound fortunes, all three told Martino that they would keep their jobs at the school. "One said 'I can't give up on my kids,'" he said.

Martino said the three winners did indulge in a laugh over Marlinde Wilson, who has infamously claimed to have purchased the winning ticket and stashed it inside a Baltimore-area McDonald's. Wilson has reportedly retracted her story.

The three actual winners purchased 60 tickets at the 7-Eleven store where Mega Millions officials say the winner was purchased. Each of the three winners will received a lump sum of $35 million after taxes. The other 59 lotto tickets purchased by the trio netted a sum total of $1 in winnings.

Martino described the "Three Amigos" as "cheerful and humble and a little overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation."

Peru says rescue of 9 trapped miners imminent

2012-04-10T17:23:00.001-07:00

Rescuers were closing in on nine workers trapped inside a wildcat mine in southern Peru on Tuesday and officials said they could be pulled to the surface within hours after spending five days underground.

The men have been stuck about 656 feet below ground since the Cabeza de Negro gold-and-copper mine partially collapsed on Thursday. They have been receiving oxygen and liquids through a giant hose in place since before the accident.

"We have a couple of meters (feet) left to go," Mines and Energy Minister Jorge Merino told reporters at the site monitoring the digging operation. "We've advanced six meters (19.5 feet) in a tunnel that's eight meters (26 feet) long."

The cave-in spurred calls to formalize Peru's vast informal mining sector, which generates as much as $2 billion a year in income, according to private estimates.

Bin Laden’s wives: New video shows family under house arrest in Islamabad

2012-04-10T13:48:00.001-07:00

New video aired on Al Arabiya television this week shows Osama bin Laden's three wives, who are currently under house arrest in Islamabad, Pakistan. While security is present, the footage gives a rare glimpse into everyday life for the family of the late terrorist leader.

The women, their faces covered, are shown praying and reading the Quran as their children play with toys nearby.

Bin Laden's wives and two of his daughters are serving 45-day sentences for illegally entering the country, though they have been in government custody last May, when U.S. Navy SEALs shot and killed bin Laden in a raid on their compound. The family is expected to be deported to their home countries—Yemen and Saudi Arabia—after their sentences end on April 18.

"The documents are almost ready for the Yemeni wife," Mohammed Amir Khalil, the family's lawyer, told London's Telegraph. "For the Saudi wives there are still some things to be arranged. Saudi Arabia was initially unwilling to take them back but there is some hope."

The 11 Healthiest Foods In America

2012-04-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

Full of Nutrition and Easy On the Planet

J.I. Rodale, the man who founded Rodale Publishing, launched the organic farming movement in America. A strong believer in the power of food to heal, he knew long before organic went mainstream that producing the healthiest food meant growing it in the healthiest soil, enriched naturally with organic matter, not synthetic, petroleum-based fertilizers that can rob it of vital nutrients and minerals. In a 1947 issue of Rodale's first magazine, Organic Gardening, J.I. Rodale outlined "The Rodale Diet," a simple recommendation of easily accessible healthy foods, grown without the use of toxic chemicals that, if followed 20 to 30 percent of the time would "give disease a smart punch in the solar plexus." And 65 years of nutrition science have proved him right. All of the foods he recommended back in the 1940s, studies are finding, contain the highest amounts of disease-fighting antioxidants, essential fatty acids, and other vital nutrients that are deficient in the modern American diet. If you want to follow "The Rodale Diet," here's what you need to get started.

Fish

J.I.'s take: "Here is an animal that, unlike cattle, does not eat food raised with chemical fertilizers. It feeds in waters rich with minerals, prominent among which is the most valuable element, iodine."

Why it's healthy: Saltwater fish, to which Rodale was referring, are the most commonly consumed, and one of the healthiest, sources of protein consumed worldwide. Even today, saltwater fish still don't eat food raised with chemical fertilizers, but the problem is, they're becoming harder and harder to find. Overfishing has ballooned since J.I. Rodale's day, and the list of saltwater fish that have managed to continue to exist in healthy amounts is getting shorter by the day.

How to get it: Go with the safest fish to eat, namely wild fish living in sustainably managed fisheries, such as wild Alaskan salmon and wild-caught Pacific sardines. There are a number of farmed fish that are raised without damage to their surrounding environment, but some, such as farmed tilapia and catfish, are fed corn that may be have been genetically modified and grown with pesticides.

Kelp

J.I.'s take: "Kelp is rich in potassium. It is believed that the reason there is a complete absence of hay-fever cases in the Orient is the fact that the Japanese and Chinese eat liberally of this product."

Why it's healthy: An edible form of brown algae, kelp contains more than just potassium. It's rich in iodine, protein, magnesium, and other minerals at levels higher than most land vegetables. It's also rich in the omega-3 fatty acid EPA.

How to get it: "Overall, kelp harvesting is a sustainable practice that can have low impact on the marine environment if done right," says Matthew Huelsenbeck, marine scientist with the conservation organization Oceana. However, he adds, some kelp farmers have started introducing genetically modified varieties, which can escape and contaminate the surrounding environment, and kelp grown in waters near polluting industries could be contaminated with heavy metals. "About 80 to 90 percent of kelp on the market comes from China, a species called Japanese kelp," he adds. Because the name is confusing, it can be hard to know where your kelp is coming from. So stick with domestically raised kelp: Maine Coast Sea Vegetables sells kelp raised in the Gulf of Maine.

Mushrooms

J.I.'s take: Grown in beds of rich organic matter, mushrooms were grown without the use of any pesticides, he said, "because it would kill out the very spores which are needed to develop into mushrooms." Not only that, but they're rich in iron and protein.

Why they're healthy: Mushrooms are not just healthy, they're vital in boosting your immune system and preventing infections, and they're becoming increasingly valuable tools in medicine, where research is finding that mushroom compounds can fight diseases such as breast cancer. But nowadays, commercial mushroom producers do use heavy amounts of insecticides, says Thomas Wiandt, an organic mushroom farmer in Ohio and owner of Killbuck Valley Mushrooms. "Common practice is to grow them in caves, or cavelike structures," he says. Those areas provide optimal breeding grounds for insects, so the crops are often misted with insecticides (which are different types of pesticides than fungicides, which aren't used because they would kill of the spores mushroom need to grow). U.S. Department of Agriculture tests have detected 14 insecticide residues on mushroom crops. "Not only that, a mushroom has a highly absorbent surface," Wiandt says.

Coconut

J.I.'s take: "A good source of fats and carbohydrates," coconuts also "provide excellent exercise for the teeth." Coconut palms also didn't require heavy doses of synthetic, petroleum-based fertilizers.

Why it's healthy: Though high in saturated fat, coconut products, particularly coconut oil, are proving to be exceptionally healthy. Studies on populations that consume high quantities of coconut oil have found lower rates of heart disease, and coconut oil is one of very few sources of lauric acid, which helps your immune system fight bacterial and viral infections.

How to get it: Every part of the coconut is valuable, even the shells are being used as water filters in some areas. In J.I. Rodale's day, coconuts were probably harvested wild, but now, coconut palm plantations have taken over Southeast Asia, where most of the world's coconuts are grown. Plantations deplete the soil of nutrients and increase pest problems, increasing the need for synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. But it might be hard to find certified-organic whole coconuts, so opt instead for organic coconut products, such as Dr. Bronner's certified-organic and Fair Trade coconut oil or Body Ecology organic Coconut Water.

Watercress

J.I.'s take: "Watercress is never grown with chemical fertilizers. It grows along brooks and other running waters and…it contains more iron than spinach."

Why it's healthy: It's not just an iron powerhouse. Scientists have also found that the antioxidants in watercress can battle breast and lung cancers, and a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutritionfound that eating just three ounces a day boosts your levels of certain antioxidants by 100 percent.

How to get it: You probably won't find much wild watercress in grocery stores, but hydroponic watercress (grown directly in water) is the most commonly available type. The benefit: Few pesticides are needed in hydroponic operations, and the plants are still grown without synthetic fertilizers.

Wild Berries

J.I.'s take: Wild fruit trees grow without chemical help, and even cultivated cranberries and other berries, in Rodale's day, were rarely treated with pesticides.

Why they're healthy: Wild berries, wild blueberries in particular, have higher levels of antioxidants than their cultivated counterparts. One Canadian study found that wild blueberries can counteract inflammation and insulin sensitivity, two factors that, when abnormal, can contribute to arthritis and diabetes. Rodale was particularly fond of mulberries, huckleberries, and blackberries, all of which have a higher antioxidant content than cultivated berries.

How to get them:Wild blueberries can be found in the freezer section of your grocery store (the season for fresh wild blueberries is very short), but for other wild berries, you'll have to go out foraging during spring and summer.

Wild Rice

J.I.'s take: Rodale seemed fascinated by this wild grass that grew in swamps and wanted his readers to send in more information about its cultural significance.

Why it's healthy: Native to the Great Lakes regions of Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and parts of Canada, wild rice has been hand-harvested in canoes by native American tribes that live in those areas for over a thousand years. Not technically a grain but a grass, wild rice is rich in protein, fiber, and B vitamins. Since it grows wild, there is no need for toxic pesticides or water-polluting fertilizers, and it's harvested in the least environmentally damaging way possible.

How to get it: Most "wild rice" on store shelves isn't wild at all but a hybrid product cultivated in paddies. Keep an eye out for wild rice that's actually wild, sold by companies like Eden Foods and Native Harvest.

Wild Game

J.I.'s take: Rodale liked wild game because it was "free of the taint of chemical fertilizers" since the animals forage for food in the wild. But he was first turned on to it as a healthy superfood by a physician who was prescribing diets of wild game to patients with high blood pressure.

Why it's healthy: Wild animals aren't just free of the taint of chemical fertilizers; they're also free of hormones, antibiotics, and even the antibiotic-resistant bacteria so common in factory-farmed animals, according to a study published last year in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Meat from deer, elk, wild boar, and other feral creatures also has fewer calories, less saturated and total fat, and even lower levels of cholesterol. The primary concern with wild game is lead contamination; hunters use leaded bullets, fragments of which can get introduced into the meat.

How to get it: J.I.'s advice? "Go to the hunting regions during the proper season. Many of the resorts serve venison and other game meats." But you don't really have to travel that far in this day and age. A number of online retailers sell wild game meats. Just be sure to ask about whether the retailer tests for lead.

Maple Syrup

J.I.'s take: "I strongly recommend that white sugar be dispensed with entirely and that maple syrup be substituted," Rodale wrote.

Why it's healthy: Overrefined and nutritionally void, white sugar comes from chemically intensive sugar cane and sugar beets, Rodale's reasoning for eliminating it from his diet. Now, sugar beets aren't just pesticide-heavy, they're also being genetically modified to grow faster so Americans can have access to more cheap sugar we don't need. You need just a small amount of maple syrup to sweeten your coffee, baked goods, or oatmeal, and it's actually good for you. Scientists recently discovered more than 50 compounds in maple syrup known to battle cancer and heart disease.

How to get it: Find organic maple syrup at any grocery store or visit your farmer's market to get the good local stuff. Don't fall for "pancake syrup" that's mostly high-fructose corn syrup dyed brown with "maple flavoring" added.

Honey

J.I.'s take: "Natural honey is full of living hormone-like qualities, which makes it a valuable adjunct to the diet."

Why it's healthy: Honey is rich in antioxidants and is often used as an antiseptic treatment on wounds. As Rodale said, it also contains phytoestrogens, and studies on Greek honey have found that those phytoestrogens can blunt the growth of breast, prostate, and endometrial cancers. Honey also has a low glycemic index, so using it to sweeten tea or coffee won't lead to energy-busting blood sugar drops later in the day.

How to get it: The best honey is raw, local honey from a nearby farmer. A recent test by Food Safety News revealed that more than 75 percent of the honey sold in the U.S. is so heavily processed and filtered, a process that removes all of the pollen in honey, that it would flunk quality standards set by most of the world's food agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration.

Nuts

J.I.'s take: J.I. valued nuts, particularly walnuts, pecans, filberts, and pine nuts, because the trees on which they grew lived in soils rich in organic matter that had built up for centuries. That soil enriched nuts with minerals and protein.

Why they're healthy: Today, nuts are grown on trees raised in plantations that, unless certified organic, have resorted to heavy doses of chemical fertilizers. But find a certified-organic nut supplier, and you'll get all the protein and minerals that J.I. valued without the extra dose of pesticides. In addition, walnuts and pine nuts are good sources for essential fatty acids that protect your brain, heart, and bones.

How to get them: If you're having a hard time finding organic nuts at the store, take a walk. Though pecan and pinyon (pine nut) trees grow wild only in certain areas, walnut trees exist pretty much everywhere. Just keep an eye out for trees bearing large green shells that resemble green apples. Crack one open and the nut is resting inside a soft casing that will dye your hands brown.

Trayvon Martin shooting: no grand jury for Zimmerman

2012-04-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

Florida state attorney Angela Corey, the special prosecutor appointed to investigate the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, said on Monday that the case will not go to a grand jury.

The decision does not rule out the possibility that George Zimmerman, Martin's shooter, could be arrested.

The grand jury had been set to meet Tuesday in Sanford, Fla., where the Feb. 26 shooting occurred.

"From the moment she was assigned, Ms. Corey noted she may not need a grand jury," a statement from Corey's office read. "The decision should not be considered a factor in the final determination of the case. At this time, the investigation continues and there will be no further comment from this office."

According to the Associated Press, Corey has "a reputation for not presenting cases before grand juries if it wasn't required." (Only first-degree murder cases require the use of grand juries in Florida, the AP noted.)

The lawyer for Martin's family, Ben Crump, said in a statement that he was hopeful the announcement by the special prosecutor would be followed by the announcement of Zimmerman's arrest.

"We had hoped she had enough evidence without the need to convene a grand jury," Crump said. "The family is trying to have patience and faith through all of this. We know we want that day to come. We want a very public trial so the evidence can come out and show people that the justice system works for everybody."

According to Orlando's WFTV, Zimmerman could be arrested as early as this week.
Meanwhile, Hal Uhrig, Zimmerman's attorney, called Corey's decision not to involve a grand jury "courageous on her part."

Earlier Monday, lawyers for the neighborhood watchman said that if Zimmerman is not charged, he would speak out. Zimmerman has not spoken to the media since the shooting

You can now get your own chocolate 3D printer for $4,600

2012-04-09T14:39:00.003-07:00

Some 3D printers can print out jawbones, teeth, and guitars; others can print something far yummier — pieces of chocolate. Last year, a group of scientists from the U.K.'s University of Exeter built a printer that can make chocolatey works of art. Now, the aptly-named Choc Creator Version 1 is available for purchase, though it sure doesn't come cheap — the machine is worth $4,600.
Dr. Liang Hao, the lead scientist who worked on the project, founded the Choc Edge company to manufacture the printer for anyone who wants (and can afford) it. His team tweaked and improved the printer since it was first introduced to the masses last year. According to Dr. Hao, operating the enhanced machine is easy as pie: "You just need to melt some chocolate, fill a syringe that is stored in the printer, and get creative printing your chocolate."

Autism may be linked to obesity during pregnancy

2012-04-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

Obesity during pregnancy may increase chances for having a child with autism, provocative new research suggests.

It's among the first studies linking the two, and though it doesn't prove obesity causes autism, the authors say their results raise public health concerns because of the high level of obesity in this country.

Study women who were obese during pregnancy were about 67 percent more likely than normal-weight women to have autistic children. They also faced double the risk of having children with other developmental delays.

On average, women face a 1 in 88 chance of having a child with autism; the results suggest that obesity during pregnancy would increase that to a 1 in 53 chance, the authors said.
The study was released online Monday in Pediatrics.

Since more than one-third of U.S. women of child-bearing age are obese, the results are potentially worrisome and add yet another incentive for maintaining a normal weight, said researcher Paula Krakowiak, a study co-author and scientist at the University of California, Davis.

Previous research has linked obesity during pregnancy with stillbirths, preterm births and some birth defects.

Dr. Daniel Coury, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, said the results "raise quite a concern."

He noted that U.S. autism rates have increased along with obesity rates and said the research suggests that may be more than a coincidence.

More research is needed to confirm the results. But if mothers' obesity is truly related to autism, it would be only one of many contributing factors, said Coury, who was not involved in the study.

Genetics has been linked to autism, and scientists are examining whether mothers' illnesses and use of certain medicines during pregnancy might also play a role.

The study involved about 1,000 California children, ages 2 to 5. Nearly 700 had autism or other developmental delays, and 315 did not have those problems.

Mothers were asked about their health. Medical records were available for more than half the women and confirmed their conditions. It's not clear how mothers' obesity might affect fetal development, but the authors offer some theories.

Obesity, generally about 35 pounds overweight, is linked with inflammation and sometimes elevated levels of blood sugar. Excess blood sugar and inflammation-related substances in a mother's blood may reach the fetus and damage the developing brain, Krakowiak said.

The study lacks information on blood tests during pregnancy. There's also no information on women's diets and other habits during pregnancy that might have influenced fetal development.

There were no racial, ethnic, education or health insurance differences among mothers of autistic kids and those with unaffected children that might have influenced the results, the researchers said.

The National Institutes of Health helped pay for the study.

5 men charged in slayings of 2 Michigan women

2012-04-09T13:00:00.001-07:00

Five men have been charged in the abduction and slayings of two Michigan women who were kidnapped and stuffed in a car trunk at gunpoint, a prosecutor said Saturday.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced the charges during a morning news conference.

The men are being charged in the deaths of friends and roommates Abreeya Brown, 18, and Ashley Conaway, 22, who were abducted on Feb. 28. Their bodies were discovered March 25 in shallow graves in a wooded area on Detroit's west side, not far from their home in Hamtramck. The women had been bound and shot in the head.

Brandon Cain, 26, Miguel Rodriguez, 24, Reginald Brown, 24, Jeremy Brown, 19, and Brian Lee, 25, all of Detroit, are charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of felony murder, two counts of torture and two counts of unlawful imprisonment.

Authorities said Conaway may have been targeted for telling police that Lee and Cain shot at her nearly three weeks before the abduction.

The two men face attempted murder charges in that case in Wayne County Circuit Court, where they are accused of shooting at Abreeya Brown and Conaway's car on Feb. 8. Witnesses have said Cain had been romantically pursuing Conaway.

Worthy said the case serves as a reminder about the importance of witness protection.
"This case represents many of our fears when it comes to vital witnesses in a case," the prosecutor said. "These women were heroic. They refused to relent and let these defendants deter them from continuing on with their previous case, and they paid with their lives."

Lee's attorney, Arnold Reed, said his client was innocent. Reed said witnesses at a recent hearing in the first case were Cain's family members, and noted that Conway described the suspect as standing 5-foot7 though Lee is 6-foot-1.

"You've got relatives of the co-defendant because they want to save their relative's hide. The girls couldn't even identify my client as being there. There's a heck of a lot of difference between 5'7" and 6'1",'' Reed said.

He called the charges baseless, saying prosecutors have no evidence against Lee.
"No finger prints, no DNA, no ballistics. None of that," Reed added. "This is just an effort to quiet down the public, and give the public a little ease."

A message seeking comment was left Saturday by The Associated Press for Cain's attorney, Wright Blake.

Cain and Reginald Brown also are charged with felony firearm, and Cain is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm in the slayings case.

If convicted as charged, the five men face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for Worthy's office, said she didn't have any information on whether Rodriguez, Reginald Brown and Jeremy Brown have attorneys.

Reginald Brown and Jeremy Brown are cousins unrelated to Abreeya Brown, the prosecutor's office said. They were arraigned Saturday and face a preliminary examination April 19, when a judge will decide if there's enough evidence for them to stand trial.

Cain, Rodriguez and Lee will be arraigned in Hamtramck District Court on Monday. Cain and Lee face arraignment on the attempted murder charges Thursday. Their lawyers have said authorities lack credible evidence against their clients.

Abreeya Brown's stepfather, Major Chapman, testified during a court hearing last month that Brown called him from the trunk of a car after she was kidnapped. Chapman said he was showering in the Hamtramck home he shared with the women when he heard someone "ring the bell frantically."

The 56-year-old said he rushed downstairs and opened the door to see Cain in the street with a gun, and another man dragging his stepdaughter.

Chapman said he traded gunshots with the men before they drove off.

Five minutes later, Brown called saying she and Conaway were in the car's trunk, Chapman said. She didn't say where they were going or who had taken them.

Kansas finds its Mega Millions winner

2012-04-09T12:53:00.000-07:00

The world-record $656 million Mega Millions jackpot has found a winner in Kansas, but two-thirds of the winnings have yet to be claimed a full week after the lottery was drawn.

Kansas lottery chief Dennis Wilson said his state's winner turned up at his offices in Topeka shortly before noon Friday with a lawyer and financial officer in tow and a request to stay out of the headlines.

"We were so thrilled to meet with the winner earlier today and welcome the winner to the Kansas millionaire family," Wilson said.

"Even though the winner has elected to remain anonymous, there is great reason for celebration across the state."

Careful not to disclose the winner's age, hometown or even gender, Wilson said he or she had opted for a single check for $110.5 million -- a third of the jackpot minus taxes -- in lieu of 26 yearly installments.

Tickets with the winning combination of 2, 4, 23, 38, 46 plus Mega Ball 23 -- drawn last Friday -- were sold in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland amid an unprecedented nationwide lottery-buying frenzy.

Wilson said the winner, a regular lottery player, was unaware of his or her Mega Millions windfall prior to checking the ticket number on Monday.

"They actually just checked the tickets of all the games they had purchased and found out they were the winner," he said.

"They checked it over 10 times to make sure they were reading it right, to verify it, and they still had a hard time believing it."

Despite Wilson's use of the plural "they," a Kansas state lottery spokeswoman confirmed to AFP in an email that there was just one winner, and not a group that had pooled money to buy tickets.
In Maryland, a 37-year-old Haitian-born mother of seven who claimed at the start of the week that she held a winning Mega Millions ticket told a Washington television station that she had "misplaced" it.

Colleagues at the McDonald's fast-food outlet in Baltimore where Mirlande Wilson is an assistant manager disputed her claim that the ticket was hers, arguing they were part of a workplace pool and entitled to share the loot.

Wilson told The New York Post that she had won using a ticket she had bought for herself - not the tickets she had bought on behalf of her co-workers.

"I was in the group, but this was separate. The winning ticket was a separate ticket," she told the newspaper.

She later said she's not sure she was really a mega-millionaire.

"I don't know if I won. Some of the numbers were familiar. I recognized some of (them)," she told the Post.

The details are similar to those in the case of a New Jersey construction worker who last month was found by a judge to have ripped off his colleagues in an office pool.

In that case, the man's co-workers had to rely on witnesses to prove that he had had collected cash from his co-workers for the lottery.

The judge ordered him to share the money with other members of the pool.

Winners have until September 28 to come forward, Maryland state lottery director Stephen Martino told reporters Thursday, adding that "we will wait... until someone walks through our door" with the correct ticket.

North Carolina's Amendment One Would Harm Heterosexual Couples as Well

2012-04-09T12:48:00.000-07:00

On May 8, North Carolinians will vote on Amendment One, a controversial amendment to the state's constitution that would define marriage between one man and one woman as the only domestic partnership legally recognized by the state.

A number of state universities, political groups, business leaders, and even President Barack Obama have spoken out against Amendment One, while a recent poll by Elon University in Raleigh suggests that six out of 10 people in the state oppose the unprecedented far-reaching nature of the proposed amendment. The debate has put North Carolina in the spotlight, with many human rights activists referring to the state as a key battleground in the fight for equal marriage rights.

While proponents of the bill mainly paint the debate as a moral issue of protecting traditional values on marriage, little has been said about the other negative effects of the bill. In many ways, Amendment One would harm heterosexual couples and their children in the same ways it would harm gay and lesbian couples.

Recognition of marriage plays a fundamental role in many aspects of the North Carolina health care system. Barring recognition of all domestic partnerships outside of traditional marriage would put unmarried couples who depend on their partner for health care, including heterosexual couples, at risk of losing their coverage. Likewise, the children of these couples would be at risk of losing health care coverage if the state is no longer legally obligated to recognize their parents' domestic partnership.

In addition, Amendment One may serve as a "get out of jail free" card for perpetrators of domestic abuse, says Protect All NC Families, an opposition group. By restricting the state's definition of a domestic partnership, unmarried men and women who are victims of domestic abuse at the hands of their partners may fall victim to narrow readings of the amendment. To deem a crime domestic violence would require the state to recognize some form of a domestic partnership, which would be unconstitutional if applied to unmarried couples. This could allow many abusers to receive less harsh punishments, or even walk free.

These are arguments that have to be made, as supporters of Amendment One seem so obsessively focused on barring gay marriage in the state (where it's already illegal for gays to marry), they're ignoring the collateral damage this Amendment will bring with it. The human rights issue at the heart of the debate should, in theory, be enough to convince voters to vote against Amendment One.

However, for those who view the debate as solely an issue of gay rights, and for those who hold an adamant moral opposition to same-sex marriage, the fact the amendment would significantly weaken North Carolina's ability to provide health care and legal protection for all couples in the state should be a heavy weighing factor when North Carolinians take to the polls on May 8.

San Pedro Sula's violence mirrors Honduras' pain

2012-04-09T12:30:00.001-07:00

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras (AP) — This is a city besieged by crime in all its forms: gang violence, drug cartel killings and rampant extortion compounded by a fear of authorities.

Honduras is now among the most dangerous places on Earth. No other country matches its rate of 86 slayings per 100,000 inhabitants a year, according to a 2011 United Nations Report. That is roughly 20 times the U.S. homicide rate.

And it's worse in San Pedro Sula, often cited as Honduras' most violent city, with a murder rate almost double the national average.

In this Wild West city, gangs such as the Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, operate with impunity. MS-13 was born in the 1980s among Central American-born inmates in the prisons of California and spread to Central America when members were deported back home by the U.S. They found fertile ground in Honduras and other countries with underfunded police forces and corrupt officials.

Hondurans say gangs have imposed an almost unchallenged reign of extortion, murder and drug trafficking on this city and others.

Mayor Juana Carlos Zuniga recognizes that San Pedro Sula is threatened by violence that authorities cannot control. And the city's location near Honduras' Atlantic coast and border with Guatemala have put it on key international drug trafficking routes.

"As a local government we don't have the necessary instruments to fight the well-defined and identified violence derived from drug trafficking that overwhelms us," Zuniga told The Associated Press.

One night recently, the Catalino Rivas public hospital in San Pedro Sula could have been operating in a country at war.

There were not enough stretchers for the 19 wounded who arrived that night, and the people who brought them in had to shift the patients about. Pools of blood on the floor went unmopped.

Natalia Galdamez, the doctor on duty, received three patients with gunshot wounds. They said a gunman suddenly appeared and shot them without saying a word.

"It's tough to believe. This was a paid hit. We hear the same story all the time," Galdamez said.
Drug trafficking isn't the only source of San Pedro Sula's violence.

At a nearby taxi stand, a driver with 21 years of experience explained how each of the company's 35 cars has to pay $30 a month to a gang. He said the drivers have to pay the same amount in taxes to the government, but each year, not each month.

"Who do you think has more power, the state or the criminals?" said the driver, who didn't want his name used for fear of reprisals.

No Surprise Student Breaks with Teacher

2012-04-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

Though Powers and Hooker said their relationship only got physical after she turned 18. The mother predicted in a Good Morning, America interview her daughter wasn't the first kid to be duped by the teacher. Powers has moved out of the couple's apartment. She professes to be shocked Hooker lied to her and says they're through.

I have to wonder how Powers could be surprised. She admitted she alienated most everyone in her life moving in with Hooker. She knew it was a little weird an adult man would leave his family for her. She says she was warned by countless people was not healthy. Now Powers says she thinks he might have had relationships with other girl students.

That's what everyone was trying to tell the girl, but she wouldn't listen. It's pretty unlikely she would be the first and only teen in Hooker's life. In this relationship, instead of getting more than she bargained for, Powers got what she asked for -- an older man attracted to young girls.

At 18, girls aren't usually savvy enough to the pattern behavior of child predators. That's what's so awkward about the age of 17 to 18 -- kids think of themselves as adults. Legally, they are treated as adults but rarely act or think like adults. They lack the experience and common sense that comes with age. That's also why it's so difficult for adults with experience to warn adolescents off from danger. They sometimes have to hit a brick wall head-on before they learn.

Powers has had a narrow scrape. She could have only discovered this years down the road. Hopefully, she'll be able to rebuild her life, sadder but wiser.

Jennifer Lopez Buys Casper Smart A Truck For His Birthday

2012-04-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

Dating Jennifer Lopez has its perks!

According to People, the star bought new beau Casper Smart a new ride for his 25th birthday.

J.Lo reportedly got Casper a customized white Dodge Ram truck to celebrate his big day.

"Jennifer had planned a fun day to celebrate Casper's birthday," a source told the mag. "[She] knew that Casper really wanted a truck, and Casper was very excited about the generous gift."

Over the weekend, she Tweeted, "@BEAUcasperSMART 'Beau has a birthday we're so glad we hope it[']s the happiest Birthday Beau ever has!' #singingtweet. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAR!!!"

The couple was reportedly spotted having dinner this weekend at Cecconi's in West Hollywood, Calif., where they dined on pasta, fish and enjoyed wine with friends.

And when it came time to decide which car to take to dinner, the birthday boy showed off his new wheels.

"Casper was so excited about his new truck that he decided to drive it to dinner," a source told the mag. "She was smiling about Casper's excitement."

Autopsy: Whitney Houston found scarred, high, scalded, missing teeth

2012-04-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

The London tabloid The Sun reported Sunday that the final autopsy report of legendary singer Whitney Houston has revealed a cocktail of illicit drugs, 11 missing teeth, a weakened coronary artery and “skin slippage” where scalding water burned her body as she lay in the bathtub where she died.

The bath water where Houston was found measured 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit six hours after her death, suggesting a temperature of as high as 150 degrees when she died.

The medical examiner’s report, the newspaper claimed, also revealed a perforated nasal septum caused by habitual cocaine use.

One coronary artery, according to the report, was found to have narrowed by 60 percent. And several scars indicated a series of plastic surgeries on her chest, stomach and left thigh.

Cocaine traces were found in her body, along with marijuana, the anti-anxiety medication Xanax and the muscle relaxant Flexeril. The autopsy also identified Benadryl and Ibuprofen in her system.

A cocaine-covered spoon was reportedly found in Houston’s Beverly Hills hotel suite after her death, along with rolled-up paper and powder cocaine on a mirror kept in a bathroom drawer. Medical examiners also noted an old puncture mark inside her left elbow.

The Sun reported speaking with sources who reported that a scar on her inner left forearm may have been the result of a self-inflicted wound.

On February 9, after Houston performed at a Hollywood club, gossip bloggers published photos showing her stumbling out into the night with a long scratch on her wrist and blood dripping down one leg.

According to The Sun, friends of the pop diva “claim she tried to slash herself to death in the toilets after seeing her on-off lover Ray-J chatting to other women.”

10-Year-Old Girl Gives Birth to Daughter

2012-04-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

A 10-year-old Colombian girl gave birth to a healthy baby girl

A 10-year-old Colombian girl gave birth to a healthy baby girl, making her one of the youngest mothers ever.

The unnamed girl from Manaure, a town in the Colombian Department of La Guajira, arrived at the hospital in tears and "enormous pain" from the contractions, according to Univision's Primer Impacto. She reportedly delivered her daughter, who weighed 5 pounds, by cesarean section.

Experts say a C-section delivery for such a young mother is not unusual.

"The baby's head needs to come through a bony outlet. But in a young girl, the pelvis may not be ready or big enough to deliver a baby," said Dr. Kimberly Gecsi, an OB/GYN at UH Case Medical Center in Cleveland.

Extremely young mothers also have a higher risk of pregnancy-induced high blood pressure known as preeclampsia, and their babies are at risk for fetal growth restriction, according to Dr. Frederick Gonzalez, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at NYU Langone Medical Center.

"These girls are not ready to be pregnant. Their bodies are not mature," said Gonzalez. "They may be able to get pregnant, but being able to have a baby is a whole other situation."

The new mom is a member of the Wayuu people, an indigenous tribe in northern Colombia. The age of the father is unknown, but police can't press charges because the tribe has its own jurisdiction, according to local reports.

"We've already seen several cases [of pregnancy] in girls of the Wayuu ethnicity," Efraín Pacheco Casadiego, director of the hospital where the girl gave birth, told RCN La Radio noticias. "When in fact [the girls] should be playing with dolls, they are having to care for a baby. This is shocking."

Pregnancy can occur as soon as a girl starts ovulating, which is happening at ever younger ages.

"The average age girls in the country start menstruating is about 12 and a half, but that age keeps dropping," said Gecsi, adding that the age is even lower among Hispanic girls. "But only about 13 percent of Hispanic girls menstruate younger than 11. And for them to have a sexual experience would be very unusual."

Because ovulation precedes menstruation, girls can get pregnant before ever having a period.

"Typically, menstruation is the last thing that happens in puberty," said Gesci, adding that girls typically go through a growth spurt and develop breasts and pubic hair before menstruating. "If you notice those things, you could be about to menstruate and you could get pregnant

Obamas Attend Easter Worship at Historic DC Churchwashin

2012-04-08T15:19:00.003-07:00

Donning their Sunday best, President Barack Obama and his family attended Easter services this morning at St. John's Church in Washington D.C.

Located a block away from the White House, the protestant Episcopal parish is a frequent visit for Obama and past presidents. A casual stroll through Lafayette Park will bring you to the historic house of worship in minutes.

The president, first lady Michelle Obama, and daughters Sasha and Malia were seated about six pews back from the pulpit of Rev. Luis Leon, whose sermon reflected on the uncertain state of world affairs as they related to the faith.

Citing a recent New York Times article, the pastor said a new renaissance in Somalia's capital could be seen as an allegory of rebirth.

"Now you may say, 'They're all Muslim.' But so what? That is evidence of the resurrection," he said.

Reverend Leon told the congregation the Christian faith was designed for times like these.

"Everything doesn't get fixed right away," he said, and implored parishioners not to give up.

As Christians and Jews observe Easter or Passover this weekend, Obama reflected on the meaning of the holidays in his weekly address.

Stating he was committed to the Christian tenet of living through Jesus' example, the president said Christ's doctrine of selflessness could be shared by anyone.

"All of us, no matter how or whether we believe, can identify with elements of His story," he said. "The triumph of hope over despair. Of faith over doubt. The notion that there is something out there that is bigger than ourselves."

Obama said the religious weekend is a reminder "of the common thread of humanity that connects us all."

The statement dovetails with a White House prayer breakfast and Seder dinner with friends of the Obama family last week.

Today is the Obama family's second Easter visit to St. John's, having attended holiday services there in 2009. In consecutive years the family had visited historically black churches in Washington for the occasion.

President Obama and his family frequently rotate through a number of churches in the District, having never committed membership to a sole congregation.

It was the same for former presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

At least one predecessor, Richard Nixon, actually held Sunday service in the White House itself.

Looking on the bright side of inflation

2012-04-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a little bit of inflation is not such a bad thing. In the United States, prices starting to creep upward shows the deep wounds from the credit crisis are slowly healing and the U.S. economy is well on the road to recovery.

The evidence is scattered but it also shows up in some national reports. Consumer inflation, after stripping out volatile food and energy prices, has edged upward over the past year and now is running just above the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target.

Workers' pay is nudging higher as the labor market gradually improves. Hourly earnings have grown at an average annual rate of 2 percent since last May and posted a 2.1 percent gain last month, up from a 1.8 percent pace a year earlier.

Home prices in a few cities, including Miami and Phoenix, have started to climb, the latest Case-Shiller index showed, even as the overall index fell. In the Washington area, some realtors say competition has heated up, bringing multiple bids and quick sales.

Businesses in New York and small firms are reporting shortages of skilled labor, especially for technical positions. The New York ISM found in March that 20 percent of purchasing managers were having problems hiring. The National Federal of Independent Businesses said almost one third of its firms surveyed in February had few if any qualified applicants to fill vacancies. This could push up wages in these sectors.

The amount of slack in the economy also appears to be lessening, the Federal Reserve staff said in minutes last week from the March central bank meeting. When there is lots of unused capacity in the economy, price slashing is common. If demand holds up, the narrowing of the output gap could give companies some extra pricing power.

Even the most cautious Federal Reserve policymakers are taking note. "Relative to a few months ago, I think the downside risks to the U.S. economy have lessened," John Williams, San Francisco Fed Bank President, said last week. He was in the Fed camp casting the most doubt on whether the U.S. recovery had legs.

These scattered signs of pricing gains are far from enough to ring inflationary bells, and it is way too soon to say they would prompt the Fed to alter its pledge to hold interest rates exceptionally low until 2014. Indeed Deutsche Bank expects the upward tilt in consumer prices is over.

"Underlying sectors that have been driving these movements are showing signs of leveling off or reversing as we look ahead," it said in a research note, citing slower gains in rental prices and a drop in car prices.

Natural gas glut means drilling boom must slow

2012-04-08T14:22:00.001-07:00

Natural gas producers are being forced to scale back as prices fall, storage caverns fill up

The U.S. natural gas market is bursting at the seams.

So much natural gas is being produced that soon there may be nowhere left to put the country's swelling surplus. After years of explosive growth, natural gas producers are retrenching.

The underground salt caverns, depleted oil fields and aquifers that store natural gas are rapidly filling up after a balmy winter depressed demand for home heating.

The glut has benefited businesses and homeowners that use natural gas. But with natural gas prices at a 10-year low _ and falling _ companies that produce the fuel are becoming victims of their drilling successes. Their stock prices are falling in anticipation of declining profits and scaled-back growth plans.

Some of the nation's biggest natural gas producers, including Chesapeake Energy, ConocoPhillips and Encana Corp., have announced plans to slow down.

"They've gotten way ahead of themselves, and winter got way ahead of them too," says Jen Snyder, head of North American gas for the research firm Wood Mackenzie. "There hasn't been enough demand to use up all the supply being pushed into the market."

So far, efforts to limit production have barely made a dent. Unless the pace of production declines sharply or demand picks up significantly this summer, analysts say the nation's storage facilities could reach their limits by fall.

Peacock Spider In Action

2012-04-08T13:48:00.001-07:00

Mike Wallace dead: ’60 Minutes’ legend was 93

2012-04-08T12:51:00.000-07:00

Mike Wallace, the legendary CBS News broadcaster, interviewer and "60 Minutes" icon, has died, the network said Sunday. He was 93.

Wallace, whose "probing, brazen style made his name synonymous with the tough interview -- a style he practically invented for television more than half a century ago" died "peacefully" on Saturday night, surrounded by family in New Canaan, Conn., CBS said.

"It is with tremendous sadness that we mark the passing of Mike Wallace," Les Moonves, CBS Corp. president and CEO, said in a statement. "His extraordinary contribution as a broadcaster is immeasurable and he has been a force within the television industry throughout its existence. His loss will be felt by all of us at CBS."

"All of us at CBS News and particularly at 60 Minutes owe so much to Mike," Jeff Fager, CBS News chairman, said in a statement of his own. "Without him and his iconic style, there probably wouldn't be a 60 Minutes. There simply hasn't been another broadcast journalist with that much talent. It almost didn't matter what stories he was covering, you just wanted to hear what he would ask next. Around CBS he was the same infectious, funny and ferocious person as he was on TV. We loved him and we will miss him very much."

Morley Safer, Wallace's longtime colleague, remembered him in a video tribute posted on CBS' website.
"For half a century, he took on corrupt politicians, scam artists and bureaucratic bumblers," Safer said. "His visits were preceded by the four dreaded words: Mike Wallace is here."

Wallace "took to heart the old reporter's pledge to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable," Safer continued. "He characterized himself as 'nosy and insistent.' So insistent, there were very few 20th century icons who didn't submit to a Mike Wallace interview. He lectured Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, on corruption. He lectured Yassir Arafat on violence. He asked the Ayatollah Khoumeini if he were crazy. He traveled with Martin Luther King (whom Wallace called his hero). He grappled with Louis Farrakhan. And he interviewed Malcolm X shortly before his assassination."

Among the political and cultural icons to be interviewed by Wallace: Ronald and Nancy Reagan, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Eleanor Roosevelt, Leonard Bernstein, Johnny Carson, Luciano Pavarotti, Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, Salvador Dali, and Barbra Streisand.
"Mike Wallace didn't interview people," the Associated Press' Frazier Moore wrote. "He interrogated them. He cross-examined them. Sometimes he eviscerated them."

Wallace retired in 2006. His last appearance on "60 Minutes" was in 2008, when he interviewed Roger Clemens. But he was slowed by heart surgery later that year.

According to the New York Times, Wallace was "noticeably absent" at the memorial service for colleague Andy Rooney in January. (Rooney died in November.)

And in a recent interview with the Times, his son, Fox News' Chris Wallace, said his father's health had deteriorated.

"He's in a facility in Connecticut, Wallace said. "Physically, he's okay. Mentally, he's not. He still recognizes me and knows who I am, but he's uneven. The interesting thing is, he never mentions '60 Minutes.' It's as if it didn't exist. It's as if that part of his memory is completely gone. The only thing he really talks about is family--me, my kids, my grandkids, his great-grandchildren. There's a lesson there. This is a man who had a fabulous career and for whom work always came first. Now he can't even remember it."

Wallace was unhappy with his portrayal in "The Insider," 1999 film about CBS' controversial decision to kill a 1995 "60 Minutes" interview with tobacco industry whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand over fears of a lawsuit. (Wallace was played by Christopher Plummer.)

"We cannot broadcast what critical information about tobacco, addiction and public health (Wigand) might be able to offer," Wallace later told viewers, adding: "We were dismayed that the management at CBS had seen fit to give in to perceived threats of legal action."

In 1968, a few months before the launch of "60 Minutes," Wallace said he turned down an offer to be Richard Nixon's press secretary, according to the Times. "I thought very, very seriously about it," Wallace told the paper. "I regarded him with great respect. He was savvy, smart, hard working."

Wire your Brain to Pick up a New Language in just 10 Days

2012-04-08T11:45:00.001-07:00

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