Senators push to repeal U.S. medical device tax; success unlikely

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced legislation on Thursday to repeal a tax on medical devices that is part of President Barack Obama's healthcare law, although the proposal likely faces an uphill climb in Congress.

The tax applies to a range of medical products - everything from bedpans and surgical tools to the expensive heart devices produced in the home states of the senators backing the repeal. It is among several new industry levies in Obama's 2010 healthcare overhaul law, which aims to provide health insurance for millions of Americans who lack it.

The 2.3 percent tax went into effect this year and is projected to raise about $30 billion over a decade to fund extended coverage. Senators from Minnesota, Indiana and Pennsylvania, where many big medical technology companies are based, are among those who have been pushing for a repeal.

"In order to compete in the global economy our medical device businesses need a level playing field," said Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, home to Medtronic Inc, one of the biggest medical device makers.

Industry officials and supportive lawmakers say the tax will hurt innovation and job creation.

But the law already is being implemented and was declared constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. That and the cost of repeal - depriving the federal government of billions at a time of dire fiscal straits - suggest the measure to kill the tax is unlikely to win approval.

(Reporting by Kim Dixon; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Bill Trott)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senators-push-repeal-u-medical-device-tax-success-000136641--finance.html

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Immigration reform group says polls showing ... - The Daily Caller

A new poll shows that only 11 percent of likely voters strongly back a conditional amnesty for 11 million illegal immigrants, while 39 percent of the voters strongly favor the immigrants? gradual return to their home countries.

The poll of 1,000 likely voters was taken by an immigration reform group, the Center for Immigration Studies, which openly favors a reduction in the annual intake of roughly 1 million immigration.

The poll clashes with results from other polling companies, some of which show apparently much higher support for letting illegal immigrants stay in the country.

The polls that show more support for letting illegals stay are touted by advocates for ethnic lobbies and progressive groups.

They?re pushing to win citizenship for the 11 million immigrants ? including roughly 8 million working-age people ? plus their relatives. Approximately 20 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed. (RELATED ANALYSIS: In Obama?s economy, immigrants win out)

A Gallup poll of adults that was released Feb. 5 showed 72 percent approval among respondents when they were asked ?Would you vote for a law that would allow undocumented immigrants living in the United States the chance to become legal residents or citizens if they meet certain requirements??

But such loose questions ? which includes two options, as well as a profusion of vague words, such as ?undocumented,? ?chance? and ?certain requirements? ? encourage Americans to express their normal sympathy for immigrants, said Steven Camarota, the research director at Center for Immigration Studies.

?Once you peel that stuff back,? he told The Daily Caller, ?what the public generally wants is for illegals to go home and for the law to be enforced.?

The CIS poll was conducted in late January by Pulse Opinion Research. Thirty-nine percent of the respondents were Democrats, 32 percent were Republicans, and 72 percent were white.

Immigration is a ?very difficult issue on which to measure public opinion,? said Glen Bolger, a pollster and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies.

Pollsters should pick their words carefully, and ask a series of 15 or more questions, he said.

Many Americans know few details about the issue, he said. In a poll, they know their view is not decisive, and they tend to express their sympathy for immigrants without having to grapple with the costs and benefits, he said.

?Generally, the best way to test the immigration issue is to give [respondents] both points of view and see what side most come down on,? he said.

?Many pollsters do a terrific job, but still it is important to understand how a change in words can affect the answers,? said Karlyn Bowman, a polling expert at the American Enterprise Institute.

Questions should not push respondents to approve only one desirable option ? because Americans often want both options, she said. Instead, polls should allow respondents to say how much they favor each of several options, she told TheDC.

That?s important because ?most people don?t feel a need to resolve their contradictory views,? she said. For example, many Americans believe abortion is murder, but also that it should be legal, she said.

On immigration, many Americans believe that ?compassion for people who are here [illegally] is very important, and [also] that you want to keep your borders secure,? she said.

The main poll question in CIS?s poll was short and direct; ?Would you prefer to see illegal immigrants in the United State go back to their home countries or be given legal status??

Respondents were offered three options.

Fifteen percent picked ?not sure.?

According to the poll, 52 percent of voters and 50 percent of ?moderates? picked ?go back to their home countries.?

A total of 33 percent of respondents and 32 percent of ?moderates? picked ?be given legal status.?

Source: http://dailycaller.com/2013/02/07/anti-immigration-group-says-polls-showing-support-for-pathway-to-citizenship-are-all-wrong/

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Despite reported dislike, older readers put in less effort when using e-readers

Feb. 6, 2013 ? Reading text on digital devices like tablet computers requires less effort from older adults than reading on paper, according to research published February 6 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Matthias Schlesewsky and colleagues from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, in collaboration with colleagues from Georg August University G?ttingen and the University of Marburg, Germany.

In the past, surveys have shown that people prefer to read paper books rather than on e-readers or tablet computers. Here, the authors evaluated the origins of this preference in terms of the neural effort required to process information read on these three different media. They found that when asked, both young and old adults stated a strong preference for paper books, but when they compared eye movements and brain activity measures, older adults fared better with backlit digital readers like tablet computers.

The authors measured two parameters in the readers: time required for visual fixation, and EEG measures of brain activity with the different reading devices to identify the amount of cognitive processing required for each device.

The researchers found that younger readers between the ages of 21 and 34 showed similar eye movements and EEG measures of brain activity across the three reading devices. Older adults aged 60-77 years spent less time fixating the text and showed lower brain activity when using a tablet computer, as compared to the other media. The study concludes that this effect is likely due to better text discrimination on the backlit displays. None of the participants in the study had trouble comprehending what they had read on any of the devices, but based on the physiological measures assessed, the researchers suggest that older readers may benefit from the enhanced contrast on electronic reading devices.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Public Library of Science, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Franziska Kretzschmar, Dominique Pleimling, Jana Hosemann, Stephan F?ssel, Ina Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, Matthias Schlesewsky. Subjective Impressions Do Not Mirror Online Reading Effort: Concurrent EEG-Eyetracking Evidence from the Reading of Books and Digital Media. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (2): e56178 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056178

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/gRFC_sX7qJc/130206185839.htm

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Gunman who wounded guard at D.C. lobbyist's offices pleads guilty

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gunman who wounded a guard at a conservative Washington lobbying group's offices last year pleaded guilty to terrorism and other charges on Wednesday, admitting to a bizarre plan to kill people there and rub sandwiches in their faces because the group opposed gay marriage, authorities said.

Floyd Corkins II, 28, of Herndon, Virginia, told investigators he sought to kill as many people as possible at the Family Research Center offices and then shove sandwiches from the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain into their faces, the Justice Department said in a statement.

The 1,600-store Chick-fil-A chain made headlines in July after its president, Dan Cathy, said he opposed same-sex marriage.

Corkins' planned assault on the downtown Washington offices was thwarted by a security guard who subdued him despite being shot in the arm.

Corkins, a former volunteer at a Washington gay community center, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Washington to committing an act of terrorism while armed as well as assault and weapons-transportation charges, the statement said.

His conviction is the first under a local 2002 anti-terrorism law.

A statement of offense signed by Corkins and prosecutors said that Corkins targeted the Family Research Council because of its views, including its stance against gay marriage.

Corkins shot the guard with a 9 mm handgun he pulled from a backpack that also held 50 rounds of ammunition and 15 wrapped sandwiches from Chick-fil-A.

Sentencing is set for April 29. The terrorism and assault charges each carry maximum sentences of 30 years and the weapons-related charge has a maximum of 10 years in prison.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Cynthia Johnston, Gary Hill)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gunman-wounded-guard-d-c-lobbyists-offices-pleads-185230754.html

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Share pet-kissing photos to raise funds for homeless pets ...

From February 10th through February 14th, Adopt-a-Pet.com is holding the ?Great American Pooch Smooch & Kitty Kiss? kiss-a-pawlooza! Spread the love of your pets to homeless pets by sharing your purr-fect and paw-some pet-kissing photos on the Adopt-a-Pet.com Facebook page here. For each pooch smooch or kitty kiss photo posted from February 10th through February 14th, 25? will be donated to Adopt-a-Pet.com?s Veterinary Care Fund grant program, originally funded with a donation from Purina Veterinary Diets?. The maximum donation is $5,000! Despite the name of the event, photos of all kinds of pets are welcome! Don?t have a pet of your own, or just want to give some extra kisses this Valentine?s Day? Consider visiting your an animal shelter or rescue (find your local shelters and rescues here) to give a smooch or two to some adoptable pets waiting for permanent homes. Or, better yet, make the relationship permanent and adopt!

Did you like this article? Click an icon below to share it on Facebook, Twitter, and more!

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Source: http://blog.adoptapet.com/share-pet-kissing-photos-to-raise-funds-for-homeless-pets/

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TSX may open lower on Europe fears, Suncor results

(Reuters) - Canada's main stock index looked set to open lower on Wednesday, hurt by renewed concerns about the health of the euro zone's economy and weaker-than-expected results from Suncor Energy Inc , the country's biggest oil company.

TOP STORIES

* Suncor posted a fourth-quarter loss as it wrote down the value of its Voyageur oil sands upgrading project just weeks before it is due to make a final decision on whether to build the facility.

* TMX Group Ltd reported a profit for the first full quarter since the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange was bought by a financial consortium last year.

* Husky Energy Inc , Canada's No.3 oil producer and refiner, reported a 16 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit, helped by a higher refining margin.

* Canadian property and casualty insurer Intact Financial Corp said fourth-quarter profit more than doubled, helped by higher investment gains.

* John Malone's Liberty Global struck a deal on Tuesday to buy British cable group Virgin Media for about $15.75 billion in stock and cash, a move that would put the U.S. billionaire up against old rival Rupert Murdoch.

* ArcelorMittal forecast improving demand and earnings this year after a wretched 2012 in which sliding European consumption and a Chinese slowdown drove it to a deep net loss.

(Reporting by Chandrashekhar Modi; Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tsx-may-open-lower-europe-fears-suncor-results-134609367--sector.html

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The court of inquiry (Offthekuff)

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