| Obama administration to reconsider trucker rule

Obama-administration-to-reconsider-trucker-rule The Obama administration has agreed to reconsider a rule that allows long-haul truckers to drive for up to 11 hours straight, bowing to safety advocates who say longer hours could lead to greater fatigue and more accidents.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration signed an agreement late Monday with safety and labor groups pledging to revise the rule that became final in the waning days of the Bush administration.

We believe that starting over and developing a rule that can help save lives is the smart thing to do, said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

For 60 years, truckers were allowed to drive a maximum of 10 hours at a time. The Bush administration and the trucking industry wanted to let truckers have an extra hour of driving time. The rule also cut rest and recovery time at the end of a work week from 50 or more hours off duty to as little as 34 hours off-duty.

The transportation agency isnt saying exactly what it will do, but opponents of expanded hours are hopeful a new rule will be closer to the original limits.

We are pleased that the government has decided to take seriously its responsibility to protect truck drivers and the public from unsafe driving conditions instead of bending to the interests of the trucking industry, said Greg Beck, an attorney for the consumer group Public Citizen.

The FMCSA says it will propose a new rule within the next nine months.

A federal appeals court struck the rule down twice, saying the government did not adequately explain its reasoning for adding the extra hour. But the Bush administration reinstated the rule each time.

Public Citizen, Parents Against Tired Truckers, Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters sued to get the rule thrown out.

We will continue to push for a rule that protects trucks drivers, instead of the greed of the trucking industry, said Teamsters president Jim Hoffa. Longer hours behind the wheel are dangerous for our members and the driving public.

- | Obama administration to reconsider trucker rule |

| Extreme Turns to Motorola for WLAN Future

Extreme-Turns-to-Motorola-for-WLAN-Future Extreme Turns to Motorola for WLAN Future - | Extreme Turns to Motorola for WLAN Future |

| Rodriguez Michigan hope to rally into Rose Bowl

Rodriguez,-Michigan-hope-to-rally-into-Rose-Bowl ANN ARBOR, Mich. -Michigan is still holding out hope it can smell the roses.




Theres still a chance we could go to the Rose Bowl, linebacker Stevie Brown said Monday. If we can win out, I still think we can.




The Wolverines would have to upset No. 13 Penn State Saturday at the Big House to maintain their slim hopes for a trip to Pasadena, Calif. They would have to get some help because theyre tied for seventh in the conference.




Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez doesnt mind his players talking about lofty goals as long as they focus on getting better each day.




I dont think our guys are sitting around looking five weeks ahead, hopefully not even four days ahead, Rodriguez said. If I sensed their concentration was not in the moment, was further ahead, Id rein them in.




I dont think they wake up thinking about the Rose Bowl or anything further than today, at least I hope not.




The Nittany Lions should give Michigan enough to focus on this week and Rodriguez expects his team to be ready.




Our guys will be juiced up to play because they understand the importance of it, they understand the intensity we have to play with, Rodriguez said. Not that we didnt have it last weekend, but they know its got to be a little different level now.




Michigan had what was essentially a working bye on Saturday at home. The Wolverines beat Delaware State 63-6 while resting their starters, including quarterback Tate Forcier, for most of the game and holding out banged-up running backs Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown.




The win, though, moved the Wolverines within a victory of qualifying for a bowl.




College footballs winningest program wasnt close to being eligible for the postseason last year. Michigan lost a school-record nine games and failed to become bowl-eligible for the first time in three-plus decades.




Brown finished his freshman season at the 2007 Rose Bowl and insisted he didnt take it for granted.




But we havent been back since, Brown said. I really want to get back.




Michigan expects center David Molk to play against Penn State. Molk, who is perhaps the teams best offensive lineman, has missed four games with a broken foot.




It would be a big boost, guard Steve Schilling said. - | Rodriguez Michigan hope to rally into Rose Bowl |

| Questions and answers about moment of death

Questions-and-answers-about-moment-of-death Editor’s note: Founded by Dr. Sam Parnia, the AWARE study seeks to discover whether “out-of-body experiences” really happen and, if so, how resuscitation practices can be improved so that more people can be revived after being clinically dead. Here are answers to questions about the AWARE study and the Human Consciousness Project of which it is part.

What is the Human Consciousness Project?

It is a multidisciplinary collaboration of international scientists and physicians who have joined forces to research the nature of consciousness and its relationship with the brain.

What is the purpose of the AWARE study?

AWARE is the world’s largest study that will investigate what happens to the human mind and consciousness during clinical death and the relationship between consciousness and the brain.  This project is currently being coordinated among 25 major medical centers in Europe and the United States and will be expanded to more centers in the future.

What does it hope to prove?

The study intends to provide a scientific understanding of what happens when we die and in particular, what happens to the human mind and consciousness during clinical death.  Recent scientific studies of the brain during cardiac arrest and clinical death have consistently demonstrated a “flatline” brain state, yet 10 to 20 percent of those who are resuscitated back to life people report lucid well-structured thought processes with reasoning and memory formation. In some cases, there have also been reports of the ability to “see” and “hear” precise details relating to events that had occurred during the period of clinical death. If verified through large scale studies, these detailed perceptions may indicate a high level of consciousness in the absence of detectable brain activity during the early part of clinical death, at the very least. The AWARE study aims to determine whether the mind and consciousness can continue to function for a period of time during clinical death or whether the human mind ceases functioning as soon as the heart stops beating and the clinical criteria of death have been met.

Where will the study be conducted?

At present, the study will be predominantly conducted in major medical centers throughout the United Kingdom and the U.S., as well as one center in Austria and France.

Who is leading the AWARE study?

Sam Parnia, M.D., Ph.D., in collaboration with leading scientific and medical experts from major medical centers in Europe and the United States.

Will it be peer reviewed?  

When completed, the results of the study will be published in a major peer reviewed medical journal.  However, the protocol for the study has already been extensively peer reviewed by multiple internal hospital committees as well as ethical and institutional review boards.

When will the results of the AWARE study be released?

It is anticipated that the results of this study will be released in 36 to 60 months .

Why study what happens when we die?

Traditionally, many of the major questions that mankind has faced have been tackled by philosophy or theology. However, in the last few centuries, science has gradually begun to seek, and has been able to provide to a certain extent, answers to such questions. One of the areas still eluding science’s grasp has been the question of what happens when we die, as well as the nature of the human mind and consciousness and their relationship with the brain.  

From a social perspective, we know that each one of us will one day face our moment of death. Therefore, it is imperative that we provide scientific answers to the question of what happens when we die.  

From a medical point of view, latest discoveries have provided doctors with the ability to push back the boundaries of death and reverse the process of death once it has started. With ever improving scientific discoveries, we will be able to bring even more people back to life from clinical death. In order for the medical profession to treat its patients more appropriately and to address many of the ethical dilemmas that arise from medical and scientific progress, it is paramount for physicians to be able to provide a scientific understanding of what happens to the brain and body, and more importantly, the human mind and consciousness, during death.

What is clinical death? Is there a difference between clinical death and death as is generally perceived in society?

From a medical point of view and contrary to common social perceptions, death is not a specific moment.  It is actually a process that begins when the heart stops beating, the lungs stop working, and the brain ceases functioning — a medical condition termed cardiac arrest.   From a biological point of view, cardiac arrest is synonymous with death.  Initially, however, after the heart stops and the person has clinically died, there is a period of time, ranging from a few seconds to an hour, or possibly even longer, in which emergency medical efforts may succeed in restarting the heart and reverse the dying process. After that period of time, there is such extensive damage to the cells of the body that no efforts to restart the organs of the body will succeed and irreversible death sets in.

There was an 18-month pilot project. Can you explain more about that?

As with any large scale multi-center collaboration, there are complex procedures that need to be followed and a practical methodology that needs to be established in order to allow the study to progress properly. During this pilot phase, we have successfully tested and developed the appropriate methodology that can now be extended to all the centers involved in the study.

Are there any interesting technologies that will be used with the AWARE study?

The AWARE study is the first study in the world to use a direct measure of blood flow to the brain in order to determine the relationship between circulation of blood in the brain and consciousness during cardiac arrest and clinical death. During the pilot phase, we explored different technologies and found that cerebral oximetry is the optimal technology for use in the AWARE study.   

How does the technology work?

INVOS Cerebral Oximeter is an FDA-approved device that uses light waves to detect changes in brain oxygen levels and circulation of blood to the brain.

Is this the first time this technology has been used?

No.  INVOS Cerebral Oximetry has been used in many intensive care settings all over the world as an indicator of brain blood flow. It has also been used on a small scale in the cardiac arrest setting. This will be the first time, however, that it will be used on such a large scale in a cardiac arrest setting and the first time that the results obtained from this technology will be correlated to the activity of the mind and consciousness during clinical death.

Are there other uses for this technology?

This technology can be used in any critical care setting in order to monitor effective blood flow to the brain and to provide clinicians with a “real time” indication of whether certain treatments have been effective or whether such treatments need to be altered. This technology also holds great promise in terms of potentially improving the manner in which patients who have undergone cardiac arrest and clinical death are resuscitated back to life.

For more information about this topic, visit these sites:

MindBodySymposium.comNour FoundationHorizon Research Foundation

- | Questions and answers about moment of death |

| Hallelujah! Church wins $70000 in lottery

Hallelujah!-Church-wins-$70,000-in-lottery HASLETT, Mich. - Divine intervention? Or just plain luck? No matter what the circumstances, a Michigan church is $70,000 richer courtesy of the Michigan Lottery.

The Covenant Life Worship Center and its 25 members in Haslett, Mich. had one of the second-prize tickets in the Lucky 7s raffle held May 4.

The $10 ticket was purchased at a convenience store in Haslett, five miles northeast of downtown Lansing. The lottery Web site says the odds of a single ticket winning $70,000 in Lucky 7s are one in 55,556. Michigan Lottery officials say the church will receive the full amount of the prize because it is a tax-exempt group.

Pastor Marilyn Parmelee tells the Lansing State Journal that the prize money will go toward the church building fund, setting up a missionary fund and supporting local community service projects.

- | Hallelujah! Church wins $70000 in lottery |

| Dining on a dime: Make a frugal Mexican feast

Dining-on-a-dime:-Make-a-frugal-Mexican-feast Fish tacosCharles Mattocks, Eat Cheap But Eat Well - | Dining on a dime: Make a frugal Mexican feast |

| NYC to expand counterterror system

NYC-to-expand-counterterror-system NEW YORK - A network of security cameras, license plate readers and weapons sensors intended to protect lower Manhattan from terrorist threats will be expanded to the citys midtown area.

The city will use $24 million in federal grants to install the counterterrorism system in the area that includes such landmarks as Grand Central Terminal, Pennsylvania Station and the United Nations, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday.

Bloomberg joined Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and other police officials to make the announcement in the high-tech lower Manhattan command center, where video screens showed live shots from key sites.

The existing network covers a nearly 2-square-mile area that includes the New York Stock Exchange, the World Trade Center site and other high-profile buildings and infrastructure. As a result, the area below Canal Street is now the best-protected financial center in the world, Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg and Kelly said the counterterrorism effort was made more urgent by the arrest last month in Denver of Najibullah Zazi on charges of plotting an attack on New York City, possibly a deadly subway bombing.

‘Remain constantly vigilant’
Events of the last few weeks underscore the need for us to remain constantly vigilant against another terrorist attack, Kelly said.

Zazi has pleaded not guilty to conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction.

The midtown security initiative will be in place by 2011, Bloomberg said. He said additional security cameras would be installed and existing cameras operated by private companies would be plugged into the NYPDs network. It would cover the area between 30th and 60th streets.

Police officers and security staffers from private outfits will monitor the stream of information, he said.

The system is primarily intended as a counterterrorism measure also will be used to fight street crime, Kelly said.

- | NYC to expand counterterror system |