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VA looking into possible contamination at medical facilities

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- The Department of Veterans Affairs has launched an investigation into whether there is a connection between improperly sterilized endoscopy equipment and a veteran's positive HIV test.This comes after more than 10,000 veterans were possibly exposed to HIV and hepatitis at three VA facilities while undergoing colonoscopies and other procedures with equipment that had not been properly cleaned. The VA sent letters to those veterans offering free testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV."The VA prides itself on being accountable, and we are extremely concerned about this matter, and as a result we have initiated an investigation," Dr. Michael J. Kussman, the VA's undersecretary for health, said in a news release Friday. "We have an obligation to provide those who have served and sacrificed for our Nation the care they deserve."Along with the positive HIV test, the VA says 16 other veterans have tested positive for hepatitis B and hepatitis C at two VA facilities. Of all the 17 positive test results, 11 were at the VA's Murfreesboro, Tennessee, facility, and six were from the VA's Augusta, Georgia, hospital. Thousands of other veterans are being tested at the VA hospital in Miami, and the VA says it is waiting to verify results there.So far, 3,174 veterans have been notified of their test results. VA officials decline to say where the veteran who tested positive for HIV was treated. Watch more on the contamination controversy »Officials stress that the positive results don't necessarily mean the equipment is to blame. The VA is conducting an epidemiological investigation at the facilities to determine if the veterans who have tested positive for hepatitis have similar strains of the virus. SOURCE:CNN.COM

Fans fixate on Beyonce as 'Obsessed' takes in $28M

LOS ANGELES – Audiences were in the mood for some fatal attraction action at the box office. Beyonce Knowles and Idris Elba's "Obsessed" debuted as the top weekend movie with $28.5 million in ticket sales. The Sony Screen Gems thriller stars Knowles and Elba as a couple whose ideal marriage lands on the rocks after a psychotic temp played by Ali Larter begins stalking the husband.The strong opening for "Obsessed" helped maintain Hollywood's hot streak, with overall revenues at about $112 million, up 23.5 percent from the same weekend last year, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.The busy summer season starts Friday with 20th Century Fox's spinoff "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," starring Hugh Jackman in the title role he played in three "X-Men" blockbusters.Studios head into summer on a box-office tear, with receipts running at a record pace. Revenues for the year are at $3.06 billion, up 17.4 percent over last year. Factoring in higher ticket prices, movie attendance is up 15.7 percent."We have never been in this strong a position heading into the summer season, ever," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers.

Jennifer Hudson gives Chicago homecoming concert

CHICAGO – Oscar and Grammy-winning singer Jennifer Hudson has given her first hometown concert since her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew were murdered in Chicago last year.Hudson sang Saturday night at a theater in Chicago's McCormick Place.She dedicated the song "You Pulled Me Through" to relatives in the audience and brought four cousins on stage to sing with her.The bodies of her mother and brother were found Oct. 24 at their home on Chicago's South Side. The body of nephew Julian King was found days later on the city's West Side.The estranged husband of Hudson's sister, William Balfour, is charged in the murders. Hudson is in the middle of a tour with singer Robin Thicke.

Video: Maxwell - Pretty Wings

Sound the Alarm? A Swine Flu Bind

For all that scientists have learned about influenza since the catastrophic pandemic of 1917-19, one thing has not changed: the predictably unpredictable nature of the viruses that cause it.The sudden detection of the new swine influenza virus, A(H1N1), occurred just as scientists were focusing wary eyes on behavioral changes observed in another virus, the A(H5N1) bird flustrain, in Egypt. Virologists have tracked the avian virus since its discovery in Hong Kong in 1997. The World Health Organization said over the weekend that the new swine flu virus had the potential to cause another pandemic, but that it had no way of knowing whether it actually would.The W.H.O. and public-health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention find themselves in a delicate balance, obliged to provide information about potentially lethal diseases without causing panic. Although health officials have held exercises to prepare for pandemics and outbreaks caused by bioterrorism, they have yet to master the necessary communications skills. They are in a “damned if they do, damned if they don’t” situation.A decision about travel restrictions or advisories, for example, could affect trade and finances at a time of economic chaos. If the public health emergency declared by the W.H.O. and the Obama administration turns out to be a false alarm, officials will be ridiculed for unnecessarily worrying millions of people — perhaps even for creating fear to justify their budgets. If a pandemic materializes, some of the same critics are very likely to blame officials for failing to prevent it. History teaches that the influenza virus mutates to cause worldwide spread about twice a century, on average. But scientists have yet to figure out what causes the mutations, when they will occur and what makes certain viruses more lethal than others. CONTINUE READING....

Swine Influenza (Flu)

Human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection have been identified in the United States. Human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection also have been identified internationally. The current U.S. case count is provided below. An investigation and response effort surrounding the outbreak of swine flu is ongoing.  CDC is working very closely with officials in states where human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) have been identified, as well as with health officials in Mexico, Canada and the World Health Organization. This includes deploying staff domestically and internationally to provide guidance and technical support. CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center to coordinate the agency's response to this emerging health threat and yesterday the Secretary of the Department Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, declared a public health emergency in the United States. This will allow funds to be released to support the public health response. CDC's goals during this public health emergency are to reduce transmission and illness severity, and provide information to assist health care providers, public health officials and the public in addressing the challenges posed by this newly identified influenza virus. To this end, CDC has issued a number of interim guidance documents in the past 24 hours. In addition, CDC's Division of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) is releasing one-quarter of its antiviral drugs, personal protective equipment, and respiratory protection devices to help states respond to the outbreak. Laboratory testing has found the swine influenza A (H1N1) virus susceptible to the prescription antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir. This is a rapidly evolving situation and CDC will provide updated guidance and new information as it becomes available.

U.S. Human Cases of Swine Flu Infection
(As of April 27, 2009 1:00 PM ET)

State	# of laboratory confirmed cases
California	7 cases
Kansas	2 cases
New York City	28 cases
Ohio	1 case
Texas	2 cases
TOTAL COUNT	40 cases
International Human Cases of Swine Flu Infection See: World Health Organization

Today's Papers: Attack of the Swine Flu

The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal's world-wide newsbox lead with, and everyone else fronts, the growing fears that the world may be entering a global pandemic as U.S. officials declared a public health emergency relating to the swine flu that has been detected in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Eight cases were identified in New York, and one in Ohio, bringing the total of confirmed cases in the United States to 20. Several countries have said they've identified people who had recently traveled to affected areas and are suffering from influenza-like symptoms but there are no confirmed cases anywhere else in the world. Still, some have issued travel bans and are instituting plans to quarantine travelers who may have the disease that is incredibly difficult to tell apart from a regular flu. The New York Times leads with a look at the nationwide shortage of doctors, a problem that the Obama administration is trying to fix as it works on proposals to increase medical coverage for millions of people. Of particular concern is the shortage of primary care providers. Some are suggesting that Medicare payments to general practitioners should be increased, but specialists say their payments shouldn't be cut to achieve this. USA Today leads with data that show the nation's largest electric utilities increased spending on lobbyists by 30 percent in the last six months of 2008 as Congress began to seriously debate climate change.

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Gordon, Bulls beat Celtics 121-118 in 2 OT

CHICAGO(AP) — Another playoff thriller between Chicago and Boston, and this one went to the Bulls. Ben Gordon scored 22 points, hitting the tying 3-pointer in the first overtime, and the Bulls beat the Celtics 121-118 in double overtime Sunday to tie their first-round series at two games apiece. The teams split two tight games in Boston, before the Celtics blew out the Bulls in Game 3. This time, they stretched the drama into a second overtime. Derrick Rose added 23 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. John Salmons scored 20 points after a slow start, hitting four free throws in the final 26 seconds of the game and blocking Paul Pierce's tying 3-pointer. ``Everybody I'm talking to is saying this is the most exciting series that they're watching right now,'' Gordon said. It's tough to argue. Boston's Ray Allen buried a 3-pointer with 9.8 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 96 before Rose missed a potential winning fadeaway in the closing seconds. Gordon came through with 4.5 seconds left in the first overtime, hitting a 3-pointer over Pierce to tie it at 110, and the Bulls never trailed in the second OT.Salmons hit two free throws with 26.6 seconds left and, after a 3-pointer by Pierce, he hit two more at the line. After a timeout, Pierce got the ball on the left side but couldn't shake Salmons, who deflected his 3-pointer.It was a dramatic end to another dramatic game. The series goes back to Boston on Tuesday, where the Bulls took Game 1 in overtime and the Celtics won Game 2 by three.``It's 2-2 and we're in a fight,'' Boston's Rajon Rondo said. ``Give them a lot of credit. They stuck with it. They fought back. They executed down the stretch very well and we didn't.''Pierce led Boston with 29 points, although he was just 9-for-24. Allen added 28, and Rajon Rondo again hounded the Bulls, finishing with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists - his second triple-double of the series.Rose, who got outplayed by Rondo in the previous two games, again had trouble hanging onto the ball. He committed seven turnovers for the second straight time, but made up for it with some big shots down the stretch.So did Gordon, who strained his left hamstring in the second quarter and is scheduled for an MRI on Monday. SOURCE:COMCAST.NET

Cavs First to Move On: Game 4: Cavs 99, Pistons 78

That didn't take long. Behind another impressive performance from LeBron James (36 points, 13 boards and eight assists), the top-seeded Cavs routed the Pistons to complete a sweep of the first-round series.  Read Full Article

Asher Roth DJ Enuff Street Freestyle

Bratts roll out 'La Mission,' hometown-style

The San Francisco International Film Festival's opening-night party was a double homecoming for Benjamin and Peter Bratt: It took place in the Mission District, where the brothers grew up and where they shot "La Mission" - the family drama that inaugurated the 2009 festival - starring Benjamin and directed by Peter.As kids, they would sneak into the New Mission Theater a few blocks away from where the partygoers gathered. The Bratt boys' love of movies was sparked watching "Planet of the Apes" in the back of the theater when they were barely out of kindergarten. Thursday night's festivities were held in another grand movie house from their youth, the El Capitan. Sadly, all that's left of it is a splendid Mexican Baroque facade. The gutted foyer, now used as a parking lot, offered ample space for festivalgoers to congregate. The night was a bit nippy for milling around outdoors and for the dancers dressed in sequin halters and short shorts who perform with one of the bands. People could be heard lamenting the fact that the party hadn't been Monday, during the city's brief hot spell. As Thursday night wore on, they spilled over into Bruno's restaurant next door to keep warm. The Bratts were too exuberant to notice if they were cold. Asked how it felt to have their movie open the festival in their hometown, Benjamin said, "As you can imagine, it feels wonderful." This is the second time that Benjamin - who became famous as a detective on TV's "Law & Order" in the 1990s and recently appeared in the A&E series "The Cleaner" - has been directed by his older brother. The first was "Follow Me Home," a 1996 indie that wasn't seen much but has developed a following."We've formed an eternal theater troupe, and whatever Peter does I am going to be in now and forever," he said. CONTINUE READING...

Editor's confessed killer says he was 'conned'

He may have been a cold-blooded killer and "soldier" in Your Black Muslim Bakery, but Devaughndre Broussard was crying like a child after a few minutes alone with bakery leader Yusuf Bey IV. That night in August 2007, Broussard - who had just been caught trying to get rid of the shotgun used the day before to kill Oakland Post Editor Chauncey Bailey - held out for hours under police interrogation. Suddenly, Oakland police presented Broussard with Bey, a man who, although just two years his senior, he had trusted and followed - but who had just identified him to investigators as Bailey's killer. Broussard demanded to talk to Bey alone. In those moments, Bey's power over his follower was supreme. Bey had ordered him to shoot the journalist, Broussard said, but now he was telling him he had to take sole responsibility for the good of the bakery, a black self-empowerment group that had been an Oakland institution for nearly 40 years. He promised him an easy life in return once he got out of prison. Broussard, then 19, was far from a gullible weakling. When he turned against Bey last month and told his story to an Alameda County prosecutor, Broussard - the hardened product of housing projects and group homes - made it clear he knew the reality of the streets. He had even read Machiavelli, he said.

A way to get a job, diploma

In his year at the bakery, Broussard had developed a skepticism bordering on contempt toward the "con" that Bey was running - "that religious s-," being pushed by a young man with a couple of houses and luxury cars who called on his followers to sacrifice. But at the same time, he embraced the bakery's discipline as a way to get a job, earn a high school diploma, then get a college education - because, he said, "I knew I was destined for something." Only too late, he said, did he realize he had thrown his life away. Devaughndre Broussard grew up in housing projects and group homes in San Francisco's Western Addition and, later, with his father in Richmond. By 18, he was a high school dropout jailed for robbery. But at points in his childhood, he had shown potential. When he was 15, Broussard took part in a mentorship program at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and won a $100 savings bond for showing how best to invest a hypothetical $1 million. Now, a day before he was to get out of San Francisco jail in July 2006, a friend asked him what he intended to do. "S-! Go back to the 'hood," Broussard, who is now 21, said during a five-hour interview in March with Deputy District Attorney Chris Lamiero, the prosecutor in the Bailey case. SOURCE:SFGATE.COM

Terrence Howard, a hustler in 'Fighting'

A sharp-dressed man in a tailored black suit, noodling on an acoustic-electric guitar, Terrence Howard bears no resemblance to Harvey, his two-bit hustler character in "Fighting." Howard's sharply drawn portrait of a street-fighting coach who takes one more chance on a young street fighter (Channing Tatum) is one of the film's strengths. Howard said he chose the film after being impressed by director and co-writer Dito Montiel's Sundance Film Festival hit debut, "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints," which also starred Tatum.

Q: I know this will sound bad, but I was surprised how good "Fighting" is. There's a level of detail you don't expect in this genre. The extras casting is great; the location scouting is great.

A: A lot of directors will make the mistake of giving their child to a babysitter way too early. Dito made sure his baby stayed in his hands. He set up the play dates and the friends at the play dates, made sure they were trustworthy and telling the same story.

This film is a beautiful, beautiful walk on that journey from "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints." I think every director is still telling the same story, just from different perspectives. Look how many sci-fi films Steven Spielberg has made - always about something from the unknown, coming. He's still trying to understand some vision that was shared with him a long time ago. Every director is trying to reflect some light that was shared with them, I think.

Q: I liked Harvey.

A: Harvey is the broken nature when you refuse to fix the pieces, when you refuse to tie up your shoelaces. No matter how many times he trips over them, he refuses to tie them. So he's forever slumping his way through the city and never able to pick up any momentum because he can't keep his feet beneath him. That was a dark place to live, as that character; someone who no longer believes in his own reflection. CONTINUE READING...

Craigslist safety questioned after slayings

Responding to an ad on Craigslist for a used car in East Palo Alto got one man shot and robbed. A woman selling a laptop on the classifieds site was held up at gunpoint in Vallejo when she met with a prospective buyer. Although millions of transactions spawned by Craigslist are completed without a problem, a small number end in violent crime. That potential was underscored this week by the arrest of a Boston University medical student, who is charged with killing a woman he met through Craigslist and robbing another. Philip Markoff is accused of murdering Julissa Brisman, with whom he had allegedly arranged a massage in a hotel room, and of pulling a gun on a second masseuse in a separate attack. The high-profile slaying raises the questions: How safe is Craigslist? And should the company do more to prevent violent crime? "We believe the violent crime rate is vanishingly small," said Jim Buckmaster, Craigslist's chief executive. "But no crime is acceptable." Craigslist, based in San Francisco, has evolved into a major destination for everything from selling futons to apartment hunting to finding a date. Not just a bulletin board, it is known as a community, where people share tips about pets and rant about their neighbors. More than 42 million people used the site in March, according to comScore. But some have tried to take advantage of the service by posing as legitimate users to find victims. Many users think nothing of inviting strangers they meet through the site to their homes to sell a sofa. SOURCE:SFGATE.COM

49ers catch Crabtree

(04-25) 17:44 PDT SANTA CLARA -- Presented with a choice of taking the fourth of four offensive tackles or the best wide receiver in the NFL draft, the 49ers did not hesitate. They went playmaker instead of pass-protector. With the 10th pick in the first round on Saturday, the 49ers chose prolific wide receiver Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech to add punch to an offense that finished 2008 ranked 23rd in the league."Once we got to 10 and Crabtree was there, it was over," general manager Scot McCloughan said. "Best receiver in college football. He's the closest thing I've seen to Anquan Boldin in college. He's got the physical ability to play on the NFL level. He brings unique physical qualities to the NFL."Also under consideration by the 49ers at 10 was tackle Michael Oher of Mississippi, who eventually went 23rd to Baltimore."To the best of our knowledge, this is a very good pick for us," coach Mike Singletary said. "The film speaks for itself. I really do think he has a chance to be special. Time will tell."The 49ers were one-and-done on the first day of the draft after Crabtree. They traded their second-round pick, 43rd overall, and their fourth-round selection (111th) to Carolina for the Panthers' No. 1 pick in 2010. That gives San Francisco two No. 1 picks in next year's draft.McCloughan said the 49ers had identified two players they liked for the second round but both taken before 43. Thus, the trade with Carolina, which picked defensive end Everette Brown of Florida State. CONTINUE READING...

U.S. Declares Health Emergency

The U.S. declared a public health emergency Sunday to deal with the emerging new swine flu, much like the government does to prepare for approaching hurricanes.Officials reported 20 U.S. cases of swine flu in five states so far, with the latest in Ohio and New York. Unlike in Mexico where the same strain appears to be killing dozens of people, cases in the United State have been mild — and U.S. health authorities can't yet explain why."As we continue to look for cases, we are going to see a broader spectrum of disease," predicted Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We're going to see more severe disease in this country."At a White House news conference, Besser and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano sought to assure Americans that health officials are taking all appropriate steps to minimize the impact of the outbreak.Top among those is declaring the public health emergency. As part of that, Napolitano said roughly 12 million doses of the drug Tamiflu will be moved from a federal stockpile to places where states can quickly get their share if they decide they need it. Priority will be given to the five states with known cases so far: California, Texas, New York, Ohio and Kansas.Napolitano called the emergency declaration standard operating procedure — one was declared recently for the inauguration and for flooding. She urged people to think of it as a "declaration of emergency preparedness.""Really that's what we're doing right now. We're preparing in an environment where we really don't know ultimately what the size of seriousness of this outbreak is going to be." SOURCE:SFGATE.COM

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MP3: Hip-Hop Podcast Featuring Tanya Morgan, Sandpeople, Del The Funky Homosapien And More

The Podcast:

It's gonna be pushing 80 degrees in NYC this weekend and we have the perfect soundtrack to celebrate the end of a very long winter. Our latest Iconocastic Podcast features the exclusive debut of new Tanya Morgan and Sandpeople joints, plus the return of Del The Funky Homosapien. There's also some C.R.E.A.M. from El Michels Affair and the latest Kee & Zee single. Enjoy!

Tracklist:
Tanya Morgan - "Morgan Blu" feat. Blu
Keelay & Zaire - "We Made It" feat. Mario Dones
El Michels Affair - "C.R.E.A.M."
Sandpeople - "Money Is On Their Minds"
Del The Funky Homosapien - "Sometimes I Gotta Get Stupid"

This is an enhanced podcast, which means that if you play it in iTunes, each song has album artwork and embedded weblinks to the artist’s MySpace page. You can skip from chapter to chapter too.

Streams:

Hip-Hop Podcast #44
http://audibletreats.s3.amazonaws.com/podcasts/Iconocastic_Hip-Hop_Podcast_44.m4a

Hip-Hop Podcast #43
http://audibletreats.s3.amazonaws.com/podcasts/Iconocastic_Hip-Hop_Podcast_43.m4a

Hip-Hop Podcast #42
http://audibletreats.s3.amazonaws.com/podcasts/Iconocastic_Hip-Hop_Podcast_42.m4a