HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - More than 200 Chihuahuas have been removed
from what officials are calling unsanitary conditions in a central
Pennsylvania home.
The state Agriculture Department said late Thursday that dog wardens
cooperating with state police executed a search warrant at the home in
Benton, in Columbia County, after receiving numerous tips.
They say many of the dogs were sick and numerous dead dogs were
found. State police are expected to file animal cruelty charges against
the owners.
The dogs are being held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and
Expo Center in Harrisburg and will be transferred to shelters Friday.
They will then be treated by veterinarians and evaluated for adoption.
Mike Pechart oversees dog law enforcement activities at the
Agriculture Department. He calls it "an unfortunate situation of animal
hoarding."
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Published
Last updated
The U.S. economy expanded modestly in June and early July, but growth
and hiring slowed in several parts of the country. The key findings of
the Federal Reserve survey echoed the gloomier outlook that Chairman Ben
Bernanke offered to Congress this week.
Three of the Fed’s 12
banking districts – New York, Philadelphia and Cleveland – reported
weaker growth, according to the Beige Book survey released Wednesday. A
fourth, Richmond, said economic activity was mixed.
The report was a shift from the Fed’s previous survey, which noted
that growth had picked up or held steady in 11 districts from mid-April
through May.
The Fed also said that hiring was “tepid” in most
districts in June and early July, retail sales slowed in Boston,
Cleveland and New York, and manufacturing weakened in most regions.
One positive note from the survey: All 12 districts reported gains in housing.
The Beige Book, which is anecdotal, helps form the basis of discussions by the Fed’s July 31-Aug. 1 meeting.
Mr.
Bernanke told lawmakers this week that growth has weakened from the
start of the year. He said the Fed is prepared to take further action if
unemployment stays high, but didn’t specify what steps it might take or
whether any action was imminent.
Investors are hoping the Fed
will launch another round of bond purchases, known as quantitative
easing. The bond purchases seek to lower long-term interest rates with
the goal of encouraging more borrowing and spending.
Economists noted that Fed policy makers are likely to wait a little longer before taking that step.
“While
the report is not a positive one, we believe that it is still not
enough to push the Fed over the edge into more quantitative easing at
its next meeting in two weeks,” said Michael Dolega, an economist at TD
Bank.
Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns, said the picture sketched by the survey was “glum” but not unexpected.
“The tone of the report was quite similar to Fed Chairman Bernanke’s testimony this week,” she said.
Mr.
Bernanke noted that the economy, after growing at a 2.5 per cent annual
rate in the second half of 2011, slowed to roughly 2 per cent from
January through March. And it likely weakened further in the April-June
period.
Job growth has slumped to an average of 75,000 a month in
the April-June quarter from 226,000 a month from January through March.
The unemployment rate was stuck in June at 8.2 per cent.
Consumers spent less at retail businesses in June for a third straight month, the government said earlier this week.
The Beige Book was compiled from information collected before July 9.
The
survey found that nine regions reported slight gains in retail sales.
Those largely reflected better auto sales. Auto dealers reported higher
demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Tourism remained strong in the New York, Richmond, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Atlanta districts.
Manufacturing
expanded slowly in most districts but several noted a slowdown in new
orders. Philadelphia and Richmond said that both new orders and
shipments had weakened.
The Institute for Supply Management
reported that manufacturing shrank in June for the first time in nearly
three years. Europe’s financial crisis and slower growth in emerging
markets such as China and India have dampened demand for U.S. exports.
That has sapped a key source of growth since the Great Recession ended
three years ago.
Published
Last updated
Jeremy Lin loves New York. He wanted to stay.
Even so, it was more important to him to be on the court as a
starting point guard, and he’s convinced the Houston Rockets will put him
there.
“They made a very compelling pitch in terms of what I could bring
to the team and for the city,” Lin said in a statement released through the team
Wednesday, less than 24 hours after the Knicks decided not to match Houston’s
bold three-year, $25 million offer sheet. “I am also impressed with (Houston
owner Leslie) Alexander and the management’s commitment to improving the
team.”
The Rockets put out the statement not long after SI.com reported
that Lin had acknowledged in an interview, “Honestly, I preferred New York. But
my main goal in free agency was to go to a team that had plans for me and wanted
me. I wanted to have fun playing basketball.”
Fun is what the 23-year-old undrafted guard was all about last
season.
Coming out of nowhere — well, Harvard, by way of Golden State and
then Houston — Lin got to New York when the Knicks claimed him off waivers in
December. He was briefly demoted to the developmental league, recalled, and got
his chance to play when coach Mike D’Antoni put him in with the Knicks
floundering at 8-15.
He scored 25 points in a 99-92 win over New Jersey Nets and
“Linsanity” was born. Soon New York was in playoff contention and Lin was having
drinks named after him.
Lin said Wednesday that he “loved this past year with the Knicks
and truly appreciate the opportunity that New York gave me,” even though the
team decided to let him go.
“The way the fans fully embraced me and our team was something
I’ll always cherish forever,” he said. “It was an extraordinary and
unforgettable time that was easily the best year of my life.”
And now it’s on to Houston, which made its move and got its
man.
Why did the Rockets go for him? Because it made basketball sense
and marketing sense.
The Rockets not only filled a position of need, but also snagged
a player who may re-establish the franchise in Asia, where the team enjoyed
massive popularity during Yao Ming’s career.
Lin is American-born, but of Chinese and Taiwanese descent, and
his timing is perfect to capitalize on the NBA’s explosive growth in China.
He’ll wear No. 7 for the Rockets, a change from the No. 17 he wore with the
Knicks. The team began taking pre-orders for Lin jerseys online on
Wednesday.
Yao was widely credited with breaking open the Chinese market for
the NBA, but his retirement last summer hasn’t slowed the game’s growth or
popularity.
Television ratings for live NBA games on CCTV5, the national
network in China, were up 21 per cent in 2011-12 from the previous season, the
league said. The NBA had about 16 million followers on social media when Yao
retired, and that number spiked to 49 million last season, the league said.
Marc Ganis, president of Chicago-based SportsCorp, says the
Rockets will be able to build on Lin’s marketability.
“There is still a lot of interest in the Rockets in China, even
without Yao,” Ganis said. “This is clearly an effort to get a good player, but
also capitalize on the in-roads that the team has already made with Chinese
sponsors and the fans there.”
Reaction among fans closer to home was muted, although Lin was
the talk of sports radio in Houston all day and exploded on social media. Since
the acquisition became official late Tuesday night, the Rockets’ Twitter page
has picked up 3,000 new followers and the Facebook page added 10,000
“likes.”
However, late Wednesday afternoon, the marquee at the Toyota
Center mentioned only season-ticket packages for the Rockets, along with an
Aerosmith concert and a WWE Smackdown.
On the basketball front, general manager Daryl Morey still has
work to do.
The next major priority for Houston is finding a big man. Dwight
Howard is still available, but that may be long shot. The Rockets expect to sign
Bulls centre Omer Asik to a three-year, $25 million offer sheet that’s similar
to Lin’s deal.
Beyond that, Morey must replenish a roster that’s been gutted
over the past two weeks. The Rockets traded Chase Budinger and Samuel Dalembert
as they collected draft picks for a package aimed at enticing Orlando to send
them Howard, a six-time All-Star.
Houston ended up keeping all three first-round draft picks,
selecting Connecticut guard Jeremy Lamb, Iowa State forward Royce White and
Kentucky forward Terrence Jones, who all remain unsigned.
The Rockets lost unrestricted free agent Goran Dragic to Phoenix,
began their pursuit of Lin and traded Kyle Lowry to Toronto. They withdrew their
qualifying offer to guard Courtney Lee, completed a sign-and-trade that sent
centre Marcus Camby to New York and used the amnesty clause to waive forward
Luis Scola.
On Wednesday, the Rockets waived forward Jon Leuer and centre
Jerome Jordan. Leuer came to Houston in the Dalembert trade with Milwaukee, and
Jordan was acquired in the Camby deal.
Houston has only won one playoff series since 1997 and missed the
post-season entirely the last three seasons. Whether Lin becomes a cornerstone
to a championship-contending team is anyone’s guess — he’s only started 25 games
in his young career.
But just adding Lin has made the Rockets more intriguing than
they’ve been in a while. It’s up to Morey to turn them into a contender
again.
Hundreds of London taxi drivers have blocked a major intersection in
the heart of the city to protest their exclusion from the road lanes
dedicated to Olympic traffic.
Drivers in black London cabs blared their horns as they jammed
Parliament Square on Tuesday, sending lines of traffic snaking back
along surrounding streets.
The cabbies are miffed that they are not allowed into the "Games Lanes" reserved for Olympic athletes, officials and VIPs.
The first lane already opened near Heathrow Airport and the rest start
two days before the games, which run from July 27 to Aug. 12.
Jonathan Myers of the United Cabbies union said it's "unacceptable"
that cabs were not allowed, adding that "this is a working city and we
need to get around and do our job."
Transport for London commissioner Peter Hendy condemned the action.
He told the BBC he had "no sympathy" for the "trumped-up" demonstration.
FOLLOW ALONG
The Olympic torch relay is on its epic journey to London. Keep track of where it is on the road to the games HERE.
A spokesman for TFL said there had been discussions with cab drivers since 2009.
He said they would be able to access some of the special lanes to
collect fares, including the nearside Games Lane in Park Lane, central
London.
John Mason, director of London Taxi and Private Hire, called the protest "completely irresponsible."
"We strongly urge taxi drivers to ignore calls to join these
unnecessary protests and instead show why they are regularly voted the
best in the world," Mason told the BBC.
The Metropolitan Police said the planned demonstration affected Whitehall and Trafalgar Square as well as Parliament Square.
Children who
play on several sports teams are nearly 40 percent less likely to be
obese, according to study by Hood Center for Children and Families
AFP RELAX NEWS
Wednesday, July 18, 2012, 3:59 PM
Kids who play multiple team sports are 40 percent less likely to be obese.
Parents who want fit kids shouldn’t make them diet, they should make them play team sports.
New research finds that children who play on several sports teams are nearly 40 percent less likely to be obese.
"Team sport participation had the strongest and most consistent inverse
association with weight status," wrote researcher Keith M. Drake, of
the Hood Center for Children and Families at Dartmouth in Lebanon, New
Hampshire, and colleagues in Pediatrics, in a study published
July 16. "Obesity prevention programs should consider strategies to
increase team sport participation among all students."
"Adolescents who played on three sports teams or more in the last year
were 27 percent less likely to be overweight/obese and 39 percent less
likely to be obese compared with adolescents who did not play on any
sports teams," write the researchers.
The researchers also found that teens who walked or biked to school
more than three days a week had a 33 percent lower risk of obesity than
those who took the bus or rode in a car.
In the study, researchers surveyed 1,718 New Hampshire and Vermont high
school students and their parents about their daily habits, diets,
weight, and physical activity.
Other factors associated with a lower risk of being overweight or obese
included extracurricular physical activity and eating fruits and
vegetables.
A separate study published this March in the journal Obesity
finds that the number one way parents can help an obese child lose
weight is to lose weight themselves. In the study, parents who served as
role models and shed weight themselves proved to be the most inspiring
and motivational method for their own children -- more than making
changes to the home food environment or enrolling kids in physical
activities, researchers said.
Last Updated:
Jul 16, 2012 11:51 PM ET
Brennan Boesch of the Detroit Tigers, left,
celebrates with Prince Fielder during the seventh inning of the game
against the Los Angeles Angels. (Leon Halip/Getty Images)
Tigers 8, Angels 6
DETROIT — Brennan Boesch hit a tiebreaking
two-run homer in the seventh inning and the Detroit Tigers rallied for
an 8-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.
The Angels led 5-2 after a four-run fifth, but the Tigers chipped
away, scoring two runs in the bottom of that inning and three more in
the seventh. Delmon Young tied it with a sacrifice fly and Boesch
followed with a homer off reliever LaTroy Hawkins (2-2) to make it 7-5.
Octavio Dotel (3-2) got the win in relief. Joaquin Benoit worked the
eighth and Jose Valverde pitched the ninth for his 17th save in 21
chances.
Torii Hunter had four hits and drove in three runs for Los Angeles, and Mark Trumbo hit his 25th homer of the season.
Red Sox 5, White Sox 1
BOSTON
— Adrian Gonzalez spoiled Kevin Youkilis' return to Fenway Park,
hitting a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning to lift the
Boston Red Sox to a 5-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night.
Boston traded Youkilis on June 24, sending the three-time All-Star
and cash to Chicago for utilityman Brent Lillibridge and a minor league
pitcher. Youkilis went 3 for 4 with two doubles in his first game back
at his former home.
Carl Crawford returned to Boston's lineup after missing the entire
season with left elbow and wrist injuries, going 1 for 3 with a walk.
Indians 3, Rays 2
ST.
PETERSBURG, Fla. — Zach McAllister shrugged off being struck in his
pitching arm by a line drive to finish six solid innings and the
Cleveland Indians held on to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 on Monday
night.
McAllister (4-1) appeared to get hit in the right arm above the elbow
by Jeff Keppinger's RBI single in the fourth inning. He remained in the
game to retire the next six batters and eight of the last nine he faced
overall.
Shin-Soo Choo had a RBI double in the third after he had what
initially was ruled a home run overturned by instant replay in the first
for Cleveland.
The umpires huddled after Rays outfielder B.J. Upton signalled the
ball hit off the wall instead of clearing it. Choo was sent back to
second base and eventually scored on a passed ball.
Mariners 9, Royals 4
KANSAS
CITY, Mo. — Casper Wells homered and drove in a career-high five runs,
all of them against Jonathan Sanchez, and the Seattle Mariners beat up
the Kansas City Royals and their beleaguered starter in a 9-4 victory
Monday night.
Justin Smoak also had a two-run homer off Sanchez (1-6), pulled after
allowing a season-high seven runs in a season-low 1 1-3 innings. The
left-hander who once threw a no-hitter for San Francisco gave up seven
hits and a walk before he was yanked to a chorus of boos.
Jason Vargas (9-7) took advantage of the rare output from one of the
American League's worst offences. The left-hander gave up homers to
Salvador Perez and Billy Butler, but still managed to last six shaky
innings and win his second straight game.
Twins 19, Orioles 7
MINNEAPOLIS
— Denard Span had three hits and five RBIs plus two highlight-reel
catches in centre field to help the Minnesota Twins stop their five-game
losing streak and beat the Baltimore Orioles 19-7 on Monday night.
Ben Revere made two remarkable running grabs himself in right field
to go with four hits and three RBIs, Joe Mauer homered and drove in two
runs and Justin Morneau had four of Minnesota's 20 hits.
Chris Tillman (1-1) gave up seven runs in the first and didn't finish
the inning, the shortest appearance by an Orioles starter this season.
Six of the runs were unearned, due an untimely two-out error by first
baseman Mark Reynolds.
Reynolds hit a three-run homer off Scott Diamond (8-3), but the Twins starter won his third straight decision.
By Dan Devine | Ball Don't Lie On his way out of New York, Jeremy Lin tells his side of the story. (Getty Images)
(I promise: We're going to talk about other stuff soon. Hang in there.)
We got the New York Knicks' side of the decision not to match the
offer sheet that Jeremy Lin signed with the Houston Rockets on Wednesday
morning, thanks to tabloid beat man Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
Isola reported that the Knicks declined to bring back the restricted
free-agent point guard, in part, because owner James Dolan felt "betrayed" and "deceived"
by Lin agreeing to a restructured three-year, $25.1 million deal that
would have been much more financially onerous for New York to equal than
the four-year, $28.8 million sheet initially floated by the Rockets,
which the Knicks said they would match.
Whether or not you think there's any validity to the owner's feelings — and, y'know, I don't
— that's the spin coming out of Madison Square Garden. We didn't bring
the kid back because the kid's a no-good traitor. Well, we got the
no-good traitor's side of the story on Wednesday afternoon, thanks to Pablo S. Torre of Sports Illustrated.
Shortly after the Knicks announced they wouldn't match and Lin
officially became a Rocket, Torre spoke with the 23-year-old point guard
about where he is, how he got there and where he'd have liked to be:
"Honestly, I preferred New York."
Torre's exclusive interview with Lin — whom he profiled in a pair of late February pieces that made Lin one of just three NBA players to appear on back-to-back SI covers — includes some amazing details about Lin's courtship (or lack thereof) by the Knicks.
While it's hard to pick which is the most revelatory, the fact that
New York's brass had "spoken to [Lin] and his representatives only once
this month" before a brief phone call from general manager Glen
Grunwald late Tuesday night to confirm the team's decision and wish him
luck seems like a pretty instructive bit of information, especially
considering the Knicks had publicly represented that Lin's return was
all but assured, with one source suggesting the team would match any
offer "up to $1 billion" and head coach Mike Woodson saying Lin was his starting point guard.
It also lays plain Lin's situation at the time that Houston tendered
its reconfigured offer sheet: "By this point, Lin had no real idea what
the Knicks would do. But there also wasn't much choice: There was all of
one offer sheet in front of him to consider." It just so happened it
was the one that included a so-called "poison pill" offer that would
leave the Knicks in an even hotter circle of luxury-tax hell in 2014-15
than was previously reserved for them thanks to their own machinations.
So he signed it, which seems less like deception or betrayal than doing
what literally anyone else would do in the same situation.
Lin also flatly, if indirectly, rebuts bombs lobbed by the likes of ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, who claimed the guard has "been all about the money since the day he burst onto Broadway," and Isola, who had called Lin out on the carpet
for choosing not to rush back from knee surgery for Game 5 of the
Knicks' first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat because he
estimated himself at "85 percent."
Lin pretty quickly brushed aside the financial talk — "If I really wanted to, I could have triple-digit endorsements," he told Torre — but he got into the Game 5 question:
"Every single vet on our team that has been in the league
longer than five years pulled me aside and told me that I shouldn't
play," Lin says. "And I had arguments with them about why I should."
Dolan — who didn't talk to Lin often but had generally been "really
nice to me" — wound up expressing support. "I have plans for you in the
future," Lin recalls the owner saying. "This is a long-term investment.
Don't rush back."
He didn't — and as I wrote then, he shouldn't have
— but I'm sure a certain portion of the New York fan base won't ever
let him live it down. Doesn't sound like Lin will hold it against them,
though:
"I love the New York fans to death," Lin says. "That's
the biggest reason why I wanted to return to New York. The way they
embraced me, the way they supported us this past season, was better than
anything I've ever seen or experienced. I'll go to my grave saying
that. What New York did for me was unbelievable. I wanted to play in
front of those fans for the rest of my career."
It'll be fascinating to see what Dolan, CAA or whomever else have up their sleeves if they want to paint that guy as a villain. I'm sure someone in the Garden's Photoshopping Lin with a coat made out of puppies as we speak.
Brennan Boesch of the Detroit Tigers, left,
celebrates with Prince Fielder during the seventh inning of the game
against the Los Angeles Angels. (Leon Halip/Getty Images)