The Colts released this statement about Peyton Manning’s neck surgery:

“Peyton Manning yesterday underwent a surgical procedure to relieve pain in his neck caused by a pinched nerve. This condition has existed intermittently for the past four years, but at no time did it interfere with his training, practice or playing regimen. While it never has affected Peyton’s activity on or off the field, the Colts’ medical staff, after post-playoff examination, thought it best to resolve the situation now.”

Peyton Manning had the neck surgery operation in Chicago and the team says he shouldn’t have any lingering problems going forward nor will he miss any aspects of the team’s offseason program.

The Colts said Manning spent Tuesday night in the hospital after the surgery and was released Wednesday.

“All medical personnel involved believe the issue has been resolved,” the team said. “Peyton fully expects to participate in the Colts’ offseason program this spring.”

Manning, the league’s only four-time MVP, just completed his 12th season. He has started every game of his career, a streak of 192 regular-season starts that ranks second only to Brett Favre in NFL history.

And that’s the latest from Action News on the Peyton Manning neck surgery.

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Newlyweds Marissa Putignano-Keene, 22, and groom, Timothy Keene, 37, were arrested for assault with a deadly weapon after trying to run down his ex-girlfriend and her son with the bride behind the wheel of their car.

According to the Cape Cod police report on the incident, Putignano-Keene and Keene told the police they were married at the Town Hall and afterwards split a bottle of champagne.

Later, as Putignano-Keene drove through the North Street parking lot, she spotted a woman familiar to her husband because she had been dating the groom when the newlywed couple met.

That woman told the police she had just left work and was cutting through the parking lot, accompanied by her son, when the newlywed couple drove by.

The woman told the police Putignano-Keene rolled down the driver’s side window and began swearing and using sexually charged language.

The woman said she and her son were walking away when she heard a car engine roar and the newlyweds car heading directly toward them, causing them to jump out of the way.

She said Putignano-Keene then backed the car up, turned around and tried to run them down again before losing control and crashing into a fence.

The ensuing melee between the bride and the groom’s ex-girlfriend quickly drew a crowd and the attention of a passing patrol car.

The police handcuffed the newlyweds, then took the bride and her new husband to jail where they spent their wedding night in separate cells.

Police said the bride – who was wearing a tiara at the time of her arrest! – was asked her to remove it for the mug shot.

The bride was arraigned on charges including two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct and vandalism.

The groom was also charged with disorderly conduct and taken into protective custody. Keene is a Level 2 registered sex offender who was convicted of lewd and lascivious behavior in 2000.

Sounds like the bride and groom deserve each other…

And that’s the latest from Action News on Newlyweds Try To Run Over Ex.

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Arrested on suspicion of first degree murder and forcible rape, John Albert Gardner III, 30, was taken into custody Sunday after police found what they say is physical evidence linking him to King, a 17-year-old high school senior who vanished Feb. 25 while jogging in a park north of San Diego.

Police have yet to find King or her body and San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said Gardner was not cooperating with the investigation.

No bail has been set for Gardner, but he is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday when he could formally be charged with murder even if King’s body has not been discovered.

“There are murder cases that get tried without a body. There is one going on now,” said Paul Levikow, spokesman for the San Diego County District Attorney.

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The racy anti-smoking ads show reluctant male and female teens with their heads held to a man’s crotch and a cigarette in their mouths.

“Smoking is being a slave to tobacco,” the ads read.

Smoldering feminist and family organizations have lashed the campaign for using images of underage sex to sell a message, and some critics plan to file complaints with the French advertising watchdog agency.

But the ad agency behind the posters insist that only a shock campaign can reach the young teens whose cigarette consumption has zoomed 66% in a few years.

“The message here is that tobacco is a form of submission. In the popular imagination, oral sex is the perfect symbol of submission,” said a company spokesman.

The racy anti-tobacco ads will be shown in newspapers, bars and clubs.

And that’s the latest from Action News about the Racy French Anti-Smoking Ad.

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If some students have their way, however, their next mascot might, like the venerable colonel, also be something of a rebel. That’s because one front runner in the contest to replace Reb is Admiral Ackbar, the fictional, lizard-like leader of the rebel alliance in the Star Wars films.

In recent years, Ackbar has become a cultural icon, largely because of a single line, “It’s a trap!,” that the character delivered in the film “Return of the Jedi.”
That line has made its way into the modern vernacular, making Ackbar a favorite symbol in his own right. On Facebook, for instance, a fan page featuring Ackbar’s face with the words “it’s a trap” has more than 14,000 members.

Ole Miss discontinued using Colonel Reb in 2003, fearing that continued references to the Old South would alienate minority students.

No date has been set for students to decide Colonel Reb’s successor.

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Dr. David Benke, a math teacher, tackled a deranged man who had already shot two middle school students in the parking lot of Deer Creek Middle School in Littleton, Colorado.

Benke confronted the 32-year-old gunman, Bruco Strongeagle Eastwood, after hearing what sounded like firecrackers going off as students left school for the day.

He tackled the gunman as Eastwood was pulling on his bolt-action rifle to reload for another shot and then pinned him to the ground with the help of another teacher.

His heroic act stopped what could have been a much more violent encounter in a city all too familiar with tragic school shootings as the Columbine school shootings happened only three miles away roughly eleven years ago.

“Unfortunately he got another round off before I could grab him,” Benke told reporters. “He figured out that he wasn’t going to be able to get another round chambered before I got to him so he dropped the gun and then we were kind of struggling around trying to get him subdued.”

The two students survived Tuesday’s school shooting, but one student remains hospitalized.

The victims – students Reagan Webber and Matt Thieu – were both treated at Littleton Adventist Hospital, where spokeswoman Christine Alexander said Webber was treated and released to her home. Matt Thieu was transferred to The Children’s Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.

Benke told a TV station that he took part in drills after Columbine and recalled thinking that if the same thing happened, “I hope that I could go after him.”

Denver station KUSA-TV reported that the gunman, Bruco Strongeagle Eastwood, attended Deer Creek Middle School in the early 1990s.

David Benke Hero Teacher News Video:

And that’s the latest from Action News about the hero teacher who saved students lives by tackling tackled a deranged gunman, David Benke.

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52-year-old Donna Louise Greenwell pled guilty to two counts of “sale of a minor” for trading two children to a couple in exchange for an exotic pet bird and $175.

Greenwell received her sentence of 15 months of hard labor on each count on Monday, which she will serve concurrently.

The Evangeline Parish Clerk of Court’s Office said that Greenwell will begin serving her sentence March 25.

The couple who received the two children, Paul James Romero and Brandy Lynn Romero, each pled guilty to the same charges in October.

Both children were in Greenwell’s care after their biological parents had left them with her. It’s not known why Greenwell chose to sell the children instead of contacting a social services agency

And that’s the latest from Action News about Donna Louise Greenwell.

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Nearly 20 percent of the U.S. workforce lacked adequate employment in January and struggled to make ends meet with reduced resources and bleak job prospects, according to a Gallup poll released on Tuesday.

In findings that appear to paint a darker employment picture than official U.S. data, Gallup estimated that about 30 million Americans are underemployed, meaning either jobless or able to find only part-time work.

Underemployed people spent 36 percent less on household purchases than their fully employed neighbors in January, while six out of 10 were not hopeful about their chances of finding adequate work in the coming month, the poll said.

Gallup surveyed more than 20,000 U.S. adults from January 2 to 31. The results have a 1 percentage point margin of error.

The poll comes at a time when voter anger over the slow economic recovery is running high and President Barack Obama’s hopes of boosting employment through government programs have been frustrated by partisan rancor in Congress.

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 9.7 percent in January but remains near record highs. At the same time, job losses increased and new unemployment claims were 430,000 the previous week.

Gallup found that underemployed Americans were more likely to have a favorable view of Obama, with 55 percent approving of his performance as president against 49 percent of the public.

The Gallup poll’s estimate of U.S. underemployment is higher than official statistics.

The Labor Department says 16.5 percent of American workers were without employment or worked part-time for economic reasons in January against Gallup’s 19.9 percent.

A Labor Department official said the government rate may be lower because it factors out temporary seasonal changes in employment to better reflect the underlying economy.

Translation: The Labor Department isn’t counting all the retail jobs lost after the Christmas selling season ended.

And that’s the latest from Action News on Underemployment Hits 20 Percent.

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Kelly said in a statement released by the school that Holland was dismissed for violating team rules, but didn’t elaborate.

Asked by reporters if the dismissal was related to Holland’s Facebook post on Saturday, the coach said: “I won’t get into the specifics, but you’re smart enough to figure it out.”

Jamere Holland updated his Facebook status after linebacker Kristian Kiko Alonso was arrested early Saturday on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants.

Kristian Alonso was the fourth Oregon player arrested in the last month.

In his post, Jamere Holland mistakenly concluded Alonso had been kicked off the team and blasted the dismissal as unfair and damaging to the Ducks in a profanity-laced rant.

Holland wrote in a later post: “I wish I could block whites as friends and only have blacks LOL, cause apparently I’m misunderstood.”

School spokesman Dave Williford said Kristian Alonso remains on the team, “contrary to Internet reports, rumors and Jamere Holland.”

Athletic director Mike Bellotti, who was the football coach when Holland transferred to Oregon from USC after the 2006 season, told reporters that he was frustrated with Holland.

“We’ve given this guy so many chances,” Bellotti said. “We’ve had many sit-down, very serious talks.”

Holland had only 17 catches for 252 yards and two touchdowns in two years with Oregon.

And that’s the latest from Action News on Oregon Boots Player Over Facebook Post.

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According to a class-action lawsuit, the school system spied on the students in school and at home via the laptop’s webcams which could be activated remotely at any time by teachers or administrators.

Neither the students nor their parents were told about the remote webcam activation, which could see anything happening within range of the laptops including the student’s bedrooms.

Te case, Blake J. Robbins v. Lower Merion School District, was filed after one of the school’s vice principals disciplined Robbins’ son for “improper behavior in his home,” using a photo taken from the camera as evidence, according to the filing.

The laptops were issued to 1,800 students at three high schools in the district, each with a built-in webcam that, according to the lawsuit, administrators can activate remotely and covertly.

The suit is a class action, brought on behalf of all the students and their parents.

They’re seeking damages for invasion of privacy, theft of private information, and unlawful interception and access of electronic information.

And that’s the latest from Action News on School Spies On Students With Webcams.

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Philadelphia police said Friday that 50-year-old James B. Shimsky, a priest in the Diocese of Scranton, was arrested last month and charged with drug possession.

Narcotics officers said they saw a man in a Jeep engage in a drug transaction the morning of Jan. 30 on a North Philadelphia street. Police said they stopped the vehicle and found a small amount of cocaine inside.

Diocesan spokesman William Genello said Shimsky is pastor of St. John Vianney Parish in Scott Township, Lackawanna County, and has been on a leave of absence since his arrest.

And that’s the latest from Action News on Priest Caught Buying Cocaine.

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The couple were reportedly meeting in the WalMart parking lot to exchange custody of their two children.

A Suwanee police news release says the couple began arguing Sunday outside of the store in the city about 30 miles northeast of Atlanta.

Phillip Chad Dunn, 28, of Lawrenceville stabbed his wife during the argument then stabbed himself, according to the release. Police say Shelley Dyan Dunn, 27, of Buford, died of her wounds at a nearby hospital.

Police say their children were present. Their ages weren’t immediately disclosed.

Phillip Dunn was in custody and expected to survive.

Police Captain Cass Mooney says charges were pending Sunday night against Phillip Dunn. Mooney didn’t know if he had a lawyer.

And that’s the latest from Action News on Man Kills Wife At WalMart.

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Olympic officials say that Kumaritashvili lost control of his luge sled at 80 mph, bouncing off both walls of the final and most dangerous turn on the course – an extremely sharp 270 degree turn – before flying over the edge and hitting an unpadded metal pole head first.

Track and medical workers dashed to his side and began performing CPR as an ambulance raced to the side of the track.

21-year-old Kumaritashvili was then placed on a stretcher with blood literally pouring from his head and taken away in an ambulance.

An International Olympic Committee official confirmed that the Georgian luger died before reaching the hospital.

Luge training runs were suspended as Olympic officials met to review the situation as there has been speculation that the track is too fast.

The Whistler course at the vancouver Olympics is considered to be both the fastest and most dangerous in the world.

Nodar Kumaritashvili was one of just eight athletes in Georgia’s Olympic delegation and Georgia is reportedly considering withdrawing their team.

And that’s the latest from Action News on the Luge Death At Olympics.

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The latest Toyota recall list 2010 includes 8 models spanning 2007 to 2010 and all recalls are due to sticking gas pedal issues.

The best place to get information about whether your vehicle is affected by the latest Toyota recall is from your local Toyota dealer but here is the list of models included:

2009-2010 RAV4
2009-2010 Corolla
2009-2010 Matrix
2005-2010 Avalon
2007-2010 Camry
2010 Highlander
2007-2010 Tundra
2008-2010 Sequoia

Another related recall in addition to the Toyota recall list for 2010 is the Pontiac Vibe which is similar to the Toyota Matrix.

And that’s the latest news about the Toyota Recall List 2010.

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2010 Oscar Nominees by Category – 82nd Academy Awards

Best Actor – Performance by an actor in a leading role:

• Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
• George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
• Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
• Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
• Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

Best Supporting Actor – Performance by an actor in a supporting role:

• Matt Damon in “Invictus”
• Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
• Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
• Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
• Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

Best Actress – Performance by an actress in a leading role:

• Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
• Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
• Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
• Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious”
• Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

Best Supporting Actress – Performance by an actress in a supporting role:

• Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
• Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
• Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
• Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
• Mo’Nique in “Precious”

Best Director – Achievement in directing:

• “Avatar” – James Cameron
• “The Hurt Locker” – Kathryn Bigelow
• “Inglourious Basterds” – Quentin Tarantino
• “Precious” – Lee Daniels
• “Up in the Air” – Jason Reitman

Best Picture – Best motion picture of the year:

• “Avatar”
• “The Blind Side”
• “District 9″
• “An Education”
• “The Hurt Locker”
• “Inglourious Basterds”
• “Precious”
• “A Serious Man”
• “Up”

New for 2010 is an increse from five to ten nominations in the best picture category, but only one film will win the Oscar for best picture.

And that’s the latest from Action News on the list of 2010 Oscar Nominees.

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Teenager Lydia Ward was attacked after stepping on a “big, gray, slippery thing” while wading in waist-high water off the southern city of Invercargill, New Zealand.

The shark wrapped its jaws around her waist and bit her, but let go after she whacked it with the boogie board on its snout, she told the New Zealand Herald.

Fiona Ward, Lydia’s mother said, “She’s a really cool-headed little girl. There was no screaming or anything, or hysterics. She just came up to the car, she looked a bit shaky, and she said, ‘oh, I’ve just been attacked by a shark. And I was like, ‘What?’”

L:ydia added, “I showed Dad and he didn’t really believe me but then I showed him my wetsuit with all the blood coming out and he believed me.”

The teenaged girl managed to escape serious injury, but was treated in a local hospital for two of the deeper puncture wounds.

She has no plans to return to the ocean any time soon.

“It sort of put me off the beach, but I’m still fine with rivers and lakes,” Lydia said. “I’ll stick to them now.”

And that’s the latest at Action News about Girl Fights Off Shark Attack.

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Personal exemption:

Each personal or dependent exemption is now worth $3,650, up $150 from 2008.

Standard deduction:

$11,400 for married couples filing a joint return, and qualifying widows and widowers.

$5,700 for singles and married individuals filing separate returns.

$8,350 for heads of household.

You may be able to claim a higher standard deduction if you are 65 or older, blind, paid state or local real estate taxes or sales or excise taxes on a new vehicle, or were a victim of a federally declared disaster.

Alternative minimum tax exemption:

$70,950 for a married couple filing a joint return, and qualifying widows and widowers.

$35,475 for a married person filing separately.

$46,700 for singles and heads of household.

Home buyer credit:

Up to $8,000 for first-time homebuyers for purchases made through April 30, 2010.

Up to $6,500 for long-time homeowners for purchases made between Nov. 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010.

To qualify, the home must be used as a primary residence. The credit begins phasing out for married couples filing jointly with modified adjusted gross incomes above $225,000 and for individuals with incomes above $125,000.

Energy efficiency credit:

30 percent of the cost of installing energy-efficient windows or doors, air conditioners or furnaces, or other energy-saving improvements, up to a maximum $1,500.

American Opportunity Credit:

Up to $2,500 to cover college tuition, fees and required course materials.

To qualify, the student may not have completed four years of college. There are also income limits.

Earned Income Tax Credit:

The maximum earned income tax credit was raised to:

$5,657 for people with three or more qualifying children.

$5,028 for people with two children.

$3,043 for those with one child.

$457 for people with no children.

Retirement:

If you’re covered by a retirement plan at work, the maximum modified adjusted gross income you can have and still take a deduction for IRA contributions rose to $65,000 — $109,000 if married filing jointly.

The maximum deduction is $5,000, $6,000 if you were 50 or older by the end of 2009.

Long-term capital gains taxes:

0 percent if taxed in the 10 percent to 15 percent brackets.

15 percent maximum for taxpayers in higher brackets.

Mileage deductions:

55 cents for each mile driven for business.

24 cents for each mile driven for medical reasons or part of a deductible move.

14 cents for each mile driven as part of charity work.

And that’s the latest from Action News on Tax Filing Tips 2010.

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Christopher Speight was captured in the woods near his home, still in possession of the high-powered huntng rifle he used to down a police helicopter yesterday.

Authorities are not sure the rifle was the same weapon used in the eight slayings, but are pleased to have finally caught Speight after the manhunt finally ended at 7:30 a.m. this morning.

State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said Christopher B. Speight, 39, was taken into custody without incident.

“He was near the crime scene and physically approached law enforcement at the scene,” Geller said.

And that’s the latest from Action News on Christopher Speight kills eight.

One victim was found in the the road, four bodies were outside the residence and three were inside, Geller said. She said Speight was acquainted with the victims but declined to specify the relationship.

Sam Carter, a member of the Appamattox County Board of Supervisors, said yesterday the dead included Speight’s wife and son as well as another teenage boy.

Full identities of those victims have not been released. State Police said the victims included males and females.

It all started about noon on Tuesday, when Appomattox County emergency dispatchers received a call about a man lying in Snapps Mill Road who needed medical attention.

When police arrived, they heard more gunshots nearby, which sparked calls for assistance from neighboring counties.

About an hour and a half later, a State Police helicopter sustained damage from four shots, including one that hit a fuel line, forcing it to land.

A security perimeter was established around the area by police, who planned to tighten the cordon with more than 100 officers in camoflauge and body armor this morning when Speight unexpectedly surrendered.

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The www.JillianMichaels.com/Parade article in Sunday’s Parade magazine has a special offer for a free copy Jillian Michaels book ‘Master Your Metabolism’, with a three step diet plan that boosts your fat burning potential.

Sign up the recieve the free book from the JillianMichaels.com/Parade offer and and learn how to fix your metabolism so it works for you, not against you.

You pay only $4.95 shipping and handling and let TV’s toughest trainer from The Biggest Loser and see the weight drop off and your energy increase exponentially.

Get your free book from Jillian Michaels at www-jillianmichaels-com-parade.

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De Croock’s windpipe was smashed in a car accident, but now she has a new one after surgeons implanted the windpipe from a dead man into her arm, where it grew new tissue before being transplanted into her throat.

Experts say that the way doctors trained her body to accept donor tissue could yield new methods of growing or nurturing organs within patients.

The technique sounds like science fiction, but De Croock says it has transformed her life. She no longer takes anti-rejection drugs.

“Life before my transplant was becoming less livable all the time, with continual pain and jabbing and pricking in my throat and windpipe,” the 54-year-old Belgian told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Doctors at Belgium’s University Hospital Leuven implanted the donor windpipe in De Croock’s arm as a first step in getting her body to accept the organ and to restart its blood supply.

About 10 months later, when enough tissue had grown around it to let her stop taking the drugs, the windpipe was transferred to its proper place.

“This is a major step forward for trachea transplantation,” said Dr. Pierre Delaere, the surgeon who led the team that treated De Croock.

For years, De Croock lived with the pain and discomfort of having two metal stents propping open her windpipe. She went looking for doctors who might be able to help her and found Delaere on the Internet.

“I had always wondered, ‘So many things are possible, why not a new windpipe?’” De Croock said.

Delaere and his colleagues, who had performed similar procedures on a smaller scale for cancer patients, agreed. Once the doctors had a suitable donor windpipe, they wrapped it in De Croock’s own tissue and implanted it into her lower left arm. There, they connected it to a large artery to re-establish the blood flow.

De Croock said having a windpipe in her arm felt strange and uncomfortable. “It was packed in with gauze and my whole arm was in plaster,” she said. “So it’s not like (I could) peel potatoes.”

For about eight months, she took drugs to stop her immune system from rejecting the new organ. Though some of the tissue from the windpipe’s male donor remains, enough of De Croock’s own tissue now lines the organ that she no longer needs anti-rejection medicines.

Patrick Warnke, a tissue-engineering expert at Bond University in Australia not linked to De Croock’s case, said it was the first time a donor organ as large as the trachea was nurtured inside the recipient’s own body before being transplanted.

“This shows us that we may one day be able to use patients’ own bodies as bioreactors to grow their own tissue,” he said.

Warnke thought it might be possible to grow parts of organs, like a lung lobe, within patients themselves in the future. Warnke said he has grown parts of a jaw using muscle in a patient’s back.

Last year, European doctors announced they had lined a donor windpipe with tissue grown from their patient’s stem cells, thus eliminating the use for immune-suppressing drugs. Only a handful of windpipe transplants have been performed.

Since operating on De Croock, Delaere and colleagues performed a similar transplant on an 18-year-old man, and two other patients are being readied for the treatment.

For De Croock, the surgery has had a huge impact.

“Now I’m very happy. I realize how my life has completely changed,” she said. “I can actually do what I want.”

Every six months, she has a scan to check her new windpipe, but doesn’t have to take any medicines or treatment. Still, doctors are wary of De Croock exerting too much pressure on the windpipe, and she has some limitations when she exercises.

“Her voice is excellent, and her breathing is normal,” Delaere said. “I don’t think she could run a marathon, but she is doing well.”

And that’s the latest from Action News on Transplanted Windpipe Grown In Arm.

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The surprise ingredient: They disabled the HIV virus so it couldn’t cause AIDS, and then used it to carry in the healthy new gene.

The experiment marks the first time researchers have tried that long-contemplated step in people — and the first effective gene therapy against a severe brain disease, said lead researcher Dr. Patrick Aubourg of the University Paris-Descartes.

Although it is a small, first-step study, it has “exciting implications” for other blood and immune disorders that had been feared beyond gene therapy’s reach, said Dr. Kenneth Cornetta, president of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy.

“This study shows the power of combining gene therapy and cell therapy,” added Cornetta, whose own lab at Indiana University has long researched how to safely develop gene delivery using lentiviruses, HIV’s family.

The research was published in Friday’s edition of the journal Science.

In 20 years of gene therapy research, there have been few home runs and some headline-making setbacks – including a risk of leukemia caused by otherwise successful gene therapy for another rare disorder, “bubble boy disease.” That is a risk that specialists hope a lentivirus-based gene therapy will eliminate.

Adrenoleukodystrophy, or ALD, is a rare genetic disease that, in its most devastating form, destroys the coating of nerve fibers in boys’ brains. Without that coating, called myelin, the neurological system breaks down. The disease typically strikes between the ages of four and 10, leading to blindness, deafness, dementia and loss of muscle control, and killing them within a few years.

Bone marrow transplants can halt ALD by letting new myelin-forming stem cells take root. But it’s difficult to find a matching marrow donor, and the transplant itself is very risky.

So what if stem cells from the boys’ own bone marrow could be genetically corrected, eliminating the ALD mutation?

To do that, Aubourg’s team had to overcome a technical hurdle: Gene therapy works when scientists harness deliver a healthy new gene by attaching to a virus that can harmlessly infect cells.

But none of today’s so-called gene therapy “vectors” could penetrate enough of the stem cells needed for an ALD treatment to work.

Unlike most viruses, HIV can penetrate stem cells, and it sticks permanently. So Aubourg’s team removed the genetic parts of HIV that make it dangerous, leaving basically a scaffolding to carry the new therapeutic gene.

Then they culled stem cells from two 7-year-old boys in the early stages of ALD, and mixed in the healthy gene. The boys underwent bone marrow-destroying chemotherapy and then had their genetically corrected stem cells reinserted.

Two years later, the boys have shown no sign of worsening brain damage and are functioning well with 15 per cent of their blood cells producing the healthy protein, said Aubourg, who plans to test the experimental procedure in more patients.

An advocacy group, the Stop ALD Foundation, is working to raise money for a similar U.S. study.

And that’s the latest at Action News about Scientists Halt Brain Disease With Gene Therapy.

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New Years Resolution 2010 is collecting your resolutions for the new year and sharing them. Share your 2010 New Years resolution with us.

Will you decide to stop smoking? Will you set a weight loss goal or start living a healthier lifestyle? Maybe your resolution is to change the way you approach your personal relationships in 2010.

Whatever your New Years Resolution 2010 is, we want to hear it. We want you to share it with us and thousands of readers. Your personal information will not be shared, in fact, please do not include any personal information in the comments section below.

Will you boot your loser spouse to the curb once and for all? Will you take up a hobby you’ve been considering for years? There is no New Year Resolution 2010 that is too big or too small to share.

Add your to the list of New Years Resolution 2010.

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The new Federal government appliances rebates are modeled after the popular Cash for Clunkers program, which was intended to get cars with low gas mileage off the road.

The appliance rebates are for people buying energy-efficient clothes washers, refrigerators and other appliances — those that qualify for the federal “Energy Star” designation.

The program has only $300 million, one-tenth as much money as the automotive Cash for Clunkers program, or about $1 per U.S resident, so it could run out fast.

States are receiving roughly the same amount per capita, with California getting the most at $35.2 million, but what’s eligible varies by state.

California residents, for example, can get cash back on three types of appliances: $100 for washing machines, $75 for refrigerators and $50 for room air conditioners.

Wisconsin offers rebates on washers and fridges plus $200 for boilers or furnaces, $75 for central air conditioning or geothermal heat pumps, $50 for freezers and $25 for dishwashers.

Also in effect through Dec. 31, 2010, is a federal tax credit for 30 percent of the cost up to $1,500 on equipment for a primary residence.

Rebates will be available until February 2012 or the money’s gone. And Jen Stutsman, a spokeswoman for the Department of Energy, expects the funds to run out fast.

For state by state information, visit the federal Web site http://energysavers.gov and click on “state appliance rebate program” on the right.

And that’s the latest from Action News on the Cash For Clunkers government appliances rebates.

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The director of an institute that supplied monkeys to the Soviet space program in the ’80s says the facility is in talks with Russia’s Cosmonautics Academy over supplying animals for a simulated Mars mission.

A real mission could follow with a robot on board to look after the monkey, he says.

The robot would feed and clean up after the monkey during the 520-day round trip.

“Technicians have told us that it’s not difficult to build such a robot,” the institute’s director tells AFP. “The hard part is teaching the monkey to live with the robot.”

And that’s the latest from Action News on Russia To Send Monkey To Mars.

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The actual website for your real free credit report is http://www.annualcreditreport.com, not freecreditreport.com and all the other swindle websites that are out there.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed new rules to help decrease the number of consumers who are duped into signing up for services they don’t want and make it easier for people who only want to get their free credit reports to do so — without hassle.

“There has been a proliferation of confusing advertising regarding where consumers can obtain their free annual [credit] file,” according to the FTC.

The new rules were drafted because a provision in the Credit CARD Act of 2009 says that – beginning on Feb. 22, 2010 – radio, TV and other ads for free credit reports must include the following disclaimer: “This is not the free credit report provided for by federal law.”

According to the FTC, “These advertisements direct consumers not to AnnualCreditReport.com – the authorized source for free annual file disclosures – but to commercial Web sites operated by the nationwide credit reporting agencies or others that sell a variety of products and services.”

“Further, when a consumer uses an Internet search engine to find the Web site for free annual file disclosures, the search engine will usually list ’sponsored’ links — again, selling products and services — such as ‘FreeCreditReport.com’ first.”

“As a result of this advertising, consumers are often misled and confused about where to go to obtain the free annual file disclosure mandated by federal law.”

Make sure you don’t get duped by the credit report scammers!

And that’s the latest from Action News about the Real Free Credit Report Website.

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The body of an elderly woman remained in her bed for up to eight months even though caretakers paid daily visits to the house and kept it tidy, Wilmington, NC police said Wednesday.

Sheriff’s deputies were investigating the suspicious death of Blanche Matilda Roth after the corpse was found in her suburban home in Wilmington, on the Atlantic coast, on Tuesday following a call to 911.

New Hanover County Deputy Charles Smith said Roth likely died in May, before her 88th birthday in September.

Her body was found after the 911 caller, whose identity was being withheld by authorities, reported that an elderly woman in the home was unconscious and not breathing.

Smith said caretakers had been going in and out of the house on a quiet cul-de-sac on a daily basis. He would not specify if the caretakers were family members but said they were not nurses. At least four other people also lived in the house, a neighbor said.

Failure to report a death is a felony in North Carolina.

Smith said the residence was very well kept. He said police hadn’t received any calls requesting welfare checks on Roth.

Officials are awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

“They were quiet and stayed to themselves all the time,” neighbor Ray Taylor, 72, said of the home’s residents.

Martin Pedersen, another neighbor, said he had no idea Roth had died.

Pedersen, 55, said four other family members, a married couple and two sons, lived in the house and that a younger son went to school every day.

Pedersen said the family was nice and the news surprised him. He used to see the elderly woman walking to the mailbox with another family member holding her arm. “They’d be laughing and everything else.”

And that’s the latest from Action News about the Grandma Left Dead In Bed For 8 Months.

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It seems the Tiger and Jessica met just days before Simpson and Tony Romo split, when Romo partnered with Woods at a golf tournament.

“Tiger liked what he saw and let her know it,” a source told Star magazine, and the two reportedly exchanged phone numbers and email addresses.

Since Jessica Simpson had been fighting with Tony Romo — who was Tiger Woods golf partner at the AT&T National golf tournament on July 1, 2009 at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. — she gave as good as she got.

“Jessica said that she felt like Tony wasn’t paying attention to her, so she was like, ‘What the heck!’ ” says the source. “She decided to have fun with Tiger whether it bothered Tony or not.”

Also in the rumor department, sources tell People that Elin Nordegren will divorce her hubby.

“She plans to leave Tiger,” one source says; another adds, “She’s made up her mind. There’s nothing to think about: He’s never going to change.”

And that’s the latest at Action News about the Tiger Woods Jessica Simpson hookup.

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Ted Estarija said he was expecting his bill to be higher this month after adding his son to his plan, but wasn’t expecting a bill of $21,917 in data usage charges.

The Hayward man said his Verizon Wireless bill soared after his son apparently downloaded about 1.4 million kilobytes of data last month.

His plan didn’t cover data usage, so he was charged by the megabyte.

Estarija said after the first media reports, Verizon said they would credit his account for the entire amount.

He has also suspended his son’s account.

A spokeswoman for Verizon said the company investigates cases with exceptionally large bills.

And that’s the latest at Action News about Teen Runs Up $22,000 Cellphone Bill.

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It wasn’t a state dinner, and they didn’t crash it on purpose. Still, it left the White House once again explaining how people who were not on an event guest list wound up being ushered into the presidential mansion and meeting the Obamas anyway.

The improbable adventure of Harvey and Paula Darden, Obama supporters from Hogansville, Ga., took place on Veterans Day, two weeks before Virginia socialites Tareq and Michaele Salahi infamously crashed the Obamas’ state dinner for the prime minister of India.

The Dardens mistakenly showed up a day early for a tour scheduled through their congressman.

The White House and Secret Service both said the Dardens went through the appropriate security screenings and were allowed into the breakfast as a courtesy because there were no public tours the day they arrived.

That explanation was news to Harvey Darden, 67, a retired pharmacist, who said he and his wife never were told about the breakfast. They thought they were simply starting their tour until they were ushered into the East Room, offered a buffet spread and told they’d be meeting the president.

“The further we got into the White House, the more surprised we were,” Darden told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “My wife looked at me and I looked at her, and I said, ‘You know, I don’t know if we’re in the right place.’”

They approached a White House aide with their concern that they had veered off course but were told to “just go with the flow,” Darden said.

“I felt kind of funny because I was the only man in the room that wasn’t dressed in a coat and tie,” he added. “I was just a plain tourist.”

Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said agents performed the same screening procedures on the Dardens that were used for other breakfast guests: They checked the Dardens’ names and did a criminal background check — steps that were not taken for the Salahis at the Nov. 24 state dinner.

Because the Dardens were able to pass Secret Service vetting, they were allowed to attend the breakfast for veterans as a “nice gesture,” White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said. He added that it’s not unusual for White House staff to take people who are cleared in for tours to other events if there is space, including Marine One arrivals, East Room events and Rose Garden ceremonies.

Shapiro said the White House Office of Public Engagement, which Obama created to engage citizens in White House activities, was responsible for clearing in the Dardens, as well as the other breakfast guests. The social office handled admittance to the Indian state dinner.

On the morning the Dardens showed up, security officials working from a list of names began letting people inside. When the Dardens reached the checkpoint, they said they were told their names weren’t on the list and were asked to present photo identifications and other information.

After waiting for agents to check their information, they were allowed in and directed into the East Room, where about 200 people were gathered for the breakfast.

The Dardens approached an aide who was mingling with guests.

“I told him, ‘I don’t think this is part of the White House tour,’” Darden said. “He said, ‘No it’s not. It’s an invitation event for veterans.’”

The official, whose name and title Darden didn’t remember, asked whether Darden was a veteran. Darden told him he was a Navy veteran, and the aide suggested he stay, Darden said.

So the Dardens served themselves at the buffet, and took their seats. Shortly thereafter, Barack and Michelle Obama arrived and began talking and getting photographs with guests at each table. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, also stopped by.

Darden said it was “quite a treat” to meet the Obamas and the Bidens. But he remains puzzled about how he was escorted into a private breakfast — and he grew a little anxious after the Salahi episode exploded in the news.

The couple’s only regret, Darden said, is that they haven’t received a copy of that picture taken with the Obamas.

And that’s the latest from Action News on Tourists Get White House Breakfast.

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The Taunton, Massachusetts second-grader drew the stick-figure drawing pictured above while in class.

The boy was immediately suspended for drawing a violent image and ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation.

The youngster had recently gone with his family to see the Christmas display at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette, a Christian retreat site in nearby Attleboro.

The boy’s father was flabbergasted when he learned from the principal that his son had to undergo an evaluation in order to return to school.

“When she told me he needed to be psychologically evaluated, I thought she was playing,” he said.

The man said his son, who gets specialized reading and speech instruction at school, has never shown any tendency toward violence.

“He’s never been suspended,” he said. “He’s 8 years old. They overreacted.”

He went for the psychological evaluation — at his parents’ expense — the next day and was cleared to return to school the following Monday after the psychological evaluation found nothing to indicate that he posed a threat to himself or others.

The young boy, however, was traumatized by the incident, which made going back to school very difficult, his father said.

School administrators have approved the father’s request to have the boy transferred to another elementary school in the district.

And that’s the latest from Action News on the Taunton, Massachusetts second grader whose Jesus drawing gets boy suspended.

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